Weekend Edition

Local Story Shows 'Plain Dealer' Prowess, But Future's Murky

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:03:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Cleveland story. The escape of three women who were kidnapped and held captive for 10 years has attracted notice around the world. Of course, it's also an all-consuming local story. And the Cleveland Plain Dealer provided continuous coverage along with in-depth profiles of the three women, the neighborhood where they were held captive, and the man who allegedly kidnapped them.

It's been considered one of the newspaper's finest hours, but the future of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is cloudy.

Media Covers Itself In Privacy Debacles

David Folkenflik — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Pair of unrelated stories this week, both involving the news media, served to remind a lot of Americans of how little information that we may assume to be private, really is private. One story involves the U.S. Justice Department's efforts to find out who reporters are talking to; the other, reporters secretly monitoring their sources' activities.

We're joined now by NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, from New York.

After Health Issues, Influential Conductor Back At Met Opera

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This weekend at Carnegie Hall, a giant returns to the podium. James Levine will lead the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for the first time in two years after a string of health challenges from shoulder injuries to spinal problems. He's considered by at least one critic to be the most influential American conductor since Leonard Bernstein.

Dan Brown: 'Inferno' Is 'The Book That I Would Want To Read'

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Robert Langdon is back. The Harvard art professor in custom tweeds — and an ever-present Mickey Mouse watch — wakes up in a hospital after getting grazed in the head by a bullet, wondering how he ended up in Florence. He's got a sinister artifact sewn into his coat and just a few hours to keep the world from a grim biological catastrophe.

Dan Brown, whose book The Da Vinci Code — and several Robert Langdon sequels — has sold more than 200 million copies around the world, has written his first new novel in four years.

Prime Challenge Sends Mathematicians On Infinite Search

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The University of New Hampshire professor announced this week he's come close to solving a centuries-old problem proving something called the twin prime conjecture. We asked our math guy, Keith Devlin, of Stanford University, to join us as he does now from their studios. Keith, thanks very much for being with us.

KEITH DEVLIN: Thank, Scott. Nice to be with you again.

SIMON: Nice to be with you. And first, I didn't know there was such a thing as close in math.

What A Week: White House Rattled By Controversy

NPR: Ari Shapiro — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. There are three simultaneous controversies rattling the Obama administration this week: the IRS, the phone records of the AP reporters, and Benghazi. NPR's White House correspondent Ari Shapiro joins us. Ari, thanks for being with us.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: My pleasure, Scott.

SIMON: Let's start on Monday. The president held a press conference with Britain's prime minister, David Cameron.

When Alcohol Takes The Wheel: What's Your Limit?

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

You can legally drink and drive in the United States, but there's a limit. In every state, drivers can't get behind the wheel if their blood alcohol content is .08 or higher, but the National Transportation Safety Board wants the states to lower the legal limit to .05 or even lower. Now, that would bring the United States into agreement with much of the rest of the world.

The NTSB is convinced that lowering the limit would reduce the number of fatal accidents. Right now, about 10,000 people die every year in drunk driving accidents. Dr.

Sports: Playoffs, Hard Hits, Soccer Kicks

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

Host Scott Simon talks to ESPN's Howard Bryant about the NBA playoffs, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper's collision with a wall, and David Beckham's retirement from soccer.

Audra McDonald, A Broadway Star Gone Roaming, Comes Home

Jeff Lunden — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:03:00 +0000

In the seven years since her last album, Audra McDonald has kept busy. She spent several years in Hollywood, filming the television series Private Practice. She's gotten divorced and remarried, absorbed the shock of losing her father in a plane crash and watched her daughter, Zoe, grow up from a kindergartener to a middle-schooler.

Last year, McDonald returned to New York, starred in Porgy and Bess and won a fifth Tony Award.

Pakistanis 'Defy Violence' To Vote In Landmark Election

Mark Memmott — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:47:00 +0000

Despite attacks in the days and weeks leading up to Saturday's voting — and deadly bombings and other attacks on the very day they're going to the polls — Pakistanis are showing they're willing to "defy the violence," NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Lahore.

There's "a determination to see it through," she tells Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, and to be part of the "lan

Schools? How About A Science Laureate At The Super Bowl?

Mark Memmott — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:22:00 +0000

The same scientist who famously "killed Pluto" (as a planet, that is) says it's "brilliant" that there's an effort underway in Congress to name a science laureate.

But Cal Tech's Mike Brown tells Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon that he doesn't think a laureate's main responsibility should be to visit sch

Mom's X-Ray Vision Also Sees The Best In Us

Scott Simon — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:22:00 +0000

Mothers have eyes in the back of their heads. They may not show up on X-rays, but they're there.

Like a lot of youngsters, I used to get my mother to turn her head so I could search through her hair for the eyeballs she claimed to have back there, telling her, "No you don't! No you don't!" But when I'd scamper off to another part of the apartment and pick up an ashtray or fiddle with the window blinds, I'd hear my mother's voice ring out, "I can see you!

Ala. Juke Joint Shuttered After More Than 50 Years

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

And this final note on the blues. Two years ago on this show, we profiled Gip's Place, a real juke joint nestled in a residential neighborhood in Bessemer, Alabama.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: It's not like going to a bar. It's not like going to a club. It's like going to your best friend's house and putting on just the newest record and sitting there and enjoying it together. Literally, there is truly a mix between the musicians and the audience.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Welcome again. Y'all ready to get started?

CROWD: Yeah!

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Guess what?

Kerry's Agenda: Priorities Emerge With Travel

Michele Kelemen — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, has been in the Middle East, Rome and Russia this week trying to find some kind of diplomatic end to Syria's civil war. He's also been trying to revive Israeli/Palestinian peace talks. Mr. Kerry has been the U.S.

The Philosophy, Economics Behind Sourcing Retail

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

And the deaths in Bangladesh have prompted a number of American clothing companies to disclose where their products are made. Everlane is an online clothing retailer based in San Francisco that has always done that. Michael Preysman is the CEO and founder of Everlane, and we asked him where and how his company's T-shirts are manufactured.

MICHAEL PREYSMAN: So, we make our T-shirts in Los Angeles, California. We generally work with factories that have been around for at least 10 years and folks who have been in the industry for 30 years.

Yngwie Malmsteen: 'I've Always Been A Little Bit Of An Extremist'

Sat, 11 May 2013 06:03:00 +0000

Yngwie Malmsteen is the king of the neoclassical shred guitar. Since 1984's Rising Force, the Swedish musician and composer has somehow bridged centuries, from Paganini to his own arpeggiated acrobatics.

His new memoir, Relentless, begins with a quote from David St.

World War II Code Is Broken, Decades After POW Used It

Bill Chappell — Sat, 04 May 2013 15:46:00 +0000

It's been 70 years since the letters of John Pryor were understood in their full meaning.

A Place Transformed: The Birth Of A Jordanian Refugee Camp

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News, I'm Scott Simon. Another 2,000 Syrian refugees fled into Jordan in the past 24 hours, mostly women and children. This happens everyday. A steady stream of humanity escaping the relentless violence of Syria's civil war. Jordanian officials say the growing number of Syrian Refugees threatens their country's stability. Jordan now swells with more than a half a million refugees and that population could grow to over a million by the end of the year.

On Mexico Trip, Obama Maintains Economic Focus

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:47:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. President Obama is in Costa Rica today. He's talking with leaders of Central American nations about security and economic trade. Yesterday, the president wrapped up a two-day visit in Mexico, where he tried to steer the focus away from contentious issues like immigration and drug violence.

'The Great Gatsby': Retold Again, With A Distinct Treatment

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:47:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. "The Great Gatsby" is a classic that keeps getting retold. F. Scott's Fitzgerald 1925 novel about a man who reinvents himself, and posh guys and flappers who, to quote some famous words, "smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" has been made into a film six times.

More Jobs, But Wait: They May Not Pay Much

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:47:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The economy added 165,000 jobs in April. That exceeded the expectations of economists. It also drove down the unemployment rate to a four-year low, 7.5 percent. Unfortunately, the biggest gains were in lower-paying fields like hospitality and temp agencies. And as the school year comes to a close and young people start looking, the question is will there be enough work for them. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: Wall Street got pretty excited about the jobs numbers.

At Jazz Fest, Photographers Have A Culture All Their Own

Eve Troeh — Sat, 04 May 2013 09:03:00 +0000

The 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival wraps up Monday. This weekend and last, 12 stages have mixed such marquee names as Fleetwood Mac, Phoenix and Los Lobos with dozens of local bluesmen, soul belters and Cajun fiddle players.

Burt Bacharach: 'Never Be Afraid Of Something That You Can Whistle'

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:03:00 +0000

Burt Bacharach has written huge hit songs, each recognizable after just a couple of notes: "Alfie," "What the World Needs Now," "That's What Friends Are For" — the list goes on. He's written 73 Top 40 hits, along with musical comedies and other collaborations. He's won Oscars and the Gershwin Prize. His songs are often poised on the edge between poignancy and joy, or sometimes the reverse.

Bacharach's new memoir is called Anyone Who Had a Heart.

Bombing Suspects' Chechen Roots Weigh Heavy On Nation' Refugees

Eleanor Beardsley — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Tsarnaev brothers are among tens of thousands of Chechens whose families have sought asylum abroad after two brutal wars with Russia. About 10 percent of the entire Chechen population now lives in Europe. France has one of the largest communities. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley spoke with Chechens in Paris to see how they're reacting to the attack in Boston.

AICHAT: (Foreign language spoken)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: I meet the two young Chechen refugees at a cafe near the Gare de Lyon.

Quest For Answers Continues In Boston

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing has been moved from a Boston hospital to a federal prison medical center about 40 miles outside of the city. Law enforcement officials say that 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sitting up and is alert and they continue to question him. Because after a week of revelations, answers to at least two key questions remain elusive: How were Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan radicalized, and could the FBI have done more to head off the plot?

Poet Kazim Ali On Poetry In Everyday Life

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

April is National Poetry Month. And throughout the month, WEEKEND EDITION is speaking with younger poets about the importance of poetry in daily life. This morning, we hear from translator and poet Kazim Ali.

KAZIM ALI: Poetry, for me, is a way of living in the human body. The line of poetry teaches us about the length of breath, and the way energy moves through a poem teaches us about the way breath and blood move through the human body. This is a short poem dedicated to the jazz musician Alice Coltrane.

Baltimore Detention Center Became A Criminal Enterprise

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Twenty-five people were indicted in Baltimore this week, 13 of them prison guards in a story that involves gangs, bribes, drugs and sex - and it's real life, not a TV show. The indictments say a group of prisoners have essentially been in charge of the Baltimore City Detention Center, working with prison guards to run a lucrative drug and cell phone smuggling operation.

They also say one of the prisoners, a gang leader named Tavon White fathered children with four female corrections officers.

Week In Sports: NBA's Oklahoma Loses Star Player To Injury

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:44:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC)

SIMON: And in the NBA playoffs last night, the Knicks went to Boston; boy did they have a tea party. The Spurs put the metal to L.A. and the Nuggets dug up Golden State. No, got dug up by Golden State. It was close, though. Just a couple of points. How many more metaphors can I twist in this intro? Plus one of the most important meniscuses, or is that menisci, in the Western Conference has been torn.

For more we're joined by NPR's Tom Goldman.

Athlete Brings New Meaning To 'Taking One For The Team'

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:48:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This week as wounded survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing continue their battles to recover, another man entered Massachusetts General Hospital to give of himself. Cameron Lyle is donating bone marrow to someone that he doesn't know, someone in fact he may never meet. He's 21 years old, a business management senior at the University of New Hampshire and a shot putter on the track and field team. When Mr. Lyle was a sophomore, he registered for the National Marrow Donor Program. The process is painless, swift and simple.

Cambodian Americans Celebrate New Year, But Honor Grim History

Doualy Xaykaothao — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:48:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Today in Long Beach, California, Cambodian-Americans are celebrating their new year with traditional foods, dance and songs. But the festivities also coincide with the anniversary of the Cambodian genocide. During the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror between 1975 and 1979, cities were emptied and nearly one-fourth of the population was executed, starved or worked to death. Doualy Xaykaothao reports.

DOUALY XAYKAOTHAO, BYLINE: The Communist Party of Kampuchea officially took control of Cambodia 38 years ago during Khmer New Year.