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Boston Calling Podcast Profile

Boston Calling Podcast

English, News magazine, 1 season, 173 episodes, 3 days, 5 hours, 50 minutes
About
How the world looks through American eyes, and the myriad and unexpected ways that the world influences the United States.
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Last call

After almost eight years on the air, and more than 400 episodes, this is the final episode of Boston Calling with Marco Werman. We have three unforgettable stories that touch on some of the central themes of the program: justice and race, the environment and immigration. We have some heartfelt messages to share from some of our fans from around the globe, and also Marco’s parting words to the loyal listeners of Boston Calling. Image: Host Marco Werman high-fives a fourth-grader at Curtis Guild Elementary School in east Boston (Credit: Steven Davy/The World)
6/27/202027 minutes, 29 seconds
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In retrospect

In the penultimate edition of Boston Calling, we’re looking back at some of the moments, from the past eight or so years, that have shaped the world and this programme. We start in 2012, also an election year, finding out how the role of the US presidency and American power looked to the world then. We also take a look back at the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013. We reflect on the US role in the Middle East, and the impact that military deployments have on the lives of US soldiers. Finally, we revisit a conversation with comedian Trevor Noah, from the day after the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Photo: Passengers pass through the main concourse at St. Pancras Station, in April 2018, in London, England. Credit: Richard Baker/Getty Images Images
6/20/202027 minutes, 30 seconds
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Black lives matter

The homicide of George Floyd has led to widespread protests in the US. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been hitting the streets daily, from Minneapolis to New Orleans, and from New York to Los Angeles. But the protests aren’t limited to the US. For the past few weeks, protests and demonstrations have spread across the globe. Issues of police brutality, racism and injustice have plagued nations around the world, including Greece, where people are protesting in solidarity with the death of Geroge Floyd, while also advocating for systemic change in their country. Also, in France, the killing of George Floyd has invoked the memory of Adama Traoré, a black man who died in police custody there; protests in Belgium target statues of King Leopold II, the brutal colonizer of Congo and other countries in Africa; in Kenya, the death of George Floyd strikes a chord, as Kenyans look at police violence in their country; more than 100 African authors have signed a letter condemning the killing of African Americans at the hands of US police forces - Nigerian author Lola Shoneyin is one of them; and US based Nigerian writer, Sefi Atta, shares her experience of race and racism in America. Image: Youth protest with placards in front of riot police officers in Athens, Greece, during a rally against racism and police brutality and in support of the protests in the US, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis (Credit: Dimitris Lampropoulos/Getty Images)
6/13/202027 minutes, 35 seconds
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I can't breathe

The homicide of George Floyd, an unarmed man, while he was in police custody has sparked demonstrations and protests in the US and across the globe. From London and Berlin to Australia and the Netherlands, thousands marched in solidarity after a video showed a white police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes before he died. The incident touched off outrage in the United States, amid a polarizing presidential campaign and the coronavirus pandemic that has thrown millions out of work. Darnella Wade, an organizer for Black Lives Matter in St. Paul, Minnesota, hopes that this becomes a galvanizing moment for lasting change. Also, black Americans once largely fought alone against police brutality, but as Somali American kids grew up in the same environment, they began to join Black Lives Matter; Dr. Michelle Morse, a professor of medicine at Harvard University explains why the racism in public health is so harmful in the age of Covid-19; America's adversaries are using global attention on the George Floyd protests as anti-US propaganda; and America’s foreign adversaries are also using social media to deepen division in the US.
6/6/202027 minutes, 21 seconds
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Point of entry

The pandemic has not stopped children and teenage migrants from showing up alone at the US border, hoping to apply for asylum. But US policy has changed dramatically, and critics say that the Trump administration is using the pandemic as a way to halt any entries across the border. Also, Guatemalans who have been deported from the US are being shunned at home over coronavirus fears; the coronavirus pandemic has also forced refugee resettlement worldwide to grind to a halt, dividing families and stranding them thousands of miles from each other; the US has a long history of xenophobia in times of crisis, which often influences immigration policy; Canadian nurses cross the border to work in the US every day, but the pandemic could change that; and the US-Canada border is closed for all non-essential travel - as a result, businesses in the Niagara region that depend on American tourists are suffering. Photo: Honduran migrants wait to cross the international border bridge from Ciudad Tecun Uman in Guatemala to Ciudad Hidalgo in Mexico. Credit: Johan Ordonez/Getty Images.
5/30/202027 minutes, 17 seconds
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Looking out for you

The race to find a dependable vaccine for Covid-19 is on. More than 100 laboratories worldwide are competing to try to get there first, and that makes it more likely that a way to halt the pandemic will be found sooner. But with so many competing interests, it's far from clear that all of the world's citizens will have equitable access to a vaccine, once it is in production. Also, immigrant ‘digital first responders’ provide vital services, informing people about coronavirus and helping local communities, but now they're in a financial crisis; the coronavirus pandemic is also disrupting remittances, and as a result immigrants' families are losing their safety net; many Filipino Americans are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, so a new initiative is bringing free meals to hospitals heavily staffed by Filipinos; and the surprising cultural contributions of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Image: A scientist examines Covid-19 infected cells at a laboratory in St Petersburg, Russia (Credit: Anton Vaganov/Reuters)
5/23/202027 minutes, 34 seconds
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The world stage

We all have similar questions about the coronavirus pandemic. When will it end? How do we recover? Is it safe to visit friends and extended family? Most of us look to medical experts and our elected officials for guidance. Historically, as a superpower, the US has taken a lead in times of global crisis. Former NATO ambassador Nicholas Burns says this is not currently the case. Female leaders are being praised for the way they are leading their nations in these uncertain times, so does gender affect governing style? Jon Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China says that during this pandemic the ‘stakes are high’ for the US-China relationship. Russia expert Fiona Hill explains how President Vladimir Putin has become a ‘wild card’ in Russia's political system. And cybersecurity chiefs, from Facebook and Twitter, explain what they are doing to combat false information in the age of the coronavirus. Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC (Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
5/16/202027 minutes, 6 seconds
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Extra credit

Adam Carter was awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to teach English to teenagers in Beijing. When the coronavirus outbreak hit, his school there was shut down. Carter is still teaching his students remotely, but he also came up with an idea for a side project: trying to broker deals of Chinese-made personal protective equipment - things like masks and gloves - to American hospitals in need. It's been far more complicated than he imagined. A group of Harvard university graduate students have also created a new PPE supply chain from China to Boston, while other students are on the front lines of debunking Covid-19 misinformation; international students continue to face uncertainty over what the coming school year will look like; while yet another student, her friends and her family, find a unique way to celebrate her graduation; and professional athletes find creative ways to train from while staying at home. Photo: From left, statues of Lucy Stone and Abigail Adams are heeding the advice of the CDC by wearing face masks on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images)
5/9/202027 minutes, 29 seconds
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Life goes on

Government officials and health experts are starting to imagine what life will look like when we venture out again. Former US Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem says that we may emerge into an altered world of nose swabs at airports, face shields for fans at sporting events, airline flights specifically for low or high-risk passengers, and temperature screenings at restaurants. Also, New York City shop-workers continue going to work risking infection, as they lack proper protective gear; world-renowned chef Massimo Bottura goes virtual during lockdown, broadcasting live cooking classes from his kitchen; a Mexican-American teen worries about prom and graduation; and many gamers are using Animal Crossing, a simulation video game, to live out experiences and routines disrupted by the pandemic. Image: A United States Postal Service worker delivers mail in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York City remains the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States (Credit: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
5/2/202027 minutes, 26 seconds
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Coronavirus conundrums

Strict physical distancing measures in response to the novel coronavirus have disrupted economies and lives in massive ways. But as shutdown measures stretch from weeks into months, many communities across the globe are now wrestling with when and how to relax those policies. Experts around the world warn that there’s no simple transition for countries looking to ease restrictions, and reopen their economies. Also, an epidemiologist shares his thoughts on President Trump’s phased plan to reopen America’s economy; there’s a massive effort underway to help Indian nationals who are stranded in the US due to the pandemic; top cybersecurity officials are issuing warnings about Covid-19 related scams and phishing attacks; cybersecurity volunteers are stepping in to fight back; and Singapore has been seen as a model for the way it has confronted the coronavirus outbreak, but now the number of Covid-19 infections has increased again. Image: A health personnel is seen giving the coronavirus test to a person at the Salus Gracia Geriatric in Barcelona, Spain. (Credit: Miquel Benitez/Getty Images)
4/25/202027 minutes, 33 seconds
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Keeping faith

The coronavirus has fundamentally changed how we live our lives, but perhaps most heartbreakingly, how we deal with death. Around the world, centuries-old burial rituals have been abandoned. Even something as simple as a hug for a grieving friend is now essentially out of bounds. We look at how communities and individuals are adapting. Also, writer and lawyer Wajahat Ali talks about faith in times of turmoil; many religious leaders are turning to video conferencing as an alternative to in-person services, but for orthodox Jews, that is problematic; we hear a Buddhist perspective on isolation and enlightenment in the time of Covid-19; and religious leaders tackle the big question: why. Image: Pallbearers bring the coffin of a deceased person to be stored into the church of San Giuseppe in Seriate, near Bergamo, Lombardy. (Credit: Piero Cruciatti/Getty Images)
4/18/202027 minutes, 3 seconds
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Coronavirus coping

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, medical equipment is in short supply, and health workers in countries around the globe have had to ration care. Now, doctors and nurses in New York are treating patients in overcapacity intensive care units with dwindling supplies of equipment. The issue of how to ration scarce medical resources is forcing healthcare workers to make impossible decisions. But is there a best way to make those decisions? This is the subject of a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine; one of its authors, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, has some thoughts. Also, we visit a primate research centre in Louisiana where scientists are working on a potential Covid-19 vaccine; we ask how temperature and humidity affects the spread of the coronavirus; we find out how people around the world are stocking up their pantries; and we check out the dating scene to find out how it’s surviving in this global pandemic. Photo: Mirian Fuentes (L), a medical assistant, and nurse Laurie Kuypers check paperwork during a COVID-19 screening at an appointment-only drive-up clinic set up by the University of Washington Medical Center Northwest Outpatient Medical Center. Credit: Karen Ducey/Getty Images.
4/11/202026 minutes, 56 seconds
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In this together

The US military is increasingly assisting the US government's domestic response to the coronavirus pandemic. So far, the military is setting up field hospitals in Seattle, New York, and Boston and has put additional units on prepare-to-deploy orders. US Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper, has issued a stop-movement order to the US military, halting travel and movement abroad in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Former Secretary of Defence and CIA Director Leon Panetta tells Boston Calling that balancing the challenge of limiting the movement of US troops while also maintaining global security will be difficult. Also, the history of the World Health Organization and how it’s coordinating global efforts to combat Covid-19; the US and Mexico have shutdown all non-essential travel across the border, local businesses are feeling the hit; how a hospital in California's rural heartland is producing informational videos to reach immigrant farmworkers in the area; and families around the world struggle to find ways to explain coronavirus to their children. Photo: Members of the Ohio National Guard help pack food and supplies at the Mid Ohio Foodbank in Columbus, Ohio. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and rising unemployment, the demand placed on food banks has grown rapidly. (Credit: Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
4/4/202027 minutes, 10 seconds
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This pandemic life

The US has been planning for catastrophe on a national scale since the beginning of the Cold War and the advent of the nuclear age. Now, with the new coronavirus, the US and the world face a very different challenge, but the approach is similar. Author Garrett Graff examined this intersection between national security and national emergency in his book Raven Rock, named after one of the major bunkers used by the US government in times of emergency. Also, more than 300 million students in China are stuck at home and getting their schooling through online classes - how are they coping? As more people across the globe work from home, the team-messaging application Slack is having a big moment. International students in the US, displaced by COVID-19, face new challenges with online classes. In the US, farmworkers are considered essential so they still go out and work, but there are increasing concerns about their safety on the job. And Mr. Motivator wants you to have fun while exercising under quarantine. Photo: An American flag is seen at sunrise at the Pentagon. Credit: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images
3/28/202026 minutes, 55 seconds
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Refugee island

Nine years have passed since Syrians took to the streets to demand the ouster of the government of Bashar al-Assad. During those nine years, thousands of lives have been lost, many have been displaced and much of the country is in ruins. For many Syrians, displacement has led them to look for a new life in Europe, which has meant spending time on the Greek island of Lesbos. Tens of thousands of Syrians and migrants from other countries have passed through Lesbos. We’ll hear from Syrians reflecting on the crisis in Syria and from migrants who are now seeking asylum, while waiting in limbo in makeshift camps on Lesbos. Photo: A drone image shows a displaced camp in the town of Kafr Uruq southwest of the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/Getty Images
3/21/202027 minutes, 19 seconds
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Pandemic

The World Health Organization says every effort is now needed to contain the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Some nations have well-developed plans for dealing with the outbreak of a new virus, others are just starting to catch up. Jane Halton, the former health secretary of Australia, and a past chair of WHO’s executive board says there’s a lot to be learned from models that simulate similar outbreaks. Also: health officials have warned people not to touch their face, but that’s easier said than done; understanding personal versus collective responsibility around coronavirus; millions of kids are home from school and they have some thoughts to share; after being on lockdown, a California family stranded in China ventures outside; and three Mexican nurses have become heroes in the global fight against coronavirus, thanks to a video they made on the correct way to wash hands. (From L) World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove attend a daily press briefing on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)
3/14/202027 minutes, 32 seconds
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Exchange and influence

Late last year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology signed a five-year extension of a multimillion-dollar partnership with Skolkova, a Russian technology research institute. This partnership has long raised espionage fears among foreign policy experts and the FBI. The contract renewal was a reversal in an MIT-Russia partnership that appeared to be dormant. The extension came just three months after the US federal government announced it is investigating MIT’s compliance with reporting requirements for the Russian money it has received in connection with the project. Also, the Trump administration is taking a closer look at funding from Chinese donors because it suspects widespread economic espionage; and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines says he's following through on a promise to kick US troops out of his country. (Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Vekselberg (L-R centre front), Renova Group Board Chairman and Skolkovo Foundation President, visit the Skolkovo Technopark in Moscow. Credit: Alexander Astafyev/Getty Images)
3/7/202027 minutes, 35 seconds
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Every 30 seconds

Approximately every 30 seconds, a United States citizen of Latin American descent, reaches the voting age of 18. This year, 32 million Latinos are projected to be eligible to vote. Latinos are one of the largest demographic groups in the US. We’ll learn about the history of the ‘Latino vote’ in the US, we’ll meet young Latino voters, and we’ll look into how both major US political parties are trying to gain young Latino support in the lead-up to the election. (From left, Kathleen Hilibish, 68, and Judi Longacre, 79, volunteer at the voter registration booth at the Perry Township Oktoberfest at Hartwick Park in Canton, Ohio. Credit: Dustin Franz/Getty Images)
2/29/202027 minutes, 4 seconds
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Leading the way

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has made a pledge to dole out $10 billions worth of grants to help slow down climate change. Environmentalists tell us where the money should go. Also, an aid worker knows first hand the danger of landmines; American basketball fans say Slovenia superstar Luka Doncic is the game’s future; an update on why one American couple decided to stay on a cruise ship under quarantine rather than be evacuated; plus, a college course on the late Mexican American singer Selena and what we can learn about Latino identity and culture. (Photo: Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, Jeff Bezos (R), tours the facility of the Amazon Spheres, in Seattle, Washington on January 29, 2018. Amazon opened its Seattle office space which looks more like a rainforest. Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)
2/22/202026 minutes, 11 seconds
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Covid-19

There are many considerations to take into account when naming a new disease. We hear about some of the pitfalls the World Health Organization avoided when it came up with Covid-19. Also, an American couple tries to make the best of their cruise ship quarantine; some Chinese people travelling in the US are getting tired of being asked if they’re sick; the long and unfounded history of migrants bringing disease to the US; plus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has deployed disease detectives to combat the coronavirus. (Photo: Passengers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the Coronavirus as they arrive on a flight from Asia at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on January 29, 2020. Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)
2/15/202027 minutes, 31 seconds
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First in the nation

If there’s one lesson to be taken from the Iowa caucuses, it’s that elections and smartphone apps don’t always mix well. An app that was developed to count caucus-goers in the state malfunctioned, and caused major disruption. Officials say no hacking was involved but it has raised questions about moves to take the US election process online. Boston Calling reports from Iowa as we kick off our 2020 election coverage. (Carl Voss, Des Moines City Councilman and a precinct chair, shows photographers the app that was used for caucus results reporting on his phone after he unsuccessfully attempted to drop off a caucus results packet from Precinct 55 at the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
2/8/202027 minutes, 19 seconds
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Two sides to a story

Carbon dioxide isn't the only greenhouse gas that's a threat to the planet. Nitrous oxide, emitted when farmers fertilise their fields, is a growing climate change threat as well. We find out about an environmentally-friendly potential solution. Also, in Africa the agriculture sector wants more fertiliser so that farmers can boost crop yields; a controversial new novel about a Mexican woman forced to flee from drug cartels shines light on the world of American publishing; on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, a Colombian volunteer opens up her home to desperate migrants; and on opposite sides of the world, two guys try to make a planet Earth sandwich. (David Melevsky, owner of Go Green Organic Land Care, treats grass areas that have been reseeded to repair winter damage with fertilizer at Ocean Park Meadow condos. Credit: Derek Davis/Getty Images)
2/1/202027 minutes, 33 seconds
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Taking responsibility

An impeachment trial is a rare event in the United States but there is something unprecedented about this one. President Trump's troubles are rooted in his approach to US foreign policy and diplomacy. The president is accused of pressuring Ukraine's president to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son, in exchange for US military assistance. The implications of the senate's verdict will be felt far beyond America's borders. Former US ambassador Nicholas Burns says that despite the pressure, diplomats from the US state department have acted courageously and have set a positive example for a new generation of foreign service officers. Also, the death of a US citizen in an Egyptian prison raises questions about US diplomacy; the internet has made cheating by students more digital and more global than ever before, and that has opened up business opportunities in places like Kenya; we look to the Mexico-Guatemala border where a new migrant caravan has been stopped by Mexican security forces; and we compare the cost of maternity healthcare in the US with other countries around the world. (Former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns testifies during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
1/25/202027 minutes, 13 seconds
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Persian projects

The Trump administration insists that the president has a firm legal basis for ordering the attack that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Legal scholars, though, are skeptical. We look into the American constitutional issues surrounding the president’s use of force. Also, the United States and Iran may no longer be on the brink of war, but Iran’s proxies, like Hezbollah, are armed and ready for revenge; An Israeli spy thriller goes on location in Iran, the story behind the production is a thriller unto itself; In Los Angeles, thousands of kilometres from Tehran, Muslim and Jewish Iranians come together for a long-awaited high school reunion; and Iranian-American author Dina Nayeri reflects on her refugee experience. (Anti-war activist march from the White House to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Demonstrators are protesting the US drone attack which killed Iran's Major General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
1/18/202027 minutes, 26 seconds
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Power balance

Retired US Army General David Petraeus has vast military and intelligence experience in the Middle East. He led US troops during some of the most critical years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, with the assasination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, General Petraeus has some thoughts about the significance of this action. Also, after its initial retaliation for the killing of general Soleimani, Iran still has other options, like cyber-attacks against US targets; we’ll also take a look at how governments around the world use internet shutdowns to control the free flow of information; next, like with Iran, US-North Korea relations are also tense, but how did we get to this point?; and our own Rupa Shenoy looks back at a decade of protests around the world. (Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran. Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
1/11/202026 minutes, 54 seconds
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Hindsight is 2020

It's almost been 20 years since the war in Afghanistan started. The Afghan people want a solution and the US is trying to make a deal. Everyone wants to forge a pathway towards peace and stop the threat of nearly daily violence. Currently, peace talks between the US and the Taliban are developing and could be at an important stage. Also, a cache of previously unpublished documents, including interviews with top US policy makers, describe many of the failures from the war in Afghanistan. The White House’s former top advisor on Afghanistan, Douglas Lute, and a former anti-corruption officer at the US Embassy in Kabul, Sarah Peck, share their thoughts on the Afghanistan papers; As a US military veteran, author CJ Chivers shares his unique perspective on the Afghan war; and Feroza Mushtari grew up during the Taliban era, but she has become a force for change in the country's maternal health system. (US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad attends the Intra Afghan Dialogue talks in the Qatari capital Doha. Credit: Karim Jaafar/Getty Images)
1/4/202027 minutes, 16 seconds
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Screen time

Several former contractors, who did content moderation work for Facebook, are suing in Europe over the psychological trauma they say the work has caused them. The lawsuit is bringing new scrutiny to the content moderation ecosystem that Facebook and other platforms rely on to police what gets posted on their platforms. Author Sarah T. Roberts says that human content moderation isn’t going away anytime soon. Also, a North Korean cartoon called ‘Bunny Brothers and the Wolf’, may not be the thinly disguised anti-American propaganda it appears to be; Sesame Street, revolutionized children's television in the US, now it’s doing the same and around the world; and Blue’s Clues, an iconic kids TV program in the US has a new host, Filipino actor Josh Dela Cruz. He tells Marco what the reaction has been like among Asian-American kids. (Woman looking at the internet site of the online network Facebook. Credit: Classen/ullstein bild/Getty Images)
12/28/201927 minutes, 14 seconds
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The allegiance edition

Susan Rice, National Security Advisor and UN ambassador during the Obama administration, joins us to talk about impeachment, Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine, and the enduring legacy of Benghazi. Also, we look into President Trump’s latest executive order, which relies on a controversial definition of anti-Semitism; and there’s been a surge in applications for US citizenship ahead of elections in 2020 but wait times are getting longer and longer. (Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice speaks at the J Street 2018 National Conference in Washington, DC. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
12/21/201927 minutes, 11 seconds
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Ukraine under pressure

At the center of the impeachment showdown in the US, is nearly 400 million dollars in military aid that the Trump administration temporarily withheld from Ukraine. At a US military base in western Ukraine, business goes on as usual but Ukrainian military veterans are worried that they may be losing support. President Trump has been a reluctant supporter of Ukraine, and he has called Ukraine a corrupt country on numerous occasions. Ukrainians are under pressure, as they fight to overcome corruption and continue to seek US support in their conflict with Russia. (US military personnel from the Wisconsin National Guard participate in a transfer of authority ceremony at the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine base in Yavoriv, Ukraine. Credit: Daniel Ofman/The World)
12/14/201927 minutes, 2 seconds
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Wars and peace

A US hacker faces criminal charges for allegedly helping North Korea launder money through cryptocurrencies, but those who know him have a different story to tell. Also, President Donald Trump’s long obsession over tariffs; the long, tempestuous history of NATO; the fight against drug cartels smuggling narcotics across the US-Mexico border; plus the band Che Apalache wants to make bluegrass music more inclusive. (Photo: In this photo illustration a double exposure picture with bitcoin coin and American flag. Credit: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
12/7/201927 minutes, 25 seconds
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First Peoples

Some people identify as Native American based on family stories. There is a more respected way to check and it does not involve a DNA test. Also, a proposed law would give indigenous people in Canada more say over their own land; during World War Two the US government built Japanese internment camps on tribal land; how the Choctaw Nation helped the Irish during the potato famine; and rock music legend Robbie Robertson recalls his childhood visits to family on the Six Nations Reserve . (Photo: Native American dancers pose for pictures along the highway on May 11, 2018 in Cherokee, North Carolina. Located near the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina side of the Appalachian Mountains, and at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the region is home to the Cherokee Nation band of Indians. Credit: George Rose/Getty Images)
11/30/201927 minutes, 41 seconds
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The innovation edition

Cooling down our addiction to air conditioning by building a more energy efficient AC. Also, it’s a “wind, wind, wind” for cargo ships powered by sails; engineering students in Los Angeles design quality-of-life solutions for refugee camps; a navigation app helps drivers get around Nigeria; the drive to thwart diseases like malaria and dengue by altering the genes of mosquitoes. (Photo: Air conditioning units in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Credit: Dirk Waem/AFP via Getty Images)
11/23/201927 minutes, 55 seconds
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Unwanted attention

Impeachment hearings have entered the public phase in Washington DC. Congress is investigating allegations that President Trump withheld aid to Ukraine to pressure it to deliver political favours. But in Ukraine they are focused on the conduct of their president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a now infamous phone call with Trump. Also, star basketball player Enes Kanter tells us how he became an enemy of Turkey’s president; a student suing the Trump Administration has her day in court; a controversial meme in the US gets a rebranding in Hong Kong; millennials tell boomers the world they have inherited is not okay; a song that got protesters in Lebanon to dance. (Photo: Members of the media gather as State Department deputy assistant secretary, George Kent and acting US ambassador to Ukraine, William B. Taylor appear for a House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearing in Washington, DC. Credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
11/16/201927 minutes, 32 seconds
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It’s automatic

Farmers in the US face a labour shortage, so they’re turning to new technology to fill the gap. Also, meet “Pepper", a robot that’s already replacing thousands of jobs around the world; a researcher from Silicon Valley finds a robot in his hotel room and discovers a potential security breach; how 3D printing could help the global housing crisis; and an instrument that sounds like it’s from outer space, but was invented on earth 100 years ago. (Robots named “Pepper” work in banks across the US. They help answer basic questions and allow customers to skip the line for a cashier. Credit: Jason Margolis/The World)
11/9/201928 minutes, 40 seconds
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Power and diplomacy

The impeachment inquiry has exposed some of the ways in which the US diplomatic corps feels undermined and undervalued by the Trump administration. We visit two US universities training a future generation of US diplomats to find out whether students there are reconsidering their career choice. Also, Samantha Power reflects on some of the toughest decisions she had to make while US Ambassador to the UN; we visit the Museum of the Palestinian People that is just blocks away from the White House; the rise and fall of Richard Holbrooke, a statesman known for his diplomatic breakthroughs and outsized ego; and beatboxers on a musical mission to bring the world together. (Photo: A view of the Washington Monument and the US Department of State's flag in Washington, DC. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
11/2/201928 minutes, 51 seconds
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Who's to judge?

About 4,000 Liberians could be at risk of deportation after the Trump administration terminated their legal status. Earlier this month, they finally got their day in federal court in Massachusetts. They’re still waiting for a ruling, but in the meantime, many of these Liberian families are stuck in limbo. They’re hanging between the prospect of life going on as usual and a new reality in which they would be forced to return to Liberia. Also, we hear from an unauthorized immigrant who is suing the Trump administration for the right to stay in the US; Facebook is looking to set up a supreme court like system to moderate content; French chef Marc Veyrat is taking Michelin to court after losing a coveted star; and there’s a new kind of trainer that supposedly makes you faster, but some competitive runners think it offers an unfair advantage. (A group of Liberian DED holders and their allies protest in Worcester, Massachusetts prior to a court hearing. Credit: Tania Karas/The World)
10/26/201927 minutes, 9 seconds
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Consciously green

In recent years, it’s become fairly common for people to take their own bags when they go grocery shopping. But for the past 18 months, Philippa Robb and her son, Haydn, have also been bringing their own containers, to avoid food packaging and other single-use plastics. Now Philippa’s goal is to have a zero-waste home. Also, Greta Thunberg is now a household name in environmental activism. Find out how she’s been able to inspire an international youth movement; With a camera strapped to his back, Victor the white-tailed eagle is providing a bird’s eye view of how climate change is melting Alpine glaciers; and China has hundreds of thousands of emissions-free electric buses. Now the US is trying to catch up. (Philippa Robb and her 16-year-old son, Haydn Robb Harries, stand in their London backyard with one of their three chickens. Robb feeds the chickens leftovers in an attempt to cut down on food waste. Credit: Brenna Daldorph/The World)
10/19/201927 minutes, 19 seconds
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Covert affairs

An unauthorized Muslim immigrant from Uzbekistan was offered a deal by the FBI: You can remain in the US, but only if you'll spy on your fellow Muslims. He did, but then he decided he wanted to stop. Also, the Trump administration declassified thousands of documents that reveal details of Argentina's so called ‘dirty war’; In Northern Thailand, the grandchildren of one-time CIA backed Chinese rebels transformed what used to be a secret hideaway to a tea-drinking tourist haven; and the FBI has had agents dedicated to fighting war crimes, but now that team is being disbanded. (The J. Edgar Hoover Building of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, DC. Credit: Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images)
10/12/201927 minutes, 3 seconds
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Who's listening?

When US presidents get on the phone to speak with foreign leaders, staff are on hand to take diligent notes. But is there a set procedure of how calls with foreign dignitaries are handled? Tom Blanford from the National Security Archives in Washington, DC says that Trump’s style has been very different compared with his predecessors. Also, TikTok, is one of the most popular social media apps in the world but the company that owns it is based in China, and some say that's leading to censorship; When you think about the Soviet Union, you don’t often think about comedy, Michael Idov’s film ‘The Humorist’ delves into the life of a Soviet comic; the power of comedy is something stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi is trying to harness in order to start a more honest conversation between Israelis and Palestinians; and the tale of a Russian ship captain whose message in a bottle was recently discovered on a beach in Alaska. Image: Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump (Credit: Ukraine Presidential Press Service via EPA)
10/5/201927 minutes, 34 seconds
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The evangelical edition

As the 2020 presidential campaign in America heats up, evangelical Christians will be getting more and more attention in the US news media. They always do during election season as they have long been seen as reliable Republican voters. But people who identify as evangelical or born-again Christians are more than just a voting bloc. Evangelicals make up a huge swath of the US population and they are rapidly becoming more diverse than ever before. (Jason Petty is shown on stage performing under his spoken word artist and rapper name, Propaganda. Credit: Matthew Bell/The World)
9/28/201927 minutes, 48 seconds
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The Mississippi: Pushed to the brink

The Mississippi river could be called America’s inland hydro highway. It carries US goods and commodities out to the rest of the world and allows trade flows to return. But up and down the Mississippi River, there are new pressures. The strain on the river system is only becoming more acute with the impacts of climate change. Reporter Jason Margolis recently traveled nearly 1800 kilometres down the Mississippi to assess the health of the river, its economy and its people. (A fish is pulled from the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Further south, oysters thrive in brackish water, a mix of freshwater and saltwater in coastal Louisiana. Credit: Leyland Cecco/The World)
9/21/201927 minutes, 18 seconds
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Into the thaw (Part two)

How quickly will Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier melt, and what will that mean for global sea levels and coastal cities? Scientists spent several weeks aboard the research ship Nathaniel B Palmer, studying Thwaites as part of a five-year, international effort to try to answer those pressing questions. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard for a deep dive into the science and the stakes for our future. (An iceberg in the Southern Ocean, is pictured here as the Nathaniel B. Palmer sailed by during its return trip from Antarctica in March 2019. Carolyn Beeler/The World)
9/14/201927 minutes, 57 seconds
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Into the thaw (Part one)

Melting of Antarctica's massive Thwaites Glacier could add 60 centimetres to global sea level rise in the next 50 to 100 years, and unlock far more in the years beyond. A voyage by an icebreaker to the remote glacier's face laid the groundwork for a 5-year international research effort to try to answer urgent questions about Thwaites' future. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard the expedition, with deep dives into the science and the stakes for our future. (The Nathaniel B. Palmer anchored off the Rothera research station near the Antarctic Peninsula. Nearing its destination offshore of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, the ship had to divert back north to the station for a medical emergency. Carolyn Beeler/The World)
9/7/201927 minutes, 9 seconds
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400 years

This year marks four hundred years since slave traders arrived at the Virginia colony with the first captive Africans to be enslaved in what would become the US. It was the start of something that would come to define and divide America. Ghana has declared 2019 the “Year of Return” for African descendants around the globe. Our reporter, Rupa Shenoy, traveled to Ghana to look at how slavery is entangled in both the past and present lives of people there and in the African diaspora. (A view inside of Christiansborg Castle, Ghana. Credit: Selase Kove-Seyram/The World)
8/31/201927 minutes, 28 seconds
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20 years of Putin

This month marks 20 years since Vladimir Putin first became prime minister of Russia. Now serving his fourth term as Russia’s president, Putin has increased and consolidated his power over the past two decades. We look back at the events that have shaped his leadership and the course of his nation. Also, we reflect on the past 20 years of diplomacy between the US and Russia; and when Vladimir Putin finishes his fourth term as Russia’s President, what will he do next? (U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a joint press conference after their 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland. Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
8/24/201927 minutes, 14 seconds
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The long wait

The US and the Taliban are reportedly inching closer to a breakthrough in peace talks. But the Afghan government has been notably missing from these negotiations. Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, says that the Afghan government's position regarding the talks is that ‘peace is the highest desire.’ Also, we’ll take you Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the US border, where migrants from all over the world are waiting for a chance to enter the US; and long lost relatives reunite and share their family history after being seperated by a legacy of slavery. (Afghan Ambassador to the United States Roya Rahmani. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)
8/17/201927 minutes, 18 seconds
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Scoring points

The US-China trade war has been going on for almost two years now. Both countries have imposed hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs on each other, and that number has only been growing. Right now, we may be entering a new, potentially dangerous, phase of the dispute: currency warfare. Also, we’ll take a look at real life consequences that the US-China trade war is already having, both for small businesses and for Chinese-Americans who are now experiencing unwanted scrutiny; and we’ll also explore China’s so called social credit system, and why it’s been mostly misunderstood in the West. (An aerial view of a port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
8/10/201927 minutes, 17 seconds
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Means of destruction

In 1987, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It led to the elimination of more than 2,500 nuclear missile. But as of this week, the INF treaty is no more after the Trump administration announced its withdrawal. Former Secretary of State George Schulz thinks today’s politicians underestimate the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Also, roughly a year after the US announced that it’s creating a military space force, now France is following suit. It’s a 21st century military version of the space race; how hypersonic missiles could transform the future of war and diplomacy; and the widespread use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam war has consequences beyond Vietnam’s borders. (U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signing the INF Treaty in the East Room at the White House in 1987. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
8/3/201927 minutes, 23 seconds
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Breaking with tradition

Next month, roughly two million Muslims will travel to the holy city of Mecca for one of the most important religious rituals in Islam. As long as they are in good health and can afford it, every Muslim must complete the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. But the Hajj can only be done in Saudi Arabia, which is making some people feel conflicted about making the journey. Also, Dutton Books is trying to reinvent books for the smartphone generation with something called the ‘Dwarsligger’; Disney is remaking a live action version of the hit film ‘Mulan,’ this time though, they’re paying attention to their Chinese audience; Some women in Argentina are challenging gender roles on the dance floor, taking the macho out of tango; and in their new album, three Israeli sisters pay tribute to a family member going three generations back, from Yemen. (Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world descend upon Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the hajj. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)
7/27/201927 minutes, 33 seconds
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Let’s talk

There are upwards of 10 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US. Many of those immigrants are children or have children studying in schools throughout the country. For them,fear of deportation and family separation is a constant reality. Students at El Colegio High School in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis know that feeling, so the school has prepared its students and staff for when the immigration agents come knocking. Also, find out how Trump's hard-line immigration policies build on the history of former US presidents; we meet the teachers of University Open Air where classes are all taught by immigrants; author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani talks about the legacy of Nigerian slavery and how it affects people’s lives today; and the story of a Uighur family whose members fled China and now own a restaurant in Boston. (An exterior view of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters is seen in Washington, DC. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
7/20/201927 minutes, 20 seconds
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Agree to Disagree

President Trump has backed away from his efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 US census. But immigrants still fear being asked that question. Also, there’s an outbreak of measles in two ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City. A nurse there is trying to convince those in the community to get vaccinated; former US Defence Secretary Ash Carter offers his views on current tensions with; and a Venezuelan family divided by distance and politics, a daughter laments.
7/13/201927 minutes, 25 seconds
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State of anxiety

In recent months, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump Administration officials have been trying to convince Congress that Iran has ties with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Some say that the Administration is trying to establish this connection because of a law that the US Congress passed three days after the 9/11 attacks. That law gave then President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with al-Qaeda and any related organisation without Congressional approval. Also, we meet Iranian-Americans who are feeling particularly anxious as tension between the US and Iran escalates; and we find out what possessions people in Tehran are looking to sell, to find out how sanctions are affecting ordinary Iranians. (President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing fresh sanctions on Iran in the Oval Office of the White House. Next to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Credit: Oliver Contreras/Getty Images)
7/6/201927 minutes, 1 second
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Refugee story

When Wajed al-Khalifa and her family arrived in the US as refugees in 2015, everything about the United States seemed foreign. They were now far away from their home in Syria and it was time to acclimate to a new life. It wasn’t long though before they started hitting milestones: Khalifa and her husband got driving licences, their four children excelled in school, quickly overcoming barriers such as English-language instruction and a new education system. Over the past 4 years reporter Monica Campbell has been checking in with the family and their story is still unfolding. Also, US congresswoman Ilhan Omar tells us about her experience as a refugee from Somalia, and how this informs what she thinks about the US migration crisis. (Gasem Al Hamad and his children in their new home in Turlock, California. He and his wife fled Syria with their kids after several family members were tortured or killed as the civil war rages on. Al Hamad is now a halal butcher at a nearby slaughterhouse. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World)
6/29/201927 minutes, 48 seconds
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Waste land

The coastal lowlands along Malaysia’s side of the Strait of Malacca are a mostly lush place, studded with fat palms and forest canopies dripping with vines. But over the past year and a half, black pillars of smoke have appeared above the treetops. We investigate how plastic waste American municipalities send for recycling, is piling up in illegal dumps thousands of miles away. Also, tiny plastic pellets, called 'nurdles' are the product of plastics producers, but why are these pellets appearing on the US Gulf Coast?; Americans have few options when it comes to recycled tissue products and that's having a devastating impact on Canada's northern forests; Meal kits are becoming very popular in the US, but are they helping us to reduce waste? (Plastic waste at an abandoned factory in Jenjarom, a district of Kuala Langat, outside Kuala Lumpur. From grubby packaging engulfing small Southeast Asian communities to waste piling up in plants from the US to Australia, China's ban on accepting the world's used plastic has plunged global recycling into turmoil. Credit: Mohd Rasfan/Getty Images)
6/22/201928 minutes, 5 seconds
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Notes from a new world

It wasn’t easy for Elton John to get producers to keep all the scenes in his new fantasy-biopic, “Rocketman.” He was determined that the Paramount film not gloss over his sexuality or past drug use. Despite his efforts, Russia’s version appears to be missing about five minutes-worth of footage. . Also, we meet the American singer who teaches Italian kids how to sing like Beyoncé; plus the story of how Lucia Lucas became the first transgender person to sing a lead part in a standard operatic work in the US; why Lincoln, Nebraska is a great place to hear traditional Yazidi music; and Filipina-American musician Ruby Ibarra tells her family story with rap. (Elton John (R) and David Furnish attend the "Rocketman" UK Premiere at Odeon Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom. Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
6/17/201927 minutes, 8 seconds
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Action plan

The US is reported to have plans for a potential cyber attack that would cripple Iran’s cities. Whether such a plan would be implemented is open to question but it would take cyberwarfare to a whole new level. Also, a doctor in Puerto Rico prepares pregnant women for hurricane season; a plan to change the sound New York City; a NASA scientist is caught up in a clampdown on political dissent in Turkey, with severe consequences for his life back in the US; and Latinos in Texas mix a rite of passage with civic duty. (Image: A man is seen portraying a hacker with binary code symbols on a laptop in this photo illustration on October 15, 2018 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
6/8/201927 minutes, 43 seconds
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Oath of allegiance

The United States census gets underway next year and the Trump administration wants to ask everyone if they're a US citizen. Critics say the question will discourage some immigrants from participating and lead to an inaccurate census. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter later this month. Also, a same-sex married couple has two sons ; one gets US citizenship while his brother does not; immigrants in New York find it harder to win asylum; a Russian grandmother becomes a US citizen; and a Brazilian-born musician took the oath of allegiance a year ago and now calls Texas home. (Image: Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
6/1/201927 minutes, 31 seconds
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Travel plans

Immigrants and refugees from Syria and Iraq lead tours at Philadelphia’s Penn Museum. They help visitors understand where the museum’s artefacts come from and add historical context to the objects. Also, “voluntourism” is a growing part of the travel industry, but critics say there’s sometimes a human cost for volunteer’s good deeds; we meet Terry Tickhill Terrell, who in 1969 became one of the first women to join a US scientific expedition to Antarctica; a long, lost manuscript and its connection to Christopher Columbus; and a restaurant in Casablanca inspired by the classic Hollywood film. (Image: Abdulhadi Al-Karfawi, a Global Guide at the Penn Museum, talks about an ornate headdress, which was found with the body of Queen Puabi in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, on a Sunday afternoon tour of the Middle East Galleries in 2018. Photo by Raffi Berberian, Penn Museum.)
5/25/201927 minutes, 35 seconds
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At what cost?

The amount of weaponry Saudi Arabia buys from the US has risen dramatically over the past decade or so. We take the latest arms sales data and present it as an audio experience. Also, the human cost behind seemingly ordinary groceries; some states in the US are tightening abortion laws, leading some women to buy abortion pills online; a US fast-food chain introduces a new meat-free burger; and why burping cows are causing climate change. (Image: Supporters of Houthis gather at Babul Yemen street to protest the US government's sale of $1.29 billion in smart bombs to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen on November 20, 2015. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
5/18/201928 minutes, 29 seconds
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Be you for you

A ban went into effect this week on athletes with high testosterone competing in women’s track events. South African runner Caster Semenya last week lost her challenge to a new rule by the International Association of Athletics Federations that keeps her out of women’s competitions because of her hormone levels. Many athletes have expressed opposition to the latest ruling, but we hear from a transgender runner who is happy with the ban. We also speak with the author of a graphic memoir trying to make sense of skin colour and identity; we hear about efforts in California to make police more sensitive to indigenous people; we visit a street in New Jersey City named in honour of an Indian human rights campaigner; and we hear the music of a self-described intergalactic feminist. (Image: South Africa's Caster Semenya celebrates after winning the women's 800m during the IAAF Diamond League competition on May 3, 2019 in Doha. Credit: KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)
5/11/201927 minutes, 17 seconds
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Signs and signals

Seattle, Washington, is widely seen as a pro-immigrant city. So many residents were shocked to learn that a nearby airport has been used to deport some 34,000 people in the last eight years. Now King County, where the airport is located, is signalling its opposition to those deportations. We also learn about a subversive hand sign adopted from Hollywood and used in Thailand; we visit a radio program whose signals connect families split between central California and southern Mexico; we meet a teacher who’s helping kids feel proud to communicate in their native tongues; we hear from a man who learned how to deal with a misreading of his name; and we hear the music of a man who won’t yield to pressure to spell it all out. (Detainees are loaded onto a Swift Air charter flight at King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in Seattle, WA, for a February 26 ICE Air flight. Credit: Still image from video by Alex Montalvo and Wadii Boughdir for the University of Washington Center for Human Rights)
5/4/201926 minutes, 49 seconds
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Heads Up

The US Department of Homeland Security is turning to facial recognition technology to keep track of people leaving and entering the US, but privacy advocates have serious concerns. Now, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has obtained documents from US Customs and Border Protection that backup their fears. Also, we visit a hair salon in Boston strictly for women who wear hijab; Thando Hopa makes history by being the first model with albinism on the cover of Vogue magazine; the phenomenon of blackface persists around the globe; and Orthodox Jewish women in New York observe an old tradition in a very modern way. (Image: A facial recognition program is demonstrated during the 2004 Biometrics exhibition and conference in London. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
4/27/201926 minutes, 49 seconds
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Safe spaces

Migrant families are being released to communities around the US. They often have no money and no support. Volunteers are stepping in to help. Also: the White House is considering a plan that would send immigrants to so-called sanctuary cities; climate refugees arrive in a small city in the state of Georgia; a peek inside a KGB Spy Museum in New York City, and the Turkish embassy in Washington DC was once a place to hear jazz legends. (Image: A sign welcomes arrivals at the Refugee Coffee Shop in Clarkston, Georgia. Credit:Jason Margolis)
4/20/201927 minutes, 10 seconds
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History in the making

These days the majority of migrants crossing the US border with Mexico are from Central America. But that wasn’t always the case. For decades, the majority of people crossing the border were Mexicans, seeking jobs and opportunity in the US. Many would stay, without official permission, have families and build new lives. Author Ana Raquel Minian tells us how tighter border regulations had the unintended consequence of encouraging Mexicans to stay. Also, the city of New Orleans is apologizing for the lynching of eleven Italians in the city in 1891. We hear from Michael Santo, a lawyer who pushed for the city to set the record straight;plus, how records of ritual scarring could help some Americans of African descent learn a little more about their family histories; also the story of Barney, a former slave who was granted freedom by joining the British army in the American revolution; and researchers learn that Casimir Pulaski, the man known as the 'Father of the American Cavalry,' was intersex. It’s a story of gender and identity for the history books. (The U.S.-Mexico border barrier in Tijuana, Mexico. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
4/13/201927 minutes, 16 seconds
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Journey interrupted

In 1976, 13 year-old Benny Davidson was on a flight bound for Paris when two Palestinians and two Germans hijacked his plane and forced it to fly to Entebbe in Uganda. There, he and other Israeli passengers were held hostage for a week before an Israeli commando raid brought the stand-off to end. Benny still stays in touch with many of his fellow hostages. Recently the captain of that flight, Michel Bacos, died at the age of 95. For Benny and many of the other hostages, Michel represented the meaning of true courage and outstanding leadership. Also, a traveller says she was sexually assaulted by a tour guide in East Africa. We hear what happened when she tried to warn others; travelling solo can be liberating, but it's not as easy for women. We hear from female solo travelers about their experiences; also women motorcyclists are staging a global relay to unite female bikers ; and what does it sound like to travel? Musicians Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya are all about capturing that vibe. (An Israeli hostage is greeted on her return to Israel after Operation Entebbe on July 3, 1976. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
4/6/201927 minutes, 13 seconds
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The legacy edition

The legacy of racial segregation and institutionalized racism still persists in the US. Wesleyan College in Georgia was once a whites-only school, now most of its new students are non-white and they have been raising big questions about some school traditions. Also, in the wake of the documentary, ‘Leaving Neverland’,, a popular museum in Germany is not cancelling its Michael Jackson exhibit, the museum director tells us why; we look back at the career of Ichiro Suzuki the greatest Japanese baseball player of all time; we compare some of the biggest politicians in the US to Roman emperors; and we try out a new millennial version of the popular Latin American board game,‘Loteria’. (A crowd of over 250 fill a CSULB ballroom to voice concerns over what many groups feel is racism on campus in Long Beach, CA on March 23, 2016. Credit: Scott Varley/Getty Images)
3/30/201926 minutes, 43 seconds
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Time to act

Patricia Okoumou does not shy away from action. Last year, on 4 July, Ms Okoumou climbed up the Statue of Liberty to protest against the detention of children arriving at the US-Mexico border. Now she is facing the legal consequences, yet she remains undeterred from her risky style of activism. Also, immigrant activists draw attention to the stories of immigrants facing deportation by turning themselves in to be detained themselves. We also hear from Claudio Rojas, an unauthorised immigrant whose deportation date is just days away. Plus school children here in Boston have joined a global movement - they are skipping classes on Fridays to demand that adults take action on climate change. And the harrowing story of how former US Marine Ken Kraus saved more than 20 lives 40 years ago, as Iran was on the brink of revolution. (Photo: Patricia Okoumou, climbed the Statue of Liberty in protest of the Trump administration's immigration policy. This week, she appeared in court after her arrest in Austin, Texas where she climbed on a building which houses immigrant children separated from their parents. Credit: Gabriele Holtermann/Getty Images)
3/23/201927 minutes, 21 seconds
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Caste in America

At 30, Suraj Yengde has earned multiple degrees. He has done graduate and post-graduate research at the prestigious Harvard University. But when he travels to India, his socio-economic background doesn’t matter. He remains a so called “untouchable.” Yengde is not alone, many lower caste members struggle to break out of the system, even when they create new lives for themselves in the US. (Suraj Yengde in his neighborhood, encouraging Dalit women to try to continue their education, in spite of institutional barriers. Credit: Phillip Martin/WGBH News)
3/16/201927 minutes, 27 seconds
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Conversations without borders

We join a group of American tourists on an organised trip across the border to find out what life there is really like. Also, a trilingual interpreter tells us about the challenges of interpreting for asylum seekers who only speak indigenous languages; A group of American exchange students in Italy meet African migrants who risked their lives to make it to Europe; Why Chinese Sci-Fi is gaining in popularity around the world; And Kenyan musician JS Ondara on how Bob Dylan changed his life and inspired his journey to America. (Andres Vega pours beer for American visitors on a gastronomic tour of Nogales with the Arizona nonprofit, Border Community Alliance. Credit: Katherine Davis-Young/The World)
3/9/201927 minutes, 29 seconds
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Outside the lines

Martina Navratilova made some controversial statements about transgender athletes. She said that it’s cheating when transgender women compete in women’s sports. But many activists disagree with her and are pushing back. Also, find out why NBA basketball Enes Kanter fears going back home to Turkey; we have the harrowing story of Eritrean runner Teklit Michael’s near death experience; next the directors of the Oscar winning film ‘Free Solo’ describe how they captured Alex Honnald’s solo climb up El Capitan summit; and the French Fencing Federation has officially recognized lightsaber dueling as a competitive sport. (Martina Navratilova participates in the 28th Annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic at Delray Beach Tennis Center. Credit: Johnny Louis/Getty Images)
3/2/201927 minutes, 41 seconds
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The boy in the caravan

Vladi was just 15 years old when he joined a migrant caravan, travelling all the way from El Salvador, to Tijuana on the US-Mexico border. He arrived there last autumn with his grandmother. But by November, Vladi, was on his own. His grandmother needed to return to El Salvador, and Vladi remained at a youth shelter for other unaccompanied migrants like him. Many were hoping to seek asylum in the United States. So was Vladi. But ahead of them is the hostility of the Trump administration. The story of one family in America’s migrant crisis. (Vladi, center, is from El Salvador. He says the gangs try to recruit you when you turn 14 or 15. He's 15. He says instead of joining a gang, he joined the migrant "caravan" headed toward the United States. Credit: Erin Siegal McIntyre/Frontline)
2/23/201926 minutes, 54 seconds
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Forty years of consequences

It’s been 40 years since the Islamic revolution in Iran. In 1979, many Iranians felt a strong sense of hope as change was sweeping through their country. Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran from exile was one of the most significant moments of the revolution. Now, 40 years later, we’re hearing more of what was going on behind the scenes. Also, we hear from two Iranians born after the revolution, who are so frustrated with conditions inside Iran, that they want to leave; we’ll look at how US sanctions on Iran are impacting American businesses; plus, the story of an Iranian-American navy veteran who grew up in revolutionary Iran; and Iranian women’s rights advocate, Masih Alinejad, explains how political hair can be in Iran. (Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leaving the Air France Boeing 747 jumbo that flew him back from exile in France to Tehran. Credit: Gabriel Duval/Getty Images)
2/16/201926 minutes, 58 seconds
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The Together Edition

For Dora Crespin, the United States is a lonely place. She’s happy living in El Salvador where she has her friends, familiar food, and most importantly her family. But Dora is moving to the US anyway, leaving her son behind in the hope that someday they will have a better life together. Also, Ana Chavarin was only 13 years old when her mother made her drop out of school to work at a factory, now she’s in college, together with her son; an American priest raises funds for Cuba’s first new Catholic church in 60 years; plus, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk who's credited with bringing Buddhism to the west; and with his power washer in hand, Corey Fleisher is on a mission to eliminate hate-filled graffiti. (A couple hold hands as they ride a merry-go-round at the Theresienwiese fair ground of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany. Credit: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Getty Images)
2/9/201927 minutes, 53 seconds
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The Influencer Edition

Your social media timelines are filled with influencers; people with huge numbers of fans and followers who are sometimes paid to promote products. Influencers haven’t always been transparent about paid content but new guidelines could change that. Also, plogging, the fitness trend that’s making streets cleaner all over the world; Durian, the fruit that’s all the rage in South-East Asia but to Westerners smells like old socks; Plus, Lucas Hixson the man who saves dogs from danger zones; and from the beaches of Southern California the story of a Senegalese Olympic hopeful and her trainer. (Logos of the Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Instagram and LinkedIn applications are displayed on the screen of an Apple iPhone. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images)
2/2/201927 minutes, 19 seconds
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Transatlantic Sins

Four hundred years ago pirates brought enslaved Africans to Virginia’s shores.
1/26/201927 minutes, 27 seconds
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Taboos, Bans and Barriers

Ada Hegerberg is a professional football player from Norway. In December Hergerberg won the first Ballon d'Or for women, one of football's most prestigious awards. Hergerberg sees this moment as an opportunity to encourage young girls all over the world. Also we’ll hear from Japanese student Kazuna Yamamoto about her petition that forced a tabloid magazine to apologize for a sexist article; In Afghanistan we visit filmmaker and activist Sahar Fetrat; we meet a ballet dancer bringing a much needed change to ballet slippers; plus we take a trip down memory lane to ‘Soul Alley’, a hangout spot for African-American GI's during the Vietnam war. (Olympique Lyonnais' Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg brandishes her trophy after receiving the 2018 Women's Ballon d'Or award for best player of the year. Credit: Franck Fife/Getty Images)
1/19/201927 minutes, 29 seconds
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Living Green in 2019

The next couple of years will be crucial for governments to take action on climate change. In this edition we hear why and what’s being done about it. We meet Hilda Heine, a global leader on climate change and President of the Marshall Islands; we’ll look at how Americans recycle and find out why it’s not good enough for China; Economist Michael Greenstone explains how air pollution shaves two years off of the average life expectancy; A team of Israeli students create a new variation of falafel with spirulina, a kind of microalgae, that could be a sustainable food solution of the future; and we check out the environmentally friendly sounds of the Colombian band, Bomba Estereo. (Photo: The leaves of a Russian River Valley pinot noir vineyard begin to turn colour near Sebastopol, California. A cool spring and mild summer have contributed to a later-than-usual harvest and a bumper crop of premium wine grapes throughout the state of California. Credit: George Rose/Getty Images)
1/12/201927 minutes, 30 seconds
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The Friendship Edition

El Salvador is one of just a handful of countries where abortion is banned in all circumstances. The ban is so comprehensive, that every miscarriage is considered suspicious and at least a dozen Salvadoran women who say they suffered a miscarriage are serving lengthy jail terms. Professor Michelle Oberman, a leading scholar on legal issues around pregnancy, tells the story of two such women who had recently been freed from prison. Also: The story of two Somali girls in Boston who formed a friendship through writing poetry together; the tale of an unlikely bond between a guard and a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; We hear from a Syrian superfan of the 90s hit TV programme ‘Friends’; and Marco Werman visits a local school in Boston to hear from some very young news consumers. (Teodora Vasquez hugs her parents shortly after being released from the women's Readaptation Centre, in Ilopango, El Salvador where she was serving a sentence since 2008. Credit: Marvin Recinos/Getty Images)
1/5/201927 minutes, 27 seconds
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The Lungs of the World

The fate of the Amazon is in jeopardy. Logging, cattle ranching, and soya bean farming are threatening its very existence. But the threat doesn’t end there; carbon dioxide coming from cities thousands of miles away is altering tropical forests and the climate on a much larger scale. In this special edition we travel to Brazil to find out why the fate Amazon is more consequential than ever and meet some of the people fighting to preserve it. (Claudio da Silva and the Guajajara Guardians of the Forest ride up the Caru River to investigate a report of illegal cutting on Guajajara land. Credit: Sam Eaton/The World)
12/29/201827 minutes, 36 seconds
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Addicted

The US opioid epidemic is a major public health crisis that has affected many communities across the United States. We’ll hear from an expert in addiction psychiatry who thinks that doctors bear much of the blame. Also: What do you do if opioid drugs don't stop the pain? Acupuncture may be the answer; We look at how supervised injection is already saving the lives of heroin users; the Toronto police department launched a social media campaign, reminding people that marijuana is legal in Canada and not a cause for emergency calls; the US and Mexico join forces to crack down on the illicit drug trade; and the story of Steve Hupp's transformation from bank robber to shaman. (Boston Calling producer Daniel Ofman stands next to a bus stop advertisement of Naloxone, a nasal spray that can counteract and potentially save someone from an opioid overdose. Credit: Diego Lopez/The World)
12/22/201827 minutes, 24 seconds
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Brain Gain

"Brain Drain" is what happens to a country when its best and brightest minds leave and don't return. The flip side of this is called "Brain Gain." But even when countries benefit from new arrivals, they don’t always make it easy for them. We meet Maria Merza, working hard to overcome bureaucratic and social obstacles standing in the way of her education. Also: We visit a school in California that provides classes for parents as they drop their children off in the morning; We look at new training programmes for skilled trade jobs, aimed at immigrants; Also, Francenette SaintLouis Défonce was a nurse in Haiti, but the US won’t recognise her qualifications or experience; Finally, Harvard University student Jin Park pushes the boundaries of who can become a Rhodes Scholar. (Ayat Alfares, left, is a “super senior” at Grace M. Davis High School in Modesto, California. Sarah Yousif, right, graduated from the school when she was 21 years old. Both students came to the US as teenagers and began high school later than most of their classmates. Credit: Maria Merza/The World)
12/15/201827 minutes, 1 second
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The Migrant Caravan

President Trump has been determined that the migrant caravan not be allowed to enter the US. Now his administration has extended the deployment of more than 5,000 troops on the US-Mexico border to the end of January, 2019. Many of the migrants are now waiting in the Mexican border town of Tijuana for a chance to seek asylum in the US. We find out what life is like for them. Also: A group of gay and transgender migrants find safety in numbers as they wait to seek asylum in the US; we find out how the US government is using biometric data to gather intelligence on members of the migrant caravan; we hear the story behind the now-iconic photo of a mother and her two daughters running away from tear gas on the US-Mexico border; also we learn about the tiny American town where tear gas is big business; Plus, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sonia Nazario shares her thoughts about possible solutions to the Central American migrant crisis. (Central American migrants rest after being relocated to a new temporary shelter in east Tijuana, Mexico. Credit: Guillermo Arias/Getty Images)
12/8/201827 minutes, 2 seconds
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Unmade in America

The history of the US auto industry goes back more than a century, and Americans take a lot of pride in it. It’s part of the American psyche. So when this past week, General Motors announced that it is shutting down 5 North American factories and ending much of its passenger car production, that was big news and auto workers aren’t happy. Also: A Spanish property developer has plans for the Packard auto Plant in Detroit, abandoned more than 60 years ago; then we check out Boston’s City hall, the archetype of brutalism; plus we visit a bagpipe factory, right here in New England. (A woman holds a sign during a press conference with union leaders at in Oshawa, Ontario. In a massive restructuring, US auto giant General Motors announced it will cut 15 percent of its workforce to save $6 billion and adapt to 'changing market conditions.' Credit: Lars Hagberg/Getty Images)
12/1/201827 minutes, 21 seconds
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Un-Thanksgiving

In November of 1969, a group of Native Americans occupied the notorious prison island of Alcatraz to protest about federal policies that discriminated against their people. The movement gained momentum on Thanksgiving when hundreds of Native American activists joined the occupation. To this day, every Thanksgiving, Native American groups hold an event on the island that they call Unthanksgiving Day. Also: We tell the real story of Squanto, the Native American at the centre of the Thanksgiving legend; We look into the history of Native Americans being forcefully separated from their families; We recount the ongoing case of the indigenous Sinixt, a tribe that the Canadian government says doesn’t exist; Finally, we dive deep into a story about the lost language of the Miami tribe. (The welcome sign at the entrance to Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay Credit: Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images)
11/24/201826 minutes, 55 seconds
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Into The Woods

Most of the town of Paradise, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, has been obliterated by raging wildfires. Dozens of people are known to have lost their lives and hundreds are still missing. Ellen VandenBerg recounts how she managed to escape the blaze with her 5-month-old son and her dog in tow. Also: Professor Glen MacDonald from the University of California, Los Angeles explains the connection between climate change and wildfires; We learn about the effect that hurricane Maria had on Puerto Rico's tropical Rainforest; Fall foliage is big business in New England, with tourist visiting from around the globe, but climate change might change that; Fadi BouKaram is visiting all 47 cities and towns in the US named Lebanon, his mission: plant as many cedar trees as possible. (Sacramento Metropolitan firefighters battle the Camp Fire in Magalia, California. Credit: Karl Mondon/Getty Images)
11/17/201827 minutes, 9 seconds
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Identity Crisis

President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric ran high in the run up to the US midterm elections. He called the migrant caravan making its way north through Mexico an invasion. He even sent troops to the southern border between the US and Mexico to keep out the migrants. But now that the Democrats are in control of the House of Representatives, President Trump may not have as much power as he used to in executing his immigration policies. Also: Maria Mendoza and Eusebio Sanchez were deported from the US to Mexico, leaving their four children behind. Now their eldest daughter, Vianney, is looking after her siblings; Jose Antonio Vargas talks about his life in the US as an undocumented immigrant; Terrell Jermaine Starr on the difficulties of being a black reporter in Ukraine; Plus, why some passports are more valuable than others. (Members of a family reunited through the border wall between Mexico and United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico. Credit: Herika Martinez/Getty Images)
11/10/201826 minutes, 24 seconds
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It’s All Political

At a point of strong political division in the US, where everything from “migrant caravans” to global trade is being politicised, Safiya Wazir is running for office in New Hampshire, a state that’s 94 percent white. 27 year-old Safiya says she is not interested in pursuing a career in politics, but in the short term she feels that she can make a difference on issues like education, senior care and paid family-leave. Also: HIAS is one of the oldest refugee assistance groups in the US, we hear about the group's reaction to being named in social media posts by the alleged perpetrator of the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh; Australian political observer Bruce Hawker talks about political division in the US leading up to the midterm elections; In solidly Republican Tennessee we learn whether President Trump’s tariffs are swaying voters at the polls; Finally we look at foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns leading up the midterm elections in the US. (Safiya Wazir speaks with a resident of Concord, New Hampshire, during her campaign in a race for the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Credit: Steven Davy/The World)
11/3/201826 minutes, 41 seconds
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A Half Degree of Separation

One of the stated goals recent United Nations report on climate change is to prevent the planet from warming more than one and a half degrees Celsius. We ask what would happen if the world warmed by, say, two degrees. Also: Calculating the cost of climate change is doable but difficult -- too difficult says the US Department of Defense; we fact check President Donald Trump on one of his recent statements about climate change; plus we take a journey to the remote Alaskan village of Shishmaref, where climate change and rising sea levels are a present threat.
10/27/201827 minutes, 5 seconds
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Time Served

Should someone who has committed a serious crime, like murder or rape, be automatically banned from voting? What about lesser crimes? In the US, even non-violent offences, such as drunk driving or possession of a small amount of marijuana can follow someone long after they've completed their sentence. Should these past offenders be allowed to vote? Also: The notorious Rikers Island jail in New York became the scene of an art heist in which the chief suspects are prison guards; We hear about a prisoner’s experience navigating racial tensions behind bars; and finally, we meet a woman who just finished her prison sentence and is now adjusting to life on the outside. Image: A guard tower at San Quentin State Prison in California (Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)
10/20/201826 minutes, 24 seconds
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City of Angels

On the night of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968, a photographer caught an image of the presidential candidate just after he was shot. In it, a young hotel worker named Juan Romero cradles Kennedy's head, looking up, stunned. At the time, Romero was just 17-years old. That night, that photo, and everything that followed changed his life forever. Also: In Los Angeles, gentrification is affecting immigrant communities as once gritty downtown neighbourhoods become trendy places to live Activist and lawyer Lizbeth Mateo becomes the first unauthorised immigrant named to a statewide post in California; In Mexico City we visit a neighbourhood called ‘Little LA’; Finally, we take a tour through a score of Los Angeles’ of global ice cream shops. (Senator Robert F. Kennedy stands among supporters in the main ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, just after claiming victory in California's presidential primary. The Senator was shot moments later as he left the ballroom. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)
10/13/201826 minutes, 28 seconds
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Trade and Tariffs

The nearly 25 year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is to be replaced by the US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA). The name might be very different but US reporter Jason Margolis says the substance seems very familiar. Also: Roland Paris, Justin Trudeau’s former foreign policy advisor talks about the path to reaching the deal; we hear what the new trade deal could mean for the US auto industry; in cattle country NAFTA is still a point of contention; and we meet soya farmers on the front lines of Mr Trump’s trade war with China. (President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference to discuss a revised U.S. trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in the Rose Garden of the White House Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
10/6/201826 minutes, 51 seconds
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Well Read

Every Day Is Extra is the title of a new memoir by former US senator and secretary of state John Kerry. He chronicles his time serving in Vietnam, five terms in the Senate, his presidential run, and his tenure as secretary of state. He records a decades long pursuit of multilateral diplomacy and civil political discourse. John Kerry talks to Marco about the state of US politics in 2018. Also: We visit a Persian bookstore in Los Angeles that sells banned Iranian books; Patrick Winn takes us on a ride through Southeast Asia’s drug-fuelled underworld; In her new memoir, Jean Guerrero takes readers on a cross border journey; and, a library in Canada offers a dial-in story reading service in 16 languages. (Former US secretary of state John Kerry in the Boston Calling studio at WGBH. Credit: Steven Davy/The World)
9/29/201826 minutes, 56 seconds
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The New Normal

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, scores of colleges and universities in Puerto Rico had to close because of all the damage. Schools on the US mainland, from New York to Florida, wanted to do something to help. So they opened their doors and offered free or discounted tuition to those students from Puerto Rico whose home institutions were closed. One of the first students to take them up on that offer was Rosamari Palerm. She enrolled at St. Thomas University in Miami in late September 2017. But even after a comfortable year in Miami, Rosamari felt homesick and was ready to go back to Puerto Rico. Also: A study from George Washington University reveals new death toll numbers from Hurricane Maria; A year after Hurricane Harvey, some families in Houston, Texas are still recovering; After Hurricane Maria swept through their hometown, a group of women started cooking meals together for people who didn’t have access to food. (A man bicycles in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
9/22/201826 minutes, 23 seconds
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Untold Afghanistan

In the early 2000’s the US helped fund Afghanistan's first private university. It was part of an effort to help rebuild Afghanistan's education system. Over time, the American University of Afghanistan has become a symbol of hope for many young Afghan men and women who dream about higher education. But that very hope has also made those students, and their campus in Kabul, targets for extremists. Also: First Lieutenant, Erica MacSwan, prepares for her deployment to Afghanistan; Lt. MacSwan recalls her family’s personal experience with the 9/11 attacks; and we step inside a fashion boutique in the heart of Kabul. (Two years after the attack on the American University in Kabul, school officials have stepped up security. That means the campus has the look and feel of a military compound. Credit: Farzanah Wahidy/PRI)
9/15/201826 minutes, 23 seconds
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The Blockbuster Edition

Crazy Rich Asians is one of the top box office hits of the summer. The film’s plot may just sound like your typical romantic comedy, except it's set in Singapore and it's the first Hollywood film to feature a majority East Asian cast in 25 years. Cast member, Pierre Png, tells us what the film means to him. Also: Germany’s long history of dubbing movies; a linguist who specializes in creating fake movie languages; an American army strategist studies Star Wars to better understand modern military conflict; plus a profile of the Afghan Charlie Chaplin. (Actor Henry Golding arrives at Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Crazy Rich Asians' Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
9/8/201826 minutes, 38 seconds
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Northern Neighbours

As a result of President Trump's immigration crackdown, many migrants are seeking a warmer welcome in Canada. Since 2017, 33 thousand people have crossed -- outside of formal border crossings -- to make asylum claims in Canada. Now, the cost of feeding and housing those asylum seekers is pitting the city of Toronto against Canada's federal government. Also: Kenneth Jackson from the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Ottawa looks into the plight of first Nation children in the Canadian foster care system; we find out how climate change is spurring a debate over the the legal status of the Northwest passage; a big name in Canadian beer enters the cannabis drink business; and Canada’s minimum price for beer drops to 1 dollar, but what will this mean for microbrewers? (The Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ontario awaits the next wave of refugees. Thousands of refugees have been streaming across the Canada/US border over the past year. Credit: Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images)
9/1/201826 minutes, 37 seconds
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Tech’d Off

This week, Microsoft announced that it detected and stopped attacks on US institutions by Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin. The attacks involved setting up fake websites that mimicked the sites of conservative think tanks that have been critical of President Trump. Zeynep Tufekci studies the intersection of technology and society and she says that foreign hacking and meddling exposes real weaknesses in America's digital security and politics. Also: New York Times technology reporter, Sheera Frenkel, explains what tech companies are doing to get rid of fake news, deception and hate speech; a master of movie special effects recounts working on a little film called Star Wars; a new internet health study has us asking if the internet make our lives better or worse; and one of the bigger Instagram trends of the summer can be summed up in two words: sunflower selfies. (The Microsoft Moscow headquarters at night. Credit: Mikhail Tereshchenko\Getty Images)
8/25/201826 minutes, 23 seconds
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No Place Like Home

Karolina Chorvath grew up caught between different countries and languages. She’s a third culture kid, which can mean lots of things; some are the children of mixed marriages, some are refugees or the children of immigrants. One thing they have in common, is that they tend to feel like they don’t fully belong anywhere.
8/18/201826 minutes, 43 seconds
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The Survivor Edition

Dorelia Rivera and her daughter were onboard the Aeromexico jet when it crashed at the end of the runway and burst into flames. Dozens of people were injured but miraculously all 103 passengers survived. Also: A survivor from Hiroshima devotes his life to telling the stories of the American victims of the atom bomb dropped on the city; teams from Australia and New Zealand are coming to the US to help fight wildfires; a researcher uses a leaf-blower to learn how some lizards survived hurricanes Irma and Maria, while others didn’t. (Image: Smoke billowing from the wreckage of a plane that crashed with 97 passengers and four crew on board at the airport of Durango, in northern Mexico. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
8/11/201827 minutes, 1 second
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Recycle This

One of America's biggest exports to china is its recycling. But in recent months, China has been refusing shipments because so much US recycling is contaminated with food and other waste. That's forcing communities across the US to clean up their acts. Also: Burberry sends its unsold fashion up in smoke; H&M attempts to market itself as a greener company; a climate scientist in California changes his lifestyle to reduce his carbon footprint; a travel writer grapples with the ethics of visiting Antarctica; plus music from the Small Island, Big Song project. (Image: Cody Marshall, with The Recycling Partnership, looks through a recycling bin in Lynn, Massachusetts. His organization is working with cities across the US, helping them educate residents on how to recycle better. Credit: Jason Margolis/PRI’s The World)
8/4/201826 minutes, 29 seconds
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Food for Thought

President Trump has promised to help America’s soya bean farmers, who have found themselves caught in the middle of the US-China trade war. But will his help be enough? Also: an ice-cream maker in Philadelphia exports his product to China, for people with expensive tastes; a newcomer to Mexico City learns that quesadillas don’t always come with cheese; two entrepreneurs take Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine to Seoul; plus we remember restaurant critic Jonathan Gold and the effect he had on food culture in Los Angeles. (Image: Corn and soya beans grow on a farm near Tipton, Iowa. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
7/28/201826 minutes, 58 seconds
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The Red Line

Did Donald Trump commit treason in Helsinki? Legal experts weigh in on the “T” word. Also: we learn all about Russia’s GRU, the country’s largest military intelligence agency; we remember Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 four years after it was shot down over eastern Ukraine; we meet Crimean families who have been displaced after Russia’s annexation of the peninsula; and finally Alina Simone, a Russian immigrant living in New York, explains why she has given up on teaching her daughter Russian. (Image: US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin attend a joint press conference in Helsinki. Credit: Getty Images)
7/21/201826 minutes, 52 seconds
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Baby Guaranteed

One in six Americans is affected by infertility, according to a recent study by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The US has legal commercial surrogacy programmes, but they can cost more than $100,000, so some couples are looking abroad. This week, we explore the global surrogacy industry by travelling to Ukraine, which has become the go-to spot for foreign couples seeking surrogates, and then to India, where commercial surrogacy may soon be banned. (Image: Kateryna (not her real name) lives in a rural village in Ukraine. She decided to become a surrogate so she could get ahead and earn extra money. Credit: Anastasia Vlasova/PRI’s The World)
7/14/201826 minutes, 25 seconds
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Talk to Me

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, gives his take on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit. Also: we meet indigenous language interpreters helping migrants detained on the US-Mexico border make their cases for asylum; we look at global projects to combat loneliness, from dance parties in the Netherlands, to a newspaper for people cut off from society in Japan, to new research being conducted in Utah. We close out with a love song composed by a whale. Yes, for real. (Image: Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and US President Donald Trump in Vietnam on November 11, 2017. Credit: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/Handout/Getty Images)
7/10/201826 minutes, 53 seconds
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Game On!

I was just really happy,” says The New York Times en Español editor Paulina Chavira, “I was crying because it was a victory for me.” She convinced Mexico's national football team to add accent marks to their jerseys. Also: migrant workers are already building football stadiums in Qatar for the World Cup in 2022; a Pakistani woman created a board game to take on arranged marriage; a Jeopardy! winner has mixed feelings about her victory; and we listen to World Cup themed music from Colombia. (Image: Fans of Mexico celebrate during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group F match between Mexico and Sweden at Ekaterinburg Arena on June 27, 2018 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Credit: Carlos Cuin/Getty Images)
6/30/201826 minutes, 37 seconds
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It’s The Law

There is nothing special about the building at 606 South Olive Street in Los Angeles. But if you're an immigrant fighting deportation, what happens inside is all-important. Also: we hear about a child who was separated from his family and put in US immigration detention… in 1930; we meet a feisty Peruvian potato farmer facing down an American mining company; we learn about a proposal to legalise divorce in the Philippines; and we rock out to an Arabic remix of the Beatles song “Drive My Car”, to mark the end of the women's driving ban in Saudi Arabia. (Image: The building that houses the US immigration court in Los Angeles, one of 57 such courthouses in the country. Credit: Saul Gonzalez)
6/23/201826 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Father’s Day Edition

“What I remember about my dad is that he had this penetrating smile.” We recall the life of Tony Acevedo; from child of unauthorised immigrants from Mexico, to US soldier in WWII, to concentration camp survivor, to inspirational father. Also: the daughter of an American spy reveals secrets about her childhood; a father remembers telling his children that he was going to be deported; Vincenzo Bruno, an activist in Costa Rica, comes out as transgender to his son; and Tami Neilson closes out the programme with her song “The First Man.’’ (Image: Tony Acevedo at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 20th Anniversary Tribute event in Los Angeles, February 2013. Credit: Courtesy of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
6/16/201826 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Unforgettable Edition

): Young Navajo in the southwest grapple with a traumatic chapter in US history. ''Nobody shares these stories with me, and I don’t understand why I feel the way I feel. I want to know what happened.'' We learn how the story of the 1864 Long Walk slipped from US history; we dig into the legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act; a House for Sale sign appears in France and brings back a flood of memories for a New Jersey real estate agent; a museum holds writing workshops for Holocaust survivors; and jazz musician Guillermo Nojechowicz sets his family’s immigrant story to music. (Image: “The Long Walk was a huge initiative undertaken by Kit Carson and his team of various military branches,” Vanessa Roanhorse explains, “to round up as many Navajos as they could, and force them on this walk.” Credit: Warren Montoya)
6/9/201826 minutes, 26 seconds
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The Automated Edition

Bananas and foreign travel: What it means to be a computer hacker in North Korea. In North Korea’s spy agency, operatives aren’t just trained to gather intel. They also hack banks. We hear from a couple of North defectors about what it’s actually like to be a government hacker. Also on the programme: we meet a robot assistant breaking down gender stereotypes; we get to the bottom of a robocall scam; we check our own voicemail box for messages from our listeners; and we visit a restaurant where the chefs are robots. (Image: North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un waves from a car on April 27, 2018. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
6/2/201826 minutes, 57 seconds
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The Heist Edition

North Korea’s cyber-hackers have raked in millions of dollars. Also: US border agents on the search for illegal animals; the cheese smugglers of Canada; and we dip into our inbox to find out where you’re listening from. (Image: Students at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, a prestigious academy in Pyongyang. Credit: KCNA)
5/26/201826 minutes, 46 seconds
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The Deadline Edition

As NAFTA talks grind on, thousands of skilled workers wonder if they will keep their jobs. A Trade NAFTA or "T-N visa” allows citizens of Canada and Mexico to work in the US in a range of job categories. It could now be in jeopardy as the Trump administration seeks to renegotiate the trade agreement by the end of the year. Also: There is a shortage of summer workers in Cape Cod, partly due to changes to a temporary worker visa program; as the US and China talk trade and tariffs, some in Shanghai wonder what it will mean for them; the end of Temporary Protected Status for some immigrants has an unexpected impact on US labour unions; plus we find out how TV reporter Lisa Howard changed the course of the Cold War. (Image: Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo gives a message to the media during the seventh round of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) talks in Mexico City, on March 5, 2018. Credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/Getty Images)
5/19/201826 minutes, 47 seconds
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Inside the Box

As traditional business models continue to break down, entrepreneurs have their sights on one more area to disrupt: traditional orthodontics. Also: biodegradable six-pack holders finally go on the market; a former ambassador tells us what's in a diplomatic pouch; the French consider adopting 'le doggy bag' for restaurant leftovers; we ride along with 23 greyhounds across the US/Mexico border; and composer Idan Raichel performs a song for us using an assortment of improvised musical instruments. (Image: Candid Co. sends customers a kit to take impressions of their teeth from home. An orthodontist then remotely comes up with a treatment plan. Credit: Candid Co.)
5/5/201826 minutes, 56 seconds
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On the Move

Alabama used to be known for its textile industry. Now, it’s becoming the automotive hub of the South. Also: we find out what it’s like to fly on Air Koryo, North Korea’s national airline; we meet Dean Huang, a Taiwanese-born immigrant who was living his dream life in the US when he got a letter from Taiwan’s military that changed everything; plus director Miao Wang tells us about her documentary Maineland, which follows the lives of two teens from China studying at a boarding school in Maine. (Image: Hyundai cars roll down an assembly line during the grand opening ceremony of the South Korean auto manufacturing plant in 2005 in Montgomery, Alabama. Credit: Robert Sullivan/Getty Images)
4/28/201826 minutes, 37 seconds
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American Justice

All over the world, countries are imprisoning women at higher rates than ever before. On the programme: We visit a new kind of drug treatment program for women in the Midwestern state of Ohio; we hear about why more and more mothers in Mexico are serving time for selling drugs; and we go to court with a Canadian woman named Cheyenne Sharma whose case ends up changing the law. The programme ends with the song ‘The One Who Stands In the Sun’ by Choctaw musician Samantha Crain. (Image: Lisa Duncan, Ashley Porter, Sheena Kimberly and Stephanie Cleveland, all of whom are in the Tapestry program in Ohio, are pictured from left to right. Credit: PRI’s The World)
4/21/201827 minutes, 16 seconds
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Crimes and Misdemeanours

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promises to dedicate resources towards fighting hate speech. People in Sri Lanka have been asking for that for years. Also: policy makers in Thailand consider legalizing drugs; unauthorized workers in the US fight for their wages under threat of deportation; the film "Our New President" tells the story of how Russians learned about the 2016 US election using all real news clips yet no true statements; plus Jimmy O. Yang publishes his first book, and his parents don't like it. (Image: Mark Zuckerberg appears for a hearing on Wednesday April 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. Credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)
4/14/201827 minutes
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The Incredible Journey

In 2015, Summer Nasser traveled from her home in New York City to marry Muntaser Yaghnam in his home country, Yemen. Then, civil war broke out. They tell us about what it was like to get married amid airstrikes and their long wait to travel back to the US. Also on the programme: US car companies scramble to figure out how to market their cars to Saudi women; a high-tech video portal offers one Milwaukee neighborhood a global perspective; plus we create the perfect playlist for your next journey, with jams by Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya. (Image: Muntaser Yaghnam and Summer Nasser at home in New York. Credit: PRI’s The World)
4/7/201826 minutes, 57 seconds
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Friends and Followers

In India, revelations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official app has been sending user data to a third party provoke outrage. Also: Author Mona Eltahawy starts #MosqueMeToo to give Muslim women an outlet to speak out against abuse and it goes viral; two friends from Iran start a popular website about sexual health specifically for Farsi speakers; some researchers worry that we are not teaching our robots to be ethical enough; plus a woman named Ivanka Majic has an uninvited brush with fame. (Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his picture taken with a mobile phone on September 2, 2014. Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)
3/31/201826 minutes, 46 seconds
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Undercover

Vitaly Bespalov wrote fake news at a Russian troll farm. He tells us the real story of what he found. Also: Boston author, Louie Cronin, on how she lost her Boston accent; we meet a professional accent coach who can teach you to impersonate anybody; we find out why the US military tried to erase the story of Donald Nichols, an Air Force officer who played an outsize role in the Korean War; plus we remember World War II spy hero Jeannie Rousseau de Clarens. (Image: The Internet Research Agency, or IRA, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Credit: PRI’s The World)
3/24/201827 minutes
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It’s Not Easy Being...

The American economy may be strong, but the wage gap remains a huge concern. Also: solar panel tariffs could be a boon for US producers; residents in small coastal community in Florida prepare for climate change, mostly alone; a seed company connects Japanese-Americans with their roots; smoking pot could get you deported; and Green Day shatters a myth. (Image: Personal care workers Marilyn Sorensen (left) and Candice Bateman in Denver, Colorado. Wages for American workers are ticking upwards, but the US remains one of the world’s most inequitable nations. (Photo: Jason Margolis)
3/10/201826 minutes, 29 seconds
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Reunited

As Trump ends Obama-era protections for Salvadorans; a family in Minnesota has few good options to stay together. Also on the program: An American family finds their way in Mexico after deportation; a group of indigenous people from South West Africa visit a museum in New York City to view the remains of their ancestors; A Korean adoptee meets his birth mother and winds up moving in with her; plus why 'Arirang' is the perfect song for a divided Korea. (Image: David, who came to the US from El Salvador without papers, has three children who were born in the US. Credit: PRI’s The World)
3/10/201826 minutes, 58 seconds
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Walls We Don’t See

It’s not just the wall. There are lots of invisible barriers keeping immigrants from coming into the US. On this edition we explore some of those barriers. We meet a three-year-old on Canada’s no-fly list; we speak to a student from India who grew up in the United States yet his visa expires as soon as he turns 21; we find out how much it costs to smuggle someone across the border and the lasting impact that debt can have on a family; and lastly we get a little loopy with musician Joe Kye. (Image: A border patrol officer stands guard along the U.S.-Mexico border February 7, 2018 in San Ysidro, California. Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
3/3/201827 minutes, 8 seconds
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Right to Bear Arms?

Former homeland security adviser Fran Townsend says we need new methods of addressing gun violence. Also: we learn how the gun lobby brought gun violence research to a halt in one US agency; a constitutional scholar puts America’s right to bear arms in a global context; Russian bots seize on the Parkland shooting to amplify divisions; gun rights supporters say Israel could serve as a model for the US but some Israelis disagree; and what does a year of mass shootings sound like ... in piano notes? Listen here. (Image: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez speaks at a rally for gun control at the Broward County Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018. Credit: Rhona Wise/Getty Images)
2/24/201827 minutes, 7 seconds
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Roots

"I got out of the car and I looked at the people and they all looked like me… and at that moment I realised where I came from." On the programme: A fourth-generation Chinese American travels to his ancestral village in China; two Chinese adoptees return to their orphanage to help those left behind; Reem Kassis hopes her cookbook 'The Palestinian Table' will help her kids connect to their heritage; some residents of New Mexico have received surprising news about their ancestry; plus a man in California embarks on a dangerous quest to revive Yemeni coffee. (Image: After a long search, 64-year-old Russell Low (left) visited his great-grandfather's ancestral home in Guangdong Province in southern China in May 2016. Credit: Ariana Lai)
2/24/201826 minutes, 39 seconds
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The Local Edition

Six stories that all take place within greater Boston. #MeToo echoes through a play about Nigeria; a black church provides sanctuary to an unauthorised immigrant from El Salvador; two Rohingya refugees start a new life; a chef brings back lessons from a three-star restaurant in Paris; a university student prepares to be the first black ice hockey player to skate for team USA in the Olympics; and a preview of a show by The James Hunter Six coming to Boston soon. (Image: A rainbow arcs over the skyline of Boston University in Boston, MA. Credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
2/10/201826 minutes, 56 seconds
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On the Waterfront

Levi Draheim, 10, is suing the US government over climate change with 20 other young people. Also: fishermen in Greenland are doing better than ever, and that’s in part thanks to climate change; instead of fighting global competition, Alaska's wild salmon industry (reluctantly) embraces it; a researcher imagines what the US would look like if sea levels were to rise by two meters; solar power entrepreneurs come to Puerto Rico; plus what it’s like to fly in a plane when most of the passengers are pets. (Image: Levi Draheim, 10, lives in Satellite Beach, Florida. Credit: PRI’s The World)
2/5/201826 minutes, 50 seconds
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The Breakthrough Edition

Fewer international students are coming to the US for post-graduate degrees in science and engineering. We look into why. Also: Cuba has a lung cancer vaccine but many US patients can’t get it without breaking the law; a tech start-up synthesizes Marco Werman’s voice; tomato pickers in Florida work together to stop sexual abuse; a bioengineer has a plan to defeat disease-bearing mosquitoes with mobile phones; plus the band Mosquitos releases their first album in 10 years and the buzz is that it’s great. (Image: Stanford bioengineer Haripriya Mukundarajan, center, began the Abuzz project after contracting malaria while she was in college. Credit: Kurt Hickman)
1/27/201826 minutes, 39 seconds
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The Protest Edition

Jasiel López never expected to be an activist. Then he learned that the DACA programme, which allows him to stay in the US, could be rescinded. Also: why the jarana, a guitar-like instrument from Mexico, is showing up at protests in the US; women veterans want their voices to be heard in the #MeToo movement; we remember Mathilde Krim, who played a pivotal right in the fight against AIDS; and we speak to the authors of a biography of Josephine Baker, singer, dancer, and civil rights activist. (Image: Jasiel López is a student at Florida International University in Miami. Credit: PRI’s The World )
1/20/201826 minutes, 28 seconds
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Better Together

For George Lampman and Lee Sook Ei it was love at first sight. Then, the Korean War broke out. Also: A monastery in Missouri, about to close its doors, is saved by monks from Vietnam; Spanish speaking actors in Miami unionise to fight for better working conditions; doctors in the US get lessons from doctors in Cuba in how to reduce infant mortality; an amateur mathematician from Tennessee discovers the largest known prime number; plus we listen to Bjork and reminisce about unrequited crushes. (Image: Lee Sook Ei and George Lampman met at the US embassy in Seoul. Credit: Courtesy of the Lampman family)
1/13/201826 minutes, 29 seconds
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Face Value

Flying out of the US? You might have to go through a facial scan at the airport. We discuss the implications of that. Plus: we find out why a selfie app that drastically alters the way you look is all the rage in China; we get introduced to the women artists of the Renaissance who have been hidden in the archives; we meet a man who survived the Holocaust by drawing portraits of his Nazi guards; plus comedian Dean Obeidallah discovers that for a moment he was literally the face of fake news. (Image: Passengers have their luggage screened at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
1/6/201826 minutes, 55 seconds
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All Dressed Up

About 80 percent of garment industry workers are women. For the past few months, Jasmine Garsd has travelled the globe to meet these workers, in person. We start in Roanoke Rapids in North Carolina, a formerly bustling cotton mill town, that’s gone quiet. Next, we go to Los Angeles, were we learn how a sweatshop raid in 1995 changed the garment industry in the US forever. Lastly, we got to Bangladesh, where a large portion of our clothing now gets made. Want to find out how fair your fashion is? Here’s the website mentioned in the programme: https://interactive.pri.org/2017/fair-fashion-quiz/ (Image: Mother and daughter, Rongmala Begum (standing) and Mayna Begum, both work in clothing factories in Bangladesh. Credit: Ismael Ferdous/PRI)
12/31/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Case of the Stolen Fortune Cookie Fortunes

"Some men dream of fortunes. Others dream of cookies." This is a real fortune cookie fortune. It would be a prescient fortune for Yongsik Lee. He invented the fully automatic fortune cookie machine in the early 1980s and built a business on his invention. The Korean immigrant sold fortune cookie machines and fortunes to companies all over the US. It was a good business until one day, one of his employees stole his fortunes and his customers. We get to the bottom of a theft that forever changed Yongsik Lee's life. (Image: Fortune cookies on display at The Ritz Carlton in Miami Beach, Florida. Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
12/23/201727 minutes, 7 seconds
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The Ripple Effect

Edmaris Carazo, a blogger in San Juan, adjusts to life in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Also: the destruction in Puerto Rico has a ripple effect on hospitals on the US mainland; reporter Jason Margolis investigates where trickle-down tax policies have been tried and worked outside of America; Jamaica tries to get in on the marijuana market but some farmers worry about being left behind; a conversation with Rainer Weiss, the Nobel Laureate, who detected ripples in the fabric of space and time. (Image: Hospitals in the US mainland are facing shortages of IV fluids and medicine because of Hurricane Maria's damage to Puerto Rico. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
12/16/201726 minutes, 49 seconds
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Dance Lessons

It’s the beat that drives the bugaloo and mambo. Ayana Contreras travels to Cuba to understand the clave. Plus, we go beneath a motorway flyover in Rio de Janeiro, where US hip-hop from the 1990s gets re-imagined every Saturday night; we meet a 9-year-old boy who is preserving his family’s Cambodian history through dance; South African superstar Johnny Clegg tells us how he helped form an interracial dance troupe during apartheid; and we remember Johnny Hallyday, “the French Elvis Presley”. (Image: Dancers at the weekly Saturday night charme dance in Madureira, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's North Zone. Credit: Catherine Osborn)
12/9/201727 minutes, 40 seconds
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The Second Amendment

"Every time you hear a piano note, that's another mass shooting." A new way to hear the stark numbers on gun violence. Also: Adam Lankford, a criminology professor, turns to data to explain why the US has more mass shootings than any other country; Susan Cruz, a Salvadoran-American, remembers holding a gun at the age of six; two sisters with different opinions on guns go to a shooting range; we learn about the origins of the Second Amendment; plus we hear from faith leaders all over the US. (Image: Visitors view gun displays at a National Rifle Association outdoor sports trade show on February 10, 2017 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Credit: Dominick Reuter/Getty Images)
12/2/201727 minutes, 34 seconds
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At the Movies

Hollywood has been criticised for its practice of whitewashing. Now, the voice acting world faces questions. Also: Kelvin Han Yee, a Chinese-American actor, broke his parents' heart and wonders if it was worth it; a birdwatcher begs Hollywood to get its bird sounds right; Disney/Pixar’s “Coco,” which was a hit in Mexico, comes to the US; Laela French, a Star Wars buff, explains the origins of Darth Vader’s costume; and in the documentary “Dreamland” the Wabanaki people take back their narrative. (Image: For years, G.K. Bowes was the official voice of Barbie. Credit: Courtesy of G.K. Bowes)
11/28/201726 minutes
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The Taste of Victory

Wilmot Collins came to Helena as a refugee. Now he’s been elected as the city’s mayor. Also: Abdi Nor Iftin tells us what it feels like to win the green card lottery; we find out what award-winning olive oil tastes like (it’s kind of peppery); the Boston Red Sox get their first Latino manager; beauty contestants in Peru stage a protest against gender-based violence that goes viral; and a blind man, hoping to kayak across the Bosphorus Strait, turns to mythology for inspiration. (Image: For Maddie, left, and Wilmot Collins, coming to the US wasn't easy. In their first few months in Montana, their home was graffitied with "Go back to Africa" and "KKK." But they stayed. Credit: Courtesy of Wilmot Collins)
11/18/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Future is Now

Selina Wang, a tech reporter for Bloomberg News, says that Twitter could still do more to stop Russian and Ukrainian spam accounts from spreading misinformation on the platform. Also: people on social media keep blaming “Sam Hyde’’ for mass shootings, even though he's innocent, and we finally find out why; Facebook saves a dying mill town in the Pacific Northwest; Uber meets its match in Lebanon; a robot becomes a Saudi citizen; and a couple of amateur astro-explorers plan a trip to Mars. Image: Colin Stretch, general counsel at Facebook, Sean Edgett, acting general counsel at Twitter, and Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and information security at Google, testify before Congress on October 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
11/11/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Scientific Edition

Victoria Barrett, a college student in Wisconsin, aged 18, is suing the Trump administration over climate change. Plus: we meet one of the first meteorologists to talk about climate change on TV in the US; we learn the history of the design of nuclear fallout shelter signs made during the Cold War; we visit the laboratory of a “wood detective” in Germany; we hear the “voice" of an iceberg and it’s pretty eerie; and we dance to some “ye-ye” music sung by a NASA scientist in California. (Image: Victoria Barrett is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Credit: Courtesy of Victoria Barrett)
11/4/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Speak Out

Thousands of French women post the name of their sexual harasser on Twitter, using the hashtag, "Squeal on Your Pig". Plus: we meet a woman helping undocumented immigrants in the US experiencing sexual harassment; we find out why the reaction to the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Russia is the opposite of the reaction in America; we learn about a burgeoning feminist movement in China; we hear about efforts to combat sexual harassment at work in Nigeria; and we close with the song "Come with Me" by Nneka. (Image: Attorney Gloria Allred (L) and her client Heather Kerr speak during a press conference regarding the sexual assault allegations that have been brought against Harvey Weinstein on October 20, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
10/28/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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At Your Civil Service

Dave Rank, a high ranking diplomat, resigned over Trump’s climate change policy. Also: a former sheriff worries that new legislation in California to protect unauthorised immigrants will make it harder for police officers to do their jobs; a member of India’s lowest caste moves to New York and becomes a train conductor; a journalist travels around the world to see how people pay taxes; Harry Truman’s grandson impersonates him in a play; plus we meet some four legged civil servants: bomb sniffing dogs. (Image: Dave Rank is the former head of the US embassy in Beijing. Credit: Ashley Ahearn/Terrestrial. http://kuow.org/programs/terrestrial )
10/21/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Two journalists set off on a quest to hand deliver a letter to a grandmother in Puerto Rico from her family on the mainland of the United States. Also: we learn why Che Guevara is being honoured on a postage stamp in Ireland; we admire the art of Martin Ramirez which has been featured on postage stamps in the US; plus we read one of the most timeless job application letters in history, sent by a copywriter, Robert Pirosh, to studio directors in Hollywood, in 1934. (Image: Janet Franceschini Colon (left), Jennifer Santos Franceschini (middle), Jenelyn Santos (right) and Jennifer's two daughters are pictured. Credit: PRI’s The World)
10/14/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Mystery Edition

“There is no statute of limitations on the truth.” Vince Pankoke, a former FBI agent, has launched a probe into who betrayed Anne Frank. Also: we investigate why American diplomats in Cuba have mysteriously fallen ill; we learn the backstory of the two women accused of assassinating Kim Jong-nam; we meet the disgraced real-life French diplomat who inspired the play, “M. Butterfly,’’ plus we find out why talks between North Korea and South Korea may hinge on a group of twelve singing waitresses. (Image: Anne Frank's facsimile diaries on display in the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam on November 1, 2009. Credit: Ade Johnson/AFP/Getty Images)
10/7/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Unsung Heroes

Tereza Lee, the woman sometimes referred to as the first “Dreamer,” has been fighting for immigrant rights for nearly two decades. Also: the turbulent history of the US Virgin Islands; a remembrance for a little-known Soviet colonel who probably averted a nuclear war; a look at how Tiki bars inspired Star Wars creator George Lucas; a progress report on a project to digitize the notebooks of Harvard’s female astronomers; plus a folk song dedicated to a modern hero: the street cart vendor. (Image: Protestors gathered at the US Capitol on September 26, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
9/30/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Coast to Coast

Marco Werman climbs aboard the largest passenger ship ever to sail through the Northwest Passage. Also: we speak to residents of the Arctic with mixed feelings about cruise ships sailing past their towns; we meet climate change scientists risking their lives to gather data in the field; we visit a marshland that's worth millions of dollars; we spend the day with teens saving songbirds in Washington, DC; and we learn how American climate change policies have changed this past year. (Image:The Crystal Serenity docked at the Boston cruise terminal near the end of its 32-day Northwest Passage journey. Credit: PRI’s The World)
9/23/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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From Russia with Love

What impact did Russian internet “trolls’’ have on the 2016 US presidential election? Also: we hear about wealthy Russians coming to America to give birth to US citizens; we learn why the poet Langston Hughes went to the USSR to work on a Soviet propaganda film in 1930s; we visit a Korean-Uzbek-Russian cafe in New York; we meet two science fiction writers who advise the US government on the future of warfare; and we find out why Tchaikovsky's concerto No. 1 had its world premiere in Boston. (Image:The Kremlin stands in Red Square in Moscow on March 7, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
9/16/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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In Limbo

President Trump is scrapping a programme that protects hundreds of thousands of young unauthorised immigrants. We hear two different perspectives on this decision. Plus; we meet an immigrant from Northern Ireland whose troubled past is haunting his future; we learn why some evangelical Christians are speaking out against the President; we find out about a proposal from Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar for Canada to open its doors to DACA recipients; plus we visit Quebec where immigrants fearing Trump are pouring in. (Image: Julio Ramos is a medical school student and a DACA recipient in New York City. Credit: Reynaldo Leanos Jr.)
9/9/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Water, Water, Everywhere

M.J. Khan, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, who spent a sleepless night monitoring relief efforts, tells us what Houston’s residents are doing to help each other. Also: experts weigh in on how Houston can plan for future flooding events; a brewer in Amsterdam turns rain into beer; an activist vows to keep the Marshall Islands from disappearing beneath rising seas; we learn if climate change is behind extreme hurricanes; plus a port city in Maine revitalizes its economy by shipping pregnant cows to Turkey . (Image: A flooded road is seen during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
9/2/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Get It Off Your Chest

Bashar al-Assad seems to have a fan base in the United States. White supremacists and neo-nazis have worn pro-Assad T-shirts at rallies, while others have shown their support for the Syrian president on social media. Also, white supremacists wear t-shirts emblazoned with a picture of a notorious Romanian fascist; and if you're in Turkey, leave your 'HERO' T-shirts at home; plus, if you lived in East Germany during the Cold War, it may have been verboten to wear a Frank Zappa T-shirt, but somehow his music made it in. (Image: A photo taken on March 4, 2015 shows a banner bearing a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a street in the city of Damascus. (Credit: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)
8/26/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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The Eclipse Edition

On Monday, a total solar eclipse will cross 14 states from Oregon to South Carolina. We find out people all across the country are preparing. Also: we meet an eclipse chaser traveling to the US from Australia; we speak to a cloistered nun who has been getting calls from concerned Catholics worried about the end of times; we learn what solar eclipses have revealed to us about our universe throughout the ages; plus how a new technology can help blind people experience the coming eclipse as well. (Image: Solar Eclipse related items are offered for sale in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Hopkinsville is located near the point of greatest totality for the August 21 eclipse. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
8/19/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Under Construction

Maytag built washing machines in Newton, Iowa, for more than a century. The company left in 2007, and the town collapsed. Now, it's rising again. Also: why are people from Australia selling houses in Detroit; what the closure of a coal fired power plant will mean for one Navajo family; Montreal welcomes refugees coming from the US; will a new Canadian pipeline be the next Standing Rock; plus we remember Haruo Nakajima, the man inside the original Godzilla suit. (Image: Frank Liebl, executive director of the Newton Development Corporation, is pictured in front of the old Maytag headquarters. Credit: Jason Margolis)
8/11/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Breathcatcher

Two teenage reporters, Teddy Fischer and Jane Gormley, interview the US Secretary of Defence. Also: an unauthorized immigrant dreams of white picket fences; a Mexican street cart vendor in Los Angeles becomes an overnight celebrity; oil brings wealth and trouble to a small town in North Dakota; Laleh Khadivi’s latest novel is about a surfer-dude turned jihadi; plus we meet a man who listens to trees. (Image: U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis listens to a reporter’s questions at the Pentagon on July 7, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)
8/5/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Entanglements

Until recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin was deeply suspicious of the world wide web. What changed his mind? Also: the curious parallels between love and quantum physics; the Native American tribe that invented lacrosse gets nation status in the sport’s World Cup; fans of 'The Bachelorette' react when the reality TV show features a Sikh convert; two immigrant entrepreneurs create virtual reunions; and the Colombian rock star Juanes just wants to make his world better. (Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin uses binoculars as he visits an air show outside Moscow on July 18, 2017. Credit: Alexey Nikolsky/Getty Images)
7/29/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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Are You Afraid of The Dark?

In 1878, scientists all over the US witnessed a total eclipse of the sun. After that, American science was never quite the same. Also: Sona Hosseini learns that being an astronomist….can be depressing; photographer Joel Sartore goes on a quest to take pictures of endangered animals before they disappear; why the American TV drama Twin Peaks took off in Russia; and we remember director George Romero who changed how we think about zombies. (Image: A total solar eclipse is seen in Indonesia on March 9, 2016. Credit: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
7/22/201720 minutes, 55 seconds
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Is It Safe?

David Eubank, an American relief worker, decides to bring his whole family with him to Mosul. Also: Choi Seong-guk, a North Korean refugee, draws a popular online comic strip series about his defection; presenter Marco Werman joins the US Coast Guard on patrol; scientist Milo Nordyke remembers a time when the US government tried to use a nuclear bomb as a bulldozer; and Mexican-American musician Lila Downs dedicates her latest album to “dangerous’’ women. (Image: Smoke plumes billow in Mosul on July 10, 2017. Credit: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)
7/15/201726 minutes, 29 seconds
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I’m on Your Team

Russia, it turns out, accidentally helped the US win its independence. Also: we meet two sisters who will go to the Olympics together but on competing teams; we remember when North and South Korea teamed up to beat China at table tennis; we go a few rounds with a boxer who’s inspiring young women in Jordan; we learn why an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan is going to be competing virtually in a US competition; and we get the backstory to a popular baseball podcast hosted by three fans of the sport who also happen to be blind. (Image: People watch fireworks as they celebrate US Independence Day on July 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty
7/9/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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A Crime to Hate

Five months after Jewish graves were vandalised in St. Louis, questions remain. Also: a resolution condemning racism causes chaos at the Southern Baptist Convention; why refugees from Myanmar draw inspiration from the action movie, Rambo; the story of a murder that got manipulated to serve more than one political agenda; why a hate crime survivor tried to save the life of his attacker; plus Renee Goust has something to say to people who thinks she’s a “feminazi” and it comes in the form of a song. (Image: Karen Aroesty is the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Credit: Daniel A. Gross)
7/1/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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‘Caught up in the Policy’

“People are absolutely losing it. Some they go to their work. Some they pluck them right out of bed from their families." Why Iraqis in the US are getting sent back to Iraq; what it means for one immigrant to get to stay; the fight for paid leave for victims of domestic violence in Canada; a Ukrainian physicist who always tries to keep politics and science separate fails yet again; and the two comedians who started ArmComedy, their country’s first satirical news programme, explain what Armenians find funny. (Photo: An Iraqi owned restaurant in Detroit. Credit: Shirin Jaafari)
6/24/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Great Escape

Sam Heller, an expert on Syria, thinks that the US should evacuate the country’s residents. Also: a physicist who always dreamed of working in the US says it’s no longer the ‘global centre of science’; we revisit Orlando, Florida, one year after the Pulse nightclub shooting; a grandmother from Queens, New York, shares a shocking personal secret; and an orchestra conductor turns the fence on the US-Mexico border into a musical instrument. (Image: Idleb is a city in north western Syria. Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/Getty Images)
6/17/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Is There an App for That?

Trump still uses his personal mobile phone. Security experts are baffled. Also: A lack of immigrant labour in the US has some farmers planning for robots to pick produce; a Dutch teenager came up with a plan to clean up the world’s oceans and now he’s got funding for it, but at least one expert does not think it will work; fake turtle eggs get fitted with GPS trackers to catch poachers; plus we meet a Yoruba priest who also makes hypnotic electronic music. (Image: Donald Trump speaks on his mobile phone in in Potomac Falls, Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Credit: Mannie Garcia/ Getty Images)
6/10/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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Look Closer

Citizen journalists try to figure out what’s going on in those videos of the Turkish president’s bodyguards clashing with protesters in Washington, DC. Also: female war veterans tell their stories through comics; Kathy Eldon, the mother of slain photographer Dan Eldon, turns his life into a film; we visit an exhibit of the photos of Henryk Ross, official photographer of the Lodz ghetto; we learn about Stanley Greene, the African-American war photographer celebrated in Europe. Plus, Lilly Singh, an internet star, says she’s ready for her close up. (Image: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington, D.C on Monday, May 16, 2017. Credit: Cheriss May/Getty Images)
6/3/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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The Backstory

Trump supporter, Dave McNeer, thinks the President is making ‘America Great Again’. Also: Why digital maps should not be used to resolve border disputes; why the US military turned to camels, in the 1800s, to map out land in the American West; we get to see the insides of the disappearing colourful taxi cabs of Mumbai; ice cream shop owners fret about an increase in the price of vanilla; and Italian musician, Zucchero, recounts some memorable advice he got from Miles Davis. (Image: Donald Trump themed merchandise is sold outside before a rally for the Republican Presidential nominee on November 4, 2016, in Pennsylvania. Credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images)
5/27/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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It is all Words

As Trump embarks on his first foreign trip, his administration tries to cast ‘America First’ in a different light. Also, helpful definitions of the words ‘autocrat’, ‘fascist’, and ‘demagogue’; why Trump's name sign is causing controversy in the American Sign Language community; a history of the word 'hack' that goes back further than you might expect; what happened to the first people to be called refugees; plus some new music from one of Marco Werman's favourite bands, Forro in the Dark. (Photo: Copies of U.S. President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 budget request sit on display for sale in Washington, D.C. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Getty Images)
5/20/201726 minutes, 28 seconds
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What Comes Next

This week, some Americans woke up to a country they didn’t recognize. Donald Trump’s victory left half the nation cheering, and half the nation in tears. Now everyone has to figure out how to move on. Also on the programme, a Latino voter explains why he voted for Trump; unauthorized immigrants wonder what this election will mean for them in the future; and we spend a day in the life of a woman living in immigration limbo. Plus, will Trump bring a U-turn on climate policy? We end with a musician’s view of growing up on the US-Mexico border. (Image: The White House is seen at dusk. Credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)
11/12/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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The Import Export Edition

“My brother was killed. He died in atrocious conditions, alone, without us.” In France, the death of Adama Traore, a young black man, while he was in police custody sets off protests. Also, the Maker Movement, which began in California, comes to China; subway cars, made in China, come here to Boston; and an ultra-popular Norwegian TV show, about knitting, comes to Netflix. Plus, the US gets its first offshore wind farm. Etienne Charles, a Trinidad jazz trumpeter, closes out the show. Picture: People hold a banner reading 'Justice for Adama' as they attend a march organised in tribute to Adama Traore in Beaumont-sur-Oise, Credit: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images
8/20/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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A Question of Time

Conditions are so bad in refugee camps in Greece, some refugees are considering returning to the war torn countries they came from. Also on the programme, residents of a disappearing island speak up; a former Pentagon official describes one moment that changed how she thinks about drones; a slam poet from Sudan shares her poetry; and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur thinks manufactured diamonds might replace real ones. Plus, some new emojis right some wrongs when it comes to gender equality. Picture: A boy sits on a bus as he waits to be transferred to a refugee reception centre in Greece, Credit: Yannis Kolesidis/AFP/Getty Images
8/17/201626 minutes, 57 seconds
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Disunited States of America

"I saw my brother in these boys. I saw my son in these boys.” First, we talk to an activist speaking out against violence towards blacks in America. Then, we hear how the story of one police shooting in San Francisco has been turned into a stage play. Next, we learn why the Bahamas issued a travel advisory to the US. Also, we hear about the perils of "walking while black" in New York City. Plus, a daughter figures out how to talk to her father about race for the first time. We end the show with “American Tune,’’ a posthumous release by the New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint.
7/16/201626 minutes, 57 seconds
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Fight or Flight

We speak with Daniel Torres, a former US Marine who was deported to Mexico. Then, we look back at a deadly 1942 U-boat attack in the Gulf of Mexico. And we take a bus ride with the children of Sudanese immigrants in California. Plus, a group of American teenagers cause an uproar when they try to take part in World Hijab Day. A journalist learns the proper use for bananas in Somali cuisine. And an Ethiopian-American band records its own version of a Japanese folk song. Image: Daniel Torres grew up in the US, but after a stint in the Marines he was deported to Mexico. (Credit: PRI’s The World)
6/4/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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Do the Right Thing

We speak with Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, who is advocating on behalf of Syrian refugees as other American politicians try to turn them away. Then, we sit in on a cooking class that teaches people in Boston how to eat healthier with traditional African dishes. And, the US wants to give peanuts to malnourished kids in Haiti — we find out why that idea is so controversial. Plus: a US army officer sues President Obama over the legality of the war against Islamic State; Italy’s most prominent transgender politician weighs in on North Carolina’s controversial ‘bathroom bill’; and a Sudanese human rights activist finds inspiration in America's civil rights movement. Image: A refugee mother and son from the Syrian town of Kobani walk beside their tent in a camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey. October 19, 2014. (Credit: Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images)
5/21/201626 minutes, 55 seconds
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Rerouted

We hear how the Migration Project is giving hope to the families of Guatemalan migrants who have gone missing en route to the United States. Then, how young migrant students from all across Central America are getting shut out of US schools. And, the Cuban Americans spending their own money to send others to Cuba. Plus, we meet two Hmong American filmmakers who are shaking up Hollywood. We travel 8,000 miles in search of a Thai dish so delicious, it might be deadly. And an Indian writer living in the US curses his American doughnut habit. Image: Indigenous family members walk into Mexico after illegally crossing the border from Guatemala on August 1, 2013. (Credit: John Moore/Getty Images)
5/14/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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Taking a Stand

Trump or Clinton? That's the question du jour in the US, so we have two stories on the leading presidential candidates. First, we head to East Boston, where Latino immigrants are pushing back against Donald Trump supporters in their neighbourhood. Then, we hear about the disconnect between the Hillary Clinton foreigners see, and the one Americans see. Also, why novelist Ayelet Waldman is sending writers to the West Bank; the effort to keep Syrian refugees out of the midwestern state of Kansas; and how the cellist Leyla McCalla connects history, identity and song on her latest album. Plus: hundreds of thousands marched in the US for immigrants’ rights a decade ago. What's happened since? Image: Latinos and European Americans live together in East Boston. But the politics of Donald Trump is resurrecting old racial wounds. (Credit: Phillip Martin/WGBH)
5/7/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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On a Mission

A former CIA agent discusses his days undercover in Afghanistan and Syria, and the demons those days left behind. Then, we visit the spectacle that is Laredo -- a members-only Wild West town tucked away in the English countryside. And, America’s trucking industry faces a shortage -- we meet the immigrants helping fill the gap. Plus, why Polish activists are borrowing images from the US in a push for a total abortion ban. And the Detroit watch company bringing its message of the gritty underdog to Europe. Image: The CIA symbol is shown on the floor of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. (Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
4/30/201626 minutes, 55 seconds
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Outside Looking In

Two expat voters – a Republican in London and a Democrat in Stockholm – share their thoughts about watching the US election from abroad. Then: experts who study America's extremist white supremacist groups say there's clear evidence that many of them are supporting Donald Trump's candidacy for president. Plus, why Cuban Americans are in such stark disagreement over President Obama’s historic trip to Cuba. And: there are more than 20 towns in the US called Moscow – why is that? Image: An Alabama resident urges townspeople to vote. (Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
3/19/201626 minutes, 56 seconds
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Only in Texas

We meet a Nicaraguan immigrant to the US whose choice of president might surprise you. Then, workers in Mexico’s border factories are seizing an opportunity to unionise. And, the Texas city of Houston has become a premier tourist destination for Chinese travellers thanks to cowboys and basketball, of course. Plus, the US Supreme Court hears arguments in what is being called one of the most important reproductive rights cases in a generation. The odd connection between America’s highest court and a secretive aristocratic hunting society. And, why if you ever find yourself in the Texas city of Killeen — you had better try the kimchee or bibimbap. Image: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump exits his plane during a trip to the US-Mexico border on July 23, 2015 in Laredo, Texas. (Credit: Matthew Busch/Getty Images
3/12/201626 minutes, 56 seconds