Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
Countless different species of wildlife were driven out of cities centuries ago, but in recent decades have begun returning in greater numbers and adapting to the human-centric infrastructure. Two wildlife experts join us this week to highlight how we can both coexist in these settings.
Bowman was Phelps’ longtime swimming coach who mentored Phelps since he was 11 years old. He was there every step of the way in Phelps’ athletic career, crafting him into the Olympic swimming superstar he is today. It makes you wonder – where would many of the top athletes be today without the coaches who guided, motivated and supported them?
To fully understand many topics, experiences and encounters help to fully engrain what’s being taught. We speak with an education expert and clinical psychologist this week about how to bring more curiosity, creativity and critical thinking to learning.
Substance abuse, or addiction, is a national crisis that’s only continuing to worsen as new drugs enter the market and treatment has been disrupted due to the pandemic. Recovering addict Dr. Carl Erik Fisher joins us to share his own story with addiction and what can be done to improve treatment.
It feels like the fitness market has more options than ever before. Between the rise of at-home fitness, traditional gyms and focused classes, consumers can pick and choose to workout whichever way they like. This week – we speak with two fitness experts about evolving trends in exercise and what’s next.
We play many roles in life: coworker, manager, partner, parent, caregiver. The list is seemingly endless. It can be all too easy to get wrapped in these many roles and forget altogether about spending time on yourself as an individual. We speak with acclaimed writer and author, Eve Rodsky about the mental toll of our daily lives and how to get back to finding a balance.
By 2030, 74 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. will be 65 or older. As people age, this means bigger burdens on the healthcare system, senior housing and care. But, what if one day, we could slow down this process of biological aging? Two researchers from Northwestern University join us this week to share some of the latest innovations in the anti-aging field.
If an unexpected $400 charge came up, it’s estimated that 40% of Americans would struggle to pay this amount, according to data published in 2019 by the Federal Reserve. Life happens. Circumstances change. And that’s why it is so important to be financially secure with savings, an emergency fund, investments and more. We speak with financial expert, Emily Guy Birken this week about how to start …
20 million people work within the food production industry in the U.S. The pandemic has altered this sector and resulted in many pressures placed on this population. This week – we highlight the people behind these various roles and the changing landscape of this 24/7 food supply chain.
In the U.S., there are roughly 19 million people with felony convictions. For this population, finding stable work can be a tumultuous and draining process. Without a job, it can be all too easy to slide back into a past life and end up behind bars once again.
In 2006, Filipino immigrant Elizabeth Keathley mistakenly registered to vote while at a DMV in Illinois. After receiving her Voter ID in the mail, she ended up casting a ballot in the next election thinking she could do so. However, she wasn’t a U.S. citizen at the time and, because of her actions, faced eventual deportation back to the Philippines.
A familiar aroma has the ability to transport us back to a different time in life or remind us of a specific place or person. Smell is deeply connected to memory and emotion, playing a significant role in how we view the world around us.
Federal student loan debt has ballooned in recent years. In 2007, debt totaled $642 billion dollars. Fourteen years later, this number has risen to close to $1.7 trillion. More than 43 million Americans have student loan debt, with the average person owing around $39,000.
For homeless populations and nonprofit fundraisers that rely on in-person cash giving, less cash could mean less money coming in.
The United States still has the highest number of inmates in the world, with more than 2 million people behind bars. For a segment of this population, spending weeks, months, or even years in solitary confinement is very much a reality. We speak with two criminal justice experts about the lasting effects of solitary confinement and the mental health crisis plaguing prisons.
In some cities, people are seeing as high as 30 percent increases on monthly rent. For middle and low-income citizens already on a tight budget, it’s impossible to make ends meet – especially as prices for food, gas and other basics keep ticking upwards. We speak with two housing experts about the complete lack of affordable housing in this country and the worsening homelessness epidemic.
Today, there are close to 11 million vacant jobs in the U.S. – a record-breaking number. Why are more Americans not filling these positions? How is this affecting businesses? What will eventually happen if these jobs go unfilled? We explore these questions and more this week as we’re joined by hospitality entrepreneur, Ravindra Jayara, and senior labor economist, Dr. Abigail Wozniak.
In 2020, nearly 40 million Americans lived in food-insecure households. With food prices rising across the country, food insecurity is only set to worsen, disproportionately affecting minority populations. How can people help?
Across the U.S., many teachers are simply overwhelmed. In their careers, they’re not only an educator, but a leader, listener and mentor. They play many other roles than simply teaching students the set curriculum. However, the pandemic has exacerbated these duties and some educators are perpetually stressed and leaving the field for good. We speak with two education experts about the current …
Being an influencer has turned into a career option for some, and today, some college students are pursuing degrees in social media to work within the industry or try their hand at becoming an influencer themselves. We discuss the state of social media education and the larger implications of this shift in modern culture.
You may have held out on getting a pet for years and years, but when the pandemic hit, it seemed like an opportune time to add a new furry member to the family. Today, more than 70 percent of Americans own one pet or more, and this number is only set to increase in coming years. We speak with two pet experts this week about the evolving sector and the pedestal we place our pets on in this country.
Archaeologists have recently discovered proof of beer-making in the Middle East dating back more than thirteen thousand years. While the rise of hard seltzers has been making headlines lately, beer has a rich cultural history and has evolved as a drink over thousands of years.
The Delta variant is causing the COVID-19 pandemic to still linger on this year, but many are optimistic that the worst is now behind us. Pediatrician Dr. Jenna Wheeler joins us this week to offer up some advice on holiday gatherings, keeping healthy through flu season and the importance of getting younger children vaccinated as soon as they’re eligible.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is often misunderstood and clumped into a stereotypical category. But what most people don’t realize is that OCD is a lot more than just physical behaviors. David Adam, who has OCD and has extensively studied the disorder, joins us this week to help dispel any myths and preconceived perceptions.
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