Special Reports
Animation made in South Africa
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The World’s Laura Lynch profiles a young South African woman who’s studying to become one of the new generation of animators in what is hoped will be a successful indigenous animation filmmaking industry. (photo: Laura Lynch) Download MP3South Africa’s soccer burden
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The World Cup soccer tournament opens in South Africa in seven weeks and South Africans are psyched. 360,000 foreign spectators are expected to bring their enthusiasm – and money – to South Africa. But some South Africans view the World Cup as a burden that has made their lives worse. We’ll learn why from The World’s Laura Lynch. Download MP3Recycled trash to fuel Haiti
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Before the recent earthquake, Haiti was no stranger to natural disasters. In recent years, thousands of people have been killed by floods and landslides. To understand why the toll is so high, one need look no further than the country’s bald mountains. Haiti has lost about 97 % of its forests. And the main culprit is the nation’s most popular cooking fuel: charcoal. Reporter Amy Bracken looks at one effort to provide a tree-saving alternative: briquettes made from trash. Download MP3 (photo: Amy Bracken)Juan Gabriel’s music school
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When the Mexican border city of Juarez is in the news, it’s almost never for a good thing. One of the city’s biggest problems is a lack of social institutions that prevent young people from being recruited into organized crime. This was an issue one of Juarez’s most famous artists – Juan Gabriel – noticed 22 years ago when he founded a music school for boys. Reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe visited the school. Download MP3 (Photo:Monica Ortiz Uribe)Living with South Africa’s foreign workers
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As South Africa prepares to host the World Cup in just under two months, it’s promising a warm welcome for tourists from around the globe.But the welcome mat isn’t out for everyone – particularly foreign workers from countries like Zimbabwe. The World’s Laura Lynch reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Laura Lynch)Colorado River water rights
Under a longstanding treaty, the Colorado River irrigates 3 million acres of farmland and supplies water to 30 million people in the United States and Mexico. Between population growth and a decade long drought, the Colorado is under such stress that Western states – desperate to maintain water supplies – want to purify agricultural runoff currently diverted into Mexico. But as The World’s Lorne Matalon reports, Mexico covets that water, because it has given birth to a productive wetland.
Eradicating Guinea worm disease
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In this special podcast, The World takes you to Sudan with former President Jimmy Carter. Carter is working in Southern Sudan to eradicate a horrific disease known as Guinea worm. Our health and science editor David Baron traveled with Carter. We bring you Baron’s report, and an extended interview with Carter. Download MP3
Outbreak of rare disease in the Netherlands
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The Netherlands is grappling with an outbreak of a rare disease. It normally strikes farm animals, but it’s now sickening hundreds of people who have no contact with farms. The disease is caused by bacteria so resilient that the U.S. government considers it a bioterrorism agent. From the Netherlands, Emily Kopp reports. Download MP3 (image courtesy of VJ Movement)Reporter’s Notebook: Return to Haiti, Part II
Reporter Amy Bracken is currently in Haiti on assignment. She knows the country well, having lived and worked there in the past. We asked her to keep a notebook of her experiences during her current reporting trip. This is her second entry. (Photo caption: Charcoal seller at the Champs de Mars camp, Haiti. photo credit: Amy Bracken)
What’s in a street name?
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In the hothouse of Israeli-Palestinian relations, deciding what to name a city street can be a matter of great pride or biting offense. The World’s Matthew Bell reports from Jerusalem. Download MP3Developing Sudan’s Tuti Island
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Where the Blue and White Niles meet in Khartoum, Sudan, lies Tuti Island. While Khartoum developed into a modern city, Tuti retained its bucolic environment. But that may be about to change now that a new bridge has been built connecting Tuti to the capital city. Reporter Hana Baba has the story. Download MP3 (Photo: Hana Baba)
Reporter’s Notebook: Return to Haiti
Reporter Amy Bracken is currently on assignment in Haiti, a country that she knows well, having lived and worked there extensively in the past. The World asked her to keep a diary of her experiences on this trip. In this, her first entry, she writes about being back in the country, and about how the Haitians are preparing for the rainy season. (Photo: Amy Bracken)
Boxes of Irish history
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The small town of Ballina is known as ‘the Salmon Capital of Ireland’. It’s home to only about 11,000 people. But it’s also home to an extraordinary collection of historical documents. The World’s Alex Gallafent reports from New York. Download MP3 (Photo: Courtesy of the Jackie Clarke Library and Archive)
The Iraqi election in Kirkuk
President Barack Obama hailed a “milestone” in the history of Iraq, as it completed its second parliamentary election since the 2003 invasion. He praised the courage of voters who turned out despite bomb and mortar attacks that killed at least 35 people. Reporter Ben Gilbert has been covering the election for The World from the northern city of Kirkuk.
Doctors face ethical decisions in Haiti
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The medical needs in Haiti are so great, and the resources often so limited, that doctors and nurses working there since the earthquake have had to make some wrenching decisions. They’ve had to choose not only who they could save, but who they could not or would not save. Reporter Sheri Fink brings us a rare behind-the-scenes look at an American field hospital in Port au Prince in the early weeks of the disaster. Download MP3 (Photo: Sheri Fink)
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