Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
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?
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 …
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 …
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.
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.
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 …
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.
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 …
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our guest discusses when and how to say “no” effectively for the benefit of the individual and others.
Charlton Heston was a soldier, a liberal, and a conservative in his 84 years. Biographer Marc Eliot discusses how Heston's politics impacted his career and legacy.
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.
In 1966, Civil Rights pioneer James Meredith set out on The March Against Fear. We talk to historian Ann Bausum about the history and impact of the march.
Photo historian Richard Cahan talks about the history of the Japanese internment camps, and why we should look at them as a cautionary tale not as precedent.
Author Corey Fields explains what motivates black Republicans and how they’re treated both at home and within their party.
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