Millennials are less religious than their predecessors—so what does that mean for the future of the abortion issue? On today’s show, the growing number of young pro-life activists who are—or call themselves—secular feminists: the new generation of pro-life activists who are separating themselves from the GOP, and the religious right.
Plus, a new 10-Minute Writer's Workshop with Jodi Picoult. Her newest book carries on her tradition of tackling tough subjects with an ensemble of narrators, and this time, it's race.
Listen to the full show:
The New Face of the Pro-Life Movement
By just about every measure, American millennials are less religious than their predecessors - so you'd think they'd also be less likely to support positions favored by the religious right. That's certainly the case when it comes to gay marriage, but not when it comes to abortion.
Ruth Grahamis a regular contributor to Slate, where her article "The New Culture of Life", argues that a growing number of young pro-life activists are—or call themselves—secular feminists.
Parachuting Dogs
Desperate problems call for desperate measures. To stem the profitable illegal ivory trade, conservationists are getting creative: with skydiving dogs. A program in South Africa is making quick, stealthy, canine drops into vast forests and parklands to chase poachers down before the thieves disappear into the bush. Jani Actman is a research assistant with National Geographic. She wrote for Nat Geo's Wildlife Watch blog about the parachuting dogs that could help prevent the killing of wildlife for profit .
Related: Dogs Are Now Parachuting From the Sky to Help Save Wildlife
The Mosquito Creator
Aedes aegypti is the mosquito species that carries Zika, the virus causing critical birth defects in babies born in Central and South America, and spreading fast. But Aedes aegypti was actually wreaking havoc on humanity long before Zika. For thousands of years, the same species has been spreading other diseases like Dengue and Yellow Fever. And as it happens, one man set out to eradicate this deadly insect eighty years ago, and was ridiculed for it. Reporter Jake J. Smith brings us the story of Fred Soper and his mosquito crusade.
You can listen to this story again at PRX.org
10-Minute Writer's Workshop: Jodi Picoult
Small Great Things is Jodi Picoult's 24th novel - and the ninth straight to debut at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. If Picoult has a "thing" it's writing about thorny ethical issues from the perspective of multiple characters...and a twisty ending! She's written in the voice of suicidal teens, rape victims, a school shooter…but until now, never as a black character and never directly confronting race, privilege and inequity - which most people avoid talking about. We caught up with her in the green room at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire before Writers on a New England Stage.
You can listen to this workshop again here: 10-Minute Writer's Workshop: Jodi Picoult
