Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
Researchers estimate that around 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder each year. We speak with psychologist Dr. Carrie Ditzel about the prevalence of SAD and how people can combat these feelings and find additional support.
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.
Thinking about adding a new furry member to the family to ring in the new year? Veterinarian Dr. Carol Osborne joins us this week to share some helpful tips on adoption, pet health and how to keep your cat or dog happy and well-adjusted at home.
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.
For too long, school lunches in the U.S. have been overlooked. Highly processed foods are often quickly thrown together with a hodgepodge of unhealthy ingredients. Brigaid founder Dan Giusti joins Viewpoints this week to share how he, along with hundreds of professional chefs, are redefining the school lunch landscape.
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.
The Rosetta Stone is an intriguing slab of rock. In short, it’s a vital key to understanding the unique Egyptian language of illustrated text referred to as hieroglyphs. Writer Edward Dolnick joins us this week to shed some light on the artifact and how the cryptic message was finally decoded.
For homeless populations and nonprofit fundraisers that rely on in-person cash giving, less cash could mean less money coming in.
Last minute emails. Gift buying. Traveling. Sometimes the holiday to-do list can feel never-ending. It can be a stressful period. We speak with psychiatrist Dr. Frank Anderson about the importance of setting boundaries and expectations this holiday season.
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.
There’s nothing quite like comics. The art of illustration mixed with text takes on many forms, including comic strips, books, graphic novels and more. Columbia University professor and author of American Comics: A History Jeremy Dauber joins us this week to help highlight the interesting history of comics and how it’s evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry today.
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.
While it may seem like people have some control over privacy settings, this is merely an illusion argues law professor Neil Richards. This week on Viewpoints - we highlight the lack of privacy online and why consumers should expect better from corporations and their government.
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.
We’ve barely just scratched the surface of space exploration. Many scientists at NASA and in the private sector have set their sights on the eventual human mission to Mars – but what lies past the red planet? Will humans one day be able to travel outside of our solar system? Physicist Dr. Daniel Whiteson joins us this week to explain the strange and beautiful intricacies of the cosmos.
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?
Sharing a meal and trying something new is not only a way to expand your palate, but to learn about foreign cultures, customs and traditions. We speak with Korean cook, Joanne Molinaro about her early memories of food and family and the traditional Korean recipes and ingredients that make up the cuisine.
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 …
Poverty exists, but it’s hard to grasp what it’s really like if you’ve never experienced it firsthand. Journalist Sarah Smarsh joins Viewpoints this week to share her story of growing up poor in rural America. She shares memories from her childhood and her perspective on how modern culture stigmatizes and traps people stuck in the cycle of poverty.
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.
It’s been a century and a half since the fire that reshaped the Chicago landscape took hold across the city. Chicago History Museum curator Julius L. Jones joins us this week to discuss some interesting historical facts about the fire that you’ve probably never heard before.
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.
The FDA is a massive organization that handles a wide variety of regulations and responsibilities. However, some critics argue that the FDA has failed to evolve with the times, spending large amounts of resources on dated measures and messaging tactics. Former FDA employee Dr. Richard Williams joins us this week to highlight some of these issues within food messaging and nutrition guidelines.
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.
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