WHYS in Immokalee, Florida

As mentioned by Ros a wee while back on our trips page, we’re working with our partner station out in south-west Florida, WGCU.

This time next week, Ros, Alicia and I will be on our way to Immokalee.  It’s a small town not far from Fort Myers (where WHYS broadcast from the soup kitchen last year, see picture below).

Tired traditions

Aaaaaaaargh – sprouts! Now I love Christmas as much as the next hyper-active 10-year-old but just keep me away from those small, sour, green beasts of doom. Then there is turkey, that most tasteless of meat, and all the thoughtless, tacky, useless presents (admittedly mainly from me).

Most memorable dining moment on a train?

Italy’s railways Ferrovie dello Stato are phasing out restaurant cars on trains by the end of the year to replace them with snack bars to save money. In cinematographic and literary culture the dining car experience has often been associated with elegance, civility or even romance. What was your most memorable dining experience on a European train? We are keen to feast on your thoughts…

Talking Points for 6 June

Thanks very much to Steve for being our night editor: lots of new ideas in there, including a discussion of secularism and the headscarf in Turkey, and whether PDAs (public displays of affection) by lesbians should be allowed.

Meanwhile our debate on vegetarianism is still raging, and it looks likely that we’ll dive in today and talk about it on air.

On air: Are you worried about rising food prices?

Hi Chloe here,

this is an issue that has come up a lot at our editorial meetings over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday the UN’s top humanitarian official Sir John Holmes, has warned that escalating food prices will trigger protests and riots in vulnerable nations. He said food scarcity and soaring fuel prices would compound the damaging effects of global warming. Prices have risen 40% on average globally since last summer. In recent days it’s lead to riots in Haiti and protests by farmers in Argentina.

Are you worried about rising food prices?

The prices of basic foodstuffs – like wheat, rice and corn – have soared over the last year, hitting the pockets and bellies of people in communities all over the world. And the increased cost of grain means it’s more expensive to feed the livestock that provide us with meat and dairy products… Many people are now talking about a global food crisis – with no end in sight.

Talking points for 8 April

Many thanks to all of you that took part in last night’s programme on the Olympic torch relay.  Over 200 comments on the blog and collectively you helped produce a sparkling on air programme which is well worth a listen on the podcast if you missed it.

Today we’ll be focussing on whether women should tell their employer if they want a baby? You’ve been talking about it and Chloe’s blog post yesterday already has great comments. Are you affected?  Let us know by the usual channels or post on the blog.

Talking points for 26th March

It’s not exactly a quiet day – with more violence in Iraq, and warnings of an impending catastrophe in Somalia, where hostilities continue between government forces and Islamist insurgents – but in terms of talking points, the most interesting possibilities seem to lie around the edges of the main news agenda.

Do supermarkets make our lives better?

A piece by well-known British food critic Jay Rayner caught my eye in the Observer newspaper yesterday. There’s been a raging debate about supermarkets in the UK for the last few years, with many people accusing them of ripping off food-producers, wiping out independent shops and selling too much junk food. But Jay says they are ‘bloody convenient’ and that working families like his can’t do without them. Have supermarkets improved your life?