Search results for

Host Jacki Lyden speaks with Bill Kristol, editor and publisher of the Weekly Standard, and pollster Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the Press and the People, about the Republican National Convention.

Writer Paul Auster reads stories sent in by Weekend All Things Considered listeners. For this installment of the story project, Paul Auster and host Jacki Lyden visit the famed Gotham Book Mart on 47th Street in Manhattan.

The last time Philadelphia hosted a political convention, it was 1948, and the city got three for one: Republicans, Democrats and the Progressive Party all gathered there. Although the Progressive Party would place last in the election, it sponsored one of the livelier conventions, with singalongs led by Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson. Many of the reforms it advocated were later adopted. Host Jacki Lyden talks with John Hyde, co-author of a biography of Henry Wallace, the Progressive Party Nominee. (American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace, by John C. Culver and John Hyde, W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 03930

Writer Paul Auster continues with stories sent in by our listeners.

In the summer of 1944, a young black woman boarded a bus in Gloucester, Virginia headed for Baltimore. Sitting in the "Negroes Only" section, she was asked to give up her seat when a white couple boarded. Irene Morgan refused, went to jail, and lost at trial. But a young Thurgood Marshall took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, some eleven years before Rosa Parks, and won a ruling that found segregation in interstate travel unconstitutional. This weekend, the town of Gloucester honors the 83-year-old for her courage.

NPR's Steve Inskeep reports from the train caravan carrying the Republican nominee for president. Gov. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney campaigned through Michigan today on a three-day swing through the Midwest.

Host Jacki Lyden speaks with fire fighter Tim Duck about the fires in the West. Duck has been fighting the fires in the Salmon Challis National Forest in Idaho where U.S. Marines have recently joined the battle.

Studies show few U-S students are proficient at basic geography and it doesn't get much better when they grow up: nearly half of Americans don't know the population of the U.S.; three in ten can't use a map to calculate distance or directions. A group of educators want to change how geography is taught ... making instruction both more relevant and more rigorous. Jodi Becker of Chicago Public Radio reports.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports on an unusual lawsuit by an Oklahoma Indian tribe, over millions of acres of land in Illinois. The Miami tribe claims a 200 -year old treaty gives them rights to lands their ancestors once roamed - lands that now house farms, businesses and two state universities.

NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports on the similarities and differences between two sons of former Presidents nominated for their own presidential runs -- John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush.

Host Howard Berkes talks with Sandy Tolan, author of Me & Hank: A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-five Years Later. Hank Aaron eclipsed Babe Ruth's career homerun record of 714 by 41, but Tolen says Aaron doesn't get the attention he deserves, particularly in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Critics point out that Aaron played in more games and didn't have Ruth's style, but Tolan suspects Aaron's outspokeness about race has affected his popularity. (5:46) Me and Hank: A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-Five Years Later by Sandy Tolan is published by Free Press; ISBN: 06848

NPR's Steve Krueger reports on an outdoor equipment company that hopes to capture the international market through its rapidly growing online store.

NPR's Julie Rovner reports on what voters are hearing -- and not hearing -- from Democrats and Republicans about their effort to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Neither party plans come close to lifting the financial burden felt by Medicare recipients with high drug costs because a real solution would cost a fortune.

Commentator Shelley Fraser Mickle tells a tale about a horse's tail.

Next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles has the Los Angeles Police Department worried about Seattle-style protests. NPR's Aaron Schachter reports that LA police are warning downtown businesses of possible violence; demonstrators are trying to assure merchants they don't intend to be unruly.

Host Howard Berkes shares letters from listeners.

From member station WXXI in Rochester, New York Brenda Tremblay reports on a new biography about Martha Matilda Harper, one of the most successful and innovative female entrepreneurs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is credited with inventing the concept of the Franchise. (3:09) Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream : How One Woman Changed the Face of Modern Business (Writing American Women by Jane R. Plitt is published by Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); ISBN: 08156

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that the shortage of electricity will be the top priority for California legislators who reconvene today. Across the state, the high demand for power has caused the electric bills to soar. And with no relief in sight, consumers are demanding the legislature steps in to regulate prices.

Host Howard Berkes talks with NPR's Cokie Roberts about political events this week. Vice President Al Gore has selected Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate. Lieberman, would be the first Jewish vice presidential candidate in American history. A formal announcement from Gore is expected tomorrow in Tennessee.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from Mexico City on a series of problems facing the country. In addition to the rapid depletion of forests and marine habitat, Mexico is dealing with a severe water shortage.

Jacki speaks with NPR's Washington Editor Ron Elving about what presidential candidate Al Gore will need to do to overcome his opponent's double-digit lead in the polls. On Tuesday Gore is scheduled to announce his choice for running mate.

Ten years ago this month Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, leading ultimately to the Persian Gulf War. Jacki speaks to Middle East scholar Shibley Telhami about the legacy of the invasion, and the impact sanctions and a strengthened Saddam Hussein have on the people of Iraq.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, on France's offer to give the island limited legislative powers. For the last 30 years, France has unsuccessfully tried to appease Corsican separatists.

Host Howard Berkes talks to NPR White House Correspondent Mara Liasson about the White House reaction to Vice President Al Gore's selection of Joseph Lieberman as his running mate.

Host Howard Berkes talks with Genevieve Abdo a reporter from The Guardian about the recent crack-down on journalists in Iran. Recently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the Iranian parliament the current laws limiting what journalists can write about should go unchanged.