After years of complaints about noise and health effects, on May 21, 2013 residents of Falmouth, MA will vote on whether or not to tear down both of the town’s wind turbines. (Credit: Mass. Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs)

When it comes to renewable energy, wind is the leader of the pack. Wind energy in the U.S. grew by a whopping 30 percent in 2012, and the U.S. is now the largest wind power market in the world. Great news all around, right?

Not exactly. In this week’s Local Global Mashup Show, we speak with a family that says the noise from a local turbine has “pretty much destroyed our lives.” In fact, wherever there are wind turbines—Cape Cod, Canada, or Denmark—there are also complaints about stress, anxiety and mental health.

Our show dives right into the middle of a global and very emotional debate on whether wind turbines make people sick. It’s a question that’s divided Falmouth, Massachusetts. That town is a vote away from tearing their turbines down.

Customers browse the offerings at the Houston Gun Show. No background checks are required to buy a weapon at a gun show, where around 40 percent of guns purchased in the U.S. are sold. (M. Glasgow)

“Yes, I was hung in effigy at a place called Gippy in Queensland.” That’s what former Australian deputy prime minister Tim Fischer told us. The reason? Guns. As part of a conservative government in Australia (yes, a conservative government), Fischer helped push through landmark gun reform legislation in 1996.

Here in the U.S, the creaky workings of Congress may have put a stop to bipartisan gun control, but the debate is far from over. On a recent trip to Mexico, where guns smuggled from the U.S. fuel a bloody drug war, President Obama described the legislation’s initial failure as “just the first round.” Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association’s new president, James Porter, told members at the group’s national convention in Houston: ”(You) here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors.”

Is there any way to break the stalemate on guns? In our very first Local Global Mashup Show, we look at three countries with strong gun cultures that have nonetheless passed meaningful gun reform—and are proud of the results. What can we learn from Australia, Switzerland and South Africa? And is it possible to reconcile their experiences with America’s omnipresent Second Amendment?

It’s all change at Latitude News.

Today we launch the Local Global Mashup Show—a launch made possible by our generous backers on Kickstarter.

Every week we’re going to be taking a hot button issue here in the U.S. (from gun control to bullying in schools to plastic bag pollution) and ask what people in other countries do to tackle the same problem. You’ll get both cautionary tales and best practice. Either way, they’re stories that illuminate our American experience in useful and sometimes surprising ways. And since it’s radio you’ll hear straight from the people at the heart of those stories—whether it’s a former deputy prime minister of Australia or a Swedish teenager who took her school to court over bullying charges. The show is hosted by our founder Maria Balinska who herself is a mashup of local and global. Maria isn’t afraid of opinions, although she does believe in the virtue of facts.

The key to the show’s success is its ability to relate to you and your life. We want your reactions to the stories and opinions you hear. We want to know what hot button American debates you want to get a global handle on. Send us your ideas and questions at inquiries@latitudenews.com. And keep an eye on our blog where we’ll be talking about stories coming up as well as the highs and lows of the production process.

A word about our business model. Quality audio journalism isn’t cheap, especially when some of that reporting is being done abroad. That’s why we’re going to be charging a subscription fee for the Local Global Mashup Show. It’s not a big sum and we always offer some stories free of charge, as well as a short preview of every show. We do believe, however, that it’s time to experiment with paid models to keep quality journalism alive and to make sure there are more than a handful of independent sources for news.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up to our Twitter feed — that’s where you’ll get our day-in, day-out curation of how the world’s media is covering the U.S. and Americans. Informative and eclectic, from policy to popular culture—it’s a news service you won’t want to miss.

The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. (Credit: Cookiecaper)

The Mormon Church could be majority Latin American by 2015, and our newest podcast hones in on one person among the faithful. At the young age of 23, Isaac has learned more than most about watching the future slip through his fingers. The trials he has faced help shape his outlook on life. “When we let fear take over us,” he says, “we lose faith, and when we lose faith, we don’t have a future.” In some ways, this podcast is a small story about a personal journey of faith. But from other angles, it’s much bigger than that. And it touches on an issue making headlines every day—immigration—in what might be a surprising context—the Mormon Church.

Marie Jeanne, one of hundreds of thousands of women who has been raped in the conflict in eastern Congo. (Credit: YouTube)

Here’s the basic plot line. Laptops, smart phones, tablets—they all need the rare minerals that Congo has in abundance. And that means that our gadgets are helping to fuel child labor—and rape—on a colossal scale. It’s a long journey from here to there, and it’s complicated. But lawmakers in the U.S. want to leverage our consumer power to bring change to the Congo. The question is: Do they stand a chance of making a difference?