NPR: Spanning the World in an Hour

Spanning the World in an Hour

So, today ... to Pakistan ... to China ... to India, all through the magic of radio.

We started the program in Pakistan. If you follow international news, you certainly will have heard about Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf's imposition of martial law. The government has suspended the judiciary, locked up thousands of lawyers, university professors and other civil leaders. President Bush has urged Musharraf to step down from his position as leader of the army and the civil government, and to hold elections as scheduled; so far, Musharraf has ignored his international and domestic critics, but has said he will hold elections early next year.

Other NPR programs have offered interviews with the Musharraf government and analysts, but we wanted to know what it is like to be in the middle of the maelstrom. What is it like to be a lawyer, a university professor, a believer in civil society, and to see everything you believe in suspended in the name of civil order? And, how do you choose who to be a part of that story? We did not get into the politics of political parties -- Musharraf vs. Bhutto. We felt that's another story for another time. We will get there...

And, consumer products. When I saw Loretta Tofani's series on the conditions facing Chinese workers I could not stop reading it (pdf).

Loretta is an old friend and colleague from our days at the Washington Post. Her Pulitzer is from a series she wrote chronicling conditions at a local county jail where sexual assaults were routine. Her reputation for detail remains, as you'll see when you read the mountain of statistics and public records she was able to amass even in a country where information is so tightly controlled.

It's another angle on the story about the safety of the products we consume. Plus, hear an update from Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher Conkey on how this issue is playing out domestically.

And to India, (via New York). The incredible filmmaker Mira Nair (rhymes with fire) sat for a talk about the film festival she's involved with there.

To end the show, get your groove on with a preview of the Latin Grammys.

More tomorrow...

Michel Martin

5:25 PM ET | 11- 8-2007 | permalink

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5:25 PM ET | 11- 8-2007 | permalink

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Okay, this is NOT about the veterans or any of those stories - this is about the clothing folks. Here's the thing. I am so very glad to have someone getting up and saying we need more modest dress - but I have a problem, even tongue-in-cheek, with their tagline and their thrust at women. Hello...first, as a mom, do I not have an influence on my daughters? Second, why why WHY aren't we also saying boys and men need to be modest?? We've got boys, white/black/brown/purple, saggin their jeans and showing off underwear - where are the pants and belts at their website? Third, will we EVER be rid of the underlying idea that women are the cause of the problem and if we just cover them we'll not have a problem anymore?? I am SICK TO DEATH of my gender being the sex gatekeeper - Eddie in your interview talks about "being able to take the girl home to my mom," but come on, boy, you're the one LOOKIN.

I DO believe we should be teaching our girls to be more modest. I ALSO believe we should teach that to our sons, they should ALSO be modest, and that they are responsible for their own reactions and are not some kind of slave to hormones or to physical response or whatever the party line is.

Sent by Sarah PJ | 6:03 PM ET | 11-15-2007

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"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, the new Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.