technology – Viewpoints Radio

October 13, 2019October 11, 2019

19-41 Segment 2: Disposable Fashion No More: Is The Industry Really Changing?

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.

October 13, 2019October 11, 2019

Culture Crash 19-41: Taking A Look At The Flurry Of Oscar Contenders

Awards season is quickly approaching as we countdown the last few months of 2019. We discuss this year’s biggest blockbusters, new releases and what movies have high hopes for an Oscar win.

September 1, 2019September 9, 2019

19-35 Segment 1: One Scrub Does Not Fit All: Male Nurses & The Future of the Profession

Around 10 percent of nurses today are men. As aging Americans place a greater strain on the healthcare system, the nursing industry faces a growing shortage and is responding by finding new ways to recruit nurses early on. We dispel some of the myths around the profession and some of the new medical technology in the works aimed at improving efficiency and patient care.

August 25, 2019September 9, 2019

19-34 Segment 2: Plastic, Where Does It All Ultimately End Up?

Around 90 percent of the plastic we use is left unrecycled and dumped in a landfill. Over time, this waste seeps into our oceans, harming its ecosystems and creating massive islands of floating garbage. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now more than twice the size of Texas. What small steps can we each take to reduce plastic consumption and get manufacturers to adopt more eco-friendly practices? We discuss the plastic crisis and what will happen if we don’t change our ways.

August 18, 2019September 9, 2019

19-33 Segment 2: How New Concepts Are Increasing Access To Nutritious Food

You want to eat healthily, but sometimes that’s not always possible. There’s nothing around that’s quick, affordable and above all, hits the spot. We cover how new models are creating a greater number of nutritious options and the challenges that comes with sustaining the profitability of these new systems.

August 11, 2019September 9, 2019

19-32 Segment 1: The Woes & Pros of Living Life in a Digital Landscape

Parenting in the online era can be quite confusing. At what age should you let your kid have a Facebook or Snapchat account? How closely should you monitor what they view on the internet? We speak with Julianna Miner, author of Raising a Screen Smart Kid: Embrace the Good and Avoid the Bad in the Digital Age, to get the inside scoop on teaching kids how to responsibly navigate the digital world.

August 4, 2019September 17, 2019

19-31 Segment 1: The Technology & Training Behind Nonlethal Weapons

In an ideal situation, a taser – an electrical weapon – allow law enforcement to subdue a subject without having to pull out their gun. But why do tasers sometimes fail? We discuss possible factors at play when a taser is deployed and new technology in development at Axon Enterprise, the main supplier of tasers and body cameras to law enforcement.

August 4, 2019August 26, 2019

19-31 Segment 2: The California Norco Shootout

We cover the Norco shootout of 1980 – an extravagant bank robbery by five heavily armed criminals ending in multiple lives lost, several wounded and a police helicopter shot down from the sky. We speak with author, Peter Houlahan about that fateful day and how it forever changed police response to organized crime.

July 28, 2019July 29, 2019

19-30 Segment 2: Should You Really Say, “I Do” to Attending the Wedding?

Summertime is prime wedding season, and if you have several weddings to attend or be involved in, the costs can quickly start to add up. We speak with two women who are shaking up the wedding industry with their nontraditional viewpoints.

July 28, 2019July 29, 2019

Culture Crash 19-30: Ensuring the Accessibility of Independent Films

We discuss how the rise in streaming technology has impacted the availability of classic, foreign and indie films.

July 16, 2019July 29, 2019

Inside Look: Why Generalism Matters

Amirah Zaveri, the producer of Viewpoints Radio, asks New York Times bestselling author David Epstein about his unique career path and what he learned along the way.

July 14, 2019July 22, 2019

19-28 Segment 1: The Fall of Theranos

The rise and fall of the now defunct blood-testing company Theranos has captivated the attention of millions and exposed the dark side of the startup culture in Silicon Valley. Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, is awaiting trial next summer, facing 11 felony charges for allegedly defrauding the public. We speak with Stanford professor Dr. Phyllis Gardner who doubted Holmes from the very beginning.

July 14, 2019July 10, 2019

19-28 Segment 2: Casting a Wide Net: Why Generalism Matters

In today’s fast-paced world, it can be tough to start anew or slow down and reexamine what you’re working towards. We speak with journalist and author David Epstein who argues that switching focuses and developing a wide range of skillsets ultimately leads to greater success.

July 10, 2019July 16, 2019

Inside Look: Emojis

Viewpoints Radio intern Annie Krall spoke with linguistic experts and psychologists about the prevalence of emojis today. How do emojis help us communicate what we really mean? Why do we use them so much? Listen in for a short clip from her interview.

May 26, 2019May 24, 2019

19-21 Segment 2: Appreciating the Beauty of Calculus

For many, learning about mathematics can be a terrifying and daunting task. Steven Strogatz discusses the importance of learning the basics of calculus and not only the math itself, but also understanding its historical prevalence and everyday use in our world.

March 3, 2019May 17, 2019

19-09 Segment 1: What Big Data Can Teach Us About Ourselves

These days, there is data on just about everything. Our social media presence, our careers, our web search history- it’s all crunched into data points. And author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz says all that data can shed plenty of light on the truth about who we really are underneath all of our social formalities.

February 17, 2019May 17, 2019

19-07 Segment 2: Considering the Precarious Future of AI

Between Alexa, Google and Siri, artificial intelligence is here. But looking forward, AI will only get more and more intelligent. Author and researcher James Rollins discusses why AI has long scared scientists and storytellers, and what the future of our technology could look like if we aren’t careful.

February 10, 2019February 1, 2019

19-06 Segment 2: The Written Word: A history of storytelling

Throughout history, stories have been told but sometimes preserving them for future generations has proven difficult. We examine the ways stories have been passed down, and the role the written word has played in shaping our civilizations.

December 16, 2018December 11, 2018

18-50 Segment 1: The Many Planets Outside Our Galaxy and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

We know about the planets within the Milky Way Galaxy, but what about planets outside of our neighborhood? We talk to Dr. Donald Goldsmith about “exoplanets” and where science stands on the issue of life thriving somewhere else in the universe.

December 2, 2018May 29, 2019

Culture Crash 18-48: Watching Sports with a Second Screen

It used to be that when you were watching sports, you were only watching with the people in the same room as you. Maybe your family gathered around to watch Sunday Night Baseball, maybe you went to a friend’s Super Bowl party. Either way, you discussed the matchups amongst yourself, relying on the person next to you to pick up on any subtleties you missed.

Now, sports have become the gold-standard for entertainment that demands a second-screen. Watching a game is aided immensely by having your phone or a tablet at your fingertips. You can look up in-game stats, you can track scores of other games, or you can look through your Twitter timeline to share in the agony or ecstasy of your team’s failures and successes with a host of other fans and analysts in real time.