Spotlight

Immigration And The Global Talent Search

Ray Suarez — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:56:28 +0000

Coming up on Spotlight, May 13 at 8:00 p.m.

It's the American dream: move to the United States, start your own business, build a successful life. But has the United States lost its edge in attracting the best and brightest entrepreneurs?

In this month's America Abroad, we'll learn about the significant role immigrants play in creating small and mid-sized businesses. We'll hear how the American visa process could be deterring potential entrepreneurs, particularly from math and engineering-focused places like India. And we'll learn what other countries are doing to attract foreign talent and help themselves out of the global recession.

Fear Tactics: A History Of Domestic Terrorism

Producer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:16:33 +0000

Coming up on Spotlight on Monday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m.

On September 16, 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street as workers took their lunch break. The explosion killed 38 people and injured hundreds. The targets? What today we’d call “the one percent” — powerful financiers who ran J.P. Morgan & Co. The Wall Street attack remained the deadliest terrorist bombing in the US until Oklahoma City in 1995. But at the time, people saw it as just one more bombing in a long string of anarchist attacks that historian Beverly Gage calls America's “First Age of Terror.”

Gage and the American History Guys explore the origins of domestic terrorism in the United States and the question of what kinds of people and movements have been identified as “terrorist.” The program traces the relationship between “terror” and the state; considers lynching as a tactic of terrorism; and takes a look at a little known and unfinished Jack London novel, in which the author grapples with the question: When, if ever, is terrorism justified?

Mad Season's Meteoric Rise And Tragic Fall

Serene Careaga — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:00:00 +0000

Seattle's music scene was booming in the mid-1990s. Four friends from different established bands decided to get together for a side project called Mad Season. Layne Staley sang in Alice in Chains, Mike McCready played guitar for Pearl Jam, Bassist John Baker Saunders toured with The Walkabouts and Barrett Martin was the drummer for Screaming Trees.

NPR Special: Iraq War

Producer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:45:18 +0000

Coming up on Spotlight, March 18 at 8 p.m.

Ten years ago, a US-led invasion brushed aside Iraq's army and toppled the country’s long-time leader, Saddam Hussein. The swift military operation quickly became a difficult and complicated occupation. The US found itself fighting an insurgency, and a sectarian conflict nearly consumed the country.

Can Israel Live With A Nuclear Iran?

Serene Careaga — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:07:30 +0000

Scheduled for Spotlight at 8 p.m.

Over the summer of 2012, Iran doubled the number of nuclear centrifuges installed in its underground Fordow site despite increased international pressure and economic sanctions. Iran stopped just short of the capacity to produce nuclear fuel. Can Israel live with a nuclear Iran, or could the time be near for a pre-emptive strike?

Obama's Foreign Policy Challenges: The Next 4 Years

Serene Careaga — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:33:26 +0000

Scheduled for Spotlight on January 14 at 8:00 p.m.

Cheers And Jeers: Alcohol In America

Jenna Montgomery — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 20:40:16 +0000

Coming up on Spotlight, December 31 at 8:00 p.m.

In this hour of BackStory, we're all about the boozin'. Along the way, we ask when and why consumption and production has ebbed and flowed. We look at why rum became the drink of choice among revolutionary troops, why American Indians were rejecting alcohol two centuries before the rest of the country, and follow the long march toward Prohibition.

Originally produced a few years ago, this episode has been revised to include new segments and reflect fresh insight into the subject.

Pink Martini's Multilingual Holiday Joy

Serene Careaga — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Portland's Pink Martini released "Joy To The World" in November 2010. It's a collection of nondenominational holiday music from various countries. Among the traditional holiday tunes that we can all sing along to, the album features works in Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Spanish -- the list goes on. It's a joyful celebration of culture.

A "Word Of Mouth" Christmas

Serene Careaga — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 04:00:00 +0000

New Hampshire Public Radio's Word of Mouth asks the serious holiday questions like is "Die Hard" a classic Christmas film? Also, they explore the science of giving and uncover the shocking history of Monopoly.

America Abroad: Islamism In Africa

Serene Careaga — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya shocked the American public. African extremist groups like Ansar Dine, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and Boko Haram threaten to further destabilize a fragile continent. America Abroad will take listeners to Mali, Nigeria, and Kenya's Swahili Coast to learn about these groups, the threat they present, and how African countries are — or aren't — combating them.