Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
Imagine being born into slavery in the South. You don’t have a dime to your name, received no education and all you know are the surrounding fields of the plantation you worked on. What would you do after the abolishment of slavery? How would you start over? Viewpoints speaks with historian and photographer, Richard Cahan, co-author of the new book River of …
More than 75 years ago, a diverse set of men and women making up the Office of Strategic Services were united together in their determination to win World War II. Some served as government spies or propagandists and others gathered terrain intelligence for army invasions. Whatever role they played, the OSS staff worked tirelessly for years and rose to the …
International influence is pervasive in today’s interconnected, social media-driven world. Swedish author Elisabeth Åsbrink joins Viewpoints to discuss how her home country of Sweden has changed in recent years, and the perception of the country versus the reality of what’s happening within its borders.
Viewpoints producer Amirah Zaveri spoke with Dr. Carlos Charles a dermatologist who started Derma Di Colore in New York City - a dermatology practice catering to women with darker skin tones. In this clip, Dr. Charles talks about the role large companies play in marketing to women with a darker complexion and the deep-rooted cultural issues that feed into …
In the U.S., most women are always hoping to achieve a healthy glow or bronzed tan. But in much of the world and in many ethnic cultures, having lighter skin is widely preferred and is viewed as a status symbol of beauty and wealth. To achieve this look, millions of women use black-market whitening creams, pills and even IV drips filled with a myriad of …
Ryan Leigh Dostie, author of Formation: A Woman’s Memoir of Stepping Out of Line, enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school and was deployed to Iraq shortly after finishing her training. In 2002, while abroad, she was raped while sleeping in her Army barracks. What followed was a series of victim-blaming tactics and unfair bias directed towards …
Viewpoints producer Annie Krall interviewed the first female high school football player in Texas to play, score, and win a state championship game: K-Lani Nava. Nava is also a huge women’s soccer fan. The U.S. Women’s World Cup victory this summer was monumental and potentially the catalyst for lasting change according to developmental psychologist Dr. …
World-renowned cave diver Jill Heinerth led a team of divers inside the massive B-15 iceberg in Antarctica, and throughout her career has completed hundreds of other underwater dives across the globe. We speak with Heinerth about the beauty and dangers of cave diving and the importance of her work in helping scientists, biologists and researchers.
When we think of a typical high school football player, most of us imagine a sweaty, muscled teenage boy in a uniform. One of our guests this week is K-Lani Nava, the first female football player to play, score and win in a Texas high school state championship game. She, along with Dr. Christia Spears Brown, both discuss the importance of breaking gender …
Viewpoints producer Annie Krall interviewed the President of the American Association for Men in Nursing Blake Smith to get a better understanding of the role male nurses play in the healthcare field. One of those nurses in particular, Brian Underwood a.k.a “The IV Guy” uses Instagram to help educate fellow nurses on the best technique to insert an IV. The …
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 …
Diversity in reporting is vital to news that showcases differing perspectives. We speak with Zahra Hankir, journalist and author of the new book, Our Women on the Ground, to learn more about some of the courageous female journalists who’ve risked their lives to report from within the Middle East during tumultuous periods. These women defy terrorists, the …
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.
Viewpoints Radio intern Annie Krall speaks to Jared Yates Sexton about toxic Masculinity.
Student loan debt is set to skyrocket to two trillion dollars by 2022. We talk to students about their differing perspectives on financial aid and debt. We also speak with Mike Bartini, the director of student aid at Bowdoin College, about how important it is that students and families take time to focus on the financials of higher education before …
Author Jared Yates Sexton shares memories from his own turbulent childhood and accounts as a journalist and connects it to the larger discussion around the phenomenon of toxic masculinity in the U.S. What exactly is toxic masculinity and how is it affecting men and youth?
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. …
Many of us throw an emoji or two in a text or social media message to help get our point across. But do you ever wonder how emojis came about and why we pick certain ones over others? We speak with three experts about their rise in popularity and reflection of different cultures and generations.
Social media has become an all-consuming way of life for many. It’s hard to get away from unconsciously opening Facebook or Instagram throughout the day and scrolling through your feed. While social media can be positive, the unrealistic posts can also lead to damaging outcomes. We discuss its negative effects and the rise in the number of plastic surgery …
John Urschel is not your typical doctoral candidate. Before studying mathematics at MIT, Urschel played college football at Penn State and then in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. Both mathematics and football have always been two steadfast pillars in his life.
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.
We examine how television series have grown to be more diverse and inclusive in the Peak TV era. One such show is Ramy, a new Hulu original, which candidly follows the life of a young, first-generation Muslim man and the challenges that arise with the melting pot of cultures.
If you came upon a rundown, roach-infested bunkhouse in the heartland of America, full of middle-aged and elderly men in poor health who worked all day at a job for little pay and had been for decades, you might think you had time traveled back to the 19th century. We talk to an author who writes about this very situation where mentally challenged men were …
We all get gut instincts when we walk into a room of strangers. Do we fit in here? Do these people seem friendly? Snap judgments are simply a part of how we function. But Princeton University psychology professor Alexander Todorov says that while these first impressions are natural, we should try to resist them.
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