The Leonard Lopate Show
Underreported
A Weekly Feature on The Leonard Lopate Show
Airs every Thursday at noon
Major news events throughout the world continue to be largely ignored until they reach tragic proportions. Underreported, a weekly feature on The Leonard Lopate Show, tackles these issues and gives an in-depth look into stories that are often relegated to the back pages.
Underreported: Ecotourism vs. Land Rights in Kenya
The Leonard Lopate Show
May 08, 2008
We look into how ecotourism may be interfering with ancestral land rights in Kenya. In 1974, the Endorois community were evicted from their land by the Kenyan government to make way for a game reserve and tourist resort. They’ve been fighting for repatriation and reparations since then, and now have taken their claim to the highest regional human rights body, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. Korir Singoei of Kenyan NGO Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) and WITNESS have co-produced a new film about the Endorois, “Rightful Place.”
Underreported: Justice for Darfur
The Leonard Lopate Show
May 08, 2008
Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two people for their alleged role in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. But Sudanese authorities have not only refused to arrest and hand over the two suspects, they have given one of them increasingly prominent public positions and released the other from prison. Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch and the “Justice for Darfur” campaign talks about why it’s been so difficult to achieve justice for Darfur war crimes.
Underreported: Albania
The Leonard Lopate Show
May 01, 2008
Albania is fledgling democracy with a tumultuous political climate and a controversial prime minister. It’s also a strategic ally of the United States, yet we rarely hear about it in the American media. Erion Veliaj is a recipient of the United Nations Civil Society Award and was director of Albania’s leading watchdog group, MJAFT , from 2003 to 2007.
Underreported: Chevron in Burma
The Leonard Lopate Show
May 01, 2008
Find out more about Chevron's support of the repressive military regime in Burma. Chevron co-owns the Yadana natural gas pipeline, which is the Burmese government’s single largest source of income and undermines international sanctions against the regime. Rick Herz is litigation coordinator with Earth Rights International, which worked on the Doe v. Unocal lawsuit brought by Burmese villagers against Unocal (which was later bought by Chevron).
Underreported: Crisis in Mogadishu
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 24, 2008
Violence in Somalia’s war-torn capital, Mogadishu, has worsened in the last week, leaving dozens of people dead after fighting between Ethiopian forces and Islamist fighters. We’ll find out more about what’s happening and how it could further destabilize the Horn of Africa. David Shinn is former US ambassador to Ethiopia and currently adjunct professor with George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs.
Underreported: Swaziland’s Royal Family
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 24, 2008
Swaziland is Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy. Its Royal Family lives a very lavish lifestyle, while much of the rest of the country lives in dire poverty and suffers from the world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS. Michael Skolnik has directed a new documentary about Swaziland’s monarchy called “Without the King.” It opens April 25 at the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St.).
Underreported: New Planet Forming?
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 17, 2008
Scientists may be closer to understanding how new planets form. Astrophysicist Ben Oppenheimer of the American Museum of Natural History and his colleagues at the Lyot Project have put together an image of material that seems to be coalescing into either a planet or a brown dwarf (which is an object with mass that neither a star nor a planet).
Underreported: Eating Insects
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 10, 2008
Insects are a high-protein food source. In a world where increasing numbers of people are competing for shrinking resources, farming insects could be a nutritious, low-impact way to feed more of the world’s people. Dr. Robert Kok of McGill University’s Bioresource Engineering department has been working for years to convince people to farm insects.
Weigh in: Have you ever knowingly eaten insects? If so, how did they taste?
Underreported: Spain’s Old Wounds
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 03, 2008
We look into whether Spain is becoming an increasingly divided country. Debates over Basque terrorism and the 3/11/04 Madrid train bombings may be helping to open old wounds from the Spanish Civil War and Franco. Giles Tremlett is the Madrid correspondent for the Guardian; his most recent book is Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past.
Underreported: The Great Lakes and the Economy
The Leonard Lopate Show
April 03, 2008
Cleaning up the Great Lakes will bring big economic benefits to an area that’s been hit hard by manufacturing job losses, according to John Austin, Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution and director of the Great Lakes Economic Initiative. He tells us more about the strong connection between healthy Great Lakes and a healthy economy.
Windows 
Windows 
Windows 
Search current and archival WNYC broadcasts. More
- The Brian Lehrer Show: Rent Destabilized (May 12, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: Out of the Shadows (May 12, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: Meet Johnny Bunko (May 06, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: New York Needs to Get Some Game (May 13, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: John Turturro and Max Casella in “Endgame” (May 09, 2008)