In documenting the rise and fall of a widely circulated but erroneous narrative about the fate of children born to women addicted to crack cocaine, this 10-minute video will teach students about the tone and content of cultural debates over race and the role of government during the Reagan era. It presents a case study in how point of view and context can affect the interpretation of historical sources. By understanding how the news media encouraged panic about a national epidemic of disabled “crack babies,” students will come to see the complex factors and motives behind an incorrect account of an event by a primary source. Useful for lessons on how to evaluate sources, and as a case study for examining the impact of flawed studies (in this case, the sample set was too small to be meaningful), the video is also an introduction to the cultural and political atmosphere of the 1980s.