Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
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. …
Season 4 of the TV show, ‘Veronica Mars’ premieres on Hulu July 24. We take a look back at the evolution of the series and its surprising survival through low ratings and network TV changes.
Racial segregation still persists throughout the U.S. One factor contributing to this inequality is the structure of our towns and cities. Richard Rothstein and Tonika Johnson talk about how past laws and our government created a divided demographic and the impact this has on certain populations.
After working for years as an OB/GYN for inmates at San Francisco Jail, author Carolyn Sufrin wanted to tell the story of the women she helped. She talks about what health care for pregnant women in jails and prisons looks like, and the changes she hopes to see in the system.
From Pirates of the Caribbean and Captain Hook to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, pirates have a real foothold in our culture. But their history is anything but a fairy tale. Historian Eric Jay Dolin joins the show to discuss some of the most notorious real-life pirates to ever life.
Since the beginning of the U.S. prison system, religion has been suggested as a way to help rehabilitate criminals. We talk to Tanya Erzen, a professor of religion, about why that is and what role prison ministries play in the lives on inmates.
Tonight marks the long-awaited, sometimes excitedly and sometimes with dread, but long-awaited, return of True Detective. The TV phenomenon of 2014 and possibly the biggest letdown of 2015 is back for its third season, and the early reviews suggest this should be more like the incredible first season and not like the dud of a season two.
While seasons one and two told the stories of specific, extraordinary cases, season three sets its sights on the mundane. This time, the team at This American Life and Serial took on telling the story of criminal justice in Cleveland over the course of a year. The reporters follow little cases: a bar fight, a drug bust, individuals who break parole. It tells …
There are millions incarcerated in American prisons, even many juveniles who were sentenced to long terms alongside adults. We talk to guests about how and why this happens, whether it should continue, and what life is like for young people behind bars.
As technology evolves, more and more of us are relying on credit cards, debit cards and even apps like Venmo or Zelle to make payments. Gone are the days of physically cashing your check, now almost all of us use all direct-deposit. So what is the future of cash? We talk to one expert who lays out some of the nefarious uses of bills and coins.
Sexual offenders have to live by a very particular set of rules. They can’t live near playgrounds, they’re on a registry for life. These rules exist to make everyone safer. But they also can limit a reformed criminal’s ability to reintegrate into everyday life and be productive members of society.
Thanks to online shopping, internet banks and social media, our information has never been more vulnerable to theft. We explore what exactly is in all of those privacy agreements we often agree to without reading, and how we can try to reclaim our privacy in a digital world.
We have all heard of polygraph machines or ‘lie detectors.’ But are they truly reliable? Their results are inadmissible in court and yet some investigation agencies still use them. We talk to historian and author John Philipp Baesler about the polygraph’s history and its questionable use in our modern world.
The financial world was shocked when the FBI began investigating Wall Street big shot Steve Cohen and his company SAC Capital. We discuss what they were looking for, what they found, and what it all means going forward.
True crime stories fascinate us, but they can also have a big impact. We look at true crime and specifically, Michelle McNamera’s book, I’ll Be Gone in The Dark
Our guest discusses what con men are like in real life, some of the most famous cons from the past, and the techniques that make us all vulnerable to being swindled.
Netflix has a new binge-worthy show called Dark. The German-language show involves time travel, family drama, a small town, and a lot of mind-bending sci-fi.
We talk to two leading experts about the software and hardware helping police and lawyers find the right criminals and get them convicted.
Most of us rely on our debit cards, finding it easier to not use cash for transactions, however, the United States Treasury still printed up to 80 billion dollars of paper money last year. Where is all this money going? What is it being used for?
Thousands of pregnant women pass through our prison system each year. What happens to these ladies when they need the most medical care? We talk with Carolyn Sufrin who describes her experience as an OBGYN for California prison inmates in her book Jailcare: Finding the safety net for women behind bars.
Author Don Winslow talks about how he tries to accurately portray issues like police shootings of unarmed black men, law enforcement corruption, and more.
We talk to Tanya Erzen, a professor of religion, what role prison ministries play in the lives on inmates.
With new gadgets and programs being invented every day, the technologies used in solving crimes are changing constantly.
We talk to a journalist who has tried to erase her digital footprint, and an attorney who deals with online privacy about protecting your person information online.
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