December 2000

Waiting Room -- Commentator Daniel Shapiro talks of the distance he felt from well-intentioned college classmates when he was being treated for cancer and the instant closeness he had with a woman who would knit while they both waited for chemotherapy. She started a sweater for each of her doctors as a kind of talisman. The sweaters were never finished, but she hints they may explain why the doctors always keep her alive. (3:00)

Coyote -- Commentator Corinne Demas says coyotes have made a comeback in her area and one visits her. They were welcomed when they were rare, but now their presence brings fear that they will kill pets. She hopes we can learn to live with them as they have with us. (3:00)

Around the Apple -- Commentator Katie Davis takes notice of some curious idioms which get poetically twisted in the translation from spanish to english when used by the kids in her neighborhood. (3:15)

Wireless -- Commentator David Weinberger says new wireless devices are changing how the internet will be used. As you carry your hand-held computer, you'll now be able to learn what restaurants and stores might be around you, and even who is nearby. Weinberger says this will also create more social interaction, though interaction of "decreasing significance," like strangers passing to ask each other directions on-line. (3:00)

Blind Travel -- Steve Kuusisto has a commentary about his guide dog, Vidal. He says nothing replaces being able to see but he has learned to appreciate the world and moving around in it. (3:30)

Jews and Muslims -- Commentator Ellen Charry says that the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians must be viewed as more than a political conflict. It is a religious conflict, too, between Muslims and Jews. (4:00)

Ham Tale -- Commentator Nancy Hall talks about the culinary clash with her new Northerner husband, as they planned their first holiday dinner together. The bickering over competing foods peaked with the arrival of a southern country ham. Her Yankee butcher husband balked at slicing ham with a moldy hide, but their guests ate it with abandon. (2:45)

Homeless Christmas -- Commentator Lee Stringer tells about being homeless at Christmas. Stringer was homeless for ten years, and says it made him grateful for small things. One Christmas in particular taught him to count his blessings. He wrote about it in his book Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street. (3:30)

Middle East -- News analyst Daniel Schorr says the latest attempt at renewing middle east peace talks faces many hazards. President Clinton called Wednesday the deadline for the two sides to demonstrate enough potential to work towards another summit. Prime Minister Barak faces a deadline of February 6 when Israelis vote on whether or not to keep him in office---and Yasser Arafat faces the prospect of having to deal with Ariel Sharon, should Barak lose the election. (3:00)

Youthful Offender -- Commentator Desiree Cooper has the story of Nathaniel Abraham. When he was 11 year old, he shot dead an 18-year-old. Abraham was tried as an adult but sentenced as a juvenile. At a recent hearing, Abraham apologized the family of his victim. (3:00)

Christmas Lottery -- Julie Jamison is overwhelmed with how many relatives she has to buy gifts for. Death, she reasons, is the only answer. She proposes a lottery to select who will stay and who will go. Jamison lives in Wichita, Kansas. (2:00)

Tax Cuts -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr examines President-elect Bush's loyalty to his tax plan. (3:00)

Religious Tolerance -- Commentator Steven Waldman says that this is a season of remarkable religious unity in the U.S. In the next few weeks Americans will celebrate: Hanukkah, Christmas, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and Rohatsu, an important Buddhist holiday. Religious variety has flourished without it being seen as a horrible threat to any particular religion. Americans have gotten pretty good at figuring out how to be different without being divisive. (4:00)

Foreign Policy -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr, having read a new report from the CIA, wonders if the foreign policies of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice will be applicable to the world they might face. (2:45)

Out of Control -- The Web is disproving the notion that the larger the project, the more managers, or "layers of control" are needed. Instead people are able to publish a newsletter, a book, start a company, even send mail, without having to get some sort of permission first. Commentator David Weinberger says this will ultimately change the way we think about authority. (4:00)

Judicial Coup -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr reacts to last night's Supreme Court ruling -- which he characterizes as a "judicial coup." (3:00)

Right On the Law -- Commentator Daniel Troy, an Associate Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, says the US Supreme Court was right in ruling that Florida's recount process violated federal constitutional rights. He says the decision is consistent with past high court rulings that bar states from treating voters in different counties differently. (3:00)

Holiday Letters -- Commentator Marion Winik has thoughts on those traditional holiday letters so many people feel they must write at this time of year, and a few suggestions. For instance, drop the "Dear Everyone" and replace it with a real headline. Instead of anecdotes, try one good paragraph. Maybe include a top ten list or a haiku. (3:00)

Courts and Politics -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says if the United States Supreme Court splits along partisan lines, it runs the risk of shaking the faith of the American public. (2:30)

The Transition: We Have a Script -- Commentator Forrest Church says the Constitution gives a blueprint for how the country should run, but the founders' words in the Declaration of Independence, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provide a script to speed reconciliation for a nation divided between two hostile camps. (3:15)

A Grandmother's Transparency -- Commentator Julie Jamison reflects on how her grandmother started speaking her mind as she grew older, becoming less concerned with decorum. She once confessed with no shame to having had an abortion. And she continues to say surprising things to this day, even as she's dying. (3:45)

Concession Speeches -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr reflects on the importance of the concession speech in presidential politics. (2:30)

Zoo Stories -- Commentator Katie Davis recalls her visits to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. as a child, and later as an adult, and the experience of living near a sort of "jungle" within an urban setting. (3:30)

99 Cent Store -- Commentator Lenore Skenazy can't resist the lure of "99-cent" stores, although the quality of the goods are questionable, to say the least. The trouble is, she is always bragging to friends about how cheap everything she bought is. (2:00)

Judicial Spotlight -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the presidential struggle has pushed an embattled judiciary back into the spotlight. (2:30)


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