More firing fallout today: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, explained at a Senate hearing the contradictions in e-mails he wrote about the eight U.S. prosecutors who were so famously relieved of their duties (allegedly for political reasons). Our testimony guru, David Savage (Supreme Court reporter for the Los Angeles Times), will guide you through Sampson's morning on Capitol Hill, and you can comment at will.

Gonzales, Gonzales, Gonzales. We can't stop talking about him here in Washington, D.C. But the story of the possibly indecent disposal of eight federal prosecutors is playing big here in the capital (and in the Capitol). How is the story faring on call-in radio talk shows outside the Beltway? We're checking in with a few different hosts this hour, so if you want to hear some good radio voices ... tune in!

It's a rite of spring in Washington, DC, for the President to get up in front of the annual Radio and TV Correspondent's Dinner and make a fool of himself. Last night's dinner was no exception ... and President Bush had no trouble poking a little fun at himself, and getting a laugh from the Washington press corps. But, if you've been on YouTube today, you already know that the President was upstaged last night. Who knew that MC Karl Rove could rap?!? And dance, for that matter? If you haven't seen it, it's worth the price of admission. And in our continuing efforts to make everything a teachable experience, we'll try and figure out what the popularity of the Rapping Rove video tells us about how to score big on YouTube.

In her new book, "GhettoNation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless," Cora Daniels asks, "When was the last time you used, heard, thought, snickered, whispered (under your breath), shouted (at the radio), the word ghetto?" She then launches into an anatomy, a critique, and an explanation of the word which she says haunts and fascinates her; a symbol of low expectations and lack of self-respect that infects this country from inner cities to most remote suburbs. Read an excerpt here, and check out Cora Daniel's Ghettonation blog, too. And answer the question for us ... when was the last time you used the word "ghetto" and why?

I'm not going to pretend that I buy actual books in the airport bookstore anymore; I'm generally so behind in my reading that I like to cart around several pounds of the guiltily unread. In fact, I still overspend at the newsstand on trashy magazines that will show me what the well dressed celebutante* is wearing (or...er...not wearing) this season. But I used to have a Higgins Clark (both Mary and Carol) addiction, stoked by the shiny covers glinting at the local airport bookstore. (Bonus reading: here's an interesting theory on why it's hard to bring yourself to crack open "War and Peace" on a plane.) How to choose, though? Stanley Fish has the answer, in a recent New York Times column he outlines a real strategy for choosing the right mystery book to keep you occupied on your next trip. How do you choose your airplane reading?

*A note about celebutantes: there is, following a cursory search, literally nothing** I can link to involving Paris Hilton that does not take the reader to material that would tar the reputation of this blog, and thereby NPR, forever.

**Including her Wikipedia entry.

Tell me there's not a show in here somewhere ... turns out, couples aren't sleeping together anymore. It's getting more and more common for couples to sleep in separate bedrooms. Maybe one person snores, or she likes to read before getting some shut eye, or he likes to take the laptop to bed and pound on the keyboard for hours (or maybe he just needs the droning sound of a fan to help him sleep, and she doesn't like the noise or the breeze... hypothetically, I mean). The numbers back this up ... the National Association of Home Builders predicts that 60% of custom houses will have dual master bedrooms by 2015. His and hers bedrooms, basically. And men, listen up: a new study shows that sharing a bed with someone can actually make men dumber. (See, honey, it's not my fault that I never remember to take out the trash). That research also showed that women sleep more deeply when they share a bed. Though everyone agreed they get the best sleep when they're alone. Is that true? And if it is, is it worth losing a little sleep to curl up in the same bed at night?

Democrats in the Senate surprised even themselves yesterday when they got just enough votes to hang onto their troop withdrawal timeline for Iraq. Republicans hoped to amend the emergency military funding bill and strip the withdrawal language, but fell short by 2 votes. The actual bill comes to a vote any day now. Of course, the House already voted in favor of a firm deadline of August 31, 2008. The Senate's version sets a March 31, 2008 deadline, but it isn't binding. The promised presidential veto, on the other hand, would be. We'll let our favorite Political Junkie dig into this vote, and where it leaves both sides if the president follows through with a veto. Will Democrats vote for a bill without a timeline? Or will they risk voting down a military funding bill if it doesn't include a deadline?

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests angioplasty may not be superior to medication in combating heart disease, preventing heart attack, and alleviating chest pain. Understanding the results of studies like this one can be tricky for the layperson, so we've got an expert on to answer all your questions: cardiologist Dr. Steve Nissen, president of the American College of Cardiology. Do you have an angioplasty scheduled? Should you opt for medication instead? When is a stent still the best option? Dr. Nissen takes your calls, emails, and comments.

...we asked you for your favorite quotes on memorials and monuments. Today, we'll talk to Ryan Coonerty about his book "Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments." To see pictures from the book, and perhaps to spark your own memory of what has moved you (I love the U.S. Post Office in New York -- "Neither snow nor rain nor heat...") check them out here.

There's a whole slew of annotated editions of classic books hitting bookstores, which have enabled the adoring fans of everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Lewis Carroll to take their obsession love one step further. As I mentioned earlier, Austen fans are some of the most extreme of the bunch, and we'll be fueling those fires today with David Shapard, he's the editor of "The Annotated Pride and Prejudice". So...if you want to know just what Pemberley looked like, or how rich Mr. Darcy was, this is your segment.

The BBC production of Pride and Prejudice was almost a religious event in my life (thank you, A&E!). The combination of Jane Austen and Colin Firth was almost too much for me to bear (and for my roommates; I was living with a shared TV at the time). I am an Austen fan, but as my sister can attest, my love for Austen comes nowhere close to hers, nor to the incredible legions of passionate readers who protect the Austen altar and legacy. In the article that prompted the segment we're going to do today (with the author of the Annotated Pride and Prejudice), The New York Times' William Grimes wrote about this passion, "Austen is a special case. Certain writers create worlds that readers do not want to leave, ever. Extreme devotees of Austen do not simply enjoy the novels, they want to sit in the living room at Longbourn with the Bennet sisters, drinking tea and analyzing Darcy's behavior." And online, those worlds exist. Want to find out what advice Lady Catherine de Bourgh might have about a romance? Go here (the entire Pemberley website is a treasure of Jane-o-philia, in fact.) Want to take an Austen quiz? You can, ad nauseum. Want to read/write fanfaction? Go for it. What is it about the books that lend them to this kind of adoration? I think it's because nothing about them feels like a history book (which may be why there are so many wonderful adaptations). They reference the period, but they're mostly about, well, boys. Of course they're much more complicated then that; truly they're about social relationships, but the trials and tribulations of love, marriage, and social climbing are utterly timeless. Meanwhile, I am not pretending my love comes close to the love of true Austen fans ... my taste runs more to the Ellen Olenska, than spunky Elizabeth Bennet. I'm off to find the Edith Wharton webring.

Get in the game ... carefully.

Source: Sister72

When NPR's Sports Correspondent Tom Goldman's story on kids and concussions aired on Morning Edition last week, the response was immediate. Simply put, getting knocked around on the high school football field deserves a lot more attention than just, "buck up kid, shake it off." So, we're bringing Tom to you, as well as high school football player and hit-taker Billy Hagberg's mom and pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Gerry Gioia, to take your questions and let you know what to look out for when your son or daughter takes a dive on the playing field or a hit to the head.

As Tony Blair hints at drawing a tougher line over Iran's detention of 15 British troops, it occurs to us ... this has happened before. In June of 2004, Iran captured six British marines and two sailors. Tehran let them go three days later, but only after mock executions and a visit to what they were told were their own graves. We have no way to know if that's happening this time, but former Royal Marine Scott Fallon was one of those captured in 2004. He's agreed to talk with us today ... and take your questions about his ordeal.

A new self-help craze has everybody wishing their hardest, and it's not a "Secret" any longer. But even before Oprah started spilling about it, self-help was a booming business. From men and women and those dratted planets, to Dale Carnegie's hit, we sure do love to help ourselves. And we've been doing if for a long time (you must check out the 1869 version of the Secret). (This is not to dismiss the entire genre, after all, you could certainly make an argument for Rilke, Rumi, and Lao-Tzu as self-help.) In any case, if you've ever found yourself huddled in the shiniest, most soothing corner of the bookstore ... you're not alone. Let us know what book you were secretly consulting (I loved The Inner Game of Tennis).

There are a few mega-star investigative reporters out there, and we're lucky enough to speak to a few of them from time to time (Sy Hersh, Dana Priest, etc.). Vanity Fair correspondent William Langewiesche is certainly one of those stars; his article in the current issue of Vanity Fair addresses the Sao Paolo prison riots that tore that city apart last May, and the deep systemic troubles plaguing Brazil's prison system. The article brims with customary Langewiesche moral meticulousness, as well as his beautiful prose. I encourage you to get a copy of the April Vanity Fair, however, in lieu of linking to the Sao Paolo article, I'll ask you to read his heartbreaking article on Haditha.

Bonus reading for Langewiesche fans that already know how to spell his name: here's an old Slate Explainer on how to pronounce it.

What's life like just 60 miles from this border?

Source: marj k

When the show travels, we're essentially traveling to a story. Sometimes we have to dig a little to find the story of a particular city or town, and sometimes the story is so obvious it overwhelms us (as it was when we traveled to New Orleans last May). Tucson's story (and this is not to say, of course, that it's the only story) turns out to be fairly palpable as well, as it's about 60 miles north of Nogales; the only major border crossing point for legal and illegal immigration. So, we're working on a show about immigration, and since we have the opportunity to actually be close to the border, we're going to steer clear of beltway policy talk, and actually ask how this story is being lived. How do people who live 60 miles from the issue truly experience it? I'm talking to a lot of different people right now, from Border Patrol to the Medical Examiner's office in Pima Country. But I'd love to hear from you, if you live near any border (Canada counts ... so does Miami -- a different kind of border), about how immigration issues affect your daily life. What do people who live in Washington D.C. not understand about this issue?

That's a wrap for today... Now, we need a little help for something we're working up for Wednesday. Ryan Coonerty will be talking about his new book, "Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments." It's a whole collection of words and images from some of the country's most well-known monuments. Lincoln, Kennedy, Roosevelt, even completely anonymous authors are permanently remembered in marble from one coast to the other ... which are your favorites?

Last week, presidential-hopeful and former Senator John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, appeared before a bank of microphones to announce that though her cancer had returned, he would continue to vie for his party's nomination. Elizabeth Edwards has been absolutely clear that the campaign must go on, but the story raises questions about the tension between public and private. How much can, and should, a public figure reveal about a private health crisis? How can such candor affect a candidate's campaign?

Earlier this month the head of the NAACP, Bruce S. Gordon, resigned after just 19 months on the job. His reasons included a difference of opinion with board members over the mission of the organization. In an op-ed in last Wednesday's Washington Post, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., and Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., called this a critical impasse for the civil rights organization. They argue that we've entered a "post-civil-rights age that requires" new strategies. And they want the NAACP to move beyond just advocacy, and to address "the social and moral crisis faced by African American children." Mr. Glaude joins us on the Opinion Page today to tell us what he hopes to see happen, and why.

Here at TOTN, and probably the radio world entire, we are obsessed with accents. If you book a guest who's smart and knows her stuff; great, but if you book a guest who's smart, knows her stuff, and has, say, the clipped British tones of an Austen heroine (hard to master), well, that's just priceless. Among the staff here, our accents range from one producer's flat-vowelled, yet mellifluous Bawston accent, to another's light Caribbean inflection (which oddly makes breaking news sound like fun.) Today we're going to enter the multi-inflected world of accents; our obsession piqued by an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. How you acquire an accent is fascinating, and how you lose it can be even more so (although, Eliza Dolittle pre-"Rain in Spain" is pretty adorable). Some people may not even know they have an accent (here's a quiz to help), while others simply put one on (so long, Detroit!). The world of accents is vast; where does yours come from, and where does it place you?

It is the worst fear a civilized society has about the death penalty: that someone will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death. At seventeen, Shareef Cousin was sent to death row for a crime he did not commit. He served time in a Louisiana prison (ironically, where the movie Dead Man Walking was filmed) until he was 22, and the conviction was overturned. He'll speak to us today about his horrific experience, and you can watch the PBS documentary "Race to Execution," tonight as well.

Kyle Busch and his Car of Tomorrow

Source: Wade Payne/AP

Just before I left work on Friday, Barrie and I had a conversation about the blogging week-to-come, and I volunteered to do a post on NASCAR after the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. I've just recently taken an interest in the sport, and feel it's incredibly undercovered on our air, particularly given its popularity (second only to the NFL in terms of TV audience). I thought about my post on and off all weekend, but as soon as I stepped back into HQ this morning I found it difficult to talk about anything other than Georgetown's Elite Eight win yesterday in the NCAA tournament. I love the tournament and I love the Hoyas, so that contributes to my lack of focus, but that's not all ... there's something taboo about NASCAR. I don't know if it's that urban professionals don't watch it, or just don't talk about it, but it seems incredible that a sport that packs the stands at Bristol -- all 160,000 seats -- gets little or no mention on our air or in our hallways.

NPR's tradition of sports coverage is somewhat less than comprehensive -- we're not a sports network, so it's not a critique, and we can't be all things to all people -- and I truly love the contributions of folks like Alan Schwarz, Frank Deford, and Stefan Fastis. Today, Morning Edition's got two sports stories on the air -- a Final Four preview, and a commentary on cricket. I wouldn't argue that either doesn't belong there -- obviously, the Final Four is news, and there's heightened interest in cricket right now due to the gruesome murder of the Pakistani team's coach. Additionally, stories on lesser-known sports are great, and one of the reasons folks listen to us. My problem isn't with what we do cover, it's with what we don't (and it's not just us -- a perfunctory Google News search brings up a bunch of wire stories and not a whole lot of outside reporting) ... and, perhaps more meatily, why? What is it about NASCAR that relegates it to the back pages of the paper and occasional mention on our air?

By chance, we had both the Indigo Girls and Ken Jennings on the show last week, which gave me the chance to shamelessly plug the American Crossword Puzzle Championship in Stamford, Connecticut. They are tangentially associated - Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are among the celebrity solvers featured in the documentary Wordplay, which builds up to the dramatic 2005 championship final, and Ken Jennings was the guest speaker -- and whizbang rookie contestant -- at last year's annual. I've been there every year since 2001 (I think) to do the play by play of the finals with color man and well-known puzzle constructor Merl Reagle.
After thirty years (!), Will Shortz, the (you have to say this all in one breath) puzzle editor of The New York Times and Puzzle Master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, is moving his tournament. The Stamford Marriott is simply too small to accomodate the burgeoning crowd, now more than 700 strong. After all these years, "Stamford" had aquired a special cachet in the puzzle world. Under certain circumstances, "Stamford" would be whispered with the same kind of reverence that baseball fans reserve for Cooperstown. Though it annually failed to order in sufficient copies of the Sunday Times, the hotel became a place where, once a year, legends strode the corridors. I'm told that the contest in the ballroom is but a small part of Stamford's real story, but sadly, I don't get invited to those parties. Will says it will be bigger and better in the new place, but he says it with a tear in his eye.
Next year in Brooklyn!

Yesterday, an Italian journalist who was captured and held hostage for 15 days by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan was exchanged for five Taliban prisoners. The ransom was confirmed by both the Italian government and Afghan officials, and the U.S. State Department and officials in European capitals were quick to criticize the deal, condemning public negotiation with terrorists. This story highlights a moral quandary: how much is a life worth? How does a government, or an individual, weigh the life of one vs. the potential lives of many at the hands of the Taliban? And does this make life more dangerous for aid workers and reporters in combat zones?

Whether your affection for your pets knows no bounds, or your allergies to the furry little things are similarly unbounded; we've got all kinds of advice for you today. It's Ask Amy day, and Amy Dickinson will be here to answer questions about humans, while pet specialist Steve Dale will be here to answer all your questions about the animals. It's been a crazy week for pet lovers, with the pet food recall causing at least one pet lover (it's me! I admit it!) to consider feeding her little princess ... er ... kitty, home cooked meals. That's particularly odd since most of the humans in my house don't get that treatment. Before you start feeding your little fuzzbucket three course haute cuisine, listen to the show, or read Steve Dale's FAQ about the recall. It's possible you should spend your time knitting Muffy a sweater, rather than slaving over a hot stove.

If you've been watching Jeopardy lately, and feeling somehow smarter, I've got bad news. It's not you. Quiz shows are getting dumber. The (relatively) good news is that some of them aren't making any bones about it; Fox's new hit is literally called, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" There's something to be said for honesty; but with the way things are going, is it possible the next big thing in quiz shows will be called, "How Dumb Are You?" We've assembled various smarty-pants to weigh in on the dumbing-down ... braniac Ken Jennings will be one. (If you're sick of all the easy questions, check out his blog for Wordplay Wednesday. It stumped me.) Doesn't this seem to be another incarnation of the '50s quiz show scandals; after all, by making the questions easier, aren't you still fixing the game?

So many stores, so little time.

Source: dietpoison

Artist and new media professor Rosemary Williams can lay claim to a title few will challenge: she has made a purchase at every store (save two) at the Mall of America, and lived to tell the tale. Williams did it with a goal in mind: to create a sculpture out of the nearly 500 shopping bags. She's on the show today to tell us all about what she saw, what she bought, what she returned, and what she just couldn't part with, and you can see her finished project by clicking on "sculpture" above. Have you ever been to the Mall of America? Did you buy a souvenir ... or perhaps make a little art out of your leftover tissue paper?

Tell us what you love about Arizona!

Source: Marc Shandro

As you may or may not have noticed, Talk of the Nation loves to travel. That might partly be a function of DC's swampy dank heat in the summer, and the moody temperature swings of the winter, but it also gives us an opportunity to set up camp right in the middle of the story; whatever the story of that particular town is. Speaking of heat, next month (April 12th) we're heading to Tucson to broadcast in front of a live audience. We're warming up a couple of ideas; but let's face it, we are, in fact, inside the Beltway, and there's going to be stuff we'll miss. If you're from Tucson, or around thereabouts, tell us what you love about the area that an outsider wouldn't know: local mystery writer, band, comedy troupe -- anything that makes your brain prickle or your mouth water. So far, I've found a lot to love, and boy, am I looking forward to that dry, dry heat. So please, help me, I'm from Massachusetts for goodness' sake (the Big Dig is my idea of a "grand" canyon). Talk Tucson to me.

I don't get out much on school nights, but I was asked to emcee an event yesterday evening to honor Medal of Honor recipients on Capitol Hill. And I ran into retired General Jack Keane on the way into the Russell Building -- he's the former Army Vice Chief of Staff who's among the intellectual architects of the "surge" -- a term he hates. He's been on the show several times. He said he was just back from another visit to Iraq and that, while it was early days yet, there were encouraging reports from Baghdad. I asked if the reduction in violence wasn't largely a function of the decision by the Shia militias to lay low and wait things out. "Exactly what we wanted them to do," he replied. "Much of their leadership has headed east and south (Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Mehdi Army is reported to be in Iran, and by "south" I suspect he means Basra), the guys in Baghdad have orders to stand down, not to fight the Americans, which has made it possible for us to got into neighborhoods where we've never been able to sustain activity before. We could have fought our way into Sadr City if we had to, but nobody wanted to do that. We arrested a few dozen to show that we were there (there's suspicion that those arrested are renegade elements of Sadr's forces and that he's using American troops to eliminate internal rivals). But it's a tactical mistake on their part. By the time they try to resume operations, we -- the US and the Iraqis -- will be established in those neighborhoods and if we can keep it quiet, relatively quiet, we'll have eliminated a lot of the cause of their support."
It's so tempting to believe that things are going better -- just this morning I heard the BBC report on the 'dramatic' reduction in violence in Baghdad over the past month -- but it's also very diffficult to believe that this time, really, not like all those other times, we've actually turned a corner that doesn't lead into a blind alley. I couldn't book a show right there and then on the steps of the Russell Building, but we'll ask General Keane and a skeptic to come on to take your questions soon.

As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace is the highest ranking military official in the country. So, when he speaks candidly, people listen ... and not just those in the military. When he called homosexual acts "immoral," he prompted outrage, protests, and support. His statement propelled the debate about what straight Americans really think about gays and lesbians, and how attitudes have changed. We're not going to rehash the debate over what Pace did or didn't say ... this will be a frank and civil conversation about what Americans really think about homosexuality, and how those attitudes have changed over the years.

In this week's roundup of political happenings with NPR's Political Junkie Ken Rudin, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is in the hot seat over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is the first would-be president to get seriouslyYouTubed, and actor Fred Thompson considers a run for the top office himself. Have you seen the ad comparing Clinton to 1984's Big Brother? Is a bio that includes Watergate counsel, Senator, and Law & Order district attorney the right stuff for a presidential bid?

The folks at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon dream of mechanical beings that help humans, or even replace them. Author Lee Gutkind got inside the Institute, and in his new book Almost Human: Making Robots Think he tells the stories of Zoe, Groundhog, Grace, and Sandstorm, some of the bots chasing, creeping, rolling, zooming, kicking soccer balls, and hunting for treasure on the floor of the Institute ... and the fascinating people behind the bots. Gutkind joins us today to tell us all about not just what he saw in the shop, but from the deserts of Chile to NASA headquarters and all the other places these robots go ... as well as the daunting challenge of inventing robots that actually think. It's not so far-out -- do you have a Segway? A Roomba? A self-parking car? Robots and robotics are everywhere, but do you want your robot to think?

According to Steven Pinker, in spite of headline news like the war in Iraq and the crisis in Darfur, the world is a kinder, gentler place today than it's ever been. A provocative statement, no? In the latest issue of The New Republic, Pinker posits that in spite of these and other global conflicts, we're getting nicer and more intolerant of things like "cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, ... rape as the spoils of war, pogroms as outlests for frustration, [and] homicide as the major form of conflict resolution." He joins us to elaborate on his position, and take your questions.

Careful boys, magical powers sold separately!

Source: JeffS

Dear Mom and Dad:
Remember all those times growing up that I'd insist on wearing that silly Superman costume that you made me for Halloween? I'd go tearing around the house, in full Super pose with my super speed and super strength. If only I had enough super sense not to crash my fist through the living room windows ... not just once, mind you, but many, many times (I insist to this day that the cape kept me safe, I never got a scratch). Well, rest assured, we are not alone. A doctor in England studied this, and warns parents that dressing kids like super heroes can be dangerous. (How are we to know that super powers aren't included with the cape, and we can't really fly off the arm of the sofa?) It's not exactly an exhaustive study; there were only five boys (it's always boys, isn't it?) who were hurt while dressed as Superman or Spiderman. I'm not making light of injuries to kids, flying through windows can lead to serious harm. I just happened to be lucky, and thankfully the five boys in the study are all OK. One of the boys was actually kept from further injury by his padded "imitation muscles" (must have been the Spiderman costume, Superman doesn't need any enhancements). Though, interestingly, the doctor says it's not just DC and Marvel dress-up dangers: "Parents whose children dress up as Bob the Builder should also understand that hammers and saws are highly likely to be used in play." But, at least Bob can't fly.
Your son,
Scott
P.S. I can't be the only one who did something super stupid while dressed as a Superhero when I was a kid .... anyone? ANYONE???

...is harder than it looks. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Dr. Hawass on the line today, so we had to jettison the segment. Sometimes this happens, it's the bane (and sometimes the boon) of live radio. Apologies to those who were looking forward to it; we'll let you know when we reschedule.

Anyone who's ever bought a house (or a car, for that matter) knows it's not the easiest thing in the world to borrow money. There are forms, and signatures, and more forms, and duplicate forms, and credit reports, and finally ... loan payments. And there's the rub. When interest rates were low, lots of people stretched to buy their dream home, and did it with adjustable rate mortgages. Now, those rates are climbing, and taking monthly payments along with them. We'll find who's getting hit hardest, and what you can do to stay out of trouble.

Just in case you hadn't heard, there's this election coming up next year. And for the next 594 days (plus or minus), we hope to talk with ... and let you talk to ... as many of the candidates for president as we can ... Republicans, Democrats, and others. Today, Republican Mike Huckabee. He's the former governor of Arkansas, (or Arkansas's former governor) and will be on the line to take your questions this afternoon. So, let us know: what questions do you have for Gov. Mike Huckabee?

Barrie: We are big fans of the Indigo Girls here at Talk of the Nation, and today they're playing on our show. In fact, just the mention of their name brings me back to camp, the summer of 1986, sitting on the top bunk and screaming harmony on "Closer to Fine..."

Sarah: I'm trying to tell you something about my life.

Barrie: Maybe give me insight between black and white.

Sarah: CLOSER I AM TO FIIIIINE!

Barrie: CLOSER I AM TO FIIIIIINE!

Sarah: Ok, now it's 1995 and Barrie and I are sitting in my 1983 Honda Civic bombing down Route 50 East headed for the beach. Swamp Ophelia is blasting from the tinny, static-plagued speakers but it doesn't matter because our singing is THAT GOOD. We serenade the boys on whom we have crushes, but who don't know our names.

Barrie: I remember the time when I came so close to you... Sent me skipping my class and running from school.

Sarah: And I bought you that ring cause I never was cool

Barrie and Sarah, in unison: What makes me think I could start clean slated
THE HARDEST TO LEARN WAS THE LEAST COMPLICATED!

Barrie: If you have questions for the Indigo Girls about their new album, or the movie they made with Neal, put 'em here! And try not to serenade your officemates too loudly from your cubicle.

So ... with all the talk about a new list of wonders (you can vote for favorite wonder here), it's worth noting that only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is left standing, and it's the Great Pyramid of Giza. Today, we'll be talking to world-renowned archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass, who is, among other things, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Director of Excavations at Giza (yes, that Giza). His argument? The pyramids hardly need to be put to a vote to be labeled a "wonder."

Human beings love lists and categories ... they're a soothing way to make sense of the world. (All those enlightened brackets that we talked about last week are just another form of categorizing and grouping the world so that we can grasp it all.) If we compiled a list of our favorite lists, The Seven Wonders of the World would rank pretty high. There are actually quite a few of these "Seven Wonder" lists, ranging from Herodotus (of 300 fame), all the way to the list we most commonly use, from round about the 2nd century BC, which is attributed to the Greek engineer Philon of Byzantium (poor guy, if it was him, his heart was clearly not in catapults and sieges, but in travel writing). Now, remember, this list was created for Greeks, by Greeks ... a sort of tourist guide, so it only includes their must-sees of the Ancient World. There's no Great Wall, no Machu Picchu, not even the Colosseum made the original cut. The lack of relevance to the wonders of today's world made filmmaker Bernard Weber decide to compile a new list (you can hear him discuss it with Lynn Neary here), by committee. And he's not the only one ... Ohio, Illinois, and even Kansas City (where of course, barbecue is listed as a wonder-- de septem barbecue spactaculis?), are getting in on it. So here's the spot to make your new list ... the seven wonders of the modern world.

Have you seen this mailBOT?

Source: handels

Last week an unusual figure got the red-carpet treatment in Hollywood, with a premiere outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. No, it wasn't Tom Cruise, nor was it Angelina Jolie or Aisha Tyler ... it was an ordinary, workaday USPS mailbox. It seems the Postal Service has teamed up with Lucasfilm Ltd. to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, and to that end they've gussied up 400 mailboxes around the country to look like the little-bot-that-could, R2D2. I flipped out when I saw the story, and lo-and-behold, not 24 hours later Scott noticed our very own R2 mailbox behind NPR headquarters. The boxes don't make adorable bleep-bloop noises or project holograms of Princess Leia, but they sure ease the pain of dropping that cable bill into the mail. Have you seen one in your neck of the woods? What other characters would make good inanimate objects -- maybe recycling bins dressed up as Snorks?

Phew. The story of the fired prosecutors in the Bush administration has been around since January, but however slow it was to catch on, it's hot now. As promised, Talk of the Nation is here to explain everything about the prosecutor purge ... so keep 'em coming. We've got law professors, former prosecutors, people who really know Article II, Section 2 backwards and forwards; and they're here to lay it out for you. What questions do you have about the prosecutor scandal?

It's Monday, and we're sorting through the op-ed pages as usual; time for some somber opinions on the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Seems everybody is cleaning the lenses through which they viewed the war. One Iraqi journalist, now a student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, hoped that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein would lead to a new Iraq ... but the Iraq that has emerged is, he says, united only in "disappointment." Honest hindsight is incalculably rare and useful; what has the long view taught you?

When Harvard researchers at McLean Hospital reported the results of the first national study of eating disorders in a population of nearly 3,000 adults, they did not expect to find that so many afflicted by the disease were men. But 25 percent of people suffering from anorexia or bulimia, and 40 percent of binge eaters, are men. We'll talk about it, and certainly hope that if you or a man you know has suffered from any of these disorders, you'll comment on your experience.

If you've ever looked longingly at a spot on the street that required your car to slim down ... there's some good news on that front. Or back, really, as the smart Fortwo (that's not a spelling/capitalization error; the company writes it that way -- get it? Even the WORDS are smaller) is coming to America, and taking reservations for 2008. I know you've got questions about this little guy; is it safe, where do your groceries go, and does taking out the backseat remove the ... er ... romance (or does the convertible version take of that)?

One of the most dubiously exciting things about working for Talk of the Nation, is that sometimes the "Talk" won't wait 'til two o'clock. Today, for instance, we'll be on air at 11:30 this morning covering President Bush's statement on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. So Neal will be on the air as "Special Coverage from NPR News" to anchor the statement. Special Coverage can range from a presidential press conference to breaking news on the level of 9/11; either way it means assembling scripts, technical direction, and wrangling guests on very short notice. Honestly, though, we're so used to shifting around our day for Special Coverage that it's pretty calm around here ... like many people, we're mostly just trying to figure out what the president will say. If you work with daily, short deadlines, chances are you might be an adrenaline junkie ... and I'd have to say the staff of Talk of the Nation really, really thrives on days like this, when carefully laid plans go out the window. Plus, when you've got a host like Neal (his rap name would be Special C.) ... there's nothing to worry about anyway. Just another play-by-play for the pro.

It's just about quittin' time here, but before we go ... for Monday, we're thinking of doing a show about this growing scandal over the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys ... call it prosecutor-gate, attorney-gate, whatever. The e-mail chain of evidence reached the White House this week, and people seem to have a lot of questions. So, in the first hour Monday, we'll do a Q-and-A on the prosecutor scandal. If you can spare a minute over the weekend between trips to the grocery store or the corner bar, send us your questions, and we'll post them here. We'll get you some answers on the air Monday afternoon, and of course take your calls, too. But, help us out with some good Q's in advance ... besides, it will help keep you out of trouble this weekend!

We had a hectic schedule yesterday for the remote broadcast in Cleveland, but the folks at WCPN kindly provided a guide with a car to take me out to Brook Park, the suburb that's home to the Marine Reserve Battalion that was the centerpiece of our first hour show. I didn't realize it at the time, but I'd been through a bit of it the night before, in the cab from Hopkins Field. Well, I'd probably seen more of it illuminated by lightning as the plane circled the airport for forty-five minutes before we landed.

Just about everywhere we went, you could see the smokestacks of the Ford engine plant that's at the heart of the city's economy and identity -- there used to be a Chevy plant, too, and I mentioned a huge convention center that's been adapted from a factory that built B-29s during WWII and tanks in the fifties. A lot of the housing was originally built by the government for workers at the bomber plant ... neat bungalows and ramblers, many with American flags secured to the front porch. A noticeably high percentage of American cars ... the kind of largely white ethnic blue collar town that's been hit so hard by de-industrialization, and a rock solid republican part of Dennis Kucinich's congressional district.

The Marine headquarters is across the street from a Catholic school. There's a chain link fence outside that, in August 2005, was festooned with signs and prayers and flowers and teddy bears ... a 9/11 kind of memorial that happened spontaneously after 19 members of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines were killed in a week. All that stuff was collected and preserved inside ... there's a courtyard memorial outside now, with the names of the 48 men from the battalion killed so far in this war.

The visit helped me understand the area a little bit, and the grief and the loss, but I realize now I should have taken a camera to show you all some pictures. Sigh. I'll get this digital stuff someday.

Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and much of what happens in that war affects families and communities right here in the United States. Today, we're broadcasting live from Cleveland, Ohio. About a year and a half ago a small suburb of Cleveland, called Brook Park, was devastated by news that six Marines, five from the local area, had been killed in Iraq. Just two days later, news came that 14 more were dead in a separate attack. It was the single most deadly improvised explosive attack on U.S. forces since the war began. We'll talk with the families of those Marines, and with members of the community about how this war affects them. And the war in Iraq is felt far beyond the borders of Ohio. We'll also talk with Saleem Amer in Baghdad. He's raising an infant son, and wishes he could be excited for his future. How is the war affecting you, or your neighborhood?

This year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class included R.E.M., Patti Smith, Van Halen, The Ronnettes, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The problem with this list? To some critics, it looks like a game of "One of these things is not like the others" a'la Sesame Street ... or maybe that just one of these things belongs here. While few dispute R.E.M.'s place in the Hall, the remaining classmates have proven more controversial -- does rap music belong in the hall? How much commercial success do you need to get the nod? And just what is rock music, anyway?

There has been much conversation at Talk of the Nation over our Rock and Roll movie segment. Is Saturday Night Fever a rock and roll movie or merely a disco abomination? Why does Val Kilmer look so much like Jim Morrison? Which Elvis movie is truly the best? These are questions for the ages, but it's quite possible that Murray Horwitz has some of the answers...so please, please, please tell us what you think are the quintessential rock movies.

We're all on pins and needles this morning; Neal went to Cleveland last night, for a remote broadcast today from member station WCPN. This isn't a full remote in the truest sense; there won't be a studio audience, and we've only sent one producer down with Neal. But today we felt it was important for Neal to talk to his guests while sitting at the same table, face to face, as we're marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War. Why Cleveland? About a year and a half ago, a small suburb called Brook Park got the heartbreaking news that 20 Marines from the local 25th Marine Regiment, 3rd battalion had been killed in an ambush in Western Iraq. Neal is in Cleveland to find out how the war is affecting the community ... the families, the friends, the employers, and the neighbors of those stationed in Iraq.

Continue reading "Remote Control" >

Leonard Pitts, Jr., much admired syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald was fed up with writing about what doesn't work. He set out, in a new series of columns, to write about what does. We'll talk to him this hour, but we really want to hear from you about community initiatives and programs in your area that are actually working. This is the first in an occasional series we'll do about innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems ... so this is not just a place to comment on today's show (which we hope you'll do), but a place to give us suggestions on what to cover the next time we do a "solutions show." Is there a great addiction fighting program in your neighborhood? A particularly inventive after-school arts program? Has your city come up with a great way to fight crime, garbarge, litter, even noise pollution? Tell us about it.

It's been 80 years since a presidential election didn't include a sitting (or standing) president or vice president ... which is just one of the reasons that the candidate field is so darn crowded. Ken Rudin is our Political Junkie as usual, and he'll be able to sort out all the rock stars, tv stars, movie stars, and er ... governors for us, along with the latest political imbroglios.

Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland is famous for a book he wrote over a decade ago, called How We Die: Reflections On Life's Final Chapter. His frank take on death became a bestseller and won a National Book Award, and now he's back with a wholly optimistic look at getting old, The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being. So what is his prescription? It's threefold -- stay -- or get -- connected to others, stay fit and active, and exercise your creativity. If you're a boomer, are you taking your medicine? What do you do to stave off feeling old, and what IS old anymore, anyway?

Rumor has it "entertainment news source" TMZ is opening up a satellite office ... the website known for breaking all the big celebrity stories, from Michael Richards' meltdown to Britney and K-Fed's split is apparently opening up shop in an unlikely town ... Washington, DC. Does that mean a swarm of paparazzi will descend on the district? And just what do they hope to find?

Dig into a tray of In-N-Out burgers

Source:handels

Here's something we've been sitting on for a few days, trying to work it into the show. We haven't found a spot for it yet, so I thought I'd get to it here ... The Wall Street Journal's Raymond Sokolov has done what many aspire to but few have managed -- while holding down a job, anyway. From coast to coast he ate cheeseburgers in search of the very best. His winner can be found just outside Atlanta -- what's yours? I too have some pretty definite criteria for the ideal burger, and I'd like to hear where you tuck into yours, and what makes it so good.

Continue reading "The World's Best Burgers" >

Tax time cometh, are you ready? And what's your definition of ready? Your standard may not be the same as your neighbor's ... turns out cheating is on the rise for individual tax filers, as more and more Americans cut corners, "forget" undocumented income streams, and simply opt-out of the April 15th excitement. Do you cheat on your taxes? Is there a level at which some deception is acceptable? If you knew someone was cheating, would you report it to the IRS?

Another day, another lawsuit ... Today's story takes place in West Virginia, where the parents of Sissonville High School student "L.H."'s parents are suing teacher Jane Schultz and the Kanawha County Board of Education over a failing grade on a late assignment. Is this a case of the school being too tough on the student, or the student's mistake? If you're a teacher, does the threat of litigious behavior threaten you more than just plain bad behavior? If you're a student ... stop listening and finish your homework.

You know the part of the movie where Bruce Willis' hand is hovering over the clutch of multi-colored wires, and you (and everybody else on the bus) are praying that it actually is the green wire? Well there are guys that do this every day ... they're part of the New York City bomb squad unit, and the authors of a new book, Bomb Squad: A Year Inside the Nation's Most Exclusive Police Unit followed these guys for a year, detailing what it's like to practice this terrifying "black art." We'll talk to a former member of the squad, too.

Mike Carlson was in charge of the Camp Fallujah Regional Detention Facility last year. He's got a list of things to remember should you ever have such a job. He's also a grad student in creative writing at the University of Central Florida, so there's plenty to talk to him about.

Some voices just stick in our heads ... they may cue memories of old flames, long summers, or a certain speech impaired (and mildly neurotic) bird. (After all these years, what comes to mind when I say, "They're grrrrrreat!") And, if you're of a certain generation, one of the voices you grew up with, listened to, and trusted, was the able throated radio announcer behind everything from Sherlock Holmes to Pall Mall cigarettes. I bring this up, of course, because of an email we got a couple of weeks ago, that reminded us that those deep baritones who were such a part of our lives during the golden years of radio do have faces, and names, and families who will miss them when they're gone. The letter came from Melanie, and it read:

Continue reading "A Radio Tribute" >

The Project for Excellence in Journalism has just released its 2007 State of the American News Media Report, which looked at all the changes in the radio-sphere to the blogosphere. Among its findings, online news is experiencing a slowdown, and most media lost audience this year! (Yikes! Come back!) If we know anything about our listeners, we know you love to talk about the state of the media ... so go ahead and weigh in on how we, and our competitors, are doing.

Opinions surrounding the possibility of a Scooter Libby pardon can get pretty heated. Today on the Opinion page, we're talking about the Politics of Pardon. On one side, The National Review is pretty peeved that Scooter got stuck holding the bag, and thinks that the prosecution was too politicized to allow the conviction to stand. Professor Juan Cole's opinion, is that not only should Libby be punished for his role, but we should start talking impeachment for his erstwhile boss, Vice President Dick Cheney. What do you think?

On Sunday night, the NCAA released the brackets that will decide what the best men's team in college basketball is; it's a system that has driven us mad since 1939, but we love how those little brackets rule our lives for the month of March. After all, life is a process of weighing your choices, and choosing the best one; whether it's the best way to get home after rush hour, the absolute best barbecue sauce, or even the best American beer to serve with your barbecue (provided of course, that you make it home for said barbecue after rush hour). The editors of The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything, have taken the bracket system and applied it to ... well, everything. From the greatest American plays, to the greatest Nascar phrases ("Yeehaw!" beat "Boogity, boogity, boogity,"), start looking at the world through rose-colored brackets, and you'll find decision making easy and fun; and maybe even be able to determine the best News-Talk Show ... ?

We've taken the liberty of creating a little bracket of our own; "Best Movies Inspired by Comic Books," which you can view at the Daily Bracket website. There were four regionals; The Gotham Regional, the Metropolis Regional, the Indy Regional, and the New York Regional. Feel free to comment, but for all of you Catwoman and Elektra fans, we wanted to let you know there was a heated play-in game between them, which was won by Catwoman (though she was eventually vanquished by herself, as Storm in X-Men: The Last Stand.) If you're devastated we left Daredevil off the list, well, we can't help you.

The new movie 300 slaughtered at the box office this weekend, and left very little to the imagination, especially in the realm of rippling buttocks and multiple decapitations. Classicist Victor Davis Hanson will review the movie, and tell us if it would have made Herodotus blush. If you want to weigh in on either side -- Spartan, Persian -- hike up your leather tunic, and wade in.

For me, R.E.M. is synonymous with rock 'n' roll, and tonight that seminal band that started out with a few chords and a few more beers is gaining entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While this is surprising to few (the real controversy swirls around class of 2007 members Van Halen and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- does metal belong in the Hall? Does hip-hop? And come on, is Van Halen truly metal?!), that doesn't make it meaningless, particularly to me. The documentary short subject version of my life could easily have an all-R.E.M. soundtrack.

Continue reading "Gardening at Night" >

My two favorite words in the English language are "Science Friday." Sometimes, after just five years or so on the show, I feel like the new kid. There have been several TOTN hosts, beginning with John Hockenberry, and many long-time listeners regard Ray Suarez as the definitive voice of the program, but Ira has been here since the start. The rest of us come and go, but Flatow rules!
The fact that there's a separate host and production staff on Friday resolves one of the most difficult problems of a daily news program.

Continue reading "Secret Friday" >

It seems like every time you flip on the radio or pick up a paper these days someone new is offering an apology for stepping out of line, saying the wrong thing, or dissing a colleague. So today we've got Ask Amy's Amy Dickinson on to advise us on apologies big and small. Do you need help seeing your way through a particularly sticky apology? PLUS, we've got an audio quiz for you: Can you identify the following six apologies we featured in the top of our show today? Just click on the links below to hear the apologies, which will launch in your audio player. Bonus points for not just giving the name of the apologizer, but the reason for the apology!

1) ... I told him I was sorry for the humiliation (audio) ...
2) ... I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds (audio) ...
3) ... I want to say personally and directly, I'm sorry (audio) ...
4) ... I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all (audio) ...
5) ... I am deeply sorry about that (audio) ...
6) ... for me it doesn't change anything, I was wrong (audio) ...

Forget how hard it is to say, "I'm sorry." What about saying, "too bad you lost your job," or "bummer about your divorce?" No worries, Hallmark to the rescue! Their new line is called Journeys cards (the slogan is: "welcome to the new normal"), and it opens all sorts of new doors for daring card givers ... giving the commercial sympathy industry an even deeper foothold into our most awkward moments. Meghan Daum, the Los Angeles Times columnist, can't help but wonder: Are we all getting so lazy that we contract out our sympathy? And, she asks, what's next: National Bottoming Out Day? Hey, if Hallmark can do it, so can we! What would your Journeys card say?

Top-rated hospitals like five-star hotels with services priced as much as 80 percent cheaper than you're used to? Sounds like a dream come true! The catch is, you're going to have to make sure your passport is up to date. Americans travel abroad for more than just facelifts and a safari these day, choosing hospitals in Southeast Asia and Latin America for everything from dental work to knee replacements. Have you done it, or do you know someone who has? Would you consider it?

Freshman Rep. Patrick J. Murphy, D-PA is the only member of Congress who is also a veteran of the war in Iraq. He returned to Iraq last month and now he's back to tell us what he saw, and how he feels about how the President and the Congress are handling the war. What do you want to know about the Congressman's service as a paratrooper for the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, and about how things look on the ground now?

If you haven't had to eat humble pie at least once in your life ... well, we just don't believe you. But it's a sure bet that whether you've done anything for which you need pardoning (one time I did, back in the winter of '82), you've most likely been on the receiving end of some good old fashioned apologizing. Here are a few apology genres it's best to stay away from.

1) "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." We discussed in the morning meeting today the merits of "if" vs. "that," and decided that "if" was much, much worse. (In general, stay away from conjunctions and pronouns in an apology: ifs, ands, and buts, can really ruin a good thing.)

2) "I'm sorry, but I'm just built that way." Which is really just a fancy way of saying, "I don't do apologies. Wanna bet on it?"

3) "Sincere regret." What is it about regret that sounds the least sincere of all? Also under discussion in our morning meeting -- the importance of actually saying the word "sorry." Regret seems somehow paler then its sorry cousins; it's a feeling, rather then a state of being. Depending on the offense, your best bet is to just dig in and get abject; and "abject regret" sounds like something written by lawyers and/or publicists. (And you know what? You should probably try like heck to get it right the first time.)

Anyway, please comment on worst/best apologies you've received (or -- gasp! --given), and get warmed up for our show on the art of the apology today.

Remember payola? DJs spinning records in exchange for cash? Guess what ... It never went away. This week, some of the biggest names in commercial radio agreed, albeit tentatively, to pony up more than $12 million combined in response to allegations of payola. And there's talk that the potential deal would require them to set aside blocks of air time for indie acts ... some 4,000 hours in all ... and for FREE. No kickbacks allowed. F.C.C. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will fill us in. We'll find out what's in the deal, and if it will ever become reality. And, Marc Fisher will be back to look at what payola really means, how it works, and who benefits the most.

It's true, it's Wednesday, and we just can't keep the Political Junkie from staggering into 3A for our latest hit. This week, it's Scooter vs. the Slammer, and fresh polls from key '08 states. (It's good we have an election year that rhymes with state. Easy material. "The fate of '08! Take the bait in '08!") If you have questions for Ken Rudin, about the Libby verdict, any other political news, or a slogan that rhymes with '08, keep 'em coming.

... but Islamic studies Professor Brian Lawrence says, Qur'an. He's written a new biography of the Muslim Holy Book, the second in a series of "Books That Changed The World." Got questions? He'll take 'em all; literary, theological, even about that spelling ...

War is hell, and not just for the soldiers fighting and civilians caught in the crossfire. Conservationist Lawrence Anthony joins us today with a harrowing tale of rescuing the lions caged in Uday Hussein's personal zoo, as well as the tigers, monkeys, birds, and other animals starving in zoos around Baghdad. What do you want to know about the fuzziest and featheriest victims of the Iraq war?

Dig into this banana split

Source: roger jones

For whatever reason, there's been a very musical theme to the show recently. Hip-hop, classical, blues, and whatever that awful sound segment was. And who can forget our dedicated listener who put words to our theme song ... "banana spliiiiiiiit!!!" (This will launch your audio player). That brave solo performance turned out to be a hit with listeners, and inspired some to come up with their own lyrics (one of the first posts on this blog was a request to post that performance. And, feel free to add your own versions ... if you have an MP3 version to link us to, all the better!) Now, who knew there already WAS a banana split song, and in French, no less. An inquiring minded listener sent us this little ditty, which I'll label PG-13 (if you speak French): "That reminded me of a real French hit, sung by an artist known as Lio. You can hear it here."

The wait is over. Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, has been convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. This is a complex story ... so we've enlisted both our media reporter, David Folkenflik, and law professor Jonathan Turley to help us out. Did you follow the trial? Did you bet on the verdict, and did you win?

When the Washington Post breaks news, they don't mess around. Dana Priest and Anne Hull's reporting on abominable conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has already caused firings at the Pentagon. We'll talk to both of them today, and hopefully hear from you (especially any military folks in our audience).

It's become kinda cool to "admit" you were a loser in high school ... it seems to reflect well on how far you've come since the braces came out. But those of you who had tough first names (sniff), or played viola (double sniff), or had to wait to get contact lenses, know the horror of being the geek in high school. Today's your chance to vent ... and to tell us you finally married a supermodel, so take THAT high school bullies! Bullies can call too, but we can't promise we'll forgive you. Feel free to post your favorite John Hughes movie here, too.

Sportscasting legend George Michael is hanging up the microphone. His nationally syndicated show, "The Sports Machine With George Michael" signs off on March 25, (he signed off the NBC station in Washington, D.C., last week) but you can still talk to him (and about him, here) on our show today!

This month marks the fourth anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq. It's a milestone, no matter if you support or oppose the war. And, as such, we plan to cover it. We have our own ideas on how to do that ... what interests you, where the conversation is now, what questions are out there, who people want to talk to, and what they want to talk about. And, we want your ideas ... what do you want to hear on the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq? Is there an angle or story or person we've missed? What do you want to talk about, four years on? (And if you're not familiar with the show, maybe take a few minutes to listen or to look at the TOTN page and see what kinds of topics we do, and what kind of topics we don't do. As with all our shows, what we need is engaging conversation, not dissertations or diatribes.) So, let us know...

Sometimes we come across a story that we desperately want to air ... and there's just no room for it. Our day is pretty well set today (we're going from Kurdistan to sportscasting legend George Michael) but the story that got us all giggling, we unfortunately haven't got a minute for today. The state of Arkansas has passed a bill declaring that the correct possessive of Arkansas, is not, as the AP Style guide that's chained to my desk says, "Arkansas," but "Arkansas's." (I just had a brain spasm trying to punctuate that.)

Continue reading "How Many S's In Arkansas?" >

Yikes! Our segment on Ann Coulter's questionable language regarding the emphatically heterosexual John Edwards kept a lot of you up all night, commenting. First of all, deep breaths, everyone. Second of all, I think it's fascinating how many of the most enraged comments make reference to Coulter's physical appearance (if you've not seen her, she's a tall, thin, long haired blonde -- the Paris Hilton comparisons aren't totally far-fetched -- but only in physicality). It's not uncommon for masters and mistresses of polemic to be criticized for their appearance, rather than their...er...polemic, be they Rush Limbaugh or Michael Moore. With Coulter, the fact that she's a woman seems to elicit even more vitriol--vaguely sexual--vitriol, and ironically, given her comment, it's vitriol that seems to owe something to Coulter herself.

What is it about these people that reduces us all to sniveling playground insults? Listen, I hate to sound like a prude, and I've certainly called public figures both great and small names myself. But you've got to admit, it's a bummer that when we're mad at someone like Coulter for ostensibly lowering the bar for public rhetoric, many of us respond at just the level she's set.

When Shanghai stocks plunged last week, Wall Street stumbled, too. We're giving you the global perspective on world markets, and what they mean for your blood pressure ... er ... portfolio. What questions did last week's market skitter leave you with? Are you storing money in your mattress? Or holding steady?

Today's Opinion Page features the greatest contest between Brits and Americans since we last steeped our tea in Boston Harbor: which country harbors the better actors? Jonathan Last says the Redcoats win hands down. What do you think? Bogart vs. Burton? Streep vs. Smith (Maggie)?

If you've ever belted out that you're "bringing sexy back" as you grooved to Justin Timberlake in your car ... stop a minute, and consider how you'd feel if tens of thousands of strangers saw it. How do you control your image when it goes viral, and the giggling hobgoblins of YouTube have it in their grip? Has this ever happened to you? Who owns your image on the web?

(For the record, the producers of NPR's Talk of the Nation deny that they have now, or ever have had, an opinion on whether or not JT has actually brought sexy back. Nor have they ever sung along to said track. More than twice.)

You can't buy this kind of publicity ... well, actually you could, for however much conservatrix Ann Coulter charges to speak at an event and tongue lash you. When Coulter dropped the f-grenade (not the f-bomb, which would probably have garnered less publicity) on an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, it engendered a wave of outrage ... prompting us to ask, why on earth does Ann do what she does? How does this latest explosion fit into a Coulter history of verbal bombing? Susan Estrich, author of Soulless: Ann Coulter and the Right-Wing Church of Hate, will weigh in. And so, hopefully, will you.

The alarm sounds at 5:30. The radio goes on first, then coffee and the first newspaper of the day arrive shortly thereafter. A bomb in Baghdad, Obama and Clinton in Selma, skittish markets, the death of Tom Eagleton, Yanks over Phils in the Grapefruit League, and I just don't see how Spiderman is going to work out of the mess he's in with this new "wife."

Continue reading "The Dawn Patrol" >

Every website has its own rules, and these are ours. If you break them, don't be surprised if we block your comments.

First things first: If you can't be polite, don't say it. Of course, we don't want to stifle discussion of controversial issues. Some topics require blunt talk, and we're not always going to agree with each other. Nonetheless, please try to disagree without being disagreeable. Focus your remarks on positions, not personalities. No name calling, slander, comments about someone's mother, comparisons to notorious dictators -- you get the idea. And under no circumstances should you post anything that could be taken as threatening, harassing, sexist or racist.

Continue reading "Guidelines for Commenting" >

What is Blog of the Nation?

Blog of the Nation is the blog companion to NPR's Talk of the Nation, a daily live, two-hour, call-in talk show hosted by Neal Conan.

What is Talk of the Nation?

Talk of the Nation is a live, call-in program that airs Monday through Thursday. Neal Conan is the host, and also blogs here. We talk about everything from Condi to Britney ... if it's news, and well, you know, the talk of the nation!

Continue reading "Frequently Asked Questions about Blog of the Nation" >

OK; given the name of the show, perhaps the name is predictable, but we hope this blog will take us in unexpected directions. It's to be more than an adjunct to the daily program, though what we do and why we do it will be part of the discussion. It gives us a way to expand the conversations we conduct every day, to talk about some of the things we couldn't squeeze in, or wondered whether we should do at all. And in part, this will be a free-flowing exchange with listeners and readers on the worlds of interest that wobble the orbits of our days.

And, as usual, we need your help. As a radio lifer, what I know about blogs fits neatly into a thimble. Callers and e-mailers provide critical course corrections during the show, and will prove even more important here. We like to think we know something about radio programs, but blogs are new, at least to me. So, to paraphrase a memorable question, "How are we doing?"* Do we have the right idea, the right approach, and, if so, are we doing it right? We figure that if you're as shy and unresponsive as you are on the radio, we'll find out.

I expect to be here once or twice a week or so, and one of the best parts of the Blog of the Nation is that we'll bring several members of the staff out from behind the curtain. Sarah Handel, Barrie Hardymon, and Scott Cameron comprise our first line of bloggers and, while they are all much younger and hipper than me, they're radio folk, too, and all of us will be learning on the fly. You can find guidelines and procedures elsewhere on the page, so please, write and tell us.

*Yes, Political Junkie fans, the citation refers to Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York.