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With Spotlight On Afghanistan, Where's Holbrooke?

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Michele Kelemen - Oct. 24 (News Analysis) - Sen. John Kerry took the foreign policy spotlight this past week, jetting off to Afghanistan where he persuaded President Hamid Karzai to agree to a runoff vote, and meeting with officials in Pakistan. It raised the question: Where's Richard Holbrooke, Obama's designated point man on Afghanistan and Pakistan?

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EPA Moves To Regulate Smokestack Greenhouse Gases

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Morning Edition - By Elizabeth Shogren - Oct. 01 (News Report) - The Obama administration recently proposed new rules for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from cars. Now it's proposing to reduce heat-trapping pollution from power plants and other large facilities.

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Co-Op Option Offers Compromise In Health Debate

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Joanne Silberner - Jul. 01 (Special Report) - A new health insurance idea is circulating through the Senate Finance Committee and may appear in its final plan for revamping the nation's health care system. The idea is to stimulate the creation of co-ops where people could go to buy low-cost, high-quality health insurance. Health co-ops are not a new idea. Two large ones, Group Health in Seattle and HealthPartners in Minneapolis, are more than 50 years old. But the thought that co-ops could win enough support to keep health overhaul plans rolling along has only just come up.

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Insurers Revoke Policies To Avoid Paying High Costs

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Joanne Silberner - Jun. 22 (Investigative Report) - According to a new report by congressional investigators, an insurance company practice of retroactively canceling health insurance is fairly common, and it saves insurers a lot of money.

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Senate Apologizes For Slavery

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - Jun. 19 (News Report) - The U.S. Senate apologized Thursday for slavery and for the segregationist Jim Crow laws, 144 years after the Civil War and 45 years after passing the Civil Rights Act.

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Obama Seeks To Block Release Of Abuse Photos

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Mara Liasson - May. 14 (News Report) - President Obama declared Wednesday he would try to block the court-ordered release of photos showing U.S. troops abusing prisoners, abruptly reversing his position out of concern the pictures would "further inflame anti-American opinion" and endanger U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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20 Years Since Exxon Valdez, New Ocean Threats?

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Ira Flatow - Mar. 28 (News Report) - (9m 7s) Two decades since the catastrophic oil spill in Prince William Sound, today's threats to the ocean — from acidification to dead zones — are harder to see. Philippe Cousteau, CEO of EarthEcho International, and Peter Seligmann, chairman of Conservation International, discuss the ocean environment.

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Fate Of Fallujah Family Tells Story Of Iraq War's Toll

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

National Public Radio - By Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - Mar. 20 (Special Report) - Friday marks the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, and perhaps no Iraqi city has faced the horrors of the conflict like Fallujah in western Anbar province.

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News Organizations Urge Release Of Journalist

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - Mar. 11 (News Report) - Several news organizations — including NPR, ABC and the BBC — are asking Iranian authorities to explain why American freelance journalist Roxana Saberi has been detained in that country since late January.

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'Black Thoughts' With Comedian Larry Wilmore

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - Feb. 25 (Special Report) - As senior black correspondent for The Daily Show, Larry Wilmore's used to being politically incorrect for the sake of humor. In his new book, I'd Rather We Got Casinos, he mines black culture — beyond politics — for comedy. In more than 25 bits, Wilmore imagines "Text Messages from a Birmingham Jail," muses on black weathermen, pens five letters to the NAACP, and eulogizes "the 'N' Word."

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Reflections On Race: Essays From The Archives

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Dan Gediman - Feb. 24 (Opinion) - I was born in 1961 and raised in suburban Boston. For me, racism and segregation were stories in the news but not something I had any direct experience with. In my neighborhood, there were two black families, and I went to a largely integrated school all the way through high school. I don't recall hearing any of my friends, nor indeed any of the other kids at school, refer to any of the black kids in a demeaning or insulting way. Years later, as an adult, I moved to Louisville, Ky., where I still live. Like many American cities, Louisville had its urban race riots in the 1960s and protests over forced busing in the 1970s. But by the time I moved there in the mid-1980s, that unrest was largely a thing of the past. So racism isn't something I've had much direct contact with in my life — until I encountered a dusty, old book called This I Believe, which was an anthology of essays from a popular program on CBS radio in the 1950s. The book, and audio recordings I found later, featured the stories of people, black and white, who had lived through dramatically different times than I had. There was an essayist who told of his grandfather, who was a slave. Another mentioned his grandfather fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War

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Afghan Mission Murky As Troop Deployment Looms

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Mary Louise Kelly - Feb. 23 (News Analysis) - President Obama has announced he's sending 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but he hasn't yet announced what his overall strategy for the country will be. Obama says he wants to hear first from all his advisers and military commanders, but there are also the views of U.S. allies to consider. And that's a long list, making coordinating all the international efforts in Afghanistan a massive problem in itself.

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Storytelling, Ghetto Film School-Style

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Jacki Lyden - Feb. 22 (Special Report) - In a converted former piano factory looking over the East River in the Bronx, kids from all over New York City learn film-school techniques — and don't pay a cent for the experience. It's the Ghetto Film School, founded by former social worker Joe Hall, and its mission is to teach the art of narrative storytelling to kids in the city. As for the school's name, Hall explains that he wanted to take a negative term and turn it into something positive: "Our program is certainly not ghetto, when you think about travel and students interacting with really top-notch industry professionals and filmmakers." Competition for admittance to the school is fierce; out of about 120 applicants, only 20 are accepted into the 15-month program. Students meet after-school once a week and on weekends, and they receive film cameras, top-level guidance and plenty of feedback. Everyone writes a thesis script, the best of which (as judged by the group) is then shot on location in a city outside the United States. Last summer, that city was Kampala, Uganda.

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'Educate Our Way To A Better Economy'

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Melissa Block - Feb. 04 (Interview) - [Click "Listen Now" to hear the interview. The article associated with this link contains many quotes from the interview, but is not the interview in its entirety.] "Long-term, the best way we bring ourselves back to economic health and really strengthen the economy is to have an educated workforce," he tells Melissa Block. "So these investments are tremendously important, and we have to continue to push very, very hard to make sure that happens." But across the country, educators have expressed concern that this isn't a long-term fix. Even if the money is approved now, they're worried about what will happen when it runs out. That's no reason to not do anything now, says Duncan, who most recently was the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools system. "We need to invest, and we want to hold ourselves accountable to invest impeccably well," and the Obama administration's economic stimulus package presents an unprecedented opportunity to invest in what works, he says.

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Florida Education Cuts: Three Perspectives

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Jacki Lyden - Feb. 02 (Interview) - School districts around the country are anxious to see whether or not Congress will send part of the economic stimulus their way. Some 19 states have had to cut funding for K-12 education this past year. One cash-strapped system — the Orange County Public School District in central Florida — is anticipating a $102 million budget cut next year.

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Undecided We Stand: Debating Bush's Legacy

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Don Gonyea - Jan. 07 (Opinion) - History will view this as a consequential presidency. George W. Bush was one who thought boldly and aimed explicitly to make a lasting impact. And there's been major changes in public policy regarding the war on terrorism, of course, and U.S. foreign policy and homeland security — but also domestically on taxes, on education policy, on health care.

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Hospital Industry Braces For Tough Times

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Curt Nickisch - Jan. 02 (Special Report) - though the health care industry has been one of the strongest engines of the economy recently — adding jobs as other industries cut them — there's growing evidence that hospitals are not so immune to this recession.

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Will Obama Press For End Of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'?

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By David Welna - Dec. 22 (Opinion) - Mr. President-elect, you rarely spoke out as a candidate against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that excludes openly gay people from the military. But when the group Human Rights Campaign asked you about it a year ago, you said this: "America is ready to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. All that is required is leadership."

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I'm A Lefty And I Like Obama's Pick Of Rick Warren

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By David Weinberger - Dec. 18 (Opinion) - I'm a liberal. Free the whales. Tax the rich! I swear to you that not only do I drive a Prius, I turned in our Volvo for it. If you know any one of my political positions, you know them all. That's how embarrassingly stereotypical I am. So pardon me if I take a moment to give some advice to my fellow liberals and progressives: Chill out, will you? You're already out criticizing our president-elect for betraying our side. He's gone soft on wiretapping, on raising taxes on the wealthy, and now you're having conniptions because Barack Obama has invited the Rev. Rick Warren onto the inaugural podium. The shame! The horror! Rick Warren believes things that are anathema to liberals like me. Rick Warren is against abortion choice and totally against gay marriage. I'm from Massachusetts. I'm totally for both those things.

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Taliban Courts Filling Justice Vacuum In Afghanistan

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson - Dec. 16 (Special Report) - The Islamist insurgents have killed and wounded thousands of innocent people across Afghanistan. Yet many Afghans, especially in rural areas, turn to Taliban judges to settle grievances.

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U.S. Military Vehicles Destroyed In Pakistan

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Jackie Northam - Dec. 08 (News Report) - In Pakistan on Sunday, militants destroyed more than 150 U.S. military vehicles that were destined for NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The attack raises concerns about the security of the transit route through Pakistan.

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Fence Affects Border Town Culture, Relationships

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - By Jason Beaubien - Dec. 05 (Special Report) - The federal government is rushing to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southern border before President Bush leaves office — a project which the Department of Homeland Security says is on track to complete in the coming weeks.

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S. America Watches As U.S. Alters Free-Market Tune

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Tom Gjelten - Oct. 01 (Special Report) - One world leader is taking some satisfaction in the turmoil on Wall Street. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that this week's meltdown shows the free-market approach long promoted by the United States as a model for the world has, in his words, "collapsed."

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McCain Defends Stance on Florida Issues

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

National Public Radio - By Greg Allen - Jun. 05 (News Report) - On Friday, McCain has a visit set to the Everglades, where he'll ride an airboat and talk about efforts to restore the fragile ecosystem. So why, he was asked in Orlando, did he vote to oppose a big water bill that contained $2 billion for Everglades restoration?

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Africa Presents Growing Challenge in U.S. Policy

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

All Things Considered - Feb. 19 (News Analysis) - President Bush visits several African nations this week, including Ghana and Rwanda, highlighting some of his administration's foreign policy successes there. But his trip also coincides with growing instability across sub-Saharan Africa.

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