Erin Brockovich (2000)
Erin Brockovich is played by Julia Roberts
Law clerk Erin Brockovich played a key role in an epic legal battle to expose a California power company's illegal pollution of a community's water supply and to win compensation for the victims.
Two high-ranking financial whistleblowers say they tried to warn their superiors about defective and even fraudulent mortgages. So why haven't the companies or their executives been prosecuted?
Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, and Richard Bowen, a former vice president at Citigroup, tell Steve Kroft the companies ignored their repeated warnings about defective, even fraudulent mortgages.
An Unreasonable Man (2005) – Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader's 1966 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" exposed the auto industry's callous disregard for safety, and GM sent private investigators to dig up dirt on the young lawyer. However, the smear campaign was exposed and the resulting scandal made Nader a household name. This documentary is a look at Nader's career, from consumer advocate to wannabe presidential candidate to public pariah. Regardless of the final verdict on Nader's legacy, this is a must see documentary about an extraordinary man.
A brief look at the experiences of two Canadian whistleblowers: Mike Hilson and Joanna Gualtieri. Aired on Jan 5, 2003.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg shook America to its foundations when he smuggled a top-secret Pentagon study to the New York Times that showed how five Presidents consistently lied to the American people about the Vietnam War that was killing millions and tearing America apart.
A documentary using original footage from the period.
Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré. Ralph Fiennes plays a quiet British diplomat who sets out to uncover the truth behind the brutal murder of his young wife in East Africa. He uncovers a web of intrigue involving a multinational pharmaceutical company responsible for botched trials of a new drug, conducted on unsuspecting African children. It is rumoured that le Carré's plot was influenced by the case of Canadian whistleblower Dr. Nancy Olivieri.
Harry Markopolos blew the whistle to the Securities and Exchange Commission about Bernard Madoff as early as 2000. Why were his warnings ignored? Steve Kroft has the interview.
Study shows many economists who testify or write on finance do not reveal they work for financial institutions. (Interview: 10 minutes)
Gerald Epstein is codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and Professor of Economics. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. He has published widely on a variety of progressive economic policy issues, especially in the areas of central banking and international finance, and is the editor or co-editor of six volumes.
Daniel Ellsberg: We Need Whistle Blowers
Daniel Ellsberg: There was no law against leaking the Pentagon Papers nor is there now against WikiLeaks. (19 minutes)
Daniel Ellsberg is a former US military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of US government decision-making about the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers.
Steve Paikin interviews Terence Young about adverse drug reactions
Terence Young's 15-year old daughter Vanessa suddenly collapsed and died after taking prescription medication for bloating. Young embarked on a quest to uncover the truth about why she died. Steve Paiken finds out what Young learned about the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory oversight of this industry in Canada. (16 minutes)
