Visionaries - Changing the World One Story at a Time

Celebrating our 16th Season!

It’s the Principal that Matters

Episode #1601

There is one organization that is “cracking the code” for what makes a great urban school where virtually every student succeeds.

God's Foot Soldiers

Episode #1602

Lately, the news surrounding people on the fringes of the world’s society hasn’t been good. History is repeating itself as immigrants face discrimination on the streets, in job markets and in schools. In some countries, the impact of discrimination, poverty and HIV/AIDS have left whole new generations at risk. But, quietly, in isolated pockets of the world, Catholic priests and nuns are doing noble work. One such group is the Augustinians of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, based in Villanova, PA. With missions in South Africa, Peru, Japan and various locations throughout the U.S., these priests and brothers consider themselves "God's foot soldiers." Like Jesus, they are drawn to working with those living on the fringes of society - people with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, and immigrants. In bearing witness to the suffering around them, the Augustinians and their lay volunteers seek to change the face of poverty and make God known through the essence of compassion.

Homeward Bound

Episode #1603

Cape Cod is a resort community. Gorgeous oceanfront homes, dazzling marinas and sandy beaches. Oh, and there also happens to be as many as 5000 people a year who report being homeless. The good news? New solutions to homeless in America are being tried and tested in the unlikeliest of places.

Wraparound Milwaukee

Episode # 1604

A few county officials in Milwaukee get together after work and wonder aloud what would happen if the money that was spent on locking kids up in institutions was used to address their problems in the community. The answer will amaze you.

Insuring the Greater Good

Episode #1605

Time is the true test of the impact of good works. After more than a decade, Visionaries returns to visit a small non-profit on the west coast that has grown into one of the most powerful organizations in America. Well, it turns out that the story just keeps getting better. Come with us now, across America, to meet the beneficiaries of Pamela Davis’s work and see how a single good idea has grown into one of the most successful national nonprofit organizations in America.

Four Stories of Innovation

Episode #1606

Data Democratized

In the City of Washington DC they are mining one of the most valuable resources of the modern era. Data… raw data. This is what happens when unfiltered information is put in the hands of entrepreneurs.

World Hunger, the view from outer space.

This story is really out there. Way out there. . . in outer space, in fact. . .getting the big picture, you might say.

First, a little background. . .much of the western United States does not have enough rainfall to sustain modern life. In places like Idaho, entire communities exist only because there is a river nearby from which they can extract water . . . and without irrigation there would be no agriculture.

The legal right to take water out of the river is as valuable as land itself.

But how do you determine how much water is being used on a given piece of property. That single issue has been the source of civil discord for generations and speaks to larger global issues like world hunger.

Then along came a helpful new tool . . . Mapping Evapotranspiration from Satellites!

Universal Health Care-Foreshadowed.

Everyone wants to know what life will be like with Universal Health Care. Massachusetts gives a glimpse of the future.

Civic revitalization built upon Education.

The civic heart of cities and town all over America are closing up and moving to the Mall. Not in Kingsport, Tennessee.