Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

The folks over at YouTube asked Scott to contribute a video to their new initiative, the Reporters' Center. The idea is to help aspiring journalists with their work out in the field. Scott shares a few thoughts on how to tell a good story:

It's also worth nothing that the Weekend Edition YouTube channel is merging with the overall NPR channel. We're creating playlists of both Scott's videos and Liane's videos.

Remember the time Daniel Schorr gave Liane Hansen a few pointers about tweeting? Or how about the time Naturally 7 dropped by the studio and demonstrated all the instruments they could imitate vocally? Or when Scott tried to find coffee in Second Life? Now you can relive every moment -- all in one place.

Davar Ardalan, Weekend Edition

Persians are known for their poetry. So it is not surprising that as recent dramatic events have unfolded in Iran, so many Iranians who have been alerting the world have written poetically -- even in their tweets. Meet 26-year-old Parham Baghestani. I reached Baghestani in the fabled Iranian city of Isfahan, where he lives.

His tweets range from the mundane to the spiritual, and offer a window into the psyche and everyday life of an Iranian.

"My love has gone underground," he writes, "The taste of night is nothing but awareness."

We've translated more of his tweets. Read them here.

Sarah Beyer Kelly, Weekend Edition

Chappy Hardy, filmmaker and New Orleans man-about-town, died this week at the age of 63. Listeners may remember him from a series of interviews he did with Weekend Edition host Scott Simon in 2005 about his culinary tour of the East Coast's best and most affordable dining places. He liked to call himself, "The Man from H.U.N.G.E.R." -- that's "Helping Uninhibited Nibblers Get Exact Results" -- as he roamed from Alabama to New York and back. He leaves behind one son, Zephyr Hardy, who is a cameraman for ESPN.

Scott Simon visited Andy Richter at his office in Universal City recently. When the two sat down, Scott asked Andy for his take on why David Letterman told the now controversial joke about Sarah Palin's daughter and Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez. If you missed Letterman's monologue, listen to it here:

And here's Andy's response:

What do you think? Does the "comedy math" add up? Let us know. And listen to the full conversation between Scott and Andy Richter on Saturday, June 27 on Weekend Edition, or online at NPR.org.

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

NPR's Davar Ardalan interviewed Simin Behbahani, Iran's national poet, today from Tehran. She's 82 years-old and one of the most respected figures in modern Iran. She recites two poems inspired by recent events -- one dedicated to the people of Iran and another to Neda, the woman whose death during the protests was viewed by millions on the web and on TV.

E. Ethelbert Miller, Director of African American Resource Center at Howard University and author of The 5th Inning.

The last time I saw the great Pan-Africanist and intellectual C.L.R. James, I was in London. I sat by his bed while some of the Race Today folks were having a party downstairs. After asking how I was doing, James talked about Michael Jackson. He felt "this young man" was the greatest entertainer he had ever seen. I think from that moment on, I had a different take on Jackson. His ability to change was remarkable, and I took all of his changes to be nothing but a work of art. In many ways he represented the future. In a sex-starved world maybe it's good that someone looks androgynous. In a world filled with Pirates, maybe it's good that someone believes in Peter Pan. In a world where reality shows compete with reality, maybe our only escape is into animation and Never Never Land.

Continue reading "Michael Jackson" >

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

Photo courtesy of Mike Lang.

We've been asking for your grilled dessert recipes, and we've seen some pretty interesting ones so far: fruit kebabs, chocolate pizzas, bacon-wrapped bananas, and even an orange chocolate cake prepared entirely on the grill. Impressive.

You've got one more week to submit your own recipe. You can send an email or you can just leave a comment below.

All submissions will be reviewed by a pastry chef. And then our panel of chefs and food critics will taste the top three and pick a winner.

Happy grilling!

Coming up on Weekend Edition Sunday tomorrow.... Guest Host Alison Stewart speaks with Benjamin Patton, grandson of the famous WWII general. Did you know that Ben Patton's FATHER was also a decorated general? He fought in the Vietnam and Korean wars, and sent audio "postcards," like this one, back to his family in the States.

Listen to Weekend Edition Sunday tomorrow to hear some of Ben's stories about growing up in a famous military family, and about visit our website after the show for family photos and links to a documentary he produced about his father and grandfather.

If you're following the Twitter messages coming out of Iran but the ones in Persian are tripping you up, freelance journalist and blogger Cyrus Farivar has a step-by-step guide on how to translate them into English automatically. It's pretty nifty -- check it out.

On this blog we've posted a live feed from Twitter -- with all the tweets containing the hashtag, "#IranElection."

NPR's social media go-to guy, Andy Carvin, says if you look at the numbers, it's the hashtag that's making Twitter such a phenomenon:

The power of Twitter this week hasn't been as a primary organizing tool for the protesters among themselves. Rather, it has served as a conduit for the world outside Iran to rally and organize -- particularly in terms of showing moral support for the protesters.

So when a handful of people within Iran post a tweet conveying new information, their use of hashtags like #IranElection helps that information go viral. Twitter users around the world, including the media, monitor these tags to get the latest news -- or rumors, in many cases -- and propagate them worldwide through re-tweeting or covering them in news stories and blogs.

The twitter feed is below.

Chants of Allahu Akbar -- "God is Great" -- echoed across the rooftops of Tehran last night as a rallying cry for continued protests. The BBC reports that the chants were growing louder.

There's a video currently making the rounds of a woman narrating these events from her roof. And while we can't verify that the video is actually coming from Tehran (as opposed to, say, Los Angeles), we still found it compelling. The translation is below.

Translation: "Tonight the sound of God is Greater can be heard louder and louder than previous nights Where is this? Where is this place where everything has been blocked? Where is this place where people are just shouting the name of God? Where is this place where the sound of God is Greater can be heard louder and louder? Everyday I'm just waiting to see if there will be more and louder voices at nights? My body trembles, and I wonder if God trembles, too? Where is this where we've been imprisoned so innocently? Where is this where no one gives us a helping hand? Where is this place where we are getting our voices heard worldwide through our silence? Where is this place where the blood of its young people is shed on the streets? Where people stand and pray on their blood? Where is this place where its people are named gangsters and thus? Where is this? This is Iran. This is my land and yours! This is Iran."

Brian Reed, Weekend Edition

You've likely heard the buzz about the role social media has played in galvanizing opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory in Iran last week. In the face of government-imposed restrictions on journalists, sites like Twitter have been ablaze with tidbits of news, links to video, and words (though not more than 140 characters worth) about demonstrations. Members of Twitter have also taken to tinting their profile pictures green in support of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Here's a real-time feed from Twitter of all updates tagged with the phrase "IranElection." They come plentifully, and they come quickly. Keep in mind that we cannot verify their sources or their validity, which is one of the primary obstacles to using the digital updates in reporting. But the sheer volume of activity on the site related to Iran's political situation is remarkable, and you can follow it below.

The digital masses are certainly giving the government a run for its money. In the last week it has blocked Web sites it deems incendiary -- including Twitter -- as well as interrupted cell phone and text messaging service.

Continue reading "Tweeting Tehran" >

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, essentially ruled out the possibility of a new election, and urged supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi to stop protesting or risk a government crackdown.

But all signs point to more protests. And now the U.S. House of Representatives has entered the fray by passing a resolution that condemns "the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cellphones."

The International Human Rights Campaign in Iran is keeping tabs on the politicians, activists, and journalists who have been detained by Iran's government. We've put together a slideshow of some of the prominent leaders reportedly in detention.

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Elaine Heinzman, Weekend Edition

Our lovely guest host, Alison Stewart, invited New York Times fashion critic and blogger, Cathy Horyn, to weigh in on Model As Muse, an exhibit currently open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Here's their conversation:

Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer

I was 14 years old in 1979 when my mother, brother, sister and I took to the streets of Tehran along with millions of other Iranians to welcome Ayatollah Khomeini back from exile. The cleric had overthrown the monarchy and to the masses who were welcoming him, Khomeini was the hero who was going to save Iran.

Thirty years later, Iranians have hit the streets again with the same zeal, hoping that another four years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Mir Hossein Mousavi will be the answer to their prayers. But it is time for Iranians to leave heroes to the realm of mythology and look for change from within themselves.

Continue reading "Iran Needs No Heroes" >

A lot of music fans got their first taste of Elvis Costello on his debut album, "My Aim Is True." Scott Simon remembered hearing that a more refreshing product may have launched Costello's career. In the Rough Cut below, Scott asks how Costello really got his start.

We found the advertisement on YouTube. Feast, err quench, your ears on this. Ahhh, Whites!

And if you're still hungry for more about Elvis Costello, here's a bonus rough cut about his musical influences:

Catch the full conversation with Elvis Costello on Weekend Edition Saturday on June 13th. If you miss it, just visit our website.

Elaine Heinzman, Weekend Edition

Woody Allen and Larry David: World-class talents. World-class kvetchers.

Allen's 40th movie, Whatever Works, is quirky, charming, and sometimes irritating. After his recent cinematic forays across the Atlantic, Allen has set his new film back in New York City.

His new star is Larry David, the man who created Seinfeld and his own HBO series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. In Whatever Works, David plays the "Woody Allen character," an erstwhile physics professor named Boris Yellnikoff. Boris is a genius--an expert in quantum mechanics and string theory whom everyone says was once nominated for the Nobel Prize. For most of the film, Boris is also a proud misanthrope.

He talked with Scott about the film -- and about the dubious benefits of the auto-flush toilet.

Davar Iran Ardalan, Senior Producer

This week, one of Iran's leading women's rights activist, Sussan Tahmasebi, stopped by NPR to speak to Scott Simon about Iran's upcoming Presidential elections. Watch her YouTube video and scroll down further to read Tahmasebi's thoughts on how civil and political discourse in Iran has been influenced by the demands of women. You can listen to her radio interview with Scott tomorrow on Weekend Edition Saturday.

Continue reading "Iranian Women Demand Change" >

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

Autumn de Wilde

 

Mark Everett says he looked in the mirror one morning and saw a werewolf staring back at him. He came close to shaving off his beard because it didn't fit the music he was currently writing. But then he thought, Hey, why not go with this?

Everett -- more widely known as E -- is the creative force behind the band, Eels. And their new album, Hombre Lobo (translation: wolf man), is out this week.

Sometimes the songs are downright primal. "Sweet baby, I need fresh blood," he sings on Fresh Blood before emitting a wolfish howl. Other times the songs are sweet -- more like a wolf cub maybe... backed by quiet string arrangements.

It's their first album of new material in four years, but E's been busy in the meantime. He wrote a memoir, Things the Grandchildren Should Know, and worked on a documentary about his father, Hugh Everett -- a physicist famous for coming up with the Many Worlds interpretation in quantum mechanics. Mr. Everett told us that, after the film and the book, he was reluctant to put too much of himself in this new record.

But he took a moment to reflect on Electro-Shock Blues, his album that dealt explicitly with the death of his sister:

Before the interview, we also asked for your questions. One of them really stuck out, so we read it to Mr. E:

The full interview will go up after the show tomorrow, but until then you can listen to full tracks from the album here.