Category: Current Events

  • This Guest Offers a Bigotry Breakthrough

    While bigotry is on the rise across the globe, author Sara Ting claims that there is still hope for peace and harmony. The founder and president of World Unity, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the elimination of all forms of bigotry says, “All humans have unconscious biases. I have developed a tool that takes 10 seconds or less to help cultivate a mindset to value all people equally.” Sara is a diversity and inclusion educator, speaker, consultant and author of “Small Book with a Big Idea: 5 Minute Training to Empower You and Transform the World.” Contact Sara Ting at (508) 715-3370; Sting@rtirguests.com

  • Why You Should Care About Endangered Elephants

    Elephants have long enchanted humans due to their intelligence, charm and majesty. Sadly, they are also one of the world’s most endangered species. According to author/animal welfare advocate Georja Umano, this places the entire planet’s environment in peril. “They are so large that rain in an elephant’s footprint can create a microsystem that can provide a home for tadpoles and other organisms,” she says. “The effects of their movements in both savannahs and forests help restore and maintain the balance of nature.” Georja spent two years working in Kenya and can share why it’s important to preserve elephants’ natural habitats, as well as how these lovable creatures positively impact global ecosystems. She is the author of “Terriers in the Jungle.” Contact Georja Umano at (213) 568-1764; gumano@rtirguests.com

  • Everyone Has Unconscious Biases. Uncover Yours

    While bigotry is on the rise across the globe, author Sara Ting claims that there is hope for peace and harmony. “All humans have unconscious biases,” she says. “I have developed a tool that organizations can offer to their colleagues that takes 10 seconds or less to help cultivate a mindset to value all people equally.” Sara is a diversity and inclusion educator, speaker, consultant, and author of “Small Book with a Big Idea: 5 Minute Training to Empower You and Transform the World.” She is also the founder and president of World Unity, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the elimination of all forms of bigotry. Contact Sara Ting at (508) 715-3370; Sting@rtirguests.com

  • Smallpox Lessons That Put Today’s COVID Pandemic in Perspective

    For a timely show in light of today’s debate about the role of vaccines in stopping COVID’s spread in the world’s poorest nations, invite Bee Bloeser to share her experiences in Africa after the CDC dispatched her husband Carl to join the global smallpox vaccination campaign in 1969. “Vaccines and Bayonets: Fighting Smallpox in Africa amid Tribalism, Terror and the Cold War,” details Bee’s time in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea (where she was one of only two American women), including brushes with a brutal dictator and a heartbreaking humanitarian crisis unknown to the outside world. An award-winning author and engaging public speaker, Bee Bloeser has been featured on NPR’s Journeys of Discovery and NPR KCBX Radio’s show, Issues and Ideas. Ask her: What lessons from your husband’s efforts are applicable to today’s vaccine issues? Did you face resistance in Africa, and by whom? Contact Bee Bloeser at (520) 214-5971; bbloeser@rtirguests.com

  • What Trump Revealed about the Mainstream Media

    There’s no denying that Donald Trump has changed the landscape of American journalism. Some say he exposed a lack of ethics and objectivity in the media while others say he used the media to spread misinformation and lies. What is it about DJT that makes it impossible to look away? Is it the media’s fault? Did they create the monster they hate? Invite Dutch American journalist and media trainer Hans Izaak Kriek to share his independent, nonpolitical observations on how the mainstream media have reported on Trump — as a person and president — and how both parties and their leaders played their part in building hatred for Trump and his family. The author of “Trump’s Daily Domination of the News Media” can discuss how journalism changed with the Trump presidency and whether he or the media themselves are responsible for the moniker “fake news.” Ask him: Are Americans getting honest news from mainstream media? Are media owners pushing their own political agendas? What is so different about Trump’s relationship with the media? How can the public recognize fake news and framing? Do others besides politicians use fake news, and why? Hans Izaak Kriek is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Krieksmediaworld.com. He worked as an international political journalist for AVRO/TROS, the two largest Dutch National broadcasters. As a media trainer, he has coached and advised thousands of politicians and executives. Contact Hans Izaak Kriek at (561) 861-2974; jkriek@rtirguests.com

  • Exiled for Exposing Russian Mafia – True Story of a Banking Whistleblower

    John Christmas worked for Parex Bank in Latvia in 2004 when he exposed widespread bank fraud to a major international audit firm and the Latvian government. He was terrorized and fled the country while the firm and the government ignored the information. It eventually led to the bank’s collapse and the 2008 Latvian financial crisis, which continues to this day. Learn how a corrupt Western taxpayer-funded development bank covered up the corruption for years while Christmas was exiled for exposing the Russian Mafia bank. The spy thriller “KGB Banker,” co-written with crime fiction author William Burton McCormick, was inspired by John Christmas’ story. Ask him: What’s become of the players you exposed? Were your allegations ever investigated? Are you still in danger? Could a similar situation happen again? Contact John Christmas at (514) 700-9015; jchristmas@rtirguests.com

  • Will 2022 Be Even Worse for Wildfires?


    We’ve seen the photos of gigantic trees enveloped in “fireproof” wraps to protect them from the killer flames of wildfires in forested areas of California and Canada. Will that be enough to protect some of the largest and oldest lifeforms on Earth? What about protecting communities (some already decimated by wildfire), farms, homes, pets, wild animals and human lives in 2022? As climate change imperils the planet and leads to fires and other dangers that could make millions of acres uninhabitable, your audience will want to discuss this topic with wildfire expert James Moseley. Ask him about the latest actions and technologies that can save lives and property. Ask him: What connection could NASA have to the wildfires plaguing our drought-prone world? How can new technology be successful? What should everyone know, whether living in wildfire areas or not? Contact James Moseley at (818) 486-4662; jmoseley@rtirguests.com

  • Will Russia Attack Ukraine? What the Russian Troop Massing Means

    Russias positioning of over 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border has the world wondering what Vladimir Putin is up to. Is he planning an invasion or merely flexing his muscles? At a time when Ukrainian and Russian troops are as close as 50 yards from each other, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Peter Zwack, who spent two years as the United States senior defense official and attaché to the Russian Federation including the recent 2014 Russia-Ukraine crisis, can share whether the Russians have boxed themselves into a precipice of their own doing. Brig. Gen. Zwack, who recently appeared on the international Russian-language TV network RTVI on this topic, can share why the current troop numbers at the border are formidable but not enough for a full Ukraine-wide operation and whether the Putin regime oligarchs and moneyed interests would be willing to endure the sanctions and other fallout that would likely occur should an invasion take place. Brig. Gen. (Ret.) currently serves as a Wilson Center Global Fellow within the Kennan Institute and frequently discusses national security and leadership issues in the media. Among his books is “Swimming the Volga.” Contact Terri Beavers at (434) 979-7438; BG.PBZ.r@gmail.com

  • Why Aren’t There More Black Doctoral Candidates?

    According to the National Science Foundation, African American doctoral candidates averaged a modest 5.4 percent during the last 20 years. According to Dr. Dorothy Kegler, Ed.D., the divide is cultural. “African Americans are exposed to sports and entertainment and other quick-money fields, not higher education,” she says. “There are also fewer African American doctors and lawyers because they aren’t exposed to these fields early enough in life.” The youngest of 10 children, Dorothy overcame a learning difficulty to earn a doctorate in higher education administration from Alliant International University in San Diego. She is the author of three books. Contact Dr. Dorothy at 619-679-9627;  dkegler@rtirguests.com

  • Are You a Carrier of the ‘Trauma Virus?’

    Trauma is embedded in institutions, in our collective stories, and passed down from generation to generation. Scholar and author Dr. Sousan Abadian says that even if you think you haven’t experienced trauma yourself, you can be a carrier of the “trauma virus.” She says, “We see trauma footprints today in the riots, insurrection, and rise of extremists and many of us are unaware of the ways we are carrying the trauma virus that can create fertile ground for radicalization to occur.” She’ll explain how we may be infected by trauma, or a carrier of trauma without being aware of it, because forms of trauma have come to feel ordinary. Dr. Abadian is the author of the forthcoming book “Free Me to Love,” based on her personal experience with “collective trauma” and healing. She has a Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University. Contact Sousan Abadian at (617) 860-2785; sabadian@rtirguests.com