Underreported from WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show

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Underreported: Eco-Barriers in Brazil Jun 18, 2009

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Walls are going up around the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian government is calling them "eco-barriers," designed to prevent Rio’s shantytowns from spilling into the city’s heavily forested hillsides, but opponents of the walls see them as a form of "geographic discrimination" that imprisons the residents. On today’s second Underreported we’ll talk to Antonio Regalado, The Wall Street Journal’s correspondent in Brazil about the walls and the controversy surrounding them.

Underreported: Middle Eastern Reaction to Iranian Turmoil Jun 18, 2009

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Iraq, like Iran, is one of the few the countries in the world with a Shi'ite Muslim majority. And though the two countries were long rivals, many of today's Iraqi leaders — especially Shi'ites — spent the Saddam Hussein years as guests of the mullahs in Tehran. On today’s first Underreported we’ll look at how the controversy over Iran’s elections is playing in Iraq with Time magazine senior editor Bobby Ghosh and New York Times UN Bureau Chief
Neil MacFarquhar.
You can read Bobby Ghosh's article on the subject here.
And you can read Neil MacFarquhar's latest article here.

Neil MacFarquhar was on the Leonard Lopate Show May 13, 2009, to discuss his book The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday. You can listen to that interview here.

Underreported: The Recession's Impact on Human Rights May 28, 2009

Show notes

The economic crisis has radically changed many of the ways in which the world functions, but one of the great recessions most disastrous side effects is an increase in global repression. Widespread economic problems are creating extensive social problems as people and governments cope with limited access to food, jobs, clean water, land, and housing. What’s more, growing unrest about the economy is leading to violence and political repression in many countries. We’ll speak with executive director of Amnesty International Larry Cox about where the suffering is worst and who is the most affected.

Underreported: The Food and Drug (and Tobacco?) Administration May 14, 2009

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For years, the tobacco industry has resisted efforts to make tobacco a substance that’s regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but a bill making its way through Congress could change that. Washington Post staff writer Lyndsey Layton describes how FDA regulation would change the tobacco industry and whether the bill has a chance of passing.

Underreported: Ungrades to US Nuclear Weapons Facilities May 14, 2009

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Despite President Obama's recent pledge to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration is proposing a major upgrade to the nation's nuclear weapons complex, including the construction of new facilities that could produce thousands of new warheads over time. Bill Hartung is Director of Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation.

Underreported: Child Soldiers in Burma May 07, 2009

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It’s been a year since a massive cyclone devastated Burma. Though much of the country is still in ruins the Burmese Armed Forces and associated armed groups have continued a decades long low-level conflict with opposing groups. According to a new report put out by Watchlist the Burmese government is coercing children as young as nine into the armed forces. On our second Underreported we’ll be joined by Julia Freedson, executive director of Watchlist and by Jennifer Haigh from the Karen Human Rights Group.

Underreported: The Melting Polar Ice Cap Resource Bonanza May 07, 2009

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As the polar ice caps melt, scientists are mapping the floor of the Arctic Ocean – including the natural resources like natural gas and oil. On today's first Underreported, McKenzie Funk describes the Healy Mapping Mission and how countries around the world are trying to lay claim to what’s underneath the ice caps. His article appears in the May issue of the National Geographic Magazine.

Underreported: The Psychology of Disease Panic Apr 30, 2009

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The emergence of Swine Flu has set off a pandemic panic, but why? Dr. Robert Klitzman is Director of the Ethics and Policy at the HIV Center at Columbia University and researches why our culture overreacts to some diseases like Swine Flu but under-reacts to other threats. His latest book is When Doctors Become Patients.

Underreported: Worries about Spanish Deflation Apr 30, 2009

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Economists are always worried inflation, but now some economists are worried about the possibility of price deflation in Spain. On today’s first Underreported, Nelson Schwartz, European economic correspondent for the New York Times, explains what’s driving down prices in Spain and what that tells us about the country’s economy. You can read Nelson Schwartz's story about Spanish deflation here.

Underreported: War Zone Contractors Apr 23, 2009

Show notes

Civilian contractors like KBR have been used extensively in both Iraq and Afghanistan to support the American war efforts there, and up to 31,000 of them have been injured. Find out why these injured contractors have to fight insurance companies, including AIG, to get the medical care their injuries require. T. Christian Miller, a senior reporter for ProPublica, has co-written a story about the problems in the Los Angeles Times. We’ll also be joined by Tim Newman, who was injured while working in Iraq.