April 2002

Homework
Commentator Ron Wolk says schools require students to learn too much useless information, and saddle children with too much homework. (3:00)

Political Succession After Arafat
NPR's Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says we may see a violent struggle emerge among Palestinians as the next generation of political leaders battles to take charge over the future of the Palestinian Authority. He says that tensions between moderates and extremists could boil over once Arafat has gone. NPR provides extended Mideast coverage. (2:30)

College
Commentator Molly Selvin ponders what it means for her when her son leaves for college next year. Mollly Selvin is an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times. (3:30)

Staying Faithful
Father James Martin is a Jesuit priest and associate editor at America, a national Catholic magazine. He says it's no surprise that while there is outrage among the laity of the Catholic church about the sexual abuse scandal, there is still strong faith in the central tenets of the church. (2:30)

"State of Emergency"
Commentator Alex Shakar recently played a game called "State of Emergency" on a friend's Sony Playstation. The game is supposed to satirize corporate culture. Shakar says its point is a little too sharp. (3:30)

The Savage Girl is the name of Alex Shakar's novel, published by HarperCollins.

Organ Availability
A shortage of donor organs has lead ethicists to contemplate what was once unthinkable: allowing people to buy and sell human organs. Commentator Merrill Matthews proposes a different way to increase the number of organs available for transplant. (3:00)

What's So Great About America?
Commentator Dinesh D'Souza says since September 11th, America has discussed the question, "Why do they hate us?" He says that leaves another question unasked: "Why is the idea of America still so attractive to millions of would-be immigrants around the world?" (3:45)

Robert Blake and the Media
The murder allegation against actor Robert Blake is leading cable TV newscasts and commanding the front pages of New York tabloids. And Commentator Jake Tapper is having flashbacks of the summer of Gary Condit. He urges his fellow journalists to keep the intellectual high ground they claimed after Sept. 11. (3:45)

Stealing Home
Commentator Hollis Gillespie writes about her mother's kleptomania. She would steal shower curtains, ash trays, the shoe off a blackjack table. Hollis wondered why her mother couldn't steal something useful -- like the $100 chips from the blackjack table, or a television. Hollis Gillespie is a flight attendant - and a columnist for the Atlanta weekly Creative Loafing. (3:00)

Bush and Abdullah
NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the meeting tomorrow between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah will mark an important moment in the future of the peace process in the Middle East. (2:45)

Shakespeare
Commentator Ralph Schoenstein takes stock of the controversy about WHO actually wrote all those great plays, a matter scholars have debated for years. (2:30)

Roman Catholic Control
Commentator Richard Higgins says that the Roman Catholic Church's current scandal is not just about issues of sex and sexuality -- it is also about the hierarchy's control. Though there have been calls for Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston to resign, Higgins does not support a resignation. He says it would just provide a fresh public relations face and that it would not change any of the systemic problems in the church. (3:30)

Draculaland
Commentator Andrei Codrescu says the move by a fellow Romanian to capitalize on the legend of Count Dracula by creating a Transylvania tourist attraction is not such a bad idea. The church in Romania thinks it's satanic. (3:00)

Science Class
Commentator Daniel Ferri teaches sixth grade. One of his students received an award for saving her little brother from a fire. But that didn't prevent her from becoming the subject of class ridicule when she had difficulty with science lesson. (4:00)

Looking At Cars
Commentator Carol Wasserman took a test drive in a Ford Ranger. She decided not to buy it, keeping her beat-up vehicle instead. (4:45)

Passive Voice of Apology?
NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr argues that the language coming from leaders within the Roman Catholic Church suggests more concern for the institution than for the victims of abuse. (3:00)

Letter to God
Commentator Peter Freundich writes a letter to God asking for intervention in the Mideast and in the turmoil in the Catholic Church. (2:00)

U.S. - Venezuela
In the wake of Venezuela's recent political crisis, NPR's Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr has been looking at the history of U.S. intervention in Latin American affairs. He notes that they don't do it like they used to. (2:45)

Nuclear Waste In Nevada
Commentator David Figler is a public defender for the City of Las Vegas. He says America's nuclear waste shouldn't be pushed on the Las Vegas area, just because it's known as "Sin City." (3:30)

Lynne Stewart Indictment
Commentator Askia Muhammad addresses the recent arrest of Lynne Stewart, attorney for imprisoned Egyptian cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. The Manhattan defense attorney and three others are accused of passing messages between third parties and Abdel-Rahman, in violation of prison conditions imposed on the sheik. Muhammad, a black Muslim, says the government's actions against Stewart only feed the paranoia of many Muslims in America. (3:30)

The Social Art of Privacy
Commentator David Weinberger says the way we communicate -- our tone of voice, our body language -- has always included subtle hints about what information is private, and what is for public discussion. He says that very important social art is becoming lost, as informal Internet conversations are increasingly treated as formal. E-mail is now treated as "property" by employers, and as "evidence" by the government. (3:00)

Boston Marathon
Commentator Bill Harley remarks on his refusal to run the Boston Marathon this year. (5:00)

Dimming Hopes for a Political Solution
NPR's Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says the conflict in the Middle East is reaching the point of no return. He suggests that any solution is going to have to imposed on Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat from the outside. (2:45)

Middle East Commentary #3
This week, All Things Considered is airing comments of American Jews and Muslims about the conflict in the Middle East. Today we hear from Mohammed Aleem, CEO of the Web site www.Islamicity.com, based in Los Angeles. (3:45)

The Gift of Nothing
Commentator David Watts is a physician who is learning that doing nothing sometimes is the best thing for a patient. He says there are ways in which inaction takes more courage than action. And, he says, in some cases, action may cause harm. (3:30)

Middle East Comment #2
Janice Fine, a long-time community organizer and member of the Dorshei Tzedek Jewish Congregation in Newton, Mass., says she supports a Palestinian state. This is the second in a series of commentaries from American Jews and Muslims on the Middle East conflict. (3:30)

Who Am I?
Commentator Brian McConnachie pokes fun at patriotic, roll-up-your sleeves propaganda with a speech like that of Tom Jode in the Grapes of Wrath. (3:30)

Long-distance View
In the first of several All Things Considered commentaries from American Jews and Muslims about the current Middle East conflict, Rabbi Martin Weiner shares his thoughts. He is president of the Rabbinical Association of Reform Judaism. (3:30)

1040
Commentator Bob Parks loves the IRS's 1040 tax form. He says it links him to a larger world of tax write-offs and depreciations for sonic booms, furry animals and excess golden parachute payments. (2:45)

West Side Story Commute
Commentator Elissa Ely has a perfect companion for her commute to work: the first half of West Side Story. Ely never listens to the second half, so she never has to hear the love story come to its tragic end. (2:30)

Ex-Enron Employee
Commentator Daniel Thibaut, who worked for Enron for two years, pays homage to his mother, who worked for Enron for more than 15 years. She was recently laid off. (2:40)

Mrs. Prietto
Sometimes commentator Heather King hates being a lawyer. She found this especially in the case of Mrs. Prietto. King had to represent Prietto in a wrongful death suit after Prietto's husband died. King was mortified at the behavior of the opposing attorneys. (4:00)

Mideast Media Wars
NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says Israelis are losing the media war in the Middle East, in large part because of the nature of the television imagery available to each side for propagandistic use. He says tanks and guns wrecking buildings are more telegenic than the confused scenes after suicide bombings.(2:30)

Cincinnati Anniversary
On Sunday, it will be one year since a white Cincinnati police officer killed an African-American teenager in a troubled neighborhood called Over-the-Rhine. In the days following the shooting, the neighborhood saw violent riots protesting the killing -- and the rioting spread to other parts of Cincinnati. In the months following the shooting, Timothy Thomas became a symbol of poor police-community relations, the flight of wealthy residents to the suburbs and the gentrification of parts of the inner city. Commentator Kathy Y. Wilson says the block where Thomas was killed has come to represent much of what is wrong in the city, but that residents are more comfortable dealing with a symbol than an ugly reality. Kathy Y. Wilson writes the column "Your Negro Tour Guide" for Cincinnati CityBeat. (3:45)

Cell Phone Eavesdropping
Commentator and poet Andrei Codrescu says the remarkable technology of cellular phones is really getting out of hand. He thinks his phone is taking on a mind of its own. (3:02)

Codrescu's latest novel is Casanova in Bohemia, published by Free Press.

Lipstick
Commentator Marion Winik travels to New York City's East Village to buy lipstick. She believes it is the ultimate tool to transform her from mere mommy to glamour-woman. (3:00)

Alert But Calm
Commentator John Crowley has just completed a novel set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he sees strange parallels between now and then. The actual threat of annihilation is less than it was during the Cold War, he says, but the vigilance and fear is strangely similar. (2:45) Crowley's novel is called The Translator published by William Morrow.

Suicide Bombers
Suicide bombings are occurring nearly every day in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that those carrying out the attacks are part an organized effort by Palestinian groups with a long-term strategy to end the Jewish state of Israel. (2:30)

Hip Town
Commentator Colin Berry grapples with the idea that his hometown of Longmont, Colo. has been declared hip by dwell magazine. (3:15)

The Driveway
What commentator Susan Straight loved best about her new house was the driveway. Her husband fixed cars in the driveway and talked trash with his friends. Her daughters left their scooters and skates there. Her middle daughter, a natural basketball player, practices every day there. Susan Straight is the author of the novel Highwire Moon. (3:30)

"Googling"
After meeting a girl at a party, commentator Justin Rood conducted an innocent investigation into her past. The next thing he knew, he was "googling" his way into a first date and possibly more. (3:30)

Israeli Incursions
Analysis NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that Israel's incursions into Palestinian territories have only served to strengthen Yasser Arafat. (2:30)

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