CROSSING THE DIVIDE

Last night "Crossing the Divide" the documentary premiered on "Local, USA" on World Channel! Watch the full doc, now available for streaming on the World Channel website.

The moment has finally arrived! Catch the premiere of our short documentary “Crossing the Divide” on September 24 on the World Channel on PBS, as part of “Local USA.” Check your local schedule here:

We’re producing a short documentary about Crossing the Divide. This short film, a co-production of GroundTruth and WGBH, will capture the three-month, cross-country journey of our reporting team as we explored issues that divide us and stories that can unite us. The documentary will be released early next year. 

As the van drives over the Golden Gate Bridge, Rachel says goodbye in her last Crossing the Divide podcast.

Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear and "Home, Home at Last" by Blue Dot Sessions.

And that's a wrap. Thank you all for following us. We're off to our homes! #xthedivide http://ift.tt/2jrfYGY

Rachel shared several of her favorite soundscapes from the road trip across America. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear.

As the fellowship wraps up, Rachel shared part of an interview from Minneapolis that didn't make it into the reporting project for Minnesota. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear and "Town Market" by Blue Dot Sessions.

After almost two and a half months packing and unpacking, sleeping in hotels, driving countless hours and watching the American landscape transform, the road trip has come to its close.

The fellow wrapped up their reporting in California yesterday, and will be finishing up production in the coming days. Some have returned home, to much deserved rest and time with family. Others are spending a few more days in California, wrapping up loose ends.

What a journey it has been. I think I speak for the whole team when I say we had encounters and conversations we could not have anticipated or imagined.

I am proud of the work the reporters accomplished. Nothing about this trip was easy, and they were able to produce a body of work that had, at its core, an openness to the complexities of people and the issues they grapple with. It was informed by kindness and a spirit of listening.

I recently got a note from Ms. Mary Slone, the high school English teacher we worked with at Floyd Central in Kentucky.

She wrote, in part, "The lives of my students' have been changed because of the two weeks you all spent in Floyd/Pike counties.  The resounding impression is that each of you were sincerely interested in what they had to say.  For the first time in their lives they recognized the value of the universe within them."

This was the main sentiment motivating the road trip — hoping that people felt heard because we took an interest in their lives. And journalism is a two way street — I know that I have been changed because I met Mary and her students and every person I encountered in the course of this journey. I couldn't feel more humbled.

~qainat

Brittany and Qainat shared why they're going to Fresno, CA, this weekend. It involves some awesome mariachi music and flamenco dancing. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear and "Querida" by Omar Nare.

Brittany’s Montana Photo Essay

Brittany explained her photo process for her Montana Photo Essay on the XTheDivide Instagram story. 

For more behind the scenes, you can follow us on Instagram. 

With one week left in the fellowship, Rachel turned in a draft of her radio script for the reporting in California. Part of the team headed north of San Francisco to a small beach town. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear and "Sylvester" by Blue Dot Sessions.

Today we had an Instagram live session to answer questions people have had for us regarding our trip across the country. 

It was tremendous to hear from some of the students we’ve met along the way again (shout out to Kentucky). It’s humbling and flattering to know that we have people who have followed us for so long. Truly, thank you to those of you who have. The students, for me, have been the most important facet of this entire journey. 

During sessions like the Instagram live Q&A, it’s illuminating to hear the other fellows’ perspectives on what has generally been the same experience. What people find most meaningful is informed by their pasts and characters, but it’s nice to hear why something that I may have thought inconsequential is important to the others. We have a lot in common, but we’ve also had entirely different walks in life. 

Though we’ve spent so much time together these past few months, I’m still learning something new about the other fellows (and field producers) daily.

~Gabriel

In an interview last night, Reverend Amos Brown discussed the role of black churches in America, and how evil in the form of racism threatens to tear apart this country. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear, "Just Below the Surface" and "Plate Synthesis" by Blue Dot Sessions.

Rachel's radio story about the tension surrounding wildfires and forest management in Montana aired on MTPR. Music credit: "Jettisoned" by Podington Bear.