Nation Jun 20 How Scotch whisky producers are aiming to go carbon neutral The UK became the first country to set a deadline to become a carbon-neutral economy with zero emissions of greenhouse gasses. Britain’s target is 2050. Scotland’s is even earlier, by 2045. Fred de Sam Lazaro looks at the effort of…
World Apr 30 How an African university is connecting doctors to patients in remote communities Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for about 25 percent of all disease in the world, yet it has just three percent of the healthcare workforce. There are not enough medical and nursing schools and many of the continent’s graduates are recruited to…
World Apr 09 Rwanda marks 30 years of reconciliation after genocide, but major challenges remain Rwanda is holding observances to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide in that East African nation that took one million lives. Rwanda has won praise for rebuilding efforts, but democratic backsliding and conflict just outside its borders have raised…
Arts Jan 29 Minneapolis chamber group performs music written by Polish prisoners at Auschwitz Observances were held across the world over the weekend for the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Fred de Sam Lazaro has the story of one effort to preserve and honor the music performed by prisoners in orchestras that were a…
Nation Jan 01 Doctors unionize as healthcare services are consolidated into corporate systems As recently as the early 80s, about three of every four doctors in the U.S. worked for themselves, owning small clinics. Today, some 75 percent of physicians are employees of hospital systems or large corporate entities. Some worry the trend…
Arts Dec 19 Church leader hopes hand-written and illustrated Bible can heal religious divides When the printing press was invented nearly 600 years ago, it put an end to centuries of hand-written manuscripts in which scribes, mostly in monasteries, tediously wrote and illustrated sacred texts, such as the Bible. Fred de Sam Lazaro revisits…
Nation Nov 23 Southeast Asia flooded with imported plastic waste meant for recycling Last year, the U.S. exported more than 950 million tons of plastic waste meant for recycling and a significant portion of that ended up in Southeast Asia. The region has been inundated with plastic scrap after China blocked all but…
Nation Oct 19 Amid national push for police reform, Native people feel left out of conversation Amid ongoing police reform efforts in the U.S., Native American activists say they've often been left out of the conversation. But more than three years after the police murder of George Floyd, there's a renewed push in places like Minneapolis…
Health Jun 29 Innovative clinic helps doctors avoid burnout and makes healthcare more affordable The U.S. faces a growing shortage of physicians, especially those in primary care fields like internal medicine, mental health and pediatrics. The shortfall is driven by population and demographic trends and burnout. Fred de Sam Lazaro found a doctor-patient model…
Health Jun 28 The Patient Revolution aims to expose healthcare flaws and pave the way for improvement Recent studies report that two-thirds of American physicians report feeling burned out, something only aggravated by the pandemic. One of the consequences is a decline in the quality of care for patients, who find it increasingly difficult to navigate the…