Liane Hansen, Weekend Edition Host
Eunice Winchester.
Anne Hawke, NPROn Friday, I went to visit Eunice Winchester. She's one of hundreds of thousands of people over the age of 50 who may lose their homes because of foreclosure. She lives in Anacostia — a short drive from NPR, and one of the poorer neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.
Continue reading "How is The Economic Crisis Affecting Middle Class America? " >
Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer
Paul Newman (top left), Daniel Zwerdling and Davar Iran Ardalan (seated).
courtesy of Davar Iran ArdalanIn early December of 1997, Daniel Zwerdling and I went to Westport, Connecticut to interview Paul Newman and to peer inside the Connecticut headquarters of Newman's Own food company. Since 1982, the company has been selling spaghetti sauce, salsa and popcorn in supermarkets around the world, all emblazoned with Newman's picture. But not many realized at the time that Newman donated 100 percent of the after-tax profits to charitable causes -- schools for the deaf, theaters for low-income children, camps for kids with serious diseases and civil rights groups.
We spent a good three hours with him as he talked to us about his career and his motives for giving. We both even got to taste-test his latest salad dressing and play ping-pong with him!!! At one point, I asked to take a few photos. That's when he brought over a chair and asked me to sit down in front of him. Then, he asked Daniel Zwerdling to stand next to him, behind me. Before I knew it, Paul Newman had his hand on my shoulder and we had a pose similar to the one in his famous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie. It was pretty surreal!
Gemma Watters, Weekend Edition
Greg Kinnear with Liane Hansen.
Gemma Watters, NPRI've always had a fascination with windshield wipers. I remember as a child, sitting in the driver's seat of my parents' Volvo 440. I used to flick the wiper lever up and down, watching the wipers go back and forth, squeaking against the dry windshield with each stroke, and I would count the seconds between wipes. It never crossed my mind that someone had dedicated their time to inventing the wonderful wipers — until I saw the preview for Flash of Genius, by first-time director Mark Abraham.
Jessica Naudziunas, Weekend Edition
Merri Edwards sent us another dispatch from Galveston, Texas on life after Hurricane Ike:
Bill, Jane (our niece from Dallas), and I drove to Galveston Wednesday morning. We were up early because we figured that there would be a really long line waiting to get onto the island. From Robin's (our niece in Friendswood) house to ours, it took one hour and fifteen minutes; considering that it normally takes 35-40 minutes. That wasn't bad. Contrary to what we heard from others listening to the radio, the line was 10 miles long and moved steadily the entire time. In fact, it took less time yesterday to get to our house than it has any other time I've tried since Ike visited.
Continue reading "Galveston Resident Merri Edwards Blog #5" >
Jenni Bergal, Senior Editor
Editor's Note: When presidential politics got entangled in the financial bailout plan this past week, NPR News Analyst Daniel Schorr had these thoughts, in an essay he wrote for Weekend Edition Sunday:
There comes a time when a presidential candidate should say to himself, "Don't just do something. Stand there."
Continue reading "Daniel Schorr: Politics Complicating the Financial Crisis" >
Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer
It's been a little more than a week since Hurricane Ike barreled through Texas. Officials are beginning to allow the more than 40 thousand residents of Galveston to return home and assess the damage. Last week, Liane Hansen spoke with Merri Edwards -- a local historian from Galveston. She and her family evacuated to Houston on the eve of the hurricane, and she's been giving us updates here on our blog. Liane checked in with Merri now that she is back in Galveston.
Continue reading "Galveston Resident Merri Edwards Blog #4" >
Liane Hansen, Weekend Edition Host
It took 27 years to get the opportunity to interview Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths. I know, how can that be. Daniel is only 19. Here's the story.
Equus stars Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths
Carol RoseggIn 1981, I was a freelance theater reporter in NY for NPR. I became friends with Sam Rudy, who was beginning his career as a theater publicist. I can't even begin to enumerate the number of less than stellar productions we saw. Once, after a particularly awful first act of a way off Broadway show, I got up to leave during intermission. He was in the lobby and asked if I was going home. I answered honestly, and he confessed that he would leave if he could.
Laura Krantz, Weekend Edition
Producer Laura Krantz collects sound in Yellowstone's Lower Geyser Basin.
Liane HansenI grew up in Idaho, with Yellowstone pretty much in my backyard. So you might think that seeing Old Faithful is no big deal for me, or that coming across a bison in the road is nothing new. But in reality? I get as excited as the next guy. The sheer, rugged beauty of this place hits me every time I come home (which isn't often enough). While Liane and I were prepping for an interview in Gardiner, Montana, the sun was just burning off the clouds on Electric Peak. It took my breath away. And our grizzly bear sighting? I was ecstatic -- I can't remember the last time I saw a grizzly in the park.
Jessica Naudziunas , Weekend Edition
Merri Edwards sent me this email tonight:
I've heard from a lot of people who heard the NPR interview and the response has been positive. My almost 3-year-old granddaughter heard it in Chico, California, and said, very excitedly, "That's Danny! (her version of Granny)."
A friend who stayed on the island during the storm (his wife, Beth, was with us in the hotel), was able to drive to our house today and said that structurally it is sound, but it looks like it had water in it. He was not able to go inside, but said that it looked like there had been 2 - 3 feet of water outside. We have a step-down living room - it's about 6 inches lower than the surrounding floor, so I'm pretty sure that it will be full of water.
Continue reading "Galveston Resident Merri Edwards Blog #3" >
Right now, we still have numerous towns, villages, and cities that are being inundated with landslides and rockslides. Water is still covering most of the port city of Gonaives, Haiti's third largest city.
Davar Iran Ardalan , Senior Producer
While residents of the Gulf Coast in Texas are reeling from Hurricane Ike, those living in Haiti have had to deal with Gustav, Hannah, Faye, and Ike. Liane Hansen spoke with Matt Marek, he is with the American Red Cross in Port-au-Prince Haiti.
Liane: What's the situation like right now?
Matt Marek: Right now, we still have numerous towns, villages, and cities that are being inundated with landslides and rockslides. Water is still covering most of the port city of Gonaives, Haiti's third largest city. An immense amount of infrastructure damage is all over.
Continue reading "American Red Cross on Conditions in Haiti " >
Jessica Naudziunas , Weekend Edition
I spoke to Merri Edwards on the phone from Brenham, Texas (approx. 70 miles from Houston) just moments ago. Here are some notes from our conversation:
* She is evacuating from Houston to Austin to catch up with her son, Paul. Paul also evacuated from Galveston, Texas and is staying with Merri's stepdaughter. Merri plans to drop her dog off in Austin, making the safe animal count three cats, a dog and a puppy. Merri and her husband, Bill, will be staying with Bill's daughter for a little while.
Continue reading "Galveston Evacuee Merri Edwards Blog #2" >
Jacob Soboroff, Field Vlogger
DISCLOSURE: Jacob Soboroff is Executive Director of Why Tuesday?, a sponsor of the Ultimate College Bowl.
Students compete on all fronts, from fencing, to football, to debates -- but now it's finally time for them to compete on the playing field of democracy, where their futures are most at play!
That's why my colleagues and I at Why Tuesday? , were thrilled this past week to announce the Ultimate College Bowl, the ultimate voter registration drive, with an unprecedented group of partners, including MySpace.
Our goal is for every U.S. college student to register and vote in the 2008 election, with the help of viral internet technology. And as incentives, we're offering a free "Death Cab For Cutie" concert to the school that registers the most voters, and for the students who register the most friends or classmates, scholarship money, Guitar Hero 2 setups, and more!
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For the last couple of years I've talked to my husband about moving, and one of the things he always got hung up on was moving fifty years worth of stuff, packing it all up, and moving it. If we lose everything we can put everything we own in a car and go.
Davar Iran Ardalan , Senior Producer
Earlier today, Liane interviewed Galveston resident Merri Edwards, who was staying at a Fairfield Inn outside Houston, Texas. Edwards is one of the thousands of Galveston residents who evacuated in advance of Hurricane Ike. We will be following her story in the next two weeks as she and her family discover what remains of their home and belongings back in Galveston. You can read Liane's first interview with Merri Edwards below and share your own Hurricane Ike stories.
Continue reading "Galveston Resident Merri Edwards Blog #1" >
Gemma Watters, Weekend Edition
It was quite a while ago when my editor, Jenni Bergal, excitedly slammed a CD of The High Kings , on my desk and said, "They're great! We must have them on the show!" I looked down at the case and peeked to see what, and who, I was supposed to be booking. Posing on a rocky landscape by the sea were four men: one with a flute, two holding guitars and one doing a 'Joey pose' from the television show, "'Friends." I had to remind myself not to judge a CD by its cover! So, I played the CD several times and thought, "Hmm... not really my cup of tea." But, when Liane Hansen gave the all-clear to book them, I rolled with it, and I'm so grateful to both Liane and Jenni for opening my musical ears to something new.
Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer
The U-S Treasury Department is expected to announce this weekend that the government will step in to takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Tomorrow morning we will be speaking to Nariman Behravesh Chief economist at Global Insight, an economic research and consulting company. He will join us to discuss the rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We'll ask him how he expects the markets will react to the plan. Have any questions for him?
Jack Speer NPR News
The two mortgage giants back or guarantee roughly half of all outstanding U-S mortgage loans. The intervention comes at a time the companies have lost billions of dollars due to turmoil in the housing market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created by Congress to free up money for the mortgage market, and while they were eventually privatized, the two have always operated to some extent with the implied guarantee of the Federal government. But Bert Ely, a banking and monetary policy expert says that implied guarantee is likely to get much more explicit. Ely says the understanding is the two companies will be put into a conservatorship.
Continue reading "Historic Mortgage Crisis - Your Concerns?" >
Screen shot of one of the Google Maps created by online volunteers in response to Hurricane Gustav. Click on the image to see the live version of the map. Google Maps
Andy Carvin, NPR Social Media Strategist
I've spent the last two years at NPR helping deploy blogs and social media tools. For an even longer time, about 15 years, I've worked in a wide range of online communities. I've lost track of all the groups I've joined - everything from discussions on computers in the classroom to expert strategies on how to brew beer at home. Above all, the online communities that make me most proud of the Internet are the ones that have sprung into action during times of crisis.
I got my first taste of online disaster response in 1995. Both the Kobe earthquake in Japan and the Oklahoma City bombing happened that year. In both cases, discussion groups that were previously used for other topics mobilized to share whatever information they could on charitable donations, giving blood and the like.
On the morning September 11, 2001, I launched the SEPT11INFO discussion forum, which was used to circulate news and dispel rumors in the chaotic hours following the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. During the tsunami of 2004, I joined a group of volunteers across South Asia to help produce the Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog, which became one of the Internet's main sources for on-the-ground information in the wake of the tsunami. And when Katrina devastated New Orleans, we sprang into action again by creating Katrina Aftermath, a blog that allowed anyone to share audio, photos and text about the hurricane, as well as a wiki for pulling together resources for people affected by the storm.
It's become almost a reflex. When disasters strike, I find some way of getting involved online. So last weekend, when it became apparent that Hurricane Gustav was making a beeline to New Orleans, I decided I had to help in some way.
Continue reading "Mobilizing the Online Community for Hurricane Season " >
Liane Hansen, Weekend Edition Host
This was the easiest interview I have ever done, thanks in no small part to some of YOU who sent in questions. Susan Wood in Lancaster, PA started us off nicely with a question about Joan's mom. She is 95, and Joan's new CD is dedicated to her. Sarah's dad had gone to school with Joan's mom and wanted to know if she was still living. Perfect. And it provided an opening to ask about her mother's influence on her.
Shelia Sullivan in Santa Fe, New Mexico's asked whether Joan was a feminist - which led Joan to talk about her causes and how she approaches them. Her cause now is her family. Anna Hagget in Dillon, Montana asked about the song Deportees. Her answer provided a nice resonance in the show since we are doing a segment on illegal immigration. Serendipity is a wonderful thing.
Here is a video of Joan Baez perform in our New York Bureau (I was in our Washington D.C. studios) Thanks to Producers Gemma Watters and Charla Bear and NPR's Manya, John Guardo and Brian McCabe in New York.
Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer
We have several segments on our show tomorrow on illegal immigration beginning with a conversation with NPR correspondent Jennifer Ludden about a recent massive immigration raid in a small Mississippi town.
We follow that up with a report from Gloria Hillard on "The New Sanctuary Movement", a faith based coalition offering aid and at times sanctuary to illegal immigrants. Activists on both sides of the immigration debate including an anti-immigration organization called, "Save Our State", have been drawn to a small of church north of Los Angeles where an illegal immigrant facing deportation has been sheltered for more than a year.
And lastly, Texas Country Music Singer Tom Russell with his take on the issue.
Read below, a conversation between NPR's Liane Hansen and Jennifer Ludden and tell us what you think about the debate? What should be done about illegal immigration?
Continue reading "How Would You Tackle Illegal Immigration?" >
Mindy Finn, Political Strategist
Not even Nostradamus could have predicted that in 2008 the one woman on a major party presidential ticket would be a Republican, or Governor of Alaska, or mother of five, or a moose hunter. Yet, today, we have all four in Sarah Palin.
Any betting American would have predicted Hillary Clinton as the "feminist" role model of the year. Hillary Clinton, a product of the feminism of the '60s and '70s, where "femininity" meant weak and "motherly" meant flawed.
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