Obama on the Economy
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President Barack Obama is expected to convey both good and bad news about the economy in a speech today, as he nears the end of the symbolic first 100 days in office. He’s expected to say that several more months of job losses lie ahead, but some parts of the economy are stabilizing. We speak with Holly Bailey, White House correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
Independence or Marriage?
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For most of this decade about 100,000 spouses a year, mostly wives, have come to the U.S. to be with their husbands, who are on an H-1B work visa. But the wives are given an H-4 visa, which does not allow them to work. We’ll speak with Meghna Damani, who’s film about her experience as a non-working spouse is “Hearts Suspended: Losing Who You Were, Losing Who You Could Become,” and Shivali Shah, a DC-based attorney and founding member of Kiran, an organization serving battered immigrant women in North Carolina.
Remembering Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych
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We take a minute to note the passing of former All Star pitcher Mark “the Bird” Fidrych and hall of fame broadcaster Harry Kalas. We speak with veteran Boston Globe sports columnist, Bob Ryan.
Red Shirts vs. Yellow Shirts
Thai anti-government protesters show surrender gesture against through a line of soldiers outside the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 14, 2009. (AP)
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Leaders of demonstrations that plunged Thailand’s capital into chaos called off their protests today, after riots left two people dead and more than 120 people injured. The Thai government issued arrest warrants for more than a dozen protest leaders and the ousted former prime minister. The BBC’s South Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head joins us from Bangkok.
Killer Whales
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In our reporting last month on the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez accident we learned that many marine mammal species in Prince William Sound, Alaska are recovering from the effects of the spill, but one population of killer whales, the A-T-One Pod, is not. Many of the A-T-One Pod whales died after the spill. Today, there are only 7 left. We talk with Craig Matkin, director of the North Gulf Oceanic Society in Homer, Alaska who has been studying the region’s whales for 3 decades about this unique, but likely doomed, population of killer whales.
A Reel Find
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For years there were rumors about a rare collection of live country music recordings. It turns out the rumors were true. The tapes turned up in a barn in Pennsylvania and now a Massachusetts audio engineer is restoring the old reel to reel tapes. They features a roster of country music greats, including George Jones and Dolly Parton. Audio engineer J. Franze joins us to listen to some of the tunes and talk about the man who recorded them.
Music from the show
- The Lickets, “Meat City”
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- The Doors, “Peace Frog”
- Lickets, “Serial East”
- Ashley MacIsaac, “Sleepy Maggie”
- Paul Winter, “Ocean Dream”
- Hank Williams Jr, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”
- John Hartford, “Good Old Electric Washing Machine,”
- Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls of Fire,”
- Lil’ Jimmy Dickens, “Life Turned Her That Way,”
- Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, “Holding onto Nothing,”
I’m listening to the program about H4 wives and everything she says is absolutely true. I’m a South African and know other women from other countries on H4 visas – the stress on my marriage and my self-esteem has been considerable and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
Posted by Claire, on April 14th, 2009 at 11:18 amAbout today’s show about H-4 visas, I think it is a mistake to frame it as a women’s issue.
Posted by Francesco Ruggeri, on April 14th, 2009 at 12:43 pmI am an immigrant myself, and I have been through the whole H1-B, green card and citizenship process, so I am fully aware of the issues related to work based immigration to the US. The current process is obviously not family friendly, and it should be fixed. It is absurd that spouses of temporary workers should have such a hard time getting a work status.
Having said that, I think the issue is not a gender issue with the process. If anything it is just a reflection of gender issues in the countries that provide H1-B workers. Why, for example, are there so many Indian wives ready to follow their husbands to the US on H-4 visas and so few Indian husbands ready to do the same? Why aren’t more Indian women applying for H1-B visas themselves?
Any gender issues with the process could easily be fixed, for example by allocating H1-B visas for each country equally among genders. But this could also be construed (rightly in my opinion) as an arbitrary limitation on economic opportunity for temporary workers from all countries.
In other words, the whole H1-B/H-4 process should be fixed and really made family friendly, but it is wrong to view it as a women’s issue.
Hi,
I just listened to today’s show including the segment on H-1B visa holders. First, I think it would have been more of an honest discussion if your guest had admitted to being an immigration attorney. Her one-woman campaign to publicize this “terrible injustice” does not seem to look at several simple solutions.
If there are cases of domestic violence, the persons responsible should be prosecuted, and their visas revoked. The solutions to all of the problems brought up by the immigration attorney are alreasy available from counseling, to divorce. It is hardly surprising that the immigration attorney’s only solution is allowing H4 visa holders to tale more American jobs.
There is no shortage of highly qualified Americans to work in the high-tech areas. American companies prefer H-1B employees because they pay them below market wages, and they can work them like slaves with the threat of having to leave the country if they lose their jobs.
It seems like your guest is just attempting to make excuses for increasing the number of indian workers taking more American jobs. With the current economy, it seems like we should be suspending the H-1B visa program and putting Americans back to work, rather than feeling sorry for these women who need to accept responsibility for their own actions.
Posted by Laura Mullen, on April 14th, 2009 at 2:32 pmI am American and have only lived in New York City for my 5 decades. Last year, we moved for my new husband’s contract to a California suburb.
In the euphoria of a new marriage juxtaposed against the isolation, homesickness and displacement – this immigrants story parallels my own emotional surprises.
Granted – I was the envy of friends in my own country. I never expected isolation to be part of the experience which seems to be a big part of American life away from the vibrant stimulating city.
Your guest focuses on the visas as the cause but do not overlook that this is a country built by immigrants, and sustained by the corporate Nomad that moves the family for the job.
Posted by Linda W. Garrison, on April 15th, 2009 at 11:11 pmHistorically, loneliness and depression accompany each move away from community. Your guest was fortunate to find a new skill that may help others.