By Michel Martin

We're still talking about election results from Tuesday. Are you? Or, are you over it?

If you're still analyzing, what are you thinking about? Tomorrow, we'll talk to President Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe. If you have any questions for HIM, send them my way. (But hurry please. The conversation will be tomorrow morning. So no time to linger.)

And that vote in Maine? Overturning the state legislature's decision to legalize same-sex marriage got us thinking about the question of gay rights around the globe. Did you know that same-sex marriage is legal in South Africa? I didn't, or rather I did, and forgot.

And South Africa is also one of the countries where polygamy is legal. As you know, the current head of state, Jacob Zuma, has three wives.

Today, our analyst, Neville Hoad, who teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, says the two are linked. South Africa, as a relatively new full democracy (it was a democracy during Apartheid but not for all, of course), wanted to be as inclusive and progressive as possible in forming its new constitution.

Professor Hoad says recognizing these various marriage forms was a signal of that.

We are also thinking about what's up in late night television. There are some new choices available. We'll tell you about them.

And what about that H1N1 vaccine? Are you going to get it, or not? Let us know.

By Lee Hill

We have our collective eye on a chilling story out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Anthony Sowell, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on five charges of murder. He is accused of strangling and burying several women in and outside his house. So far, 11 decomposing bodies have been found (one of the bodies was reportedly found outside the house, although away from public view). Officers will continue to search Sowell's house for more victims.

Cleveland authorities say Sowell's neighbors reported a foul smell in the area for years, which was eventually blamed on the sausage company next door to Sowell's Imperial Avenue home. Apparently, the odor was so strong that city officials ordered the sausage establishment to make $10,000 worth of repairs. Those repairs included flushing the sewerage system with bleach.

There are many questions to be answered in this case.

Sowell, who was previously convicted of attempted rape, re-entered society in 2005 after serving a 15-year prison sentence for assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 1989. In some jurisdictions, such as Washington, D.C., sex offenders can expect random home visits, or "accountability tours" from local police. The felon's residence is subject to inspection for pornography and anything else that could signal a relapse in reform. Still, among the questions: how can 11 rotting bodies go undetected in a home for so long, even when neighbors complained of a stench?

Also, were these victims -- all of which have been confirmed as black women -- ever reported missing? And what was the status of police investigations into their disappearances?

What we do know, from Sowell's earlier conviction, is that the former Marine (who served eight years in North Carolina, Okinawa, Japan and California) seemed to have a penchant for targeting women who were already on the fringes of society. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports a former victim of Sowell's, who escaped, as having been told by him:

"You're just another crack [expletive] from the street. No one will know if you're missing."

And, of course, just who is Anthony Sowell? One ponders how the alleged serial killer could murder and then live among his decomposing victims -- especially considering the neighbors' description of the stench as unbearable.

And while police try and pin down exactly when and why these murders occurred, we also want to know more about the working-class neighborhood surrounding the Imperial Avenue house. Some find it unconscionable that such a scene could go unnoticed as bodies accumulate on a property, leaving an odor that alarms the senses.

So, how was such a situation undetected for so long in this neighborhood?

We're on the story, and we hope to tell you more.

Meanwhile, here's Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGraff's earlier press briefing on developments in the case:

Rob Sachs, here ...

There were some harsh words said about the Phillies baseball team on today's program. So as the World Series swings back to my hometown, I'd just like to offer 10 reasons why the Phillies will definitely win the World Series:

1. We have the coolest nicknames in baseball -- The Flyin Hawaiian (Shane Victorino), Chooch (Carlos Ruiz), and Hollywood (Cole) Hamels.

2. We have facial hair, and we know how to use it.

3. Speaking of Jayson Werth, he comes from a family of athletes including his mom who was track star ... that's just cool.

4. The Phillie Phanatic: He's big and green and he does his own stunts.

5. Pitcher Cliff Lee's cat-like reflexes.

6. Over half our starting line-up were All-Stars this year.

7. Our star slugger Ryan Howard reached 200 career homeruns faster than any other player in major league history.

8. Chase Utley has already broken the all-time record for consecutive games reaching safely in the postseason.

9. Our fans are way more enthusiastic and despite a rowdy reputation, we're very cool people, especially we bring our kids to the game.

10. Because Phillies oracle shortstop Jimmy Rollins said we would -- he's never http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2009/10/10_reasons_the_phillies_will_t.html?ft=1&f=6831923 http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2009/10/10_reasons_the_phillies_will_t.html?ft=1&f=6831923 'Behind the Curtain' at TMM World Series baseball phillies Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:26:37 -0500 J.J. Sutherland, here, visiting senior producer with Tell Me More ... As the parent of a newborn, I've been somewhat frantically searching for a place I can get the H1N1 vaccine. As someone who has spent a lot of time in, well, less upstanding countries, my first instinct was to figure out who to bribe. My wife and colleagues convinced me this was a bad idea. The lines were hours long at the local schools where they were giving it out, and until Thursday my doctor's practice had run out. When I finally made it down to the office with my wife and 8-week-old in tow, I heard the receptionist say repeatedly to people on the phone, "I'm sorry you don't meet the criteria, and if we give you the shot, we won't get any more from the government." This pandemic was panicking people. We went in to get our shot and the nurse didn't even look at our paperwork, just looked at my daughter, saw that she is under six months old, and gave us our shot. And then it came to me. I'd been willing to pay money to get a shot. I'm sure others would be. And you can't get a shot unless you have a baby under 6 months old or are pregnant. I couldn't help the second situation without getting a divorce, but, maybe, just maybe, I could rent out the baby. Think about it, charge a thousand bucks for twenty minutes. When they come out, change her outfit and send her back in. I looked thoughtfully at my little money maker. My entrepreneurial dreams crumbled, though, when I glanced at my wife. But still ... -- Lee Hill J.J. Sutherland, here, visiting senior producer with Tell Me More ...

Lee Hill, here ...

Michael Jackson is back. This is it.

Well, sort of.

Obviously, he hasn't actually returned from his final resting place (although that would make for an interesting movie). This Is It is the title of the newly-released film that chronicles the "King of Pop" during a three-month period leading up to his sudden death on June 25 at age 50.

The film boasts rare, behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson as he rehearsed for his world comeback tour that was also titled, strangely enough, This Is It. The film's footage was originally compiled during the dress rehearsals for the tour. The concert series, which would have been underway now, was meant to be Jackson's final comeback.

Now, the tour footage serves only as a memorial to the moon-walking, crotch-grabbing legend. And, of course, it will also help to answer those questions about whether Michael Jackson still "had it" -- as in dance moves -- at age 50.

What do YOU make of all the hoopla surrounding this release?

Is it a fitting tribute? Or, is all of this a bit over-the-top for the dearly departed?

Tune in tomorrow. Tell Me More discusses This Is It.

In the meantime, here's the promotional trailer:

Tell us what you think.

Were you ever an Indian for Halloween? Or a geisha girl?

Did it ever occur to you that some may find such costumes racist or offensive? Our Senior Supervising Producer Teshima Walker -- an African-American -- says her mom once dressed up her and her sister as little pilgrim-settler girls, a la "Little House on the Prairie." She still remembers the looks of shock and skepticism they got from their black neighbors.

On today's show, we talked about offensive costumes with Carmen Van Kerckhove of the blog "Racialicious" (who admitted to once donning a costume she now regrets). Some may dismiss this as political correctness run amok, but Carmen explains the pain some feel is real.

We'd love to hear your costume sagas. Listen to today's conversation, where you can link to Carmen's interview and see photos of some costumes that offend. Then tell us what you've dressed up as but wish you hadn't, what costumes you'd never let your kids wear, OR why you think this is all ridiculous and overblown.

I'll start off and admit that I've repeatedly suggested my 7-year-old dress up as a revolutionary or civil war soldier (his jacket is blue), simply because he's already got the costumes! In the back of my mind I did wonder whether some might find such garb appropriate for the holiday. In any case, he resisted, conned his grandma into getting him one more accessory, and will be hitting the streets as Indiana Jones, with his little brother sidekick, the Lone Ranger.

(Hmmm....)

And here's a photo of them from a past Halloween -- please don't tell me there's anything offensive about superheroes!:

Aidan (left) and Alexander, sons of Jennifer Ludden, donned costumes as Captain America and Spiderman for Halloween 2008. (Family photo)

We wanted to bring you several perspectives from people living in a country where there's been a wave of bomb attacks. We finally managed it. Trust me when I say there was no shortage of people willing to talk to us, but for some reason we had a very hard time coming up with a broadcast quality phone line where there was not too much static and you could hear everyone clearly without straining your ears to make out words and phrases. And we, of course, needed them to hear us.

We had planned to have several voices on today from a variety of backgrounds. Our producers found two people with connections to two of the targets of suicide attacks. We tried and tried to connect one of our overseas phone calls. We were getting heavy static, the line dropped repeatedly -- finally, we made a decision - we had to be satisfied with one person on the ground in Pakistan, not two. We had whole lists of other folks we had reached out to but either had the same problem or we could not get through in time for the broadcast.... Such is life ...we just want you to know that we recognize there is almost always a WIDE range of views on any given topic and we rarely feel that one voice sums up the whole...but in this case we had to go for quality over quantity.

Speaking of voices, and quality over quantity ... I am losing mine. I am not sure whether it's allergies or a cold (we've had some crazy weather here in D.C.; unseasonably warm some days and chilly the next), so I am going to step out of the chair tomorrow and try to rest my voice.

Those are producer's orders. (Apparently, they don't think my voice sounds as sexy as I do.)

You'll be in the capable hands of NPR's Jennifer Ludden, who was nice enough to fill in for me last August. I hope to be back with you on Wednesday.

P.S. Earlier today, I misspoke and called Lahore Pakistan's second largest city after the capital of Karachi. While it is TRUE that Lahore is the country's second largest city after Karachi - Karachi is NOT the capital that would be Islamabad. BRAIN FREEZE. I apologize for the error which was all mine. I certainly know the capital I just got twisted up. So, we have already fixed the error for the stations that take the program in the early afternoon and early evening but those that heard me early this morning got to hear me be dumb. Sorry about that.

Hey Tell Me More listeners, do you have a recommendation for a good Happy Hour? Where do you go to unwind after a long work week? I rarely go to the little gimmicky bar and restaurant, faux networking events. I don't drink.

On Friday nights, I like to curl up on my pink sofa and read. (I'm trying to get through The RZA's new book titled: "The Tao of Wu". Michel talked with him on Monday's show. If you haven't heard the interview - CHECK IT OUT, please.) Or, I like dancing wildly around my apartment. I'm listening to new CDs: Meshell Ndegeocello's "Devil's Halo" and Mayer Hawthorne's "A Strange Arrangement." You'll be able to hear those performance chats on Tell Me More within the next two weeks.

But, tonight, I'm in the mood for one of those Happy Hour miniature meals. You know a plate piled high with chicken wing-lets ... quesadillas ... tiny cheeseburgers ... cheese sticks ... nachos. Hey what about tapas? My mouth is watering.

I can't wait for the end of my work day.

But, there's more work to do. We are planning next week's show. Here's what we've got on tap:

What is going on in Pakistan? Its government is under intense pressure to rid the country of Islamist militant groups that have found shelter in its northwest region. In the month of October, reports estimate that more than 200 people have died in a surge of militant attacks. We'll talk with Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistani journalist and author of the book, "Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within." Nuwaz is in Brussels briefing NATO on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Plus, we'll talk with some folks in Pakistan who are working, attending school, planning their families futures with violence happening all around them. That's on Monday's show.

Have a great weekend!

Alicia Montgomery, here ...

Looking a today's program, we get two conversations about identity.

Defining yourself can be the work of a lifetime. On today's program, we heard perspectives in two of our segments about when individuals have the opportunity -- or, as some would say, the burden -- of helping to define members of their ethnic or faith community for millions of outside.

Dalia Mogahed, the executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, spoke with us about "Who Speaks for Islam?" the upcoming conversation series on Link TV. And the guys in the Barbershop -- journalists Gustavo Arellano, Arsalan Iftikhar, Jimi Izrael, and Ruben Navarrette -- give their take on the CNN special "Latino in America."

These are great conversations to cap off another week of dynamic stories on our program.

Check out the links and enjoy.

What about the parents of those girls in that university cafeteria in Islamabad, where a suicide bomber attacked earlier this week? All universities are closed, for now. So what do all those students do now?

What does this mean? We're working on it, and we hope to bring you some distinctive conversations as soon as we can.

And health care reform/overhaul/fix it up, whatever you want to call it. Yes, we are spending a lot of time on this story but we think it's important. The decisions made today may affect the way health care is delivered and paid for in this generation and the next. We just think we owe it to you and ourselves to feel we have done what we can to let you know the principles and ideas shaping the debate.

Is it too much? Too little? Let us know. There is no rule here. (We could, literally, do a story every single day but ... then we think, okay, too much.) This is not a science, trust me.

And the cancer screening thing ...

I read the New York Times story on Wednesday and I thought, huh? I thought the word of wisdom was pretty simple -- GET SCREENED. But now maybe not? Or, now maybe there's a concern about OVER treatment or mis-diagnosis? Wha?

And, Megan Williams. I remember that story so well. It was almost too disgusting to report. Every time we talked about it, we had to issue a disclaimer saying the details are hard to listen to. To recap: the young woman, who is black, was having a relationship with a young man named Bobby Brewster, who is white, and something happened such that (she said) she was held captive by Brewster and his family and subjected to a very great deal of abusive and truly demeaning behavior. Torture, really. Seven people wound up pleading guilty to abusing her.

Now, Williams says -- and this is so hard to fathom -- that she made it up. The then-prosecutor says his investigation BEGAN with her statements, it did not end there and he has every confidence that the prosecution was valid. All the defendants made incriminating statements and supported the complaint, which is what led to the pleas.

We have no idea what to think, so we called one of the reporters who followed Williams' case from the beginning.

And because we cannot leave you devastated with this blog post, we just can't ...

A special in-studio performance to SWEETEN your day: Sweet Honey In the Rock. The group celebrated their 35th year with us, along with a special in-studio performance. And you know what? If you happen to be in Washington, D.C. tomorrow, you can check them out in person at the Warner Theatre.

Wish I could go ...

Lee Hill, here ...

We have our collective eye on a story that involves Arizona Sen. John McCain, fellow Republican New York Rep. Peter King, President Obama and a long-deceased professional boxer.

How might these individuals be linked?

Jack Jackson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1908. Among Johnson's detractors were those who thought him to be unworthy of the title and its notoriety because many of the champion's (defeated) opponents were white. But tensions reached a tilting point in 1910, after Johnson stepped into the ring to defend his title against boxer Jeff Jeffries. Jeffries had been branded as the "Great White Hope" who would defeat Jack Johnson and end his reign in the sport.

Didn't happen.

But in 1912, Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which was intended to crack down on prostitution. The boxing legend was found to have traveled with a white woman, whom he had dated, to another state (Johnson was very public -- and unapologetic -- about his affinity for white women). He went on to serve 10 months in prison, which dealt a blow to his champion profile.

Sen. McCain and Rep. King have asked the president to issue a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson. In a letter to Obama, McCain (a known boxing fan) suggests the charges were ill-conceived and bogus:

Mr. Johnson served 10 months in prison on these charges brought forward clearly to keep him away from the boxing ring where he continued to defeat his white opponents.

Filmmaker Ken Burns produced a 2005 documentary on the boxer. In the film, Burns references remarks from the man who prosecuted Johnson:

This Negro, in the eyes of many, has been persecuted. Perhaps as an individual he was. But it was his misfortune to be the foremost example of the evil in permitting the intermarriage of whites and blacks.

The pardon, years in the making, now awaits the signature of the president --- almost 100 years after Johnson's arrest. If and when that happens, we'll tell you more ...

This week's parenting conversation (which will air tomorrow) perked up my ears. The sticky social predicament of handling a friend's misbehaving child -- or "Bratzilla" -- is something that I've now experienced from both sides.

This weekend, I spent part of Saturday at a museum, and there was this kid. He was about 2 years old, and he spent most of his time literally running through the exhibits. Every time he saw one of those ropes or barriers that are supposed to signal people to keep their distance, he ran under them or climbed over them, giggling and jumping up and down. Attempts to keep this little tyke in-check were met with kicking, crying, screaming tantrums.

What could have been a relaxing outing turned into a first-class workout of my nerves. That's because this was my kid.

Having spent close to two decades of my adult life as a spectator of parenthood, tutt-tutting moms who failed to keep their little darlings from behaving like wild beasts in public, I've got to acknowledge a certain karmic justice to my current challenges. And I know now that having a kid misbehave in a public place, or away from home, can present a logistical nightmare.

But you just can't do this stuff away from home. I thought about using my strategies at the museum. But if I had left him kicking and crying on the floor, he could get trampled; if I walked away, he could get lost; and the museum didn't have any handy, unused staircases for a time out.

I can't imagine a friend's house is much more discipline-friendly than your average museum. Are you going to ask your friend to join you in leaving a room in their OWN house to let your kid work through a meltdown?

Are you going to say, "Liam is thrashing around like a madman. Can you let me put him in your master bedroom -- the one with your prized collection of glass figurines -- until he calms down?"

Um, not really.

So to all those who see themselves as Bratzilla victims, I'd ask that, when your friends tell you little Johnny or Sue is NOT a monster, but a dear wonderful child most of the time, give them a break and take their word for it.

... And join us for tomorrow's Bratzilla-themed parenting discussion. You'll hear how these situations aren't always as they appear.

It's the story getting a lot of play on cable (I have to warn you, it's awful) about Michael Brewer, a 15-year-old boy who was set on fire, allegedly by a group of other kids.

Apparently, it is because he reported that one of the suspects had stolen his father's bike, which they had stolen because he, supposedly, owned them $40 for video games.

Broward County Sherriff Al Lambert, who offers more on the case:

We did not focus on it yesterday because we wanted to highlight the issue of safe passage to and from school. BUT, I do have to say this is extremely troubling. It reminds me of that incident last year where a group of girls beat another girl because they decided she had been "talking about" them.

Craziness.