By Michel Martin

Law professor Paul Butler says the rate of incarceration for young black men in particular is so high that it's time to start taking extreme measures to address it -- like routinely voting to acquit so-called non-violent drug offenders, even if you think they are guilty. He says we should also listen to hip-hop music. He says people should stop cooperating with the police for money and that defendants in criminal cases should get to find out sooner what evidence the authorities have against them.

Are you saying, yeah sure, makes sense? Or is your hair standing up on your neck yet? Are you ready to go give him a piece of your mind (or, even more than that, tell him where to GO)?

Well, read what he has to say. His article in The Nation is a good pr??cis. And this is the link to the book. Listen to the interview, let us know what you think.

What I also think is this: as provocative as all this sounds NOW, it is pretty tame stuff compared to what William Kunstler was talking about and doing back in the day, back in the 60s, 70s and up though the 80s, when he was openly challenging judges, telling them they were racist and the system was corrupt and broken. If you follow civil rights law or activism or were around in those days, then you probably know the name. But I am guessing a good many people won't remember exactly what he did or who he was. That's why the documentary, Disturbing The Universe -- made by two of his daughters -- is so powerful and interesting.

The project walks you through the history and also gives you some insight into what it was like to live through those times. And it reminds us that what sounds so out-of-the-box today might have been a dinner party conversation back in the day, and vice versa.

Who knows? What we think is so radical and crazy now, our kids might someday think is just ... common sense.

By Lee Hill

Hunger in the U.S. is at a record high. Tomorrow, Milwaukee Rep. Gwen Moore talks to us about recent findings by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which reports that 17 million households in this country were "food insecure" and struggled to put food on the table in 2008. Moore, herself, has an interesting story. She rose from poverty and, as an expectant mother on welfare, earned a degree from Marquette University before becoming the first African-American to represent Wisconsin in Congress. Moore's early struggles have influenced her passion on issues regarding access to food and community resources. The congresswoman will be joined by Jan Pruitt, who runs a food bank in Texas.

Also, Paul Butler, a scholar and former federal prosecutor, has penned a book called Let's Get Free: A Hip Hop Theory of Justice. Tomorrow, he talks with us about the role of hip-hop music in American culture against the backdrop of a flawed criminal justice system.

And ...

The Washington Blade -- widely regarded as the newspaper of record by members of the gay community -- surprised readers when it abruptly folded its operation Monday. For 40 years, the paper covered the highs, lows and tragedies of gay life. You might remember, just the other week, longtime Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro, Jr., was on the program to talk about the storied journey of the publication and his work as one of its leading journalists. So you can imagine the apparent shock by Chibarro and his colleagues when they arrived to work on Monday and were told they had only hours to pack their offices and clean out their desks. Tomorrow, blogger Zack Rosen explains why the Blade's demise is unfortunate, but not the end of the world.

iStock

By Michel Martin

New guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Screening Task Force suggest that women don't need routine screening for breast cancer until age 50, not 40 (as has been recommended for years) and that self-exams are of virtually no value. But the American Cancer Society says no way, keep screening.

So, what's a woman to do?

Well, that depends in part on who are you.

I am going to make a statement that might upset some people. Health is the one area where some profiling is actually helpful. It is just a fact that some ethnic groups are more susceptible to some conditions than others. For example, African-Americans are statistically more likely to experience Sickle Cell disease, Ashkenazi Jews to experience Tay Sachs disease.

Who knows why? In some cases we know, in others we don't. But in any case, ethnic backgroundplays a role just like individual family history, just like social context. So that's one reason we spend a lot of time talking about how health issues play out differently in different communities. You need to know if you are more at risk.

As for me, I hit the 50 mark recently so I'll be trudging off to get my cousins squeezed up in short order in any case. Sigh. I'll be happy when they come up with a more pleasant method for detecting breast cancer but until then I am glad there is ANY method for detecting breast cancer. But until then, we hope you weigh ALL the arguments carefully and consult your medical professional.

Don't hide from the facts, check it out and decide what's in YOUR best interest. And then treat yourself to a Starbucks when it's over. And when they ask if you want the whipped cream, say yes this time.

Hope you had a good weekend. We are back and we are, like most reporters and news editors in the US, trying to balance the steady stream of seriously important news while looking ahead to the upcoming festivities. Turkey Day is upon us, the winter holidays approach, we want to embrace it ALL.

I don't know about you but I think it's especially important in times of hardship to celebrate where and when one can. It's important to remember there is always hope. This is not meant to be a political statement. The left-of-center writer Barbara Ehrenreich, often found in The Nation and the New York Times opeds has a new book out where she decries the positive thinking culture. She says it's a dodge to keep us from focusing on the political changes she feels we actually need to fix the circumstances that cause so many problems to begin with. I could argue there's a theological dispute behind some of that too. Some focus on personal salvation and others on social change and there's sometimes a conflict between those who emphasize one or the other. Anyway ...

Back to hope. We are still working through our Thanksgiving programming and if you have ideas we'd love to hear them. In the past we've talked about GRATITUDE. What does it mean?

And we are following the President's trip to Asia. We are also keeping up with the education issues that we care so much about as students head home for their first break of the school year.

We're thinking about a new book about the genocide in Rwanda and honor killings in Jordan. And we're thinking about how to have healthier holidays as so many struggle with diet and weight issues. It's the totality of human life and we care about all of it. Stay tuned ...

Army Maj. Dawud Agbere, who is a Muslim, prays at a mosque outside Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas on Monday. (Paul Sakuma / AP)

By Teshima Walker

I have a word or two about our shows this week and what we have planned for Monday.

Tell Me More has done its fair share of coverage of Maj. Nidal Hasan. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder in the recent mass shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Let me tell you a not so secret - secret. I support the death penalty, but not for Hasan. He should live.

Hasan is the difficult lesson that the Army shouldn't forget.

It has been reported -- and disputed by the Army -- that Hasan wanted out of the military. He was conflicted about his obligation to the Army and his allegiance to people who looked like him and worshiped as he did. Today in our Faith Matters conversation, Michel talked with Tariq Ramadan, professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. Ramadan believes that Muslims are often asked unfairly where their loyalties lie. According to him, "that's a meaningless question" because all citizens have multiple identities and everything in life depends on context. And, the bottom-line, explained Ramadan, is that this is not a story about a Muslim committing a crime, but about someone who had a psychological problem. He also said the Army should have let Hasan exit the Military.

Now, President Obama has ordered an "inventory of all intelligence" in U.S. government files related to Hasan, to be completed at the end of November. It seems the president wants to know if, and how, this tragedy could have been avoided. John Brennan, assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism, will oversee the review. And Members of Congress are talking about launching their own investigations.

We'll continue to report on this story. As details unfold, please let us know what you think.

Next week on Tell Me More:

NPR's West Africa Correspondent Ofeibea Quist Arcton discusses the most complex and challenging stories she's covered in 2009. Ofeibea has been all over Africa -- from Guinea to Senegal, from Nigeria to Ghana. Join us on Monday to hear all about her travels.

Have a good weekend.

By Michel Martin

Obviously that term is a moving target ... it's often used as an epithet ... something we say to people who we think are suppressing necessary truth for fear of offending. That would mean OUR truth, whatever OUR truth is. Often, let's face it, it's another way of bullying by people who resent having to watch their P's and Q's in a way they did not have to in the past. "Oh, you mean I don't get to call you the N word, the B word, the W word, or the F word? You're being politically correct."

Having said that...let's assume there are times when truth is being shut down and suppressed, when necessary truths are unspoken, because of fear of giving offense. The question we want to ask is: was the Fort Hood shooting one of those times? Did fear of causing offense keep Maj. Nidal Hasan's colleagues and associates--in the military and at the mosque--from telling the truth about him out loud?

We wanted to know, so we talked to two reporters who cover the military closely for their take on these important issues. AND we talked about the converse in the Muslim community. Did people there not discuss Hasan's growing anti American radicalism --and perhaps his growing mental instability-- for fear of causing offense within that community? We asked Asra Nomani, who has written widely about gender and other contemporary issues in Islam, for her take. And we called Imam Johari Abdul Malik, who is director of outreach at a mosque formerly visited by Maj. Hasan. He has denounced the shootings, but what about BEFORE? Would he call out elements in the mosque who express bigotry toward others?

Continue reading "What Does It Means To Be Politically Correct?" >

Megan Williams, left, and her mother Carmen Williams (now deceased) stand outside of the Logan County Courthouse in March 2008 in West Virginia. Karen Burton and Frankie Brewster were sentenced for kidnapping and sexual assault of Megan Williams. Brewster and Burton were among seven white Logan County residents who were charged in the Williams case. Authorities say Williams was held captive for several days in 2007 at Brewster's trailer home. (Stan Barouh / Woolly Mammoth)

By Lee Hill

An update to an update:

Weeks ago, we reported that Megan Williams, a young black woman from West Virginia, recanted claims that she had been brutally abused in 2007. Original reports stated that Williams was raped and tortured at the hands of her white former boyfriend, Bobby Brewster, and his family.

We covered both the original allegations and William's subsequent claim that she made the story up. (Tell Me More also reported how, in response to William's retraction, Frankie Brewster, one of the women convicted of abusing her, said that the attacks did happen and that Williams is not telling the truth.)

Now, according to a recent story by The Charleston Gazette, Megan Williams -- now living in Ohio -- says the whole thing is true. She says she was abused, although she still says some of the earlier torture claims (such as her being made to eat rat feces) were, indeed, false. Megan Williams also says her adoptive mother Carmen Williams, who is recently deceased, encouraged her to fabricate parts of her original story.

We'll keep you updated as the story warrants.

By Luis Clemens

"Sesame Street" provided the soundtrack of my childhood. I watched the show every day. As a latchkey kid, I kept myself company by singing aloud in front of the television set.

And I still can't help smiling when I think of "The Beetles" singing "Letter B":

The other day I found myself singing "C is for Cookie" aloud with my daughter. She laughed very hard.

But, my all-time "Sesame Street" favorite is "Manamana." Think twice before you hit play because the song is so infectious it'll be resonating in your head for the next week.

"Sesame Street" has also excelled at getting popular musicians to do kiddie covers of their own songs.

Here's Leslie Feist doing a charming version of her song "1234":

Norah Jones performed an instructive cover of "Don't Know Why" that somehow preserves the saudade of the original.

Classical music has also been a constant presence; much of it as part of the "Pretty Great Performances" series. Below are James Galway and Maria:

The weirdest example of classical music on Sesame Street is probably the orange in the video below singing an aria from Bizet's "Carmen."

Yo-Yo Ma is a repeat guest on the show.

And then there are the cases where musicians performed covers of Sesame Street songs, such as Ray Charles performing "Being Green"

Happy 40th Birthday, "Sesame Street."

Enjoy and share your favorites.

Thanks,
Luis

The Muslim Community Center, a mosque once attended by Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, is seen in Silver Spring, Md. Hasan is suspected to have shot and killed at least 12 people at Ft. Hood, Texas on Thursday. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP)

By Michel Martin

We are sorry we didn't get to BackTalk, our letters segment, again today. A last minute interview came through that we really thought added value.

We were able to track down James Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo for his take on last week's deadly shooting at Ft. Hood. Yee is attending a conference in India and we were interested in his views about what happened, and how religion may or may not play into it all. Obviously, there's been some conversation about whether Army Maj. Nidal Hasan's (the suspected shooter) religious identity played a role in what happened. We also heard from a former National Guard medic and a former Marine, both Muslim-Americans, who had a different perspective than Yee.

Why are we focusing on Hasan's Muslim identity, as opposed to his psychiatric background or his identity as a suburbanite? ... As a man? A single man?

Those are legitimate questions.

Let me tell you where we're coming from on this. We feel there are other people who are already addressing some of these stories. The New York Times, for example, had a very interesting piece over the weekend about military psychiatrists.

And it's no secret, if you listen to the program, that we're interested in the way life is lived right now. We're interested in identity, we're interested in how people see themselves within the context of the changing American story. That's part of our mission and I, personally, was very interested to hear three different perspectives from three different service members about how that particular part of their identity played out for them.

I know that some have no patience for these kinds of stories and discussions, and I understand that. But please know that some people have no interest in sports or science, or cars or any number of other things that NPR produces programs about.

This is some people's story. And I, for one, am very interested.

Continue reading "Did Faith Play A Role In The Ft. Hood Shootings? " >

By Alicia Montgomery

Right after the Fort Hood shooting on Thursday afternoon, the whole Tell Me More team did what good journalists are supposed to do; we sought out the facts and mapped out how we could best bring the story to our listeners.

But in the first moments after the news broke, I had the awful feeling that there was something about this story I was missing ... something I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Then it clicked in the back of my mind.

My cousin Paul is stationed at Ft. Hood.

At that moment, I stopped thinking about my job and started thinking about my family. Paul is a good young man. He's smart, decent, hard working and honest. And while I was proud that he had joined the military a couple of years ago, I dearly wished he hadn't. My family has had enough tragedy, and the idea that one of our best and brightest young men would be in a war zone scared the hell out of me.

When Paul was deployed to Iraq, I didn't talk to anyone about it because I didn't want to think about it. That was the only way I could concentrate for those months while I was working here, where our network and our program regularly covered stories about service members being injured or killed.

In a way, there was a part of me that held my breath for every day he was overseas.

That part of me didn't exhale until this spring, when Paul was back in America, where we all knew he'd be safe...in Texas, at Fort Hood.

The hour or so yesterday between the time the story broke and the time I got news of Paul, I was in agony. I drove home crying, with gospel songs turned all the way up as I sung and sometimes shouted prayers in time with the music. When I got home and saw a text message saying he was okay, I collapsed with relief.

During that long drive yesterday, one of the things I swore I would do if Paul was safe was to reach out to our listeners, especially those touched by this tragedy.

Here's what I want to say:

I know that sometimes it seems like news organizations don't really understand, appreciate or care about the victims of war or crimes like these. I imagine that sometimes it looks like we're more focused on telling the story of the perpetrators of these crimes than the victims.

But I want to let you know that THIS organization is made up of people who do understand that every one of those victims was the precious son, daughter, husband, wife or friend of an untold number of people. And now that circle of loved ones has been plunged into unimaginable grief. In our work, we're doing everything we can to recognize that loss and to honor their lives. And if at any moment, you feel we're falling short, please let us know, and give us the chance to do better.

Take care.