This week Matter of Fact looks at how one North Carolina family of farmers have kept land ownership alive in their family despite generations of discriminatory loan practices. Plus, sports gambling apps are targeting college students. And Charleston homeowners are taking drastic – and expensive – measures to safeguard against mounting hurricanes and flooding.
As NASA announces the most diverse crew of astronauts to orbit the moon next year, one Florida aerospace engineer is launching her own mission. Nicole Cummings helps build one of the engines that powers NASA’s Artemis rocket. She’s one of fewer than two percent of Black female engineers in the country, but it’s what she does off the job that she hopes will power a more diverse generation of aerospace employees.
The U.S. surgeon general has issued a new advisory on the growing epidemic of loneliness, something that is affecting about half of American adults. According to Dr Vivek Murphy, being disconnected from others is comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day – and can lead to premature death. Soledad O’Brien speaks with the lead researcher on the advisory report, Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D. She’s a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University.
This week Matter of Fact looks at the epidemic of loneliness, something that a new study says can lead to premature death. Plus, an engineer who is working with kids of color to expand their opportunities for – and imagination of – a career in the aerospace industry. And a look back at some of America’s earliest immigrants who built the country’s railroad from coast to coast.
In the last decade, 18-29 year olds have begun voting in larger than usual numbers. Now influential in leaning the U.S. left, some right-leaning state legislatures are passing policies that would limit the use of college I.D.s and ballot boxes within easy commutes of campuses. Soledad O’Brien speaks with Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, the Newhouse Director of CIRCLE at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life.
Growing political divisions in the secular world are finding their ways into the pews. As heated debates take place among friends outside churches, rifts are becoming more noticeable within faith communities – and driving people away from their home congregations. Dina Demetrius visits with a youth pastor in western Michigan who lost his job over LGBTQ+ issues.
Church and politics. This week Matter of Fact looks at the growing political divisions in the secular world that are finding their way into the pews. Plus, a higher-than-usual turnout among younger voters is leading to new policies around their access to the ballot box. And, the show revisits an Afghan family, just one of thousands that are hoping for a permanent home in the U.S.
Affirmative action, Internet free speech, student loans and water rights are all up for debate as the Supreme Court justices weigh in. Soledad O’Brien speaks with Timothy Johnson, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of political science and law at the University of Minnesota, who gives insight into oral arguments and expectations for how the justices will rule.
A new generation of cocktail makers are stirring up a storm, sharing their recipes – and cultures – on social media and beyond. Correspondent Leone Lakhani speaks with LP O’Brien, the winner of Netflix’s reality show, “Drink Masters,” about what drives her and how she’s using her platform to make sure there’s more space for people at the table – and the bar.
In an effort to curb emissions in Manhattan, city officials are looking to tax vehicles coming in and out of New York’s central business district. But many are concerned that rather than curb traffic, drivers will simply find alternative routes – through neighborhoods already suffering from excessive air pollution. Soledad O’Brien visits one community – nicknamed “asthma alley” due to its high rates among children – to see how one idea to curb climate change could impact another community already struggling to breathe.