Born Poor (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 01:15:52 +0000

Filmed across 14 years, this documentary follows three Americans as they grow from kids to teenagers to young adults, trying to pursue their dreams while dealing with an economy where they face more obstacles than opportunities.

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In the 2012 documentary “Poor Kids,” FRONTLINE explored poverty in America as it’s rarely seen: through the eyes of children.

FRONTLINE’s new, 90-minute documentary “Born Poor” tells the stories of the now-grown children at the heart of “Poor Kids” — chronicling their lives from childhood to the present day, and offering a powerful, personal and longitudinal look at the realities of growing up in poverty in the U.S.

The documentary follows three kids from three families — Kaylie, Johnny and Brittany — across three chapters of their lives as they try to overcome poverty and pursue their dreams while dealing with an economy that presents more obstacles than opportunities.

Despite difficulty, loss and setbacks, all three — now navigating parenthood themselves — refuse to give up on their pursuit of economic stability and an American dream that’s felt perpetually out of reach.

“Born Poor” is a FRONTLINE production with True Vision Productions. The director is Jezza Neumann. The producers are Jezza Neumann and Lauren Mucciolo. The senior producer is Frank Koughan. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Explore additional reporting on “Born Poor” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/front....line/documentary/bor

#Documentary #Poverty #ChildPoverty #Economy

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FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen, and Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Prologue
01:36 - How Poverty in the U.S. Affects Children’s Lives
14:46 - How Not Having Enough Food & Other Essentials Impacts Kids
29:14 - Teenagers in Poverty Face Housing Instability & Other Hardships
46:57 - How Young Adults Who Grew Up Poor Are Navigating Life as Parents
01:02:35 - Facing Job & Other Challenges After Growing Up Poor
01:15:54 - Young Adults Struggling Financially Share Hopes, Worries About the Future
1:22:19 - Credits