“Toxic Trifecta,” a vivid and sobering series about the global industry in junk cars, computers and clothing, has been nominated for a national News & Documentary Emmy Award. Produced for PBS News Hour by the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St Thomas, the series was filmed mostly in Ghana late in 2024, tracking the opaque, multi-billion-dollar business that flows from the “global north” across nations in the “global south.”
“This recognition is deeply meaningful, not just for us as journalists, but for everyone who believes in importance of shedding light on urgent yet under-told global issues,” said veteran PBS correspondent and UTS director Fred de Sam Lazaro, who also commended a team that included producer and St. Thomas alumnus Simeon Lancaster '17, and camera operators Dennis Nipah (Ghana) and Joe Harewicz (U.S).
"This series is a prime example of UTS reporting that, beyond America's living rooms, reaches into our classrooms, allowing students to understand and engage with some of the world's most pressing problems,” said University of St Thomas Provost and Executive Vice President Eddy Rojas.
“This university is proud of our longstanding partnership with the PBS News Hour, one of the nation's most respected broadcast news organizations," he added.
In the series, part one looked at what happens to American's used cars and computers and the second, used clothes local thrift shops cannot sell.
Winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony in late June, in New York City.
