Mandalit del Barco poses with members of the NPR/Tell Me More staff. Pictured (left to right): Arwa Gunja, Teshima Walker, Luis Clemens, Douglas Hopper, Monika Evstatieva, Lee Hill, Mandalit del Barco, Michel Martin, Peter Breslow and Brakkton Booker. (Trina Williams / NPR)

Mandalit del Barco, here ...

It's all so new for me, this hosting gig. Guest hosting, I should say. Michel Martin was kind enough to hand me the mic, to vamp in her place for a few days while she was travelling. I'm so honored to be invited to fill in on the show, and really grateful to the thoughtful ...and sympathetic.... producers and editors who've made me feel at home. I came all the way from NPR West in Los Angeles to be here at the headquarters I call "NPR East."

See, as an NPR correspondent, I'm used to being a street reporter, having adventures in the field, telling other people's stories. And as a producer, I'm used to masterminding the audio. But filling an entire show with interviews? That's been an exciting challenge. And I like challenges.

Before my debut, I admit I was kinda nervous, but mostly excited. "Just be yourself," advised everyone, from Michel to another NPR host, Scott Simon, to my friends around the country (who I updated regularly via Facebook and Twitter). I wanted to preserve the spirit and mission of "Tell Me More": lively and provocative chats about diverse topics with folks we don't always get to hear from on the airwaves.

So.

With this in mind, the staff and I delved into some of the kinds of stories I really wanted to tell as a host. The debate over health care and undocumented immigrants is broiling, and this week, it really got hot, not only during the conservative rally here in D.C. last weekend, but also in this week??s radio-thon with right-wing talk show hosts. I'd heard of a growing movement against one of those hosts, a certain CNN personality who's been criticized for a long time over his views on illegal immigrants. I was hoping for an exclusive interview. Sadly, despite our best efforts, Lou Dobbs was not available.

Nevertheless, we had a very engaging discussion about the tenor of the debate around immigrants and healthcare reform. And today, we tackled another intriguing issue of the day: the question of racism in the debate over healthcare reform. We had a great talk, in the wake of former President Jimmy Carter critique that racism is at play.

Continue reading "Notes From A Rookie" >

Lee Hill, here ...

We brought you two heavy hitting studies on today's program.

First we told you how a new report commissioned by The Sentencing Project shows how there's been a ethnic change in trend among those being arrested and sentenced to prison, as part of the nation's "War on Drugs." You can learn more about the shift, and what researchers say is behind it, by clicking here.

Also, do you find it interesting to know that undocumented immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born residents of legal immigrants to live in a household with a spouse or children? We talked about this today with a man behind the study, Jeffrey Passel.

Read the findings for yourself, and tell us what your thoughts are, based on your observations where you live?

Surprised? ... Not so much?

Or, might you be curious to know more about the stories behind these statistics (both the sentencing disparities and the lifestyles of immigrants in the U.S.)?

Also, remembering David "Pop" Winans. Even after speaking today with his son, the Rev. Marvin Winans, it's still difficult to put Pop Winans' life into words. Check out today's remembrance.

Luis Clemens, here. I'm the Planning Editor for TMM.

Earlier this month, at Tell Me More, we spoke to Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard about the impact the war is having in his state. During the interview, he said the following:

We're very optimistic that this new administration is going to bring a new spirit, a new intensity to some of the problems we have here on the border. And by that, I don't just mean raising fences and digging in. I mean being more intelligent about curbing the drug trade, the weapons trade.

Well, yesterday, President Obama opened the door to upping the ante along the U.S-Mexico border. He said:

We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense, and under what circumstances they would make sense.

That doesn't sound definitive but it is of great interest that the Obama Administration is willing to consider the option.

On tomorrow's show, we will hear from California Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Beto O'Rourke, a member of El Paso's city council. The Congresswoman chairs a Homeland Security subcommittee. O'Rourke represents El Paso's District 8, which is literally on the border with Ciudad Juarez.

Should be interesting to hear what they say about the possibility of troops on the border.

Luis

Happy day-after-Election Day.

I need to report that the candidate we told you about on Monday's program, Aracely Panameno, running as a write-in candidate for a seat on the Prince William County, Va., Board of Supervisors -- in part, as a protest of that county's immigration efforts to ban services to illegal immigrants -- did not do well. She garnered only 241 votes, out of more than 4,800 cast. Her opponent, John Jenkins, a 26-year veteran, was a shoo-in with more than 4,500 votes.

Was it impressive, given that she only started a couple of weeks ago and was campaigning as a write-in candidate? Was it foolhardy? ... A symbolic gesture more than a real campaign? I'm curious to know what happens next. Both candidates were Democrats. All the incumbents won, all voted for the new measures intended to deny public services to illegal immigrants and to give local police more authority to check immigration status. A number of local jurisdictions are pursuing those kinds of measures. Aracely Panameno's argument was that the measures are a smokescreen for bigger problems facing the county. Her opponent declined to talk to us -- the measures targeting illegals are now the subject of a lawsuit. But we talked to other supporters of the restrictions, who are adamant that their quality of life is being threatened by illegal immigration.

It's an emotional debate, and you can see it playing out across the country ... It just happened to be in our backyard.

Another interesting notion raised by Panameno's candidacy is that the Latino vote is a sleeping giant. She noted that there are 14,000 registered Latino voters in her district. She said if even a fraction came out, she'd win. Well, they didn't. And why not? Questions for future programs...

Now, if you're wondering why we didn't do more on the election results in today's program, I'll tell you:

Continue reading "Election Day Follow-Up" >