All Things Considered on WRVO-1: NPR News

Documentary Shows George Plimpton's Best Story Was His Own

Joel Rose — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

A new documentary about writer George Plimpton uses its subject's own voice to tell the story of his career as a path-breaking "participatory journalist" and longtime editor of the Paris Review. The film also uses the voices of Plimpton's friends and colleagues to defend him against the charge of dilettantism that dogged him throughout his career. NPR's Joel Rose reports.

A Decade In The Making, West Bank Barrier Is Nearly Complete

Emily Harris — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Israeli army Capt. Barak Raz climbs a metal staircase to the top of a high concrete wall that is part of Israel's West Bank barrier. From his perch, he overlooks both the Palestinian village of Bil'in and Modin Illit, the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, with some 50,000 residents.

The barrier here used to be a fence. After many confrontations with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian villagers won a court case, and the fence was moved off some of their land.

Fears Of Killing Immigration Bill Doomed Same-Sex Amendment

David Welna — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

After five marathon sessions debating 150 proposed amendments, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a landmark rewriting of the nation's immigration laws this week — and the bill emerged largely intact.

Three Republicans voted with the panel's 10 Democrats on Tuesday night to forward the bill to the full Senate.

Cuomo and Miner together for first time since disagreement

Ellen Abbott — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:47:34 +0000

Today marks the first visit by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Syracuse since early October -- and the first public meeting between Cuomo and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner since a widely-publicized difference of opinion between the two.

The disagreement was over how the state should help cities like Syracuse deal with financial stress. Miner calls it nothing more than political soap opera, fueled by the media.

Research Reveals Yeasty Beasts Living On Our Skin

Rob Stein — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:18:00 +0000

Scientists have completed an unusual survey: a census of the fungi that inhabit different places on our skin. It's part of a big scientific push to better understand the microbes that live in and on our bodies.

"This is the first study of our fungi, which are yeast and other molds that live on the human body," says Julie Segre, of the National Human Genome Research Institute, who led the survey.

Trillions of microbes live everywhere in and on our bodies. Most of these viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms are harmless.

China's Artist Provocateur Explores New Medium: Heavy Metal

Louisa Lim — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

The man ArtReview magazine named the most powerful artist in the world is trying his hand at rock stardom. In 2011, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei spent 81 days in detention. He was later let go and charged with tax evasion.

Discovering A Family Member's Lost Time In Amsterdam

Margot Adler — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

When I found out that one of my cousins — now 88 — had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, just like Anne Frank, it was a revelation. It made me want to know more about my cousin's life and story.

"I like to analyze what happens and to put it in writing; that gives you neatness in your head, and that is what I'm after," says my cousin, retired Judge Suzanne Hoogendijk. She was 87 at the time, and was talking about why she loved being a judge.

Storm Chasers Seek Thrills, But Also Chance To Warn Others

Steve Mullis — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GhYAknfTkk

Pat Metheny And John Zorn: A Vivid Sound World

Tom Moon — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Guitarist Pat Metheny is revered for his bright, accessible modern jazz. Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is associated with much knottier, often dissonant experiments. Metheny's new Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol.

Okla. Tornado Survivors Try To Collect Lives After Storm

Wade Goodwyn — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000
Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
In Moore, for the many people whose homes were destroyed, the top priorities are finding a place to stay, some clothes to wear, and food to eat. NPR's Wade Goodwyn has been talking with survivors in Moore and he sent this story.
WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE: Jamie Martinez(ph) is a retired police officer who still does security work, and that's where he was when the tornado slammed into his neighborhood yesterday.
JAMIE MARTINEZ: Our house is gone. It's leveled. Missing six pets, the least of our problems. I mean, we're alive. That's what counts.

Tornado Leaves Moore, Okla., Neighborhoods Unrecognizable

editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000
Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block.
It has been an emotional 24 hours for the people of Moore, Oklahoma. Their city is now a federal disaster area, shattered by yesterday's deadly tornado. Meteorologists have confirmed that the tornado was a rare EF5, with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Entire neighborhoods are unrecognizable, trees splintered, houses gone.
SIEGEL: Oklahoma's state medical examiner says 24 people are confirmed dead, nine of them children.

Apple CEO Defends Tax Practices At Senate Hearing

John Ydstie — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000
Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block.
The top executives of Apple faced tough questions today on Capitol Hill. They came at a hearing about Apple's alleged avoidance of billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes.

Area congressional members condemn IRS targeting of conservative groups

Ellen Abbott — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:42:28 +0000

Congressmen representing central and northern New York all agree that the recent IRS profiling of conservative organizations, including tea party groups, is wrong.

'Arrested Development' Leads The Charge For Old Brands In New Media

Neda Ulaby — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:37:00 +0000
Arrested Development returning via Netflix? Just another old-media brand reviving itself on new media.
The TV show, which originally ran on Fox from 2003 to 2006 and unveils new episodes on Netflix next weekend, finds itself in splendid company. Radiohead, Louis C.K., Veronica Mars — all found their audiences with promotion and distribution from big studios and networks. Radiohead was signed to a major music label. Louis C.K. enjoyed HBO specials and TV shows.

China Builds Museums ... But Will The Visitors Come?

Frank Langfitt — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:39:00 +0000
Shanghai did something last fall that few other cities on the planet could have even considered. It opened two massive art museums right across the river from one another on the same day.
The grand openings put an exclamation point on China's staggering museum building boom.

Business Owner Describes Major Destruction After Tornado

editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:13:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Casey Mongold, owner of Casey's Tire and Auto in Moore, Okla., where a tornado caused widespread destruction on Monday.

Forecasters Had Chance To Warn Moore, Okla., Before Tornado

Jon Hamilton — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:12:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Jon Hamilton about the science of tornadoes.

Tornado Ravages Oklahoma City Suburb

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Joe Wertz of the public radio initiative State Impact about the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area on Monday.

An Ancient Religious Pilgrimage That Now Draws The Secular

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
A 1,200-year old European pilgrimage route is experiencing a revival. Last year alone, some 200,000 followed in the footsteps of their medieval forebears on the Way of St. James, making their way some 750 miles from Paris across France to the Spanish coastal city of Santiago de Compostela, and the relics of the eponymous apostle.
But now, what was once a strictly religious affair has become a cultural and social phenomenon that attracts the nonreligious as well.

At L.A.'s UnCabaret, 25 Years Of Letting It All Hang Out

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
A lot of the stand-up comedy that gets done in Los Angeles is really just comics auditioning for parts in TV or movies.
Not at UnCabaret: For 25 years, it's been a place to hear unvarnished, rough-edged ideas being tried out — mostly for the first and possibly only time.
Michael Patrick King, co-creator of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, has worked out some issues there. So has comic, actor and Twitter titan Patton Oswalt, who took the stage to tell a tale about a date that changed his life.

With New Xbox, Microsoft Makes A Bigger Play For Living Room

Laura Sydell — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000
Microsoft hasn't exactly had a great couple of years.
Its new Windows 8 operating system was held responsible for the drop in PC sales last quarter. Sales of its Windows Phones lag far behind both the iPhone and Google's Android phones.
The light in the darkness for Microsoft has been the Xbox 360, which has been the top-selling game console for over two years — beating out both the Nintendo Wii and Sony's PlayStation.

Latest Health Hurdle: Buying Insurance Without A Bank Account

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:28:00 +0000
When movie stars become unbankable, they're no longer a slam dunk at the box office. When investments become unbankable, they're relegated to the Wall Street's junk pile. For ordinary Americans deemed unbankable — those who don't have a traditional checking or savings account — it can be hard to simply pay bills.
And that absence of a bank account is about to become a big problem for those who also lack health coverage — and for the health insurance companies trying to sell them coverage.

SUNY ESF working to bring back the American chesnut tree

Ellen Abbott — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:22:36 +0000

SUNY ESF is working to bring back a tree that once made up one quarter of the standing timber in forests in the Eastern United States. Now, researchers have come up with a variety of the tree that resists the blight that killed billions of American chestnut trees.

Rep. Maffei asks federal government for answers in the Renz case

Ellen Abbott — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:03:02 +0000

Syracuse-area Congressman Dan Maffei says he is waiting for a response to letters he wrote to three federal agencies, calling for an investigation into Syracuse federal probation department policies, that allowed accused killer David Renz to allegedly disable his electronic ankle monitor. Rep. Maffei says the case illustrates a lack of oversight in certain federal agencies.

Iran's 'Zahra' Tells Alternate Tale Of Presidential Campaign

Peter Kenyon — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:02:00 +0000
Iranians choose a new president next month, and one thing Iran's leaders are intent on avoiding is a repeat of the massive street protests that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election in 2009.
The sponsors of those protests, known as the Green Movement, have been effectively silenced inside Iran, but not online.

Pope Francis Puts The Poor Front And Center

Sylvia Poggioli — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000
Over the past week, Pope Francis has launched a crescendo of attacks on the global financial system and what he calls a "cult of money" that does not help the poor.
The 2-month-old papacy of Francis — the Argentina-born Jorge Bergoglio — is shaping up as a papacy focused on the world's downtrodden.

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.