Vanessa Johnston

Walking with a purpose

Gangs of Peace (video)

Produced by Vanessa Johnston & Zach Johnston

Ukraine's Long Distance Mamas

Not strictly seniors: young and old strap on their dancing shoes at the Viennese Ball (radio)

It's ball season in the Austrian capital Vienna, but it's not just the older generations who are getting in on the action.

Staunchly Catholic Poland takes a new look at easing abortion laws

Poland has one of Europe's strictest abortion policies, but critics say it has only driven the practice underground. Now, parliament is expected to consider a bill that would ease restrictions.

Two families and the house in Schönwalde

When Germany was reunified, many West Germans reclaimed properties they had lost under the GDR, meaning many East Germans lost their homes. Today, only a few cases remain: Vanessa Johnston tells us how one was solved.

School Choice Advocates In The U.S. Extol Sweden's Free Market Education System – But Has It Worked?

Israeli city's decision to twin with Dachau causes controversy

Many cities throughout Germany have a sister city in Israel. But it hasn't been easy to find a willing partner for the German town of Dachau.

Italian silk-makers confront changes in luxury market

Como is the center of Italian silk production and serves the world's top fashion houses. But competition from China and changes in the luxury market are shaking up the textiles industry.

Anti-mafia products make their mark in Sicily

You may have heard of the "fair trade" coffee and "conflict-free" diamond seals of corporate responsibility. In Italy they have another - "anti-mafia."

Chapter 8. An Ecuadorian Alternative: Gang Reintegration

Cambridge University Press

In Ecuador, gang members trade guns for scissors and nail polish

In the most dangerous neighborhood of Guayaquil – Ecuador's largest and most crime-ridden city – a dozen youths are busy working in the Paz Urbana Print Shop.

Notes from Sweden

This is the blog I kept during my reporting trip to Sweden

Gelato University puts a fresh scoop on old careers

Every year more than 6,000 would-be gelato-entrepreneurs from all over the world descend on Bologna, Italy to learn about a trade that is flourishing even in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Speed-walking school helps Colombian refugee children fit in with their Ecuadorian peers

With the mountains of Cuenca – Ecuador's third-largest city and a United Nations World Heritage site – serving as a backdrop, children run energetically up and down a long concrete staircase, around the cones, and back again.

Europe's largest underwater volcano at risk of collapse

The biggest underwater volcano in Europe could erupt at any moment and cause a tsunami, according to new research. For residents of southern Italy, the Marsili is just one more disaster threat to live with.