Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
In the U.S., there are roughly 19 million people with felony convictions. For this population, finding stable work can be a tumultuous and draining process. Without a job, it can be all too easy to slide back into a past life and end up behind bars once again.
Researchers estimate that around 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder each year. We speak with psychologist Dr. Carrie Ditzel about the prevalence of SAD and how people can combat these feelings and find additional support.
A familiar aroma has the ability to transport us back to a different time in life or remind us of a specific place or person. Smell is deeply connected to memory and emotion, playing a significant role in how we view the world around us.
Last minute emails. Gift buying. Traveling. Sometimes the holiday to-do list can feel never-ending. It can be a stressful period. We speak with psychiatrist Dr. Frank Anderson about the importance of setting boundaries and expectations this holiday season.
The Forward is a science fiction series comprising of six short novellas written by prominent authors in the genre. We discuss what we like about this unique format.
While it may seem like people have some control over privacy settings, this is merely an illusion argues law professor Neil Richards. This week on Viewpoints - we highlight the lack of privacy online and why consumers should expect better from corporations and their government.
Today, there are close to 11 million vacant jobs in the U.S. – a record-breaking number. Why are more Americans not filling these positions? How is this affecting businesses? What will eventually happen if these jobs go unfilled? We explore these questions and more this week as we’re joined by hospitality entrepreneur, Ravindra Jayara, and senior labor …
We’ve barely just scratched the surface of space exploration. Many scientists at NASA and in the private sector have set their sights on the eventual human mission to Mars – but what lies past the red planet? Will humans one day be able to travel outside of our solar system? Physicist Dr. Daniel Whiteson joins us this week to explain the strange and …
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.
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 …
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.
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.
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?
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?
These majestic creatures walked the Earth more than 230 million years ago, yet, even today, they capture our wildest imaginations. Most us have heard the familiar narrative that an asteroid collided with Earth and this catastrophic event led to their downfall..but is there more to the story?
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 …
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 …
The routine of ‘springing forward’ can feel like a nuisance and for some, it can severely throw off their internal body clocks for days or weeks on end. Why do we still practice daylight saving time today? Dr. Beth Malow, a neurologist and sleep expert, joins us this week on Viewpoints.
Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, is at its lowest levels ever recorded. Drought is not a new problem in the West, but it is getting worse as the years go by. What’s being done to curb water consumption and increase supply so people’s taps don’t run dry?
Many people are worried that non-native plants and animals are invading the U.S. and preventing native species from thriving. Each year, a lot of money and time is spent trying to rid the land of these aliens - often to no avail. But, are these species present because they’re the only ones that can exist in that environment?
The birth of the space shuttle in 1981 marked a new era of space travel. For the first time ever, NASA had a spacecraft that could launch into space and come back to earth and land like an airplane. While the shuttle had many successful flights, there were also some big catastrophes that ultimately led the program to cease operations in 2011. Former chief …
The cryptocurrency that started it all, Bitcoin, is now valued at around 1.6 trillion dollars. And in just the last month, another, newer form of crypto, Dogecoin has skyrocketed in popularity across the Internet, sharply driving up the price per token. We explore the fascinating and fast-evolving world of cryptocurrency and the future of traditional …
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