All Things Considered on Wyoming Public Radio

Decades Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due

NPR Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:18:00 +0000

Sometimes you need some distance to appreciate a classic.

That was certainly the case for John Williams' novel Stoner. When it was originally published in 1965, the only publication to mention the book at all was The New Yorker, in its "Briefly Noted" column. The novel received admiring reviews over the years, but sold just 2,000 copies and was almost immediately forgotten.

Fast forward to today and the book is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.

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

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:58:00 +0000

Rhode Island is home to beautiful beaches, top-notch universities and a thriving arts scene.

Deke Sharon Makes A Cappella Cool Again

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:58:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExW80sXsHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q573_hDhTbE

The Movie Katie Aselton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000

The weekends on All Things Considered series Movies I've Seen A Million Times features filmmakers, actors, writers and directors talking about the movies that they never get tired of watching.

Actor-director Katie Aselton's credits include the TV show The League, and the films Jeff, Who Lives At Home and Black Rock— currently in theaters and on VOD.

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000
The main character of Claire Messud's novel, The Woman Upstairs, is a good woman. Nora is a 37-year-old elementary school teacher — responsible, kind and reliable. She is also very, very angry.
Her dreams of being an artist have been suppressed; she is seething inside with rage and resentment. But she keeps her anger in until she meets another woman who has everything she does not: a husband, a child and a successful art career. And then everything begins to unravel.

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

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:54:00 +0000
NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass. You can read their full stories below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.

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

Bob Mondello — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:09:00 +0000
The opening sequence of J.J. Abram's new entry in the Star Trek universe has all the ingredients of the classic franchise.
There's Kirk and his crew bellowing on the bridge, everyone worrying about the prime directive and our favorite Vulcan trapped in a volcano.
OK, I'm in. I may not be a fanboy anymore, but I sure was in my youth, and having these guys in their youths again is just as cool at the outset as it was last time.
Chris Pine's baby-Shatner is spitting his lines while Zachary Quinto channels his inner Nimoy.

Alzheimer's Cases Rise, But Hope Remains

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:27:00 +0000
More than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, and the National Institute on Aging estimates that that number is going to triple by 2050 — in part due to aging baby boomers.
The cost of coping with the disease — currently estimated at $215 billion — is projected to rise to half a trillion dollars by 2050.

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

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
When 20-year-old Amanda Knox left for Italy in August 2007, it was supposed to be a carefree year studying abroad.
No one could have foreseen it ending in her being accused, tried and convicted in the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher.
The case, and Knox, became an international media sensation.
"I think that there was a lot of fantasy projected onto me," she tells weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden.

Three-Minute Fiction Reading: 'Plum Baby'

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
NPR's Susan Stamberg reads an excerpt of one of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. She reads Plum Baby by Carmiel Banasky of Portland, Ore. You can read the full story below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.
Copyright 2013 NPR.

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

NPR Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
Summer is almost here, and with it comes the army of interns marching into countless American workplaces. Yet what was once an opportunity for the inexperienced is becoming a front-line labor issue.
More and more, unpaid and low-paid interns are feeling their labor is being exploited. Some are even willing to push back — with lawsuits.
One of the most high profile intern-versus-employer lawsuits suffered a setback last week that could have implications for other cases.

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

Mandalit del Barco — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRjWauwpvE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3UVw3a7qIQ

'Venus and Serena': An Extraordinary Story, Told On Film

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:36:00 +0000
It's Cinderella plus Jackie Robinson times two. When Venus and Serena Williams burst onto the lily-white world of tennis, they changed the game and made history: They were sisters. From a poor neighborhood. Who brought unprecedented power to the game. And both reached No. 1.
Their journey is the subject of a new documentary called Venus and Serena, showing in select theaters around the country.
"It's not just about sports," says co-director Maiken Baird. "I think of it as the great American story. It's rich with family, sisterhood, race, hard work and tenaciousness."

Boston Bombings Prompt Fresh Look At Unsolved Murders

Joel Rose — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:29:00 +0000
An unsolved triple murder in the Boston suburbs is getting a closer look in the wake of the marathon bombings. One of the victims may have been a friend of bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. That's prompting authorities to revisit the 2011 case.
The murders took place in Waltham, Mass. On Sept. 12, 2011, police responded to a house in the leafy suburb a few miles west of Boston.
"They went to the second floor and saw a very graphic crime scene — three dead bodies in the apartment," said Gerry Leone, who was then district attorney for Middlesex County.

Michigan LGBT Youth Center Does Outreach With A Dance 'Hook'

Kyle Norris — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:29:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4M8Av-SnPA

Quinto Turns Inward To Find Spock's Soul

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPkByAkAdZs

Bobby McFerrin: Spirituals As Sung Prayers

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:22:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOwp98jQGH8

After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action

Daniel Zwerdling — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:11:00 +0000
You might think that everything would have changed for the chemicals industry on April 16, 1947. That was the day of the Texas City Disaster, the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. A ship loaded with ammonium nitrate — the same chemical that appears to have caused the disaster last month in West, Texas — exploded. The ship sparked a chain reaction of blasts at chemical facilities onshore, creating what a newsreel at the time called "a holocaust that baffles description."
Or you might think everything would have changed on Dec. 3, 1984.

Some Lawmakers Want Big-Budget Groups Included In IRS Debate

Peter Overby — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:01:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l2s_q_kfrU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdYjp8-RMwA

Why Is Psychiatry's New Manual So Much Like The Old One?

Jon Hamilton — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:31:00 +0000
The American Psychiatric Association is about to release an updated version of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM helps mental health professionals decide who has problems such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
Psychiatry's new manual, DSM-5, has been nearly 20 years in the making. During that time, scientists have learned a lot about the brain.

A 'Wake-Up Call' To Protect Vulnerable Workers From Abuse

Yuki Noguchi — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000
Four years ago, 21 men with intellectual disabilities were emancipated from a bright blue, century-old schoolhouse in Atalissa, Iowa. They ranged in age from their 40s to their 60s, and for most of their adult lives they had worked for next to nothing and lived in dangerously unsanitary conditions.
Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission won a massive judgment against the turkey-processing company at which the men worked.

Daft Punk On 'The Soul That A Musician Can Bring'

editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NV6Rdv1a3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDvxo-M0OQ

From The Heart Of Egypt's Revolt, The Pulse Of Artistic Life

Leila Fadel — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000
Egypt's capital, Cairo, is now synonymous with protests and sometimes violence. Late at night, the once-bustling downtown streets are largely empty these days.

Women In Combat: Some Lessons From Israel's Military

Larry Abramson — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:26:00 +0000
As the U.S. moves to open up combat positions to women, it's catching up with other countries that have been doing it for years.
But the experience in these countries, including Israel, suggests that access to combat jobs doesn't lead directly to equal treatment within the ranks.
In Israel, most men and women perform compulsory military service.

Take Your Seat, The 'No Photography' Sign Is Lit

Martin Kaste — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:39:00 +0000
You probably saw this bit of Internet virality earlier this week — showing a woman getting kicked off an American Airlines flight for channeling Whitney Houston.
What caught our attention was the sound of flight attendants repeatedly ordering passengers not to take pictures or (presumably) videos.
Apparently, it's an official rule at American Airlines:
"The use of still and video cameras, fil

White House Addresses Benghazi Emails, IRS Audits

Scott Horsley — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:57:00 +0000
Transcript
MELISSA BLOCK, BYLINE: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.
AUDIE CORNISH, BYLINE: And I'm Audie Cornish.
The Obama administration is doing some intensive damage control this evening. Tonight, the president announced that the acting commissioner of the IRS, Steven Miller, is being pushed out over heightened scrutiny given to Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations.
Earlier today, the White House also released 100 pages of emails in hopes of quieting a lingering controversy over last year's deadly attack at the U.S.

LA Schools Throw Out Suspensions For 'Willful Defiance'

editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:44:00 +0000
School suspensions are a big issue in California. Last year, schools handed out 700,000 of them. But the Los Angeles Unified School District took a step to change that this week when it voted to ban suspension of students deemed "willfully defiant."
Before the vote, the district maintained a zero tolerance policy for students who failed to comply, in any way, with any policy or direction given by teachers or school administrators — covering everything from mouthing off to wearing baggy pants.

One Reason To Apply For Tax-Exempt Status: Anonymity

Brian Naylor — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000
Revelations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted some conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny have put a spotlight on a part of the tax code increasingly popular with political groups: section 501(c)(4).
But what's the benefit for organizations to get approved for 501(c)(4) status?
The Mississippi Tea Party, a volunteer organization, first applied for tax-exempt status in 2010.

A Songwriter And An Army Dad Share One Touching Story

editor — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSMCgqlc-0

Can Economics Save The African Rhino?

Gregory Warner — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:00:00 +0000
When Duan Biggs was growing up in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, he used to watch elephants and rhinos walking past his bedroom window. He left home to pursue degrees in biology and economics, and when he returned in 2011 the park looked and sounded "like a pseudo war zone," he says.
"There'd be helicopters flying overhead all the time," he says. "I remember one afternoon coming back to my home from a game drive and the bush was crawling with people with assault rifles, from the army, from the police, and from National Parks.