Local Stories

Chronicles the fight to close National Engineering Products (NEP), a chemical facility that has polluted the air with the smell of formaldehyde and burning tar since the 1930s. The existence of the facility in this neighborhood is not a coincidence; it is a product of environmental racism.

Amanda Padilla & Ellie Walton | 10 min.

Investigates the all-too-common problem of wastewater overflows, and reveals a remarkable network of underground tunnels being constructed below the nation’s capital to try to stem the toxic tide.

Hyatt Mamoun | 27 min.

The American shad, a migratory fish, were once so abundant in the Potomac River that people said the river would “run silver” each spring. By the 1970s numbers were so low that even seasoned anglers went home empty-handed.

Ben Dorger & Becky Harlan | 26 min.

Collard greens are more than a simple side dish. Brought to the American South with the slave trade, they hold a vital place in African-American cultural history. Now, a new generation of farmers, historians, and educators works to share this heritage, promoting healthy communities.

Vanina Harel | 7 min.

Musician, naturalist and Potomac River advocate Joe Hage moves to a small island “inside the beltway” of Washington, D.C. A nascent island caretaker, Joe rediscovers himself as a diplomat for the river.

Emily Wathen & Susanne Coates | 8 min.

Out of sight of local authorities and neighbors, amateur beekeepers are setting out to propagate bees all across Washington, DC. From rooftops to enclosed porches, these beekeepers’ hives are hidden armies pollinating the city’s flowers and helping to sustain the threatened honeybee population.

Laura Wilson | 17 min.

The mission of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) is to produce and broadcast programming for the District of Columbia’s public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable channels and digital radio station; regulate the District of Columbia’s cable television service providers; provide customer service for cable subscribers; and support a sustainable creative economy and labor market for the District of Columbia.