TheIdea Hour
Explore a world of ideas through a wide variety of thought-provoking public radio programs.
Join us for The Idea Hour every Sunday evening at 8:00 on WPSU-FM. You’ll hear documentaries from NPR news and independent producers and occasional series like:
- America Abroad hosted by Ray Suarez
- American Radio Works from American Public Media
- Radio Lab from WNYC featuring NPR reporter Robert Krulwich
- Intelligence Squared NPR’s series of debates on important issues
We’ll delve into politics, science, the arts, and more, in programs ranging from investigative journalism to audio art.
Check this page for schedule updates, as we may adjust The Idea Hour schedule to accommodate timely programs.
October Schedule
October 4: Breaking the Bonds of Tradition
Meet several remarkable people in India who have said “now” to prejudice and low expectations. PRI profiles a Dalit (i.e. Untouchable) leader who is providing scores of young people from poor villages with their first chance ever at receiving an education with dignity. And take a look at a group of women widowed by the Gujarat anti-Muslim riots of 2002.
October 11: Stochasticity
When “lighting strikes twice,” is it fate or just chance? The desire to see patterns in randomness is a basic facet of human experience. Radiolab tries to make sense of the patterns we see, from the basketball lucky streak known as “hot hand” to why a Parkinson’s patient turned into a gambling addict.
October 18: From NAFTA to Narcotics
When the U.S. sneezes, Mexico catches a cold. With the American economy in surgery, Mexico is on life support. This episode from America Abroad takes you from New York to Puebla, to examine the economic ties that bind the two nations, from trade to trafficking. En route, it reveals how what happens on the other side of the border doesn’t stay there.
October 25: Trauma, Turmoil, and Recovery
Get to know survivors of foster care, including two sisters, who, this year graduated from SmithCollege and Virginia Polytechnic respectively. Their father was a drug addict who was incapable of caring for them after their mother ran off with her lover and abandoned them.
Details
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