Shows / After the Fact
After the Fact
After the Fact is a podcast from The Pew Charitable Trusts that brings you data and analysis on the issues that matter to you—from our environment and the sciences, to larger economic trends and public health. Experts from Pew and other special guests discuss the numbers and trends shaping some of society's biggest challenges with host Dan LeDuc, then go behind the facts with nonpartisan analysis and stories.
Episodes
- After the Fact
Who Is Generation Z?
Stat: 48%—Almost half the members of Generation Z—age 22 or younger—are racial or ethnic minorities. Story: Step aside, Millennials. There's a new, younger…
- After the Fact
Water, Water, Not Everywhere
Stat: 844 million. The amount of people worldwide who lack even a basic drinking-water service, according to the World Health Organization. Story: For many of…
- After the Fact
Scientists at Work: Why Are Giraffes Dying?
Stat: 40%—Across Africa, the number of giraffes has declined by 40 percent since 1979. Story: Giraffes are dying, and experts are trying to figure out why…
- After the Fact
The Grand Canyon National Park Turns 100
Stat: 1919—the year President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill establishing the Grand Canyon as a national park. Story: The Grand Canyon was dedicated as a…
- After the Fact
Living Longer: Our 100-Year Life
Stat: 100. More than half of children born in developed countries today will reach the age of 100. Story: If you knew you would live to 100, what would you do…
- After the Fact
Looks Can Be Deceiving: Deepfakes
Stat: 57 percent of social media news consumers expect what they see there to be largely inaccurate. Story: The rise of deepfakes—realistic fake videos made…
- After the Fact
The American Dream: Does Your Zip Code Determine Your Destiny?
Stat: 50. The percentage of American children today who will grow up to earn more than their parents did. Story: That's down from over 90 percent for children…
- After the Fact
The Power (and Peril?) of New Technologies
Stat: Four in 10 Americans say technology has improved their lives most in the past 50 years. Story: To end 2018, we look ahead at the promise of new…
- After the Fact
Scientists at Work: The Secret Life of Manatees
Stat: 21. The number of African countries where manatees live. Story: If you've ever seen a manatee, chances are you were in Florida, where these aquatic…
- After the Fact
What Religious Type Are You?
Stat: 39 percent. That's how many Americans say they are highly religious. Story: When asked about their religion, most Americans identify with a traditional…
- After the Fact
From Idea to Art: Exploring the Creative Process
Stat: $764 billion. That's how much the arts contribute to the U.S. economy each year. Story: The creative process for artists can seem mysterious—what sparks…
- After the Fact
Midterm Outlook: What's on the Minds of Voters?
Stat: 61 percent. That's how many voters say they're enthusiastic about voting in November. Story: Traditionally, voters don't flock to the polls for the…
- After the Fact
A World in Motion: Global Demographics Explained—Part 2
Stat: 7 out of 10 babies born in London have at least one parent who wasn't. Story: London is on track to exceed 9 million people in three years and most of…
- After the Fact
A World in Motion: Global Demographics Explained-Part 1
Stat: 70 percent. That's how many children now born in London have at least one foreign-born parent. Story: In many ways, the metropolis of London is a…
- After the Fact
Dave Ramsey Talks American Debt
Stat: 7 in 10. That's how many Americans say that debt is a necessity, even though they prefer not to have it. Story: Ten years after the global financial…
- After the Fact
Scientists at Work: Craig Mello on the Mysteries of Genetic Code
Stat: Four. That's how many letters in the DNA alphabet make up every living thing. Story: How does genetic information transmit across generations? While…
- After the Fact
The Future of Fish and Chips
Stat: North Atlantic cod have nearly tripled since 2006 to 118,000 tons. Summary: Overfishing has strained most global fish stocks. But the European Union has…
- After the Fact
Scientists at Work: Ira Flatow Talks Science
Stat: 44 percent. The percentage of Americans who think the public doesn't know enough about science to understand new findings in the news. Story: Ira Flatow…
- After the Fact
The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
Stat: At least 2 million Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections each year. Story: Nearly a century after Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: U.S. Senator Susan Collins on Addressing Rising Drug Prices
Stat: $477 billion. That's the amount spent on prescription drugs in the United States last year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services…
- After the Fact
Save the Sharks
Stat: At least 63 million sharks are taken from the ocean every year. Story: And that's the low estimate; others range as high was 273 million. That worldwide…
- After the Fact
What Is the Blue Economy?
Stat: The ocean generates $2.5 trillion of economic benefits around the world each year. Story: Fisheries, tourism, and shipping are some of the ways we…
- After the Fact
Our Flag Is Still There: A Visit to the Star-Spangled Banner
Stat: The flag that inspired our national anthem has 15 stars and stripes. Story: It flew over Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: The Southern Ocean—Where Sport, Diplomacy, and Marine Protected Areas Meet
Stat: Antarctica is home to more than 9,000 species found nowhere else on Earth. Story: They include Adélie and emperor penguins that depend on the…
- After the Fact
Scientists at Work: 'The Jane Goodall of Penguins'
Stat: The penguin population in Punta Tombo, Argentina, has declined by 43 percent since 1987. Story: Not all of those birds are dying: Many are relocating to…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: How Today's Generations are Changing the World
Stat: By midcentury, there will be 2 billion elderly people in the world—and 2 billion young Story: For the first time there will be as many of each group —and…
- After the Fact
Dental Care Gaps in America
Stat: 63 million Americans, many of them children, live in areas with a shortage of dental care. Story: To help alleviate this, a new kind of dental provider…
- After the Fact
Finding Facts
Stat: 64 percent of Americans say fake news is causing confusion over basic facts, according to the Pew Research Center. Story: It's becoming increasingly more…
- After the Fact
Serve the Country, Save the Parks
More than a third of America's national parks are battlefields, cemeteries, and other sites that honor our military veterans. But those 156 landmarks are…
- After the Fact
The Value of Non-partisanship
With political discourse at a stalemate, we traveled to Middle America to find some middle ground. Former Representative Lee Hamilton (D) and former Senator…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: A Conversation With Governor Bill Haslam
How can states use data to make government work better? Known as a national leader for his efforts to make state government more efficient, Tennessee Governor…
- After the Fact
Rising Spirituality in America
Americans have become less religious but more spiritual over time, with 59 percent saying they regularly feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being…
- After the Fact
The Millennials Aren't Kids Anymore
Move aside, baby boomers. Millennials are one of the largest living generations, and they are not kids anymore. The oldest millennials are now 37, and they are…
- After the Fact
What's Happening in the States
Money makes policy. As states plan for the future, tax revenue helps them decide what it can be. And nearly half the states still don't have the revenue they…
- After the Fact
The Next Generation
While millennials have dominated news headlines, there is a new generation on the scene. Our guest— Jean Twenge, author and psychology professor at San Diego…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: Deep Seabed Mining and the Environment
The deepest, darkest parts of the world's ocean are filled with abundant marine life and rich mineral deposits. But a newly forming seabed mining industry is…
- After the Fact
Technology Today and Tomorrow
As 2017 draws to a close, 88 percent of Americans are connected online—more than ever before—and nearly half of adults use voice assistants. This growing…
- After the Fact
Poverty and Connecting to Opportunity in Philadelphia
While the national poverty rate has been declining, Philadelphia's has remained stubbornly high. At 25.7 percent, it is the highest among the nation's 10…
- After the Fact
Impacts of Illegal Fishing
Up to 1 in 5 fish taken from the sea is caught illegally, costing as much as $23.5 billion globally each year and harming ocean health and fishing communities…
- After the Fact
Antibiotic Resistance: When Drugs Don't Work Anymore
What happens when the medicine we rely on to fight infections stops working? It's been 30 years since a new type of antibiotic has made it to market…
- After the Fact
Bonus: Responding to the Opioid Crisis
President Donald Trump recently declared the nation's opioid epidemic a public health emergency—but what will it take to connect patients with effective…
- After the Fact
Treating the Opioid Epidemic
The nation's opioid epidemic has been making headlines, and much is required to curtail this public health crisis. In this episode, we learn more about…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: The New Age of Invention
The digital revolution is transforming innovation, providing access to information in ways unheard of even a generation ago. Putting this knowledge to purpose…
- After the Fact
From TV to Twitter: How Americans Get News Now
Although Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sites weren't designed as places to get news, that's what they've become. Today, 67 percent of Americans report…
- After the Fact
Reform in the Most Incarcerated State
Louisiana holds the No. 1 spot on an unenviable list: state imprisonment rates. The state has put more people behind bars per capita than any other, but…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: A Tale of Two Floods
The devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey have left thousands of Texas residents homeless. The scenes of water spilling onto highways and rushing through…
- After the Fact
The Financial Toll of Flooding—Part 2
We've all seen the devastating photos in news coverage following a big storm, but what happens after the flood? Pew's Fred Baldassaro travels to Norfolk…
- After the Fact
The Financial Toll of Flooding—Part 1
It's hurricane season—and extreme weather events are on the rise. Along with the catastrophic losses that families face after the flood is the economic burden…
- After the Fact
Event Rebroadcast: Can Technology Save the Earth?
The planet is facing increased environmental pressures—from warming oceans to species loss. At the same time, new tools such as satellite monitoring and…
- After the Fact
Our Blue Planet–Protecting the Ocean
Three-quarters of our planet is covered with water—and it's this water that sustains life as we know it. But our liquid planet, home to half of the world's…
- After the Fact
Inventing the Future
Technology is transforming our world and our workplaces. With the quick pace of change, the future can be as unsettling as it is exciting. However, in this…
- After the Fact
America's National Parks: Upkeep Required
More than 331 million visits were made to America's national parks last year—to hike stunning trails, drive scenic roads, and climb stairs in historic…
- After the Fact
Public Attitudes on Childhood Vaccines
While concern about childhood immunization stirs debate, Pew Research Center finds that the vast majority of Americans—88 percent—believe that the benefits of…
- After the Fact
Less Incarceration, Less Crime
States are finding new ways to get smart on crime and, in the process, changing how America views crime and punishment. After decades of rising prison…
- After the Fact
The State of the American Dream
Struggling to pay bills and set aside savings? You're in good company: 92 percent of Americans say financial stability is more important to them than moving up…
- After the Fact
Introducing After the Fact
Join experts from The Pew Charitable Trusts and other special guests for the story behind the numbers and trends shaping some of society's biggest challenges…