Calling All 'Del Heads'

The Del McCoury Band, one of the greatest groups in bluegrass, came by Studio 4A yesterday, for a performance chat. The band was in town, recording a live album at The Barns at Wolf Trap. (Judging by the performance we saw -- and heard -- yesterday, the compact disc should sound great). I was struck by everyone's kindness, skill, and professionalism. Here's a video from the performance, of The Del McCoury Band's rendition of Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."

--Video by John W. Poole and Coburn Dukehart, NPR Digital Media

Did you like the performance chat? Even if you're not a bluegrass fan, we'd love to hear your response to the music and the interview.

David Gura

11:00 AM ET | 10-19-2007 | permalink | comments (35) | e-mail post

5-Second Rule Rules

As much as it pains me to tell you this, the 5-second rule has been debunked. Researchers at Clemson University actually studied this, and came to the conclusion that even carefully observing the 5-second rule will not protect your dropped food from gathering bacteria. I knew that. You knew that. But, we all do it anyway. If I drop the last piece of chocolate on the floor, and I'm inside the house, you can bet I'll brush it off and eat it (there are always exceptions, of course). And if the myth of the 5-second rule gives me a little cover for being gross, what's wrong with that? Monica Hesse took the rule to kids and adults and found some pretty funny results (kids know to scream, "5-second rule!" in order to invoke the proper ritual. Adults not only use the 5-second rule for food, but also for lousy boyfriends, apparently). We'll get her take on all this. And come on, gross us out... what's the best 5-second rule story you have?

Scott Cameron

2:12 PM ET | 07-11-2007 | permalink | comments (32) | e-mail post

The View from the Pine

Paul Shirley is not, and likely never will be, a household name... Well, not for his basketball skills anyway. Sure, he's played for some of the top teams in the NBA -- the Bulls, the Hawks, the Suns -- but he's not Jordan, he's not Wilkins, and he's not Nash. In a way, though, that makes him more interesting... in addition to the aforementioned NBA teams, he's also played in Greece, Spain, and even Siberia. He writes a column for ESPN.com about his journeys called My So-Called Career and now he's got a book, Can I Keep My Jersey? He's seen it all, so ask him all your questions about the life of a professional athlete.

Sarah Handel

11:21 AM ET | 05-31-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Crashing Through: Learning to See Again

I like to think I've accomplished things in my life... met people, visited places, challenged myself. But, I've got nothing on Mike May. He set a world speed record in skiing, climbed a 175-foot tower, worked for the CIA, is a respected and successful entrepreneur... oh yeah, and he's blind. When he was 3-years old, a freak chemical explosion damaged his corneas and he was later told he'd never see again. Forty-three years later, that changed. And the man who seemed to have it all was offered a chance to see again. But, where this is story gets interesting is not his struggle about whether to try an experimental surgery, or his accomplishments before his eyesight returns... it's his reaction, physically and emotionally, to suddenly being able to see again. Robert Kurson tells May's story in Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared to See.

Scott Cameron

1:56 PM ET | 05-24-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

With Surgical Focus

Lee Woodruff may have said it best: "Traumatic brain injury is the signature wound of this war." With advancements in body armor and medicine saving more and more limbs and internal organs, the head has become one of a soldier's most vulnerable spots... and now traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is no longer the sole province of athletes and car accident survivors. Thanks to unprecedented quality of care on the front lines, severely wounded soldiers are making it back to the states alive, but with varying prospects for future quality of life. Has your loved one returned from Iraq with TBI? How has life changed for him or her, and how are you dealing with it? Is he/she getting adequate care? And, more generally, if you've suffered from TBI -- however you were injured -- what's it like?

Sarah Handel

1:45 PM ET | 05- 8-2007 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Girls, Indigo and Otherwise

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

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

Barrie: Maybe give me insight between black and white.

Sarah: CLOSER I AM TO FIIIIINE!

Barrie: CLOSER I AM TO FIIIIIINE!

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

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

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

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

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

Barrie Hardymon

11:29 AM ET | 03-20-2007 | permalink | comments (20) | e-mail post

Aging ... But Not Getting Old

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

Sarah Handel

1:04 PM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post