Countries: US

An introspective look at Middle-Eastern cultures in the U.S. as they appear in the media and are perceived by the American society. Studio Guest: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Chicago. Video Inserts: Dr. Jack Shaheen’s film Reel Bad Arabs.

The fastest growing religion in the U.S. is Islam; it is also one of the most controversial as a result of 9/11. Studio Guest: Imam Kifah Mustapha (from a Mosque located in Bridgeview, IL) who is also the Associate Director of The Mosque Foundation and Dr. Aminah Beverly McCloud, a Professor of Islamic Studies at DePaul University. Video Inserts: Dr. Azizan Baharuddin from the Centre for Civilizational Dialogue at the University of Malaysia, and a mini-case study on the Islamic community in Waukegan, Illinois.

This program features a segment on the Amish community in Indiana and a profile of Italians in America, looking at their struggles in the past and their dreams for the future. Studio Guest: historian and film maker Dominic Candeloro. Video Inserts: Mini-Case Study on the Amish in the U.S.; and film clips from the movie And They Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy.

A view of Americans with mixed ethnic/racial heritage. Studio Guest: Robin Tillmon, President of the Bi-racial Family Network (BFN) in the Chicago area and the child of an inter-racial marriage and Eric Glenn, the product of mixed-race parents. Video Inserts: Creole culture in New Orleans; and an “inter-racial” couple, Diane and Reggie Alsbrook, who live off the grid in New Mexico.

Examines ethnocentric views which fuel a great deal of decision-making in this in regards to where people live, work, and worship. Video Inserts: Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and a segment from the HBO documentary film, Hate.Com: Extremists on the Internet; David Duke, a White racialist with international connections; and Liebe Geft, a leader at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance.

Explore the world of Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals, and the Transgendered. Studio Guest: Sylvia and Gysbert Menninga, parents of a gay child; Tamara McClatchey, a lesbian professional; and Dr. Alan Sanders, a researcher from the University of Chicago. Video Inserts: None

People with disabilities are one of the largest special interest groups in our society and yet one with the lowest visibility. Studio Guest: Robin Sweeney, Disabilities Coordinator for Governors State University and one of her advisees, Marion Kaes, a student at GSU. Video Inserts: Hiram Zayas; and Lenda Hunt.

Explore one of our nation’s most complex and difficult problems, the concept of race. Video Inserts: Dr. Michael Omi, Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Berkeley.

The impact of social economics on the lives of families and individuals in the U.S. Studio Guest: Linzey Jones, Mayor of Olympia Fields, and Don DeGraff, Mayor of South Holland, Illinois. Video Inserts: White Flight in South Suburbia.

Examine the multifaceted issues surrounding gender in our society. Video Inserts: Professor Peggy McIntosh, Wellesley College, and Byron Hurt, Director of the film Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.