Navigating back to school this year has been challenging to say the least. With switching policies and protocols, everyone is just trying to get through the fall one day at a time. Viewpoints speaks with two education experts about the biggest barriers to learning and what online education technology can really offer students.
Suffering from a travel bug that can’t be quenched this year? Chicago writer, Jessica Mlinaric believes that if you look hard enough you don’t have to leave your town or city to experience something new. We cover some of the interesting, historical sights around Chicago and how you can explore your own area.
Hurricane Laura ramped up to a Category 4 hurricane late last month and was the strongest storm to hit the Louisiana coast in more than a hundred and sixty years. Each year, the most powerful storms during the Atlantic hurricane season typically form between the end of August and early October. We speak with two experts to better understand the history of hurricanes and the destruction they wreak each year.
Without inventors like Benjamin Franklin or visionaries like Elon Musk, the world would look a bit different. Both of these people and countless others followed their passion, but sometimes it can be hard to slow down and take a risk. Do you enjoy writing? Tinkering with tech? Creating music? Art? It’s never too late to forge a different career path or side hobby. We speak with Kickstarter co-founder, Yancey Strickler about some of the barriers to entry creatives face today and how to find support within a community.
It’s only September and this year’s wildfires in California are already worse than last year with still months left in peak fire season. We explore the growing challenges facing Californians and what the future holds for The Golden State.
Today, ex-government employee, Edward Snowden is recognized around the world for his role in leaking highly classified information about government mass surveillance. We explore the benefits and consequences of modern surveillance and how both private business entities and governments are acquiring information from millions of Americans.
The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world with more than 2.3 million inmates. Each year, prisons cost taxpayers 80 billion dollars. But with two thirds of those incarcerated returning back behind bars within a few years, clearly something is broken. We discuss how some popular reforms do more harm than good and what needs to change within the system.
All humans need some amount of rest – whether that’s five hours or eight. But how we sleep and the quality of that slumber can vary widely. We speak with sleep expert, Matthew Walker, a professor at California-Berkeley, who says getting restful sleep is the single biggest thing we can do to vastly improve our mental and physical health.
For most people this year, traveling seems like a distant memory. Getting on a plane, taking a train or even using public transport on a daily basis has been largely abandoned with COVID-19. But once it is safe to travel again – where’s the first place you’d like to go? Acclaimed travel guide, writer and TV host, Rick Steves joins Viewpoints this week to share how you can get the most out of your travels and fully immerse yourself in the local culture, people and history.
Rewind back to 1896 aboard the voyager ship, the Herbert Fuller. Just a week into the journey, three people aboard were murdered and there were multiple suspects. The murder trial that follows is historic and helped shape modern law today.
When Dutch forces surrendered to the Germans in May of 1940, the Nazis gained control of the Netherlands and set in action a plan to exterminate hundreds of thousands of Jews and minorities. Arguably, the most famous voice from that region is Anne Frank – the young teenage girl who wrote of her daily life in hiding until she was discovered in 1944 and died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. While Anne Frank is a prominent voice, there are many other stories of those who hid out for years, evading capture and awaiting freedom.
We’ve all received spam calls and fishy-looking emails that promise us a free vacation or a great bargain that’s too good to pass up. Sometimes they even come from a phone contact or your boss asking for help or to download an attachment. Author and comedian, James Veitch has made a name for himself by replying to these scams and continuing the conversation, effectively wasting the scammers time as much as they waste ours. We speak with him about his trade and the major telltale signs to look out for in a scam.
There are millions of Americans who live together as husband and wife, but never become formally “married.” What are their rights? Who gets the house, the car and the bank accounts if the relationship ends or one of them passes away? We speak with a contract and family law attorney who has written extensively on the subject to find out how society and the courts views co-habitation relationships. We also cover what steps co-habiting couples should take to still be recognized by the law.
In the early to mid 1900’s, capturing a picture was cumbersome and complicated and took weeks to process the film. Then, Edwin Land, the creator of the Polaroid camera, came along and revolutionized the industry. Viewpoints speaks with author Ron Fierstein who profiles Land in his book, A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War.
Viewpoints speaks with father-son duo, Richard and Billy Chizmar about the combined process of writing the popular horror story, Widow’s Point.
Trauma comes in many shapes and forms throughout life. Viewpoints speaks with psychiatrist, Dr. James S. Gordon in order to better understand a person’s reaction to trauma and the body’s resilience in dealing with these stressful events and situations.
Thousands of Americans are certified cuddlers. You might be asking - what does it mean to be a ‘certified cuddler’? Christina Hepburn joins Viewpoints this week to talk about this relatively new niche and how she’s working to dissolve the stigmas associated with the industry.
Glass, wood, stone. These are some of the natural materials that are on the forefront of construction. Today, a greater number of architects and developers are not only thinking about profit and supply, but the additional - sometimes invisible - factors at play when it comes to new buildouts. These include the true benefits to humans, the environmental toll and the most practical designs that are symbiotic with nature. We uncover the modern perspective of ‘conscious construction’ this week on Viewpoints.
Scientology – is it a religion, spiritual group, business organization? The group was created in the 1950’s and is headquartered in Los Angeles. There’s been much mixed media coverage about Scientology, but, still, most people know little about the claimed religion. We speak with a former member about her involvement and the people who commit their faith, time and money to Scientology.
On a single night in the U.S. there are more than 550,000 people homeless – and this number is only set to rise as COVID-19 has put millions out of work and shattered the stability of the U.S. economy. As a child or teen who has to deal with homelessness at a young age, it can be a tough road of shifting from temporary housing to another shelter. Giselle Burgess and her five kids were in this position in New York City, so Burgess decided to start a Girl Scout Troop named Troop 6000 to help her girls and others in this situation. We cover the inspiring story of Troop 6000 this week on Viewpoints.
