wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

the world

Airs weekdays at 3PM on AM 820

The complexity of geopolitics on a vast scale is explored and brought into focus through reports on science and technology, business, environment, sports, and music from around the globe.
More about this program

Last Updated: November 06, 2009 04:42 pm


Entire program - November 6, 2009

Today on The World: A look at military mental health caregivers in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings; A hotel in Berlin today offers the creature comforts of a 1970s Eastern Bloc guesthouse; and mixing it up with British songwriter Gemma Ray.


Muslims in the armed forces

The Army major believed to have killed 13 people in a gun attack was due to be deployed soon to Afghanistan, a military official said. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a US-born Muslim, opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood on Thursday. His cousin told the media that Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his “Middle Eastern ethnicity”. The tragedy casts a light on Muslims serving in the US military. The World’s Matthew Bell is working on that story for today’s show.


The stress of treating combat stress (5:00)

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Tulane University trauma expert Charles Figley about the kind of work that the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, did. Hasan is an Army psychiatrist with a specialty in treating combat stress.


Discussing the Goldstone Report (3:15)

The UN endorsed a controversial report yesterday that accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes in Gaza. On that same day, the report's author, Judge Richard Goldstone met in a public forum with a former Israeli ambassador to discuss the report's accusations. Correspondent Amy Bracken reports from Waltham, Massachusetts.


Electricity for rural Nicaragua

Reporter Eliza Barclay reports from Nicaragua how two American brothers tried a technological fix to alleviate poverty in that Central American country and our Science Forum invites you discuss aid projects with an environmental engineer online.


Mentoring Afghan police (6:00)

Earlier this week an Afghan policeman turned on five British soldiers and killed them. It's not the first time that the people being trained to take over security in their country have attacked the very ones who provide that training. Retired Captain Doug Beattie says he twice encountered situations that made him question the loyalty of his Afghan allies. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with him.


Winning the trust of Afghans (4:10)

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with US Army Major James Gant about his experience navigating tribal loyalties in Afghanistan in order to help the secure their support for Allied troops there.


Geo Quiz (1:00)

Our daily geography puzzler.


East German guesthouse nostalgia

The World’s Europe Correspondent, Gerry Hadden, is in Berlin working on stories for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He spent last night in the Ostel hotel. It’s a hotel refurbished to resemble a guesthouse in 1970s communist East Germany. Gerry gives us a tour on today’s show.


Geo answer (:15)

A Swiss company called Solar Impulse is in the very early stages of mounting what it hopes will be the first solar-powered flight around the world. For today's Geo Quiz, we asked just how long a flight that would be if the flight plan circled the earth at the equator. The answer is 24-thousand 901 miles...or approximately 25,000 miles.


Gemma Ray

As long as there have been cool themes and rhythms, musicians have been recycling them. The trick is how to pull that off without sounding derivative. Take the songs of British singer-songwriter Gemma Ray. They sound familiar, but when you stop and listen, you know you’ve never heard this before.