Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
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.
Many libraries have stepped up and evolved during the pandemic to offer more remote classes and resources, as well as a place to work and connect with others if you need to get out of the house. The best part? It’s all free.
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.
For many decades, scientists have been trying to decode this disease with no avail. Instead, more questions keep popping up as we learn more about this complex disease and face dead ends in treatment exploration. Two experts in the field join Viewpoints this week to shed some light on modern Alzheimer’s research.
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.
Opera is a beloved art form, but its racial history is as flawed as the rest of our culture. We talk to Naomi Andre, a professor at the University of Michigan, about the history of race in opera and how this traditional art form is evolving with the times.
Imagine working for hours on end outside in temperatures exceeding 90 or 100 degrees. On top of this, there’s little shade, minimal breaks and often not enough water. This is the reality for millions of laborers who work in agriculture, construction and other industries. Why aren’t there more legal guidelines protecting these essential workers?
Constructing a new building requires many resources, from hundreds of hours of labor to thousands of pounds of steel, cement, glass and other building materials. Design consultant Ned Cramer joins us this week to uncover how the industry is utilizing new technology to build more sustainably and lessen waste.
The 2021-2022 school year is officially in full swing. But, it’s not the return that many were hoping for as COVID-19 cases spread, and outbreaks pop up in classrooms across the U.S. While there are barriers and challenges just like last year, school must go on. We speak with education expert, Julie King, to get some tips on how to navigate the hectic back to school season and how parents can …
Today, there are many young adults who were mere babies when 9/11 happened. They learn about the terrorist attacks from history books, television segments and documentaries as well as the firsthand stories of people who lived through the experience. Former FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer joins us this week to share his story from that morning. Pfeifer was the first firefighter chief on the …
The average American checks their phone about 90 times a day, according to a 2019 survey from tech research firm, Asurion. How often would you say you check? Every hour? Once every 20 minutes? Do you ever panic when your phone isn’t right next to you?
The news of the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan has swept news headlines this month. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens have already fled the country, but how will everyday life change for those who remain? We discuss the precarious situation in the region and the reversal of modern freedoms and economic stability for millions of men, women and children.
For astronauts in space, sleeping in a zero-gravity environment surrounded by loud fans, bright lights and cramped quarters can be an issue. We discuss some of the bodily systems behind sleep and how astronauts in space for months on end deal with these challenges.
While this may change as COVID-19 cases rise due to the Delta variant, for now, many schools are moving forward with plans to welcome students back with the caveat of requiring face masks while indoors. We discuss the highly anticipated return.
Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson both made history last month as they rocketed out of Earth’s atmosphere and successfully reached space. This trip was many years in the making as both billionaires built their own respective companies, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, to transport them to space as private civilians. Now, people are lining up and paying hefty prices to take this same voyage. Where …
Wondering what to do with the dozens of face masks and all of those unused yeast packets? Us too. There are several items that Americans sought after during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that help to showcase what this period in time was like. Once the pandemic is fully over, how will we look back and remember this time? How are museum curators and everyday people remembering this important …
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