Ways & Means

Most of us prize stories of people who start with nothing in life, and then become rich. Americans even have a saying for it: pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. However, new economic research is revealing how wealth is actually built in there US and how difficult it is for some people to gain wealth, even when they do everything right.

Sexting, stranger danger, cyberbullying. We explore seven major concerns parents have about teens and phones. What does the research say? Featuring Candice Odgers of the Duke Center for Child & Family Policy.

Gerrymandering (drawing voting districts to favor one political party) has reached a whole new level in recent decades.We'll hear about some stunning gerrymandering feats, and how reformers across the nation are trying to restore the power of your vote.

In the early 20th century many new immigrants to the U.S. had blonde hair and blue eyes yet were not considered "white." In this episode: who's considered "white" in America – how it's changed, what it means and how it may be changing still.

Every four years, candidates promise change. But is change possible? Duke professor Dan Ariely says resistance to change is actually hard-wired into human nature, yet bright pockets of innovation exist.

Here's a peek at Ways & Means season 2, which launches this fall.

On this episode we explore one of the most vexing issues in politics - how to get more ordinary people to run for office.

Public health advocates are waging battle against added sugar in our foods. And they're taking pointers from another public health battle: the campaign against tobacco. New evidence suggests sugar, like tobacco, is addictive and harmful to long-term health. Duke's Kelly Brownell says the two fights have a lot in common.

The paradox of gender equality. We look at how women gained a political voice in the U.S. – and then (surprisingly) in some ways lost it. And we're going to ask – what can women do to get their political voice back?

What do seniors really want when they're dying? Asking them, and listening carefully to what they say, could lead – surprisingly – to cost-savings for big government systems like Medicare. Guests include a Duke health policy expert who asked terminally ill people: what if you had to choose between last-ditch therapies and the simple things? Their answers might surprise you. Also, a Durham, N.C., woman describes how she faced hard choices as she comforted her dying mom.