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October 2002
 Rhonda Maloney
Commentator Mark Allen has this story of the teacher who had the most influence on him growing up. On Halloween during his senior year of high school, the algebra teacher, Rhonda Maloney, wore an elaborate ape mask that probably took hours to create. She was the only one in the school to dress up that day. She was taunted and jeered throughout the day, and Mark has never forgotten how she handled the abuse. (4:45)
Roosevelt and Wilhelm
Commentator Edmund Morris offers a parallel between the current Iraq situation and one from one hundred years ago involving president Teddy Roosevelt and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. Edmund Morris is the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. (4:00)
Other books by Morris include Theodore Rex and Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan.
Making Movies
Commentator Andrei Codrescu enumerates the suffering he endured while shooting a documentary for PBS about Romania. The Polish director was like a dictator, hauling the cast and crew across the country for 10 hours, depriving them of meals, and generally being tough-minded. (3:15)
Sniper Jurisdiction Issues
Ever since John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo -- the suspects in the Washington-area sniper case -- were arrested last Thursday, government attorneys from Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Washington, D.C., and Washington State have been competing with the Department of Justice over first crack at prosecuting them. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr is concerned that this competition may be at the expense of the interests of justice. (2:45)
Child Molester
A child molester lives down the street from commentator Hollis Gillespie. Her friend Larry is getting obsessed with catching him doing something wrong, but Hollis is obsessed with protecting her daughter. (3:30)
Drilling Wells
Commentator Dick George has been feeling the drought in Maryland. Now the family's well has gone dry and it is time to drill a new one. The cost can be high and it is a big gamble. (2:00)
Civic Rage
Commentator Andrei Codrescu says that when New Orleans city officials removed benches from Jackson Square to ward off vagrants, they were being untrue to the city's character. (3:00)
The Rules
Commentator Joe Wright went to an experimental school when he was a child. At first, they had no rules, but as time went on, the instructors needed to add rules so that things didn't get out of hand. When he was older, he moved to San Francisco, where there were lots of adults who were trying to get rid of rules. But Joe found that sometimes you need rules -- not a lot, just a few. (4:00)
Disclosure
As the Russian government slowly releases information about the special forces raid to liberate hundreds of hostages from a Moscow theater, we have learned that the initial reporting on the raid did not even remotely tell the whole story. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that this practice of secrecy in dealing with catastrophe harkens back to the days of the Soviet Union. (3:00)
Commentary on Harry Belafonte
Singer Harry Belafonte took on the Bush administration's Iraq policy on a San Diego radio station recently. But it was what Belafonte said about Secretary of State Colin Powell's role in the White House that caught everyone's attention. Belafonte compared Powell to a privileged house slave who maintained his position by agreeing with his boss. Comparing Powell to a house slave is inflammatory and outdated, says commentator John McWhorter. McWhorter is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a professor of linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of the book Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America and the forthcoming Authentically Black. (3:00)
Using the Media
The news media has been playing a significant role in the investigation of the sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area. Police Chief Charles Moose has been using news reports to communicate with the sniper. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr believes it is acceptable for the media to play a role in this process, but he questions how far members of the press should go in doing the bidding of law enforcement officials. (3:00)
Stuffed Cat
Her daughter's favorite stuffed animal discarded in favor of a new, 'flashier' stuffed cat leads commentator Elissa Ely to ponder he own future. (3:00)
Nurse
Nurse Donna D'Amico shares her experience as a hospital nurse -- how she became frustrated with the low staffing levels and how she left the hospital to do different kinds of nursing work. (4:00)
Teenagers
Commentator Marion Winik finds that parenthood becomes much more difficult and frightening when her children become teenagers. (3:00)
Cranberries & Choppers
Commentator Carol Wasserman tells us how a poor cranberry crop this year has led at least one pesticide-spraying helicopter pilot to enlist in the Navy to pilot helicopters in Bahrain. (3:15)
The Lone Ranger
Commentator Daniel Pinkwater recalls a childhood
encounter with The Lone Ranger. In person. Sort of. (4:30)
Russia - Adoptions
Last year, about 5,000 Russian orphans were granted visas allowing them to be adopted by American families. Earlier this year, commentator Richard Higgins and his wife traveled to Kursk, Russia, to bring home their son, Nick. (3:15)
Right to Procreate?
Commentator Lis Wiehl talks about the case of David Oakley, who was ordered not to procreate as a condition of parole. He is a "deadbeat dad" who was convicted of not paying child support. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in his case in October. (2:45)
Romania Revisited
Back from three weeks in his homeland, commentator Andrei Codrescu paints a verbal canvas of scenes from Romania. He sees various schemes for getting rich: from converting a Dracula castle to a tourist site, to Internet cafes, to strippers. (4:30)
Irate Listener
Commentator Daniel Pinkwater tells us about an NPR listener who called him to complain about the accent he uses to portray his father's voice on the radio. (1:30)
Foreign Scientists
Scientific research in the U.S. is dependent on scientists from other countries. At the National Institutes of Health, for example, 63 percent of the post-doctoral fellows are not U.S. citizens. Commentator Joe Wright spent most of the last year working in a lab at the NIH. He says that the foreign post-docs have a strange allegiance to the U.S. as well as to their home countries. (3:30)
Undecided
Even as President Bush prepares a speech to the nation on Iraq, NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that President Bush has not yet made up his mind to launch a military invasion against Saddam Hussein. Although leaflets and laser-guided bombs are already falling from the skies over Iraq, there are indications that administration officials have some hope of an act from within that would bring about the stated goal of "regime change." (2:30)
Walter Cronkite: How Sputnik Changed the World
In a series of occasional essays exclusive to NPR, distinguished journalist Walter Cronkite comments on news events he reported on over the past century that still resonate today. Friday on All Things Considered, Cronkite reflects on the 45th anniversary of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. Listen and learn more about Cronkite's previous essays for NPR. (12:30)
Expanded Coverage
Torricelli - Public Outcry
NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that unlike many previous victims of political scandal, Sen. Robert Torricelli was not done in by his political enemies or by his peers. Rather, it was a scorned public that caused Torricelli to give up his re-election bid. (2:30)
False Fall
Commentator Susan Straight says in inland California, they have "false fall" -- like false spring in the East. Duing the summer, everyone is housebound because of the heat. Then, the fog rolls in and you think that cooler weather is coming. But the temperature goes back above 100. (3:30)
Barbershop
Commentator Daniel Pinkwater paints a picture of the barbershop of his youth. He hated the actual haircut, but loved the comic books, the sounds and the smells. (2:00)
Skipping Records
Commentator Chris Tsakis loves the way old records use to skip -- get stuck in a groove at an interesting point. It doesn't happen very much any more; but Tsakis says CDs can skip, too -- in a different way. (3:30)
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