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Faith, Politics And The 2010 Election

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to E.J. Dionne and William Galston of the Brookings Institution about a new study on the role faith and politics played in the 2010 election. The new study, conducted in collaboration with the Public Religion Research Institute, is called "The Old and New Politics of Faith: Religion and the 2010 Election."

A Forgotten Group Of Grains Might Help Indian Farmers – And Improve Diets, Too

Getting people to change what they eat is tough. Changing a whole farming system is even tougher. The southern Indian state of Karnataka is quietly trying to do both, with a group of cereals that was once a staple in the state: millet. Until about 40 years ago, like most of India, the people of Karnataka regularly ate a variety of millets, from finger millet (or ragi) to foxtail millet. They made rotis with it, ate it with rice, and slurped it up at breakfast as porridge. In the sixties, the Green Revolution – a national program that led to the widespread use of high yielding crop varieties, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides – led to a dramatic increase in food grain production in India. But it also focused on two main crops – rice and wheat – which guzzle water. "Crops that survived on rain rather than irrigation, and were far more sustainable, were forgotten," explains Dinesh Kumar, who runs Earth 360, a non-profit organization in the neighboring southern state of Andhra Pradesh that helps popularize millets and train farmers to grow them. "Millets began to be seen as food for the poor," says Kumar. "Rice was aspirational. White became right, brown became wrong." These days, millets are used mostly for animal fodder. Now, after nearly four decades of intensive farming (and growing urban populations which use a lot of water), most of India is facing severe water crises. So, many states are trying to come up with a more sustainable way to farm. And Karnataka is leading the way with its efforts with millets. There are many factors that make millets more sustainable as crops. Compare the amount of water needed to grow rice with that for millets. One rice plant requires nearly 2.5 times the amount of water required by a single millet plant of most varieties, according to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid (ICRISAT), a global research organization helping to make millets more popular. That's why millets are primarily grown in arid regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Millets can also withstand higher temperatures. "Crops like rice and wheat cannot tolerate temperatures more than 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit), while millets can tolerate temperatures of more than 46 degrees C (115 F)," says S.K Gupta, the principal scientist at the pearl millet breeding program at ICRISAT. "They can also grow in saline soil." Millets could therefore be an important solution for farmers grappling with climate change – sea level rise (which can cause soil salinity to increase), heat waves, droughts and floods. Millets are also more nutritious than rice or wheat. They are rich in protein, fibers and micronutrients like iron, zinc and calcium, and thus hold immense promise for India's malnourished, especially those with micronutrient deficiencies. Millets have a lower glycemic index (a measure of how fast our body converts food into sugar) than rice, which is thought to be one of the main factors contributing to the rise in rates of diabetes in India. Some scientists think eating millets could help Indians reduce their risk of this disease. Switching to millets then should be easy. Or is it? A massive hurdle is that crops like rice, wheat and sugarcane are still way more profitable. "Unless millets match up to other crops, we can't force farmers to grow them," says Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka's Minister for Agriculture. "We are not trying to replace rice or wheat entirely. We are simply trying to supplement them with more sustainable crops." To make millets more attractive, his government has introduced a series of incentives. It offers farmers more than the minimum support price it pays for other crops, gives subsidies on seeds, and has made millets a part of the public distribution system: a country wide network that distributes cheap grains to the poor. There's much lost ground to make up, because millets still don't have an efficient value chain. "Millets are coarse and need more processing than other crops, but the machines for these have not reached the farmer yet, and thus production remains low," says Gupta. Narasimha Reddy, a farmer on the outskirts of Bangalore, recently switched from growing maize to ragi. "Ragi is much hardier than maize; it can endure for a month without any water," he says. Many farmers in his area are switching back to maize, because ragi costs far more to harvest, but Reddy plans to continue growing ragi. "Demand is slowly picking up in the city, and I think it will improve further now people know of the health benefits," he says. "There's no choice but to grow ragi if water levels deplete further. But we need more machines for quick harvesting, and better quality seeds." The state government has partnered with research institutions to develop higher yield seeds and better ways to process seeds. All this is in line with recommendations made by a recent report by the Global Panel On Agriculture and Food Systems Nutrition, which found that people's die

Children's Summer 2003 Reading List

The latest Harry Potter book is sure to be the hands down favorite, but kids need more than the latest from Hogwarts to keep them turning pages this summer. Host Neal Conan and guests discuss the hot titles in children's books this season. <BR><BR> Guests: <BR><BR> <STRONG>Eden Lipson</STRONG><BR> *Children's book editor, <EM>The New York Times</EM><BR> *Author, <EM>New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children</EM> <BR><BR> <STRONG>Carol Erdahl</STRONG><BR> *Co-owner of the Red Balloon Book Shop, a children's bookstore in St. Paul, Minn. <BR><BR> <STRONG>Deborah Taylor</STRONG><BR> *Librarian and coordinator of school and student services at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md. <BR><BR>

Apple Hopes New iPhone Will Help It Compete In Developing World

Apple is introducing two new iPhone models as it battles for market share with rival phone makers such as Samsung. One of the phones, the iPhone 5C, starts at $99 and is aimed at consumers in the developing world. Apple is also launching a fingerprint called Touch ID that could be used instead of an iPhone password.

How Super Tuesday Could Affect The 2020 Presidential Race

It's the biggest primary day of the year, with 14 states and about a third of the delegates for the Democratic nomination on the line. Here's how the trajectory of the race could change Tuesday.

Scalia Remarks Draw Criticism Before Guantanamo Case

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may be asked to disqualify himself from a Supreme Court case. His remarks about the rights of Guantanamo detainees in a speech earlier this month have caused ethical complaints because he and the other justices are about to hear an appeal from Guantanamo prisoners.

The Chilingirian (Chil-Ling-Gee-Ree-Ahn)

The Chilingirian (chil-ling-GEE-ree-ahn) String Quartet, with the assistance of violist Simon Rowland-Jones, plays a survivor of the minuet and trio form dating from the 1890's: the second movement of Antonin Dvorak's String Quintet in E-flat, Op. 97. (Chandos CHAN 9046)

Panel Recommends Rethink On Repeat Cesareans

Just because a woman has given birth by cesarean section, doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to try a vaginal delivery for the next child, a group of experts says. A subsequent vaginal birth is as safe or safer than a C-section, for mothers and infants, according to a National Institutes of Health panel of obstetricians, gynecologists and other medical doctors, as well ethicists, lawyers and scientists who met for three days just outside Washington this week. Worries about complications have led to a sharp drop in vaginal births after cesarean. "A primary cesarean will begat subsequent cesareans," said Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Indeed, only about 10 percent of subsequent deliveries are vaginal births. Read More >> The sometimes contentious public meeting, which concluded Wednesday, gave a platform to activists for vaginal births after cesarean (or VBACtivists as they call themselves) to challenge some of the experts. Shannon Mitchell, who hails from Florida, says she was repeatedly offered more cesareans after her first child, a breech baby, was delivered that way. She argued with an ethicist on the panel over whether she had the right to refuse C-sections. "This is a human rights issue," Mitchell declared. "I'm being cut open because obstetricians have decided that I need to be," Mitchell shouted back when the ethicist told her there is no absolute rule saying she can refuse the procedure. The major barrier to vaginal births, the panel concluded, is a set of guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Those require "the immediately availability" of surgical and anesthesia personnel before doctors offer a "trial of labor," the medical term for attempting a vaginal birth after a C-section. Those teams are supposed to be on hand in case of serious trouble, such as a rupture of the uterus. The staffing standard is tough for some hospitals to meet. Recent surveys indicate that, as a consequence, up to 30 percent of hospitals won't allow vaginal births after C-sections. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas where it's especially difficult to provide around-the-clock staff surgical and anesthesiology. Cunningham says that after looking at the data, the panel found that the guideline hasn't changed outcomes for patients. "It is a crippling rule for many hospitals." Fear of being sued, however, is a major factor behind the ACOG guidelines. Dr. Michael Socol, of Northwestern University School of Medicine, in talking about the medical claims against the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, explained that the proportion from obstetrician and gynecology -- mostly obstetrics -- represent just 18 percent of all lawsuits filed, but 60 percent of those that were paid out. Without reform of the legal system, he said, it is going to be very difficult to reverse current trends in the practice of medicine. The NIH panel encouraged further study of legal obstacles, saying there's not enough evidence to make a recommendation. In very explicit language, however, it urged professional societies and hospitals to reassess policies that create barriers to offering women the opportunity to go through labor in giving birth. "The bottom line," Cunningham conceded, "is we can't make them do anything."

Parents Fight To Reopen Case After Questioning Son's Death

Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a wrestling mat at school earlier this year. Authorities ruled it an accident but his parents and neighbors think there was foul play. For more, host Michel Martin speaks with reporter Fred Rosen.

Excerpt: 'American Rust'

Book One Isaac's mother was dead five years but he hadn't stopped thinking about her. He lived alone in the house with the old man, twenty, small for his age, easily mistaken for a boy. Late morning and he walked quickly through the woods toward town--a small thin figure with a backpack, trying hard to keep out of sight. He'd taken four thousand dollars from the old man's desk; Stolen, he corrected himself. The nuthouse prisonbreak. Anyone sees you and it's Silas get the dogs. Soon he reached the overlook: green rolling hills, a muddy winding river, an expanse of forest unbroken except for the town of Buell and its steelmill. The mill itself had been like a small city, but they had closed it in 1987, partially dismantled it ten years later; it now stood like an ancient ruin, its buildings grown over with bittersweet vine, devil's tear thumb, and tree of heaven. The footprints of deer and coyotes crisscrossed the grounds; there was only the occasional human squatter. Still, it was a quaint town: neat rows of white houses wrapping the hillside, church steeples and cobblestone streets, the tall silver domes of an Orthodox cathedral. A place that had recently been well-off, its downtown full of historic stone buildings, mostly boarded now. On certain blocks there was still a pretense of keeping the trash picked up, but others had been abandoned completely. Buell, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Fayette-nam, as it was often called. Isaac walked the railroad tracks to avoid being seen, though there weren't many people out anyway. He could remember the streets at shiftchange, the traffic stopped, the flood of men emerging from the billet mill coated with steeldust and flickering in the sunlight; his father, tall and shimmering, reaching down to lift him. That was before the accident. Before he became the old man. It was forty miles to Pittsburgh and the best way was to follow the tracks along the river--it was easy to jump a coal train and ride as long as you wanted. Once he made the city, he'd jump another train to California. He'd been planning this for a month. A long time overdue. Think Poe will come along? Probably not. On the river he watched barges and a towboat pass, engines droning. It was pushing coal. Once the boat was gone the air got quiet and the water was slow and muddy and the forests ran down to the edge and it could have been anywhere, the Amazon, a picture from National Geographic. A bluegill jumped in the shallows--you weren't supposed to eat the fish but everyone did. Mercury and PCB. He couldn't remember what the letters stood for but it was poison. In school he'd tutored Poe in math, though even now he wasn't sure why Poe was friends with him--Isaac English and his older sister were the two smartest kids in town, the whole Valley, probably; the sister had gone to Yale. A rising tide, Isaac had hoped, that might lift him as well. He'd looked up to his sister most of his life, but she had found a new place, had a husband in Connecticut that neither Isaac nor his father had met. You're doing fine alone, he thought. The kid needs to be less bitter. Soon he'll hit California--easy winters and the warmth of his own desert. A year to get residency and apply to school: astrophysics. Lawrence Livermore. Keck Observatory and the Very Large Array. Listen to yourself--does any of that still make sense? Outside the town it got rural again and he decided to walk the trails to Poe's house instead of taking the road. He climbed steadily along. He knew the woods as well as an old poacher, kept notebooks of drawings he'd made of birds and other animals, though mostly it was birds. Half the weight of his pack was notebooks. He liked being outside. He wondered if that was because there were no people, but he hoped not. It was lucky growing up in a place like this because in a city, he didn't know, his mind was like a train where you couldn't control the speed. Give it a track and direction or it cracks up. The human condition put names to everything: bloodroot rockflower whip-poor-will, tulip bitternut hackberry. Shagbark and pin oak. Locust and king_nut. Plenty to keep your mind busy. Meanwhile, right over your head, a thin blue sky, see clear to outer space: the last great mystery. Same distance to Pittsburgh--couple miles of air and then four hundred below zero, a fragile blanket. Pure luck. Odds are you shouldn't be alive--think about that, Watson. Can't say it in public or they'll put you in a straitjacket. Except eventually the luck runs out--your sun turns into a red giant and the earth is burned whole. Giveth and taketh away. The entire human race would have to move before that happened and only the physicists could figure out how, they were the ones who would save people. Of course by then he'd be long dead. But at least he'd have made his contribution. Being dead didn't excuse your responsibility to the ones still alive. If there was anything he was sure of, it was that. Poe lived at the top of a dirt r

What&#8217;s Ahead At The Republican National Convention

This week, the GOP attempts to make a case for the reelection of President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention. Last night’s speakers included former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and Trump-loyal Republican Congressmen Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the couple charged with “unlawful use of a weapon” after they pointed their guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside of their St. Louis mansion in June were also featured. Despite a packed schedule, Republicans have stated that they will not lay out a party platform of policies for voters. Instead, they’re focusing on expressing support for the President. This decision comes after a last minute scramble by party members to put together a virtual event that they had hoped would be in person. We’re talking about the 2020 Republican National Convention and what can we expect from the next few nights.

Faith Waning in Palestinian Authority

Palestinians are demoralized by the ineffectiveness of the Palestinian Authority. They say their government has all but vanished from daily life because of internal power struggles, lack of money and political corruption. Israel's construction of a barrier that encroaches on Palestinian territory adds to their sense of hopelessness. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Fasttrack Trio Picks Up the Pace

Members of the Fasttrack Trio study music at the Music Institute of Chicago. The trio members came up with their name after a coach who was working with them said their playing wasn't at tempo. The trio performs Carl Czerny's Fantasia Concertante, Op. 256. <em> This performance originally aired Oct. 11, 2006. </em>

A Day of Heavy Hitters

We brought you two heavy hitting studies on today's program. First we told you how a new report commissioned by The Sentencing Project shows how there's been a ethnic change in trend among those being arrested and sentenced to prison, as part of the nation's "War on Drugs." You can learn more about the shift, and what researchers say is behind it, by clicking here. Also, do you find it interesting to know that undocumented immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born residents of legal immigrants to live in a household with a spouse or children? We talked about this today with a man behind the study, Jeffrey Passel. Read the findings for yourself, and tell us what your thoughts are, based on your observations where you live? Surprised? ... Not so much? Or, might you be curious to know more about the stories behind these statistics (both the sentencing disparities and the lifestyles of immigrants in the U.S.)? Also, remembering David "Pop" Winans. Even after speaking today with his son, the Rev. Marvin Winans, it's still difficult to put Pop Winans' life into words. Check out today's remembrance.

Secret Rumsfeld Intelligence Plan Alleged

Seymour Hersh of <EM>The New Yorker</EM> magazine has published a new article that claims U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld may have been directly responsible for ordering the interrogation tactics use at the Abu Ghraib prison. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

'Win Win' Is A Victory For Writer-Director McCarthy

Writer-director Tom McCarthy is best known for independent hits <em>The Visitor</em> and <em>The Station Agent</em>, but his latest film, <em>Win Win</em>, might be his best. Paul Giamatti is Mike, a lawyer and high school wrestling coach whose life is unraveling because his business is on the verge of going under.

Health Insurance Prices For Women Set To Drop

Any woman who has bought health insurance on her own probably didn't find herself humming the old show tune, "I Enjoy Being a Girl." That's because more than 90 percent of individual plans charge women higher premiums than men for the same coverage, a practice known as gender rating. Women spend $1 billion more annually on their health insurance premiums than they would if they were men because of gender rating, according to a recent report by the National Women's Law Center. Under the health care overhaul, the practice is banned starting in 2014. But according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's April health tracking poll, only 35 percent of people are aware of this fact. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) Continue Reading Like or loathe the recent Supreme Court decision that the law is constitutional, most people support leveling the premium playing field for women and men. Overall, 6 in 10 people have a favorable view of that provision, according to the poll, including 74 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans. Insurers charge women more because they tend to be bigger consumers of health care than men, in part because they're the ones who get pregnant and give birth. The health law permits insurers to vary premiums based on four factors: individual vs. family enrollment, age, where the insured people live and tobacco use. That formula will be a substantial change over current practice under which, for example, the NWLC report found that more than half of individual plans charged a 40-year-old woman who doesn't smoke more than a 40-year-old man who does.

Labor Agency Challenges Boeing Factory Location

The National Labor Relations Board has accused Boeing of retaliating against its union workers by setting up a new nonunion factory in South Carolina. The NLRB says in doing so, Boeing broke federal labor law. The complaint has outraged some members of Congress, who have reacted by trying to cut funding for the NLRB. The case has been a hot political topic for weeks, but on Tuesday the action moves into a Seattle courtroom. The NLRB is bringing the complaint before one of its own administrative law judges. Any appeals could eventually get to the federal courts. As Boeing and its political and corporate allies see it, the NLRB has overstepped its authority. "Our decision to build in Charleston is essentially being second-guessed by the NLRB," says Boeing spokesman Tim Neale. "It really does get down to fundamental rights about whether a company that has a unionized workforce can expand to a right-to-work state or not. That's the issue here." In right-to-work states such as South Carolina, employees are not required to join unions, even if workers at that company have approved one, and unions in those states are usually very weak. Tom Wroblewski, president of the Seattle-area machinists union, says this case isn't about where Boeing builds its factories. "This is all about breaking the law," he says. Since the 1930s, workers have had the right under federal law to join unions, engage in collective bargaining and go on strike. The law says employers cannot discriminate against union workers, and can't retaliate against them for striking. The NLRB says Boeing did those things when it chose South Carolina over Washington state for its second 787 production line. In 2005 and again in 2008, Boeing machinists went on strike. Senior company executives like Jim Albaugh, who heads Boeing Commercial Airplanes, cited those strikes and what they called "the need for production stability" as a major factor in deciding to locate its new factory in a nonunion stronghold. Here's what Albaugh told the Seattle Times about that decision: "But again, the overriding factor was not the business climate, and it was not the wages we're paying people today. It was that we can't afford to have a work stoppage every three years." To the NLRB's top lawyer, Lafe Solomon, that comment sounded like Boeing was retaliating against its workers for striking. Solomon tried to get Boeing and its machinists union to resolve their dispute, but when the effort failed, Solomon says, "I felt I had no choice but to issue the complaint. I took an oath of office to uphold the National Labor Relations Act, and that's what I'm doing to the best of my ability." Beyond the complaint itself, the remedy being proposed has enraged Boeing and its friends. Although the the new plant — the size of 10 football fields — has already opened and hundreds of workers have been hired, the NLRB wants Boeing to move those production jobs back to unionized workers in Washington state. James Gregory, a labor scholar at the University of Washington, says he was surprised the NLRB went after Boeing. "It is a brand new expression of the NLRB's willingness to once again really try to enforce the law, and we just haven't seen this in a long time," Gregory says. The agency's new stance has prompted Boeing and its supporters to challenge the NLRB's authority and its decision-making process. They've made unprecedented requests for documents, and some supporters have even called the NLRB's action un-American. All of this makes David Campbell, a lawyer for the machinists union, bristle. "Boeing has engaged in what I view as a really outrageous campaign to use political power and bullying tactics to try to stop a law enforcement case because it knows it's going to lose this case on the well-settled law," Campbell says. Boeing has called the NLRB charges frivolous and says the law is on its side. In the hearing, NLRB lawyers act as prosecutors, with an administrative law judge from the agency presiding. Most observers think Boeing will lose the case within the NLRB. But Boeing has vowed to appeal, and the company is likely to fare much better in the federal courts. STEVE INSKEEP, Host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports. WENDY KAUFMAN: As Boeing and its corporate and political allies see it, the National Labor Relations Board has overstepped its authority. MONTAGNE: Our decision to build in Charleston is essentially being second-guessed here by the NLRB. KAUFMAN: Tim Neale, a spokesman for Boeing, says the agency is trying to tell the company how to run its business. MONTAGNE: It really does get down to fundamental rights, about whether a company which has a unionized work force can expand to a right-to-work state or not. That's the issue here. KAUFMAN: But Tom Wroblewski, president of the Seattle area machinists union, says this case isn't about where Boeing builds i

Double Take 'Toons: Soap Oprah?

After 25 years on the air, Emmy and Academy Award Winner Oprah Winfrey will tape her last show today. Cam Cardow looks at the hoopla and Mike Smith, the impact of the Media giant's departure on her fans.

Powell Less Sure of Pre-Iraq Intelligence

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Secretary of State Colin Powell is putting a bit of distance between his pre-war views on the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the growing evidence that there were none. A year ago in a speech at the United Nations, Powell insisted that known facts proved the Iraqi threat of WMD. Today he admits that if knew then what he knows today he might not have been so ready to go to war.

Bryant Park: Road to Respect XVIII

The scrappiest eight acres in New York City face more disrespect in the latest installment of our series. We've been digging into the history of Bryant Park. Here's the second part of a several-part series. With violent draft dodgers and dope dealers running the show for a hundred or so years, things get worse for Bryant Park before they get better. If you haven't seen the first part, click here to take a look...

Supreme Court Ruling on Sex Offenders

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on today's decision by the Supreme Court on when a sex offender who has finished his prison term can be committed to a mental hospital. The justices ruled 7-2 that states must offer proof of that the individual has serious difficulty in controlling behavior. The dissenting justices, Scalia and Thomas, said the ruling didn't give courts enough guidance on how the lack of self control should be determined.

A Parisian Finds Her Place In A Rarely Seen Part Of 'Girlhood'

Early on in Celine Sciamma's striking Girlhood, a deft twist confounds what you might expect from a teen movie set in a mostly black, poverty-stricken suburb of Paris. Shut out of conventional paths to realize her ambition to be "like others, normal" and fed up with the tyranny of a bullying older brother at home, 16-year-old Marieme (Karidja Toure) takes up with a gang of tough-talking girls whose charismatic leader, Lady (Assa Sylla), fights other girls and wields a knife. Pretty soon Marieme — or Vic, as she begins calling herself as she forges a less pliant street identity — is carrying a knife too. Only, don't go expecting a kindly social worker to step in, save Marieme from toxic peer influence and set her on a path to mainstream success. In a banlieue where the career prospects for girls skew to drugs and prostitution, there will be other predictable threats to her safety and well-being. But they won't come from these lively, belligerent, stylish young women, who serve more as a bulwark for Marieme than a bad lot waiting to drag her down. There's plenty of plot to go around in Girlhood, but Sciamma is more interested in creating a celebratory habitat for these girls that will break definitively from the somber, social-realist filmmaking that usually frames tales from the ghetto. Sciamma is white; the girls are all black, nonprofessional actors recruited from the neighborhoods where their characters live. She places Marieme and her friends front and center in a highly stylized, glamorized cityscape lit in brilliant blues. She retools the stark projects architecture into a beautiful stage on which the girls can fight, sing and dance their hearts out in improvised pop rituals. The result, complete with musical sequences, is as polished and handsome as an MTV video. The girls, without exception, are all gorgeous in singular and arresting ways. There's no lack of warmth in scenes of tenderness and love between Marieme and the younger sisters she cares for, and the handsome, decent beau with whom she can't explore her sexuality because he is her brother's friend and therefore — for reasons the movie is weirdly coy about — off-limits. The energy and brassy confidence of Marieme's posse is intoxicating. Yet sometimes it feels as though their world has been over-aestheticized, their stories hijacked to serve Sciamma's ongoing interest in the theme she explored in two earlier coming-of-age movies, Tomboy and Water Lilies. She's interested in the fluid nature of gender identity and dawning sexuality, and why not? She's the author. But given the positioning of the girl gang as Marieme's port in a storm, there's something jarring about her abrupt transition from sweet-faced good girl to the dual identities she adopts when, without narrative logic, she quits home, boyfriend and gang to survive on the streets. It's as if the director threw a switch: Gussied up in a blond wig and red minidress by night to deliver drugs to the white bourgeoisie, Marieme morphs by day into Vic, a loping, grim-faced androgyne who won't let anyone dictate where she calls home, or tell her story. Yet there's no sense of how she got from A to B, or why becoming Vic doesn't bring her the freedom and power to shape her destiny. Back in 1986, Spike Lee broke all sorts of new ground with his exuberant She's Gotta Have It, about a bohemian black woman and her three lovers. She's Gotta Have It was a pioneering work, but after that, no one could say a baton was passed. Off the top of my head I can think only of Dee Rees' terrific 2011 indie Pariah. Set in the black-feminist subculture, Pariah — like Lee's movie — had a wonderfully organic, flowing insider vibe to it. Given the scarcity of movies that speak to the experience of young black women today, Sciamma deserves all credit for filling that vacuum. By its end, though, Girlhood, by comparison, feels like the work of a sympathetic outsider who can't resist working her own agenda.

Musicians In Their Own Words: Abigail Washburn

Abigail Washburn writes songs, plays banjo, and sings traditional tunes -- sometimes in Chinese. She was speaking Chinese before she learned to play the banjo. In her early 20s, Washburn lived in the city of Chengdu. She says her immersion in Chinese culture inspired her to reconnect with the roots of American music.

The New Republic: The Great Lakes' Great Oil Debate

One of the annual Great Lakes political rites of late spring is the leadership policy conference on scenic Mackinac Island, the car-less Great Lakes getaway, at which Mackinac's Grand Hotel, with the longest front porch in the world, is weighed down by 1,500 of Detroit and Michigan's leading business, media, and political figures, along with the odd early presidential aspirant. This being an election year, the manure being spread by seven Republican and Democratic Michigan gubernatorial hopefuls, along with visiting keynoter and maybe presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, rivaled the piles left by Mackinac's famous horse-drawn taxis. An unprecedented (and unlikely to be repeated) bi-partisan gubernatorial debate hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce saw seven Michigan candidates to replace term-limited (and sand-blasted by Michigan's auto and economic collapse) Governor Jennifer Granholm deal with a host of hot-button topics. None was more interesting, given the BP moment, than the question posed by moderator Tim Skupick: "If the Canadians were to start drilling for oil in the Great Lakes, would you try to stop it, and if so, how?" The question was not a wild hypothetical. Canadian provinces have been considering exploiting more of the significant gas and oil deposits under the Great Lakes. Drilling has been done on land for years. Drilling in the Lakes has been episodically proposed by various states, and most recently, Canadian provinces. Michigan's legislature was moved in 2002 to ban Great Lakes drilling, and pushed a federal law in 2005, as proposals for "slant drilling" -- getting at oil and gas under Michigan proper -- from "out at sea" in the Great Lakes were seriously being pursued. Michigan straddles almost 4,000 of the 10,000 miles of Great Lakes frontage; but eight other states and two Canadian provinces -- including leading metros like Chicago, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Toronto to smaller Duluth, Green Bay, and Traverse City -- share the same waterfront real estate. Given the Gulf-induced drilling backlash -- all the candidates -- Republicans and Democrats -- groped to outdo each other in demonstrating their zeal to prevent such a thing with varying degrees of credibility given Canada is a sovereign nation and a lack of clarity concerning what, if anything, a governor could do. Some of the answers: "I'd fly to Ottawa; I'd phone the premier of Quebec; I'd lobby the Obama administration to stop it; a governor can't do anything, but I'd try." At a moment when the nation is just beginning to pour serious dollars into cleaning the Great Lakes, repairing damage done by the prior carbon-fueled industrial era's water abuse; and prompted in no small part by our work demonstrating the huge economic importance of clean Great Lakes to the long-term economic revitalization of these industrial metros, there have been some ironic recent twists in the political winds. Prior to the Gulf BP disaster, not only was Great Lakes drilling once again sneaking up as a real and potentially "needed" economic opportunity (albeit with Canadians as the stalking horse), but Michigan just gained an unprecedented windfall to maintain its once crown jewel state parks system from the latest round of oil and gas leases that are routinely auctioned. Michigan's park system, like a lot of Michigan, has been decimated by 10 years of economic and state budget collapse, leading to deferred maintenance and park budget cuts. The recent round of land-based oil and gas exploration leases earned a surprise $178 million for the parks trust fund -- almost as much as the $190 million total netted since the program began in 1929. Making a choice in the Great Lakes devil's bargain between long-term economic gain by capitalizing on its spectacular freshwater coast as a place-defining, people attracting magnet or exploiting the rich resources that lie below the Great Lakes, and maybe wrecking the place again, will be held at bay due to the BP moment. But the underlying tensions and Faustian political choice remains.

Tech Week That Was: Facebook Triumphs, Chromecast Launches

Each Friday we round up the big conversations in tech and culture during the week that was. We also revisit the work that appeared on this blog, and highlight what we're reading from our fellow technology writers and observers at other organizations. ICYMI In case you missed it ... here on All Tech, I wondered about the competing notions of noncommitment and yet endless connection in today's digital dating world. Steve Henn explored the science behind how unexpected freebies and rewards offered by apps and services wire us to keep wanting more. Tech addiction is so prevalent that millions have downloaded apps to block themselves from using social media sites while trying to be productive. Our weekly innovation pick was Uniqul, which is letting shoppers in Finland use their faces for payment transactions. On our airwaves, All Things Considered featured a chat about the U.K.'s plans to block pornography access. And you could hear Steve and me Friday on Morning Edition — he reported on the big takedown of a global credit card hacking ring, and I took another look at email overload after the "didn't-see-the-email" defense was offered in a high-profile insider-trading case. The Big Conversations Facebook's earnings triumph and its subsequent stock surge (it's trading at IPO levels again) dominated headlines, and the ongoing theme of the future of television continued to play out with the launch of Google's Chromecast. Chromecast is a dongle-like device that plugs into your TV's HDMI jack and lets you cordlessly watch the Web on your TV. Priced at $35, it's significantly less expensive than comparable products — AppleTV and Roku — and you can get it at Best Buy or order online. Time magazine calls it a "cord cutter's dream," but Buzzfeed points out it doesn't solve "the only problem that matters" — content. Live sports and HBO still can't be easily accessed on a Chrome browser. The Wall Street Journal rounded up many more takes on it. The slow slog to mass cord-cutting continues. What's Catching Our Eye In no particular order: The Verge: What's Behind Google and Apple's Sudden Patriotism A look at why tech giants are making their products in America again. (Hint: "Made in America" sells.) The New York Times: A Social Network Dedicated to Happy Moments This was the link that people sent us the most this week. "Like a station that plays love songs and only love songs," the new network aims to focus on the happy moments in life. Wall Street Journal: Taiwan's Smartphone Addicts Turn to Eye Massagers The densely populated but tiny island of Taiwan is full of tech-obsessed consumers. Those tired eyes need some love, and vendors of eye-massaging goggles say sales have surged this year. But you don't have to be Taiwanese to get a pair. Apparently similar eye massagers are available on SkyMall.

Congress Bans Microbeads

Microbeads &#8211; those little round spheres of plastic that are in everything from facewash to toothpaste &#8211; may soon be a thing of the past. Before leaving town for the holidays, Congress passed a bill banning them, due to environmental concerns. Companies will be require to phase them out by July of 2017. Samuel Burke of CNN joins Here & Now&#8217;s Jeremy Hobson to look at what this means for companies. Guest Samuel Burke, business correspondent for CNN. He tweets @samuelcnn. &nbsp;

Here's What GSA Approval Means For The Biden Transition

Now that the Trump administration has finally determined that Joe Biden is president-elect, the Biden team can begin preparing to take the reins of government on Jan. 20. The formal letter of ascertainment by the head of the General Services Administration, released Monday, set in motion a process that will enable the Biden team to set up shop in preparation for Inauguration Day. Because of the delay in determining Biden the winner of the November election, his transition team has just 57 days to do its formal work (although unofficial efforts had been well underway since the election), as the president-elect prepares to take over a federal bureaucracy of some 2 million employees and become commander in chief of some 1.3 million active duty troops deployed in the U.S. and overseas. Here's what the president-elect now has access to: Resources One big thing: He can now access some $6.3 million in federal funds to pay the salaries of transition staff. The Biden team will also now get the keys to some 175,000 square feet of federal office space, according to the nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition, and it gets a dot gov domain for its website, Buildbackbetter.gov. Biden and his team will also get access to government aircraft and can be reimbursed for travel-related expenses. Coordination The transition team can also now formally begin meetings with government agencies, something it had been unable to do, much to the consternation of public health experts and Biden's coronavirus advisers. Now the incoming administration has access to agencies such as the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, as it will likely have to begin drawing up plans for distribution of millions of coronavirus vaccines while the pandemic rages in the country. National security There are also national security implications. The Department of Defense issued a statement that it has been in contact with the Biden-Harris team, and that it "is prepared to provide post-election services and support in a professional, orderly, and efficient manner that is befitting of the public's expectation of the Department and our commitment to national security." The Presidential Transition Act says that, as president-elect, Biden will now be given "a classified, compartmented summary of specific operational threats to national security; major military or covert operations; and pending decisions on possible uses of military force." The FBI will now be able to start doing background checks on Biden's appointees and preparing security clearances for the transition team.

Chinese Airlines Show Signs Of Recovering From Coronavirus Impact

There are signs that Chinese airlines may be showing signs of rebounding after canceling thousands of flights due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Host Jeremy Hobson talks to Here & Now transportation analyst Seth Kaplan about the toll the outbreak is taking on airlines. This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Pilots and Profiling

The pilots union is standing behind an American Airlines pilot who ordered an armed Secret Service agent off his plane. The agent was Arab-American, and he's suing the airline. He says the pilot was racially motivated. NPR's Tovia Smith reports on what pilots are saying about the incident, and about the line between racial profiling and taking prudent safety precautions.

Music Q: Children at War

Scott with some thoughts about children at war.

Japan's Struggles Continue On Multiple Fronts

Workers were forced to evacuate from Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant Monday, putting efforts to restore the plant's cooling systems on hold. Residents and officials also face concerns about radiation-tainted food and water, while essential supplies remain scarce across northeastern Japan.

Coronavirus Updates: Italy Reports 650 Cases And 17 Deaths

Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET Italy's number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases spiked by more than 50% in just 24 hours and now stands at 650, the Italian Ministry of Health says, adding that 17 people have died from the respiratory virus. More than 400 of the cases are in the hard-hit Lombardy region, where some towns are under a lockdown. Nearly 250 of the people who were infected are currently in the hospital, including 56 patients who are in intensive care, the Italian ministry says, citing a Thursday afternoon update from Angelo Borrelli, commissioner for the coronavirus emergency. Another 284 people who have been infected are in home isolation to try to stop the coronavirus from spreading further. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy led the U.S. State Department to add concerns about the virus to its travel advisory for Italy this week. The advisory stands at Level 2: "exercise increased caution" – one level short of "reconsider travel." Alarmed by the virus's potential impact on its economy, Italy's government is urging foreign media to reassure people around the world that it's safe to visit Italy. "Tourism is already taking a big hit, with a surge in hotel cancellations," NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome, "and several American study-abroad programs have shut down." Warning against the dangers of spreading fake news about the public health crisis, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told a gathering of foreign press that the economic damage from an "epidemic" of bad information will do more harm than the virus. Poggioli adds, "Italian officials also stress that Italy has done much more extensive screening for the virus than any other European country – which may explain why its caseload numbers are so high." Concerns about spreading the COVID-19 virus have also forced dramatic changes at the highest levels of Italian soccer. Several Serie A games were recently canceled — and at least five matches will be played in closed stadiums, with no fans in attendance. 'We are at a decisive point,' WHO leader says As of Thursday morning, there were more than 3,474 cases in 44 countries outside of China, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva. Don't see the graphic above? Click here. "We are at a decisive point," Tedros said, adding that for two days in a row, there have been more new coronavirus cases reported in the rest of the world than in mainland China, where the virus was identified in December. The WHO chief added, "in the past 24 hours, seven countries have reported cases for the first time: Brazil, Georgia, Greece, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan and Romania." Virus prompts Japan to close all schools for a month Japan is asking all elementary, junior high and senior high schools to close after this week and not reopen until after their spring break ends in April, in a bid to protect children from COVID-19. Announcing the move, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he is "putting health and safety of children first above all." "Normally, schools in Japan typically begin spring breaks in late March," Japan's NHK News reports. "They will now be effectively asked to start their holidays early." The nationwide shutdown comes after jurisdictions in Hokkaido and Chiba announced plans to close their schools to avoid close contact that could spread the virus. As Japan fights to contain the coronavirus, "the next one to two weeks will be of critical importance," Abe said, laying out his plans at Japan's Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters on Thursday. Japan's government is also asking businesses and other employers to give wide latitude to their employees, both to allow them to take leave if they feel ill and to accommodate parents who now face an unplanned stretch of several weeks without school. The government will address "various issues caused by these measures," Abe added. In another new development, Japanese health officials say a woman who had recovered from COVID-19 and was released from care has now been found to be ill from the virus again. An Osaka resident, the woman was originally diagnosed on Jan. 29, when she became Japan's eighth patient. She's now listed as patient No. 148. Japan currently has 210 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to its Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. But that figure omits more than 700 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The ship became one of the world's largest clusters of COVID-19 cases outside of mainland China as it sat for weeks in quarantine at a port in Yokohama.

100-Year-Old Message In A Bottle Plucked From Baltic Sea

On a nature hike along Germany's Baltic Coast in 1913, 20-year-old Richard Platz scrawled a note on a postcard, shoved it into a brown beer bottle, corked it and tossed it into the sea. Where it traveled, no one knows for sure, but it was pulled out of the Baltic Sea by a fisherman last month not far from where Platz first pitched it. It's thought to be the world's oldest message in a bottle. The French news agency Agence France-Presse writes: "A fisherman pulled the beer bottle with the scribbled message out of the Baltic off the northern city of Kiel last month, said Holger von Neuhoff of the International Maritime Museum in the northern port city of Hamburg. " 'This is certainly the first time such an old message in a bottle was found, particularly with the bottle intact,' he said." Platz was identified as the author of the note, and a Berlin-based genealogical researcher then located 62-year-old Angela Erdmann, his granddaughter. Erdmann says she never met Platz, who was her mother's father. He died in 1946 at age 54. Erdmann visited the museum last week and was able to hold the bottle. "That was a pretty moving moment," she tells German news agency DPA. "Tears rolled down my cheeks." According to AFP: "Von Neuhoff said a handwriting comparison with letters penned by Platz later in life confirmed that he was 'without a doubt' the author. "Erdmann told local newspapers that the surprise discovery had inspired her to look through family scrapbooks to learn more about her grandfather, a Social Democrat who liked to read. "Much of the ink on the postcard had been rendered illegible with time and dampness, Von Neuhoff said. "The discovery will be on display at the museum until 1 May, after which experts will set to work trying to decipher the rest of the message. "Guinness World Records previously identified the oldest message in a bottle as dating from 1914. It spent nearly 98 years at sea before being fished from the water."

Mindfulness Is Everywhere. Is It Working For Everyone?

With Meghna Chakrabarti Less stress and more inner peace. We walk through the promises of living mindfully. Guests Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Author of &#8220;Falling Awake: How to Practice Mindfulness in Everyday Life&#8221; and &#8220;Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.&#8221; (@jonkabatzinn) Rhonda Magee, professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Author of &#8220;The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.&#8221; (@rvmagee) From The Reading List Parade: &#8220;Meet Mr. Mindfulness: How Jon Kabat-Zinn Brought Mindfulness to the Masses&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;There are many reasons why mindfulness has become a buzzword in current mainstream culture. The tensions of life in the early 21st century have certainly created an urgent demand for it. But perhaps the single most important figure in the mainstreaming of mindfulness has been Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) training program. This accessible brand of mindfulness training has helped thousands of people alleviate the harmful effects of not only stress but also medical conditions ranging from chronic pain to psoriasis. &#8220;Kabat-Zinn was working on a Ph.D. in molecular biology at MIT in Boston when he attended a lecture on meditation by the Zen Buddhist teacher Philip Kapleau. Both before and after completing his doctorate in 1971, Kabat-Zinn studied meditation with prominent Buddhist teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Seung Sahn, and also at the Insight Meditation Center in Boston, where he later became a teacher. &#8220;By 1979, he was doing postdoctoral work in cell biology and anatomy at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and had 13 years of meditation training and practice under his belt. During a two-week meditation retreat, he had a vision of his &#8216;karmic assignment&#8217; in life. He’d use the insights he’d gained from Buddhism to help Americans suffering from chronic health conditions and stress. To carry out that mission, he convinced the University of Massachusetts Medical School to let him establish the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic there.&#8221; Above The Law: &#8220;Using Mindfulness To Combat Social Bias&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Rhonda Magee is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco. She teaches Mindfulness-Based Interventions and is a student of awareness and compassion practices from a range of traditions. I had the opportunity to sit down with her to chat about how we can use mindfulness to combat social bias. &#8220;Jeena: You’ve written and done a lot of work around social justice and implicit bias, and how mindfulness can help us to be more aware and to start to shift, and really use mindfulness as a tool for uncovering our own bias. Tell me about that. &#8220;Rhonda: We know from neurobiology that our bodies are formed to respond to perceived threats in one of a few deeply ingrained ways; to flee or flight. Polarizing is another common response. &#8220;Choosing to tend and befriend, to not flee, to know that there are other options often involves a more sophisticated engagement with our capabilities. &#8220;Moving from what many people call the early human aspects of the developed brain, the reptilian kind of brain and cortex and into the neocortex; the later evolved part of our brain that assists us in making these more sophisticated decisions, responses to these stimuli in our world.&#8221; The Guardian: &#8220;The mindfulness conspiracy&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Mindfulness has gone mainstream, with celebrity endorsement from Oprah Winfrey and Goldie Hawn. Meditation coaches, monks and neuroscientists went to Davos to impart the finer points to CEOs attending the World Economic Forum. The founders of the mindfulness movement have grown evangelical. Prophesying that its hybrid of science and meditative discipline &#8216;has the potential to ignite a universal or global renaissance&#8217;, the inventor of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Jon Kabat-Zinn, has bigger ambitions than conquering stress. Mindfulness, he proclaims, &#8216;may actually be the only promise the species and the planet have for making it through the next couple of hundred years.&#8217; &#8221; &#8220;So, what exactly is this magic panacea? In 2014, Time magazine put a youthful blonde woman on its cover, blissing out above the words: &#8216;The Mindful Revolution.&#8217; The accompanying feature described a signature scene from the standardised course teaching MBSR: eating a raisin very slowly. &#8216;The ability to focus for a few minutes on a single raisin isn’t silly if the skills it requires are the keys to surviving and succeeding in the 21st century,&#8217; the author explained. &#8220;But anything that offers success in our unjust society

More Questions About COVID-19 Immunity In Recovered Patients

After COVID-19 patients recover, do they have immunity? Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist, answers more questions about how the body can fight the disease.

Project Eavesdrop: What Passive Surveillance Collects

Over the past year, we've learned a lot about what the National Security Agency can do. Our technology correspondent allowed his phone and Internet activities to be monitored to see what was revealed.

Impoverished East Timor Enjoys a Calmer Day

East Timor got a slight respite from the violence that erupted just over a week ago, the worst to hit the country since it voted for independence from Indonesia seven years ago. With foreign troops bolstering domestic security efforts, the gangs that had roamed the streets of the capital for days were largely absent. East Timor's president, Xanana Gusmao, toured the capital, urging people to return to their homes and urged all East Timorese to work together to put an end to the unrest. The violence has added to the woes of the residents of one of the world's poorest countries. The crisis in East Timor has been aggravated by a power struggle between the president and the prime minister.

Library Of Congress Names Juan Felipe Herrera U.S. Poet Laureate

Juan Felipe Herrera, already California's poet laureate, grew up traveling the agricultural valleys of Southern California as the son of farm workers.

National Geographic's 'Greendex' Ranks U.S. Last

Even using energy-saving light bulbs, driving hybrid cars and buying organic, Americans are in last place when it comes to being environmentally friendly. So finds National Geographic's first "Greendex," which polled people in 14 countries. Brazil and India share the top slot.

Urban Poor Cope with Help from Informal Economy

Almost 10 years ago, sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh was interviewing poor people in Chicago about unemployment when he noticed something: Many of them seemed to spend more money than they earned each month. That's because they were doing odd jobs, working off the books. He ended up writing a book out of his research called Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor. Venkatesh says there's a huge amount of economic activity taking place in the inner city that isn't reflected in official government statistics about income and employment. He says this underground economy enables a lot of people survive — but it also exacts a toll. His research continued when he moved to Columbia University in New York. A few years ago, Sudhir Venkatesh was talking to a vendor at a newspaper kiosk in Harlem. Venkatesh realized that he'd somehow torn the pants he was wearing. "And the guy said, 'Well, why don't you go to my friend who's a tailor on 117th Street, and tell him that your cat keeps creeping up your leg.' "And I said, 'Well, hi, Joe sent me and my cat keeps creeping up my leg.' "And he said, 'Oh, OK,' and he takes me in the back where there's another whole store that's completely off the books. And I pay in cash, and I get treated fairly and it's completely off the books." Venkatesh returned to the vendor and ask more questions. "And he said, 'Well, do you need someone to clean your apartment? Do you need someone to fix your car? Do you need a Social Security card? Do you need a plane ticket to Haiti? What do you need?'" Venkatesh tells the story to illustrate how big the underground economy is in neighborhoods like Harlem. Outsiders come into the inner city and see only unemployment and idleness, but many people are working off the books. Some of this is criminal — drug dealing and prostitution — but much of it exists in a kind of moral gray area. Sharelle, 43, lives in subsidized housing in Harlem. She hasn't had a job in years – but she works all the time. She runs an after-school day care in her apartment, where children are laughing and playing cards. She also looks after an elderly woman in her Harlem neighborhood twice a week. "I do the housekeeping, clean her bedroom, do the kitchen," said Sharelle, who didn't want her last name aired. Sometimes she gets a few extra dollars helping her neighbors fill out state tax forms or babysitting. If Sharelle reported this income to the government her rent would go up, so almost all the work she does is under the table. "Miss Hinxson is off the books, their mother is off the books, the little girl Courtney that I went to pick up is off the books," she said. Venkatesh says there are countless people like Sharelle in the inner city, scraping by on odd jobs. They make and sell box lunches at construction sites, or fix cars in an alleyway. Venkatesh admires the entrepreneurial drive of people like Sharelle. "These are flexible entrepreneurs who have enormous skills, and will go where the market takes them," he said. But Venkatesh says there's also a big downside to the underground economy. Because this kind of work is unregulated, people can't go to the authorities for help when they need it. That means there's no one to resolve disputes. "There's no government that's enforcing contracts, so you have to simultaneously solve the disputes you have, to simultaneously create the norms and expectations for what's fair and what's right," he said. "You may have to go out and punish people who don't pay you or don't deliver a good or service." In that kind of environment personal relationships matter, even more than in the mainstream economy. In Off the Books Venkatesh writes about the complex web of loyalties and obligations that hold up the economy in a neighborhood in Chicago. He gives the neighborhood a fictitious name but it's a real place. Venkatesh spent years there trying to get people to open up to him about how they made money. Harvard sociology professor William Julius Wilson, who served as Venkatesh's dissertation adviser, says the book reveals a world most Americans know little about. The book just does an outstanding job of providing information on the way people have to make ends meet and how people survive," Wilson said. "And the importance of using different strategies." Off the Books portrays a neighborhood where economic need blurs the lines between legitimate business and criminals. A beauty parlor rents out its space to drug dealers to run dance parties. A pastor lends money to help start a gypsy cab service. It's also a world where business owners cooperate with one another to a surprising degree. They lend one another money and workers, and swap information about money-making opportunities. Venkatesh talks about a pastor he met who ran a school janitorial service. He was given the chance to take a contract in another neighborhood — one that would have brought in a lot more money. "But he won't do it because it's the ghetto that enables him

Should We Accept Steroid Use in Sports?

The debate over athletes' use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs has taken on newfound urgency in recent months. A report by former Sen. George Mitchell, released in December, mentioned dozens of baseball players as having used steroids and described their use as "widespread." Track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about steroid use in October. And last summer, several riders were dismissed from the Tour de France on charges of using banned substances. Those who oppose the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs say that the athletes who use them are breaking the rules and getting an unfair advantage over others. Opponents of the drugs say the athletes are endangering not only their own health, but also indirectly encouraging youngsters to do the same. Others maintain that it is hypocritical for society to encourage consumers to seek drugs to treat all sorts of ailments and conditions but to disdain drug use for sports. They say the risk to athletes has been overstated and that the effort to keep them from using performance-enhancing drugs is bound to fail. Six experts on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs recently took on the issue in an Oxford-style debate, part of the series Intelligence Squared U.S. The debates are modeled on a program begun in London in 2002: Three experts argue in favor of a proposition and three argue against. In the latest debate, held on Jan. 15, the formal proposition was, "We should accept performance-enhancing drugs in competitive sports." As the debate began, it was announced that former Olympics sprinter Ben Johnson, who was scheduled to argue in favor of allowing drugs, had pulled out on the advice of his lawyer because of his involvement in a lawsuit. Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the 1988 Olympics after testing positive for steroids. In a vote before the debate, 18 percent of audience members supported the motion to accept performance-enhancing drugs in competitive sports, and 63 percent opposed it. Nineteen percent were undecided. After the debate, 37 percent of audience members agreed with the proposition. Fifty-nine percent opposed it, and 4 percent remained undecided. The event was held at the Asia Society and Museum in New York City and moderated by longtime sportscaster Bob Costas, who hosts NBCs Football Night in America and HBOs Inside the NFL. Highlights from the debate:

Foolish Tip of the Cap

A salute to former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt.

'Golden Hill' Immerses Readers In Intrigue And History Of Pre-Revolutionary New York

It&#8217;s a dark, damp November night when Richard Smith gets off a merchant ship in New York in 1746, and heads, with great purpose, into the streets of Manhattan. But it takes 300 pages of treachery, misunderstanding, adultery, dueling, politics and race to find out what that purpose is. &#8220;Golden Hill&#8221; is British author Francis Spufford&#8216;s first novel, and is written in an 18th-century style. Spufford joins Here & Now&#8216;s Robin Young to discuss the book, its themes and pre-Revolutionary New York. Find more great reads on the Here & Now bookshelf Book Excerpt: &#8216;Golden Hill&#8217; By Francis Spufford All Hallows November 1st 20 Geo. II 1746 The brig Henrietta having made Sandy Hook a little before the dinner hour—and having passed the Narrows about three o’clock—and then crawling to and fro, in a series of tacks infinitesimal enough to rival the calculus, across the grey sheet of the harbour of New-York—until it seemed to Mr. Smith, dancing from foot to foot upon deck, that the small mound of the city waiting there would hover ahead in the November gloom in perpetuity, never growing closer, to the smirk of Greek Zeno—and the day being advanced to dusk by the time Henrietta at last lay anchored off Tietjes Slip, with the veritable gables of the city’s veritable houses divided from him only by one hundred foot of water—and the dusk moreover being as cold and damp and dim as November can afford, as if all the world were a quarto of grey paper dampened by drizzle until in danger of crumbling imminently to pap:—all this being true, the master of the brig pressed upon him the virtue of sleeping this one further night aboard, and pursuing his shore business in the morning. (He meaning by the offer to signal his esteem, having found Mr. Smith a pleasant companion during the slow weeks of the crossing.) But Smith would not have it. Smith, bowing and smiling, desired nothing but to be rowed to the dock. Smith, indeed, when once he had his shoes flat on the cobbles, took off at such speed despite the gambolling of his land-legs that he far outpaced the sailor dispatched to carry his trunk—and must double back for it, and seizing it hoist it instanter on his own shoulder—and gallop on, skidding over fish-guts and turnip leaves and cats’ entrails, and the other effluvium of the port—asking for direction here, asking again there—so that he appeared most nearly as a type of smiling whirlwind when he shouldered open the door—just as it was about to be bolted for the evening—of the counting-house of the firm of Lovell & Company, on Golden Hill Street, and laid down his burden while the prentices were lighting the lamps, and the clock on the wall showed one minute to five, and demanded, very civilly, speech that moment with Mr. Lovell himself. “I’m Lovell,” said the merchant, rising from his place by the fire. His qualities in brief, to meet the needs of a first encounter: fifty years old; a spare body but a pouched and lumpish face, as if Nature had set to work upon the clay with knuckles; shrewd and anxious eyes; brown small-clothes; a bob-wig yellowed by tobacco smoke. “Help ye?” “Good day,” said Mr. Smith, “for I am certain it is a good day, never mind the rain and the wind. And the darkness. You’ll forgive the dizziness of the traveller, sir. I have the honour to present a bill drawn upon you by your London correspondents, Messrs. Banyard and Hythe. And request the favour of its swift acceptance.” “Could it not have waited for the morrow?” said Lovell. “Our hours for public business are over. Come back and replenish your purse at nine o’clock. Though for any amount over ten pound sterling I’ll ask you to wait out the week, cash money being scarce.” “Ah,” said Mr. Smith. “It is for a greater amount. A far greater. And I am come to you now, hot-foot from the cold sea, salt still on me, dirty as a dog fresh from a duck-pond, not for payment, but to do you the courtesy of long notice.” And he handed across a portfolio, which being opened revealed a paper cover clearly sealed in black wax with a B and an H. Lovell cracked it, his eyebrows already half-raised. He read, and they rose further. “Lord love us,” he said. “This is a bill for a thousand pound.” “Yes, sir,” said Mr. Smith. “A thousand pounds sterling; or as it says there, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight pounds, fifteen shillings and fourpence, New-York money. May I sit down?” Lovell ignored him. “Jem,” he said, “fetch a lantern closer.” The clerk brought one of the fresh-lit candles in its chimney, and Lovell held the page up close to the hot glass; so close that Smith made a start as if to snatch it away, which Lovell reproved with an out-thrust arm; but he did not scorch the paper, only tilted it where the flame shone through and showed in paler lines the watermark of a mermaid. “Paper’s right,” said the clerk. “The hand too,” said Lovell. “Benjamin Banyard’s own, I’d say.” “Yes,” said Mr. Smith, “though his name was Barna

Sale Of Weinstein Company Paused After N.Y. Attorney General Files Lawsuit

Hours before a sale was to be announced, the New York Attorney General sued the Weinstein Company. The suit aims to compensate company employees who were victims of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual abuse — or part of a hostile workplace. It appears to have killed the sale for now.

Attorney General Announces Investigation Into Louisville Police Force

Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced a civil rights investigation into the Louisville police force in a city still reeling from the death of Breonna Taylor last summer.

Poll: Majority of LGBTQ Americans Report Harassment, Violence Based On Identity

More than half of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans say they have experienced violence, threats or harassment because of their sexuality or gender identity, according to new poll results being released Tuesday by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "There are very few nationally representative polls of LGBTQ people, and even fewer that ask about LGBTQ people's personal experiences of discrimination," says Logan Casey, deputy director of the survey and research associate in public opinion at the Harvard Chan School. "This report confirms the extraordinarily high levels of violence and harassment in LGBTQ people's lives." Majorities also say they have personally experienced slurs or insensitive or offensive comments or negative assumptions about their sexual orientation. And 34 percent say they or an LGBTQ friend or family member has been verbally harassed in the bathroom when entering or while using a bathroom — or has been told or asked if they were using the wrong bathroom. The poll, conducted earlier this year, looked not only at violence and harassment but also at a wide range of discrimination experiences. We asked about discrimination in employment, education, in their interactions with police and the courts and in their everyday lives in their own neighborhoods. We're breaking out the results by race, ethnicity and identity. You can find what we've released so far on our series page "You, Me and Them: Experiencing Discrimination in America." We asked whether people see discrimination more as a one-on-one personal-prejudice issue or whether discrimination in laws or government is the larger problem. We found a sizable age gap. People born after about 1967 saw the world in mostly the same way, but older LGBTQ adults much more frequently said one-on-one prejudice is the larger problem, by a wide margin. "This finding highlights how life experiences and political socialization can really shape how an individual, or a generation of people, thinks about how to create change," Casey says. "Older generations of LGBTQ people came of age at a time when legal protections were nearly unthinkable and activists agitated in mass scale social movements. But younger people have grown up in the era of gay marriage, 'don't ask, don't tell,' and employment protections, and more successfully petitioning for rights through judicial or legislative processes." The survey finds a big racial gap in the LGBTQ community — LGBTQ people of color reported substantially more discrimination because they are LGBTQ than whites when applying for jobs or interacting with the police. LGBTQ people of color are six times more likely to say they have avoided calling the police (30 percent) owing to concern about anti-LGBTQ discrimination, compared with white LGBTQ people (5 percent). Our survey found significant levels of discrimination against transgender adults as well. About 1 in 6 LGBTQ people says they've been personally discriminated against because of their LGBTQ identity when going to a doctor, and nearly 1 in 5 said they've avoided seeking medical care for fear they'd be discriminated against. "Research shows that experiencing discrimination has harmful effects on health," Casey says. "That's an implication all the more troubling because the poll also shows the serious barriers to health care for LGBTQ and especially transgender people in America." Indeed, some 31 percent of transgender people told us they do not have regular access to a doctor or health care. We will broadcast and publish a report later Tuesday on the difficulties transgender people face in seeking health care, particularly in the face of discrimination. Our results also illustrate the great diversity in identities within what's called the "LGBTQ community." For example, to be queer does not necessarily mean one is gay or lesbian. Nor does being transgender mean someone is necessarily gay, lesbian or bisexual. In this chart, we compare cisgender and transgender people based on their self-identified sexual orientation. Additionally, our poll found that among all transgender and gender nonconforming people, 24 percent identify as transgender men, 52 percent identify as transgender women and 25 percent identify as genderqueer or gender nonconforming. More than half (56 percent) of the 86 transgender people in our survey say they are heterosexual. Overall, our survey found 1.4 percent of Americans identify as transgender, genderqueer and gender nonconforming. A June 2016 survey by the Williams Institute found that 0.6 percent of the adult U.S. population identifies as transgender but did not establish estimates for genderqueer or gender nonconforming adults. The overall poll results for LGBTQ adults are based on a nationally representative probability-based telephone (cell and landline) sample of 489 LGBTQ adults, including people who are genderqueer and gender nonconforming. T

Germany Needs A Strong Europe

Earlier this week, the German Economy Ministry announced the country's industrial production grew by 0.8 percent in October--almost triple economists' predictions. On top of that, factory orders have rebounded 5.2 percent. And, oh yeah, business confidence, consumer spending, and hiring were all up as well. It was starting to look like Germany might thrive even as its neighbors crumble. But then came this: a 3.6 percent drop in exports in October. The German economy is largely dependent on exports and its biggest customers are the rest of Europe so this drop is hard to ignore. The Bundesbank has cut its forecast for economic growth next year to 0.6 percent...ouch. Read More: Germany's current strength wasn't simply home-grown Germany has long been a strong exporter but the creation of the euro was a huge boon for the country. After joining the eurozone, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain could suddenly tap previously inaccessible credit because, to lenders and investors, these countries seemed like safer bets. And with that money they bought lots of stuff from Germany. Between 2001 and 2008 Greek imports of goods tripled from $28.2 billion to $89.3 billion. Similar numbers held in Italy, Spain, and Portugal during most of those years. Over that stretch, German exports of goods increased 2.5 times, and its exports of services almost tripled. That translated into Germany's trade increasing from almost 34 percent of GDP to over 44 percent. Germany's current strength wasn't simply home-grown. And now that its customers' economies are falling to pieces, Germany is going to feel the pinch.

'Captain Phillips' Review And Why Boston's Accent Isn't Easy

<em>Captain Phillips</em>, starring Tom Hanks, is based on a real-life case of a freighter overtaken by Somali pirates in 2009. You might know the story, but critic Kenneth Turan says this film will exceed your expectations. Plus, <em>Morning Edition</em> investigates what it takes to have a convincing Boston accent.

Mozart Transformations

Old wine in new wineskins. Antique furniture in a modern house. A new building in a historical setting. These juxtapositions always make us stop and reconsider. That's exactly what pianist Stephen Hough does with his Mozart Transformations. He takes three familiar Mozart tunes and re-imagines them in a charming modern setting. Hough is in concert in Atlanta's Spivey Hall.

Phantogram: A Keen Ear For The Clever

Recording under the name Phantogram, upstate New Yorkers Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have spent the better part of the last decade combining hazy, trip-hop-inflected electronic sounds with gauzy pop melodies. With their recent Nightlife EP, a collection of songs written while touring, the two show a more practiced hand with the tools they've been using all along — the bank of sounds at their disposal remains the same, but they're showing a keener ear for clever arrangements. There's a beguiling simplicity to "Don't Move" — at first listen, it's all smoothly shuffling beats, airy vocals and shimmering synths. Hiding underneath the obvious hooks, though, is a densely layered web of samples and melodies pinging off one another. With each successive exposure, it becomes clearer that the more immediately catchy sounds are only so obvious because they're held up by this swirling, shifting undercurrent. Many bedroom producers adopt a "more is more" approach and stuff a track full of as many sounds as possible without any apparent editorial process, but Phantogram has enough good taste to piece together an array of sounds into an arrangement that makes sense. The duo has been playing to this strength more with each successive release, and it seems likely to help Phantogram endure: The band isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, just searching for new ways to make it spin smoothly.

Listen: Dirty Projectors' Warped New Album Drops Early

Dirty Projectors frontman David Longstreth decided he couldn't wait any longer. In a Twitter post yesterday, the singer said it had been "four years, seven months and 11 days" since the band's last album, which was "long enough!" Longstreth live-streamed the entire new record, playing it from a turntable, on the Dirty Projectors Facebook page. It's since been made available from both Apple Music and Spotify. Longstreth calls Dirty Projectors a breakup album, a series of cathartic songs largely informed by his breakup with longtime band member and singer Amber Coffman. Longstreth bared this acute heartache, singing about loss and profound sadness, on two previously released songs and videos from Dirty Projectors: "Keep Your Name" and "Little Bubble." In a press release announcing the new record earlier this year, Longstreth says he bottomed out emotionally after Dirty Projectors headlined Carnegie Hall in 2013 for the band's last full-length, Swing Lo Magellan. "I was pretty torn up," he says of that time, "pretty effing depressed." As he battled heartache, depression and writer's block, Longstreth says he couldn't see a future for the band. Over the next several years he focused on other people's projects instead; He scored the strings for Joanna Newsom's Divers album, worked with Rhianna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney on the song "FourFiveSeconds," and even produced and co-wrote Amber Coffman's upcoming solo album, City Of No Reply. Longstreth eventually connected with producer Rick Rubin who convinced him to release another Dirty Projectors album, telling Longstreth he should keep the band's name. While Coffman obviously isn't on the new album, Longstreth does collaborate with a large cast of other artists, including Solange, who co-wrote a track called "Cool Your Heart," Dawn Richards, Tyondai Braxton and yMusic. Dirty Projectors was originally due out this Friday on Domino Records.

Solar Advocates Fight Utilities Over Grid Access

The solar power business is growing quickly in the U.S. More than 500,000 homeowners and businesses installed solar panels in just the first half of this year, according to a Solar Energy Industries Association report. When people get electricity from the sun, they don't buy it from their local power company. But that utility still must have the generators and power lines to provide electricity when the sun is not shining. That's creating conflicts across the country. At issue is something called "net metering" — a benefit designed to encourage homeowners to pay the upfront cost of installing solar. When the panels produce more electricity than the homeowner uses, the excess is pushed back to the grid where the local utility buys it. In some cases you can actually see the meter going in reverse. Vera Cole is an enthusiastic solar supporter and president of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association, a nonprofit educational organization. Outside her house north of Philadelphia are 40 solar panels facing south. They supply about half of what her home and electric car use. Proposed regulations before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission would limit how much solar a homeowner could install to 110 percent of what that house uses in a year. While Cole's solar power system would be allowed under these restrictions, she's still opposed to the change. "Why would we want to limit clean energy and private investment in clean energy?" asks Cole. To combat environmental problems like climate change, she says, "We need to do everything we can to get as much clean energy installed as quickly as we can." But regulators say some are abusing the net metering benefit in Pennsylvania. "We're seeing people who are installing electric generation equipment only to sell it back to the grid for profit," says Public Utility Commission spokeswoman Robin Tilley. The number of people doing this is small. "It's not a huge problem yet — the commission just wants to get in front of this before it becomes a larger issue," Tilley says. Other states are considering changes to net metering regulations too. "I'm watching very closely California," says David Owens, executive vice president of business operations and regulation at Edison Electric Institute, an association for investor-owned utilities. Owens is also monitoring debates over regulations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Idaho, Hawaii, South Carolina and Massachusetts. Regulators have to balance two objectives. They want to allow individuals to install solar panels that are connected to the power grid, but they also must make sure local utilities have the money necessary to maintain a reliable infrastructure. Owens says utilities are looking at what's happened in Germany. Rooftop solar grew quickly and utilities there were caught off guard by the expensive upgrades the power grid needed. "We want to learn from the experiences of Germany and say, 'Let's deal with these issues early on, rather than after the fact,' " Owens says. As regulators decide how much more people with solar panels will have to pay to ensure a reliable electricity grid, renewable energy advocates hope they will factor in the societal benefits of their cleaner source of power. Beyond that, the benefits solar currently enjoys here were hard won by advocates in the past. And they won't let regulators reduce those financial benefits without a fight.

Teen Listener Presents His Version Of The 'Morning Edition' Theme

The theme submitted by 16-year-old Curtis Sun of Cincinnati, Ohio, has an ethereal, ambient feel and looks back to the 35th anniversary celebration of <em>Morning Edition</em>.

Tens of Thousands in State Medicaid Suit

A lawsuit against the state of Mississippi seeks to undo the largest Medicaid cutback in the nation. Some 48,000 elderly and disabled people have been dropped from eligibility in order to conserve funds. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

What's Really Fueling Al-Qaeda?

A branch of Al-Qaeda clamed responsibility for the foiled bombing attack of Detroit-bound Delta Airlines Flight on Christmas Day. The Al-Qaeda offshoot at the center of the controversy is based in Yemen. Arsalan Iftikhar, a civil rights attorney, founder of themuslimguy.com and legal fellow for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, and Ben Venzke, who monitors terrorist groups, talks about the current known state of al-Qaeda �" its reach, function and aggressive agenda.

Rebuilding Liberia's Devastated Health System

In Liberia, the transport minister is now voluntarily isolating herself in her home, after her driver died of Ebola over the weekend. Angela Bush said she did not know her driver was sick until after his death. The death rate in the current outbreak has now hit 70 percent, and it has devastated the Liberian health care system. One global health nonprofit is helping to rebuild it. Management Sciences for Health is helping set up community care centers in order to move Ebola victims out of hospitals. They have also been setting up private medicine shops for people to get trustworthy medications outside of hospitals, where people are afraid to go. Ian Sliney, senior director for health systems strengthening at Management Sciences for Health, says community care centers  make the response more efficient. Liberians are now regaining hope that in the not too long distant future, the issue of Ebola will be a thing of the past. “The idea of the community care center is to put a triage facility close to a health center and that will allow people who think they may have Ebola to come and receive a very rapid diagnosis,&#8221; Sliney told Here & Now&#8216;s Robin Young. &#8220;Other people who have a fever or symptoms similar to Ebola can also come. There will be a very rapid turnaround of the diagnostic procedures to accelerate treatment for the people who catch this terrible disease.” Arthur Loryoun, technical adviser with Management Sciences for Health and a pharmacist based in Liberia, says Liberians are overcoming their fear and beginning to appreciate community care centers. “Initially people were very resistant to the idea of opening any form of treatment centers in the com, for fear that would further spread the virus,&#8221; he said. “People are now beginning to appreciate the effort of setting up of the community care centers.&#8221; Loryoun says that thanks to these community care centers, Liberians are more hopeful. “Liberians are now regaining hope that in the not too long distant future, the issue of Ebola will be a thing of the past,” Loryoun said. Guest Ian Sliney, senior director for health systems strengthening at Management Sciences for Health. Arthur Loryoun, technical advisor with Management Sciences for Health and a pharmacist based in Liberia.

Weekly Wrap: "Not Functioning Legislatively"

Washington Post blogger and columnist Alexandra Petri and Mike Pesca from Slate's The Gist podcast join Sam to talk through the week that was: the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood, the Trump administration's actions without Congress's help, and the Environmental Protection Agency's handling of the Clean Power Plan — plus a call to a listener in Northern California about wildfires that have ravaged the state, and the best things that happened to listeners all week. Email the show at [email protected] and follow Sam on Twitter @samsanders.

Advocates Hope 'Vacatur' Laws Will Help Prostitutes Clear Their Records

For the first time in Maryland, a woman with a prostitution conviction has had her criminal record wiped clean by convincing a judge she is actually a victim, forced into the life by brutal pimps. Advocates hope it will be a model in other states.

New Developments in Watts

News Headlines: Jan. 17, 2007 Talk About It:LA Times: Subdivision in Watts Attracts Attention -- "It's an improbable place to find a home-building boom in the midst of Los Angeles' sluggish housing market. Yet only three blocks from the Imperial Courts public housing project, along a stretch of land once used as a neighborhood dump, 44 homes are rising in Watts within sight of its famous towers." What could these new developments mean for Watts and South Los Angeles? Do you think they are precursors to gentrification or promise of economic improvement in the area? Election 2008:Wall Street Journal: McCain Courts Military In South Carolina Nation:NY Times: Racial Tensions Stir in Ohio TownUSA Today: Court Fines Man for Using "N-Word" Boston Globe: Maker of Heart Drug for Blacks Cuts Jobs World:New York Times: Protesters Clash With Police in Kenya for Second DayBBC: South African President Visits Zimbabwe for Mediation Talks Op-Ed:Wall Street Journal: Nobel Prize Winner: Don't Ignore Violence in Kenya

Ryan Tedder Interview: A Fan Of Music Talks About The Craft Of Songwriting

Ryan Tedder is probably best-known as the lead singer and songwriter for the chart-topping band, OneRepublic. But he's also written, co-written, or produced tracks for Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Rihanna, James Blunt, Carrie Underwood, Menudo -- the list is staggering. With so much work under his belt, he could perhaps be forgiven for maybe sort of inadvertantly kinda writing the same song twice, as he appears to have done with Beyonce's "Halo" and Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone." Nevertheless Tedder is a thoughtful -- and not full of himself at all -- 31-year old fan and student of a wide range of music. We enjoyed talking to him so much when we called to ask what makes a hook that we thought we'd post the entire interview. The importance of melody, and how dance-based hits are changing songwriting, after the jump. What do you think makes a good hook?Simplicity. I don't know if this is the right word: memorability. A simple concept: simple melody and one that I think packs an emotional punch. And the other element would be a basic human concept and you need to say it in a way that hasn't been said before. So can you give us a good example of that?"Unbreak My Heart," Toni Braxton's smash [written by Diane Warren]. No one had ever said it like that. People said, "Don't break my heart," "Don't hurt me." Taio Cruz will say, "I'm only gonna break break your heart.' But Toni Braxton, or rather Diane Warren, said "Unbreak my heart." Which to me was one of the cleverest ways of putting that. Is the hook always the chorus?No. The hook can be the track itself. Like in Coldplay, "Clocks," the hook was [hums the opening piano riff] -- that was the hook. In [Black Eyed Peas'] "Boom Boom Pow," there is no hook. It is just one section after another of really catchy, infectious club music without any one section over-riding the next. In [OneRepublic's] upcoming single, "Good Life," the real hook is the post hook -- it's what comes after it. We have this REALLY super simple whistle. I hadn't heard a whistle in a song in forever and that's all I kept hearing on the song so I just whistled this melody into the mic and it really is the hook -- it's the catchiest part of the song. So it doesn't always have to be the chorus. Definitely these days, with dance music being the single biggest thing in the world, the hook often times is the track itself. There's a song out right now that's a big hit called, "Like A G6" [by Far East Movement],  and the track itself is the hook. Going back into the sixties and seventies, there've been a lot of songs where the musical part of the song was the hook -- Rolling Stones or [The Beatles'] "Across the Universe" the hook is (hums the opening acoustic guitar riff) it's that guitar part." That is to me the hook of "Across the Universe." Of The Verve, I think "Bittersweet Symphony," the hook is obviously [hums the string orchestra intro that comes back as a bridge] -- that's the hook. That raises an interesting question: what's the difference between a hook and a riff?I think a riff can be complementary but when you go from complimentary to primary, then it becomes the hook to me. And a lot of times it's completely inadvertent. "Walk This Way" [hums the opening guitar riff]: I mean that is just the riff but it's just as strong as the hook [the chorus/phrase, "Walk this way; talk this way"]. The introduction of [Guns N' Roses']  "Sweet Child of Mine" -- Slash's guitar arpeggio [hums it] -- it's a riff but you take that out of the song and you don't have "Sweet Child of Mine." I think often times if a guitar riff is centered around the chorus or if it follows the chorus, then it often times turns into the actual hook. Whether it's a piano riff like "Clocks" -- clearly the piano riff is the chorus. I mean, Coldplay's second album was phenomenal and I think one of the most alarming aspects of it is there were almost no actual choruses in the whole album. The music was the hook on almost every song. Or at least on the ones that I remember. It's interesting you mentioned dance music a little bit earlier -- one of the things that is associated with hooks over the course of time is repetition. How key is that?That's super critical, hyper critical. That's the difference between indie bands and pop stars. The best music written is, I think, currently by most of the kind of under-the-surface young indie acts. That's the best music, in my opinion. I think the best songs are being written by the very under-stated, under-appreciated indie artists. The thing that separates them from mainstream success is they either consciously or unknowingly refuse to deliver on a big chorus. There's an interview that Max Martin [producer for Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Pink, among many others] gave where he talked about writing "Since U Been Gone" [for Clarkson] and how it came from listening to a couple of indie acts and he kept getting so mad -- like, "Why won't you just give us th

Slo-Mo With Mic Wrecka In Concert

Lap-steel guitar and hip-hop beats don't often mix, but Philadelphia's Mike "Slo-Mo" Brenner defies convention, bringing them together seamlessly. With songs that straddle the lines separating hip-hop, Americana, folk and pop, his songs are rooted in catchy hooks and breezy grooves. Return to this space at noon ET Friday to hear Slo-Mo and rapper Mic Wrecka perform live in concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Brenner began playing lap-steel guitar more than a decade ago. While experimenting with different styles, he assembled a band for his debut as Slo-Mo, 2000's Novelty. Brenner was introduced to Mic Wrecka while writing material for his next album. The two instantly connected, eventually creating 2005's My Buzz Comes Back, released under the name Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka. The disc landed on several prominent year-end best-of lists, helping to cement the band's reputation in Philadelphia and beyond. Their next album, 2007's Smokey Mountain, found Slo-Mo and Mic Wrecka transforming themselves again. Bringing together a bigger group, the duo's album showcased a robust live sound. After a summer of touring, Slo-Mo and Mic Wrecka are about to return with a new disc, Gimme What You Got.

Ending Patriarchy In The Monarchy

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has acknowledged there have been discussions with Buckingham Palace about changing the law of succession to give royal women equal inheritance rights — and to allow an heir to the throne to marry a Catholic. But an attempt to do just that has stalled in Britain's parliament. LIANE HANSEN, Host: The British prime minister and Buckingham Palace are discussing some changes to the law. Royal women would get equal succession rights and an heir to the throne would be able to marry a Catholic. But as Vicki Barker reports from London, the move is stalled in parliament. (SOUNDBITE OF CHANTING) (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) VICKI BARKER: On Friday, Evan Harris, a lawmaker for the liberal Democrat Party, introduced a bill to overturn what he argued has become an embarrassing, discriminatory anachronism. EVAN HARRIS: It's a welcomed opportunity to debate what I think most people, if not every right-thinking person, would consider to be outrageous discrimination in our constitution against Roman Catholics, and equally unfair treatment of women. BARKER: Then why did Gordon Brown even bother to say he discussed the issue with Buckingham Palace? Henry Bellingham, a lawmaker for the opposition Conservative Party said look no further than recent headlines deploring Brown's attempts to turn around the British and the global economy. HENRY BELLINGHAM: I would suggest is that, speaker, that some spotty, (unintelligible) spin doctor in number 10, has come up with a brainwave to find some diversory headlines. BARKER: For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London.

In New York, A Sculptor's Got Some S'plaining To Do

Residents of Lucille Ball's hometown in western New York want a life-sized statue of the star removed. They say it's terrifying.

Cockrell, Bing Vie For Detroit Mayor On Tuesday

It's hard to make the case that anyone can turn around the image of Detroit, at least in the short run. But the case can also be made that, after the embarrassment of Kwame Kilpatrick, it can only get better. Two candidates are running in tomorrow's special election hoping to create a new Detroit. Kilpatrick, of course, was the two-term mayor who was forced out following published text messages between him and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, that seemed to assert what they both had denied, under oath: that they were having an affair. The view here is that the private lives of politicians should, for the most part, be off-limits. In fact, allegations aimed at Kirkpatrick went far beyond the affair. But apparently Kilpatrick used city funds to facilitate their relationship and used city officials to cover up the affair. In March of 2008, Kilpatrick and Beatty were hit with a 12-count of indictment, charging perjury and obstruction of justice. That same month, the City Council, by a vote of 7-1, passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the mayor to resign. In September, after months of denials, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felony counts, resigned as mayor and briefly served time in prison. He was succeeded as mayor by Kenneth Cockrel, the City Council president. Cockrel faces businessman Dave Bing, the former NBA great with the Pistons, in Tuesday's nonpartisan runoff election. Cockrel is thought to have a slight edge, while Bing, more of a political outsider, has been endorsed by the Detroit News and the Free-Press. In the initial, multicandidate primary in February, Bing led Cockrel by about 2,000 votes.

CDC Acknowledges Coronavirus Can Spread Via Airborne Transmission

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the coronavirus can be spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air "for minutes or even hours" — even among people who are more than 6 feet apart. The CDC still says that SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is most frequently spread among people in close contact with one another, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. But in new guidance published Monday on its website, the agency also acknowledged that under certain circumstances, people have become infected by smaller particles that can linger in the air in enclosed spaces that are poorly ventilated. "Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising," the CDC said. In such cases, the CDC said, there's evidence that the amount of smaller infectious droplets and particles that a contagious person produces "became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people" – even if they were more than 6 feet away. In some cases, the CDC said, transmission occurred "shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left" the room. For months, many experts who study the airborne transmission of viruses have been warning that the coronavirus can spread through the air. Last month, many experts cheered when the CDC seemed to address the issue, posting an update that suggested that aerosols – tiny airborne particles expelled from a person's mouth when they speak, sing, sneeze or breathe — might be among the most common ways the coronavirus is spreading. But the agency took down that guidance a few days later, saying it was a draft proposal that was posted to its website in error. The CDC's latest guidance stops short of calling airborne transmission "common." "It's gratifying to see CDC acknowledge that there's a role for airborne transmission with this virus," said Donald Milton, an aerobiologist at the University of Maryland and coauthor of a letter published in the journal Science on Monday that calls for clearer public health guidance on how the coronavirus spreads through the air. However, the distinction between the CDC and Milton and his cosigners is how often airborne transmission happens. In a call with reporters Monday, Milton and his cosigners on the Science letter said the evidence suggests that airborne transmission is probably the dominant form of transmission – even in close-contact situations within 6 feet of an infected person. "Airborne transmission happens by inhalation of virus that's in the air," said Linsey Marr, a professor of engineering at Virginia Tech and an expert in aerosol science. "And this is happening even more frequently when people are close to each other." So how does this affect how we should protect ourselves in practical terms? Marr and other experts said people should be wearing a mask whenever they are indoors with people outside of their household pod – even if they are standing more than 6 feet apart, or even in a situation where a plexiglass barrier is in place. Marr said masks are also a good idea outdoors if you are going to be in prolonged contact with people not in your household, even if you are more than 6 feet apart. "It's a grayish area where I think adopting the precautionary principle is best," Marr said. It also means that "ventilation really is just so important," said Kimberly Prather, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the Science letter. She recommends opening doors and windows, moving gatherings outdoors whenever possible, and the use of standalone air filters in rooms. (Prather, Marr and other scientists offer more tips in this FAQ on improving ventilation.) In addition to improving ventilation indoors, the CDC said people should stay at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible, avoid crowded indoors spaces and – as always – wash their hands regularly.

A Sample From One Of The

A sample from one of the CDs Ted Libbey will add to the PT Basic Record Library later this hour: the finale of Bach's Concerto in D for Three Violins. The soloists are Jeanne Lamon (zhahn lah-MOH(N)), Linda Melsted and David Greenberg, performing with the ensemble Tafelmusik (TAH-f(e)l-moo-ZEEK). (Sony Classical SK 66265)

NPR/Ipsos Poll: Most Americans Support Teachers' Right To Strike

As the wave of teacher walkouts moves to Arizona and Colorado this week, an NPR/Ipsos poll shows strong support among Americans for improving teachers' pay and for their right to strike. Just 1 in 4 Americans believe teachers in this country are paid fairly. Nearly two-thirds approve of national teachers' unions, and three-quarters agree teachers have the right to strike. That last figure includes two-thirds of Republicans, three-quarters of independents and nearly 9 in 10 Democrats. "Our teachers have not been able to have raises for the last several years and I'm certain it's the same issue that's going on around the country," said Marla Hackett of Queen Creek, Ariz., who responded to the survey and said she has a daughter who is a teacher. "They are underappreciated, underpaid and they work ridiculously long hours." Just over 1,000 Americans were surveyed in the second week of April, when teachers were marching in several mostly red states. Arizona, where Hackett lives, is one of the latest states where teachers are walking off the job in protest of low pay and inadequate school funding, after Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia. Colorado teachers, too, have scheduled demonstrations, and schools are closing this Thursday and Friday. In the NPR/Ipsos poll, a little less than two-thirds of the respondents said they had recently seen media reports on teacher unions. Gloria Weathers, of Louisville, Ky., was personally affected by the walkout in that state. She said her daughter, a middle schooler, had been out of school for two Fridays. Nevertheless, she said, "The teachers are in the right for fighting for their pensions. I think most people support them. I think the governor of my state is in the wrong." Despite broad support for the right to strike, the public's view of unions wasn't all roses. Just half of respondents overall agreed that "teacher unions improve the quality of education" and that "teacher unions improve the quality of teachers." There were deep partisan divides on these two issues, with Democrats being far more favorable towards unions than Republicans, and independents in the middle. Marla Hackett said that in her community in Arizona, "we have really mixed feelings," over unions. Another of the respondents, Angela Lee, of Baltimore, expressed qualified support for unions. "I only approve if the unions work toward the teachers getting the finances they need to support their families," she says. "If they're not doing that, it's a waste of time." Lee, a mother of three public school graduates, said she had trained Baltimore public school teachers as an HIV educator, and many confided in her about being underpaid and even needing to rely on public assistance. "They're overworked and understaffed, if you ask me." While sympathetic to the unions, 63 percent of respondents, including 53 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans, saw a drawback as well, agreeing with the statement "teacher unions make it harder to fire bad teachers." Still, the 63 percent approval rating of "national teachers' unions" among the general public was 21 points higher than the approval expressed for "the U.S. Department of Education leadership." That difference was driven by Democrats, 80 percent of whom approved of the unions, while just 37 percent supported the Department of Ed. Among Republicans, 55 percent expressed support for unions and 54 percent supported the Education Department. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Teachers in Arizona and Colorado are joining a long list of educators around the country and walking off the job. Teachers in Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia, all protesting low pay and inadequate school funding. NPR's new national poll conducted with Ipsos shows broad support among Americans for these educators, in both blue and red states. For more on this, we turn to NPR Ed team's Anya Kamenetz. Hey, Anya. ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE: Hey, Rachel. MARTIN: Before we get to the poll, Anya, what more can you tell us about these latest strikes? KAMENETZ: So teachers are walking out today statewide in Arizona. They're using the hashtag #RedforEd. The Governor Doug Ducey has already offered them a pay raise, but they're holding out for more, including more pay for support staff. Meanwhile in Colorado, more than half of the state's students have schools closed today and tomorrow for walkouts. Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would be docking their pay and even giving them jail time. MARTIN: Wow. All right. So let's get to this poll now. What was the central question? What were you trying to learn? KAMENETZ: So our question was how is the public perceiving all of this, you know? And, personally, I'm a public school parent. How would I feel if schools were suddenly closed and they had to make child care plans on the fly? So with Ipsos, we surveyed people across the country, and what was interesting to us was since the teachers in West Virginia started walking off the job back in February, one thi

Review: Jonathan Wilson, 'Rare Birds'

Note: NPR's First Listen audio comes down after the album is released. However, you can still listen with the Spotify or Apple Music playlist at the bottom of the page. "49 Hairflips," one of the breakup songs on Jonathan Wilson's arrestingly ambitious third solo album, is set late at night, in the reflecting hour. The tune is a waltz with a "Mr. Bojangles" gait, and Wilson darkens it by singing listlessly, with almost chemical detachment. Near the end, just after the Hollywood strings clear out, he makes a declaration: "I'm not leaving these walls without the prettiest song I can find." Listening to these expansive melodies as they tumble out one after another, you wonder how long it took him. Usually, when an artist turns toward the camera to state his or her intentions, it's a contrived moment. Not here. Wilson's dejected phrasing sounds like it's sourced from a wound that still stings, and he uses it to explode the too-familiar emotional terrain of the breakup song. He's a haunted soul determined to wring something (anything) positive out of hurt, and that tone makes it easy to follow him into the unglamorous room with the piano where, overwhelmed with memories, he chases scraps of inspiration out of the voids and shadows of a vanished romance. At once cosmic and chillingly immediate, Rare Birds shows Wilson exploring the many possible outcomes of that old equation of inspiration – heartbreak plus time equals art. What's striking is the variety of moods he finds: Tucked between the despairing moments are brightly stylized pop curios ("Miriam Montague") and otherworldly sonic landscapes ("Loving You," which features memorable vocals from Laraaji) and straightforward fingerpicked-guitar meditations ("Living With Myself" is deepened, considerably, by Lana Del Rey's harmonies). Wilson is a free-range thinker, happy to swerve in and out of moods and chronological narratives. His lyrics juxtapose deep-space imagery against absurd name-drops ("Nelson Rockefeller on percussion") against preposterous sights on the 405 freeway ("I didn't think a Cadillac could float above the ground"). Sometimes what promises to be a love lament turns into a campfire-style affirmation of human spirit ("There is A Light"). And sometimes, as on the opening track "Trafalgar Square," the extroverted and exuberant verses are offset, in a jarring instant, by fragile, super-slow-motion music from a distant melancholy galaxy. Wilson recorded this while working on other projects – producing Father John Misty's acclaimed Pure Comedy and playing on (and later touring behind) Roger Waters' Is This The Life We Really Want? The grand, ceremonial, Pink Floyd-ish opening of "Trafalgar Square" shows Waters' influence; but, by way of contrast, "There is a Light" has the pealing beat and organ-plus-piano ripples of the E Street Band, and a few of the album's multitude of hooks even recall "Rhiannon"-era Fleetwood Mac. The Waters ideas are more prevalent, however: in the caustic lyrics and the episodic songwriting, the swerving psychedelic synth leads and the deftly knit electro-acoustic textures. In some ways, this is Piper at the Gates of Laurel Canyon. Yet none of that stuff feels appropriated – Rare Birds is easily Wilson's most lavishly orchestrated work, and every last harpsichord belongs in the mix. You can tell that Wilson is a student of rock and pop in all its forms, and at the same time he's an utterly original and irreverent thinker who's evolving with blinding speed. Rarely have those qualities been balanced as elegantly as they are here.

Lessons Of A Collapsed North Korean Nuclear Deal

Nearly a quarter-century ago, the U.S. signed an agreement aimed at stalling North Korea's drive for nuclear weapons. That deal collapsed eight years later.

Gretchen Worden, Mutter Museum Director, Dies

(Rebroadcast from Nov. 5, 2002.) Worden was director of the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. She died on Aug. 2 at the age of 57, from a brief illness. She turned the little-known medical museum into a museum with a worldwide reputation. The museum was founded in the 19th century. It originated with the collection of Dr. Thomas Dent Mutter who gathered unique specimens for teaching purposes. It exhibits medical deformities, pathologies and medical anomalies, like the horned woman, the man with the giant colon, deformed fetuses and a plaster cast of the Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker. Worden put together a book of photographs from the museum's collection of human oddities and outdated medical models.

The Portland, Oregon-Based

The Portland, Oregon-based Florestan Trio (cellist Hamilton Cheifetz (CHAY- fits), violinist Carol Sindell, and pianist Harold Gray) plays a captivating new work by Oregon composer Bryan Johanson: "In Stillness in Motion." Recorded April 7th at Portland State University. (Armentrout Recordings/Oregon Public Broadcasting)

New Mix: Bon Iver, White Fence, Luluc, Freddie Gibbs, More

On this week's All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton play new songs from upcoming releases by Bon Iver, Luluc and White Fence and talk with members of the NPR Music team about some of their favorite music from the first half of the year. After ruminating on the challenges of potty-training with Robin, Bob kicks off the show with a brand new track from Bon Iver that appears on the soundtrack to Zach Braff's upcoming film, Wish I Was Here. Featuring a mantra-like vocal loop and pulsating drums, "Heavenly Father" possesses the intimacy of For Emma, Forever Ago while also exploring new textures as well. Next, Robin premieres "Small Window," a gorgeously understated track from the folk duo Luluc. Bob and Robin put in a call to NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas and Frannie Kelley in New York City to play music from the team's lists of favorite songs and albums of 2014 (so far). Anastasia chooses the Belgian chameleon Stromae (whose name is a phonetic inversion of the word "Maestro"), playing "Ave Cesaria" from his recent release Racine Carrée. Frannie opts for "Broken," a cut from Piñata, the collaboration between the raw-voiced rapper Freddie Gibbs and the meticulous DJ and producer Madlib. Later, Bob and Robin also lure NPR Music's Lars Gotrich away from his desk and into the studio to shine some light on the state of metal in 2014: Lars plays "I Will Run," a melodic hard-rocker from Chicago's High Spirits. Robin wraps things up with White Fence's "Like That," the first tune we've heard from the California garage-rockers' upcoming record, For the Recently Found Innocent. With its catchy chorus and falsetto vocals, it takes Robin to a place of peace and, if only for a brief moment, he forgets whatever dirty diapers await him at home.

Chaplains Struggle to Protect Monastery in Iraq

In a patch of sloping hillside in southwest Mosul — next to a junkyard of destroyed Iraqi army tanks — sits Iraq's oldest Christian monastery. Saint Elijah's, a fortress-like complex of buildings dating to the 6th century, was badly damaged during the U.S.- led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Now, a few U.S. military chaplains are struggling to protect the ancient Chaldean Catholic monastery from neglect, unexploded ordnance and looters. History of the Monastery At one time the freshwater creek and surrounding hills, prime grazing land, made this valley a sweet spot for early Christian monks to build a place to live and worship. But today, rusting Russian-made Iraqi tanks and bombed-out car shells are piled in a junk heap next to the monastery. First Cavalry Division Pvt. 1st Class Nathaniel Irvine walks carefully around shards of old pottery. Chunks of old plates and clay jug handles litter the monastery's ground along with shrapnel from tank and mortar rounds. U.S. soldiers have removed more than 130 pieces of unexploded ordnance from the site, but there could be more. It's believed Dair Mar Elia, or Saint Elijah's monastery, was built in the late 6th century by early Chaldean/Assyrian Catholic monks. Armies under Persian ruler Tahmaz Nadir Shah attacked and looted the place in the 17th century, slaughtering the three dozen monks who lived here. By Chaldean/Assyrian tradition, monks' bones were often buried in the monastery walls. And on this windy hillside, Irvine says, soldiers have found what they believe are human remains sticking out of the crumbling walls. "Look inside down there; there's a bone they've found down there, so it's believed they're probably buried in these two tunnels," he says. Destruction of Today Today the outer wall of the monastery's chapel looks as though it were swatted by the hand of a giant. But it was no giant: It was a U.S. anti-tank missile fired in 2003 by advancing 101st Airborne soldiers battling an Iraqi tank unit based in and around the site. "(The 101st) fired upon the tanks using stuff that would destroy the tanks. They were being fired at so they had to return fire," Irvine says. The tow missile that crashed into the ancient chapel's wall could be chalked up to the fog of combat. But the same can't be said for the sophomoric graffiti scrawled around the place and the big "Screaming Eagles" logo painted above the chapel's door. "If you look over the sanctuary you'll see the 101st Airborne patch. We've since tried painting over it and washing it off, and it won't come off," Irvine says. U.S soldiers four years ago also white-washed the stone alter and the two-story high walls of the chapel, covering remnants of 600-year-old murals. An ornate, shell-shaped stone alcove with a cross still adorns one wall. Looters apparently got the second one: an identically shaped alcove on the other side of the door sits empty with chisel marks around it. And in the roof line, right above the alter, you can still see a square, man-made opening to the sky. Leaving a Mark 101st Airborne soldiers were hardly the first soldiers to leave their mark here. Previously, Iraqi tank units trashed the monastery, damaging rooms and filing an ancient cistern with trash and feces. Near the monastery's entranceway, there's much older graffiti: A Crusader-era Jerusalem cross is carefully etched into the stone, perhaps a vestige of some medieval battle in the region. Today the monastery sits on the edge of forward U.S. operating base Marez. Despite the ravages of war and neglect, Saint Elijah's remains an enchanting place. The reddish-brown sand walls seem to soak up the sharp, late-afternoon sun. Underground tunnels, now grass-covered and partially collapsed, poke through the earth near an egg-shaped cistern. Irvine, a 21-year-old from South Dakota, is trying to help preserve the site and gives soldiers occasional tours. "I love it coming here," Irvine says. "Just the atmosphere it has versus being at work or running outside the wire where it's stressful. Very relaxing." Some of the damage U.S. forces did here can't be undone. But U.S. military chaplains are trying to protect the site as best they can during wartime. Capt. Martin Chang, the chaplain here, calls the largely unexplored site a potential archeological treasure trove. But with a war still on, the simple chain-link fence chaplains have erected around the monastery may be its only protection for years to come.

Assessing Netanyahu's Call For Palestinian State

Sunday's speech by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu was billed as a major policy address, but Robert Malley, program director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, is not so sure. Malley talks with guest host Guy Raz about what kind of impact Netanyahu's comments are having in the Middle East and in Washington.

Schwarzenegger Plans Cuts to California Welfare

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to cut cash payments to welfare parents who don't work. Farai Chideya explores what this could mean for thousands of welfare families in — and out — of California. She'll talk with George Passantino, a senior fellow with the Reason Foundation and former director of Gov. Schwarzenegger's California Performance Review.

White House Won't Prosecute Hostages' Families For Paying Ransom

This morning, President Obama met with families of Americans who have been taken captive by terror groups, to tell them about a significant change in U.S. policy. The president says families will no longer be threatened with prosecution if they pay ransoms to free their family members. The change comes too late for the four Americans who have been killed by the Islamic State since last year. One of them is James Foley, a freelance journalist who was working for the online news company GlobalPost when he was taken captive three years ago. He was held for almost two years, and then killed last August. Phil Balboni is CEO and co-founder of GlobalPost, and worked with Foley&#8217;s family to try to secure his release. He talks with Here & Now&#8217;s Robin Young about what the change in policy will mean for the families of hostages. See our 2014 conversation with Phil Balboni about James Foley Guest Philip Balboni, CEO and co-founder of GlobalPost.

Three Rivers Stadium

<EM>All Things Considered</EM> remembers a 30-year-old who did not make it to our birthday: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. It was torn down on Feb. 11, 2001 to make room for a new, retro ballpark.

A Poet Parses The Legacy Of War In 'My Life As A Foreign Country'

War is in Brian Turner's blood. His father served during the Cold War, his uncle fought in Vietnam, his grandfather fought in World War II and his great-grandfather in World War I. And the family's warrior tendencies went beyond deployments: Turner's dad built a martial arts studio in the garage, and the family mixed napalm and blew things up for fun. Turner himself, whose Army deployments included tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Iraq, is a poet as well as a soldier. His work includes the award-winning piece "The Hurt Locker," inspired by his service in Iraq. In his memoir, My Life as a Foreign Country, the poet turns to prose, using fragmented, lyrical language to explore his inheritance of war and what it means to be a soldier today. Turner tells NPR's Arun Rath that his squad leader once said, " 'Men, we're in the job of hunting for people's souls.' " The poet adds, "Of course, the contract that goes with that is that others will hunt for our own." Inspired by that reciprocal relationship, Turner offers readers a window into not only his family's experience of war, but also the imagined perspectives of bystanders and enemies: bomb-makers in Iraq, families caught in the crossfire, the kamikaze pilots who fought his grandfather. One perspective that is missing, Turner says, is that of the women in his family. "They're connected to this conversation just as deeply, but this particular book, I really try to follow one vein ... masculinity in war, the development of myself as a man," he tells Rath. "But I think there's probably another book in the future that will look to the other side of the house, and learn a great deal." Click on the audio link to hear the full conversation, including an excerpt from Turner's memoir. Interview Highlights On his decision to enlist in the Army For years people have asked me ... and I would give them a shorthand, which is that I come from a long military tradition. But I realized that there are layers and levels within that answer that I ... didn't really have access to. That was the prompt for writing this book. ... It's something that I'm still grappling with and I'm not quite yet able to answer. And the book itself led me into other questions that were unexpected. On the decision to write from multiple perspectives, including that of the enemy In the very moment when bullets are in the air ... it's more primal and much more dependent on fear. ... But outside of those moments, the vast majority of the experience that I had — when I was in Iraq, for example, I would often wonder about the people who had shot at us the day before, the people whose houses we were about to raid that night. One of them could take my life. Or there's a chance I could take theirs. And I wanted to understand them. On his motivation to write a war memoir I could have written this all completely for myself, which I did, on its own. But sharing it with others, what's the point in doing that? Part of me hopes that through some of these moments, they might be completed in the reader ... the war might come home. And I know that's very difficult — I don't want to inflict pain or indict the citizens around me. But this is a part of our time, and I want to be in a dialogue with people about it. On his advice to a grandson who may want to carry on the family tradition of military service There'd be two things. The first and most fundamental would be, do you want to live a life in which you have taken part in taking someone's soul? Taking the last breath of their life and placing the dirt over their grave? Can you walk into the rest of the days of your life with that weight? The other thing I would say is, encourage them to go to a foreign country and live in a foreign country for a year ... to be able to look back from another part of the globe and see America with a certain remove. And maybe see its place in the world. I think they'd be much richer in their lives for that experience, for one. And then the second part of that is, if they still want to join the military, then I know they're fully committed to this idea and that they'll be better soldiers for it.

Allen Toussaint: The Road Through America

WFUV's New York City home is more than a thousand miles from New Orleans, but on a recent fine day, a favorite son of the Crescent City brought his city's sounds to our Studio-A piano. A bona fide legend, Allen Toussaint has produced everybody and written songs that have been sung by everybody else, but he was at WFUV to talk about his own recent album, The Bright Mississippi. Produced by Joe Henry, the album features an all-star lineup of musicians playing the work of timeless jazz greats such as Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Talking about the project, Toussaint described how Henry set up an environment where he and the band could just play and be comfortable, recording most of their songs in only a few takes. We did our best to make sure Toussaint felt comfortable playing for us, too, as he led the way down The Bright Mississippi to the music he holds dear to his heart — what he called the different "musics" of New Orleans. It was a special session just before his Village Vanguard residency, with just Allen, his piano and some great conversation. In fact, his voice sounded so warm and soothing, I wanted to suggest that if this music thing didn't work out (after his numerous hits and lifetime-achievement awards), there might just be a place for him in radio. Listen to the previous Favorite Session, or see our full archive.

Berlusconi Raises Ire With Obscene Joke About His Party

Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi is in trouble again, after making an obscene joke at his own ruling party's expense. The quip is the latest in a series of scandals that have nettled the prime minister. And it came at the end of a week that took a deep toll on Italy's economy. From Italy, Sylvia Poggioli filed this report for our Newscast desk: Berlusconi says demands for his resignation are absurd and would only create instability and open new room for financial speculation. Thursday, Berlusconi sparked criticism for suggesting that his ruling party rename itself with a vulgar slang term for female genitalia. Commentators and opposition parties poured scorn on Berlusconi, saying the quip showed his contempt for women. Berlusconi has also been criticized for his handling of the financial crisis. Moody's downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating Monday, citing market concern over political uncertainties. After the downgrade, finance minister Giulio Tremonti, with whom Berlusconi has been openly feuding, reportedly told the prime minister, "Silvio, you are the problem." Evidently, Berlusconi's concerns for how his actions might affect Italy's economy have gone for naught: Friday, the ratings agency Fitch's downgraded the country's debt rating to AA-, from A+. In addition to Fitch's and Moody's, Standard and Poor's downgraded Italy's rating last month. For anyone wondering, Berlusconi's current party is called the People of Freedom party. His joke suggested that it change its name to a variation on the group with whom he first rose to power in the 1990s: Forza Italy! — or, Go, Italy! But evidently, not everyone was offended by the joke. "I have to say Berlusconi's latest quip wasn't bad," Antonio Borghesi, of the opposition party Italy of Values, told Agence France-Presse. The proposed new name, Borhesi said, "just about sums up his lifestyle and his way of doing politics." Beset by corruption and sex scandals, Berlusconi has seen his approval rating drop to 24 percent. And as Eyder reported in this space last month, the Italian leader was recorded saying that he would soon be "leaving this [expletive] country".

The National Women's Soccer League Is Kicking Off Its 2020 Season

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with National Women's Soccer League Commissioner Lisa Baird about plans for the league's return to play later this month.

Investors Skittish Amid Dubai Debt Crisis

Troubles in the emirate of Dubai are making investors nervous around the world. A government-run financial conglomerate wants a time-out on debt payments, stirring fears of another bubble tied to risky bets on real estate. Dubai has invested in huge luxury projects at home and abroad.

Detainee Legislation Gives President New Powers

The new detainee-rights legislation passed by the Senate gives the President new authority in dealing with detainees suspected in the war on terrorism.

Jobless Rate Steady At 8.3% In February

The Labor Department today reported the nation's jobless rate remained unchanged at 8.3-percent for the month of February, as businesses added 227,000 jobs to payrolls.

The Latest From This Year's Tour De France

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Damian McCall of the Agence France Presse to give us the latest developments from the Tour de France after a stage of the race was cancelled due to extreme weather.

Britain Reclassifies Pot

Robert Siegel talks with Sean O'Grady, opinion writer for <EM>The Independent</EM> newspaper in London about the United Kingdom's reclassification of cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C drug. Under the new classification, possession of cannabis will no longer be cause for arrest in many circumstances.

Foreign Fighters Flood Both Sides In Syrian War

When peace talks open in Switzerland, one common concern between the West and Syria is expected to be the threat of Islamist extremists and the rise of al-Qaida-linked militias. Thousands of Sunni militants from around the world have joined the rebel groups in Syria, but there are other groups of militant foreign fighters who support the Syrian regime. Iraqi Shiites are being recruited in the thousands to bolster Syria's armed forces. Recruiting billboards and social media help portray the fight as an existential battle between Sunnis and Muslims.

Guest DJ Jonsi (Sigur Ros)

What do Iron Maiden, Billie Holiday and castrato singer Alessandro Moreschi have in common? Answer: Sigur Ros frontman Jon ("Jonsi") Thor Birgisson lists them among his favorite artists. On this edition of All Songs Considered, Jonsi talks about his new solo album, Go, and shares some of the songs that have helped shape his own music.

Pentagon Releases Troop-Rotation Plan for Iraq

Three U.S. soldiers are killed in northern Iraq when their convoy is hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. In Washington, military officials acknowledge open-ended deployments cause stress for soldiers and announce a long-awaited plan for replacing forces in Iraq with new troops. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

News Brief: Trump In Phoenix, Haitians In Canada, Kushner In Middle East

President Trump held a rally in Phoenix and defended his comments about Charlottesville. Also, Haitians are leaving the U.S. for Canada, and Jared Kushner is traveling to the Middle East.

6 Takeaways From The 4th Democratic Presidential Primary Debate

The fourth Democratic debate was a long one, about three hours, and ended after 11 p.m. ET. You might not have made it through the whole thing, but there were some potentially consequential moments. Here are six takeaways: 1. The scrutiny came for Warren, and her vulnerabilities were exposed some Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was under fire Tuesday night from several opponents, and when that happens to a candidate, you know they're a front-runner. Last week, Warren caught up to former Vice President Joe Biden in an average of the national polls, and on Tuesday night she found herself hemmed in, particularly by South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Buttigieg attacked Warren for promoting "Medicare for All," while not having a detailed plan or saying how she would pay for it. "Look, this is why people here in the Midwest are so frustrated with Washington in general and Capitol Hill in particular," Buttigieg told Warren. "Your signature, Senator, is to have a plan for everything except this." "I think as Democrats we are going to succeed when we dream big and fight hard, not when we dream small and quit before we get started," Warren said. But while a similar line from Warren at an earlier debate got thunderous applause, it didn't land the same way this time, and Klobuchar was ready with a response, going after Warren for, in her view, dismissing others' plans because they weren't hers. "You know, I think simply because you have different ideas doesn't mean you're [not] fighting for regular people," Klobuchar said. The criticisms strike at Warren's core vulnerability — that she's less electable than others in the race because, one, her policies are too liberal and, two, the former Harvard professor is dismissive and elitist. 2. The Biden versus Warren Rorschach test An exchange later in the debate certainly caught the attention of social media, but it was one that was in the eye (and ear) of the beholder. Warren was touting her role at the inception of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration when former Vice President Joe Biden objected. "I agreed with the great job she did and I went on the floor and got you votes," Biden contended, his voice starting to rise. "I got votes for that bill. I convinced people to vote for it, so let's get those things straight, too." Warren paused and responded, "I am deeply grateful to President Obama, who fought so hard to make sure that agency was passed into law, and I am deeply grateful to every single person who fought for it and who helped pass it into law." Not exactly thanking Biden. The reaction to this moment was swift and fierce. (Just see the replies in this tweet.) Some saw Biden as yelling, "mansplaining" and trying to take credit for something Warren did. Some saw Warren, though, as ungracious, petty and ungrateful. It's not clear what Biden's role was exactly in whipping up votes for the CFPB. Ryan Grim at The Intercept noted that he covered the agency's creation and recalled that while a top Biden adviser was involved, Biden was not. It should be noted that Biden and Warren have a history on economics and, especially, bankruptcy law. Biden, a former senator from Delaware, home of many of the nation's credit card companies, has been accused of protecting them, and Biden and Warren clashed when she testified on Capitol Hill about bankruptcy law in 2005. 3. Buttigieg may be back in the game The small-town mayor, who has become a darling of the donor class, controlled multiple exchanges and had a very strong night. In addition to taking on Warren on health care, he also went after former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke on his proposal to take away privately owned guns and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on her support of President Trump pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. In exchange after exchange, Buttigieg appeared to be trying to rein in Democrats from getting too far afield with policies that don't poll very well. For example, Medicare for All as an option to private health insurance, which Buttigieg supports, polls far better than Medicare for All as a replacement. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll from July found that 70% of Americans thought Medicare for All as an option was a good idea, while just 41% approved of completely replacing private insurance. Only three candidates — Warren, Biden and Sanders — have been polling in double digits nationally for most of this campaign. Those three encapsulate the progressive (Warren, Sanders) versus moderate/incremental wings (Biden) of the party. But Buttigieg positioned himself a little differently, saying there was a "false choice" being presented. He said he disagreed with Biden that Trump is an "aberration," arguing that the president is a symptom of what he sees as the challenge of a changing country. Buttigieg also criticized Warren for what he called "infinite partisan combat." "Yes, we have to fight," he said. "Absolutely we have to fight for the bi

The Venetian Theater In

The Venetian Theater in Katonah, New York was the scene for this performance of the String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 55, No. 3 by Haydn. The performance, by the Angeles Quartet, was given on July 7th, as part of the Caramoor Music Festival. (Leszek Wojcik Recordings)

Trump Nominates Chad Wolf To Be Homeland Security Chief

President Trump, in a tweet Tuesday, said he will nominate Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to be DHS secretary. The announcement comes less than two weeks after the Government Accountability Office concluded that Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, the senior official performing the duties of DHS deputy secretary, were not appointed through a valid process. They have been serving in their roles since November without Senate confirmation. The last Senate-confirmed official to hold the post was Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned in April 2019. "Chad has done an outstanding job and we greatly appreciate his service!" Trump said in his tweet. Not long afterward, Wolf responded to the nomination on Twitter. "Honored to be nominated by @POTUS to lead the men & women of DHS in safeguarding the American people," Wolf wrote. "As the Homeland faces evolving threats from natural disasters, violent opportunists, malign cyber actors & transnational criminal orgs, the mission of DHS is as critical as ever." The president has previously said he prefers temporary appointments because it allows him to circumvent the Senate's confirmation process of senior administration officials. The GAO's Aug. 14 assessment was grounded in the fact that Wolf's and Cuccinelli's appointments were the result of the actions of an earlier official, Kevin McAleenan, who was improperly placed in charge of the DHS due to an error in paperwork by Nielsen. More specifically, to pave the way for McAleenan in a manner that allowed him to eschew Senate confirmation, Nielsen amended the annexes to an executive order, instead of amending the executive order itself. Days after the GAO's finding, DHS called the assessment "baseless and baffling" in an eight-page letter. It also called for the GAO's report to be rescinded, saying the office lacks the authority to opine on any appointments made under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 — the means by which Wolf and Cuccinelli have both been granted their temporary posts. Some legal experts have pointed out that the GAO's opinion is not binding on either DHS or the court system. Under Wolf's leadership, DHS attracted scrutiny for deploying federal agents to protests in Portland, Ore., as well as new restrictions on asylum-seekers and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, applicants. Those who have filed lawsuits seeking to throw out DHS actions on the grounds that the department's leadership is not legitimately in power now have an additional cudgel. "There is no valid argument that Wolf's use of the title 'acting secretary' is lawful," John Sandweg, the DHS' former acting general counsel, said in a statement. Sandweg added that Wolf's appointment also exceeds the Vacancies Reform Act's 210-day limit on acting officials. It is unclear if the GOP-controlled Senate will vote to confirm Wolf, who was previously confirmed by the chamber to be DHS undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans. A Republican lawmaker told reporters Tuesday that while he remained a supporter of Wolf, he was not clear on the Senate landscape for his nomination.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons Weighs In On 'Nuclear Option' Ahead Of Gorsuch Vote

Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) joins Here & Now&#8216;s Robin Young to discuss why he will vote &#8220;no&#8221; on Judge Neil Gorsuch&#8217;s Supreme Court nomination, as Senate Republican leaders are expected to change Senate rules so that a simple majority of senators is needed to confirm a Supreme Court nominee.

Funerals Begin For 42 Victims Of Istanbul's Airport Attack

The probe continues into what officials say was a triple suicide bombing at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport Tuesday. Families are holding funerals for their loved ones — mostly Turks are among the dead.

Weekly Roundup: Friday, November 1

Sen. Elizabeth Warren released her plan to pay for single-payer health care without imposing new taxes on the middle class. Plus, Timothy Morrison verified to House investigators that President Trump leaned on Ukraine to launch investigations he thought might help him. He worried about blowback — but not legal implications. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, senior editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, political correspondent Asma Khalid, political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, Congressional correspondent Susan Davis, and White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Email the show at [email protected]. Find and support your local public radio station at npr.org/stations.

'47 Percent' Video Maker: 'Didn't Go There With A Grudge Against Romney'

The man who videotaped 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney infamous comments about the "47 percent" has stepped out of the shadows. He's bartender Scott Prouty, who was working last May at the Romney fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla., when the candidate made comments that in September would come back to haunt him after Prouty's tape surfaced on the Internet. Romney came under withering fire from President Obama's campaign and other liberals for saying that 47 percent of voters would never support him and that they are those who are "dependent upon government ... believe that they are victims ... believe the government has a responsibility to care for them ... [and] pay no income tax." On the openly liberal MSNBC Ed Show Wednesday night, Prouty said "I didn't go there with a grudge against Romney." He did, though, go with the intention of recording Romney's remarks. "A lot of other people had brought cameras" as well, Prouty said. Prouty also came to the fundraiser with a feeling about Romney based on a previous encounter. He told the liberal-leaning Huffington Post that "he had actually met Romney at a previous fundraiser, held months before." "I handed him a diet Coke with lemon on it," Prouty told Huffington Post, "because I was told that that's what he drank. ... He took it and turned and didn't say anything. ... I presented him the exact right drink that he wanted ... Had it there, sitting there on a napkin. He took it out of my hand and turned his back without a 'thank you' or anything else. ... You can tell a lot about someone the way they take a drink from you. ... [Romney] took it and just turned his back." About two weeks after the fundraiser, Prouty said, he decided he wanted to share the video. He's an admirer of liberal writer David Corn's reporting, and got in touch with someone who had done research for Corn — James Carter, a grandson of former President Jimmy Carter. That led to the surfacing of the tape and the brouhaha over the "47 percent."

The Top Brass Come Out For

The top brass come out for the Aspen Music Festival. The American Brass Quintet, plus a few friends perform Giovanni Gabrieli's Canzon 15, and the contemporary work by Anthony Plog, "Music for Brass Octet." (Aspen Music Festival recording) 16:59 **S

New In Paperback: Aug. 29 - Sept. 4

Fiction and nonfiction releases from Brock Clarke, Michael David Lukas and Ian Johnson.