WBEZ's Worldview

There's a myth that migratory birds know how to navigate their way through a city. Navigating flight through a place like Chicago is far more dangerous for birds than flying through dense woodlands. EcoMyths founder Kate Sackman, joins WBEZ Worldview Host, Jerome McDonnell, for its monthly myth-busting segment. They talk about saving and studying birds in harm's way with Field Museum Ornithologist and Ecologist Doug Stotz and Annette Prince of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.

EcoMyths Alliance president Kate Sackman, DePaul University ecologist Dr. Liam Heneghan, and Dr. Andrew Hipp, curator of the Morton Arboretum, join WBEZ's Worldview to take questions on the conventional wisdom vs. actual truths about native plants in Illinois.

Alice Teisan, a former nurse at Rush Hospital, was an avid cyclist before she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 1992. Despite her health setback, she channeled her passion for bicycling into helping others suffering from disabilities. For "Global Activism", Alice tells us how in 2005, she created His Wheels International out of her own home, which recycles old bicycles overseas.

During the next several years, Nicaragua hopes to revolutionize its energy production and consumption. Jared Diamond’s new book 'The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies' is causing an uproar. A former Rush Hospital nurse helps send bicycles overseas.

The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for making war among its members inconceivable. France and Germany recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Friendship Treaty. Author and comedian Aaron Freeman believes the E.U. points the way to a more peaceful world and that the key to its success is forgiveness. Frederic Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects and associate professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, also weighs in.

Worldview speaks with Doris Meissner of the Migration Policy Institute about the new bipartisan proposal on immigration reform, and we are joined in the studio by Natalia Kaliada, the co-artistic director of the Belarus Free Theatre, who will discuss her theater's play, "Minsk 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker," which plays this weekend at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

A discussion with Ahmed Rehab of CAIR-Chicago on the unrest in Egypt, Pepe Palacios, an LGBT activist from Honduras, discusses his struggle against oppression, and Tim Laman and Ed Scholes discuss their project for National Geographic photographing rare and beautiful birds in New Guinea.

Worldview film contributor Milos Stehlik stops by to discuss the panoply of black-and-white movies showing in Chicago this weekend. He is joined by Dan Talbot, who co-produced one of the films, Point of Order, a documentary about the Army Senate-McCarthy hearings.

WGN reporter Randi Belisomo has a passion for bringing clean water to those in need. She has traveled with the non-profit Living Water International to several locations, including Haiti, and just led a trip to El Salvador this past November. Worldview gets an update on her work for our Global Activism series.

The Michael Haneke film Amour is nominated for five Oscars including best foreign film and best picture, a rarity for a non-English language movie. It opens Friday in Chicago. Worldview film contributor Milos Stehlik has this review. Photo: Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or-winning “Amour" depicts the life an aging married couple. (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics)

On today's show: The Syrian humanitarian crisis, Oscar-nominated film Amour, Weekend Passport

Wauconda couple Steve and Paulie Kutschat have a deep love for books. For Global Activism, they'll share how after a trip to Africa, the Kutschats founded Bookfriends International, a nonprofit providing educational resources to secondary school-age children in Africa. Their donations include text books, library books and reference materials.

On today's show: Reports of some hostages in Algeria hostages freed, Israeli elections and Global Activism.

On today's show: A Pakistan protest leader standing ground on reform, why the Greeks don't pay taxes and Global Notes.

A recent Stanford University study about the health value of organic produce stirred up a lot of conversation. Is organic produce overrated? Is sustainable produce too costly in terms of price or carbon footprint? On the next EcoMyths segment, Kate Sackman from the EcoMyths Alliance and Jerome McDonnell seek answers from Barbara Willard of DePaul University. (Photo by AP/Ric Francis)