NPR: Sean Bell Acquittal Rocks the Show

Sean Bell Acquittal Rocks the Show

A lot going on today so I'm going to kick it to Douglas in a few. We HOPE we'll be back in our studio this afternoon and if not by Monday. Not to be melodramatic but the whole experience, minor and annoying as it has been, has caused me to try to think, again, about the experiences of those who are really displaced. I have covered many many floods and other natural disasters in my career (including Katrina) but I never lived in a flood zone or tornado or hurricane zone myself. And so the experience of having to pack, to leave, to wonder if you'll ever be back home ... I want to know more ... and I'm off.

Douglas here ...

Right around the time Michel sat down to record the top of the show, we saw on the wires that a New York judge had acquitted the officers in the Sean Bell case. It's a story we've been following and so we jumped on it. We got Robert Smith - one of NPR's New York reporters - on the phone and talked to him about the reaction at the courthouse. Robert was actually outside the courthouse and said the scene was dramatic and emotional. Apparently one of Sean Bell's companions - who was also fired at by the officers - came running out of the courtroom and knocked down a barricade. Here, take a listen.

If you hear the show at 9am EST, you may not have heard the interview, but we have it folded into the show now.

And you may have missed our weekly segment Backtalk. We had to bump it off the broadcast, but of course we kept it on the site.

Also on the show today, a conversation with two friends who've had to reconcile their religious outlooks on life. Stan Guthrie is an evangelical Christian; his friend Yehiel Poupko is a rabbi and Jewish scholar. As you may imagine, they had a lot to discuss. And here's the email exchange we mentioned.

Alright ... I have to run out to meet some folks who'll hopefully be on Monday's show.

UPDATE: Our studio 4B is all dried out and running again! Our stint as nomadic broadcasters has come to an end (for now). We're back home. Good News!

Douglas Hopper

11:45 AM ET | 04-25-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

we have to stop this we can not let this continue to let them do this to our husbands and kids this is where we lose our respect for the police now what if their is an uprise and we go around killing police just because they are police just like they do our kids and husbands now that would be considered wrong but them shotting a young boy running with handcuffs on in the back is just fine the boy was sixteen that is considered the right thing to do how are we suppose to feel about that we must put a stop to this

Sent by seletha james | 2:12 PM ET | 04-25-2008

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

E-mail Updates from the Tell Me More Blog

Share Your Story

What would it take to get your vote? Share text, audio or video.

'Tell Me More' with Michel Martin

"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.