Poverty

As a growing number of people are caught in the affordability crisis, they are turning to selling their blood plasma to make ends meet. That plasma is used to make many lifesaving medications but are the donors being fairly compensated? We take a look at how the international blood plasma economy works and why Texas is the leading source for plasma.

The world’s supply of many life-saving medications depends on people in the United States deciding to sell their blood plasma. Without them, there would be a global shortage of critical medications and a public health crisis. But what does it take to be a supplier of this indispensable resource? In part 3 of the special series 'Blood Work,' TPR’s David Martin Davies shows us what it’s like to be a compensated plasma donor.

Blood plasma is a necessary resource to produce life-saving medicine. Because people are the only source, donors are often paid to encourage them to give. Some might see that as a dynamic that raises uncomfortable ethical questions. In the second part of the series “Blood Work,” Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies takes a look at the multibillion-dollar blood plasma industry.

More than a decade ago, in the Emmy-nominated documentary, "Poor Kids," the acclaimed PBS series FRONTLINE explored poverty in America as it’s rarely seen: through the eyes of children. Filmed across 14 years, “Born Poor” premieres Tuesday, October 7, on PBS stations.

A growing number of people are concerned about the future of their Social Security amid all the changes in Washington under the Trump administration. Elon Musk is calling the program a "scam," and there are major staffing reductions— just as millions of baby boomers retire.

Poverty is big business in America. The federal government spends about $900 billion a year on programs that impact poor Americans, including antipoverty programs like Medicaid, affordable housing and subsidies. There is a vast web of entrenched companies that profit from regulating the lives of the poor with business models that depend on exploiting low-income Americans. The new book Poverty for Profit explains.

Vast economic inequality is actually a very old problem, and many of the world’s greatest thinkers have had something to say about it—including Jesus and Plato, Adam Smith, Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill and others. They had ideas on how to take on the oligarchies of their time that we can learn from today. David Lay Williams discusses his new book "The Greatest of All Plagues."

Three of the nation’s top scholars known for tackling key mysteries about poverty in America turn their attention from the country’s poorest people to its poorest places.

The Kids Count report and data maps provide a deeper understanding of child well-being in Texas and identify opportunities to invest in Texas children.

San Antonio is the third poorest among the nation's ten most populous cities, after Philadelphia and Houston, according to the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.