The Panama Canal was one of the most treacherous builds in modern history. In the late 1800’s, the French took on the project and failed. Then, the U.S. took over its construction with a new plan in 1904. The man-made waterway spanning 51 miles took more than a decade to complete and resulted in the deaths of thousands of workers. Why did so many thousands die? What challenges did engineers and laborers face? We answer these questions and more.
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Have you other wondered how children in other countries are taught? What are classrooms like? How are teachers educated? Class sizes? Teru Clavel, education expert and author, lived abroad and enrolled her three children in local schools to see the differences firsthand in learning. We speak with her about the major contrasts between Asia and U.S. school systems and the varying cultures.
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What would it be like to feel crippled by identity theft for most of your young adult life? Axton Betz-Hamilton shares her surprising identity theft story and how she’s now helping others in a similar boat.
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Everyone needs some kind of creative outlet. For two practicing doctors, they’ve turned their respective interests into separate and successful side careers. Viewpoints’ speaks with each about the stressors of working in the medical field and how they de-compress and give back through their musical talents.
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Being a teenager is tough these days – but being a parent to a teenager can be even be tougher sometimes. Over the last five years, two researchers, who are parents themselves, traveled across the world to observe several different animal species and their socialization out in the wild. The focus? To possibly better understand our own adolescence and evolutionary needs.
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What would it be like to photograph a sitting president? Viewpoints Radio speaks with Lawrence Jackson who was an official White House photographer during the eight-year Obama administration. Through his unique position, he intimately witnessed every angle of the presidency from the historic to the chaotic.
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It’s almost too easy to purchase items these days. Need dinner? A ride? Groceries? A last-minute outfit? All of these items are just a click away with a credit card that’s saved online or in a mobile app. We speak with money expert, Ashley Feinstein Gerstley from The Fiscal Femme to find out why most Americans – at any age – barely have any savings in the bank and how to start becoming more fiscally responsible through small, simple steps.
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Have you ever wondered how to create the color purple using only natural pigments? Or why, amongst completely different languages, the third color term that’s identified after black and white is always red? Viewpoints’ speaks with two color experts about the theorized meanings behind certain hues and their natural origins.
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It’s been almost 75 years since the end of World War II. With Veterans Day around the corner on Monday, November 11, we uncover some of the photographs taken from 1945, the final year of the conflict. These images show the sheer destruction caused by a war that lasted six years and cost millions and millions of lives. What was it like to be a U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer? What did they see? How do you move on after war?
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It’s almost 2020. While many more Americans have grown to be increasingly eco-conscious, some things still remain the same. It seems like almost everyday a smoker can be seen stomping on a cigarette on the pavement or chucking a lighted butt out their car window. Did you know that more than one-third of all collected litter is cigarette butts? We speak with an expert about how this type of litter permanently affects the environment and its ecosystems.
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Many Americans place a heavy emphasis on finding and arranging care for their loved ones. This can mean shifting to a nursing home, hiring in-home professional care or even becoming the caretakers themselves. And if people take on this role of caregiver, it can be easy to quickly lose sight of one’s own personal health, wellness and relationships. We discuss the ups and downs of caregiving in a world that’s not always so straightforward and forgiving.
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International influence is pervasive in today’s interconnected, social media-driven world. Swedish author Elisabeth Åsbrink joins Viewpoints to discuss how her home country of Sweden has changed in recent years, and the perception of the country versus the reality of what’s happening within its borders.
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Strawberries are ubiquitous across the U.S. Supermarkets in every town stock cartons of fresh strawberries year round at a reasonable price. But this widespread availability may come to a halt in the near future as the industry faces several big challenges: labor shortages, climate change, sustainable farming legislation, etc. We discuss the history of the fickle fruit and how its evolved over time.
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Did you know that dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than the average person? Most of us are familiar with service or police dogs using their nose to sniff out a particular scent, but researchers have been recently harnessing the power of a dogs nose to find malaria, diabetes and even some of the hardest-to-detect cancers.
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What happens if you pass away on an airplane or in outer space? Why do bugs only eat certain parts of your body? These are some of the questions Caitlin Doughty answers everyday and in her new book “Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?” Viewpoints spoke with Doughty about why discussing death is still such a taboo topic in the U.S. and how our burial and funeral practices vary widely from other cultures.
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The retail giant, Forever 21 was once a prominent leader in the trendy style category for teens and young adults, boasting the latest fashions at bare bone prices. But earlier this month, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing decreased sales and increased online competition. For many industry analysts and experts, the recent news has also signaled a shift in consumer shopping habits and the potential decline of fast fashion. We speak with journalist and author Dana Thomas about the fast fashion industry, its negative effects and if consumers are really starting to change the way they shop.
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If you were at a beach or barbecue this summer, there was probably a box of White Claw, Truly or Bon & Viv spiked seltzers somewhere in the vicinity. These canned, around 100-calorie alcoholic beverages have been the hottest drink craze of 2019 and beverage industry experts predict that the hype isn’t going to end anytime soon. Viewpoints spoke with Jim Koch, the founder of Samuel Adams and Boston Beer Company (which produces Truly Spiked Seltzer), along with two other industry experts to get the inside scoop on why hard seltzers are just so popular among all types of consumers.
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These days physical books have a lot of competition. From TV to smartphone use, it can be hard to switch it all off and dive into a new book. That’s why it’s so important to start a routine of reading and storytime from the get-go with your child. We discuss how children’s books have changed over the years and how to go about finding the best books for each age and interest.
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While some of us have fond memories of an idyllic childhood filled with joyous birthday parties and summer road trips, some children face a completely different home life. This instability can overtake a child or teen and lead them down a dangerous path. The nonprofit, Friends of the Children, understands the importance of getting to a child early on and setting a permanent mentor-child relationship that they can rely on while everything else in their life may be up in the air. We learn about the organization and how they’re helping thousands of children move past these struggles to thrive.
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Most of us at one point in our lives have thought about spontaneously getting a tattoo. By the next morning, however, we’re glad we didn’t take the leap, (and if we did, we’re in a state of denial). Dr. Eric Bernstein is a board-certified laser surgeon with more than 25 years of experience in laser…
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