Radio Master's Projects 2010

Abby Wendle: Bringing Them to Term

Latino girls have had the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the United States for the past fourteen years. This three part documentary features Latino teens as they struggle to understand why their friends, sisters and cousins get pregnant young. We also speak with a teen mom who started valuing her education out of love for her son and experts who say to postpone parenting, Latino teens need the resources and encouragement to fulfill their professional goals.

Aliza Moorji - Globalizing Hindi: One Indian American at a Time

Indian Americans are one of the biggest population groups in New York City, and and their numbers continue to grow. But when it comes to learning Hindi in New York City high schools, the language is almost nonexistent. Aliza Moorji reports.

Angel Lenise Robinson - When Ready-to-Wear Creates Waste

During her exploration into fashion waste, Angel Robinson discovers methods, both new and old, that New Yorkers are using to curb the amount of fashion textiles that enter the city’s annual waste stream. In part one of this two-part series, she enters the world of zero-waste fashion at the Parsons New School of Design, and learns how the method stops waste during clothing production. Part two of this radio series keys in on ways people in New York City are minimizing fashion waste by rethinking the role of their old clothes.

Ashley Killough - A Brewing Force: A Story About the Relationship Between the Staten Island Tea Party and Congressman Michael Grimm

Chao Deng: Bringing the Art of Medicine Online

Social networks on the Internet aren't just good for making friends anymore. Patients scouting the web for medical tips are finding and talking to each other online. Many have dug up answers to obscure health problems at the click of a button. Doctors, albeit with caution, have also tapped into a new pool of online patients. In this three-part documentary, Chao Deng tell us how today's art of healing extends beyond in-person interactions. She'll also look at whether easy access to online health information is worth the risk.

Chienye Ogwo - What's the Skinny on Weight Loss?

Christopher Livesay: Pearls Before Swine

The 2009 outbreak of H1N1, the disease known as swine flu, turned out to be much more mild than health officials had feared. Tragically, 11,000 Americans died from the disease. Yet that number was far less than the original prediction of 60,000 to 90,000 possible deaths. And the diminished death toll overshadows some of the hidden costs: businesses lost, industries weakened, all because of public fear. In this three-part series, Christopher Livesay takes us to a few places that were deeply affected by the drumbeat of warnings about a possible H1N1 pandemic.

Ignacio Torres - Tossed in Translation

Jacob Anderson - The Ex-Gay Effect

Half a century ago, therapists routinely tried to cure clients of homosexuality. The methods, and the belief that gays and lesbians need to change, have since been rejected by most of the medical and therapeutic community, but not all. A small group of therapists say they have clients who want to change from gay to straight, and, for better or worse, are helping them try.

Jen Howard - Burlesque: Going All the Way, Part 1

Burlesque is a performance art that continues to thrive in New York - but in new and different ways, with new and different styles and with an ever-changing, ever-interesting cast of characters.

Joe Danielewicz - The Changing Funeral Business

The funeral industry is changing, as old traditions give way to new practices, including services that reconnect people with the past through home funerals and natural burial cemeteries. Small, independent funeral directors also face new challenges as their neighborhoods evolve with new residents who have different funeral expectations.

Kiran Moodley: Single Room Occupancies in New York City

Single Room Occupancies (SROs) are New York's cheapest form of housing. They consist of a small bedroom with a shared kitchen or bathroom. The Chelsea Hotel is perhaps the most famous example of SRO housing: in the 1960s and 1970s residents included Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Patti Smith. Back then, there was approximately 165,00 SRO units in New York City. Now, the figure is roughly 30,000. Why? SROs developed a stigma in the late 1970s after mentally-ill patients were placed in them after deinstitutionalization. Furthermore, many landlords have sought to push out SRO tenants and develop the units into up scale housing. Others have placed tourists in the units, rather than rent them for poor New Yorkers. Kiran Moodley investigates the current SRO situation.

Kirk Klocke: Shipping Industry Copes With Piracy

There was a record number of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia in 2009. Men and women who are responsible for the safe transportation of key commodities through the Gulf of Aden face a new reality: They must be ready to thwart pirates -- usually without any deadly weapons or the help of military forces. This project explores how future maritime officers are being trained to deal with the possibility of pirate attacks while still conducting efficient, profitable shipping operations.

Kumutha Ramanathan - The Fight to the Top: How Women in Business and Finance are Making Their Mark

Women have achieved an increasing presence in executive level positions in the business and finance realm over the past decade. Businesses are increasingly moving towards a talent model that actively promotes their ascension. However, stereotypes and other gender barriers still exist at the top tier. Pregnancy and childrearing are just two of the most obvious examples of where improvements still need to be made. While women’s attitudes towards “having it all” seem to be strengthening, corporate culture has not always kept pace.

Linda Abi Assi - Double Dutch: From the Streets to the Big Stage

Double Dutch is widely known as a street game that originated on the streets of New York City. It’s a style of jump rope in which players leap between two twirling ropes But in the past forty years, it’s moved out of the streets and schoolyards, and into entirely different settings. That’s mainly thanks to the introduction of music and tricks to the routines. Double Dutch is now a varsity sport in New York City schools and is played on stages all over the world. Some of its main players even dream of seeing it played on the biggest stage of all: the Olympics. One thing Double Dutch has going for it is a strong presence on all five continents, and a popularity that has long gone beyond American borders.

Mary Plummer: Love Notes from 2010

Society at large seems to be moving away from commitment to one person. In the past few decades, divorce has become increasingly acceptable and divorce laws more flexible; young adults have shifted away from dating and into an age of friends-with-benefits; and technology has created many outlets for people to stray through social networks and dating websites. This project features three stories on modern love and looks at where commitment is headed.

Michelle Oh - Lethal Barriers: The Shortcomings of Medical Interpreting and Its Consequences

This piece examines the shortcoming of medical interpreting in New York, describes the impact it has on patients, and identifies some of the key barriers to its improvement throughout the state.

Rania Zabaneh: Echo of Silence

Hundreds of undocumented immigrant women in New York City experience domestic violence, yet very few victims approach advocacy agencies or the police. Most of the victims face language, cultural, economic and legal barriers. However, there are legal remedies that can help... Rania Zabaneh reports on the plight of undocumented immigrant victims of domestic violence in New York City.

Saskya Vandoorne: Sounds of the underground

Willow Belden - The Greening of Roofs

You might think of solar panels and urban gardens as the pet projects of environmentalists. But now, entrepreneurs are embracing green rooftop infrastructure for a new reason: money. They’re using the real estate over their heads to farm vegetables, generate renewable energy — and turn a profit. In a three-part series about environmental uses of rooftops, Willow Belden takes us to buildings where green projects are thriving financially — and to some that still face major economic hurdles.

Zack Seward: The Unseen World of Recycling in New York City

For many Americans recycling is a part of daily life. However, very few know what happens to their recyclables once they take them to the curb. In a three-part series, Zack Seward explores the inner workings of recycling in New York City. Part 1 looks at how the recession hurt the business of recycling. Part 2 examines the NIMBY politics of locating recycling facilities in Manhattan. Part 3 follows recycling scavengers as they piece together supplemental income one nickel at a time.