The year's just about over. What do you remember most?

Source: CraftyGoat

Every newspaper, magazine, blogger, columnist, and radio show puts its own spin on the end of year wrap-ups... National Geographic listed their top 10 most popular stories on the website; Foreign Policy came up with a list of the 10 top stories you may have missed in 2007 (including what may be the start of true cyber-warfare), the Pew Research Center compiled all their data and put together a list of the top news interest stories of the year, and the Washington Post gathered the top quotes for '07 (though how "don't taze me, bro!" wasn't included is beyond me). NPR has it's most memorable moments. If you're reading this, you lived through 2007, or most of it anyway... what do YOU think are the top stories of the year?

The Talk of the Nation Opinion Page today has morphed into the Conjecture Page. Joel Stein's op-ed in the LA Times was a time capsule of guesses... we're looking for yours (please, people, keep them as light as possible-- this is meant to be fun) as well. I've got just one -- I predict I will keep to all of my New Years resolutions until January 12th, at which point I'll oversleep and never recover (and yet keep paying that darn gym membership anyway). What're yours?

Daniel Schorr, living legend.

Source: Lisa Berg

Okay... So, for a long time (when I was but a small child), I thought that Daniel Schorr was just a longtime NPR reporter. That is until I was sternly told that this was a genuine journalistic icon, who made started with CBS in the Edward R. Murrow days, and earned a place on Nixon's enemies list for his coverage of Watergate. Here's the other thing about him -- he's so charming and still incisive that it's hard to believe he's 91. He has a new book out, and since he and Neal are old friends (Schorr was the first host of TOTN! When it was still untitled, of course), we asked him to come by and reminisce. This hour is simply a New Years gift to you -- from us. Enjoy.

Meet Still Flyin'... the next big thing?

Source: Jill Karjian

I have a confession to make... I'm a bit off my music game. I used to relish being the first to hear about a new band and share it with my friends (no music snobbery, please -- being "first" to hear about something doesn't make you better than anyone else, it just means you had the time or good fortune to find it. Now share the wealth!), but ever since I got a real job, I just don't have time to dig around on the music blogs, and I don't go to shows nearly as often because those late nights make bringing the Talk a lot harder. Fortunately, there are people here whose job it is to do just that (man, now that's a sweet assignment), and one of them, the fabulous Bob Boilen, joins us today to let us in on what's next in music for 2008. But I want to know, who do you think is poised for a breakthrough in '08? Come on, do my homework for me, and give me some tips on what's next.

My goodness. This is my last "coming up" show blog of 2007. Well, we can't finish the year without talking ABOUT the year. So in our first hour, we'll talk about the stories of the year... stories you may have missed, stories you couldn't miss if you tried, and even those stories that made headlines in other countries. We'll talk with guests from the Pew Research Center, National Geographic, and Foreign Policy magazine about the ten top stories of 2007. What's your pick? Following that, Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein will peer into his crystal ball, and run down his list of predictions for 2008... from the housing market to entertainment to diplomacy and the presidential election. He opens his third eye in his column that appears in today's L.A. Times. The title? "And you don't want to know what's going to happen to Britney". 'Nuff said.

In our second hour, we will be joined by Daniel Schorr. He was one of the reporters of Edward R. Murrow's legendary CBS team and with more than six decades in journalism, he is still active and going strong, currently as NPR's senior news analyst. Schorr will talk about his illustrious career as well as his new book, Come to Think of It: Notes on the Turn of the Millennium. And this week, at the end of our second hour, we will be taking a look at the next big thing in 2008. Today, we kick off the series with a look at music. Bob Boilen, host of NPR's Music Show All Songs Considered, will talk about which artists we should keep an eye out for in the coming year, and highlight some of the new trends happening in the music industry

Happy Happy New Year Everyone!! May it be a great one!

Sig Hansen, Captain of the Northwestern crab-catcher vessel.

Source: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

I was in college when True Hollywood Story debuted, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I doubt I ever watched a new episode the first time it aired, but my friends and I lived for the weekend marathons, a seemingly endless string of episode after episode, each following that similar arc... Talented child pushed too hard, adulthood negotiated in the limelight, disaster, and recovery. There was something of a narcotic in that smooth narration that soothed the lingering effects of the previous night's outing while simultaneously putting fears about tomorrow's deadlines at bay. Which handily brings me to yesterday. While I had a quiet Saturday night nursing my sick boyfriend, Sunday morning I awoke full of anxiety about the week ahead... Tomorrow I board a plane headed for Des Moines, Iowa and caucus night, after which all the campaigns and media (and I) will beat a hasty path to New Hampshire for the primary. Exciting, for sure, and a tremendous opportunity. But it will also be my first field production gig, and the butterflies in my stomach feel more like wasps... Wasps with teeth. Anyway, someone heard my distress call, and not long after I flipped on the TV yesterday to figure out if the Redskins played at 1pm or 4pm, I wandered onto the Discovery channel and innocently took my first hit of a new drug... Deadliest Catch. Now I know it's not a new show, and I have actually seen bits of it before, but Sunday the timing was right, and I'm sorry for the pun but I have to say it... I was hooked*. On a day of packing and cleaning house before my big trip, I lucked into my old friend in a new form -- a marathon of drama, high stakes, below-freezing temps, and even prison... But all on the Bering Sea instead of Kentwood. I seriously watched all day, till midnight, taking time out only to watch Washington own Dallas (but switching back during every timeout to check in on the crews of the Northwestern, the Cornelia Marie, and the rest). It is absolutely riveting. These fishermen literally risk life and limb every day, and the insane risks they take for big payoffs (tens of thousands of dollars for a month of work) really put my own life and little ol' trip to Iowa in perspective. What's more, with the writers' strike lumbering on, it's great to find a new television obsession... if I've got to watch reality TV, at least it's really good reality TV.

* and besides, they don't use hooks, they use huge traps.

Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Source: John Moore/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a political rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, this morning. During the first hour, we'll talk to journalists, policy experts, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. What questions do you have about the killing of Benazir Bhutto? And how do you think her death will affect Pakistan's future?

You can read more about our guests, after the jump.

Continue reading "Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007)" >

I can hear the heart beating.

Source: happysnappr

Thanks to the ever-popular hospital drama/comedy genre of TV offering, we all think we know what it's like to be a hospital intern, also known as a first year resident. They're the grunts of the hospital who get into romantic entanglements and bumble into insane surgeries when they're not emptying bedpans and practicing sutures. Sounds fun, right? Not exactly, says Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, who went through it and came out short on sleep and long on questions about the value of the year-long trial-by-fire. What was your first year as a resident like? Do you see it as a valuable part of the process of becoming a doctor, or does it do more harm than good?

If you haven't seen the following ad for Presidential candidate Mike Gravel... prepare yourself.

Yes, that's it. That's the ad. Now, if you want to know more about what Mike Gravel stands for (besides rocks), you can talk to him on our air today. (I can't wait to hear what that ad is like on radio...)

Our first hour will be an NPR News Special hosted by Neal Conan. We'll spend the entire hour talking about the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Her murder is said to be one of the worst crises in Pakistan's 60-year history, and there is speculation that civil unrest and the cancellation of the upcoming elections in the region could follow. We'll speak with several guests about what happened at the election rally where the attack took place, and Bhutto's legacy as prime minister. We'll also hear reaction from President Bush in a speech given earlier today, and discuss the implications Bhutto's death could have on Pakistan, as well as India, Afghanistan, and the United States. We are also hoping to respond to email and blog comments from Pakistani-American listeners who would like to share their thoughts about what Benazir Bhutto's assassination means to them.

In our second hour, we are back to the familiar Talk of the Nation theme song, and Dr. Sandeep Jauhar will be our guest to talk about life as a medical intern. He is now the director of the heart failure program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, but he has written a book about his former life as a medical intern in a New York hospital. Dr. Jauhar chronicles his endlessly grueling days and nights in a trial-by-fire memoir called, Intern: A Doctor's Initiation. At the end of the hour, former senator Mike Gravel (D-AK) talks about his upcoming campaign stops on the road towards a Democratic presidential nomination.

Supporters of Bhutto carry her coffin after her body is released from the hospital.

Source: Getty Images/Farooq Naeem

The TOTN staff woke to breaking news in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto was killed in an attack at a rally near Islamabad late last night (early this morning here), and it's thrown us into a whirl of planning for a news special in our first hour. Bhutto remained defiant in the face of threats as recently as October, when she was attacked at another rally -- it's eerie to read her words in this op-ed soon after that attack.

I did not come this far in life to be intimidated by suicide bombers. There is a battle raging in Pakistan for the hearts and minds of a new generation. It is a battle for the future of Pakistan as a democratic nation.
The new generation will choose moderation or extremism; it will choose education or illiteracy; it will choose dictatorship or democracy; it will choose tolerance or bigotry; and it will choose peace or war. I returned to Pakistan this week to lead the fight for democracy. With the blood of my supporters on the streets and on our clothes, I reaffirm my commitment to these values.

More on the assassination in a few hours.

There are only eight more days to make undecided Iowans swoon.

Source: Getty Images

I just got a phone call from my friend, Danny. He's in Iowa, driving in blizzards, knocking on doors, trying to sway voters. It's tough work, but he loves it. His days start around 7:30 a.m., and they often end 19 hours later. By then, he's traveled hundreds of miles, greeted a lot of Iowans, and listened to a lot of public radio (I can only assume).

Danny, more than anyone I know, is most content when he's on the move. I think he's uprooted himself a dozen times since college, taking jobs in North Carolina, Missouri, and India. (I'm pretty sure he wasn't campaigning in Ahmedabad). If you've ever "pulled a Danny," as my friends and I say, choosing campaign work in Iowa, New Hampshire, or Florida over gainful employment elsewhere, tell us why you made the move. And, as always, we especially love anecdotes.

These suckers are huge.

Source: beattitudeforgains

There are many reasons to love Facebook, but I suspect the reason it's been so popular (besides, of course, Scrabulous) is that it connects you with those folks that brought a little joy into your life, with whom you've inevitably lost touch. I've been able to reconnect with a couple of folks I went to conservatory with many (MANY) years ago, and I received this wall post from my long-lost friend, bassist Mat Fieldes, a couple of weeks ago. "Just got back from Vegas playing with Barry Manilow on his hallmark Christmas album.....! US Airlines (redacted) destroyed my bass -- neck separated from body!"

Ahh... the pains of traveling with a difficult instrument. I was a violist, so it was much less of an issue for me, but everybody who's ever played in an orchestra has heard the horror stories of bassists, cellists, harpists. ("I saw them throw my Guarnieri on the back of the luggage truck!") This time of year, I'll bet there are a lot of musicians traveling -- not to mention all the unmusical folks who happen to be packing their unwieldy -- and perhaps fragile -- Christmas loot on a plane. Share the pain -- what's your luggage horror story?

What new laws will 2008 bring?

Source: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Ready to ring in the new year with new laws in your state? What are you looking forward to? I, for one, am eagerly anticipating the statewide smoking ban set to go into effect in February in Maryland. Goodbye, "going out jeans" -- you know the ones you turn to when headed to a smoky restaurant or bar, but try not to wear to work because of their pervasive odor? Marylanders will get to wash those jeans once more and return them to daytime rotation. Smokers, however, probably aren't celebrating with me on that one. A new law I hope comes soon to a legislature near me is the texting-while-driving ban in Washington state. Someone, please, save me from myself on this one. I abide by the DC hands-free law, but have been known to text-while-driving in surrounding states... horrible, and dangerous, I know*. Also, Illinois has a law set to mandate the use of energy efficient light bulbs in large, state-owned or leased buildings. Wouldn't hurt for me to put that one in to effect at home...

*In my weak defense, I keep my eyes on the road and a hand on the wheel... which probably defeats the purpose of the text nine times out of ten as I send illegible messages to the wrong people.

A makeshift memorial three days after the Omaha mall shooting.

Source: Getty

From Virginia Tech to a the mall in Omaha, there's been a slew of killing sprees committed by mentally ill people who claim to want the notoriety. This, of course, puts the media in a funny place -- we want to report the news, but by naming the murderers, are we simply giving in to these madmen who want to be famous? Today we're going to talk to the brand-new NPR ombudsman about the tricky issue, as well as a newscaster who opted not to name names on the air. What do you think?

In our first hour today, Neal Conan and Ken Rudin join forces in another mega-sized Political Junkie. This week, we'll remember the politicians and political figures who died this year, and talk about campaign volunteers and employees who have moved to Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to rally behind the candidates they support. Plus, Scholastic Magazine's political reporter Sydney Rieckhoff will join us to talk about working the campaign trail and the presidential candidates she's interviewed so far. Did I mention Sydney is 9 years old? Look out, Ken!! And in these dog-days of traveling, we'll talk to Sue Richards, a harpist for the musical group Ensemble Galilei, about the challenges of having such a cumbersome and unusual travel companion. What's the most difficult object you've had to lug with you on a plane?

We beam ourselves six days into the future in our second hour... to the stroke of midnight, January 1, 2008. At that time, a slew of new laws will go into effect. Texting while driving will get you a ticket in some states. You'll have to inhale the outside air along with that cigarette in Illinois. Not to mention new voter ID requirements and New York's "passenger bill of rights" that will protect air travelers stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours. That's just for starters. We will talk to guests about all the new measures that will take effect January 1st where you live. At the end of the hour, NPR ombudsman Lisa Shepard and ABC radio journalist Gil Gross talk about what would happen if the media no longer identified murderers by name... particularly those who kill with the primary goal to become famous.

Maybe it's the testosterone?

Source: nicasaurusrex

Guys are more funny than girls? Not in this office (and no it doesn't have anything to do with what was a roughly 5-to-1 ratio of women to men at one point). BBC News has this article on a psychologist in the UK who argues that men make more jokes than women (on second look, I realize it doesn't say more FUNNY, just more jokes... which may explain the gap, in spite of fart jokes). So, how did he do his research? He rode around on his unicycle and kept track of how men and women reacted to his "amusing" hobby. The jokes, he figures, can be chalked up to testosterone. The Beeb had some fun reporting this one (must have been a male reporter?), but in all seriousness: Who do you find is funnier? Women or men?

Yup, workin' on Christmas, y'all!

Source: Sarah Handel

It'd be pretty easy for me to be a real grinch today, if I wanted... yup, here I am, working on Christmas. But instead of complaining about it -- waaaaay too easy -- I'd rather talk about the good things. It is Christmas, after all! So here are the good things about working on Christmas, in no particular order (save that first one):

1. My family's awesome, and time-shifts Christmas morning to whenever I get home this evening. That's love, people.
2. The morning commute is a breeze. Not so hot is the fact that Dunkin' was closed -- no coffee for Sarah -- but the fact that there were literally three DC cop cars idling in the parking lot anyway filled me with mirth. So on the whole, that counts as a good thing.
2A. The NPR parking garage is free for the holiday. Score!
3. The "we're all in this together mentality." Of course, getting the show on the air can be a trial, but today, sweetness and light.
4. I get to direct the show today, and play holiday music for every break! You know I love that!

So, if you're working today, I want to know: what's good about it?

The strange mystical connection between Christmas and Chinese food is well known to any hungry Jew(ess)... for years, my family alternated between the movies and moo-shoo. In fact, it's pretty much one of the only times I eat Chinese. If for some reason you and your goyish (kidding!, I'm kidding!) family have been having an actual Christmas dinner, and don't understand this ancient pilgrimage, either tune in, or check out the following video. Happy Christmas, y'all, and don't let the MSG make you meshuggenah!

Burmese monks online.

Source: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

The Internet has long been lauded for its ability to bring the world to your fingertips. It's a place where you can shop for the necessary and the superfluous; connect with friends old and new; and learn about everything from the weekly weather forecast to the dynamics of event horizons. So it was only a matter of time before the Web became a place for prayer as well. In Second Life, people (via their avatars) now have the opportunity to create churches, synagogues and mosques to further their religious expression. Almost all walks of faith are represented -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Wicca, you name it -- in this new venue of spiritual support. Today we'll talk to one woman* who founded the Temple Beth Israel in Second Life. And we're curious about what else is out there; so, tell us, how do you use the Internet to practice your faith?

* A note from fellow producer, Marina:

Finding guests for our show requires some creativity. For our online religion show, we knew we wanted Beth Brown -- she heads a thriving Jewish community in Second Life -- but we couldn't find her. There are over 400 'Beth Browns' in Dallas, and we weren't about to call 400 people and interrogate them about their online identities. So, we went looking for her in Second Life. And we found her! She thought it was a bit creepy, and we agree. But that's the lengths we go to bring you great guests.

Gingerbread house gone awry.

Source: imylthinle

There are two kinds of holiday disasters: the self-inflicted and the unintentional. The first variety involves poor judgment, and can usually be fixed with a modicum of self-awareness. Tacky holiday sweaters*, plastic nativity scenes on the front lawn, and getting sloshed on boxed wine fall into this category. The second variety tends to come out of left field; and, in the words of my brother Robert, can bring the Grinch out in us all. One year some family friends gave him a sand crab for Christmas. Wanting it to be a surprise, they failed to mention that there was a live creature inside the box. Well, true to form, we left the present under our Christmas tree, unopened, until the big morning. Nothing screams "Joy to the world!" quite like the smell of a dead critter wrapped in hand-pressed floral wrapping paper.

Or how 'bout this one: your child changes her Christmas wishlist at the eleventh hour, saying, "Don't worry, Mommy. Santa will take care of it." Or maybe this: that time grandma, a shaky septuagenarian, scratched voraciously beneath her beehive wig until it wiggled loose and fell, where else, but into the vat of pasta sauce. Fun times. A relative concept though it is, holiday disasters are, I think, what makes this time of year so addictive. We crave the excitement of familial disaster -- it's fodder for our future memoirs. So tell us, what was your worst holiday disaster? Don't leave out one single, horrid detail!

*You know the kind I'm talking about: it looks like Christmas threw up in an interesting pattern of polyester and sleigh bells.

Ari Shapiro, taking over Neal's office...

Source: Barrie Hardymon

This morning, millions of kids around the world woke up with hearts pounding to see what Christmas Day has in store for them. And for the first time in my life, so did I.

As a Jew, Christmas for me has never been about much more than movies and Chinese food. (Believe it or not, there are ancient connections between Jews and moo shoo -- one of our first hour guests will explain.) But today, I'm hosting an NPR program for the first time. That makes this by far the most memorable Christmas I've ever had. Hopefully it will be memorable for the right reasons. If not, I'll have something in common with the guests in the second hour of our program, who'll be talking about their holiday disasters.

Over the last few weeks, the incredible production staff of the show has been teaching me Talk of the Nation's secrets. There's the instant messaging software that the host uses to talk to the producer ... the mysterious "floating break" that lets stations duck out of the show for fund-raising (who's fund-raising on Christmas?) ... and the ten-second delay dump that lets the host go back in time if someone starts swearing on the air. I'm scheduled to learn the secret handshake at noon, and they tell me I'll get my TOTN tattoo after the program's over.

Some of my friends have offered moral support for my debut today, and many more have said they'll crank call the show. If you hear heavy breathing on the program, you'll know that one of them made it past our call screeners.

I am happy to say that some of my more experienced colleagues are going to be joining me on the air. Newscaster Paul Brown will pitch in for our segment on who's working this Christmas, and NPR's famed legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg has a story straight out of I Love Lucy for our segment on domestic disasters.

In a few hours, the microphone light will turn on and we'll be in it together for the next two hours. I hope you'll be there by the radio. Merry Christmas, and thanks for letting me spend the holiday with you.

-- Ari Shapiro

CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before the Senate on the destruction of CIA tapes.

Source: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The existence and subsequent destruction of CIA videos recording the interrogation of two Al Qaeda suspects is a story that keeps running and running. Since we last talked about the controversy on TOTN, NPR Intelligence Correspondent Tom Gjelten has reported on the reason the tapes were made in the first place, a story which also dismissed the official version of the reason they were destroyed. Gjelten also reported the existence of additional interrogation tapes. The New York Times reported that members and staffers of the 9/11 Commission conclude that the CIA deliberately withheld the tapes from their inquiry despite "very detailed" requests (former Commission Co-Chair Gov. Thomas Kean spoke to this point on our previous program). Here's a link to a Washington Post follow-up to the Times story, which includes CIA response.
Also, US District Court Judge Henry Kennedy held a hearing last Friday, but appeared ready to hold off on a more detailed inquiry upon learning that the joint CIA-Justice Department inquiry would specifically include court orders, including one issued by him. Last Thursday, in a news conference, President Bush asserted that there was no ambiguity in the statement that he does not recollect learning of the tapes existance or destruction prior to being briefed by CIA Director General Michael Hayden earlier this month.
The House Intelligence Committee plans to press its investigation -- Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) is among our guests today, along with NPR's Tom Gjelten, and two well informed attorneys with opposing views, David Remes and Lee Casey.
And you, of course. What questions do you have about the tapes, why they were made and destroyed, or about where the story goes from here?

It seems all the "oops" jokes in the world have already been made, so I'm going to play it straight: in case you are unaware, Britney Spears' younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, is pregnant. At sixteen. Oops, right? But teen pregnancy is a lot more than an oops joke, and, somehow, Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum saw it coming, sort of... and she says the problem with teen pregnancy is that it just isn't embarrassing enough anymore. Let's be clear: she's not advocating trips to the abortion clinics or the shunning of pregnant teens, merely suggesting, "perhaps adults would do well to find a middle ground between shunning pregnant teenagers and becoming blase about them in the name of tolerance -- or even in an attempt to seem hip. But we shouldn't allow teen pregnancy to become cool either." What do you think? And how do you, as a parent, strike the right tone about teen pregnancy?

It's early yet, but there are some reports that the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson has died at the age of 82. His gorgeous keyboard floats through some of my favorite tracks on my favorite albums -- he's practically the other voice on Ella's famous recording of "Miss Otis Regrets." He knew how to play the keyboard as he were drawing a bow... he will be much missed.

Santa's to-do's.

Source: Mrs. Maze

...and boy, do I have a lot to do. For some, just making a list feels like getting something done. I am not as list obsessive as some folks, but I sure do like that feeling of crossing, clicking, or scribbling a task out as you finish. Today, we're talking with Sasha Cagen who has practically made glazomania (list obsession) into "list porn" -- every list you ever wanted to poke your nose into. Around here, we have a ton of lists -- short deadlines and all, so here, for your nosy list pleasure, is mine from today.

1) Tea.
2) Coffee.
3) Chocolate.
4) Write blog posts.
5) Mail Netflix. (Omg, Kramer vs. Kramer is amazing.)
6) Reorder Netflix queue -- another list! (Rewatching The Wire -- PUT IT ON YOUR LIST.)
7) Tea, deux.
8) Tomorrow's blogging, work ahead.
9) Wrap Sarah's silly gift for the second memorial Christmas Sarah and Barrie work day.
10) Call home. (This is always on the list. A permanent spot.)

Actress Julia Roberts and director Mike Nichols at the LA premiere of Charlie Wilson's War.

Source: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

We're great fans of the unusual movie review -- and here's a fun one for you. Former Congressman Martin Frost was a great friend and colleague of former Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson. Yes, that Charlie Wilson -- as in the new Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts/Mike Nichols/Aaron Sorkin extravaganza. So, you want to know the story behind the movie? Frost is coming in to give it to us, and to tell us what he thought of the movie... if you can't make it to a radio, here's a link to the gist of it.

Seasons Greetings!!! Here's what's coming up on our show:

In our first hour, we will re-visit our discussion of the destruction of CIA video recordings of the interrogation of two al-Qaeda suspects. While there are more largely unanswered questions from the CIA, the Justice Department and the 9/11 commission, we are beginning to find out why the tapes were made in the first place. Guests on the program detail the investigation process and talk about the subpoena issued by Congress last Thursday to Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official who ordered the disposal of the tapes. At the end of the hour, Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum talks about her commentary that appeared last week, where she opines that the recent jump in teen pregnancy is not due to a lack of education, but a lack of mortification. Her article is entitled, "Knocked up but not out."

As this year winds down, it just doesn't seem fitting to wipe the slate clean for the new year until we've reviewed and, if we're lucky, actually crossed off things on our on-going or newly drawn up "to-do" lists. Holiday shopping lists, grocery lists, "must do in 2007" lists. At present, Santa is making a list...and checking it twice. Face it... we love lists. So are you an obsessive author of lists? Tell us what's on yours. We'll talk about your lists with our guests -- among them will be Sasha Cagen, the author of To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us. That's at the beginning of our second hour. At the end of the hour we'll talk about the portrayal of Charlie Wilson in the new movie Charlie Wilson's War with former Texas Congressman Martin Frost, who served with Wilson in the legislature.

Did you shop differently this year?

Source: CascadeFoto

So, are you ready? The headlong rush to Christmas is almost over, and I hope you're all reading this with feet propped up, lights twinkling, and a mug of something warm (and spiked, if you so choose). Or, if you're at work today and tomorrow's just an extra day off for you, I hope you're looking forward to something relaxing -- a movie, maybe (though it looks like Walk Hard may be a dud, if you're pining for boots and pearl button shirts, I cannot recommend No Country for Old Men highly enough). I somehow managed to get all my shopping and wrapping done by yesterday afternoon, much earlier than usual... makes today feel positively leisurely, since I know I don't have to dash home after work to tangle with ribbons and tape. You know who's not so lucky? Ron Voake. He makes wooden toys in Norwich, Vermont, and with every news flash about poisoned toys out of China, his business has received more orders, adding up to what he calls a "preposterous" year (the likes of which he hopes to never see again). I'd been wondering about just that -- if the problems with Chinese exports would have a perceptible affect on Christmas shopping habits -- and this, an anecdotal story, isn't conclusive. So how did you shop for kids this year? Did you check the "Made In" label on your gifts?

Fortunately, it's just plastic.

Source: maxw

A man in Texas reportedly sees two people breaking into his neighbor's house, calls 911, and then grabs his shotgun. In the end, two men lay dead in front of his house, and the shooter claims self-defense under Texas' "castle doctrine" laws. Basically, castle laws (and similar "make my day" laws) come from the idea that your home is your castle, and you have the right to use deadly force if someone breaks in. The obvious question in this case: Is his neighbor's house also his castle? The courts will decide this case, but your rights to self-defense change depending on which state you're standing in. In some places, you have to try to get away before opening fire; shooting is only a last resort. In other states, you can not only shoot to kill in your home, but also in your car or office. It's a confusing mix of legal and ethical mazes, and we'll try to work through them on the show today. How far should the right to self-defense extend?

Sarfraz Manzoor wants to know what comes to mind when you hear the word "Muslim." It's kind of a minefield... he suggests the natural thoughts are the 9/11 attacks, the Muhammad teddy bear, and the Danish newspaper cartoons... not exactly a barrel of monkeys. So he's on a mission to bring the humor of Muslim life to light, and his band is few, but mighty. According to him, Muslims as a group may suffer from "chronic" hypersensitivity and "over-earnestness." But there are a few bringing the funny to light, like Azhar Usman and Zarqa Nawaz (she has a sitcom called Little Mosque on the Prairie. Sample joke from an episode: "a Muslim defends his plan to turn the parish hall into a mosque. "It's only a pilot project, " he tells a local man, who responds, "You're training pilots?!" I laughed out loud.), and Manzoor says the work of these liberal Muslims is so easily undone by fury over a teddy bear that it's time for moderate Muslims to speak up in support of the lighter side of life. So listen in, laugh, and leave comments here.

The holiday season is a time of heightened prayer and church attendance. It's also a time of big spending. Which got us thinking about the intersection of religion and wealth. Currently, six multimillion-dollar ministries, bedazzled with Bentleys and million-dollar homes, are being investigated by the Senate for alleged financial misconduct. Today we'll talk to one pentecostal pastor who defends what's called prosperity gospel, and an evangelical theology professor who views the gospel of wealth as heresy. Should get spicy. So as we all scurry around spending Lord knows how much on gifts and holiday cheer, tell us: what does your faith say about the acquisition -- and spending -- of wealth?

When Scott mentioned an idea he had about doing a segment on time-shifting holidays based on a conversation he had (and then, later, saw in the paper... must be flies on his walls!), I just laughed. My family invented this idea. Ok, that's not true, but seriously... we rarely celebrate a holiday on time. For example, take my sister's birthday and my birthday. Hers is in the spring, mine mid-summer... we toasted them both, together, in November. It's just so hard to assemble the necessary family members in one place at one time a dozen times a year, and we value the company more than the calendar. I'm not complaining, though -- when we finally get around to them, our celebrations are always worth the wait. This flexibility comes in handy for Christmas, when my family, for the past two years, has time-shifted Christmas morning to Christmas evening so I can keep bringing the Talk to the nation. They're so cool we move it all -- stockings, fancy breakfast and coffee, pajamas, and leisurely gift-opening -- to 5 or 6pm when I get home. And even better... we get to drink BEER throughout (the sun's long over the yardarm by then). Do you time-shift your holidays? Does it make things better or worse?

Is it the BEST MOVIE EVER?

Source: Getty/RKO

I literally don't know how to explain how much I love Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life. I am so passionate about it that I secretly doubt the integrity of people that don't like it. I think it is a triumph of acting (when Jimmy Stewart yells at his kid to stop playing the piano), a triumph of directing (Capra's film noir -- inside a film blanc!-- nightmare sequence), and a triumph of -- yes, THE HUMAN SPIRIT (for goodness sake's this is a film about a man trying to kill himself that turns into the BEST MOVIE OF OUR TIME. ANY TIME.) I've always thought I would practically pay people to see it. Well, it turns out that the UK Film Council -- with the help of Park Circus Films -- is kind of doing just that. We'll talk to someone from Park Circus, and you can read all about it here.

There are a couple of cases that caught our attention. In Pasadena,Texas, a man fatally shot two men he witnessed robbing his next door neighbor's home. And in Jackson, Mississippi, four homes were burglarized in one week and each of the homeowners fired shots at their intruders. Two robbers were killed. These cases have shined a spotlight on self-defense laws--namely the "Castle Doctrine." This law does not require citizens to retreat before using deadly force on an intruder. Well talk about the cases and examine the regulations for protecting yourself and your home. Following that discussion, Muslim comedian Sarfraz Manzoor tells us why Woody Allen is his personal hero.

In our second hour, we'll talk about what your religion says about the acquisition of wealth. For some believers, money is the root of all evil. But for others, prosperity is God's blessing. What does your faith say about wealth and money? And is it consistent with your idea of how you give and receive it? Following that, YOU will be our guest. Tell us if you and your family are "time-shifting" Christmas because the 25th just doesn't work as the best day to celebrate this year. Then, if you are one of the two people out there who has never seen the classic "It's a Wonderful Life"...and you just happen to be reading this blog...and you're planning a trip to the United Kingdom for Christmas...Nick Varley has come to the rescue!! His company received a $50,000 grant to re-release "It's a Wonderful Life" in the U.K. Here's your big chance!!!

Deck the halls and all!

Source: eqqman

I love Christmas for all the wrong reasons. Well, I of course think my reasons are just fine, but not everyone will see it that way. First of all, I love shopping for Christmas presents. No, I don't think the holiday's all about going into debt to impress folks with a grinchload* of gifts, but I take such joy in selecting items for friends and family, and I actually look forward to one or two trips to the insanity of the mall. Seriously. I like the crowds. I love to catch sight of the elderly gentleman debating two pairs of fuzzy slippers -- pink or black? I love the families in line for Santa, and the way everyone wishes each other happy holidays at the end of a transaction. I even love the grumps, harrumphing their way down aisles with brows furrowed. There's such a "we're all in this together" mentality that I really get into it. And then there's gift wrapping -- a chore to some, but not me. I'm no Candy Spelling, but I love coordinating papers and bows, folding the perfect corner, and piling them all under the tree. And, finally, what may be my most egregious holiday violation... I love Christmas music. LOVE IT. I have a lot of rules for how to live (just ask my family... tradition, remember?), and one of them is no Christmas music till the Sunday after Thanksgiving, at which point, it's ON. I take a lot of heat for it... my colleague Dalia has "Deck the Halls" from A Christmas Story as her ringtone, a wry joke, not a celebration. Scott groans when it "rings," but I hardly ever hear it... I've likely got my headphones on, listening to whatever Lite-FM station has carols on 24/7. I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I don't play it aloud, but I still get mocked. It's ok -- in my haze of holiday cheer, it just flies right by me. Scott actually brought me an article the other day about a "scientific" study of the most loathed and loved Christmas songs these days. It's no surprise that classics like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" are beloved, while "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and the barking dogs' "Jingle Bells" bring up the rear. I was, however, taken aback by the news that the Boss's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" didn't do well, and neither did the Jackson 5's version. My favorite Christmas song to hear on the radio is super cheezy, and I don't expect a chorus of comments seconding my opinion. It's Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' "Christmas to Remember." First of all, I unabashedly love Dolly. I think she's classic, and can do little wrong. Secondly, this song is saucy! She and Kenny sing alternating stanzas, telling the story of strangers who meet in the Rocky Mountains over Christmas and spend the holiday... ahem... together... "Curled up by a fireplace in a Tahoe ski chalet, with a fast talking lover and some slow burning wood." Whoa! At the end of the song, they part ways, "hearts melting like chimney snow," hoping to do it all again next year. It's hilarious, and warm at the same time -- just the ticket. What's your guilty favorite?

*Is that a real word? Probably not. But you know what I mean, right?

Will big money yield big support?

Source: twistedlens

Last Sunday, Rep. Ron Paul hosted an online "tea party." His supporters dumped nearly $6 million into the congressman's campaign coffers. (That is the largest sum a candidate for president has raised in a single day). Chris Cillizza, of washingtonpost.com, tried to figure out what Rep. Paul will do with all that money. And he wondered why the campaign can cultivate donations, but few new supporters. Bret Hayworth, of the Globe Gazette, in Mason City, Iowa, asked the same question.

In the first hour, our "Political Junkie," Ken Rudin, joins us again, as he does every Wednesday, to talk about politics and the campaign for president. As usual, [almost] anything goes! Leave us your questions. Send us your comments. We're going to talk about Rep. Ron Paul, then we'll turn our attention to Iowa. David Yepsen, of The Des Moines Register, will join us. If you live in "the Hawkeye State," are you excited about the caucus? (If you can't wait for the political season to be over with, tell us why).

The FCC was busy yesterday, handing down two new rules that may have an impact on the average American's media consumption. The first ruling states that no cable company can control more than 30% of the market -- the national market. I originally thought it was "of a market," not the market, so I got pretty excited. Can you imagine having a choice of four cable providers? DC is primarily Comcast territory, so the thought of some competition had me envisioning big savings. Think again, Sarah! It's actually nationwide, so it means Comcast, which currently controls nearly 30 percent of the national market, won't be able to grow much. Maybe that'll inspire competition in the local markets, but I wouldn't bet on it. The other rule was pitched as a salvo to struggling newspaper companies -- in the 20 biggest markets, companies that own newspapers will also be allowed to own either a radio or a television station, so long as sufficient competition from other independent news sources exists (defined as eight competitors in the market). What do you think about the decisions? Does the cable rule punish the little guys hoping to sell to Comcast, or will it inspire competitors? And will it bother you if your newspaper company also has a radio or television station too? And can newspaper folks do broadcast?

*Apologies to Eminem, but it's been running through my head all day (and I really wish it hadn't been. I'm not such a fan of Mr. Mathers).

A familiar coffee shop scene.

Source: bistra2

There are a couple of books that I like to buy in bulk. I keep a couple extra copies of Henderson the Rain King around (good for men, and people needing a transformative experience), always a few Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (I just love it, and I like to spread it around), and always a stack of the memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. I give it to all the women who pass through my house and have somehow missed it (there aren't many at this point**). Believe me, I was primed to ignore it -- anything that has a spiritual journey in it kinda makes me want to watch a rerun of The O.C.. But the sheer charm of the writing obliterated all my skepticism with such force that I found myself trying to choose a mantra before the book was over. It's like a long lunch with your daffiest, smartest, warmest friend. Well, today, as a special holiday gift for y'all, that friend is spending a half hour with Neal Conan, and YOU. Merry Chrismukkah.*

*See? There was a spiritual side to The O.C., too!

**Check out this fan blog!!

Throughout history, there has been no shortage of scientists claiming the mental superiority of one racial group over another,* specifically whites over blacks. One recent example: in October, Nobel Laureate James Watson* said that Africa's prospects are bleak, citing intellectual inferiority. Journalist William Saletan backed him up in an article on Slate. Outrage ensued. Today, we talk with writer Malcolm Gladwell, who takes a different approach. He'll talk to us about James Flynn and the Flynn Effect, which says that differences in I.Q. are a reflection of the quality of the world -- or culture -- a person lives in.

* Or one gender over another, for that matter.
** Sound familiar? That's because he co-discovered the DNA double helix.

So it's time for our weekly mega-sized edition of the Political Junkie. NPR political editor Ken Rudin will be here with another trivia question, and to talk about the countdown to the Iowa caucauses with Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen. The Register also came out with their endorsements, and he'll fill us in. Later in the first hour, we'll talk to FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein about the commission's vote yesterday to relax a 32-year-old ban and allow broadcasters in the nation's twenty largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

In our second hour, we'll talk to Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the phenomenally successful book, "Eat, Pray, Love." In her memoir, Gilbert writes openly about how a heartbreaking divorce in her mid-30s led to a transformative journey through Italy, India and Bali, Indonesia.... and ultimately the discovery of herself. At the end of the hour, author and The New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell talks about his recent article where he delves into the controversy that surrounds race, intelligence and I.Q. tests.

The early bird gets the deals!

Source: zenia

So, according to the L.A. Times, the Macy's store in Queens Center Mall in NYC opens tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. and doesn't close again till 6 p.m. Monday night (107 hours later, for those keeping count... that's a lot of kaching--assuming anyone shows up). Some J.C. Penney stores will stay open till midnight this weekend, Mervyn's till 2 a.m., and Kmart plans a 64-hour binge starting at 6 o'clock Saturday morning. Here's my question... Does anyone shop at 3am? This article says there are four types of shoppers... neurotic, psychotic, compulsive, or normal. Seems to me that anyone poking through the clearance rack at Macy's in the hour of the wolf might fall into one of those other-than-normal categories. But, given my lack of shopping skills, it's entirely possible that I'm just missing something here... maybe extreme shopping is the way to go. As always, I still haven't done most of my Christmas shopping... What's your secret to getting the best deals and beating the crowds during the holidays? Any shopping horror stories?

What's hanging in your closet?

Source: rcoder

The label on the t-shirt I'm wearing says it's made in Thailand. I really have no idea if it came from a sweatshop or not... and have no idea how I'd even find out that kind of information. With so many of us out shopping for the right Christmas gift... A shirt, a sweater, or some shoes (or flat panel TV, hint, hint), is there really any way to know where that gift came from? As in, was it crafted by a union worker making a decent living, or was it made by a 12-year-old making a few cents an hour? Fortunately, there are people who DO know how to find these things out. We'll talk with two of them today. What (if anything) do you do to make sure you aren't buying something that was made in a sweatshop?

Buffalo Bills' tight end Kevin Everett.

Source: Getty Images

It's a bit premature to call this a happy ending, but anyone unmoved by Kevin Everett's story should check for a pulse. It's the story so good, Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden calls it "the story of a lifetime." In case you just need a refresher, Kevin went down in the Bills' NFL season opener, when he and Bronco Domenik Hixon collided on the field. Everett didn't move, and was pronounced "frankly quadriplegic on the field,'' later, by his surgeon. He broke his neck and his spine -- an injury with bleak prospects for recovery, at best. But Kevin, it can safely be said, is beating the odds. He's recovered remarkably, and Tim Layden joins us to give us all the good news... and shed some light on the debate about the hypothermic technique Everett underwent that may or may not have implications for the future.

Source: istockphoto.com

Teen pregnancy is on the rise again, for the first time in 14 years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the birth rate for girls ages 15-19 rose 3% between 2005 and 2006. Why have the numbers risen? Some blame abstinence-only programs, calling them futile, while others attribute it to a withering sense of shame about being young and pregnant. Or maybe it's just that teens today aren't as fastidious about using contraception. Today we'll talk to one girl about her pregnancy at age 17. If you got pregnant as a teen, or know someone who did, tell us, how did you handle it?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Kirkuk.

Source: Marwan Ibrahim/AFP/Getty Images

Earlier today, after a trip to Paris, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit to Iraq, to visit Kirkuk and Baghdad. On Sunday, Turkey attacked Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Since then, several news outlets, including NPR, have reported that several-hundred Turkish troops crossed the border into Iraq, to fight PKK guerrillas there. In The Washington Post this morning, Ann Scott Tyson and Robin Wright reported on the United States' involvement in the attacks. Pentagon officials told them that the American intelligence community provided Turkey with real-time intelligence information. We'll talk about Turkey, Rice, and northern Iraq in the second hour of our program. What questions do you have about the region? Or about Secretary Rice's visit?

In today's first hour, we'll discuss with our guests how to know if that article of clothing you just bought was manufactured in a sweatshop. As a consumer, or for that matter as a clothing company, is it possible to tell? We'll find out if you can trust those "made in the USA" tags, and whether or not the inspection process offers any clues. At the end of the hour, we'll talk with Tim Layden, senior sports writer for Sports Illustrated, about the amazing recovery of Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills' player who broke his neck and severely damaged his spinal cord during a season opening game this past September. Everett was paralyzed from the neck down, and doctors feared Everett would never walk again...but after three months, he is now walking on his own. Tim Laden's piece on Kevin Everett is this month's cover story for Sports Illustrated.

In our second hour, we'll talk about the increase in the birth rate for teenagers in America. Earlier this month, the National Center for Health Statistics reported a three-percent increase among girls 15-to-19 years old. However, the decisions that face pregnant teens and their parents remain overwhelming. We'll hear the personal story of a teenager who gave birth this past spring just shy of her high school graduation, and talk to a nurse and a deputy director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy about the rise in teen birth rates and the choices and challenges of becoming a teenage parent. Following that, we'll talk about Turkey's recent airstrikes against rebels from the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, and at the end of the hour, we'll read from your blog and email comments.

Last week Merriam-Webster revealed their 2007 Word of the Year. Drum roll, please: w00t, as in "Woot! Woot!" Not as good as last year's "truthiness" courtesy of one Mr. Stephen Colbert, but still laudable for its onomatopoetic essence. A substitute for "yay!" "cool," and "awesome," w00t has its origins in l33t-speak ("leet," or "elite"), an Internet-based language that substitutes numbers for vowels. Other contenders for the coveted one-spot: "sardoodledom," "quixotic," and "Pecksniffian." Saucy. So what, you ask, are my personal words of the year? "Sufficient," as in "Do you have sufficient pictures of me?" and "sexy," as in "I am."* Other words being primed for '08: "disarming," as in "My beauty is" and "besmirched," just 'cuz I like how it sounds. Tell us, what is your word of the year?

* A narcissist's grab bag of goodies

Children at the Nyanzale Displaced Persons Camp, north of Goma, DR Congo.

Source: julien_harneis

Since it started, more than a decade ago, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, has claimed millions of lives. Battles, between militias and government troops, have killed scores of civilians. Despite a peace agreement, signed in 2003, and the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, the bloody fighting has continued. In today's first hour, we'll hear from NPR's West Africa correspondent, Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, and the estimable Adam Hochschild, who wrote King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Adam will handle the history, Ofeibea the present. What questions do you have about conflict in Central Africa? And do you see an end to the fighting there?

It was interesting to see reactions to the Bali climate change conference last week; You had some people arguing that the meeting was the last best hope for finding some sort of solution, and other people criticizing the whole thing as a huge waste of energy (just calculate the carbon emissions of a flight from DC to Bali!). It's that kind of back and forth that drives Gerald Skoning nuts, and pushed him to vent that, "the 'Go Green' movement has laid a major guilt trip on all Americans.... Enough!" In an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, he explained that of course he wants to help the environment... He recycles, and drives a fuel-efficient car... and STILL feels guilty because "greenies" tell him he should drive a hybrid! We hear that divorce is bad for the environment, that Hanukkah should be celebrated with one less candle to lessen the holiday's carbon footprint. Is all this guilt and fear what we need to get people to change their habits? Or as Gerald asks, does guilt just lead to paralysis and do no one any good?

Nigella Lawson: relaxed home cooking.

Source: Lis Parsons

I don't know about you, but my days are so jam-packed with all the have-to's of the daily grind -- work, gym, emails, staring at my reflection adoringly in the mirror,* that I barely have enough time to sleep much less eat. Actually, that's not entirely true. I do eat. I just don't eat well. Much to my chagrin, Top Ramen, which I thought would fade away along with my college years, is still a staple; and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that those gloriously delectable Trader Joe's bite-sized brownies, which fellow producer Susan Lund bequeaths to the TOTN staff every so often, have stood in place of dinner on more than one occasion. I eat these things not because I'm cheap, but because they're fast and easy: I just don't have enough time to prepare a scrumptious, healthy feast every night. But I'm always left feeling unsatisfied. So, as part of my New Year's resolution, I've decided to make eating well a top priority. Thankfully, Nigella Lawson, TV personality, best-selling author, and cooking guru extraordinaire, is here to talk to us today about how to impress the palate without all the fuss. Her new book Nigella Express offers 130 quick recipes for those who love to cook, but have little time to do it.

* Only half-joking.

A still from the new movie, The Kite Runner.

Source: DreamWorks

For those of you who know the name Peter Bergen -- well, you're probably an NPR nerd. If you don't, he's a top journalist of jihad. You probably remember his face -- it seemed like he was always on CNN speaking words of wisdom to scared Americans during the early reverberations of September 11. In fact, if you were one of those people who pretended that they cared about Afghanistan before that time, chances are, you were quoting Peter Bergen. Well, now he's bringing his considerable talents to our air as a movie reviewer -- he saw the movie made of Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini's 2003 novel, The Kite Runner, and he's here for color and critique. If you'd like to leave your own review, and you've seen the movie, do it here. (I haven't yet, but I'm still weepy over the book. It's a MUST-READ.)

Happy Monday. Here's what's happening on the show today:

Four years ago, a peace agreement ended what's been described as Africa's bloodiest war. However, violence has erupted again in Eastern Congo. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR's West Africa correspondent, and Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost, explain what is happening in the region, why it seems the violence there never ends, and what U.N peacekeepers and aid groups would have to do to help put a stop to the conflict. At the end of that hour, we'll talk with Gerald Skoning about his op-ed that appeared in last month's Chicago Tribune entitled An Inconvenient Guilt. In it, Skoning explains why the " 'Go Green' movement has laid a major guilt trip on all Americans."

In our second hour, we will be joined by London's "domestic goddess" Nigella Lawson. Her new half-hour cooking series "Nigella Express" shows us how quickly and easily you can whip up quite the impressive feast and make even the simplest meals can look positively elegant. She also has a new cookbook by the same name, and today Nigella will get our taste buds watering just in time for the holidays with quick and easy receipes that will impress your family and friends--and perhaps even yourself! At the end of the hour, we'll talk with author Peter Bergen about the new release of "The Kite Runner," the movie version of the best-selling book about friendship, betrayal, ethnic rivalry and redemption in Afghanistan.

Shoeless Joe Jackson -- bribes vs. steroids.

Source: Getty/APA/Hulton Archive

I saw Eight Men Out this weekend. You know, it's the classic baseball tragedy. In case the only scandal you can remember these days involves drugs you can't pronounce or acronyms you don't know, the Black Sox scandal used to be the worst thing to happen to the game (besides of course, the color barrier that existed for so long.) A group of Chicago White Sox players, fed up with a cheapskate owner, took money from gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series. I'm not a baseball fan the way Neal is, but I was struck by the yearning I felt for a simpler scandal -- one that was about money, too, but in such a different way. The players were so incredibly used by both sides -- the gamblers, the owners -- and were so painfully unaware of the stakes. Now that the game is so much older, the players and their salaries have grown to impossibly muscular heights. We've had a bitter strike, a cheapened home run race, and now, the Mitchell report -- a list of players that will do anything to hang on to another year of paychecks the 1919 White Sox would have never comprehended. I'm sad for baseball, and I'm sad for myself (though I always knew that a certain plump pitcher was a stinker), but most of all, I'm sad for poor Shoeless Joe. No wonder he haunted Kevin Costner.

It's elfing hilarious

Elfyourself.com

 

There's something hilarious about seeing your highly respected co-workers' heads dancing atop the body of a dancing elf. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself (don't worry, it's free)... and here's a little holiday hilariosity from all of us at BotN.

Where are you getting your medical advice?

Source: JudeanPeoplesFront

I get a flu shot every year. This is partly at my mother's urging, but it also gives me peace of mind and I hate to be sick. So this year, Scott, Neal and I traipsed over to the building across the street, rolled up our sleeves and gritted our teeth, and got our shots. I had the customary sore arm for a few hours... and then, it got worse. Much worse. My shoulder was on fire, and I was popping pain relievers like chocolates. To make a long story short, I ended up at the neurologist last week, a very nice guy who banged on my knees and elbows, made me walk a straight line (maybe he thought I was drunk, who knows), and gave me a diagnosis: Brachial Plexitis. I was even more confused when he scribbled it on a sheet of paper, and suggested I Google it for myself. Huh?I was under the impression that doctors hated patients that poked around on the internet, self diagnosing. I had done a little of that before I saw the neuro -- you know, "sore arm", "flu shot", etc. (Ironically, this post will now turn up when that search is done. I'm part of the solution andthe problem!) But is it a help to doctors, or a hindrance?. Well, today we'll find out about patients who are habitual Googlers -- the good, and the bad, about cyberdoctoring. Have you ever consulted WebMD, or something like it to diagnose or treat a medical problem?

What really happened to John Darwin?

Source: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Have you ever wanted to just get lost? Maybe there's a big reason... terrified of getting married? In over your head financially? Or maybe there's a small one... wiped out at the holiday party?* Accidentally kissed the mailman?** Whatever it is, there are times when we all want to just sink into the ground and disappear. For me, it generally has to do with falling down in public (to the endless amusement of those around me... I seem to fall in the strangest situations), but that burning embarrassment generally dissipates before I take any dramatic steps toward relocation. What about you? What's happened that's made you want to flee... and have you ever gone through with it? Did you go away for a day, a week, a month? A lifetime?

*That was me, this year. I'd just arrived, and made a plate of munchies, then slid on a small puddle on the granite floor. Carrots flew everywhere. Mortifying.
**That one was Barrie.

For over a year now, former Sen. George Mitchell has investigated allegations of steroid use in Major League Baseball. (Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Baseball, asked Mitchell to head the inquiry). As you read this, the senator is on a dais at the Grand Hyatt New York, delivering his long-awaited report to the press, fielding questions from reporters.

Alan Schwarz, of The New York Times, is there, taking notes, readying to write. He'll join us in the second hour after the news conference for a few precious minutes to talk about what Mitchell's report says. With whom did the senator talk? Did he name names? Will the report matter? Bill Littlefield, host of NPR's Only A Game, will talk to us too. What questions do you have about Sen. Mitchell's investigation?

Ice storm art.

Source: billNWMSU

Chicago gets its share of winter weather, but it's mostly snow... the news trucks park on the Kennedy Expressway overpasses waiting to pounce on the snowfall, and bad traffic. In 1979, the city was hit with so much snow it not only shut much of the place down for a week, it ended up playing a major role in the next election for mayor. I don't remember much in the way of ice storms though... and haven't been in DC long enough to see one here either... not like the one that hit the Midwest this week. Still, most of us have stories... horror stories or fun stories... of surviving winter storms ('79 in Chicago... we sledded in the streets and built forts taller than we were). We'll talk with a meteorologist in Oklahoma City on the show today about the ice that fell on them this week. Are you in Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, or any of the other states that were hit by the storm? Or did you survive an earlier ice storm? Tell us your stories.

Last show of the week. Here's what's cooking:

Our first hour topic is very close to my heart. More and more people are self-diagnosing and searching for medical treatment on the Internet. For me, googling my latest ache or pain is upgraded behavior. In the past, hospital T.V. dramas did the trick. It is true that I once waltzed into my doctor's office and informed him that the red spot on my leg needed the same treatment that a group of red spotted nuns received from Dr. Doug Ross on ER. Turns out my one red spot was not worthy of an hour on a highly-rated nighttime drama series and I did not in fact have meningitis. Perhaps, had I gone to the web and typed in "rash" I would have known this ahead of time and not asked my doctor for a spinal tap. Ah, well. At any rate, turns out a lot of people walk into the doctor's office over-informed. And some take it even further and research which school their doctor received their medical degree, and what journals they've been published in. Guests will talk today about these so-called 'cyber-chondriacs' (isn't that a great term?) and how the internet has changed the dynamic between doctor and patient. At the end of the first hour, syndicated columnist Amy Dickinson joins us. We were so intrigued by the story of John Darwin, the British man who faked his own death to avoid paying off debts only to suddenly turn up five years later, that we wanted to "Ask Amy" what makes people believe that the only solution under extreme stress is to flee? Remember the runaway bride?

At a press conference scheduled for this afternoon, former senator George Mitchell is expected to release a report that will detail the use of performance-enhancing drug use in Major League Baseball. Mitchell has been looking into allegations of steroid use since last year. In the second hour, we'll hear the results of his investigation and talk to New York Times correspondent Alan Schwarz who will be at today's press conference. At the end of the hour, we will talk about the ice storms that have crippled the mid-western region. Even as the ice begins to thaw, power outages, ice-covered roads and falling icicled tree limbs are making the recovery process slow. Callers will tell their stories of how they are coping or have coped in a major ice storm.

Have a great upcoming weekend.

Napoleon's March to Moscow.

Scott Cameron

In our conversation yesterday with Vincent Virga about his wonderful book, Cartographia, we talked a bit about one of the maps I have on my wall, the poster of the 1976 New Yorker cover by Steinberg, but I didn't tell some of the important parts about the big map of Europe I mentioned. It is, in fact, a Cold War era Soviet map of Europe - among other interesting points, it shows a unified Germany - that was used as a prop in a London production of The Accidental Death of an Anarchist - my wife worked at that theatre at the time and rescued it after the run ended. It still shows the pencil lines that an actor drew on it, from Rome to Moscow, for example, at various times in the play.

After the segment ended, I also mentioned to Mr. Virga another map, a statistical graphic by a French engineer, Charles Joseph Minard, that brilliantly describes Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Before I mentioned Minard's whole name, Mr. Virga said it was among his favorites, too, and one he bitterly regretted had to be left on the cutting room floor - another of his movie analogies. It tracks the invasion and the retreat so brutally that it utterly alters your view of the campaign for all time.
I also have a huge map of the Chesapeake that carries none of the emotional, political or cultural freight of the three above. So far as I know.

Stumping for Obama.

Source: Joe Crimmings Photography

It's been interesting to see the reaction to Oprah's latest stumping for Obama. Mary Mitchell wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times, "Oprah Winfrey may be just what Barack Obama needs to push him over the top in South Carolina." Her fellow columnist at the Sun-Times, Richard Roeper, had an interesting take: Don't underestimate the Oprah effect!

If Oprah went on her show tomorrow and said the ultimate key to inner peace is to pretend you're a dog instead of saying hello when you greet other people, you wouldn't get through your day without somebody greeting you with a "Woof! Woof!" while sniffing your ankles.

On the flip-side, Stanley Crouch wrote in the New York Daily News,

In the end, I doubt that she will get that many black or female voters to give Clinton the hot-potato routine. Obama's campaign should not overestimate her influence. Oprah is persuasive and she is powerful, but it is unlikely she can convince many primary voters that it is worth rejecting Clinton and embracing Obama.

We'll talk with NPR's Ken Rudin, and with NPR's Juan Williams on the show today. The big question on the table: Will there be an Oprah effect among democrats, particularly among black voters?

A map from the Cartographia collection.

Source: Reprinted with permission of the Library of Congress

The book, Cartographia, is a stunning collection of maps, and the stories they tell about the world and the people in it. We'll hear from Vincent Virga, the picture editor who put the collection together, on the radio today. And he also had an interesting story to tell on the blog:

I am a visual person. I think in pictures. If I need my glasses or my keys, I show myself where they are in my mind's eye; I don't tell myself where they are in words. Are you a visual or a verbal person? (Where are your keys right now?) Like me and all of you visual people, maps archive information in pictures. Most historians of all stripes are verbal people, word people with little or no visual literacy. Hence, most history books never use maps as cultural landscapes or social documents; if they do include maps they are usually charts or graphs. Being incapable of envisioning maps as visual metaphors, traditional historians have narrowed map studies for centuries to Who, When, How, and Where the maps were made. About thirty years ago, visually gifted cartographic historians, such as the great J.B Harley, began to ask Why maps were made, what attitudes and ideologies were the mapmakers expressing? A new nature of maps was revealed. Mapmakers were seen as translating ideas into graphic form. Put in historical and cultural context, maps have intriguing stories to tell and each culture expresses itself in its own unique way. This is bliss for a person like me who thinks in pictures! This is the life-enhancing, eye-opening vision of mapping human culture that is Cartographia.

-Vincent Virga

Crack cocaine offenders are typically sentenced to 50 percent more jail time than powder cocaine offenders. This sentencing disparity emerged in the mid Eighties, when lawmakers mandated harsh sentences in response to the country's cocaine epidemic. Fast forward to today: Experts now know that there's little difference between crack and powdered cocaine, but crack offenders are still serving harsher sentences than powdered offenders. Yesterday the United States Sentencing Commission, which puts out sentencing guidelines for federal judges to follow, narrowed that disparity for as many as 19,500 prison inmates. The decision will reduce sentences for hard cocaine users by an average of 27 months, and it applies retroactively. Predictably, the Commission's decision has stirred up a lot of controversy: some argue that it will put criminals back into fragile neighborhoods already marred by crime, others argue that it will eat up time and money from the federal courts, and still others argue that the Commission should go even further in reducing the sentencing disparity.

CIA headquarters.

Source: Getty Images

According to Ronald Kessler, author of The Terrorist Watch: Inside The Desperate Race To Stop The Next Attack, it is remarkable that there hasn't been another major terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11. In his new book, Kessler focuses on how the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Counterterrorism Center have averted bombings, bioterrorism, and more. He'll join us in the second hour. What questions do you have about the intelligence community? Do you wonder how it has changed since Sept. 11?

In this mega-sized political junkie, Ken Rudin is joined by senior correspondent Juan Williams. Today, we'll take a look at the neck-and-neck race for parties in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the Republican debate going on right now in Iowa and the Democratic debate happening there tomorrow, and what Oprah's endorsement could mean for Barack Obama. And of course rev up your brain jets for today's trivia question. Following that, we'll talk with author and editor Vincent Virga about his rare collection of more than 250 color maps and illustrations tracing from the dawn of civilization to the present day. Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations, has been published by the Library of Congress and Little, Brown and Company.

In our second hour, we will talk about the US Sentencing Commission's decision to make retroactive lighter sentencing in cases involving crack cocaine offenses -- a decision that could cut prison time for thousands of offenders. Is this a good or bad idea? We will talk to guests on both sides of the debate, and hear a personal story from a man who served fifteen years for distributing crack and cocaine. Later in the hour, author Ronald Kessler talks about the race to strop the next terrorist attack from inside agencies like the FBI and the CIA. His latest book is "The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack."

Can't you just feel the warmth?

Source: Rick Audet

Leaves on the ground, frost sparkling on blades of grass, and my breath clouding before me as I walk home in the evening signify many things for me, but near the top of the list is bourbon. As soon as the evening chill hits my cheeks, I imagine evenings in some vague lodge, warmed by a crackling fire and a glass of good whiskey sipped slowly with friends. Of course, the reality is more like my boyfriend (and fellow bourbon adventurer) and I sampling our latest finds and listening to satellite radio, but something about that glass of amber liquor still transforms the room.

If I were truly my father's daughter, I'd be into scotch. However, my southern education left me with two important things: a degree, and a taste for bourbon. Like it is for so many, Jack Daniel's* was my gateway drink, mixed with ginger and fresh lime. It's still a good drink, but it tastes too much like the 40 Watt for me now, a beverage tied so closely to a place and age that drinking it feels like time travel. Before I left Georgia I dabbled in some slightly more exotic bourbons, and by the time I got back to DC, Maker's Mark was my choice when I was feeling fancy; and I quickly adopted my DC roommate's favorite rail variety, Wild Turkey, as mine too. With those baselines, we ventured into the district in search of new tastes, joining the "Bourbon Club" at one bar in Georgetown, and spent one particularly memorable evening over twin rocks glasses of an especially butterscotch-y Elijah Craig, at a new bar and restaurant appropriately dubbed Bourbon. It was a tony establishment, and that's where I realized that the things I'd always assumed about bourbon, the drink -- that it's sort of the backwoods brother of the more cultured scotch -- were either changing, or never true to begin with. Bourbon was the drink I imbibed with my dude friends -- be they sports buffs, indie-rock snobs, or rockabilly punks -- but at Bourbon, I was surrounded by folks in chinos and Polo shirts, stilettos and Coach bags. The bartenders sported the tattoos and band t-shirts to which I was accustomed, but the clientele... different. Of course, they could have been the usual suspects in deep disguise, but it was so unexpected as to be jarring. Turns out my little go-to drink was actually pretty popular, and not with whom I'd come to expect.

These days, I'm surrounded by bourbon freaks. Thanks to my sister's fiancee, I have a new favorite: Corner Creek. It's smooth, distinctive, and packs a punch without the burn of lesser blends. I also love Russell's Reserve, and ask for Jim Beam when I'm feeling impecunious. What are your favorites?

*Granted, Jack Daniel's is Tennessee whiskey. It's still a gateway to bourbon for many.

Wonder what he thinks about farm subsidies?

Source: handels

The time has come for Congress to take another whack at the farm bill. Today the Senate begins voting on amendments to the new bill, officially known as the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007. Renewed every five years, the farm bill sets agriculture policy for the entire country. Normally the purview of farm-state senators from the South and Midwest, this year the farm bill has caught the attention of a varied assortment, including the medical community, environmentalists, agribusiness, and small farmers. In addition to billions of dollars in subsidies for farmers, the bill also allocates money for nutrition programs, including food stamps and school snacks, rural development, land conservation, and alternative energy programs in an attempt to placate would-be detractors. Questions have emerged about who benefits most from the legislation, and whether it's time to ax an outmoded system. Among the key issues on the table this week are payment caps and the possible inclusion of a renewable fuels standard. So while the Senate deliberates, tell us: Should farmers continue to get government subsidies?

Conductor Lorin Maazel, of the New York Philharmonic, will take his baton -- and orchestra -- to Pyongyang.

Source: AFP/Getty Images

Come February, the New York Philharmonic will travel to Asia. They'll play Beethoven in Taiwan, Mendelssohn in China, and Gershwin in North Korea. That's right, the orchestra plans to play in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Four months ago, the country's ministry of culture invited the Philharmonic to perform. (They sent a fax). After the invitation's authenticity was confirmed, Zarin Mehta, the orchestra's president and executive director, traveled to Pyongyang, to visit venues, to meet with officials, and to make a few demands. The Philharmonic will play the North Korean national anthem and "The Star-Spangled Banner." The concert will be broadcast. And the audience will include non-elite North Koreans.

There are critics of the decision, including Richard V. Allen and Chuck Downs, Terry Teachout, and a few members of the orchestra. Zarin Mehta joins us in the first hour, to talk about cultural diplomacy and the New York Philharmonic. What do you think? Should the orchestra play Pyongyang?

How long till my bus gets to me?

Source: MatthewBradley

Though Scott might laugh at me, I adapt to new technologies pretty casually. Never the first nor the last, I usually get in somewhere in the middle of the pack... Or not at all, if it's something I really can't justify. As such, I don't have GPS yet... I love maps and figuring out routes, so I don't think I need it. Of course, I don't think that's true for everyone -- I'm house hunting (well, condo-hunting) right now, and my agent has a system. (They're a match made in heaven). The other place I'd love GPS is on the DC Metro buses. The devices can predict train arrivals... Why can't they do the same for busses? Turns out they can (and in DC, one day they will). Where else do you want to see GPS? And do you worry about its spread?

Tony Kushner: dapper everywhere.

Source: Evan Agostini/Getty Images

My favorite work of art by Tony Kushner isn't a book or a play or a libretto -- it's a commencement speech. (I have linked to it here, and if you stop reading this post or listening to the radio or whatever just please, please, please read it because it will infect you with hope for the future.) Which I suppose points to the conclusion that my favorite work of art by Tony Kushner is Tony Kushner himself. There are few people who inspire more -- his plays, which are essentially and eternally dated (I mean, the second half of Angels in America is literally called Perestroika. Remember Perestroika?), and yet, the very nature of their prose keeps them fresh. It's like he's a kind of emotional historian -- whether he's talking about AIDS in the Eighties, the Civil Rights struggle, Afghanistan in the late Nineties, or even the terror of the Holocaust. This is a man who finds compassion even in the hardest of struggles -- and makes action seem like the only thing to do. Well, enough kvelling. We'll talk to director Frieda Lee Mock and Tony Kushner himself. So go ahead and read that commencement speech, and post your comments here. The documentary airs on PBS's P.O.V. series tomorrow, December 12 at 9 p.m. (check local listings).

In our first hour today, we will talk about the billions of dollars in subsidies at stake in the farm bill. As the debate continues, guests in our first hour help us answer the question: Are government subsidies necessary for farmers? And what would happen if we didn't subsidize? We'll talk with an Iowa farmer, as well as former labor secretary Robert Reich who is against government subsidies, and Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) who is a leading advocate on farm program subsidies. Following that discussion, we'll talk to the executive director of the New York Philharmonic about the cultural impact in accepting North Korea's invitation for the orchestra to perform there early next year.

In our second hour, we'll talk about the growing popularity of GPS, or Global Positioning Systems. It's great for navigating through a maze of street signs and intersecting roads. They are also useful for parents to keep tabs on their kids, which most people think is great. But your boss can also track you down. Great? Not so much. So, is the GPS innovative technology... or simply an invasion of privacy? Guests run down the pros and cons of GPS. At the end of the hour, playwright Tony Kushner joins us. He is probably most famous for his Pulitzer Prize winning play Angels in America. Kushner is the subject of a PBS documentary entitled, "Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner." Freida Lee Mock is the film's director and will also join us to talk about capturing Kushner on film from September 11, 2001 until the presidential elections in 2004. "Wrestling With Angels" is the latest installment in PBS' POV series. Check your local listings.

The folks over at Fark filed a trademark application for the acronym "NSFW." For the uninitiated, it means Not Safe For Work (read: nudity), and Fark is, well, Fark. This is somewhat akin to trademarking "LOL" or "FYI," and if you punch "trademark fark nsfw" into Google or Technorati you'll get some idea of just how ticked off some interwebbers are about this. But, while I understand that people are a bit edgy about all the recent exaggerated trademarking, I'm withholding judgment in hopes of a payoff punch line. Very little (nothing?) that Drew Curtis does online is to be taken seriously (his only response so far contains the line, "muhahaha"). So, rather than trademarking other four-letter words and hurling them at Fark, any ideas on what exactly they're really up to with this whole trademark thing?

Controversy at the CIA

Source: David Burnett/Newsmakers

Last week, The New York Times reported on the destruction of several videotapes of CIA interrogations of suspected al-Qaida operatives. In our first hour, the reporter who broke that story, Mark Mazzetti, joins us to take your questions. And Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), who sits on the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, will tell us about a bill he introduced, in 2005,

to require the videotaping of interrogations and other pertinent actions between a detainee or prisoner in the custody or under the effective control of the armed forces of the United States pursuant to an interrogation, or other pertinent interaction, for the purpose of gathering intelligence and a member of the armed forces of the United States, an intelligence operative of the United States, or a contractor of the United States.

What do you want to know about the tapes, why they were destroyed, and how they will affect the prosecution of suspected al-Qaida members?

A case of the D.U.I's.

Source: dotpolka

You know that stab of sympathy, or even empathy, that you get when a public figure has some kind of meltdown?* For me, it usually goes hand in hand with a stab of interest -- a slight curiosity at what it must feel like to go through something private, in public. These days everyone is public in one way or another, but when you're a community pillar of any sort -- soccer coach, CEO, university professor -- it ups the ante on your mistakes. Two weeks ago in the Washington Post, William Frawley, erstwhile president of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, wrote about the two DUIs that led to his dismissal from the University, opening a window onto his experience that made me really think about the nature of "public." We're talking to him today -- you can read his op-ed here -- and we'd love to hear from you with any experiences you're willing to share with us.

*Yes, I still have sympathy for a certain pop star. And a plan -- I want to kidnap her and take her to college. Who's with me?!

Maggie, Suzzy, and Terre: the Roches.

Source: Irene Young

I'm looking forward to today's show in the way many of you probably often listen: I'm hoping to hear something new. I love all kinds of music, but no one's heard it all, so when my boss pitched the Roches as a great holiday music show, I was all ears and an empty head. I've never heard them, but before-my-time sure doesn't mean bad, so I'm listening to them on Myspace right now. The first thing that strikes me is the way their three voices together sound like a chord played on a piano more than the output of three separate instruments... striking. That song was called Hammond Song. Next I skip ahead to For Unto Us a Child is Born, since I'm told the Roches are particularly known for their holiday songs. It appears on their 1990 album, We Three Kings. It sounds old, and I don't mean 17 years old, which it is, or before-my-time old. It sounds like a carol sung in a King's court centuries ago. Sound interesting to you? You can leave questons for the sisters here.

Here's what's happening today:

The New York Times reported late last week that the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed hundreds of hours of video tape, showing the interrogations of suspected al Qaeda operatives. Among the guests in our first hour will be Mark Mazzetti, a national security correspondent who broke the story for the Times. We will answer questions about the CIA tapes, what happened and why, and the implications of their destruction. And discuss the investigations that have since begun in the Senate and House intelligence committees. At the end of the hour, we'll talk with William Frawley, former president of the University of Mary Washington in Virginia who was recently fired after twice being charged with DUI. In an op-ed that appeared in the Washington Post last week, Frawley criticized the board of trustees at the university for firing him before he could get help. The op-ed is entitled, "I Needed Help, Not Ostracism."

It's time for another performance chat in Studio 4A, our really impressive-sized studio that musicians and their bands frequently perform in. Today, we're excited to welcome The Roches. They are a three sisters, Suzzy, Maggie and Terre, who have been harmonizing and giving a humorous, quirky take on life's weird little happenings for over twenty years. I've just familiarized myself with their music and they are quite cool. Maybe you'll recognize their sound from the 1988 soundtrack for the movie Crossing Delancey, starring Amy Irving. (Suzzy Roche makes an appearance as Irving's friend) At any rate, once you hear The Roches' tight harmony, I guarantee you'll never forget it. They have a new project out entitled "Moonswept" that is the trio's first in over a decade. We'll talk to the siblings for our entire second hour, hear a couple of Roche classics and a tune from their latest CD and they'll get us into the holiday spirit with a few Christmas songs.

Enjoy listening.

Anyone who's ever heard me toss around Yiddish like a meshuggeneh Grandmother probably knows that I pretty much feel Jewish, regardless of how often I go to shul. I'm close to Reconstructionist in specific matters of faith, but I can't really imagine abandoning my identity as a Jew, despite all that I am unsure of, or even outright disavow. During my college quasi-Marxist phase, I took the required course "Old Testament as Literature," which meant I had to actually read the darn thing. The thing about being Jewish is that as far as holy books go, we've got the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), and I'll be honest, they are intimidating texts. The God of the Torah is so angry, and almost capriciously cruel. He demands proof of faith in mercurial, almost mean ways -- commanding Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, wiping out humanity in a massive flood... Even the oldest of all Genesis stories, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, doesn't exactly make God seem like a kind deity. (You can really see why the New Testament appealed -- think about it, here comes a new deity, preaching love, and "turn the other cheek." It's such a relief after all the salt pillars and hungry dogs.) During this phase, I started referring to myself as "culturally Jewish." I took Hitchens as my new deity and hammered away at everyone who would listen (or not, sorry random New Yorkers) that God was a "sinister fairy tale," and the Bible a rather sorry bit of writing with a lot of boring bits about hand washing (I actually still stand by that -- I defy you to read Leviticus without snoring).

Continue reading "Worthy Texts" >

Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. and Bill Cosby discuss their new book, Come On People.

Source: Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press

In a 2004 speech, Bill Cosby spoke frankly about the problems he saw in black communities.
"The lower economic and lower middle economic people are not holding their end in this deal," he said. "In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on." As a result, he continued, children are dropping out of school at an alarming rate, more and more teenage women are getting pregnant -- and raising their children alone, and prisons are full to, or past, capacity. The theme of his speech, on the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, was responsibility, which he encouraged everyone -- children, parents, and grandparents, to take:

I'm talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was two? Where were you when he was twelve? Where were you when he was eighteen, and how come you don't know he had a pistol? And where is his father, and why don't you know where he is? And why doesn't the father show up to talk to this boy?

That speech reverberated through black communities across the country.

Bill Cosby and his long-time friend, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, of the Judge Baker Children's Center at Harvard Medical School, have written a new book, Come On People: On The Path from Victims to Victors. They'll join us in the first hour to take your questions. Here's what we want to hear from you: How have Bill Cosby's arguments changed the conversation about black America?

Motley Fool!

Source: Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

Somehow, 2007 is almost over already, and all I can think about is money... As in holiday shopping and flexible spending accounts and taxes and the crazy markets and when the battery in my car might die. In times like these, we turn to the Motley Fool for answers (maybe not the car battery, but everything else). As we come up on 2008, what should you keep in mind in terms of your portfolio? Is it time for a tune-up? Turns out giving stock away might make a lot of sense. And, with everyone filling the malls and online stores, should you drop some retail stocks into your stocking? David Gardner is back to talk money. And, if my math is right, Neal still has $1,000 in faux cash to spend on his fantasy portfolio. Got any advice on where to put it?

Pakistani activists rally around a poster of Pakistan's nuclear pioneer Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Source: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

With all the talk this week about Iran and do-they-or-don't-they have a nukes program, we TotNers seem pretty prescient... because today we've got a show all about A. Q. Khan. If his name doesn't ring a bell, he's the Pakistani nuclear scientist revered at home for spearheading their nuclear program, and feared abroad for his talents... and collaboration with the North Koreans and Iranians. Good timing for the show, don't you think? What questions do you have for Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins?

Salt Lake LDS (Mormon) Temple

Source: Danny La/Getty Images

Has anyone ever seen the South Park episode "All About Mormons?" It's actually a lovely lesson about tolerance, though I think a lot of Mormons have some problems with the portrayal of the Church in the episode (but not all -- my very best friend was raised Mormon and thinks it's kind of great). I think it's interesting how few portrayals of Mormons there seem to be in the culture, and many people confuse the polygamists of Big Love with Mormons (they're not). However, it's astonishing how little Americans actually seem to know about the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- and how maligned by pop culture and the media many members of the Mormon church feel. If you are part of either group -- today we're talking about the coverage with NPR's Howard Berkes. We'd really like to take your comments and questions today -- and listen, we're all going to have to get really familiar with this topic as Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney is clearly both a contender, and, as he said today in his speech, Mormon. So, let us know your gripes and questions -- we want to get this right.

Mitt Romney

Source: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

So... I was halfway through a monster post about religion, when I realized, I need something from you. Yes, you! TOTN listeners! Today, we're talking to NPR correspondent Howard Berkes about your reactions to the coverage of Mormonism and Romney on NPR. We got a ton of mail and comments yesterday from Mormons and non-Mormons alike about how they perceive the much-talked-about religion. Following Mitt Romney's speech on faith today, we're going to take your questions and comments about how we -- and the media en masse -- have covered this religion. So, if you can, send us your blog comments ahead of time -- let us know what you'd like to hear, and we'll ask Howard on the air in a couple of hours.

In our first hour, we'll speak with comedian Bill Cosby and Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint. Three years ago, Bill Cosby made what became a controversial speech that placed problems within black communities on parents not assuming responsibility for their children, or their children's education. Cosby, along with Dr. Poussaint, has written a book entitled, Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors. They will join us to talk about what they believe has led to the dissolution of the black community, and their vision of hope and empowerment for black people in America. Following that, we'll have our regular visit with the Motley Fool's David Gardner who will give us end of the year investment tips.

In our second hour, journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins will talk about a book they co-authored entitled, The Nuclear Jihadist, that tells the true story of how one man helped start a nuclear weapons program in Pakistan, and then sold supplies to Libya and Iran. At the end of the hour, we'll talk about presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech earlier today on faith in America. Romney is the first Mormon to be among the frontrunners for President. Howard Berkes, NPR rural affairs correspondent, answers your questions about Mormonism and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.

He's finally addressing his faith...

Source: Rick Gershon/Getty

This week on the Political Junkie segment: one day after NPR's Democratic candidates debate in Iowa, a look back at what happened. And a look ahead to tomorrow's speech in Texas by Mitt Romney, who will address issues about faith -- specifically, his Mormon faith, which has unnerved many southern Protestant/Evangelical voters. Skirmishes between Hillary and Obama; is Edwards back to his "nice guy" role of 2004? And more about the new intelligence report about Iran, and how it affects the campaign. And a new trivia question.

It's the old brainteaser: If a tree falls in the forest and no one's around to hear it, did it make a sound? Given how many of us get our news from the Daily Show and its ilk, if a politician says something funny or absurd and no one's around to lampoon it, did it really happen at all? With the writers' strike in its fifth week, we're in quite a political humor drought... does that mean politicians get a free ride? I mean, there's got to be something to President Bush speaking yesterday about Santa Claus and Congress... and when presidential candidate Mike Gravel said the new National Intelligence Estimate "drop-kicked" said President in the NPR debate yesterday, I laughed out loud. Imagine a line like that in the hands of a true comedian... or his or her writer. And let's not forget Chuck Norris endorsing Mike Huckabee! These are some pretty easy marks for me to pick out, but the folks whose job this is, the writers for shows like the Late Show with David Letterman, must be going nuts with an bounty of mockable material, and no outlet! Have you spotted raw political material for the comedy writers that's just going to fade into the ether without their help? How would you write the joke?

Today the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. base in Cuba, have the right to challenge their imprisonment in federal court. Back in October of 2006, Congress passed a law which said that federal courts do not have jurisdiction in detainee cases. So as it stands now, detainees face indefinite detention with no concrete way to challenge their status as enemy combatants. About three hundred men are being held at the base, and many have been there for as long as six years. This case represents an attempt to balance prisoners' individual rights with the desire to prevent terrorism. We'll hear from both sides of the argument today on the show. So tell us: what rights should detainees have?

Avery Brooks in the title role of Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine, adapted and directed by Michael Kahn.

Source: Carol Rosegg

Great at bloodshed, that is. Christopher Marlowe's play about the loudmouth tyrant is being revived at the (new and beautiful) Sidney Harman Hall in DC (owned by the Shakespeare Theatre company). The mighty role of Tamburlaine is filled by the mightily familiar Avery Brooks -- you may remember him as Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine. (Admit it! You remember.) Well, today you can talk to him about playing a very old role for a very new audience... and anything jazz, opera, theatre, movie or tv related (he does all of those things, amazingly).

Neal Conan is back. Talk of the Nation is back! Here are the happenings after a rare but much appreciated free day.

In our regular Wednesday mega Political Junkie segment, Ken Rudin talks to us from Iowa about yesterday's Democratic debate there and Mitt Romney's upcoming speech on his faith, among other happenings in the political arena. Don't forget to get your brain ready for this week's trivia question. Following that, we ponder: If Hollywood comedy writers are on strike and a political candidate gaffes, does it make a sound? At the end of the hour, we'll talk with a writer for the Late Show with David Letterman about fewer late night laughs, missed opportunities and how we are affected when political humor is absent.

In our second hour, we'll talk about today's arguments at the Supreme Court on whether terror suspects being held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay can challenge their imprisonment in federal court. We'll hear audio from today's arguments, and hear from advocates on both sides of the issue. And then actor Avery Brooks will join us to talk about his starring role as "Tamburlaine" at the Shakespeare Theatre Company located right down the street from our NPR building. The play is a portrait of the Central Asian emperor's rise in power. Brooks, performing as himself today, will talk about the role, his career in acting and answer your questions at the end of our second hour.

The cast of Heroes celebrates their Golden Globe nomination.

Source: Getty Images

The consensus seems to be that the Heroes 2nd season finale last night was pretty good... and definitely better than the meandering, shortened season itself. Still, I can't shake this feeling that I'm right back where I started at the end of the first season: Sylar is the bad guy, Bennett is back with the company, Peter is back to trying to save the world. There are some new faces, and new mysteries to take up in season 3 (like what happened to Peter's girlfriend who's stuck in the future, now that that particular virus-future has been changed... and who's really alive or dead now that anyone can be healed with a syringe)... but this wasn't so much season 2 as season 1.5; had I completely missed it, I could probably tune in next year and never realize I missed a thing. Season 1 got me hooked, season 2 set the table... Hopefully season 3 will deliver (and bring back the focused plot and superhero pacing of the first, without all the clutter of the 2nd). In any case, whenever it comes back to NBC, my ReplayTV is set to record it.

Editor's note: David Gura live blogged the president's press conference this morning. You can read his post, in its entirety, after the jump.

President Bush at his press conference this morning.

Source: AFP/Getty Images

10:44 a.m. EST
The press conference ended with a final question about Iran. President Bush said that he wouldn't let Iran acquire nuclear weapons on his watch. "I understand the issues," he said. "I clearly see the problems, and I'm going to use the NIE to continue to rally the international community for the sake of peace."

Continue reading "White House Press Conference" >

The White House seal.

Source: tyrian123

The president plans to hold a press conference at 10:10 a.m. Andrea Seabrook will anchor NPR's special coverage, which will be available on many NPR member stations, and at npr.org.

We're going to try something new here, too. I'm going to blog about the conference in real time. It's our foray into "live blogging." Don't look for an abbreviated transcript so much as short summaries of what the president says, complemented with analysis and links to articles, blog posts, and NPR pieces. (I'll ask you to overlook the occasional typo). I'll continue to update one post, adding a new time stamp for each entry. Refresh often!

When the conference ends, let us know what you think. Did you follow it on the blog? In the future, what would you like to see?

The stage is set for the NPR Debate!

Scott Cameron

 

Sometimes you throw a party and nobody can come. In this case, we threw a debate and the whole party couldn't make it. We had hoped to bring you a Republican presidential debate today, but no dice -- these are some busy guys. (NPR is trying to reschedule, FYI). We will bring you Democratic hopefuls tomorrow, but this hour, we're going to focus on our absent Republican friends. Especially here in Iowa... The people who attend the Republican caucuses one month from today are elephantine in influence. So, if you're an Iowa Republican, do you plan to caucus? What are the issues that matter most to you?

In the last week, NPR has built a new bureau in Des Moines, Iowa, practically. Some 36 members of our staff are there, recording interviews, hosting shows, and preparing for tomorrow's radio-only debate. During the latter half of the first hour today, we'll talk to Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris, and Robert Siegel, who will moderate the big show. Do you have questions about how it will be structured? Or what questions they will ask? Suggest a few of your own.

Among the issues that are important to voters in Iowa this election, immigration is near the top of the list, along with the economy and the war. Immigration is a personal issue for many Iowans. Last December, the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids on six Swift meatpacking plants around the country, including one in Marshalltown, Iowa, where they arrested 99 workers who could not prove they were in the country legally. Today we'll talk to the mayor of Marshalltown, IA, a resident who helped families, and an official from the ICE about what happened during the raids, and how it affected the community at large. We want to hear from you. If you're in a place where there's been an immigration raid, what has the impact been where you live? And will the immigration issue influence your vote in this presidential election?

* Talk about alliteration!

Let's play a game, OK? I'll yell out a word, and you yell out the first word that comes to mind upon hearing my prompt. Easy, right? Here we go. IOWA! Did you yell caucus? It's a pretty safe bet you did (unless you yelled Hawkeyes! And I wouldn't blame you, college-athletics fan that I am). The Iowa caucus is such a big deal that it's now the subject of a political musical that charts the fate of a farmer caught up in the whirlwind of caucus season. In the midst of all the serious angling, positioning, hand-shaking, diner-dining that goes on in the run-up to January, Caucus! The Musical sounds like a welcome way to laugh at the whole fiasco.

Things are pretty quiet here on the 3rd floor, skinny end of the NPR building (where Talk of the Nation is located.) Barrie, Sarah, Ashley, David and I, your faithful bloggers, are holding down the fort with about as much energy as we can muster on a chilly Monday. The REAL action is happening about 700 miles away, in Iowa. Neal Conan is there and getting ready for show time at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines. The first hour will be broadcast as an NPR News Special, so you'll hear different theme music during the show. In that hour, we'll focus on Republicans in Iowa, who they are, and their influence on the race to the White House. And we'll also look at the caucuses that will take place in Iowa a month from today. Following that discussion, you, the listener, will have a chance to talk with Robert Siegel and Michele Norris, hosts of All Things Considered, and Steve Inskeep, co-host of Morning Edition. Tomorrow, they will moderate a radio-only debate with seven Democratic presidential hopefuls. What questions would you like to hear asked? What topics do you feel need to be addressed? Send us your questions!!

In our second hour, we'll be back to Talk of the Nation, and you'll hear that familiar theme music. In that hour, we'll talk about immigration and its importance to the voters in Iowa. A year ago, the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids on six Swift meat packing plants around the country that included one in Marshalltown, Iowa. We'll speak with an official from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, talk about the Swift plant raid with a reporter for The Des Moines Register and discuss how the raid changed the city with Gene Beach, the mayor of Marshalltown. Following that, we'll talk to Robert John Ford, a native of Iowa about his inspiration for the play Caucus! The Musical!!!

Enjoy our Iowa broadcast!!

It's almost time to caucus!

Source: Scott Cameron

Well, it's only natural that half of this network (blatant exaggeration) would go to Iowa and the weather would be sorta biblical. AND that our producers would have a late night fire alarm the first night they got there. But, that's how we roll, folks, when we're remote-a-fying for you all. In any case, today's the day we're broadcasting live from Des Moines, in anticipation of both an NPR hosted debate, and the caucuses in a month. We love going to the story, as I've mentioned before, and I really hope we get to hear from all of you Iowa voters out there, decided or un. (And does anyone know who caused the fire alarm in the Embassy Suites? TOTN producer Susan Lund would like to know.) So let us know what's on your mind as we continue this massive run-up to the '08 election, Iowans! And good luck with your weather.

*Blatantly stolen from Lee Siegel.