NPR political editor and our favorite Political Junkie Ken Rudin joins us for the the latest on the presidential race and other political news. The biggest topic on everyone's lips is Senator Obama's decision to cut ties with his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, for a spate of new remarks he made at the National Press Club in Washington. In other news, Senate candidate Al Franken has to pay about $70,000 in back income taxes; Hillary Clinton will appear on The O'Riley Factor tonight; and in six days, voters in North Carolina and Indiana go to the polls.

Congressman Mel Watt, an Obama supporter, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Clinton supporter, join us to give their input on the ongoing race. And political analyst Ron Walters joins us to talk about the effect of Wright's comments on white, black and Hispanic voters. If you have questions for our Political Junkie, leave them here.

Criticism, it seems, is getting more and more thumbs down.

David Livingston/Getty Images

 

In 2002, film critic Roger Ebert was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. Since then, he has undergone several surgeries. One of them, on his salivary gland, made it almost impossible for him to speak. Earlier this month, he penned a letter to his readers and viewers:

Are you as bored with my health as I am? I underwent a third surgery in January, this one in Houston, and once again there were complications. I am sorry to say that my ability to speak was not restored. That would require another surgery. But I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them.

Ebert will continue to write reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times, but he will no longer co-host At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper.

Two weeks ago, A.O. Scott, a chief film critic for The New York Times, tipped his hat to Ebert in a piece about the state of film criticism today: "For those who labor beside him in the vineyards of criticism [his retirement from At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper] is an incitement to quit grousing and pick up the pace."

That's a tall order. More and more newspapers, eager to cut costs, are cutting critics. In the last three years, 27 newspapers have said "goodbye" to their film reviewers. Yes, there are commercial constraints, but there is also new competition. Websites, like Rotten Tomatoes, aggregate reviews. Hundreds of amateur film critics post their thoughts on blogs. Nowadays, you don't need a master's degree in film criticism -- or a thorough knowledge of La Nouvelle Vague -- to be a movie critic. (You can look it up on Wikipedia, like I did.)

A.O. Scott will join us today, at the Newseum, to give us his thoughts on film criticism. Margo Mealey, alias DCMovieGirl, who blogs at dcmoviegirl.blogspot.com, will be there too. And we'll talk to Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor of The Winston-Salem Journal. In 2006, the newspaper said "goodbye" to its movie critic.

Before you see a movie, do you read reviews? If so, who do you read? If you don't look at newspaper reviews, do you go to websites or blogs? What do they offer that print critics don't?

There are laws on the books to protect us from discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and age. And soon we may see a law that bans discrimination based on genetic information. So, if you have a family history of breast cancer, for example, your insurance company can't refuse to cover you, or even charge you more. And your employer can't refuse to hire or promote you, and on the flip side can't fire you for it, either. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act passed the Senate last week by a vote of 95-0, and is scheduled for a vote in the House tomorrow. President Bush has already said he'd sign it. But, it's been a long 13 years for Rep. Louise Slaughter (D, NY). She's sponsored a similar bill every year since 1995, and joins us on the show today to talk about what it means, and to answer some of the criticisms about the bill. Is this an issue that's affected you? Have you avoided DNA tests for certain illnesses? Or if you run a small business, how will this bill likely affect you?

What's your pre-flight ritual?

Source: beenit

Without naming any names, we have some nervous fliers here on the TOTN staff. A certain host makes sure he goes through the same ritual every time he boards, just to keep the aviation gods happy. And it seems that he's in good company. Here's part of what Sarah Haskins wrote in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend:

Perhaps you don't know how planes work. Let me inform you. Many years ago, humans made a mystical pact with the lofty God FAA. In this pact we agreed that no matter what FAA asked of us, we would do it, if FAA and his co-deity, the trickster DEREGULATED AIRLINE GOD, would keep us safe.

She was set off by the passenger next to her using his Blackberry in mid-flight, a big no-no according to the FAA gods.

Well, A, who am I to argue with those who would guard our fate in the sky? I am a weak human. And I am not totally sure how planes work. Seems nuts, right?

Just among the small group of us here in the office, we have all kinds of rituals that go on before take off... And so far we've all managed to land safely (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc, etc). Any other pre-flight rituals out there? Liquid courage? Herbal remedies? Prayer? Do you think it really works?

Protesters and police, after the Sean Bell verdict.

Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

 

Last Friday, a judge acquitted three New York City police officers of all charges in the shooting death of Sean Bell. In 2006, Gescard Isnora, Marc Cooper, and Michael Oliver fired 50 bullets at Bell and his friends, outside a club in Queens.

After the verdict, community leaders and political activists, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, called for protests and acts of civil disobedience. "We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent citizens with no probable cause," Sharpton said. "This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell."

On Sunday, The New York Times published "The Fear Behind the Badge," by Kyle Murphy, a former police officer, now a student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. "The police are always second-guessed when they use deadly physical force," he wrote.

We'll talk with several people, including Murphy, about the relationship between citizens and police officers. Who trusts whom? What is your reaction to the Sean Bell verdict? What could cops do to earn more trust in the communities in which they serve? If you live outside of New York City, have you talked about the Sean Bell case with your friends, coworkers, and loved ones?

Mount Everest from Base Camp I.

Rupert Taylor-Price

 

I have a well-documented fear of heights. Seriously, a tall flight of stairs or an abnormally-high curb, and my stomach does cartwheels. That's why the idea of climbing Mt. Everest has always given me the heebie jeebies. So I couldn't even imagine being stuck on Camp II -- at 21,300 feet -- to make room for the Olympic torch. But that's precisely what's happened to climbers hoping to make the great ascent: they've been barred from the mountain's higher elevations for 10 days until the torch relay is complete. The extreme weather fluctuations on the mountain give climbers a small window of opportunity to make the journey, so the ban may impede their chances of making it to the top safely. What's more, Nepalese soldiers guarding the slopes were given authority to use deadly force to squelch any protests -- as a last resort, but, still, not the most favorable conditions to climb the world's highest peak.

Mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears joins us to talk about the conditions on the mountain, and how climbers keep up their morale, even in the toughest situations. If you're a climber or if you've climbed Mount Everest, tell us your story.

Miley's boots -- squeaky and sexy.

Source: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Don't worry, this is totally SFW. (BTW, for at least a year I had no idea what NSFW meant. I burned my eyeballs a lot.) In fact, the semi-nude photos of Miley Cyrus that are causing such a ruckus -- a practically tween-shrill ruckus, in fact -- are totally SFW. If you a) have no idea who Miley Cyrus is, b) don't have contact with a twelve year old girl regularly, (creepy) or c) have somehow missed the Hannah Montana phenomenon because you are too busy reading Walter Benjamin -- here's the story in a nutshell. Miley Cyrus is fifteen. She is one of Disney's most profitable young stars -- her hit Hannah Montana franchise has broken the eardrums of more than one adult bystander. Annie Leibovitz took "beautiful," (read: arty, topless) photos of her for Vanity Fair. Disney is chuffed. Miley is miffed (and apologized to her fans). But it has ever been thus: from Annette Funicello to Miss Brit to a soft and non-threatening Leonardo DiCaprio; it's real hard for the t(w)een idol to grow up. What do you think about the photos? Creepy? Sexy? No big deal? Moral panicky?

The news headlines we see about Iraq often tend to be big picture. Violence is up or down. There are political comings and goings. There has been an increase or decrease in troop levels. That kind of thing.

It's much harder to get a picture of what life is like on a daily basis for Iraqis. The producers of a new documentary came up with one way to get at that story. They gave a group of high school seniors video cameras and trained them to shoot footage of their everyday lives.

The film, Baghdad High was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival last week, and it is scheduled to run on HBO in August.

One of the filmmakers, Laura Winter, is scheduled to talk with us today, to tell us how she got this project off the ground and what it was like working on a documentary remotely (she was not in Baghdad, and kept the filming secret for the safety of the students involved). We'll also talk with Ali, one of the students featured in the film. He now lives in the United States, but we'll only identify him by his first name for the safety of his family back in Iraq.

Last week, three New York City police officers on trial for killing Sean Bell were acquitted. Bell was African American and unarmed. The verdict sparked protests in the city and deepened long-standing feelings of fear and mistrust within the African American community toward the police. In our first hour, a columnist explains where that "culture of fear" stems from. We'll also hear from a former New York police lieutenant who described what it's like for police when they feel their life is in danger in his New York Times op-ed entitled The Fear Behind the Badge. At the end of the hour, we'll talk about the Olympic torch's scheduled ascent of Mount Everest... and how its route abruptly shuts out eager, would-be climbers from reaching one of their ultimate goals in life.

In our second hour, we'll talk about the recent headline-making Vanity Fair photograph that shows a bare-backed teenaged Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana. Whether you see it as Miley's rite of passage or as completely outrageous, there does seem to be a defining point where teen stars cross the line into more... a-hem... mature territory. (I'm thinking of Britney and Paris here). What is the road into (and out of) teenage stardom really like? And we do want to hear from you. Did you see the photos of Miley? What do you think? And does your opinion differ from your kids? At the end of the hour, the co-director and one of the student filmmakers of the HBO documentary Baghdad High talk about life as a teenager in war-torn Baghdad.

As I write, President Bush is holding a press conference on the economy. (If you can't hear it on your NPR station, you can find it here, on the NPR website.) According to John Ward, a reporter for The Washington Times, "A White House release says that he'll begin with an eight-minute statement 'regarding Americans' understandable anxiety about issues affecting their pocketbooks.'"

If you're listening to the press conference, what do you think? He is talking about energy prices, rising food costs, mortgage payments, and student loans. How are these issues playing out in your life?

One of the largest child custody cases in U.S. history -- 460 children -- drags on in West Texas. The kids were seized in a raid on a polygamist compound belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS.

There are quite a few ways of looking at this -- and today, we're going to try to examine all sides. We'll talk to a spokesperson for the families, the head of a shelter taking care of some of the children, and an expert on family law. Listen, learn, and feel free to ask any questions.

"We don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it."

That's what Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly stated during a meeting about North Korea. But every administration has a different style when it come to dealing with "evil..." And evil... lives on a continuum ("one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter...").

On the opinion page today, the estimable Leslie Gelb. He's answering all your questions on how to talk to the really bad guys -- in case you ever become a head of state, or your mother in law is really crazy.

Men discuss the price of seafood in Cite Soleil, Haiti.

Source: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

 

Last week, as I did research for this segment, I swallowed a harsh dose of reality. Global prices of basic foods such as rice, wheat and corn have soared by as much as 45% since the end of 2006 -- with much of that increase concentrated over the last few months. Last week, the U.N. World Food Program announced that increases in food prices could leave more than 100 million people hungry. Here I am, shoveling five spoonfuls of rice into my mouth for lunch alone, and that's more food than most kids in Haiti get to eat in two whole days! It's hard to wrap your mind around the realities of what economists are calling "the global food crisis," and what the U.N. has christened a "silent tsunami."

Tyler Hicks, a staff photographer for The New York Times, recently got back from a trip to Port-au-Prince. He saw children and parents sifting through heaps of trash, just to find overlooked morsels of food. But we're also hearing stories about pasta protests in Italy, and Costco stores rationing rice in the U.S. So how are these two seemingly disparate scenes -- Haiti and Costco -- related? And how did the situation get this bad so quickly?

Economist Jeffrey Sachs will break it down for us, and he'll offer some suggestions for how we can mitigate the damage. And we want to hear from you. How has the high cost of food affected your life? Have you had to give up some things you would normally buy, or are you literally having trouble putting food on the table?

Check out more pictures from Tyler's recent trip to Haiti here.

There is a small zoo in Qalqilya, in the West Bank. It was built in 1986, just before the first Palestinian intifada, with space for Shetland ponies, vervet monkeys, an ibex and a hyena, and several dozen other animals. Since then, it has fallen into disrepair. There are few visitors. And the zoo gets a fraction of the funding it needs.

Dr. Sami Khader, "the only zoo veterinarian in the Palestinian territories," is the subject of a new book by Amelia Thomas, The Zoo on the Road to Nablus. He hopes that the last Palestinian zoo will be one of the best in the world. Thomas joins us today, at the end of the second hour, to talk about Khader and the zoo. If you've traveled to the West Bank, have you seen it?

Lynn Neary is our esteemed host today (and tomorrow as well). Here's what we're working on:

In our first hour, Howard Berkes, NPR's rural affairs correspondent, will give us an update on the young children who were recently removed from a polygamist compound in Texas. We will also hear from a spokesman for the families whose children are in state custody, an expert on Texas family law, and the president of "The Children's Shelter," a non-profit company in San Antonio that has taken-in 22 children from the compound. Following that, Les Gelb will explain whether or not we should debate with an enemy, especially if that enemy is a terrorist.

The head of the United Nations World Food Program has called the current global food crisis a "silent tsunami." It has been predicted that increases in food prices could leave more than 100 million people hungry. In our second hour, we will talk to a photographer who recently traveled to Haiti and returned with pictures of Haitians, dealing with the food shortage, and we'll speak with the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Jeffrey Sachs. At the end of the hour, journalist Amelia Thomas talks about the last Palestinian zoo that is located on the very edge of the West Bank. Her latest book is entitled The Zoo on the Road to Nablus.

Julie is 31. She has been on antidepressants since she was 14 years old. She told Dr. Richard Friedman that the medication saved her life. And in an op-ed in The New York Times he explains:

But now she was raising an equally fundamental question: how the drugs might have affected her psychological development and core identity.

It was not an issue I had seriously considered before. Most of my patients, who are adults, developed their psychiatric problems after they had a pretty clear idea of who they were as individuals. During treatment, most of them could tell me whether they were back to their normal baseline.

Dr. Friedman describes a dilemma for doctors and young patients... The medication, he says, saves lives, but at the same time he argues that doctors don't know enough about the long term effects. The title of the article sums it up nicely: "Who Are We? Coming of Age on Antidepressants"

We'll talk with Dr. Friedman on the show today, and with Dr. Norman Rosenthal, who has researched antidepressants for the last 25 years. If you've taken drugs like Prozac or Zoloft since adolescence, how has it affected you?

We're all familiar with the age-old archetype of the nagging mom who chides, "No politics at the dinner table!" But what about in the workplace? It seems now more than ever people are chatting about the presidential campaigns. It's such an easy topic for disagreement, and I imagine it can lead to some pretty heated arguments around the water cooler. I have a friend who says she doesn't express her political opinion at meetings because she voted differently than everyone else in the office. Another friend was hit up for a donation for a candidate he doesn't support, and when he declined, it created a whole lot of unwanted awkwardness around his coworkers. Ask Amy columnist Amy Dickinson joins us today to give us savvy tips about how to discuss politics in a workplace environment. Do you chat about politics at work? Tell us your horror stories, and success stories.

Fahrenheit 451.

Source: St. Patrick's Academy Yearbook, Vincent Hawley collection

 

In elementary school, a contingent of classmates began to collect Marvel cards. They were vivid things, glimmering with metallic foil. Spiderman. Doctor Doom. Magneto. There were mutant men with fantastic powers and a propensity for violence. And there were mutant women with fantastic powers, a propensity for violence, and superhuman anatomy. After a while, a group of parents protested. There is no room for this in a classroom, they said. Or on the playground, they continued. It was a Montessori school, so we had a healthy debate about the cards. Are they offensive? Did they have any value? Ultimately, we decided, they would stay in our cubbies 'til recess.

In his new book, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, David Hajdu writes about another comic-related scandal, admittedly of greater importance than the one I lived through. (You can see some images from his book here.)

In the 1950s, there was a nation-wide movement to censor comic books. He'll join us in the second hour, to talk about it. If you've read and collected comic books, did you ever suspect that they were censored? How important is sex and violence in a comic book? Do you think there is more sex and violence in comic books today?

When I was growing up, my mom subscribed to The Frugal Gazette, "a monthly newsletter dedicated to provide information and encouragment [sic] for those in pursuit of frugality." Amy Dacyczyn published it from her house in Newtown, Connecticut.

In the preface to her book, The Tightwad Gazette, she includes "A Word of Caution."

Tightwads are by nature unconventional. We push the normal limits to make things las longer. We reuse things in unusual ways. We experiment constantly to find new, cheaper ways to do almost everything.

As the value of the dollar continues to diminish, frugality is en vogue once again. I can't find a website for The Frugal Gazette, unfortunately. Did it go out of business? Natalie P. McNeal, a reporter for the Miami Herald, is pinching pennies. And blogging about it.

McNeal, alias "The Frugalista," has decided to "go a month without shopping, eating out, manicures, eyebrow waxing and/or hair salon visits."

Have you become a frugalista, too? What are some of the challenges you've faced, cutting back, saving money?

In our first hour today, we will talk to two doctors about the long-term effects of taking anti-depressants and will explain the physiological and psychological effects of taking them for many years. Tell us your story. Did you grow up on anti-depressants? How has this affected you? At the end of the hour, do musings, debates or all out rants about this presidential election have any place in the workplace? We'll ask syndicated columnist "Ask Amy" how to handle political discussions at work.

In our second hour, author David Hajdu explains how the early censorship of comic books created a movement that contributed to the demise of businesses, economic stability and the behavior of its young readers. Hajdu takes a look at the evolution of comic books and graphic novels in his new book, The 10 Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America. Which side of the comic book generation gap are you on? Following that, blogger and Miami Herald reporter Natalie McNeal talks about the extent of her personal "vow of frugality" as a way to get right with her money.

Suggestion box 2.0?

Source: shawnblog

Jeff Jarvis has an interesting piece in Business Week on the latest iteration of corporate suggestion boxes. Starbucks and Dell, among others, created websites that solicit customers' ideas... One wants ice cubes made of coffee so the iced coffees don't get watered down; another wants shelves in the bathrooms to hold their drinks when they can't hold their water any longer. Suggestion boxes are infamous for being completely ignored, but Jarvis talked with the head tech guy behind the Starbucks site, who promises to make the connection between customer and company a meaningful one:

"To close that loop in an authentic way," he argues, the company must make a commitment to "building those ideas together with customers.... We're truly going to adopt it into our business process, into product development, experience development, and store design."

The full article is online here. And I'll throw open our suggestion box for the day... If you could pick any company to create a suggestion site, which would it be? And what suggestion would you make?

The Punxsutawney primary was yesterday and Hillary Clinton saw a big win, and now there will be 6 more weeks of campaigning for the Democrats. Clinton won by a sizeable margin over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary, and used the win to rally supporters, highlight weaknesses in Obama's campaign, and look ahead to the next primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. The talk of Clinton dropping out is gone, for now. And looking at the exit polls, both candidates still have work to do... Clinton registered low in perceptions of honesty, and Obama got clobbered among working class voters, and older voters. We'll talk with strategists from both campaigns about how they will adapt and continue the fight. Our political junkie is in "news special" mode today, in front of a live audience at the Newseum in Washington, DC. If you're in PA, IN, or NC... How are the campaigns playing out where you live?

An article in the New York Times about the relationship between the media and the Pentagon has ruffled some feathers and uniforms. The David Barstow piece (read it here) alleges that many of the military analysts you see regularly on television, and hear on the radio, were given talking points by the Pentagon. One of these former officers was on contract with NPR News, which gives us a perfect opportunity to talk about the relationship -- inside the Newseum, no less, whose mission is exactly to study these kinds of ethical questions that journalists face. Today, you'll hear Ken Silverstein, blogger and Harper's Washington editor, who has written regularly about the issue of the Pentagon and its so-called "surrogates." You'll also hear from Michael Goldfarb, blogger and online Weekly Standard editor, who participated in the Pentagon's "Bloggers Roundtable." Goldfarb argues that there's a sort of Casablanca effect here -- the NYT is shocked, shocked to find that there are "Generals who know people at the Pentagon." Transparency is paramount here -- let us know how you felt about the story. Brian Duffy, NPR's managing editor will be here to help us understand NPR's position in all this.

I get stressed enough as it is blogging for BOTN in my air conditioned office in DC, so I can't even imagine what it would be like to blog from the streets of Baghdad. Back in February we spoke with American citizen journalist Michael Yon about his dispatches from the war. He has spent most of the last three years reporting from Iraq, but now he's back in the States to talk about his new book, Moment of Truth in Iraq. In it, he gives us a deeper look at his coverage of the battlefield, and what it's like to blog in one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. You can read his online magazine here. He'll join us today in the Knight studio at the Newseum, so if you have any questions for him, let us know.

Voters cast their ballots in the presidential primary in Butler, PA, yesterday.

Source: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

 

Late last night, Neal hosted a live Election News Special. It was my first time working such a show, and I gotta say, it felt like we were at radio camp and this was the culminating project at the end of the summer. We had to constantly think on our feet in order to deal with last minute guest cancellations and the candidates' unpredictable speaking schedules. Adrenaline was high. At one point, I literally hugged the wall in the screening room out of nervousness as Neal vamped up to the start of Clinton's victory speech. Live radio is all about timing, and I thought he was going to talk over her since he was watching the feed on TV, which is on a delay. But, my worries were quickly put to rest -- Neal's a pro, and his timing was perfect. It was an amazing experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Our post-primary analysis included input from pollsters, strategists, NPR's political editor Ken Rudin, and Congressman Jason Altmire (D-PA), who talked about why he's still an undecided superdelegate. Best of all, we heard from you, the listeners. One caller, Liz, said she drove all the way from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to help campaign for Clinton. She described the atmosphere there as "electric" and "thrilling." When people from the street honked and yelled out, "Go Obama!" her group of Clinton supporters yelled back, "No, Chelsea's mama!" Another caller, Sky, an Obama supporter, went door to door in Allentown, PA, encouraging people to vote. He said most of the working class people he talked to were very excited about Obama. So tell us, if you were in Pennsylvania yesterday, what was the atmosphere like, and how busy were the polls?

For the last year, NPR and National Geographic have collaborated on Climate Connections, a series about global warming. Reporters traveled around the world, to Antarctica, New Orleans, Amsterdam, and beyond.

Today is Earth Day, and two of NPR's science correspondents, Richard Harris and Christopher Joyce, will join us, to reflect on the year-long series. What have you learned about climate change? What questions do you have about global warming? Did a particular piece stand out to you? Did it change your mind?

Author Steven Kurutz.

Source: Karen Gordon

I've been a big fan of rock music since high school, so I'm familiar with cover bands, and bands that cover the odd Zeppelin or Who song in their sets. But I have to admit, I was blithely unaware of the phenomenon of tribute bands... until now. Author Steven Kurutz has written a new book, Like a Rolling Stone: The Strange Life of a Tribute Band, which chronicles the experiences of two Rolling Stones tribute bands, the Sticky Fingers and the Blushing Brides. He'll join us in our first hour to share the stories; but first, these words from the man himself:

If you spend your teens being obsessed with rock music, as I did, you end up reading a lot of rock and roll books. I'm thinking here of classics of the genre like Stephen Davis' Led Zeppelin bio, Hammer of the Gods, or Dance with the Devil, Stanley Booth's account of the Stones' '69 tour. My book, Like A Rolling Stone, is sort of a quirky addition to the genre. Instead of touring with rock stars, I toured with musicians who pretend to be rock stars. And it wasn't just "Mick" and "Keith" who were in character. In a strange way, I played my own role -- the "rock journalist" who's given open access in exchange for writing it all down and adding a dose of mythology. In short, I was the tribute version of Davis or Booth and that meta quality made for an interesting reporting experience. I remember one day in particular. I was driving to a gig in North Carolina with Kevin Gleeson, who played Keith Richards in Sticky Fingers and rarely broke character. Somewhere over the Carolina border my front tire blew out. There I am pulled off alongside the Interstate, the traffic whizzing by, watching a guy dressed exactly like Keith Richards jack up my car. The surreality of the moment -- and many others like it -- didn't escape me. Sure, Stanley Booth got to hang out with the Stones and witness Altamont. But did Keith Richards ever change a flat tire on his car? - Steven Kurutz

Check out Steven's pictures from his time on the road with the Sticky Fingers, after the jump.

Continue reading "Steven Kurutz on Tribute Bands" >

Earlier this month, a 19-year-old man in Maryland was convicted of fatally shooting a stranger, and prosecutors charge that he did it to make a name for himself in his gang, MS-13. It's been called "the most dangerous gang in America" and reaches throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. Discovery en Espanol aired a documentary focused on the gang called, Maras: A Regional Threat. We'll talk with one of the producers of that documentary on the show today, and with a former member. If you have any personal experience with MS-13, or street gangs in general, tell us how it affected you.

The countdown to the Olympic Games in Beijing continues, along with the stories of protests in Tibet, arms shipments to Zimbabwe, and China's connections to Sudan. Behind the front pages, though, is a country taking its role as host very, very seriously. William Langewiesche, Vanity Fair's international correspondent, spent some time flying around China, reporting on the many fascinating efforts at forced self-improvement, and discovering if any of it will likely pay off for Beijing. Here's just a snippet:

At the forefront stand the 15 million residents of Greater Beijing. In preparation for the Games, a municipal agency called the Capital Ethics Development Office is trying to whip them into shape, with campaigns against spitting on the street, using foul language (even though in Chinese), or getting rowdy while watching, for instance, Ping-Pong matches on TV. A survey conducted by Renmin University in 2007 showed that progress was being made (naturally), and that over the previous year public spitting had been reduced by 2.41 percent. According to the Chinese state news service, the survey was based on observations from 300,000 people at 320 public places and in 200,000 cars. Littering was down 2.44 percent. Meanwhile, the Civic Index was up by 4.32 percent. The Civic Index scores the Beijing population on its compliance with rules regarding public health and public order, attitudes toward strangers, etiquette at sporting events, and demonstrable enthusiasm for the Olympic Games. I myself have conducted a survey, based on 457.5 observations, and have concluded that 98 percent of the Chinese lack any measurable sense of irony. This is a preliminary finding only, and further funding is required, but there is no doubt that the Chinese Earnestness Index is extremely high.

The glimmering new airport terminal, "Queuing Day," and karaoke all make appearances in the piece, and it's well worth the read. We'll talk with Langewiesche on the show today about the trip, and what China's doing to buff it's image ahead of the games. Any of you been to China recently? What kind of preparations have you seen, if any?

Happy Earth Day! We'll show our awareness and appreciation for the Earth and the environment in our first hour. Richard Harris and Chris Joyce, two of our science correspondents, will join us to talk about their reporting for NPR's year long series, Climate Connections with National Geographic. The series takes you on a journey around the globe with stories about "how the climate changes people and how people change the climate." They will tell us how our planet is doing... and what we are doing to our planet. At the end of the hour, author Steven Kurutz shows us what it really takes to be a rock star that acts like a rock star. Kurutz's new book, Like a Rolling Stone takes us backstage, onstage and on the road with Sticky Fingers, a Rolling Stones tribute band.

Earlier this month, a jury convicted a member of the street gang MS-13 for shooting and killing a stranger in a Maryland suburb. MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, originated in Los Angeles and has spread to include member cells throughout the United States, Mexico, Central and South America. It has become the biggest and fastest-growing of the Latin American street gangs and is gaining the reputation as the world's most dangerous gang. In today's second hour, a former member of MS-13 will talk about how the gang is organized, how it grew and why people feel compelled to become a member. At the end of the hour, Vanity Fair writer William Langewiesche talks about his recent trip to China, and explains why he feels Beijing is the perfect venue for this summer's Olympic Games. Langewiesche's article Beijing's Olympic Makeover appears in this month's issue of Vanity Fair.

Comedian Chris Rock performs in Phoenix, Arizona in February.

Source: Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for HollyRod Foundation

Disclaimer: the following is an exercise in unabashed braggadocio. Sorry, no apologies.

I've seen Chris Rock perform twice in the past four days. He made a stop at DC's Constitution Hall as part of his current No Apologies tour, and I eagerly signed up for the fun. On Friday night, our seats were fifth row, center. FIFTH ROW, CENTER!!! Chris made eye contact with me several times. It was un. be. lievable. His set included treatments of inter-racial dating; the PC outcry surrounding Imus and Isaiah Washington's gaffes; and, of course, McCain, Clinton and Obama as presidential hopefuls. He also managed to slip in a few amusing jabs about Bush, OJ, Anna Nicole, and Flava Flav. I could not stop laughing for the entire 110 minutes he was on stage. I had to massage my face afterward, it hurt so much. I'm still laughing. Laughter may be the best medicine, but I never thought I'd need additional medicine to recuperate.

Then last night, my friend called me with an extra ticket, and I selfishly accepted the invitation to see him again. This time the seats weren't quite as glamorous, and the jokes weren't as funny 'cause I knew what was coming, but I did learn something about the mechanics of stand-up comedy. Although the core of his routine was largely the same, there were some noticeable differences between his last and first night performances. The second time around, he was much more laid back, a little loopy even, and he riffed and took risks more freely. At one point, he seemed to forget where he was going with a joke. I almost yelled the punchline from the audience to help him out. One more Long Island, and I would've. I realized that in situations like that, a comedian needs to be able to think on his feet in order to come up with creative, seemingly spontaneous ways to get back to the scripted routine. And think on his feet he did -- he even discovered a few new gems in the process. I also noticed that some of his jokes were predicated on a particular response from the audience -- a nuanced reaction or a hesitant pause -- and if we didn't give it to him at first, he'd wait for it or skillfully drag it out of us before he continued. Final consensus? His routine's not HBO-ready yet, but it's close.

When have you been able to look behind the curtain of a comedy routine? What did you discover, and what surprised you the most? And who's your favorite comedian you've seen perform live?

Tough times for the airline industry.

Source: David McNew/Getty Images

If you've been in an airport recently, you've caught the faint scent of overcooked coffee and desperation (it smells sort of sweaty). The grounding of flights due to safety concerns, airlines struggling to stay afloat (what a weird metaphor), and rising prices have all combined to turn the airport into a sort of anxiety dungeon. So today, we're going to take you on a tour of the 2008 summer airline soap opera -- from company offices to the tarmac -- and what it means for your vacation.

This new Time magazine cover stirred up some controversy. The editors took the iconic photograph of U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima and put a tree in place of the U.S. flag. The border of the magazine is green, not red, and the headline reads, "How to Win the War On Global Warming." Doctoring the Iwo Jima image is a "disgrace," in the words of one World War II veteran. The comparison between the events in 1945 and global warming, he says, is disrespectful. Time made the decision to run the edited image for a reason, and we'll talk with one of their editors about that decision, and the reaction to it. What do you think... Is the image a call to arms on global warming, or in poor taste?

Earlier today.

maple's mama

 

It's Patriots' Day in Massachusetts. As I understand it, there are three ways to celebrate the holiday.

1. You can participate in, or watch, reenactments of important battles from the Revolutionary War (Concord and Lexington).

2. You can festoon your front door with bright flags and buntings

3. You can stand on a Boston sidewalk, holding orange slices and bottles of water, to cheer for endurance athletes.

My brother, an avid runner, is celebrating his second Patriots' Day today. He drove across Massachusetts, from Williamstown to Newton, to watch Robert Cheruiyot, Dire Tune, and some 25,000 other marathoners amble up Heartbreak Hill.

It wasn't as competitive as usual this year, he told me. (The London Marathon was last week, and America's best female marathoners ran yesterday, hoping to qualify for the Olympics.) But the streets were lined with spectators.

On today's program, we're going to talk about the marathon. Who runs them? Why do they do it? (I've asked myself this question over and over again.) And what's the best way to train for one? Marathoners John Bingham and Gabriel Sherman will join us to answer these questions, and field yours.

The marathon has become a badge of athleticism for hundreds of thousands.... Should it be? If you've run one, we'd love to hear your story.

You've probably run into them at some point... People who claim to be open-minded and say they enjoy a good argument, but who really just like to have their own arguments bolstered. Try to disagree, and they want no part of it. Susan Jacoby calls this "Talking to Ourselves" in an op-ed over the weekend in the Los Angeles Times. She joins us on the Opinion Page today to talk about why it seems more Americans are unwilling to listen to opposing views.

Summer is fast approaching and so is the merger between Northwest and Delta airlines. In our first hour we'll talk about what is happening in the airline industry, and what airline consolidations could mean for travelers still hoping to snag a low fare to their next destination. At the end of the first hour, we'll talk about the latest cover of Time magazine. It boasts a green border and the famous photo of Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima -- with a crucial difference -- they're raising a tree instead of an American flag. Romesh Ratnesar, the deputy managing editor of the magazine, talks about the unfavorable reaction the cover has received -- critics say the photo unfairly compares World War Two to global warming.

Today, defending champion Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won his fourth Boston Marathon in six years -- and claimed the largest Boston marathon purse ever. We want to hear from you. Are you a marathon runner? What's the experience really like? And seriously....why do you do it? Speaking of running...our producers are making a mad dash to confirm our final show topic of the day. So stay tuned!

My second year at Juilliard, a girl in my viola studio jumped out her window. It was, of course, horrifying -- but it was also a shock. The usual refrain floated around the cafeteria, "She seemed so happy!" Juilliard is a pressure cooker -- there's no doubt about that -- but what occurs to me now, is that, at the time, I would have had very little idea of where to go for help if I had been severely depressed. And given that students don't do the kind of work at Juilliard that might indicate emotional problems, it's hard to see how an adult could have seen what was going on with that particular student (does playing your Beethoven with particular passion indicate a problem, or a solution...). Since my tenure at Juilliard a thousand years ago, the mental health system has been utterly transformed, much like other colleges reacted after the tragedy at Virginia Tech a year ago. Today we're going to focus on those changes, particularly in Cornell's approach (which was before the VA Tech events). And we're going to talk to a professor from my other alma mater -- the irreplaceable Tristan Davies at Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. He reads hundreds of pieces of creative writing -- and has had to step in from time to time when a red flag appears.

Morgan Spurlock in his new documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

Daniel Marracino/The Weinstein Company, 2008

No, he did not find Osama bin Laden. And I don't think that's a spoiler. But Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame) did travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan with a camera in search of the famous terrorist, and some answers. In his new documentary, Where in the World is Osama bin Laden, he wanted to understand America's public enemy No. 1, and what he sees as a culture of fear in the U.S. Reviews so far are decent: well-paced and thoughtful, if too much Morgan. Come Friday you can see for yourself, the film opens this weekend. Morgan Spurlock joins Neal on the show today to talk about the film, how he made it, and how he decided to hunt the world's most wanted man as a follow-up to Super Size Me. Want to ask Morgan Spurlock a question? Post it here.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, worldwide financial markets grew dramatically. Globalization made the world seem smaller. All of a sudden, there were new opportunities for trade, for investment.

In a new book, McMafia: A Journey Through The Global Criminal Underworld, Misha Glenny explores an unforeseen effect of globalization. The end of communism opened doors for enterprising criminals. Crime families became crime corporations. Globalization paved the way for what Glenny calls, a "New Silk Route." A way for criminals to transport drugs, money, weapons, and people to Europe and the United States.

If you have a question about the international black market, leave it here.

New York Times health columnist Tara Parker-Pope, who published "Life as a Tall Girl" on her Well blog, with Becky outside the Times' Page One meeting room.

Source: Rebecca Thomas

For some people, their short height has always proved a challenge -- it can be difficult to get people to take you seriously when they're staring down at you, not to mention the inconvenience of long inseams and movie theaters without stadium seating. But for others, life is observed from on high, literally, and they never seem to need a ladder to reach that top shelf. At 6'4'', Rebecca Thomas has towered over people her entire life, and it's been one tall order for people not to gawk, point and giggle at her impressive stature. She joins us today to tell her story; but, first, these thoughts:

As a college student from a small town in Wisconsin, I never thought I'd be a guest on NPR's Talk of the Nation. But ever since my essay "Life as a Tall Girl" was published on The New York Times Well blog, I've done a lot of things I never thought I'd do. My story has sprouted legs and I'm having a great time coming along for the ride! Today I'll talk about my experiences as a tall girl growing up (I'm 21 years old and 6'4"). I've never fit the physical standard for the American woman -- I exceed it! I'm also looking forward to talking to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jane Smiley, who commented on my original essay. She's 6'2" and I have a suspicion that she had a worse time growing up than I did. My mom is 52 years old, only 5'10" and she had trouble finding a size 10 shoe and pants with a 34" inseam when she was younger. I think people now are more accepting of tall women (but they still like to stare).

With all the reactions my story has gotten, I've had great opportunities to meet new people and go new places. But personally, the best thing to come out of all this is my newfound acceptance for the way I am. I've been okay about my height for a couple of years now; but all the encouragement I've received these past few weeks have forced me to make a commitment to be myself, embrace how I look, and be grateful for all my attributes and talents. I sincerely hope my story has given some people a fresh perspective on themselves as well.

You can read more from Rebecca here, on her blog. Are you extremely tall, or extremely short? What was it like growing up? And how did your height shape who you are?

In the year since Seung-Hui Cho opened fire at Virginia Tech and killed thirty-two students and faculty members before turning the gun on himself, colleges across the country have sought to bolster their counseling departments and health services in an attempt to identify troubled students before they do harm to themselves or others. Gregory Eells, the director of counseling and psychological services at Cornell University, will talk about his school's unique risk assessment services, how they are working, and what happens when a professor notices a "red flag" in a student's behavior. At the end of the first hour, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock talks about going on the hunt in several middle east countries for his latest documentary Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?

Journalist Misha Glenny will be our guest in the second hour. He has written a new book entitled, McMafia: A Journey Through The Global Criminal Underworld in which Glenny outlines that while globalization may have given the world new opportunities for trade and investments, it also gave rise to a global black market, and made it easier for criminal networks to do business. Following that, we'll talk to two women who are faaaar from vertically challenged and find out what it's really like to be a woman over six feet tall.

Greg Maddux in Cubbie blue during the 2006 season.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

I lived in Chicago during the era of Greg Maddux. No World Series, but if you're not gonna win a Series you might as well get to watch arguably the best (and smartest) pitcher in the game. If you don't follow baseball, this story by Tim Keown over at ESPN.com is the only introduction you'll need to Maddux. And if you know pro ball already, you'll only appreciate lines like this all the more:

DISCLAIMER: Greg Maddux is quoted in this story saying exceedingly humble things. You are under no obligation to believe them. You are encouraged to believe in the spirit of the words-Maddux is almost obsessively self-deprecating-but that does not make them true. And when he says, "Whenever you've had a little success in this game, people think you know more than you do," don't believe that one at all.

Keown puts in several disclaimers in the piece, all of them warnings to not believe the anti-hype Maddux spews. Besides, he quotes enough coaches and athletes with opposing views to make a convincing case that Maddux is deserving of the myth:

How many times had he heard someone say it? How many times over the past 22 years had some catcher or coach or broadcaster said, "Greg Maddux? I bet you could catch him with your eyes closed"? Sounded plausible enough, maybe coaxed a chuckle or two from the pitcher, but mostly it was just something to say. Nobody realized it was just a matter of time before somebody decided to prove it.

And they did. Still, in case the cult of Greg grows too large after reading his article, Keown did a little follow-up research proving that, yes, Greg Maddux is only human.

October 1964: Presidential hopeful Barry Goldwater addressing a campaign rally at Madison Sqaure Garden in New York.

Source: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Yes, Barry, not Barrie. Senator Barry Goldwater may have misspelled his name, but it didn't make him any less influential. Today, at the Newseum, we'll be remembering the man whose ideas sparked a movement -- with his son, former California Congressman Barry Goldwater Junior, and John Dean. They've published a book of his private writings, called Pure Goldwater, which collects a number of ideas and feelings about Nixon, conservativism, and his real feelings about the rise of the far right. Questions? Post 'em here. Plus, we're kicking the whole thing off with our regular hit of the Political Junkie -- that's Ken Rudin, inside the Newseum, causing trouble I expect.

The CBS News Team -- broadcast journalists Mike Wallace, Eric Sevareid, John Hart, Walter Cronkite, Roger Mudd and Dan Rather -- pictured in May, 1972.

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

 

In his new book, The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News, Roger Mudd chronicles his trajectory from copy boy to network anchor, and he fondly remembers what it was like during "The Golden Age," as he calls it. "At the heart of the CBS News operation was its Washington bureau--a proud, competitive, and talented cadre of reporters, correspondents, producers, editors, and executives who so dominated the network's news division that it became almost an independent duchy."

Back then, he and four other correspondents, Dan Rather, Daniel Schorr, Martin Kalb, and George Herman, sat in a row of cubicles near the entrance to the network's Washington bureau:

Lesley Stahl said we looked like miniatures in a shadow box, maybe even mannequins in a Saks Fifth Avenue window. She was talking about her first look at five of America's most distinguished television correspondents on the first day she came to work at the CBS Washington bureau. What Lesley saw along the south wall of the newsroom were five cubicles, each about six-feet-by-eight, their walls covered in a beige textured paper, and each equipped with a desk, a chair, a typewriter, a telephone, and a television star.

Mudd joins us today, with his former colleague, Bob Schieffer, to talk about the heyday of network news, and to offer their thoughts on its future. There were a few grim reports about CBS News last week. (Our own media correspondent, David Folkenflik, summed it up last night.)

If you used to watch Mudd, share your memories with us. And if you have questions for him, leave them here.

Slate.com ran an excerpt last month of Eric Lichtblau's new book, Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice. It gave a fascinating behind the scenes look at how the exclusive story of the NSA's warrantless wiretap program made it to the front page of the New York Times over the strong objections of the White House. To run the story, the administration argued, would be to seriously damage national security. In the end, the Times held the story for more than a year before running with it on December 16, 2005. Why did they run it? Why did they hold it? And how did the relationship between government and the press change in the months after 9/11? We'll ask Eric Lichtblau about it. And tell us what you think... send us your comments.

A Cuban man takes pictures with his new cell phone in Havana.

Source: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

Cubans can now chat on cell phones thanks to their new president, Raul Castro, who recently lifted the ban on consumer cell phones. That means they get to join the ranks of all those frustrated over dropped calls, roaming charges, and annoying ring tones. The one obvious hiccup in this new perk, however, is the cost -- it costs about $120 to activate a cell phone in Cuba, which is about half a year's salary for many people there. But, evidently, that hasn't stopped people from lining up around the block to purchase them.

And this isn't the only change Cuba has seen recently. DVD players and pressure cookers are more widely available, unused land is now open to private farmers, and wealthy Cubans are now permitted to rent cars and vacation at luxury hotels. Julia Sweig, a Senior Fellow and Director of Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, will join us to take questions about the changes going on in Cuba. So if you've got one, leave it here.

Devoted readers (all five of you -- Hi, Mom!), it is my sad duty to inform you that due to furious preparations for the Newseum, none of us will be able to make our random little contribution to the blog belles-lettres this morning. Preparing for a weekly remote is a bit like having a wedding every week (let's home David doesn't end up a runaway bride). In any case, more entries to come -- it's a day of golden oldies today at the Newseum, so you'll want to tune up the wireless and give it a listen.

Imagine a world in which we could design our own babies. What would that world look like? My first inclination is to say that it would be a reflection of what our society prizes most -- extreme athleticism, bodily perfection, and high intellectual achievement. You could conceivably imagine a Mensa candidate who can dunk like Jordan and win the Miss. America crown. But on second thought, I wonder if some parents-to-be, for the sake of building character, would deliberately opt for an abnormally large nose or blindness, or a child that is hopelessly uncoordinated. Hmm...

Advances in genetic research promise to mitigate the effects of disease; but, 20 years from now, science may also give us the opportunity to engineer what our children will look and be like. Today, we'll talk about the implications and ethical concerns of this kind of technology. Ronald Green, author of Babies by Design: The Ethics of Genetic Choice, and Marcy Darnovsky, the associate director at The Center For Genetics and Society, join us to field your questions. So tell us, do you desire a world in which everyone is genetically "perfect"? If you have questions or concerns about the ethics of genetic engineering, or what this technology means, leave them here.

Here in Washington, we're all getting ready for the pope's visit tomorrow (Vatican One lands this afternoon). Streets will be closed off, buses re-routed, and thousands of people are expected to converge along the route of the popemobile. Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit the ballpark here in D.C., and Yankee Stadium in New York (one National League, one American League, to be fair). He'll hold public Mass on Sunday. And there are stops along the way over the course of six days. So many plans and logistics and details come into play with a visit like this, and Sewell Chan gives an inside peek in an article in The New York Times. Chan joins us on the show today. And we'll talk with Michael McGough, who wrote the piece, "Papal Dress Code" for the Los Angeles Times. Every detail of the pope's clothing contains meaning of some kind, and he'll tell us what to look for once Pope Benedict arrives.

A seriously great piece of history, made into a seriously great piece of art.

Source: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Some historical miniseries are like eating your vegetables -- I confess, I was afraid that HBO's John Adams would be a beautiful piece of asparagus. If it is, it is smothered in perfect hollandaise sauce. I can't stop talking about it -- it's a really intimate version of the birth of the country. Yes, there's a revolution, and a less then genteel tea party -- but most of that happens off camera. History is written in the arguments -- and the passionate commitment and conversation of Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin (a scene-thieving Tom Wilkinson), and the wonderfully patient Abigail Adams. John Adams is one of the only times I've seen a really adult relationship portrayed -- Abigail and John are a heartbreakingly beautiful love story, as well as patriots (plus, there's a wonderful love scene -- grown up sex, finally, on tv). Paul Giamatti is so good -- so virtuously eccentric -- I find myself fending off tears at least twice an episode. We're talking to Tom Hooper, the director, today, and boy, do I have a lot of questions. Been watching it? What are yours?

Nice anvil!

Source: iamthebestartist

Today, we're welcoming WBHM and WSGN (Birmingham and Gadsden, Alabama, respectively), and we always like to showcase a little local culture when we get new listeners. Today we're talking to the good folks at the Vulcan Park and Museum, home of the steel statue of Vulcan, the god of the forge, and apparently of squats, too. Welcome to our new listeners!

(Today, we promise not to ask you to call in and explain why you waited until the last minute to turn in your taxes.)

We've named our first hour topic "Designer Babies," but we're not talking about trendy onesies designed by Prada. Guests on the show will detail advances that are being made in human genetic engineering. In other words, in about 20 years, YOU may have the ability to actually design your baby... from what he or she (your choice) will actually look like to how smart or athletic they will be. We'll talk about the implications and ethical concerns of choosing to design the "perfect" baby. Following that, we'll talk with two reporters about final preparations for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States. The Pope is scheduled to arrive in Washington today.

Now, I have not yet watched the HBO miniseries John Adams, but I know plenty of people who are deeply engrossed in it every week. And after listening to their rave reviews, I'm completely convinced that I am missing something special. By the end of today's second hour, I'm sure I'll be sending out an email begging to borrow the first episode. The miniseries is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of John Adams by David McCullough. McCullough will be our guest on our program, along with Tom Hooper, the director of the HBO miniseries. At the end of the hour, we'll read from your emails and blog comments, and say a heart-felt "hello" to our new Talk of the Nation listeners in Birmingham, Alabama. Welcome WBHM and WSGN!!!!

Pope John Paul II on a popemobile in Vatican City.

Franco Origlia/Getty Images

 

During the summer between my sophomore and junior years in high school, I had the good fortune of hearing Pope John Paul II speak in Rome, Italy. I was sent with a group of students to witness the beatification of our school's namesake, Father Chaminade. My dad, an Italian Catholic, had always loved John Paul, so I grew up hearing stories about him. I was excited to see the man in action, finally. When we got there, the scene was beyond impressive: St. Peter's Square was a sea of hundreds of thousands of people, and it seemed as though every nationality was represented. There were metal detectors, gelato carts, and peddlers selling knickknacks imprinted with the pope's face. In all the excitement, I knocked over two little Italian ladies as I ran to save seats in the seventh row (!!!).* When he came out on stage, the crowd undulated with cheers and applause. The respect and sheer adulation he commanded was the first I had seen of its kind. If I saw one person cry, I saw a hundred. It was almost like a rock concert, expect instead of leather, metal-studded wristbands and Motley Crue haircuts, people were doused in crosses and swung their rosaries to chants of "Pape! Pape!" From what I can remember of the ceremony, John Paul spoke something like seven different languages, and the effects of his Parkinson's were prominently on display. But he persevered for more than an hour, and then -- then -- came his ride on the popemobile! He rode around, waving to his legions, in a gold chair on the back of a mini, truck-like contraption. People threw out flowers and waved flags of their countries of origin. We were able to snap a couple close-up shots, and he blessed all our souvenirs.**

Starting today, Pope Benedict XVI is set to visit the United States for six days, stopping in both Washington, DC and New York City. And I gotta say, the new popemobile is sick*** -- it's been upgraded from that of something resembling a golf cart to a Mercedes Benz, literally.

* Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I mean, how many times do you get to see the pope in Rome? And what good is it if he looks like an ant in all your pictures?
** Which, really, is the most important thing.
*** Again, that's a good thing, Mom.

What did he say?

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

 

Last week, at a private fund raiser in San Francisco, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) made this remark:

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive Administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ) couldn't have asked for better fodder. Obama is out of touch with most of America, they said. It was great grist for pundits, bloggers, and editorialists, too. "Senator Obama has had a mostly charmed Presidential run," The Wall Street Journal read, "But the truth is there's much that Americans still don't know about him or what he believes."

What have we learned from what Obama said? For one, there is no privacy on the campaign trail. A private fund raiser, closed to the press? Fuhgeddaboudit. His comments raised some questions. Is he right? Should he have said what he said? How long will it take for him to recover?

In the first hour, we want to hear from the voters Obama described. If you're gun-totin' and God-fearing, are you bitter? How did you react to what he said?

Let's see... There's Google, and Microsoft, and Apple, and online dating, of course. This country is plenty hi-tech. So how is it that Andrew Rasiej argues we're lagging behind when it comes to online government services?

In Estonia, for example, an official website called "Today I Decide," launched by the government press office, allows citizens to comment on draft laws and submit their own ideas for new ones. If a majority of online voters support a draft bill, it is forwarded to the relevant government department for review. Last fall in New Zealand, the government launched a wiki (a site that anyone can edit) to solicit citizen input on the wording of a new national Policing Act before it was formally introduced in parliament.

Add to that list France and England. Whether it's offering suggestions for new legislation, or just asking for voter's opinions, Rasiej says it's time for a digital revolution in Washington. Since we've come so far in using these internet tubes to ask for opinions, drop us a comment and let us know what government services you'd like to see online.

In a backhanded, roundabout way, I kinda, sorta worked for Cal Ripken, Jr., who's our guest later today. Eight summers ago, I did a season of radio play by play for the Aberdeen Arsenal, a team in the independent Atlantic League that was co-owned by a company called Maryland Baseball and Ripken Baseball. Bill Ripken held the title of General Manager and I saw him frequently at home games. His big brother was busy that season playing third base about twenty-five miles down the road at Camden Yards in Baltimore and this will be the first time I've spoken with Cal - and since he'll be at the studio of WYPR, our member station in Baltimore, I will still not have met him in person.

Aberdeen is a gritty little city (some residential parts are very nice but downtown is quite a bit down at the heels, or was in 2000, when I was there) where Cal grew up - his dad, of course, was a long time coach and later the manager of the Orioles - home to the Ripken Museum, Ripken Baseball and Ripken Stadium. The dream, now realized, was to build a beautiful minor league ball park, with a set of youth baseball fields around it, one modeled on the old Memorial Stadium, others on Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. I believe it's all finally in place, but I have yet to visit. Because that was supposed to be MY ballpark. The partnership between the Ripkens and Maryland Baseball frayed - my understanding was that the Maryland Baseball people didn't believe the business plan was on track, while the Ripkens wanted to press ahead. The partnership dissolved, the Aberdeen Arsenal went out of business, I went back to NPR and the park was later built to house a team called the Aberdeen Ironbirds, an Orioles affiliate in the short season A New York Penn League. Sure I'm bitter, but then again, I will always be the one and only Voice of the Aberdeen Arsenal.

Beautiful suspense. And transportation!

Atelier Teee

 

Elevators have always seemed fancy to me. I know that sounds ridiculous -- we've probably all been trapped in a decidedly humble elevator before -- but when I was eighteen, and freshly moved to New York City, "elevator buildings" seemed the height of luxury to me. Those big loft elevators still seem gorgeously Carrie Bradshaw. The thing I really like about elevators is their slow curtain-up feeling -- when the doors start to slide, you get to make your entrance, and people on either side of the doors have a second or two of suspense. Surprise! It's a handsome stranger. Poof! It's your landlord -- to whom you owe the rent. Plus, that tiny little intimacy bubble with your neighbors or co-workers -- trying to figure out what's poking out of their purse -- is such a magical little moment. It is a total fantasy of mine to fall in love with someone I met in an elevator.* (That's not a euphemism -- though I'm sure I've given a lot of really silly smiles to pleasantly confused members of the opposite sex. Spare me your Scarlett/Benicio comments.) In any case, The New Yorker has a lovely and extensive cultural history of the elevator -- and we'll be talking to Nick Paumgarten about it today.

*Sigh. I fell in love on a train, which is sort of like a horizontal elevator.

Last week Senator Barack Obama spoke at a private fundraiser in San Francisco and talked about his challenge to win the vote of the working class in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Here was his explanation:

...it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations....

Obama's remarks were later criticized by his Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton and the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain. In our first hour today, we'll talk about the voters in the working class sector in America. Who are they? What issues are important to them? And are they, in fact, bitter? Following that, we'll talk to Andrew Rasiej about his op-ed that appeared on Politico.com last week about why we should expect more from government websites.

In our second hour, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr will join us to talk about his long career in baseball, and the eight elements of perseverance that make a difference. He outlines them in his book, Get In The Game, now out in paperback. Following that, we'll take a ride with New Yorker staff writer Nick Paumgarten and find out about the strange day-to-day life of an elevator. How do you define your experience with being vertically transported on one? Fondness? Or phobia?

The Brooklyn Flea.

dumbonyc

 

When I was growing up, my family used to scour antique stores and flea markets, looking for old musical instruments, daguerreotypes, and rare books, among other things. On summer vacations, we traced a route from Ipswich, through Essex, to Gloucester, stopping at shops and roadside stands along the way. "Antiquing" was part of our parlance.

Before eBay, it was still possible to find curios at bargain prices. "One man's junk is another man's treasure." My parents were confident that they would stumble upon that precious image, forgotten for decades; that good ol' Gibson, in mint condition, never played. Sure enough, they found those things, and they bartered as best they could for them. It was hit or miss, of course. On some afternoons, they wouldn't find anything. On others, they couldn't find enough room in our Plymouth Grand Voyager to store it all. Collecting, they say, is a lot like fishing or hunting game.

My dad and a few friends used to swap stories about the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show, one of the largest flea markets in the United States. Three times each year, Brimfield, Mass., which claims only 3,000 residents, is overrun. As many as 250,000 visitors travel to the town. Several vast farm fields are filled with vendors, hawking all kinds of knickknacks. Before the show opens, early in the morning, hundreds of dedicated collectors line up, wearing headlamps, carrying flashlights, to get a first look at what is for sale. This is antiquing at its purest, perhaps at its most primitive.

Did the advent of eBay, more than a decade ago, ruin collecting? No. But it certainly changed it. Suddenly, everyone knew what was out there, who had what. Bargains disappeared. Who knew that your old LP's were worth so much, that your childhood toys could fetch a small fortune?

This weekend, I pored over Guy Trebay's piece on the opening of the Brooklyn Flea, "Scavengers on the Urban Savannah." "By the wholly unscientific estimate of the event's organizers," he wrote, some 20,000 New Yorkers traveled to Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, to trade in plus-size vintage clothing, Navajo concha belts, and "the trove of erotic Polaroids the critic and curator Vince Aletti once found heaped in a stall on 25th Street, bought for 50 cents a piece and then included in his recent and glowingly reviewed 'Male' exhibit at the White Columns gallery."

It is good to know that some collectors, in a few small corners of the United States (Brooklyn and Brimfield, at least), hawk clothes, crafts, and crap in person, under bright-blue tarps, on tailgates and flimsy card tables, in person.

If you haven't read Trebay's article, you should. And make sure you look at the photographs that accompany the article. Incredible!

So much has happened since police raided the Texas compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamist sect... More than 400 children are in state custody, at least two men were arrested and charged with interfering with the search of the ranch, and nearly every inch of the 1,700-acre compound has been searched by investigators. Police reported yesterday that they discovered a bed in the large, stone temple, and believe it was used by grown men to have sex with their underage wives after marriage ceremonies. Prosecutors argue they are protecting the children in this case, a lawyer for the FLDS compares the search of the temple to a raid on the Vatican. We'll talk today about the details of this case, why the police went in, and why they haven't found the girl who placed the phone call in the first place. We'll also talk more about how these polygamist sects work.

Your flight's delayed? "Make that a double!"

caribb

 

As an undergraduate in upstate New York, I got to know the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport (ITH) pretty well. When winter hits, in September or October, few flights leave on time. Small propeller planes, scheduled to go to LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), idle on runways; pilots and flight attendants wait for plow crews and deicers; and passengers try to pass the time.

Small-town Ithaca has a small-time airport, with a handful of gates and no bar. A convenience store, which mostly deals in novelty shirts and bumper stickers, has a refrigerator with a modest selection of bottled beer and cheap wine. Ah, to sit in a crowded waiting area with a Budweiser and a bag of Doritos!

Thousands of passengers are stranded today, in airports across the country. American Airlines has decided to ground hundreds of planes. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and O'Hare International Airport (ORD), normally bustling hubs, desperate, thrifty, and powerless fliers wait for their flights; busy, enterprising, and self-important travelers harangue their travel agents.

We want to know what you do when your flight is delayed. Do you hit the bar? Do you go for a massage? Do you splurge for a hotel room? Do you commiserate with strangers? Are there certain airports at which you prefer to be stranded?

Marcus Miller.

Source: Concord Records, Photo by Kumiko Higo

Okay, I probably should admit right off the bat that I'm a bit biased when it comes to bass players. Let's just say that my ears are always tuned to a low E. I am extremely reluctant to even say this on a blog about Marcus Miller, but I play the bass guitar. Really, I think I was moved by Marcus Miller's playing long before I ever touched an E string. The bass is often the first thing I hear in any given song. I just didn't know at the time that almost every song I fell in love with had listed somewhere in the album credits, bass: Marcus Miller.

I remember when I practically popped my Grover Washington Jr. Winelight cassette from playing it so much. And as much as I loved Grover's sax crooning, it was the bass lines that wore me out. I finally picked up the cover to find out who in the world was playing like that! Some guy name Marcus Miller. Cool. So the next project I discovered and fell in love with was Joe Sample's Ashes to Ashes. Another near ruined cassette. That song "The Road Less Traveled"? I had to find out who THAT bass player was. Marcus Miller. Wait a minute! Then I discovered HE'S the blue light in the basement bass player on all those Luther Vandross ballads!! I truly believed I was the only one in the world who knew about this guy. I decided to let my musician friends in on my "as-yet-unknown" discovery. "You know who ya'll need to check out?!!!! This cat named Marcus Miller!!" The response? "Oh yeah. He's the man. He played with Miles." I've hearted Marcus ever since.

Today, he's going to play for you for our full second hour. Call in and talk to him. I'm happy to report that even though he's a musical giant, he's the most down to earth guy you'll ever want to meet.

Last month, a 16-year-old girl called a family abuse center in Texas and reported she'd been sexually abused by a 50-year-old man who she said was her husband. The call sparked a government raid on the the Texas compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and police removed hundreds of women and children. In our first hour, a San Antonio reporter will give an update on what has been happening in the case, and an Atlanta attorney will talk about the legal history of polygamy. At the end of the hour two, the manager at the Regus Express in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport suggests ways you can kill time when your flight gets canceled. And author Pico Iyer returns to the show. He's on a book tour, and knows all about killing time in the airport.

For our full second hour, we'll hear music from bassist Marcus Miller and his band. His latest CD is entitled "Marcus" and Studio 4A is his next stop on his North American tour. If you're not familiar with Marcus or his music, please see my upcoming blog entitled, I Heart Marcus Miller.

Sit back, and enjoy.

Philosophy majors unite!

Source: oafbot

I almost majored in philosophy in college. Unfortunately, I was thrown out my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me. Wait, was that me, or Woody? (Haha, lame. Please forgive.) Jokes aside, I did fall in love with philosophy at Berkeley. (Go, Bears!) You get to talk about cool things like transcendental phenomenology and the eternal recurrence and ontological proofs for the existence of God -- what's not to love? I can remember taking a class on Schopenhauer and Nietzsche my senior year. I've never felt so alive as I did when we studied nihilism -- there's a surprising freedom that comes from knowing life has no meaning or purpose.* It can be extremely disconcerting as well. It's no coincidence that around this time I also wore a lot of black, carried around a skull, and became an anti-social pessimist -- my version of the trendy and all-consuming Existential Crisis.

Well, it seems I'm not alone in my need to wax philosophical. According to a piece in The New York Times this week, philosophy majors are on the rise. Apparently, this generation of college students wants to examine life and ethics in a way political science and microbiology classes don't allow. So if you're one of those freshies on the verge of declaring a philosophy major, just beware: a lot of people (read: "grownups") will lament it for being an impractical choice. You'll invariably hear something like, "So what do you plan to do with all that a priori knowledge once you get out into the 'real world'?" Touche. But as far as I'm concerned, study what you love as an undergrad. Save practicality for grad school.

Did you major in philosophy in college? Who's your favorite philosopher? And what was your existential crisis like?

* Gotta love German romanticism!

Lately the economy and housing market have been the major topics of conversation on the campaign trail; we haven't heard much about Iraq from the presidential contenders. That all changed yesterday when the three major candidates traveled back to Capitol Hill, for hearings with Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. One by one, each Senator took the microphone and made his or her positions on the war in Iraq clear. For the most part, it was repetition of their previously stated positions, but for the day, at least, Iraq was again the issue of the day in the campaign.

We'll talk with Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank about his take on the political theater of the hearings, and of course our political junkie, Ken Rudin, will help us make sense of what we heard, and how it may play out on the campaign trail.

Lenore Skenazy went to Bloomingdales (in good old NYC) with her nine-year-old son. She took him to handbags, gave him twenty dollars, a MetroCard, a subway map, and a couple of quarters. Then, she left him there. (Now, if anyone left me in a Bloomingdales at the age of nine, I'm pretty sure I would have just stayed. In fact, at the ripe old age of 31, Bloomies still feels like home.)

Lenore's son made it home -- proud and happy that he'd navigated the subway system so well -- and then she was roundly criticized by all kinds of parents as the second coming of Ms. Spears. Obviously, it's different for city parents -- but it certainly brings to mind all kinds of questions about throwing your kid in the pool to teach him/her how to swim. What do you think about her methods?

Last week in Lakeland, Florida, six cheerleaders beat another squad member unconscious for reportedly talking smack on MySpace. There were no pom poms or dance batons involved, just lots of punches and angry tongue-lashes.

The attackers, who range in age from 14 to 17, filmed their assault with the apparent intent of posting it on YouTube. And the victim is still recovering from a concussion, and her hearing and vision on her left side have been damaged. As painful as the footage is to swallow, it underscores the intersection of bullying, pack mentality and exhibitionism.

Rosalind Wiseman, founder of the Empower Program and author of the book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence, joins us today to dissect bullying behavior. If you've been involved in a similar incident, on either side, or if you have questions about this story, leave your comments here.

Murat Kurnaz, after his release.

Source: Gerard Cerles/AFP/Getty Images

Murat Kurnaz's story, told in Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo, is pretty remarkable. In 2001, just after Sept. 11, he was arrested in Pakistan. (Kurnaz claims he was traveling to the country on a religious pilgrimage.) After his arrest, Kurnaz was taken to a military base in Afghanistan, where he claims he was tortured, then to Cuba, where he was held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Kunraz stayed there until 2006, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked President Bush to release Kurnaz, who was born in Germany.

In the second hour of the program today, we'll talk to Kurnaz, about his time in Afghanistan and Guantanamo, during which he struggled to figure out why he was imprisoned, what rights he had, and when he might be released. If you have questions for him, leave them here.

We hope you enjoyed our program yesterday from the Newseum. Today, we're back at home in Studio 3A...and here's what's coming up:

In this week's edition of the Political Junkie, NPR's Ken Rudin talks about yesterday's testimonies by General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the stepping down of Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, and former Republican congressman Bob Barr's possible run for president...as a Libertarian. And of course we'll test your political savvy with this week's trivia question. At the end of the hour, we'll talk New York Sun reporter Lenore Skenazy about the overwhelming response she received when she wrote about her decision to let her 9-year-old ride the New York subway alone.

In our second hour, we'll talk to Murat Kurnaz about his book called Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo. In it, Kurnaz details his experience of spending five years being tortured and interrogated by U.S. military personnel in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At the end of the hour, author Rosalind Wiseman talks about bullying behavior in light of a YouTube video that shows a sixteen year old girl being attacked by cheerleaders on her squad.

It seems like once a year we talk about a newspaper dumping its theater critic, or dance critic, or book critic, and more recently, their movie critic. Tight budgets are a big part of it, obviously, but you wouldn't cut your entire City Hall reporting staff. There's something about the critic that is now very vulnerable. It's not a new phenomenon, but it does feel like we crossed some kind of threshold, where enough papers dropped one or more of their critics to revisit the question: Do critics matter? Patrick Goldstein takes up that question in the Los Angeles Times:

There was a time when critics were our arbiters of culture, the ultimate interpreters of intellectual discourse. When I was growing up, eager to write about the arts, it was just as important to read Pauline Kael, Frank Rich and Lester Bangs as it was to see a Robert Altman film, a David Mamet play or listen to the latest Elvis Costello album. Critics gave art its context, explained its meaning and guided us to new discoveries.

Those days are long gone, he argues. Blame the web, blame budget cuts, even blame Hollywood. But in the end, will you miss the expert reviewer's informed opinion, or will you even notice when the local paper drops their critic?

We're on the road again -- this time down the street. The new Newseum -- is described thus in their press release. "The Newseum" a 250,000-square-foot museum of news -- offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits." So those of you that thought it would be a Nerdeum, are dead wrong -- this thing is hip. Plus, five centuries of news, is pretty awesome ("We have some breaking news -- Caesar has just crossed the Rubicon..."). Today, though, we're concentrating on the part of the news that's mightily up to date -- we're talking to a distinguished panel about theiragendas -- Ana Marie Cox, Jerry Seib, Bill Kristol, and Clarence Page join us. Let us know how you think they're doing when it comes to the story of the day -- the 2008 election. So join them -- it's the state of political coverage.

There are few stories that captured the attention of the country more then the exposure of appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull collaborated on the series -- and yesterday, they won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Where else to celebrate -- but with us, at the Newseum! We'll talk to them about their win, and about how conditions at Walter Reed have changed over the last year. Post your questions here!

Reporters often have a special bond with their confidential sources, who provide information and evidence in exchange for anonymity. In many states that bond is protected by law, but there is no federal shield law in the United States. So, in theory, a federal judge can force a journalist to reveal the identity of their anonymous sources -- and if the journalist resists the subpoena, the judge can impose punishment.

In reality, that's exactly what happened to former USA Today reporter Toni Locy: back in February, a federal judge found her in contempt of court and threatened to fine her up to $5,000/day for refusing to reveal several sources. Locy joins us today to talk about identifying confidential sources. Mark Grannis, Hatfill's lawyer, will join us to talk about federal shield law, and justice and the press.* And we'll also talk to Matt Cooper, the Washington editor of Portfolio magazine, who was subpoenaed and threatened to eighteen months in prison during the Valerie Plame leak investigation.** We want to hear from reporters and prosecutors -- do you think that a source's anonymity should be protected? What about when the source turns out to be egregiously wrong?

* Counter to Grannis' remarks.
** Cooper ultimately testified in front of a grand jury when his confidential source, Karl Rove, granted him permission.

The Ethics Game at the Newseum.

Source: David Austin Gura

Our editorial meetings are rowdy affairs... We go back and forth about what people are talking about, what the major news stories are, and how to cover any given topic in a way that's interesting, fair, balanced, and ethical. It's a process that can be fascinating, but that in most cases happens behind closed doors. The journalists over at the Newseum, a huge hi-tech museum dedicated entirely to issues related to news, came up with a way to pull back the curtain on some of the ethical dilemmas reporters and editors face. They made it into an electronic game in the new museum. Picture a table roughly the size of a coffee table, but the top is a touch screen computer monitor. On the screen you have the empty front page of a newspaper, and lots of animated reporters wandering around with possible stories. You "grab" one of the reporters based on the type of story they're covering, and are presented with a question like: You overhear a conversation between the school board president and her secretary that she is taking a bribe to hire a friend. Do you report it? If you answer the question correctly, the story fills a hole on your front page. Answer it incorrectly, and the game explains why you made the wrong choice, and leaves you with a news hole to fill. The first team to fill their front page gets the "scoop" and wins. We'll let you play the game live on the show today at the end of the second hour. If you want to join in, give us a call during the show.

Memorial service for a fallen soldier in Riverside, CA.

Source: David McNew/Getty Images

American losses in Iraq now total more than 4,000, and the process of bringing them home so that their remains can be laid to rest involves a diverse cast of characters. There's the fellow soldier who carries the bodies off the battlefield on a stretcher; the pilots that transport the fallen to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware; the mortuary workers who embalm them; the chaplain who consoles surviving friends at base camp; and the officer who hands a triangular folded flag to the grieving soldier's family. All of this culminates in the "honorable transfer" -- the moment the flag-draped casket is removed from the aircraft and placed into an awaiting hearse. Journalist Chris Jones accompanied one fallen soldier on his journey home from Iraq. He wrote about the experience in a piece entitled, "The Things that Carried Him" for the May issue of Esquire. If you are involved in the transfer of bodies and remains of military personnel, or if you are a family member who's been through this process, tell us your story.

Florida apologized last month for the state's role in slavery -- a history the legislature called, "shameful." Marvin Dunn's grandmother's father was a slave in Florida, and he's left wondering why he doesn't feel any better, given the apology:

Maybe it's because the apology is a meaningless act that only a dolt or outright racist would oppose. It cost the state nothing and of course, there was not a word about the thorny question of reparations. As one of the African Americans to whom the apology was aimed, it was not enough.

Dunn wrote an op-ed in Sunday's Miami Herald, laying out four specific steps that he believes would make the apology meaningful. What do you think? Does an apology make any difference? Should states go further?

Stroller shopping.

Source: a_laubner

Tip of the day: don't admit to the office what you pay for baby gear. Yes, I dropped almost $500 on a stroller (mostly with gift cash and cards from the baby shower, if that's any excuse); and, yes, it shot through the office faster than news of the latest celebrity sex tape scandal. Here's the thing: baby stuff is expensive! I figured I could use hand-me downs for the kid, but anyone with half a clue tells me that's a bad idea. Apparently, safety standards change faster than a newborn wets his diaper; and, besides, you never know if that stroller, crib, or car seat was maintained properly (It's amazing we survived childhood at all!). So, instead of raiding my cousins/parents/aunts/uncles/in-laws' basements and eBay for leftover gear, I'm heading to Buy Buy Baby and Babies-R-Us. And have you been there lately? It's like they shook all the price labels and got the decimal point to move one place to the right. You can pay over $1000 for a stroller in some stores (I said YOU can, even I have my limits). The price of a crib is now the size of a new car down payment, strollers cost more than some flat panel TVs, and of course you're supposed to buy a glider (a chair, not a small, engine-less plane), changing table, and a small country's GDP worth of diapers (or unscented Tide if you go with cloth diapers). And that's before the kid is even born!

Yes, I do have a point with this rant... We're talking with the author of a new book on the show today: Pamela Paul wrote, Parenting Inc.: How We Are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper Wipe Warmers -- and What It Means for Our Children. Whether you're a parent or not, has the baby biz gone a little overboard? What's the most expensive thing you ever bought for a newborn? Was it worth it?

You know how people always say that discipline breeds discipline? Good news! An op-ed in the New York Times makes the argument that we've only got a limited amount of willpower -- so you don't have to diet if you're trying to spend less on shoes! (And maybe only shoes will fit you.) Yes, it's slightly more complicated than that -- so here's a little background reading for you before we talk to Sam Wang. I will be at my computer eating my little heart out, and not internet shopping. (Obsessed with this bag. And this pie. Sigh.)

In our first hour, we will talk with Esquire magazine staff writer Chris Jones about his article entitled, "The Things That Carried Him." In it, Jones gives an intimate, detailed look at what is involved when a soldier is killed in Iraq and takes the long journey home to his final resting place. Jones' article is featured in the May issue of the magazine. If you are involved in the transfer of bodies and remains of military personnel, or if you are a family member who's been through this process, please tell us your story. Following that, we'll speak with African-American historian Marvin Dunn about his op-ed entitled, "Make the apology meaningful." Dunn will offer some suggestions on how the state of Florida's recent apology for the enslavement of African-Americans could be more meaningful. His op-ed appeared in the April 6th edition of the Miami Herald.

Raising a child has become big business. In our second hour, author Pamela Paul will tell us just how big the child rearing industry is, and we'll ask the parents out there: Is there a product or service in particular that you (or your child) cannot live without? And how much would you pay for it? At the end of the hour, we'll break down the science of will power... or lack thereof. Can't stick to that diet? You may need to strengthen your brain.

Next week the Olympic torch makes its only stop in North America... On the streets of San Francisco. It's a symbolic trip along several miles of the city's waterfront, before the Olympic flame makes its way to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games. Not surprisingly, the appearance of the Olympic symbol has caused a bit of a stir in the city. San Francisco is known for its often liberal politics, and for its Chinese-American population. So, in a year when Beijing faces criticism and protests over its human rights record, involvement in Sudan, and actions in Tibet, the city is split. Some welcome the torch relay, and plan to honor the visit. Others plan to protest. And there are those who don't want the torch in their city at all. We'll talk with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom today, and let you have your say: Should the torch be welcomed in San Francisco? Should it be allowed at all? And, if so, what kinds of protests are appropriate?

President Robert Mugabe casts his vote in the election that could unseat him.

Source: Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

For years, Zimbabweans voted with their feet. An economy in free-fall left citizens malnourished, unemployed, and unable to buy staples with their worthless currency. (Today, one US Dollar = 30,597.0 Zimbabwe Dollars.) Citizens fled in search of work and food.

On Saturday, however, they voted with ballots, and it appears that President Robert Mugabe's government -- which has held the country in its grip since 1980 -- may be unseated, and he may have lost the presidency.

We particularly want to hear from people who have family in Zimbabwe, who are watching events there closely. What are you hoping for? What are your expectations?

Michael Eric Dyson

Source: Robert Clarke

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. He was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 39. In his final speech, given just hours earlier, King uttered these prophetic words to his followers:

"I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land."

Every January, we celebrate King's life with a national holiday on his birthday. But in a new book, entitled April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death and How it Changed America, Michael Eric Dyson argues that King's death and its aftermath give us the greatest insight into his legacy, and offer a platform to re-evaluate whether his dream for America has come true. What do you take away from King's death? What meaning does it hold for you?

There's a picture of me and Merl Reagle that's so old you can still see some red in my beard -- and some white in his. Fans of the documentary film Wordplay know that Merl and I do play-by-play of the finals of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament every year. Well, most years. I missed it in Brooklyn a few weeks ago.... But even more important, they watch him construct the crossword puzzle that's eventually published in The New York Times, and solved -- on film -- by Bill Clinton, Mike Mussina, The Indigo Girls, and Jon Stewart, among others.

Fans of Weekend Edition Sunday, know him as, "Our old pal, Merl Reagle," a regular supplier of the on-air puzzles that Liane Hansen and Will Shortz play every week with a listener.

Starting Sunday, Merl's sunday crossword will appear in The Washington Post and, thanks to the miracle of syndication, in many others newspapers around the country. He joins us to talk about the strange business of crosswords, how they're made, and he'll bring along a Talk of the Nation puzzle to play with callers. Live.

555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001

teejayhanton

 

On Tuesday, April 8, we're going to present a special broadcast from the [new] Newseum, in Washington, D.C., and we'd love to have you there, in the audience.

If you'll be in town, drop us a line. We need your name, email address, how many people are in your party, and which hour, or hours, you'd like to attend (2:00 to 3:00 p.m., 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., or 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.).

There are two ways to RSVP: Send an email to talk at npr.org; or, visit the "Contact NPR" page at npr.org. (If you do the latter, make sure that you select "Talk of the Nation" from the pull-down menu.)

We hope to see you there!

In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe's grip on power seems to be weakening. As election results there suggest Mugabe has lost control of parliament and possibly his position as president, Mugabe's only course of action may be to accept a run-off vote. In our first hour, we'll talk about the possible future of Zimbabwe-- post-Mugabe. After that, we will talk to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom about the Olympic torch's arrival in the city next week, the torch's only appearance in the United States. The city is bracing for planned demonstrations in protest of China's record on human rights issues.

In our second hour, we'll remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomorrow marks the 40th year since his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson will talk about his new book, April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death and How it Changed America. At the end of that hour, we will switch gears and talk about the puzzling business of constructing crossword puzzles. Guest Merl Reagle begins his weekly stint as the The Washington Post's crossword puzzler this Sunday. Think you can stump Reagle and solve his puzzle? He'll have one for you. Call in and test your wits.

Rick Steves in Toledo, Spain.

Source: Rick Steves' Europe

On Talk of the Nation yesterday, Rick Steves gave us some great advice on how to get the biggest bang for our buck on European vacations. Here's what he had to say after the show:

With the dollar in the dumps it's great to have a chance to share my belief that Americans can still travel in Europe for essentially the same cost as in the USA -- if they know how. Only on public radio can we talk at length on subjects like these with no concerns about ruffling the feathers of advertisers.

Our callers were experienced travelers with good concerns and good lessons to share. Considering their size, Liz and her group will save lots of money by sharing a big vehicle and a large apartment. A mini bus shared by eight travelers provides the cheapest travel possible. And more and more Americans are learning the budget wisdom of booking an apartment with a kitchen. Groceries are essentially the same cost anywhere -- and always a fraction of the cost of a restaurant.

When Chris said she'd recently been to London, I expected her to be shell-shocked at the cost. But she turned out to be a very good traveler and knew that the greatest cultural wonders in London are actually free. (I've noticed that in much of Europe museum prices fluctuate with the current government. Left wing governments subsidize art and culture -- and often make museum entries free. Right wing governments believe museums should pay their own way.).

My new "apfels to pommes" chart attempting to compare relative costs "apples to apples" (mentioned in the interview) is now on my blog. I hope that can be of some help.

Happy travels,
Rick Steves

See Ken Rudin's 'Veepstakes' Bracket (if it's too small, click in the middle).

Ken Rudin, NPR

'tis the season for brackets. And the PoJu loves a gimmick. So do we, in fact. Since we're wildly speculating this week about possible running mates for the prez candidates, you can find Ken Rudin's Perspicacious Picks for Vice President -- tourney style, and on the GOP side, if you click on the image to the left. Granted, none of these possibles will be meeting on the court (or the bowling alley, despite April Fools Day fun), but it sure is fun to pick 'em.

Political Junkie Rudin (PoJuRu) also stopped by with more trivia questions (my, is he well-rested!) -- too many, in fact, to include in the mere 38 minutes we give him each week. So if you want to win kudos from Rudin (Krudins), riddle me this:

Context: Sen. Joe Lieberman is rumored as a possible VP choice for McCain.

Question:Who was the last person to run for Veep with two different men at the top of the ticket?

Answer correctly, and you've got bragging rights for at least a week. Or until the real tourney overtakes political buzz.

When I was in elementary, I got in trouble with one of my teachers -- let's call her "Miss. X." She had promised the entire class a cookie party if we all got 100% on our spelling bee. So I raised my hand to "share" something with the class, and proceeded to tell everyone there was a silent "e" at the end of all the words.* My punishment? No one got cookies, and all my friends wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day. I was upset with Miss. X for being so mean, and I wanted to teach her a lesson. So I wrote up a mock report card, and gave her a check minus for Achievement, and an "unsatisfactory" for Behavior.

When I look back on it now, I realize she probably fought hard to stifle her laughter; but, at the time, I felt like I had made my point. I showed her!

Well, it seems times have changed. A group of 8- to 10-year-olds in Waycross, Georgia recently plotted an attack against their third grade teacher, who teaches special ed. Apparently, they were mad at her because she scolded one of them for standing on a chair during class. Armed with handcuffs, duct tape, a crystal paperweight, and a broken steak knife, they intended to overwhelm and stab her. The most disturbing part of this story, though, is the planning that went into it -- obviously premeditated, they had a designated "look-out" person, and another person who was responsible for cleaning up afterward. Clearly, they understood the concept of negative consequences. Thankfully, the police were tipped off before they were able to carry out their plan.

We're all familiar with the usual suspects when it comes to children and violence -- television, video games, permissive or abusive parents. But is reality really that simple? Ted Feinberg from the National Association of School Psychologists joins us to take your questions. If you work in schools, or if you're a parent of a grade-school student, what concerns you about this story?

* I really wanted that cookie party.

The effect on the Obama campaign of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright sermons is still being debated, and a spotlight remains on issues of race and the pulpit. Today, we'll hear from two African American preachers who lead black congregations, and have different views on race, racism, and their own sermons. If you go to a black church, does this attention concern you? Do you think black liberation theology is part of the mainstream where you worship?

Jens Lekman in Nottingham last year.

Source: obo-bobolina

OK, I admit it... I'm a Jens Lekman novice. I've heard his name (or, more accurately, pictured it in my head -- do you do that too with words or names you don't know how to pronounce? I just picture the words in my head instead of saying them in my head -- that way a wrong pronunciation (hopefully) doesn't make it past my lips and embarrass me unduly. Anyway, in case you're wondering, he's Swedish so the J in Jens is pronounced like the Y in yellow. So now you know!) a bazillion times, but for whatever reason I haven't tuned in. I've listened to a bit in preparation for our performance chat with him today, and after a few songs I'd put him in a family with Jonathan Richman and Kings of Convenience. Fortunately, though, I've got more for you to go on than that... Here's what others in the blogosphere are saying about his current tour...

"When he takes to the stage in Whelans, twee and grating are transformed to dry and funny as he delivers his lines with the easy and expert timing of an old comedian..."

"Part of Lekman's charm is that his sentiments all seem genuine..."

"The smiles seemed authentic and the joy, heartfelt...the performance allowed the Swede's crooning voice and wry lyrics to overwhelm the spotlight. It's a voice so sweet that you wouldn't exactly expect from a man who might favorably be described as unassuming..."

Well, it turns out our political junkie Ken Rudin did decide come back from vacation... complete with a little sun-kissed tan thing going on. The world of politics keeps turning, and in our first hour we'll ask Ken about the continuing battle for the Democratic nomination, the lead-up to Pennsylvania and a new poll that finds Hillary Clinton holds a lead over Barack Obama AND John McCain in that state. Then we'll ask YOU to come up with your President-Vice President dream ticket. Who is your pick for vice-prez for either Obama, Clinton or McCain? (Can I nominate Ken Rudin?) At the end of the hour, we'll talk with a child psychologist about a story out of Georgia where a group of third graders are suspected of plotting to attack their teacher.

In our second hour, we'll talk to two clergymen with different views on how the African American church should deal with racism. Is the church responsible for shedding light and focusing on the issue? We will also give an historical perspective of the religious philosophy of 'black liberation theology.' At the end of the hour, we've got more music for you... this time from Swedish indie pop star Jens Lekman. If you're familiar with him (possibly from his appearance in this year in the SXSW music festival) give us a call or send in your blog comments. And sit back and enjoy!!

Jens Lekman in Paris in February.

Source: FXR [aka Sounds'FX]

Later on today TOTN brings you more live music, this time from someone you may not have heard yet... Here's a preview of today's show with Jens Lekman from producer Susannah George:

That's right you indie rock lovin' Talk Of The Nation listeners... The Swedish pop star Jens Lekman is going to grace the TOTN audience today to play a few songs and talk about his music (we like to call it a "perf-chat"). Jens' music is difficult to pin down: While his lyrics are often compared to Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, his love for sampling conjures Kanye West. I was first introduced to Jens in one of the best ways to be introduced to any artist... at a live show. I was reluctant to go -- it was a work night, and I was leaving for Chicago the next day from work and I still needed to pack. But as soon I heard the first jazzy horns of "The Opposite of Hallelujah," I was hooked. And the spell lasted way past the encore performance of "Pocketful of Money." So tune in, turn up your radio and share your Jens Lekman story with us here. Yours Truly, Susannah

Callous? Or enterprising?

gruntzooki

 

I drove from Washington, DC, to western Massachusetts over the weekend -- a grueling trip in a Penske truck (don't ask) made even worse by the number on the gas pump when we stopped to refuel. The whole trip cost double. Which of course, like everybody else, has a horrible domino effect on my pocketbook. That domino effect has a very different impact on some businesses -- pawn shops, for instance, and the people running those foreclosure tours. I talked to a guy who runs a store that sells stuff for people on eBay -- he's done so well that he moved into a storefront. So this hour: postcards from the edge of the crappy economy. If you work in a business that has seen some benefit from the downturn, tell us about it. Or, if you've found a strategy to take advantage of it, what's your brilliant idea? (And don't tell us you've got a reservation at Nobu -- that's just annoying.)

My love affair with Kurt Vonnegut started (as I'm sure it did for many of you) back in the 10th grade when I first experienced Billy Pilgrim, "unstuck in time." Since Slaughterhouse Five, I've made it a point to check back in with Vonnegut at various points in my life, most recently with A Man Without a Country. He died last year at the age of 84 -- as Von would say, so it goes. But now, a posthumous collection of his stories and essays has been published. It's called Armageddon in Retrospect, and it focuses on none other than the experience of war. His son, Mark Vonnegut, wrote an introduction to the book, and he joins us today to talk about his father's writings. How will you remember Vonnegut, and what questions do you have for his son?

HoooWEE it's expensive to travel these days. As the weather gets warmer, I get the itch to book travel and take off... but what with fuel prices and the stinky dollar, I despair. Just last night my bf and I came this close to booking one of those mostly-inclusive European trips. He's long dreamed of visiting Ireland (his people), and while it'd be an incredible hardship to jaunt across the Emerald Isle, I'm a good gf so I found us said travel package. It included airfare, a night in Dublin, a rental car, and vouchers for 5 nights at B&Bs across the country, for the (these days) low-low price of just under a grand each. Sounds great, right? We were so close to making this dream a reality when the word "vouchers" caught our attention. Hmmm. What if the B&Bs accepting these vouchers are few, or sketchy? There's no way we could afford emergency, last-minute lodgings in the UK where the pound is even hardier than the Euro... so, reluctantly, we backed away from the "Buy" button. Now, in the pits of our non-traveling misery, there's a light -- two, actually: Rick Steves and Rick Seaney. Together, the Ricks will assure us travel -- even European -- is still possible in today's economy, and will offer tips on how to do it as cheaply as possible.

No vacancies.

neilalderney123

 

This email was forwarded to me today:

In a move that will shock traditionalists, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II today announced that Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the British monarchy since 1837, will open its doors in October this year to paying hotel guests. Mr & Mrs Smith, the London-based boutique-hotel specialists, will handle all bookings.

"'We're aware that many will be surprised by Her Majesty's decision to open up a wing of her London residence,' says Royal Press Secretary Oona Abrillo," the message continued. "'But, in the light of recent events, she feels that the time is right to do so.' For more information, or to make an advance booking at The Royal Windsor Palace Suites, please view here.

"This is great," I thought, especially in light of the show we're doing on European travel today. At our morning meeting, I pitched it. "I got an email this morning, forwarded from someone who lives in England. They're opening part of Buckingham Palace to the public."

After the meeting, I went back to the email, to send it to Ashley, who produced the segment. I clicked the link.

Ah, April Fools Day. You get me every year....

Between the Buckingham Palace email and "New! Gmail Custom Time," I've already fallen for a few pranks today. At the end of the second hour today, we'll talk to Eric Wilhelm, of Popular Mechanics magazine, who has suggested five pranks you could pull on your coworkers today. Have you fooled anyone in your office? Tell us your best prank.

**The following topics are not a joke. I repeat, not a joke..**

In our first hour today, we'll talk more about the flailing economy but we'll focus on the silver lining the financial markets have cast on some businesses... namely law practices, real estate agencies and pawn and consignment shops. How's business for you? As the dollar goes down, has your business surprisingly gone up? Later in the hour, we'll read from your email and blog comments, and talk to Mark Vonnegut, the son of Kurt Vonnegut, about his father's last collection of essays entitled, Armageddon in Retrospect.

For some, the incredible shrinking dollar has screwed up upcoming vacation plans. Not only are you bound to feel the pinch once you arrive in that faraway land, you'll likely suffer a big squeeze just GETTING there. Thanks to steadily rising gas prices, you'll be paying more for not only your tank, but your airfare as well. Help is on the way! Rick Seaney, one of the founders of FareCompare.com, and travel guide writer and public TV and radio host Rick Steves will give us some advice on how to get the cheapest airfare and more bang for your buck once your get to your destination. After that, we will honor April Fool's Day with Popular Mechanics writer Eric Wilhelm who will talk about the article, "Top 5 April Fools' Day Pranks You Can Build in Your Office." Wilhelm will tell us everything you want to know about conjuring up the perfect prank. Have you pulled an April Fool's joke that you are particularly proud of? How about one that you thought was absolutely brilliant... and it totally backfired?

Happy April Fool's Day. Try not to injure anyone.

Rick Seaney.

Source: farecompare.com

In the second hour of our show today, we'll talk to two travel experts, Rick Steves, author of sundry guidebooks, host of sundry travel shows; and Rick Seaney, the CEO of farecompare.com, about how to travel to Europe on the cheap. Or the sort-of-cheap (given the value of the dollar). Steves claims that it's still possible, and Seaney promises to help us navigate the confusing world of airline ticketing. The guru of cheap fares himself offered to blog for us this morning, which makes my job a whole lot easier. So, without further ado: Rick Seaney, ladies and gentlemen:

Sometimes I get the feeling that there's a whole group of people out there who believe in a mythical amendment to our Constitution -- one that guarantees us the "Right to Cheap Airline Tickets." But anyone who's actually bought airline tickets in the past six months knows this in not an "inalienable right." The number one reason: the exploding cost of fuel (the price of jet fuel has nearly doubled since last year). The airlines are doing something about this. They are reducing seats and raising their prices. Steadily.

We consumers have two choices: complain (which is what folks did last year); or, adapt. I think the answer is "intelligent adapting"; you accomplish this by making smarter airfare purchasing decisions.

It's important to remember that an airline is in business to sell you a seat on a flight for as much money as possible. Airlines can and do change hundreds of thousands of airfare prices every day, and at different times of the day. They study your buying behavior and use this knowledge to charge you more.

With all this in mind, you're ready to start shopping (that's shopping, not buying -- do some research and some comparisons first). Here' some handy tips to get you started (after the jump):

Continue reading "Rick Seaney on Inexpensive Fares" >