Tough Questions. Honest Answers.

Several months ago, Dawn Turner Trice, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, started a new blog, called Exploring Race. She wants it to be an open forum, where readers write frank comments, where they can pose any question.

"We have a moment in history to have a national discussion about race," she writes. "We should seize it and try to mine it for what it's worth. I want this to be a safe place where people of all races can explore their views and biases, openly and honestly."

Do you agree with her? Is this the time for a real, honest dialogue about race?

In the first hour of our show today, we'll talk with Trice about her blog. Does she think that Exploring Race is working? What has she learned? We'll also hear from Gregory Rodriguez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and Kathy Cramer Walsh, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin. Her most-recent book is called Talking about Race: Community Dialogues and the Politics of Difference. (You can read the first chapter from it here.)

When do you and your friends talk about race? What exactly do you talk about? How honest are the conversations? Do you hold back, why? What makes it such a hard subject for you? Do forums like Exploring Race make it easier?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (81) | e-mail post

 

Mommy MySpace

Mother's Day is fast approaching, which means every teenager and adult with a computer is getting ready to send that cheery e-card of love and appreciation. The only concern is, what will happen when it reaches its destination? Qwerty keyboards and fast-paced texting may still furrow a few brows; but increasingly, moms are becoming more and more technologically savvy... and they're indulging in a whole new form of communication with their children online -- through emails, texts, blogs, and social networking sites.

If you're a Generation Xer or Yer, you may be familiar with one or all of the following:

The frantic technical support calls from mom at 8 o'clock in the morning because she doesn't know how to send an email, and it needs to get to her book club before noon; or

The random text messages that look like hieroglyphics because she hasn't mastered the T9Word keypad on her phone; or, worse,

The mom that reads your emails or "friends" your friends on Facebook because she has a little too much technological know-how.

But no matter what the online situation is, younger generations are taking this new style of communication in stride, and some have even managed to grow closer to their moms because of it.

Linda Lowen, a mom of two teens and a writer on women's issues for about.com, will join us to talk about the nuances and politics of moms interacting with their kids online. And we'll also hear from Doree Shafrir and Jessica Grose who co-founded Postcards from Yo Momma, a website that runs user-submitted e-mails and chat transcripts from real moms.

How have you experienced this trend of communicating with your mom online? What's the latest email or text you received from her? And, moms, how do you communicate with your kids online?

Ashley Grashaw

1:57 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

 

I'm Not Gonna Lie To You...

...except, I probably am! I'm a shameless exaggerator. Shameless. (In fact, my level of exaggeration is the one thing I don't exaggerate about, so you can trust me on this one point.) For instance, in our meetings I've been known to wave my hands around like I'm landing a plane -- all the while insisting that "the price of manure has skyrocketed and we've absolutely got to cover this s#$t!!!" (For the record -- the price is at a record high, but skyrocketed is a -- wait for it -- exaggeration.) I regularly used to inflate my age -- even when I wasn't in bars -- and now I regularly (sigh) deflate it. I'm 5'8" feet tall.* My cat can read. I failed geometry three times.** I took the trash out -- and I paid that bill in full! (It's a nuance, but I'm pro'ly a bit of a fibber, too, I realize.) Well, a small study in the journal Emotion says that this kind of exaggeration isn't really about deceiving other people -- it's simply a reflection of our hopes and dreams. (I hope and dream my cat will read -- and talk someday!) We're talking to one of the authors of the study, but we really want to to hear from you. So, 'fess up, y'all. What truth have you stretched -- and what have you simply snapped?

*5'3"
**Only twice.

Barrie Hardymon

1:56 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

 

Homestretch Strategies

The results from yesterday's primaries are in: Senator Obama won North Carolina, and Senator Clinton won Indiana. But Obama increased his lead in pledged delegates, and former Clinton supporter Senator George McGovern has called for her to drop out of the race. So was yesterday a critical turn in the race, or just one more bend along the path to nomination?

Clinton is expected to perform well in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, and Obama is predicted to win Oregon, Montana and South Dakota. So where do their campaigns go from here? NPR political Junkie Ken Rudin joins us to give us his insight. We'll also hear from Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman in 2000, and Glen Bolger, co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.

Pretend you're an undecided superdelegate -- what do you need to hear from the candidates at this point?

Ashley Grashaw

1:59 PM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

 

NPR's Ombudsman

Sometimes while screening calls during our show, I have to let a caller go because their phone has shoddy reception or we're running up against the wall and don't have enough time to put them on the air. To me, it makes sense, and seems justified at the time. But then I think about what it would be like to be that caller on the other end of my hang-up. Here you are, listening to a segment on NPR that got you excited enough to call in and offer your $0.02 live on the air, and you're greeted by a screener like me telling you, "Sorry, we won't be able to take your call. [Insert reason here.] But thanks for calling in and listening!" I can see how it could be infuriating at the most, and a little disappointing at the least.

NPR's Ombudsman, Lisa Shepard, is the one responsible for following up on listener complaints and questions. In other words, she keeps us honest, helps keep the peace. And she will join TOTN every so often to talk about some of the phone calls and emails she receives from listeners, and the ethical issues they raise. NPR received complaints that the description of what police found at the site of Deborah Jean Palfry's suicide was too graphic. What do you think?

When there is a death, be it a suicide, murder, car accident, or an act of war, how much do you want to know? How much should you know?

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

 

How to Help Vets in Trouble with the Law

For many years, it was a staple of movies and TV shows; the vet -- almost always from Vietnam, but sometimes from the first Gulf War -- who hadn't never been quite able to handle the return to their everyday lives after military service. Sometimes it would only take a slight nudge to send them over the edge into trouble with the law, like in the novel "First Blood" which was later turned into the first of many Rambo films. Sometimes the story featured a vet who seemed normal -- they might even work in law enforcement -- but could fall into a rage-filled anger at a moment's notice, like James Lee Burke's Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux.

The reality of the situation is that a certain percentage of vets do get into trouble with the law, often linked to experiences during their time in the military. And that number has increased as more veterans have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. (But not as many as you might think. A study by the Justice Department in 2000, showed that the incarceration of vets is about 60 percent of non-veterans. There is one difference among incarcerated veterans than non-veterans. White males comprise a much larger percentage of vets in jail than white males do in the other category.)

So how to help those vets who do find themselves in legal trouble? One answer is might be what is happening in Buffalo. NPR's Libby Lewis reports on a special veterans court -- working in conjunction with the Veterans Affairs Department -- that tries to help veterans in trouble with the law. The court appoints mentors, often other veterans or active-duty soldiers, to help those in trouble get their lives back on track. The men in trouble with the law have to check in regularly with the court and prove that they are making the effort to get out of trouble in order to avoid jail time.

Do vet courts sound like a good idea? Is this something that you think should be used in the rest of the country?

Tom Regan

10:44 AM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

 

Insane or Just Plain Nuts

It is by far one of the most unpleasant stories out there. A man in Austria commits the worst kind of child abuse -- and then takes it into another stratosphere of evil by keeping his children and grandchildren (all of whom he fathered) in a basement for years. It's a horrible, horrible story -- and my informal survey of friends and compatriots has found either people can't read about it at all -- or they just want to know what breach of hell created this man's particular brand of evil. Austrian courts however, have a different set of questions -- namely, is Josef Fritzl legally insane? One argument says he wouldn't have kept the kids hidden away if he didn't know what he was doing was wrong. Insane is legal term -- not a medical one. (And meshuggeneh is merely a descriptor, if you're curious.) The insanity defense is invoked in Law and Order and CSI a lot -- but it differs from state to state, country to country, and court to court. Insanity Famous defendants that have pleaded insanity range from Zacarias Moussaoui to D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo. Even Reagan's would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr., used the insanity defense -- and the court found him not guilty back in 1982. Today -- we're talking about Insane vs. Crazy: questions? Post 'em here.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

 

When an Oath Clashes with Personal Convictions

I come from a part of the world where the taking of an oath has a rather unpleasant history.

I grew up in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in Canada. I lived literally a block from the spot where, in 1755, the British commander told a group of Acadian farmers -- who had grown estranged from France during their almost 150 years in the area and had no interest in the latest British-French blowup -- that they would have to swear allegiance to the King of England or else their lands would be forfeited to the crown and they would be shipped away.

And as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow chronicled in his poem, Evangeline, this is exactly what happened when the proud Acadians refused to take the oath.

For most people, taking an oath is not a problem. But for some their personal convictions -- particularly their personal religious convictions -- can create a troubling situation. Take the case of Marianne Kearney-Brown, a Quaker and graduate student who was fired from her teaching job at California State University East Bay this week because she refused to sign an 87-word Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution that the state requires of elected officials and public employees.

It wasn't so much that she didn't want to swear allegiance to the state's Constitution. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, "A veteran public school math teacher who specializes in helping struggling students, Kearney-Brown, 50, had signed the oath before - but had modified it each time."

Each time, when asked to "swear (or affirm)" that she would "support and defend" the U.S. and state Constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic," Kearney-Brown inserted revisions: She wrote "nonviolently" in front of the word "support," crossed out "swear," and circled "affirm." All were to conform with her Quaker beliefs, she said.

Kearney-Brown did this several times over her career teaching in California and it was never rejected. But this time she got a letter that said the university's counsel said she couldn't alter the oath (which may or may not be true, as it turns out) and she had to sign it or be fired. She refused to sign and was axed.

Kearney-Brown will be on Talk of the Nation today to talk about what happened to her and why she did what she did.

Should a person be able to change the wording of an oath to suit their religious situation? Atheists are not required to say "under God" while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, nor are they required to swear on a Bible in court. They can affirm their promise to tell the truth. Should the same consideration be extended to other strong religious beliefs?

Tom Regan

1:58 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

 

Film School at Home

From the witty repartee of Annie Hall and va-va-voom of Lolita, to Tony Montana's "little friend" in Scarface, Jesse Gilmour didn't receive your ordinary high school education. After almost flunking out of school, without remorse, his dad, David, decided to make a deal with him: he could drop out, live at home job- and rent-free, and all he had to do, in exchange, was watch three movies a week with his old man. Every teenager's dream, right? What resulted was a unique exchange between father and son -- film critic and novice. In watching the films, they found ways to talk about girls and relationships, drugs and alcohol, and how to approach life's big decisions -- at a time when most teenage boys pull away from their fathers.

Former film critic and Canadian talk show host David Gilmour wrote about the experience in a new book called The Film Club, and he and his son, Jesse, join us today to share their stories.

Have you ever learned something important from a movie, or a scene from a movie? Tell us about it! And what would your film school curriculum be?

Ashley Grashaw

1:57 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (21) | e-mail post

 

RIP: Yearbooks

My yearbooks, from middle school and high school, are tucked away somewhere in my childhood bedroom. Some day, five or ten years from now, I'll crack them open, to look at awkward studio portraits, to read benedictions and valedictions, to search for an embarrassing photo of a now-famous classmate.

I was sad to read that future classes, in colleges and universities especially, might not have yearbooks to look at, to laugh at. Free social networks, like Facebook and MySpace, and online photo websites, like Flickr and Picasa, have eroded yearbook sales.

Ye Domesday Booke, the yearbook at Georgetown University, is poorly funded and understaffed. The yearbook office at Virginia Wesleyan College is filled with old books. (Many students who ordered copies didn't pick them up.) And The Debris, from Purdue University? There will be no 2009 edition.

Do you mourn the dying yearbook? What does it give you that an website can't? Do you have your old yearbooks? Do you look at them with any frequency?

David Gura

1:56 PM ET | 05- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

 

Observing the Anniversary with the Army

The experience of serving in any military is character building. In Israel, it's compulsory -- and somewhat more dangerous than other parts of the world. This week is the anniversary of Israel the country, and Israel's army -- the Israeli Defense Forces -- and we're marking both by talking about that particular military service.

Jeffrey Goldberg is a correspondent for The Atlantic -- and he had the unique experience of being an American Jew serving in the IDF. (Please read his coverage of Israel here, and here -- it's comprehensive and thought-provoking. Also, he loves The Wire, so read this too.) I saw a documentary about female Israeli soldiers at the Full Frame documentary festival last month -- we're lucky to have the director -- a veteran herself -- on today's show as well. Please post your thoughts -- and your experience, if you've served in the IDF.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post

 

A Harder Line

Last September, the Israeli Air Force bombed a site in Syria. The mission was veiled in secrecy. Was it retaliatory? A strike on Hezbollah? Israeli and American officials were silent. At press conferences, members of the Bush administration refused to answer questions about the attack, even as speculation grew that the jets had destroyed a clandestine nuclear facility. (You may remember that, in February, Seymour Hersh, of The New Yorker magazine, appeared on our program, to talk about his article, "A Strike in the Dark: What did Israel bomb in Syria?")

Just over a week ago, American officials announced that the IAF had bombed a nuclear site, built with North Korean assistance. They provided photographs, taken by the Central Intelligence Agency.

This weekend, the Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece by Leonard Spector and Avner Cohen, called "Cloak and stagger." Evidence that Iran and Syria have nuclear programs is there, they said, but we're not drawing obvious inferences, calling spades spades.

Do you think that the United States has taken, or is taking, a hard-enough line against Iran, Syria, and North Korea? Now that we've seen evidence, should we do more?

David Gura

1:58 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

 

Iron Man's Suit - Realistic, or Wishful Thinking?

My infatuation with Robert Downey, Jr., has been a steady, borderline obsession since I was about 13 -- first with Soapdish and Home for the Holidays, then with Chaplin and Only You, and rounded out with Ally McBeal (Season 4!) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. So you can imagine my delight when I heard that this summer has been dubbed "The Summer of Downey." He stars in three action-packed pics*, the first of which hit theaters this past weekend. Downey plays inventor and superhero Tony Stark in Hollywood's rendition of Marvel comic Iron Man.

It's easy to love superheros -- they're always decked out with the coolest, gravity-defying gadgetry. And Tony Stark is no exception -- he's got a mean suit, replete with jet boots, repulsor rays, and a cybernetic helmet. But how realistic are superhero suits, and can they ever be manufactured in real life? Physicist and author James Kakalios breaks it down in a piece for Wired, and he joins us today to give us the inside scoop.

If you've seen Iron Man already, give us your review. And what questions do you have about the physics of superhero gear?

* Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, and The Incredible Hulk

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

 

Public Lives/Private Lives

On today's program, we'll hear from three great writers, participants in PEN World Voices: Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Uzodinma Iweala.

For an hour, a studio in our New York bureau will be transformed into a new Algonquin Round Table. (Surely someone at The Bryant Park Project can make a mean martini.)

The theme of this year's festival is "Public Lives/Private Lives."

How do we draw a line between our private and public selves? When must we tell private stories for the public good? Do we need to redefine the meaning of public and private in the 21st century?

We'll put those questions to our three guests, but we want you to answer them too. Especially if you're a writer, professional or amateur. Should authors tell private stories, if it is for the public good?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 05- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

 

GTAIV ON BOTN

Editor's Update: Jim Patton, from Bush League TV, called in during the show. He has played Grand Theft Auto IV for 28 hours straight.

I know, I know -- I can't stop with the acronyms. Whatever. Moving on, if you've thought about Grand Theft Auto IV in the last couple of days, you probably fall into one of three categories. 1) You heard about it on NPR and put down your Kierkegaard for a minute, curiosity piqued. What will these internetizen gamertypes think of next! 2) You haven't stopped playing, reading or thinking about Niko Bellic for one moment since.... shhhh or 3) You are shocked, shocked, that there is sex and violence in a video game and wholeheartedly renounce GTA in any guise. We've got something for all three of yous today! A little Adam Sessler (from G4tv), a little Jack Thompson, and of course, your calls and comments.

I confess. I am a feminist. I am non-violent (mostly). I AM REALLY EXCITED TO PLAY THIS GAME.

Barrie Hardymon

1:57 PM ET | 05- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (69) | e-mail post

 

Elite Gymnast: Jennifer Sey

Perhaps because I'm a tall girl*, I've always been transfixed by gymnastics competitions on TV. Sure, the men's feats of endurance on the rings are amazing, but it's the tiny girls and young women who fly through the air with no regard for gravity that make my jaw drop in wonder. Even more, I read the fierce determination writ plain on their faces (Kerri Strug, anyone?) and just marvel at the training and discipline that keeps them aloft.

The average girl (moi, for example) just can't do it. Jennifer Sey did, and in 1986 she won the US National title, and then quickly burned out. All the things I've wondered about -- wow, gymnasts are so small (do they eat right?); wow, their coaches seem so tough (do they treat the girls ok?) -- she lived. And while she's careful not to malign the sport as a whole, she goes there -- eating disorders, abusive coaches, suspicion of inappropriate relationships between male coaches and young athletes... the works. And, in spite of it all, she still counts her big win as one of the best moments of her life. With an experience like that, she's got a great story and a bit of a cautionary tale for parents of today's young athletes... leave your difficulties and triumphs about guiding your kids through sports here, plus questions for Jen.

*OK, definitely not that tall, but tall. And yes, I've been gone for a few weeks and am technically still gone -- in case you're interested, I'm doing some super exciting multimedia training, and I will appear on a new blog, talking about all that, shortly. I'll keep y'all posted!

Sarah Handel

1:57 PM ET | 05- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

 

LOTOTN (Life of TOTN)

So -- to borrow Scott's phrase -- there's a lot happening in pre-production around here. Babies, weddings, houses, and puppies. It's crazy. Which is why you might have noticed (please say you have) that we've been a little blog-laxed lately. (Blog-Lax -- our new sedative!) However, I'm newly committed (as well as engaged) -- and we've got a familiar Fairy Blogfather who's stepped in to help! Tom Regan -- you know and love him from NPR's News Blog -- is giving us the benefit of his years of expertise. True story: before Tom was here at NPR, I read his Terrorism and Security blog for The Christian-Science Monitor every darn day and never gave him credit for my smartitude in meetings. Better late than never. Thanks, Tom!

Barrie Hardymon

8:50 AM ET | 05- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

 

Political Chunks From The Junkie

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.

Ashley Grashaw

1:59 PM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (71) | e-mail post

 

Is Everyone Really A Critic?

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?

David Gura

1:57 PM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

 

Don't Dis My DNA

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?

Scott Cameron

1:56 PM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

 

Sean Bell

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?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (31) | e-mail post

 

Olympic Torch Complicates Everest Climb

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.

Ashley Grashaw

1:58 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

 

Anatomy (So To Speak) Of A Tween Star

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?

Barrie Hardymon

1:57 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (62) | e-mail post

 

Baghdad High

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.

Scott Cameron

1:56 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

 

Presidential Press Conference

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?

David Gura

10:40 AM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

 

Child Custody -- Writ Large

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.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (53) | e-mail post

 

Dealing with the Devil

"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.

Barrie Hardymon

1:58 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

 

The Global Food Crisis

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.

Ashley Grashaw

1:57 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (24) | e-mail post

 

Spotted In The West Bank: Giraffes

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?

David Gura

1:56 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

 

Growing Up On Antidepressants

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?

Scott Cameron

1:59 PM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink | comments (66) | e-mail post

 

Talking Politics at Work

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.

Ashley Grashaw

1:58 PM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink | comments (27) | e-mail post

 

The Great Comic-Book Scare

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?

David Gura

1:57 PM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink | comments (30) | e-mail post

 

The Frugalista

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?

David Gura

1:56 PM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink | comments (19) | e-mail post

 

The Punxsutawney Primary

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?

Scott Cameron

1:59 PM ET | 04-23-2008 | permalink | comments (17) | e-mail post

 

Managing the Message

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.

Barrie Hardymon

1:59 PM ET | 04-23-2008 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post

 

One Iraqi Blogger's Moment of Truth

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.

Ashley Grashaw

1:56 PM ET | 04-23-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

 

Climate Connections

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?

David Gura

1:59 PM ET | 04-22-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

 

Steven Kurutz on Tribute Bands

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" »

Ashley Grashaw

1:58 PM ET | 04-22-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

 

"The Most Dangerous Gang in America"?

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.

Scott Cameron

1:57 PM ET | 04-22-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

 

Extreme China Makeover

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 Inde