The BEST episodes of Frontline season 2012

#1 - Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown

Season 2012 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/28/2012

FRONTLINE continues its investigation of nuclear safety with an unprecedented account of the crisis inside the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011. With exclusive eyewitness testimony, FRONTLINE tells the story of the workers struggling frantically to reconnect power inside the plant's pitch-dark and highly radioactive reactor buildings; the nuclear experts and officials in the Prime Minister's office fighting to get information as the crisis spiraled out of control; and the plant manager who disobeyed his executives' orders when he thought it would save the lives of his workers. The story profiles the Japanese soldiers and firefighters drafted to cool the reactors, who were wounded when the reactor housings exploded; and the families living near the nuclear plant, who unknowingly fled in the same direction as the radioactive plume, exposing themselves to dangerously high radiation levels.

#2 - Al Qaeda In Yemen

Season 2012 - Episode 14 - Aired 5/29/2012

Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Yemen has become the hottest front in the war against Al Qaeda. Now, with headlines about a terrorist plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner, award-winning reporter and FRONTLINE correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad travels into the heart of Yemen's radical heartland. His first hand report shows how members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have taken advantage of turmoil in the country to impose their rule on areas of south Yemen. As the US expands its drone war to prevent terrorists from establishing a new safe haven, FRONTLINE shows how AQAP is taking control of towns and cities in an attempt to establish its own state. Also in this hour, the story of Al Qaeda operative Fahd al Quso --killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen early this month - as told by former FBI agent Ali Soufan who first interrogated him before 9/11.

#3 - Poor Kids

Season 2012 - Episode 25 - Aired 11/20/2012

An intimate portrait of the economic crisis in America focuses on what poverty means to children.

#4 - The Suicide Plan

Season 2012 - Episode 24 - Aired 11/13/2012

The world of assisted suicide, one of the most polarizing social issues of our time, is explored.

#5 - Big Sky, Big Money

Season 2012 - Episode 23 - Aired 10/30/2012

A look at how the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision changed US campaigns focuses on Montana.

#6 - Climate of Doubt

Season 2012 - Episode 22 - Aired 10/23/2012

John Hockenberry goes inside organizations that fought to redefine the politics of global warming.

#7 - The Choice 2012

Season 2012 - Episode 21 - Aired 10/9/2012

This election special offers biographies of presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

#8 - Dropout Nation

Season 2012 - Episode 20 - Aired 9/25/2012

A journey through an inner-city high school investigates the challenges of America's dropout crisis.

#9 - The Battle for Syria

Season 2012 - Episode 19 - Aired 9/18/2012

Journey into the heart of the insurgency for an an unprecedented portrait of Syria's rebel leaders.

#10 - Middle School Moment

Season 2012 - Episode 18 - Aired 7/17/2012

How one Bronx school is using a novel form of data collection and analysis to predict and prevent dropouts before they happen.

#11 - Fast Times at West Philly High

Season 2012 - Episode 17 - Aired 7/17/2012

Students and teachers from a West Philadelphia High School make super-hybrid cars for a competition.

#12 - Endgame: AIDS in Black America

Season 2012 - Episode 16 - Aired 7/10/2012

Traces the history of the AIDS epidemic through experiences of individuals in the black community.

#13 - Dollars and Dentists

Season 2012 - Episode 15 - Aired 6/26/2012

Miles O'Brien investigates the flaws in America's dental system and nascent proposals to fix them.

#14 - Six Billion Dollar Bet

Season 2012 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/22/2012

It has been seven months since the collapse of MF Global, yet thousands of former clients have yet to fully recover money they invested with the firm. An estimated $1.6 billion in customer funds went missing in the days leading up to MF Global’s bankruptcy. The story behind the firm’s failure is clearer today, yet many important questions remain unanswered.

#15 - Money, Power and Wall Street, Part 4

Season 2012 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/1/2012

#16 - Money, Power and Wall Street, Part 3

Season 2012 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/1/2012

#17 - Money, Power and Wall Street, Part 2

Season 2012 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/24/2012

FRONTLINE investigates the largest government bailout in U.S. history, a series of decisions that rewrote the rules of government and fueled a debate that would alter the country’s political landscape. It offers play-by-play accounts of several secret meetings that permanently altered the financial system.

#18 - Money, Power and Wall Street, Part 1

Season 2012 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/24/2012

FRONTLINE takes you inside the rapid rise of credit default swaps, including the voices of those who created them. With the real estate market booming, bankers successfully tweaked the credit default swap to bundle up and sell home mortgage loans to eager investors. But despite the money flowing into banks’ coffers, credit default swaps also loaded the financial system with lethal risk. And when the housing bubble burst, the credit default swaps — originally designed to stabilize the system — brought the global economy to its knees. Regulators, who had often stood on the sideline and allowed Wall Street to police itself, saw the ugly consequences rapidly unfold before them.

#19 - The Real CSI

Season 2012 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/17/2012

Evidence collected at crime scenes -- everything from fingerprints to bite marks -- is routinely called upon in the courtroom to prosecute the most difficult crimes and put the accused behind bars. And though glamorized on commercial television, in the real world it's not so cut-and-dried. FRONTLINE investigates the serious flaws in some of the best-known tools of forensic science.

#20 - Murdoch's Scandal

Season 2012 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/27/2012

The battle over the future of News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch's reputation is chronicled.

#21 - Cell Tower Deaths

Season 2012 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/22/2012

The demand for better and faster cell phone service comes with a hidden cost. This joint investigation by FRONTLINE and ProPublica has found that the independent contractors who are building and servicing America's cellular infrastructure are 10 times more likely than an average construction worker to die on the job. Complex layers of subcontracting insulate the carriers against liability, despite the fact that they set the aggressive schedule that can force subcontractors to cut corners in order to meet deadlines.

#22 - The Interrupters

Season 2012 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/14/2012

"The Interrupters" presents profiles in courage, as three former street criminals in Chicago place themselves in the line of fire to protect their communities. The film follows the lives of these "Violence Interrupters," who include the charismatic daughter of one of the city's most notorious former gang leaders, the son of a murdered father, and a man haunted by a killing he committed as a teenager. As they intervene in disputes to prevent violence, they reveal their own inspired journeys of struggle and redemption. From director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here), "The Interrupters" chronicles an intimate, year-long journey across the stubbornly violent landscape of our cities through the eyes of those fighting to sow peace and security.

#23 - The Secret War

Season 2012 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/3/2012

A revealing look at the CIA’s drone program in Pakistan and covert support for elements of the Taliban by the Pakistani military and its intelligence service, the ISI. Contains updates not previously reported.

#24 - Nuclear Aftershocks

Season 2012 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/17/2012

FRONTLINE examines the implications of the Fukushima accident for U.S. nuclear safety, and asks how this disaster will affect the future of nuclear energy around the world.

#25 - Opium Brides

Season 2012 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/3/2012

Young farm girls are caught in the crossfire of attempts to eradicate Afghanistan's drug trade.