Weekend Edition Sunday for August 9, 2015 Hear the Weekend Edition Sunday program for August 9, 2015

Weekend Edition SundayWeekend Edition Sunday

U.S. Marines arrive at Saudi Arabia's Dhahran Air Base on Aug. 21, 1990. The U.S. began a buildup in the region just days after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2 of that year. The U.S. military has been active in Iraq virtually nonstop for the past quarter-century. Gerard Fouet/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gerard Fouet/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

25 Years In Iraq, With No End In Sight

Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. The U.S. reversed Saddam Hussein's aggression, but it was just the start of the U.S. military role in Iraq that's spanned four presidents and a panoply of goals.

U.S. Marines arrive at Saudi Arabia's Dhahran Air Base on Aug. 21, 1990. The U.S. began a buildup in the region just days after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2 of that year. The U.S. military has been active in Iraq virtually nonstop for the past quarter-century. Gerard Fouet/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gerard Fouet/AFP/Getty Images

25 Years In Iraq, With No End In Sight

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/425872296/430890825" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A shop at Seoul's Namdaemun's market where electric fans are sold. Despite scientists who tell them it's safe, many older South Koreans believe that it's dangerous to go to sleep with an electric fan on and never do so. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ari Shapiro/NPR

South Korea's Quirky Notions About Electric Fans

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430341089/430890838" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A 16-year-old refugee shows the scars he received while held on a human trafficking boat. Evidence of physical violence like this lends credence to the stories of those seeking asylum in the U.S. It's Dr. Katherine McKenzie's job to evaluate it. Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters/Landov hide caption

toggle caption
Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters/Landov

Before Obtaining Asylum, Refugees Must Show The Scars Behind The Stories

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430890844/430890845" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Florence and the Machine's latest album is called How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

Florence Welch Comes Face-To-Face With Herself On 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430351233/430890870" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A photo of former Chicago Bears Dave Duerson, while he was playing at Notre Dame, hangs behind his son Tregg as Tregg announces a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL in 2012. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Is Football Worth The Brain-Injury Risk? For Some, The Answer Is No

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430877562/430890876" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

President Obama spoke with Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep at the White House last week. Nick Michael/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Nick Michael/NPR

A Year After Ferguson, Obama Tells NPR He Feels 'Great Urgency'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430760774/430890889" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A man pushes a loaded bicycle down a cleared path in a flattened area of Nagasaki more than a month after the nuclear attack in 1945. Stanley Troutman/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Stanley Troutman/AP

Remembering The Horror Of Nagasaki 70 Years Later

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430879790/430890895" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A child is vaccinated in Makadara Health Clinic, Nairobi, Kenya. Greg Warner/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Greg Warner/NPR

Catholic Bishops In Kenya Call For A Boycott Of Polio Vaccines

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430347033/430890901" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Not pictured: the warped Tupperware lids Hunter Scott's bot dutifully won in a mock-sweepstakes. They were never mailed to him. Hunter Scott hide caption

toggle caption
Hunter Scott

He Came, He Saw, His Bot Tweeted — And He Conquered Countless Weird Prizes

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430890907/430890908" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The exhibition, "How Cats Took Over the Internet," will be running at Museum of the Moving Image through January 2016. Courtesy of The Infinite Cat Project hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of The Infinite Cat Project

MEOWZA: You'll Never Guess These 5 Jaw-Dropping Facts About Online Cat Videos

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430750654/430890921" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Ricki (Meryl Streep), a cover band frontwoman, in Ricki and the Flash. Bob Vergara/Corutesy of TriStar Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Bob Vergara/Corutesy of TriStar Pictures

Straight From Diablo Cody's Life: 'Ricki' And Difficult Families

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/430345434/430890927" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Searching for a song you heard between stories? We've retired music buttons on these pages. Learn more here.

Weekend Edition SundayWeekend Edition Sunday