May 17, 2023 - PBS NewsHour full episode

A pair of new studies from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the toll of racial disparities in health for Black Americans is even starker than we knew. From 1999 to 2020, Black Americans experienced 1.63 million excess deaths compared to white Americans and COVID widened the gap even further. Amna Nawaz discussed the significance of this data with Dr. Lisa Cooper.

Russia agreed to extend a deal that allows Ukraine to export grain to the rest of the world. The agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. is a lifeline at a moment of global food insecurity. It’s also a rare moment of agreement as the war in Ukraine rages on ahead of an expected counteroffensive. Nick Schifrin reports.

Leanne Morgan is finding comedy in the chaos of marriage and motherhood. She’s a storyteller who draws from her experiences growing up in rural Tennessee, being married for over 30 years, raising three kids and becoming a grandmother for the first time. Morgan just released her first Netflix stand-up special and sat down with Geoff Bennett for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and our Student Reporting Labs explored how food is tied to culture and identity. Student reporter Sandeep Brijesh Pillai of the Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering in Hillsboro, Oregon, found one Cambodian refugee whose restaurant helps him heal from his tragic family history and provides a space to share his culture.

As the country has been reckoning with questions of race, justice and equality, many state legislatures have passed laws restricting how American history, particularly around the issue of race, can be taught in schools. Judy Woodruff visited her native Tulsa, Oklahoma, to see how that city, amid its own reckoning, is navigating this moment. It's her latest installment of America at a Crossroads.