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How did your life collide with the headlines in 2007?
Iraq, the subprime crisis, Facebook, immigration, oil prices - 2007 had no shortage of hefty headlines. We'd like to hear about how these and other major news events of the past year affected you. Where did your life collide with the news in 2007?
What's your holiday performance story?
The office talent show, the neighborhood caroling posse, the school pageant ... At holiday time we often sing, dance, and dress as shepherds. Did you bloom in the warmth of your audience's adulation, or freeze up like the snowman you'd rather be building? Did your holiday performance change your life or that of someone close to you?
by topic Arts & Culture Open Letters Song and Memory Sustainability Twentynine Palms, Calif. Walking from Seattle to Alaska Weekend Soundtrack by date December 15, 2007 December 8, 2007 December 1, 2007 November 24, 2007 November 17, 2007 November 10, 2007 November 3, 2007 October 27, 2007 October 20, 2007 October 13, 2007 October 6, 2007 September 29, 2007 September 22, 2007 September 15, 2007 September 8, 2007 September 1, 2007 August 25, 2007 August 18, 2007 August 11, 2007 August 4, 2007 July 28, 2007 July 21, 2007 July 14, 2007 July 7, 2007 June 30, 2007 June 23, 2007 June 16, 2007 June 9, 2007 June 2, 2007 May 26, 2007 May 19, 2007 May 12, 2007 May 5, 2007 April 28, 2007 April 21, 2007 April 14, 2007 April 7, 2007 March 31, 2007 March 24, 2007 March 17, 2007 March 10, 2007 March 3, 2007 February 24, 2007 February 17, 2007 February 10, 2007 February 3, 2007 January 27, 2007 January 20, 2007 January 13, 2007 January 6, 2007 December 30, 2006 December 23, 2006 December 16, 2006 December 9, 2006 December 2, 2006 November 25, 2006 November 18, 2006 November 11, 2006 November 4, 2006 October 28, 2006 October 21, 2006 October 14, 2006 October 7, 2006 September 30, 2006 September 23, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 2, 2006 August 26, 2006 August 19, 2006 August 12, 2006 August 5, 2006 July 29, 2006 July 22, 2006 July 15, 2006 July 8, 2006 July 1, 2006 June 24, 2006 June 17, 2006 June 10, 2006 June 3, 2006 May 27, 2006 May 20, 2006 May 13, 2006 May 6, 2006 April 29, 2006 April 22, 2006 April 15, 2006 April 8, 2006 April 1, 2006 March 25, 2006 March 18, 2006 March 11, 2006 March 4, 2006 February 25, 2006 February 18, 2006 February 11, 2006 February 4, 2006 January 28, 2006 January 21, 2006 January 14, 2006 January 7, 2006 December 31, 2005 December 24, 2005 December 17, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 3, 2005 November 26, 2005 November 19, 2005 November 12, 2005 November 5, 2005 October 29, 2005 October 22, 2005 October 15, 2005 October 8, 2005 October 1, 2005 September 24, 2005 September 17, 2005 September 10, 2005 September 3, 2005 August 27, 2005 August 20, 2005 List all shows by keyword audio help blog contact us internships podcast / rss station list pitch a story press room
Broadcast Date: January 21, 2005 | Map these stories
Jill Carroll Update
Weekend America will be monitoring the latest information about journalist Jill Carroll who is being held hostage in Iraq. Host Bill Radke will talk with Washington Post Baghdad Bureau Chief Jackie Spinner about Carroll's fate and what special dangers women journalists face in the Mideast. A friend of Carroll's, Spinner is back in Washington now, and has written a book about her Iraq tour called Tell Them I Didn't Cry.
Online resources:
» Jackie Spinner's book, Tell Them I Didn't Cry: A Young Journalist's Story of Joy, Loss, and Survival in Iraq is available at the Public Radio BookSource.
Looking back at the Iranian Hostage Crisis
It's been 25 years since 52 American hostages were released from the embassy compound in Tehran, Iran. Mark Bowden, the author of a forthcoming book about the hostage crisis, tells Weekend America host Barbara Bogaev that the current hostage taking in Iraq has its roots in that long embassy standoff that began on November 4, 1979.
» Mark Bowden's book, Guests of the Ayatollah, is available at the Public Radio BookSource.
Music Bridge: Sehnsucht - Artist: Ellen Alien
CD: Camping (Bpitch Control)
Prison Book Club
To be part of a good book discussion group, you need to put in a lot of time reading the selections being talked about. That's no problem for one women's book club. They have plenty of time. They're behind bars. Contributor Rachel Dornhelm visits the California Institution for Women to see what they're reading... and what they're getting out of it.
Music Bridge: Toy Bass - Artist: Paul Duncan
CD: Be Careful What you Call Home (hometapes)
World Music: Susheela Raman
Susheela Raman's musical influences span the globe. Listening to her songs draws comparisons to South Indian, West African, jazz, cabaret and other musical styles. Billboard Magazine music critic Anastasia Tsioulcas joins host Barbara Bogaev to talk about Raman's latest release.
» Susheela Raman | Sharavana | From the album, Music for Crocodiles (Narada)
How do you manage your life knowing you're only on the earth for a short time? Filmmakers David and Hi-Jin Hodge have created a video exhibit called: Impermanence: the Time of Man. Their work is part of an international program called The Missing Peace Project. The program's purpose is to renew and revitalize global dialogue about peace. Weekend America sat down with the filmmakers to talk about how their thoughts on impermanence changed during the making of their work.
» David and Hi-Jin Hodge Web site
» View the trailer of the Hodge's documentary Impermanence
» Missing Peace Project Web site
Music Bridge: Lonely - Artist: Lanterna
CD: Sands (Badman Records)
Future Me
We all put notes on calendars and in notebooks to remind us of things in the days and months ahead. But what if there will be a serious matter you need to address say, in 30 years? There's a new Web site that can help remind you of those long-term issues. Host Bill Radke talks to Mat Sly about why he helped create the Web site, FutureMe.org.
» Send an email to yourself in the future at FutureMe.org
Music Bridge: Kreuzung - Artist: Hauschka
CD: The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk)
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.
» Event information
Music Bridge: Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)
Truth is Stranger Than Satire
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been taking a lot of verbal jabs since his remarks this past week about the future of his city. Host Bill Radke explores the comedic potential of such words with two professional comedy writers:, Allison Silverman, head writer at Comedy Central's The Steven Colbert Report, and Dana Gould, a writer for The Simpsons. Radke asks them how they craft satire around current events that already seem too good to be true.
Music Bridge: King Charles - Artist: The Budos Band
CD: The Budos Band (Daptone)
Love Jerry
Love Jerry doesn't contain the type of subject matter typically associated with a music-filled show. The new musical tells the story of a boy who's sexually molested by his uncle. Weekend America Host Bill Radke talks with playwright Megan Gogerty about the debut of her show. Gogerty explains how music and theatre may help an audience understand the complex emotions at work in a family dealing with incest.
» Love Jerry Web site
My Computer, Myself
If you use Google or another search engine to find information online, you may not realize that you are leaving a trail of all the sites you've accessed. This week we learned federal investigators want to follow that trail. The government says the information would be used to help regulate online pornography. MIT Professor Sherry Turkle talks with host Barbara Bogaev about the intimate relationship that one develops with their search engine.
» MIT professor Sherry Turkle
The Baraka Boys
If you're a young black male in Baltimore, there's a three-out-of-four chance you won't graduate high school. That statistic led to a project called "The Baraka School." The program took 20 black middle school boys from one of the poorest parts of Baltimore and transplanted them into an experimental boarding school in Kenya. Host Barbara Bogaev talked to one of the students, Devon Brown to see what happened.
» Official movie Web site and trailer
Music Bridge: Lost of Love - Artist: The Bad Plus
CD: Suspicious Activity? (Columbia)
World Music: Son de la Frontera
Son de la Frontera, or "Sounds of the Frontier" specializes in blending a wide variety of Latin sounds into hot flamenco music. Billboard Magazine music critic Anastasia Tsioulcas talks to host Barbara Bogaev about their latest CD.
» Son de la Frontera | Bulería Negra Del Gastor | From the album, Son de la Frontera (World Village)
Life of a Lobbyist
Even as the investigation continues into the corruption scandal involving the now notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff, 27-thousand other registered lobbyists continue their work in Washington. Independent producer Jessica Smith spent the day with a young lobbyist who represents the interests of a trade association to see if the Abramoff investigation has stigmatized her job.
Congressional Travel
In the wake of the lobbying scandal, Congress is debating a limit to the amount of travel members can take when private interests foot the bill. World traveler Jesse Kalisher disagrees with the efforts to cutback on travel, and tells Weekend America why he would be the ideal travel guide for members of Congress.
» Web site and photography of Jesse Kalisher
Song and Memory
What song creates the strongest memory in your mind? Weekend America explores the songs that leave an impact on you in our new series, "Song and Memory." This week, our first participant, Jeffery Carpenter explains his special connection to John Denver's popular song, "Rocky Mountain High."
» Weekend America wants to know what song left a lasting impression on you? Tell us about it.
Music Bridge: Looking For Space - Artist: John Denver
CD: Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits (RCA)
For the January 21, 2006 broadcast:
Listen to Hour 1
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... on our December 15 broadcast:
» Weekend America
Enhanced Podcast: Skip back and forth through stories, see images on iTunes and on your iPod, all with better sound quality.
» The Huckabee Mystique: See video of Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris.
» Another Great Moment in Small Talk: Read how Charlie Schroeder became an unpopular "tool" because of Borat.
» Listener Letters: Renewable Christmas Trees: Read listeners' alternate endings to "Puff the Magic Dragon."
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From the July 5 broadcast
Awful Car Night
Auburn, N.Y.
National Brewery Museum Opening Ceremony
Potosi, Wis.
Sand Sculpture Contest
Bruce, S.D.
Oregon Coast Geezer Games
Newport, Ore.
Annual Coolest Fourth of July Celebration
Maui Invitational Band Festival and Blues Fest