Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
In school we learn that the American Revolution began with the battles of Lexington and Concord. But did it? We talk to a historian and author about the events that preceded those battles that effectively threw out British rule in Massachusetts and set the stage for the other colonies to revolt and fight for freedom from England.
If you’re a Baby Boomer then you know all about the excitement and frenzy that occurred when the Beatles first arrived on the scene and traveled to America. We talk to a photographer who not only took many memorable pictures of the Fab Four, but who also became their good friend. We discuss what the musicians were like, how he gained their trust, what it was …
Seventy-four years ago this month, the U.S. was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor, drawing the country into World War II. We talk to an author and historian about how FDR, Churchill, MacArthur and others planned for the war during those few weeks before the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
When Congress debates a constitutional point, or when the Supreme Court is considering a case brought before it, we often hear the question, “what did the framers intend?”
Most of us have heard the name of Henry Clay, but he’s not one of the people we usually remember the way we do George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. Our guest says that Clay was just as important to our nation as the founding fathers, and he discusses the great contributions this Speaker of the House made to keep our country together, fight for justice, and …
Although their numbers are dwindling every year, there are still many people alive today who remember and lived through the Holocaust during World War II. One of these men spoke to us about his experience as a young boy in a Czechoslovakian work camp, and how his mother – through hard work, quick thinking and just pure luck – managed to keep herself and her …
Back in the 1870s and 80s, the north and south poles were as mysterious and intriguing as the moon and planets are to us today. Many expeditions tried – and most failed – to reach the North Pole, leaving many courageous sailors and their ships encased in the snow and ice.
Author Jack London is known for his stories of adventure in the Klondike, the Yukon and other far-away places. Our guest, however, says these stories also reflect his desire to bring the plight of poor and exploited workers to the public’s attention. We’ll hear how London’s hardscrabble youth and physically demanding jobs informed his writing, and find out …
It’s the time of year when all the ghosts and goblins, witches and monsters, superheroes and villains don their Halloween best and head off to trick-or-treat, party or walk through a haunted house. Why do we dress up for the holiday? What do our costumes say about us? Why do we love to be frightened on this night in the year? We talk to a psychologist and a …
We’re all familiar with the various ages such as the Jurassic and the Paleozoic, but have you ever heard of the Anthropocene? We meet a woman who has traveled around the world looking at how climate change caused by humans has transformed areas of our planet and how people are looking for creative ways to deal with the changes in lifestyle, agriculture and …
When you ask an American, “where are you from?” most of them will say it’s where they live now or where they were born. We talk to one man who thought long and hard about that question and went on a journey around the Midwest and Plains States to try to answer it. He learned a lot about his family’s heritage and the cost in lives, land and culture that …
We’re taught from a young age that we should obey authority and do what adults tell us to do. Those lessons usually work in our favor, however there are times when a child – and an adult – should say "no" to the ones in charge. Our guest has studied this issue and has come up with situations where refusing to do something is the right thing.
Snapchat is quickly rising to the top of the social media hierarchy, and presidential candidates want to tap into its growing audience. But how exactly do you reach young voters on social media without sounding “too political” and boring? We speak with two media-savvy election pundits about the issue.
These days “instant photography” means digital pictures that can be cropped, enhanced, captioned and uploaded to the Internet in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t that long ago, however, that “instant” photography was a lot more cumbersome and complex, and as novel as the latest tech gadgets are today. We’ll hear about the genius who made the first instant …
Everyone makes lists: shopping lists, to-do lists, Christmas lists, and many more. But what do your lists say about you? We talk to an author who looked at hundreds of lists compiled by the famous, the infamous and the unknown, and found out that they say a great deal about the times, our history and the list makers themselves.
Our guest offers a new way to discuss abortion – without taking sides, without name-calling or raised voices -- that brings the issue to a more personal and compassionate level.
The President of the United States has a lot of powers that we think are given to him by the U.S. Constitution. You might be surprised to find out, however, that very little in that document actually outlines the job or the authority the Commander-in-Chief possesses. We talk to a historian about how executive powers and privilege for the President were …
Jazz is the quintessential American music genre, and nobody sings it better than Sheila Jordan. We talk to Jordan and her biographer about Jordan’s rise from poverty to her career singing with some of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, the racism that jazz musicians – both black and white – experienced, and the need to preserve this music …
Slavery is alive in the United States and around the world in the 21st century. That’s hard to believe, but all over the world people are being forced to work long hours as laborers or in the sex trades, in horrible conditions for little or no money – and there’s no way for them to get out. We talk to two specialists in human trafficking about the issue and …
After World War I there was a great conflict in Turkey and many Christians and others were killed. The city of Smyrna was set ablaze and even more people had to run to the beaches just to escape the flames. Refugees poured into the city from towns and rural areas and soon there were tens of thousands stranded on the shore with nowhere to go.
Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, was hailed as a genius during his lifetime for the success he and his partner made of the fledgling computer company. However, Jobs was also accused of being a divisive manager who burnt out his employees, and was eventually sidelined at his own company. We talk to one of his biographers about how Jobs changed his ways after he …
The Atomic Age is credited mostly to men like Einstein, Oppenheimer and Fermi. Although there’s no question that these eminent scientists were leaders in the development and understanding of nuclear power, there were also many women who contributed knowledge and sometimes their health and lives, but who are overshadowed by the men. We talk to two authors …
When we learn about the Bill of Rights in school, we often look at it as ten separate amendments to our Constitution instead of as a single, well-structured work, like a poem or symphony. Our guest didn’t see this either, until he needed a document to type while practicing his word processing program. We’ll hear about his realization that the Bill of Rights …
As a kid, did you ever dream of becoming an astronaut and flying a rocket ship into space, but figured you weren’t good enough in science and math to do it? Our guest, a former U.S. astronaut admits he wasn’t the best young student in school in those subjects, but later on he grew fascinated by them and turned his new-found interest into becoming a Navy …
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