Boston Calling

The Mississippi river could be called America’s inland hydro highway. It carries US goods and commodities out to the rest of the world and allows trade flows to return. But up and down the Mississippi River, there are new pressures. The strain on the river system is only becoming more acute with the impacts of climate change. Reporter Jason Margolis recently traveled nearly 1800 kilometres down the Mississippi to assess the health of the river, its economy and its people. (A fish is pulled from the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Further south, oysters thrive in brackish water, a mix of freshwater and saltwater in coastal Louisiana. Credit: Leyland Cecco/The World)

How quickly will Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier melt, and what will that mean for global sea levels and coastal cities? Scientists spent several weeks aboard the research ship Nathaniel B Palmer, studying Thwaites as part of a five-year, international effort to try to answer those pressing questions. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard for a deep dive into the science and the stakes for our future. (An iceberg in the Southern Ocean, is pictured here as the Nathaniel B. Palmer sailed by during its return trip from Antarctica in March 2019. Carolyn Beeler/The World)

Melting of Antarctica's massive Thwaites Glacier could add 60 centimetres to global sea level rise in the next 50 to 100 years, and unlock far more in the years beyond. A voyage by an icebreaker to the remote glacier's face laid the groundwork for a 5-year international research effort to try to answer urgent questions about Thwaites' future. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard the expedition, with deep dives into the science and the stakes for our future. (The Nathaniel B. Palmer anchored off the Rothera research station near the Antarctic Peninsula. Nearing its destination offshore of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, the ship had to divert back north to the station for a medical emergency. Carolyn Beeler/The World)

This year marks four hundred years since slave traders arrived at the Virginia colony with the first captive Africans to be enslaved in what would become the US. It was the start of something that would come to define and divide America. Ghana has declared 2019 the “Year of Return” for African descendants around the globe. Our reporter, Rupa Shenoy, traveled to Ghana to look at how slavery is entangled in both the past and present lives of people there and in the African diaspora. (A view inside of Christiansborg Castle, Ghana. Credit: Selase Kove-Seyram/The World)

This month marks 20 years since Vladimir Putin first became prime minister of Russia. Now serving his fourth term as Russia’s president, Putin has increased and consolidated his power over the past two decades. We look back at the events that have shaped his leadership and the course of his nation. Also, we reflect on the past 20 years of diplomacy between the US and Russia; and when Vladimir Putin finishes his fourth term as Russia’s President, what will he do next? (U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a joint press conference after their 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland. Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The US and the Taliban are reportedly inching closer to a breakthrough in peace talks. But the Afghan government has been notably missing from these negotiations. Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, says that the Afghan government's position regarding the talks is that ‘peace is the highest desire.’ Also, we’ll take you Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the US border, where migrants from all over the world are waiting for a chance to enter the US; and long lost relatives reunite and share their family history after being seperated by a legacy of slavery. (Afghan Ambassador to the United States Roya Rahmani. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)

The US-China trade war has been going on for almost two years now. Both countries have imposed hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs on each other, and that number has only been growing. Right now, we may be entering a new, potentially dangerous, phase of the dispute: currency warfare. Also, we’ll take a look at real life consequences that the US-China trade war is already having, both for small businesses and for Chinese-Americans who are now experiencing unwanted scrutiny; and we’ll also explore China’s so called social credit system, and why it’s been mostly misunderstood in the West. (An aerial view of a port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

In 1987, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It led to the elimination of more than 2,500 nuclear missile. But as of this week, the INF treaty is no more after the Trump administration announced its withdrawal. Former Secretary of State George Schulz thinks today’s politicians underestimate the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Also, roughly a year after the US announced that it’s creating a military space force, now France is following suit. It’s a 21st century military version of the space race; how hypersonic missiles could transform the future of war and diplomacy; and the widespread use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam war has consequences beyond Vietnam’s borders. (U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signing the INF Treaty in the East Room at the White House in 1987. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Next month, roughly two million Muslims will travel to the holy city of Mecca for one of the most important religious rituals in Islam. As long as they are in good health and can afford it, every Muslim must complete the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. But the Hajj can only be done in Saudi Arabia, which is making some people feel conflicted about making the journey. Also, Dutton Books is trying to reinvent books for the smartphone generation with something called the ‘Dwarsligger’; Disney is remaking a live action version of the hit film ‘Mulan,’ this time though, they’re paying attention to their Chinese audience; Some women in Argentina are challenging gender roles on the dance floor, taking the macho out of tango; and in their new album, three Israeli sisters pay tribute to a family member going three generations back, from Yemen. (Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world descend upon Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the hajj. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)

There are upwards of 10 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US. Many of those immigrants are children or have children studying in schools throughout the country. For them,fear of deportation and family separation is a constant reality. Students at El Colegio High School in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis know that feeling, so the school has prepared its students and staff for when the immigration agents come knocking. Also, find out how Trump's hard-line immigration policies build on the history of former US presidents; we meet the teachers of University Open Air where classes are all taught by immigrants; author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani talks about the legacy of Nigerian slavery and how it affects people’s lives today; and the story of a Uighur family whose members fled China and now own a restaurant in Boston. (An exterior view of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters is seen in Washington, DC. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

President Trump has backed away from his efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 US census. But immigrants still fear being asked that question. Also, there’s an outbreak of measles in two ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City. A nurse there is trying to convince those in the community to get vaccinated; former US Defence Secretary Ash Carter offers his views on current tensions with; and a Venezuelan family divided by distance and politics, a daughter laments.

In recent months, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump Administration officials have been trying to convince Congress that Iran has ties with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Some say that the Administration is trying to establish this connection because of a law that the US Congress passed three days after the 9/11 attacks. That law gave then President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with al-Qaeda and any related organisation without Congressional approval. Also, we meet Iranian-Americans who are feeling particularly anxious as tension between the US and Iran escalates; and we find out what possessions people in Tehran are looking to sell, to find out how sanctions are affecting ordinary Iranians. (President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing fresh sanctions on Iran in the Oval Office of the White House. Next to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Credit: Oliver Contreras/Getty Images)

When Wajed al-Khalifa and her family arrived in the US as refugees in 2015, everything about the United States seemed foreign. They were now far away from their home in Syria and it was time to acclimate to a new life. It wasn’t long though before they started hitting milestones: Khalifa and her husband got driving licences, their four children excelled in school, quickly overcoming barriers such as English-language instruction and a new education system. Over the past 4 years reporter Monica Campbell has been checking in with the family and their story is still unfolding. Also, US congresswoman Ilhan Omar tells us about her experience as a refugee from Somalia, and how this informs what she thinks about the US migration crisis. (Gasem Al Hamad and his children in their new home in Turlock, California. He and his wife fled Syria with their kids after several family members were tortured or killed as the civil war rages on. Al Hamad is now a halal butcher at a nearby slaughterhouse. Credit: Monica Campbel

The coastal lowlands along Malaysia’s side of the Strait of Malacca are a mostly lush place, studded with fat palms and forest canopies dripping with vines. But over the past year and a half, black pillars of smoke have appeared above the treetops. We investigate how plastic waste American municipalities send for recycling, is piling up in illegal dumps thousands of miles away. Also, tiny plastic pellets, called 'nurdles' are the product of plastics producers, but why are these pellets appearing on the US Gulf Coast?; Americans have few options when it comes to recycled tissue products and that's having a devastating impact on Canada's northern forests; Meal kits are becoming very popular in the US, but are they helping us to reduce waste? (Plastic waste at an abandoned factory in Jenjarom, a district of Kuala Langat, outside Kuala Lumpur. From grubby packaging engulfing small Southeast Asian communities to waste piling up in plants from the US to Australia, China's ban on accepting the world's used plast

It wasn’t easy for Elton John to get producers to keep all the scenes in his new fantasy-biopic, “Rocketman.” He was determined that the Paramount film not gloss over his sexuality or past drug use. Despite his efforts, Russia’s version appears to be missing about five minutes-worth of footage. . Also, we meet the American singer who teaches Italian kids how to sing like Beyoncé; plus the story of how Lucia Lucas became the first transgender person to sing a lead part in a standard operatic work in the US; why Lincoln, Nebraska is a great place to hear traditional Yazidi music; and Filipina-American musician Ruby Ibarra tells her family story with rap. (Elton John (R) and David Furnish attend the "Rocketman" UK Premiere at Odeon Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom. Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

The US is reported to have plans for a potential cyber attack that would cripple Iran’s cities. Whether such a plan would be implemented is open to question but it would take cyberwarfare to a whole new level. Also, a doctor in Puerto Rico prepares pregnant women for hurricane season; a plan to change the sound New York City; a NASA scientist is caught up in a clampdown on political dissent in Turkey, with severe consequences for his life back in the US; and Latinos in Texas mix a rite of passage with civic duty. (Image: A man is seen portraying a hacker with binary code symbols on a laptop in this photo illustration on October 15, 2018 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The United States census gets underway next year and the Trump administration wants to ask everyone if they're a US citizen. Critics say the question will discourage some immigrants from participating and lead to an inaccurate census. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter later this month. Also, a same-sex married couple has two sons ; one gets US citizenship while his brother does not; immigrants in New York find it harder to win asylum; a Russian grandmother becomes a US citizen; and a Brazilian-born musician took the oath of allegiance a year ago and now calls Texas home. (Image: Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Immigrants and refugees from Syria and Iraq lead tours at Philadelphia’s Penn Museum. They help visitors understand where the museum’s artefacts come from and add historical context to the objects. Also, “voluntourism” is a growing part of the travel industry, but critics say there’s sometimes a human cost for volunteer’s good deeds; we meet Terry Tickhill Terrell, who in 1969 became one of the first women to join a US scientific expedition to Antarctica; a long, lost manuscript and its connection to Christopher Columbus; and a restaurant in Casablanca inspired by the classic Hollywood film. (Image: Abdulhadi Al-Karfawi, a Global Guide at the Penn Museum, talks about an ornate headdress, which was found with the body of Queen Puabi in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, on a Sunday afternoon tour of the Middle East Galleries in 2018. Photo by Raffi Berberian, Penn Museum.)

The amount of weaponry Saudi Arabia buys from the US has risen dramatically over the past decade or so. We take the latest arms sales data and present it as an audio experience. Also, the human cost behind seemingly ordinary groceries; some states in the US are tightening abortion laws, leading some women to buy abortion pills online; a US fast-food chain introduces a new meat-free burger; and why burping cows are causing climate change. (Image: Supporters of Houthis gather at Babul Yemen street to protest the US government's sale of $1.29 billion in smart bombs to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen on November 20, 2015. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A ban went into effect this week on athletes with high testosterone competing in women’s track events. South African runner Caster Semenya last week lost her challenge to a new rule by the International Association of Athletics Federations that keeps her out of women’s competitions because of her hormone levels. Many athletes have expressed opposition to the latest ruling, but we hear from a transgender runner who is happy with the ban. We also speak with the author of a graphic memoir trying to make sense of skin colour and identity; we hear about efforts in California to make police more sensitive to indigenous people; we visit a street in New Jersey City named in honour of an Indian human rights campaigner; and we hear the music of a self-described intergalactic feminist. (Image: South Africa's Caster Semenya celebrates after winning the women's 800m during the IAAF Diamond League competition on May 3, 2019 in Doha. Credit: KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)