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On Demand

The Leonard Lopate Show

Friday, March 28, 2008
  • Modern Slavery
    Amnesty International activists wearing T-shirts reading 'end modern slavery' protest against human trafficking. (LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)

    Slavery Is Not Dead

    There are more slaves in the world today than at any other time in history. Find out who and where those slaves are, and whether anything can be done to end slavery once and for all. Also: a new school in Baghdad that teaches Iraqis to tell their stories through film. A math professor explains how he calculates whether baseball players are worth their high salaries. And on Please Explain: how kids play make believe. Guest host Julie Burstein sits in for Leonard today.

    Tune in for our latest Political Projections on Tuesday, April 1st! We'll talk about political idealism in Hollywood. We're also hosting a special film screening on March 31st. Seating is limited to the first 100 people who RSVP, so don't wait!

Modern-Day Slavery

There are more slaves in the world today than at any other time in history. E. Benjamin Skinner, author of A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery, tells us who and where these slaves are, and whether anything can be done to end slavery worldwide once and for all.

Iraqi Film Students

The Independent Film & Television College in Baghdad teaches young Iraqis how to tell their stories through film. Maysoon Pachachi is the school’s co-founder.

Independent Film and Television College website

Are Baseball Stars Worth Their Salaries?

University of Wisconsin math professor Jordan Ellenberg has calculated whether baseball stars are worth the huge salaries they get.

Please Explain: Games of Make Believe

We look into how children play games of make believe, and whether kids’ imaginations have changed along with trends in technology and education. Dr. Susan Linn is Associate Director of the Media Center of the Judge Baker Children's Center, Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and the author of most recently The Case For Make-Believe: Saving Play in Our Commercialized World. Dr. Elizabeth Goodenough teaches at the University of Michigan Residence College and is the author of most recently Under Fire: Childhood in the Shadow of War.

Weigh in: What games of make believe do your children play? Are they different from what you remember playing when you were a kid?

National Book Award Winners

The Leonard Lopate Show

A number of this year’s National Book Award winners have appeared on The Leonard Lopate Show. Click here to see the list!

Tributes: Jeanne-Claude

The Leonard Lopate Show

Jeanne-Claude created environmental works of art with her husband and fellow-conspirator/collaborator Christo. Together, they wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont-Neuf in Paris, and created The Gates, with billowy orange drapes, in Central Park. Jeanne-Claude just died at the age of 74. You can hear Leonard Lopate’s last interview with them both, from July 19, 1999.

Please Explain: Eco-Labels

The Leonard Lopate Show

Your broccoli, shampoo, and air conditioner might bear labels declaring them to be organic, cruelty-free, or energy efficient, but what do those labels mean and are they true? Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Project Director for Consumer Reports' GreenerChoices.org and Consumers Union’s Senior Scientist for Policy Initiatives, and Dara O'Rourke, founder and CEO of GoodGuide.com, took a look at what eco-labels indicate, how standards are set, and what they mean for consumers and manufacturers around the world.

Our 3-ingredient Challenge wins a James Beard Award

The Leonard Lopate Show

On May 3, the Lopate Show won its third James Beard Award for our 3-ingredient challenge. In August, we asked our listeners to call in and name 3 ingredients and then challenged New York chef and 3-ingredient expert Rozanne Gold to whip up a recipe! You can listen to the 3-ingredient challenge and get some inspiration for simple, delicious, and unexpected dishes.