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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Around the Nation

Boom Or Bust? Saving Rhode Island's 'Superman' Building

The iconic Industrial Trust Tower, knows as "The Superman building," stands in downtown Providence, R.I. The Art Deco-style skyscraper, the tallest in the state, lost its last tenant when the bank's lease expired in April.

The iconic Industrial Trust Tower in downtown Providence is empty for the first time in 85 years. Developers want to turn it into luxury apartments — and want the state and city to pay for it. But Providence — like the rest of Rhode Island — faces its own economic problems, as well as a recent failed investment.

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Music Interviews

Deke Sharon Makes A Cappella Cool Again

Deke Sharon performs on the Chinese edition of The Sing-Off in 2012.

The movie Pitch Perfect has plans for a sequel in 2015; NBC's reality show The Sing-Off is coming back for its fourth season after being cancelled, and Pentatonix has millions of hits on YouTube for making awesome videos like "The Evolution of Music." The father of contemporary a cappella explains the genre's appeal.

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Movies I've Seen A Million Times

The Movie Katie Aselton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

Actors Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 action film, Point Break.

Actor-director Katie Aselton could watch Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break a million times. "It totally scoops you up and takes you for a ride," she says.

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Author Interviews

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

upstairs window light

"Women's anger is very scary to people," author Claire Messud says. Her new novel, The Woman Upstairs, features a seething main character, a young woman whose anger is unsettling.

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Around the Nation

Remembering The Long Lost Germans Of Texas

 

Science

The Unsuccessful Quest For A Universal Language

 

From Our Listeners

Three-Minute Fiction: 'Ten Ring Fingers' And 'Ghost Words'

pink envelope

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass.

Summary

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Movie Reviews

New 'Trek' Goes 'Into Darkness,' But Not Much Deeper

Zachary Quinto as Spock, with Chris Pine as Kirk, in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

May 18, 2013 NPR's Bob Mondello says J.J. Abrams' latest Star Trek film knows how to make the sparks and feelings fly, but doesn't bother making the sparks and feeling matter very much.

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Mental Health

Alzheimer's Cases Rise, But Hope Remains

Amy Goyer moved back to Phoenix to look after her father, Robert, when he began to show signs of Alzheimer's. He is just one of 5 million Americans living with the disease.

May 18, 2013 More than 5 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's disease, and the number is only going to increase — in part, due to aging baby boomers. But researchers say increased awareness and early detection is helping patients live with the disease.

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From Our Listeners

Three-Minute Fiction Reading: 'Plum Baby'

May 18, 2013 NPR's Susan Stamberg reads an excerpt of one of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. She reads Plum Baby by Carmiel Banasky of Portland, Ore.

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Business

Internships: Low-Paid, Unpaid Or Just Plain Illegal?

Students fill out applications during a job fair at the University of Illinois Springfield in February. Fed up with working for free, some interns are suing their employers.

May 18, 2013 Fed up with working for free, some interns are suing their employers. Last week, a judge ruled that interns could not sue the Hearst Corp. as a class action, which could be a legal setback for young workers tired of exploitative unpaid internships.

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Around the Nation

Impossible Choice Faces America's First 'Climate Refugees'

The 350 residents of Newtok, Alaska, will soon be the country's first "climate refugees." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the village is likely to be underwater in just four years.

May 18, 2013 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the tiny town of Newtok, Alaska, could be completely underwater by 2017. Its 350 residents must relocate or stay to face the floods, but a move is easier said than done.

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Author Interviews

'Waiting To Be Heard' No More, Amanda Knox Speaks Out

Amanda Knox enters an Italian court on Oct. 3, 2011, just before being acquitted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.

May 18, 2013 Less than two months into her study abroad program in Italy, Amanda Knox was accused and eventually convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher. After her conviction was overturned, Knox returned home to Seattle — and now faces a potential retrial. Knox tells her story in a new memoir.

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Music News

Draco Rosa: A Pop Survivor Returns From The Brink, With Friends

Former bandmates Draco Rosa and Ricky Martin, seen here on stage at Univision's 2013 Premio Lo Nuestro awards celebration, reunite on Rosa's new album, Vida.

May 18, 2013 In the 1980s, he was Robi Rosa, the lead singer of Menudo at the boy band's peak of popularity. Rosa went on to write hits for bandmate Ricky Martin and develop a solo career. When Rosa was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, some of the biggest names in Latin music assembled to support him.

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Weekends on All Things Considered Podcast

Weekends On All Things Considered Podcast

Missed All Things Considered this weekend? Here's the best of what you might've missed.

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Three-Miinute Fiction

Weekend All Things Considered's contest has a simple premise: Listeners send in original short stories that can be read in three minutes or less.