Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
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 …
How do artists find inspiration for a new song on an album, or a new idea for a movie? We discuss how great art is more interconnected than you may think.
The U.S. prison population has decreased during the pandemic, but the number of people behind bars is still close to two million. Some of these inmates have been in prison for decades and at a young age were deemed by the justice system to be ‘unfixable’. This week, we shed light on the cycle of youth incarceration in this country and why people like Ian …
New York is the latest to legalize recreational marijuana, creating thousands of new jobs and is expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue after a lackluster year for the state in tourism, real estate and business. But in a fast-growing industry, how do you make sure that smaller entrepreneurs aren’t left behind? Or those who’ve been systemically …
Today, the field of forensic science is one of the most important tools that investigators have in cracking a case. From forensic geology to DNA analysis to ballistics, analyzing the science behind each crime is crucial. To better understand its beginnings, we go back to the twentieth century to shed a light on Edward Oscar Heinrich – an innovative man who …
How exactly does a forensic sketch artist create such a detailed and accurate profile based off a single, hour-long witness interview? Lois Gibson, a longtime police sketch artist in Houston, joins Viewpoints this week.
We speak with constitutional law expert, Professor Carlton Larson about its limited use in modern courtrooms and the public’s perception of the law versus its actual scope and definition.
The 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. Viewpoints speaks with high school teacher Jeff Foster who was there that day and is still an active voice in ending gun violence.
Each year, white collar crime results in losses that range between 300 and 800 billion dollars. Comparatively, other street-level crimes only total 16 billion dollars. We explore the prevalence of white-collar crime in our country and the systems that allow this corruption to flourish.
Seasons one, two and three of “Dark” are now streaming on Netflix. The highly rated show has an intricate plot that’s sometimes hard to follow but it's ultimately worth the watch.
Each year, prisons cost taxpayers 80 billion dollars. But with two thirds of those incarcerated returning back behind bars within a few years, clearly something within the system is broken.
Just a week into the journey, three people aboard were murdered and there were multiple suspects. The murder trial that follows is historic and helped shape modern law today.
Arguably, the most famous voice from that region is Anne Frank – the young teenage girl who wrote of her daily life in hiding until she was discovered in 1944 and died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. While Anne Frank is a prominent voice, there are many other stories of those who hid out for years, evading capture and awaiting freedom.
Author and comedian, James Veitch has made a name for himself by replying to these scams and continuing the conversation, effectively wasting the scammers time as much as they waste ours. We speak with him about his trade and the major telltale signs to look out for in a scam.
How can a simple police call lead to the killing of an unarmed and unresisting man? For weeks, protests and outrage have spread across the U.S. and internationally as the killing of Floyd brings racial inequality and police brutality into focus once again. Even in the midst of a pandemic, people are showing up to say they’re fed up with the lack of equal …
Today, body-worn cameras are a mainstay in many police departments across the country. While the new technology increases transparency, is it leading to better relationships between the public and police? How are innovations in the field - including the incorporation of artificial intelligence - changing officers’ day-to-day duties?
We delve into two great true crime miniseries, “When They See Us” and “Unbelievable” that are now streaming on Netflix. The two shows take a deeper look into past crimes to uncover how the justice system failed the people behind these stories.
What would it be like to feel crippled by identity theft for most of your young adult life? Axton Betz-Hamilton shares her surprising identity theft story and how she’s now helping others in a similar boat.
Directed by Todd Phillips, the newest installment in the “Joker” franchise was released earlier this month to mixed reviews. We cover the evolution of the classic villain and how this movie portrays a different side of the character and society itself.
The Netflix original “Mindhunter” is finally back for season two, and to celebrate its return we talk about what sets this true crime and thriller series apart from all of the others.
It's back-to-school season, and while schools have put in place comprehensive anti-bullying campaigns, we seldom focus on making sure child bullies themselves get the help they need to deal with the problems that are causing them to act out in the first place. We still punish troubled kids with detentions, suspensions and from there it escalates onward. Many …
What exactly is implicit bias and how does it form? We breakdown this complicated issue and discuss why it’s so important for parents to address implicit bias with kids early on through candid conversations and exposure to diverse environments.
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.
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.
