Underreported from WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show

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Underreported: NSA's Storage Facility Mar 29, 2012

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Wired correspondent James Bamford describes the $2 billion Utah Data Center that is being constructed for the National Security Agency. It’s expected to be up and running in 2013 and will house their database for all forms of communication—emails, cell phone calls, Internet searches, and even bookstore purchases.

Underreported Update: The Democratic Republic of Congo Mar 01, 2012

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In November, the Democratic Republic of Congo held presidential elections, even as the security situation there deteriorated. On today’s Underreported Update, Father Ferdinand Muhigirwa, the director of CEPAS (Centre d’Etudes pour l’Action Sociale), the oldest think tank in Congo, describes what’s happened since the contested election. He also looks at suppression of protests in Kinshasa and escalation of violence in the eastern part of the country. We’ll also be joined by Akwe Amosu, the director of Africa advocacy at the Open Society Foundations.

Underreported: Thorium Reactors Feb 23, 2012

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Journalist Richard Martin discusses thorium as a potential nuclear fuel and looks at the efforts to promote it as a new form of green energy.

Underreported: Controversial Livestock Hormone Jan 26, 2012

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Helena Bottemiller, a reporter for The Food & Environment Reporting Network, looks at the controversial animal feed additive, ractopamine hydrochloride, which is widely used in the united states but the EU and China have banned it’s use, citing health concerns.

Underreported: The Stories You Missed in 2011 Dec 01, 2011

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On this week’s Underreported, Foreign Policy’s Joshua Keating discusses “The Stories You Missed in 2011,” including India’s military buildup and the shrinking supply of camel meat in Saudi Arabia.

Underreported: The Exploitation of International Domestic Workers Nov 17, 2011

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On this week’s Underreported, Human Rights Watch researcher Nisha Varia describes abuses of migrant domestic workers in Asia and the Middle East, and why Cambodian women are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment in Malaysia. Plus, a look at efforts to implement international labor standards for domestic workers.

Underreported: Fukushima Update Nov 17, 2011

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The crisis at the Fukushima reactor in Japan has been out of the headlines, but that doesn’t mean the crisis has been solved. We’ll speak with Dr. Edwin Lyman, a senior staff scientist in the Global Security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Underreported: Airport Body Scanners and Cancer Nov 03, 2011

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Full body X-ray scanners are now commonplace in airports across America. ProPublica reporter Michael Grabell tells us about a new report that has found that the U.S. government glossed over a number of safety concerns about the the devices—even ignoring concerns about a potential increased risk of cancer.

Underreported: Intervention in Somalia Oct 27, 2011

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Recently Kenyan forces invaded Somalia in a bid to fight the militant group Al-Shaabab. The United States has also been heavily involved in the country in recent years— allegedly establishing CIA bases, carrying out drone strikes, and providing funding for militants. The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill looks at the political situation in Somalia and the history of recent interventions in the war-torn and famine wracked country.

Underreported: Intervention in Uganda Oct 27, 2011

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Earlier this month President Obama deployed 100 U.S. troops to Uganda in an advisory role to aid the fight against the Lords Resistance Army. Nate Haken, who works on conflict assessment issues in Uganda, and Patricia Taft, who served an adviser to the government of Uganda on war crimes prosecution and its case against the LRA, look at why this action was taken and the controversy surrounding it. Haken and Taft both work for The Fund for Peace.