Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
For decades, science fiction was a genre written almost exclusively by white males. Now, the genre is flourishing with diverse voices, thanks in part to the trailblazing writer Octavia E. Butler. Historian Gerry Canavan discusses the obstacles Butler faced and her legacy on one of the most popular genres in American literature.
In the 20 years since writing the young adult novel Speak, based on her own rape, author Laurie Halse Anderson has met with numerous audiences of adolescents. She has found a huge gap in the ways girls and boys perceive what constitutes sexual consent, abuse, and the consequences of assault.
Horror movies are major box office. Some experts see the film “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” as a turning point. One reason is the Gill Man character, created by an often overlooked female trailblazer in monster design, Millicent Patrick. An author who has researched Patrick discusses her significance in American culture and the horror film genre.
Statues commemorating the Confederacy remain in some towns in the US South, though its principles promoting slavery and oppression of blacks are in disrepute. Some towns have removed these statues in the face of heavy opposition. A former Mayor of New Orleans describes how his thinking evolved toward a decision to remove the statues in his city, and the …
Reshma Saujani is a lawyer, a former political candidate, an author and the founder of Girls Who Code. She says our society puts too much pressure on women to be perfect, which means girls are afraid to explore their true passions for fear of failure. She’s hoping to change that, and to teach girls that it’s okay to try something that you might not succeed …
We talk to the parent and the doctor of a transgender child to discover what science says about gender transitions and how one family navigated the issues associated with having a child you suddenly don’t fully understand.
Women have served in the US military dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Back then, they had to lie about their sex and their names in order to get enlist, but some did. Now, combat positions are open to women. We discuss the vital role women have played in America’s military might.
We know so much about the men of the Civil War, but the women from the war are all but forgotten in our history. Historian Karen Abbott decided to change that. She tells the story of several women who helped their sides during the Civil War.
We’ve all heard stories of segregated America circa the 1950’s, but historian and author James W. Loewen says not all of those racist institutions have been completely eliminated, even now. Loewen explains ‘sundown towns,’ towns where minorities were not welcomed after sundown, and he says some of them are still unofficially ‘sundown’ due to their lasting …
Opera is a beloved art form, but its racial history is as flawed as the rest of our culture. We talk to Naomi Andre, a professor at the University of Michigan, about the history of race in opera and how this traditional art form is hopefully getting with the times.
Picture books can teach children valuable lessons that will stick with them for life. Our guests discuss the importance of producing books about social issues like race, gender, and disability. And how as a combination of text and images picture books have an advantage when it comes to depicting diversity.
For centuries, the Catholic Church and the LGBT community have been at odds. Now, the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, is trying to usher in a new era and welcome LGBT individuals to the church.
It’s a topic that has been in the news lately: how our government detains groups of people. We look back at history to see what really happened in World War II Japanese internment camps, and how we can avoid similar shame now and in the future.
Teamwork is seen as a premium in our culture. We believe that two is better than one. But entrepreneur and author Shane Snow says that we often don’t use our groups and teams to their fullest potential. He gives us the science behind why, and how we can improve our communities.
Bringing a new baby home is exciting... and chaotic. The last thing parents want to worry about is their work life. But for many dads, the stigma and financial burdens of trying to stay home means they have little time to bond at home. We talk to Josh Levs, a journalist who took the fight for paternity leave head-on.
Most parents with adolescent boys at home can tell you all about the difficulties of communicating clearly with them. We talk to a clinical psychologist about how to best talk with young men and understand their perspective better.
The #MeToo movement has been getting headlines for months now. The movement was started by women, but what men still have a role to serve in the fight for equality and in the elimination of sexism and misogyny.
We talk to experts on sociology and racism about what racism looks like in our modern world and what we all can be doing to help make the world more tolerant and less racially biased.
Awards season is here and one contender is the divisive Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The film’s racial politics has set the stage for an interesting stretch run to Oscars season.
For decades, science fiction was written almost exclusively by white males. Now, it is flourishing with diverse voices, thanks in part to the trailblazing writer Octavia E. Butler.
We talk to one expert about how cognitive diversity can improve the results for a school, business, or even an entire society.
The Simpsons is a cultural institution. But one character, Apu, is a racist stereotype, and some Indian-American actors and comedians think it’s past time for a re-evaluation.
Reshma Saujani began an organization dedicated to teaching girls to code, and hopes to empower a new future of innovation.
Our guest discusses when and how to say “no” effectively for the benefit of the individual and others.
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