Tell Me More on WRVO-1: NPR News

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barber Shop, where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds.

Listeners are invited to submit short poems on Twitter to celebrate National Poetry Month. Curator and poet Holly Bass gives an update on recent tweets about tragedy in Boston, and other topics.

Korean-American rapper Dumbfoundead used to get the mic pulled out of his hands at rap battles. But the Los Angeles artist has steadily won fans and made a name for himself in the world of hip-hop. Host Michel Martin talks with NPR'S Karen Grigsby Bates about what his success says about the evolution of rap.

Angela Davis was once on the FBI's most wanted list. But decades after her brush with the law as a political activist, she remains a hero to some, and a villain to others. Host Michel Martin talks with Shola Lynch, the director of the new documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners.

"I was a good boy," South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela assures NPR's Michel Martin. But still, he says, "as a kid, I was whipped on a slow day at least three times."

Eventually, Masekela told his chaplain, "If I can get a trumpet, Father, I won't bother anybody."

His wish came true.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program we will speak with a man for whom art and politics were intertwined. South African musical great Hugh Masekela will be with us. He talks about his years in exile and how he stays creative after decades of performing. That's later.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, leading Republicans have been making news lately talking about outreach to African-Americans, Latinos, and LGBT voters, but what about women? They've also been trending Democrat for decades. We're going to speak with a diverse group of women writers and commentators about this. That's later in the program.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now we head into the Beauty Shop. That's where we get a fresh cut on hot topics with our panel of women journalists, commentators, bloggers and activists.

Even though the next presidential election is several years away, the major political parties are already thinking about how to reach new voters. Republicans in particular have been in the news, both because of their poor showing with minorities last year and their efforts to address that by bringing more diverse perspectives and candidates to the Republican Party.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program, it's hard to believe but it's been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous letter from Birmingham jail, so it's easy to forget why he wrote it and to whom he wrote it, so we thought this would be a good time to talk about that. We'll talk about the controversy it caused then and the impact it has now. That's coming up.

In this week's segment on parenting, host Michel Martin talks to three single moms to find out what they've learned by raising children alone. Martin is joined by Lori Gottlieb who wrote about single parenting for Working Mother magazine, Stacia Brown, blogger at Beyond Baby Mamas, and regular 'Moms' contributor Aracely Panameno.

The city of Boston is coming together for prayer vigils and reflections following yesterday's explosions at the Boston Marathon. Host Michel Martin talks with Bishop Gayle Harris, of The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, about how Bostonians are handling the shock and the faith community's response.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. We're going to start the program today by talking about the bombings that shook Boston yesterday afternoon. Today, civic leaders are trying to find out what happened, but also to help their citizens heal. Here's Boston's mayor, Thomas Menino, at a press conference this morning.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

Tell Me More celebrates National Poetry Month with the 'Muses and Metaphor' series — where listeners submit their own poems via Twitter. Today's poem comes from mother — and doctor — Kaya Oyejide.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Well, that was fun, but some people might still need some tax tips, so now let's turn to Marilyn Geewax. She's a senior business editor at NPR. Marilyn, thank you so much for stopping by.

MARILYN GEEWAX, BYLINE: Hi, Michel. I do have some of those tax tips for all of your procrastinators out there.

MARTIN: OK. So what's the first thing someone should do if he or she has still not filed his or her taxes, especially if they're filing the old-fashioned way by snail mail?

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Next, the latest in our series Muses and Metaphor. That's how we're celebrating National Poetry Month. We're hearing your Twitter poems of 140 characters or less. Today, we hear from renowned poet Elizabeth Alexander. You might remember her from President Obama's first Inauguration in 2009. She composed and read the poem, "Praise Song for the Day" for that occasion. Not only that, she's published six volumes of poetry. She's chair of the African-American Studies Department at Yale University.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o supported independence from Britain for his country, but when he felt it necessary, he criticized the new government's human rights abuses. For that he was arrested, jailed and hounded into exile, but never silent. He joins us for a Wisdom Watch conversation, a special rebroadcast, as we settle into our new headquarters. And that's in just a few minutes.

This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 17, 2013.

After huge critical and commercial success last year, breakthrough British sensation Emeli Sande has her sights set on America.

It's a long way from her roots. Born to a Zambian father and English mother, the singer-songwriter was raised in Scotland. She tells NPR's Michel Martin that being the only mixed-race family in a small village had a big impact on her.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, March Madness 2013 is now a memory, but there's still one champion yet to be announced. Yes, we are going to announce the winner of our TELL ME MORE March Madness Challenge. That's just ahead.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barbershop, where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, we'll speak with the Reverend Jim Wallis. He's a well-known evangelical leader. He's known for stepping into the political fray on issues he cares about. So we'll ask him why he chose to step out of the spotlight during last year's presidential campaign. That's later in the program.

The Mountaintop is an award-winning play about the night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died. But some critics don't love playwright Katori Hall's portrayal of the civil rights icon as a regular guy. Hall tells host Michel Martin why she found it important to focus on the man, not the myth.

Senator Rand Paul is reaching out to African-American voters. He recently visited Howard University, one of the country's most prominent historically black universities. Senator Paul talks to host Michel Martin about why he's reaching out, and what his message is for minorities.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And we have the latest in our series, Muses and Metaphor. We're celebrating National Poetry Month by hearing your poetic tweets. Poems at 140 characters or less that you send us on Twitter.

Today's poem comes from Chris Johnston of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He writes and tweets under the name Boinkaz. Our series curator Holly Bass says she likes this one because it reminds her of her first trip to Istanbul, Turkey earlier this year. Here's the tweet.

Host Michel Martin continues her interview with Senator Rand Paul. She asks whether his actions really line up with his libertarian philosophies.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program, we are going to talk about some provocative new research that sheds some light on how personal relationships play a role in getting a job and we'll talk about how that plays out differently or may play out differently for whites and minorities. That's coming up later in the program.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, can I tell you how great you look? No? Well, that's my Can I Just Tell You essay and it's coming up in a few minutes.

But first, we are focusing on the economic progress or lack thereof facing African-Americans. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a number of important dates in civil rights history, including the march on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Today, we're going to be talking about something that preoccupies many Americans, no more so than since last December. That, of course, is when that awful shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., took place.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. If you're like most Americans, you probably have some debt, and that's a bummer, but how do you think you'd feel if you were in debt because of a guy who beat you? Later, we are going to talk about what might be the hidden cost of domestic abuse. That's financial abuse. We'll have that eye-opening conversation in just a few minutes.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, the Louisville Cardinals capped off a dramatic journey through March Madness to take the NCAA men's crown last night. We'll look back on the men's college basketball tournament. We'll look ahead to the women's final. That conversation is just ahead.

Tell Me More celebrates National Poetry Month with the 'Muses and Metaphor' series — where listeners submit their own poems via Twitter. Today's tweet comes from former Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, who not only has a fondness for crunching numbers, but is also a published poet.