April 21, 2001

Weekly Edition
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An index of this week's stories:

Loyalty (14.4 | 28.8) - NPR's Susan Stamberg talks about the meaning of loyalty with two teenage girls from Virginia. Whether its over boys, school, drugs or their health, they tell her that loyalty to one another is something they are sorting out on a case-by-case basis. - 6:59

Money (14.4 | 28.8) - NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg talks with "Abby," a woman who holds down two minimum-wage jobs in order to take care of her disabled husband. This is part three in Susan's series of conversations about money. - 6:41

Emails from Africa (14.4 | 28.8) - Commentator Bill Miles was once a peace corps volunteer in Africa. Now a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, he receives e-mails from an African village. Despite the townspeople's poverty and daily tribulations, they wrote to express concern about his son, Sam. The Africans have heard about school shootings in the U.S. and wonder if Sam is safe. - 3:00

Bird Commentary (14.4 | 28.8) - Commentator Brad Klein tells the story of an ornithological mystery in New York City's Central Park. For the past several years, careful birdwatchers have noticed that they heard the Black-throated Green Warbler weeks before the saw it. Which puzzled them -- until someone noticed that the Warbler's song was alternating with that of the White-throated Sparrow. - 4:00

Damascus (14.4 | 28.8) - NPR's Kate Seelye reports from Damascus on efforts to restore many of the city's old homes, which are considered architectural and artistic treasures. After the exodus of the Syrian middle class in the 1950s and 1960s, many of these homes have been damaged by subdivision and neglect. - 7:00

American Muslims (14.4 | 28.8) - NPR's Kate Seelye reports from Damascus on a group of African-American Muslims sent to Syria to study Arabic and Islam for a year. The hope is, when they return, they will be able to teach others what they've learned and build community life within mainstream Islam in the United States. - 4:30

Machu Picchu (14.4 | 28.8) - NPR's Martin Kaste reports there is growing concern about damage to Machu Picchu, the spectacular, 500 year old Inca ruins perched on a high mountaintop in Peru. Custodians of Machu Picchu may be more interested in immediate profit than preserving the priceless collection of temples and dwellings. - 4:30

Los Hombres Calientes (14.4 | 28.8) - The name describes the band, and its sound. Frank talks with drummer Bill Summers and trumpeter Irvin Mayfield from Los Hombres Calientes, or, The Hot Men, a group that blends African musical traditions with home grown New Orleans jazz. This week, the eclectic band, which actually does include a female member, releases its third CD, Volume 3, New Congo Square, and the music will surely make you want to groove. - 11:30

Some stories do not link to audio files because of Internet rights issues.

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