WAMU 88.5 : Community

About WAMU 88.5's Community Minute

September 4, 2011

WAMU 88.5's Community Minute is a community service, designed to help the station better engage with our listeners and the local organizations that help improve the quality of their lives.

The daily broadcast provides information about community organizations working to improve lives in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. During each month, we will feature two topics in Washington and one in the Ocean City area, and provide local resources for learning more. Online, we'll give more information about both the topics and the groups we mention on-air. Check back often to find out about the organizations working hard to help our community!

Arts & Culture

NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

Food

NPR

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial

Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.

Politics

NPR

Obama Group's Climate Push Puts President Under Scrutiny

Organizing for Action — a group that formed out of President Obama's re-election campaign — has focused its ire on Republicans it calls "climate change deniers." But some environmentalists are frustrated with the president himself on issues like the Keystone pipeline.

Technology

NPR

How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started

You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.