The State We’re In, August 22, 2009. Is there a right to a childhood? A Zimbabwean orphan tells us about how she became head of her household when she was twelve. Former child actor and Mouseketeer Paul Peterson fights for the rights of child performers.

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The right to good health care
Dr. Neva Bartholomew was doing the job she loved, working as a primary care physician, serving families she knew personally – until the red tape of US health insurance companies forced her out of the field.

David Marcovitz is a second-year medical school student at Vanderbilt University in the US. David plans on becoming a primary care physician, and he reflects on what US health insurance reform – and Dr. Bartholemew’s story - mean for his career and his hopes to get out of debt.

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This week’s theme is the “right to a childhood”

Head of the household
In Zimbabwe, AIDS or violence orphans 70 children every day. Musa Ndlovu and the children in her care are among the 400,000 children in the country who live in a household without an adult carer. Musa talks  about her life and responsibilities.

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Behind the cute smiles
Paul Peterson was a Mouseketeer and Donna Reed’s TV son. Today he campaigns against the exploitation of children in the American entertainment industry. Here's his website.

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And more…

Teaching forgiveness
Azim Khamisa was a successful investment banker until the day his life stopped: the day he learned that his only son had been killed by a teenage gang initiation ritual. Azim decided to dedicate the rest of his life to teaching forgiveness and trying to rescue children like his son’s killer from gang violence.

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Un-collaborative Divorce
We recently ran a story about a way to avoid the acrimony and alimony hassles associated with splitting up, a process called "collaborative divorce".  Well, one listener in the Washington DC area heard that show and contacted us because she's going through a collaborative divorce right now and is finding it anything but collaborative. "Liz" speaks with Jonathan about the expense and frustrations involved in the process.

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