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December 22, 2012 Your email box is always full. You're never fully present with your family. And even when you know you should be taking a break, you feel the vibrating phone in your pocket. Ironically, the instinct is to use technology to deal with these problems. But the solution can be as simple as you let it be.

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December 22, 2012 Yesterday came and went, but I never finished Ulysses. I never took up skydiving. Come to think of it, I didn't even really finish cleaning up my closet before the "Mayan Apocalypse." Yet even a failed apocalypse still has value, in reminding us that life is fleeting, fragile and unpredictable.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

December 22, 2012 Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng escaped house-arrest to seek refuge in the U.S. and Bob Englehart noted his importance during an election year. Many felt that politics prompted Obama's position change on same-sex marriage, which Steve Kelley felt put him on equal footing with Mitt Romney.

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December 21, 2012 Nothing is enough to ease a parent's pain in losing a child, but simple gestures of kindness and concern are still welcome even in the depths of grief.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

December 21, 2012 Will the world end on December 21, 2012, as the fabled Mayan calendar predicts? Pat Bagley finds hope in human nature, while Dave Granlund predicts what might happen on December 22nd.

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December 21, 2012 Boyd Applegate has been dressing up as Santa Claus for more than 20 years. It's a pastime he unintentionally discovered while on the job as a big-rig truck driver. Every year, he makes under-the-tree gift deliveries designed for children to wake up and catch him in the middle of the night.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 20, 2012 "Big Data" had just as much to do with President Obama's victory as phrases like "Etch A Sketch" and "47 percent," says linguist Geoff Nunberg. Big Data is also behind anxieties about intrusions on our privacy, whether from the government's anti-terrorist data sweeps or the ads that track us on the Web.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

December 20, 2012 Rick Santorum suspended his campaign for President, effectively giving the nomination to Mitt Romney, and Rick McKee felt the move left many in dismay. Dismay barely describes Pat Bagley's reaction to scandals at the GSA and the Secret Service, where employees tarnished their agencies' reputations.

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December 19, 2012 You are on the cold ocean, staring at a thin sheet of ice, when suddenly, from literally out of the air, beautiful flowerlike objects start growing in front of you. The sea has become a meadow. But those strange "flowers" have a secret.

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December 19, 2012 As the Republican presidential candidates fought for their party's nomination, John Cole thought they all exhibited their flaws. Despite its alleged shortcomings, Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law could provide immunity to George Zimmerman for his killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

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December 19, 2012 Americans possess too many firearms and nothing will change unless gun owners support the changes the president swears to promote, says commentator Frank Deford.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 19, 2012 Dealing with varied dietary restrictions may seem daunting and can add yet another complication to this glorious yet hectic season. Don't fret. Keep it simple, fresh and real with these gluten-free and vegetarian — and even some vegan — options.

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