Christine Daum-Farber & Nelson Farber

Let’s start with a  free association. ‘The Wall’ – Pink Floyd or Berlin, right? No,  those likely would have been the top responses prior to Donald Trump’s signature campaign pledge to erect a big, ‘beautiful’ wall stretching the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border, from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. We traveled to the border regions of Southeast, Texas to explore the consequences of the ‘Wall’ and the Donald’s companion proposal to deport 11 million illegal immigrants. Our piece on the topic aired on 3sat nano on July 21, 2016, and can be viewed here, starting at 7:24. Christine filming the current border fence, routinely referred to as the ‘wall.’ … Continue reading →

New Hampshire, U.S.A., a Northeastern idyll, lakes, woods and small cities and towns practically leaping out of Norman Rockwell paintings. The reality is darker. The pristine surface covers a raging opioid and heroin addiction epidemic. The State’s motto is “Live free or die.” The crisis has given a whole new and literal dimension to this expression. We traveled to New Hampshire to examine the tragedy of the New Hampshire epidemic, as well as the State’s progressive ‘Drug Court’ program. Our segment on the subject aired on 3sat Nano on June 6, 2016 and can be seen here, starting at minute 15 of the program. The addicts are not the “other … Continue reading →

Staten Island, a working-middle class bedrock, now dubbed ‘Heroin Island.’ How did this homey community fall into crisis? Our piece on the origins of the U.S. heroin/opioid epidemic shot in Staten Island, aired on June 6, 2016, and can be seen here, starting at 7:54. Our protagonist, Wayne Justice, takes the ferry from Manhattan back home to Staten Island. An accomplished artist, Wayne had bouts with drug addiction earlier in life before successfully kicking the habit. But when Wayne sustained a serious leg injury he was prescribed with a medicine cabinet’s supply of opiates. He needed increasing quantities as his tolerance grew. Going through withdrawals after his prescriptions ran out, … Continue reading →