Spring 2011 Episodes

Farm & Away

Photo courtesy City Slicker Farms

When cities fail to function, people turn to farms. Today Latitudes explores how agricultural innovations are being sought to balance some of the instability of urbanization.

This week's host

Gregory Warner is a senior reporter for Marketplace covering the business and economics of health care. As a freelance radio producer he has traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Africa to produce stories for This American Life, Radiolab, and other programs. His Marketplace profile of an artisanal miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo won the 2009 Third Coast Festival award for Best News Feature.

Violence Against Women, During And After War

Medica Mondiale works in Liberia to seek justice for survivors of sexual violence. Courtesy of: Medica Mondiale Liberia.

In many countries, war is played out on the bodies of women. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 200,000 rapes have been documented since the mid-'90s. And in other countries, long after the fighting has stopped, violence against women continues. Today Latitudes highlights people and projects responding to this violence and trying to end it, from Afghanistan to Liberia to the United States. 

This week's host

Host Rachel Louise Snyder
Rachel Louise Snyder is the best-selling author of "Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade (WW Norton)." She is also the host and executive producer of the weekly public radio program "The Global Guru," which uncovers mysteries of global culture around the world. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Travel & Leisure, the New Republic, and Slate, among others, and she received a 2006 Overseas Press Award for her work on the public radio show "This American Life." She lived in London for two years, before moving to Cambodia for an accidental six, and recently relocated to Washington, D.C., where she is an assistant professor of literature in the MFA program at American University.

Getting to Know 'The Other'

Hijabi Monologues creative director Sahar Ullah performs at the Kennedy Center. Courtesy of Ayesha Ahmad Photography.

This week's Latitudes features people challenging "Islamophobia" and trying to prevent communal conflicts -- from India to Nigeria.

This week's host

Arsalan Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer and founder of the blog, TheMuslimGuy.com. He contributes regular commentaries, interviews, and articles to NPR, CNN, Esquire Magazine, and dozens more national and international media outlets.

 

Migration

The self-described "Kaffir" diaspora community were brought to Sri Lanka from Africa in the 1500s by the Portuguese. Courtesy of Andrea Wenzel.

This week Latitudes examines how countries are dealing with incoming migrants -- from Canada to South Africa. And we’ll sample a range of ideas for fixing the immigration system here in the United States -- from ending chain migration to passing the dream act. 

This week's host

Jesse Hardman is a reporter and international media development specialist. His work has been featured on National Public Radio, TIME.com, the BBC and a number of other international media outlets. Hardman has also trained reporters in 10 countries, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and South Africa.

Affordable Housing, Livable Communities

Tenants at The Norwood building in Northwest D.C. decided to form a cooperative to try and buy their building from their landlord. Courtesy of Andrea Wenzel.

Around the globe, as people move to cities, demand for housing is exploding. By 2050, UN-HABITAT estimates that 3 billion people may be living in slums. This week Latitudes highlights ideas for creating housing that is affordable, healthy, an adapted to the needs of communities -- from India to Sweden to the United States. 

This week's host

Rachel Louise Snyder is the bestselling author of Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade (WW Norton). She is also the host and executive producer of the weekly public radio program The Global Guru, which uncovers mysteries of global culture around the world. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Travel & Leisure, The New Republic and Slate, among others, and she received a 2006 Overseas Press Award for her work on the public radio show This American Life. Snyder lived in London for two years, before moving to Cambodia for an accidental six, and recently relocated to Washington, D.C., where she is an assistant professor of literature in the MFA program at American University.

Raising Children, Caring for Parents

Children of Ethiopian immigrants in Washington, D.C., participate in tutoring workshops and Amharic language classes in addition to religious education. Courtesy of DSKM Education Department.

Parenting is hard work—no matter what country you come from. Likewise, the expectations of aging parents can place considerable demands of time, finance and emotion on children. This week Latitudes looks at how an increasingly mobile and rapidly aging world negotiates the challenges of parent-child relationships across borders. 

This week's host

Dave McGuire is a radio producer and reporter. He has worked with WBEZ Chicago and Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and has reported from Poland for NPR, The World, and RTE, among others. He was a Fulbright researcher to Poland and a Rotary International Peace Fellow.