A national shortage of the truck drivers, mechanics, and technicians. This week Matter of Fact looks at an innovative training program helping workers get the skills to get the jobs. A visit with the CEO of American Diesel Training Centers to see its effort to have companies pay for tuition is successfully recruiting and retaining new hires. Plus, a conversation on criminal justice reform between Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and abolitionist Richie Reseda.
Following our 2021 story about a company that is recruiting and training truck technicians, Tim Spurlock, CEO of American Diesel Training Centers updates Soledad O’Brien on how the program is expanding into new sectors.
For more than a hundred years, Japanese immigrants have found comfort, acceptance and community in boarding houses in Los Angeles. But, that may change now that the only remaining house has been sold. Special contributor Joie Chen reports on what could be the final chapter for the residents and this piece of history.
This year marks the seventeenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, that took 1800 lives and devastated hundreds of thousands of homes and livelihoods. Then 13-year-old Edward Buckles, Jr., saw his own life turn upside down before later documenting the stories of other children who survived the storm. Soledad O’Brien sits down with the filmmaker, whose first film, “Katrina Babies,” is now airing on HBO and HBO MAX.
This week Matter of Fact looks at the 100-year-old history of Japanese-American boarding houses and meets with three LA-based men worried about losing the only home they’ve known for decades to a hot real estate market. Plus, HBO “Katrina Babies” filmmaker Edward Buckles, Jr, speaks with Soledad & poet Elizabeth Acevedo performs “Inheritance,” based on her poem, “Hair.”
Climate change and asthma. This week Matter of Fact looks at how children in one New York neighborhood are at higher risk of developing asthma than anywhere else in the city. Plus, a closer look at the legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente and questions about the long-term stability of our power grids in the face of prolonged heat waves.
Sweet potato gin and vodka. This week Matter of Fact takes a look at the legacy of one farm family in Arkansas and how it’s putting a new spin on an old crop. Plus, how a group of dedicated public health researchers is combatting misinformation in BIPOC communities, and California schools have a new plan to increase the number of school counselors desperately needed by students.
Gin and vodka made from sweet potatoes. Correspondent Dina Demetrius visits with an Arkansan entrepreneur who is continuing his family’s legacy of farming – but putting his own spin on it. Harvey Williams takes Matter of Fact behind the scenes of his distillery, Delta Dirt, and talks about how he’s inspiring a new generation of Black entrepreneurs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted wide disparities in health equity and shown the damage that misinformation can do. Soledad O’Brien talks with Shanice Hudson, chair of the Hood Medicine Initiative, about how she and a group of other MIT alums are using the power of social media, radio and a growing network of researchers to get good science information to BIPOC communities.
Infrastructure in America. This week Matter of Fact looks at the roles that reliable, affordable broadband and clean drinking water play in accessing quality education and healthier lives. Plus, how the lack of available child care is putting a strain on families and why you may be getting worse sleep than in the past.