Search results for

On April 12th, 1955, scientists announced that they had developed a vaccine against polio. After a trial involving 2 million children, it was declared "safe, effective, and potent." We look back at the terror of polio in the early 1950s, the quest for a cure, and current efforts to stop polio worldwide.

Marking the 140th anniversary of the death of President Abraham Lincoln, Liane Hansen visits Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. That's where the president was struck down by actor and assassin John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer.

President Bush focused on his proposals for reforming Social Security during a trip to Rochester, N.Y., Tuesday. The president has worked to distance himself from events on Capitol Hill, including the recent filibuster battle.

Next week, Roman Catholic cardinals will convene to elect the next pope. Noah Adams discusses the process with John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

Roland Martin, executive editor of The Chicago Defender, talks about his recent column criticizing media diva Oprah Winfrey for her absence from the funeral of Ebony and Jet publisher John H. Johnson.

Katrina, which first struck Florida last week as a tropical storm, is now a powerful Category 5 hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico, pointed at New Orleans. Eric Blake of the National Weather Service updates Liane Hansen on the storm's progress.

Commentator Judy Muller has been reading NBC anchorman Brian Williams' new Web blog, and she's not sure she likes where this new journalistic medium is going. The postings often detail newsroom discussions over what stories should lead the broadcast.

Farai Chideya recently went camping in Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park. While there, she considered dispelling a few myths that fall into the category of "what black people won't do."

Called the "godfather of hip-hop," Russell Simmons has been credited with bringing rap to the mainstream. In the early 1980s, he helped found Def Jam Records, launching pad of legendary hip-hop acts like Run-D.M.C., the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. (This interview originally aired Nov. 27, 2001.)

What kind of house can you buy with $206,000 -- the national median? In the more subdued Milwaukee real estate market, Wisconsin Public Radio's Chuck Quirmbach finds a suburban house with 3 bedrooms, a garden and more than enough garage space.

Comic Tom Kenny is the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon's animated star of television and lately the movies, too. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is now out on DVD. Originally broadcast on Nov. 16, 2004.

Murray A. Lightburn is the composer, lead guitarist and guiding force behind the band The Dears, one of the latest moody, orchestral pop-rock bands from Canada sweeping the alternative music scene.

Pepper pellets, bean bags, tasers and other so-called "less lethal weapons" are gaining popularity with police departments around the country, especially for crowd control. But the death of a young woman in Boston last fall led investigators to conclude in a report that law-enforcement agencies need more training on how to use the weapons safely. Athena Desai of member station WBUR reports.

Cindy Whitehawk and her husband have been selling what they claim are the world's smallest wallets for seven years. But the small-business owners got more orders than they bargained for when their wallets were recently featured by national media outlets.

Many members of Congress had a personal stake in the past week's debate over federal funding for stem-cell research: someone near or dear is affected by a disease which such research might help cure.

Flood waters are rising in New Orleans, which remains without power after being hit by Hurricane Katrina Monday. Phone service is also largely down, and looting is taking place in several areas. Fallout from the storm has prompted President Bush to return to the White House two days ahead of schedule.

Rob Gifford sends this postcard from China, where he's filed reports for six years. China "spits in your eye and then embraces you," Gifford says. "And I can't believe I have to leave." He is transferring to London.

The father-daughter team of Mal and Jennifer Sharpe continue their exploration of "photo walls" -- collections of pictures of friends and celebrities often seen at small businesses. In this episode, they take us to Pioneertown, the site of an old cowboy movie set in the high desert of Southern California.

A young American girl living with her father in Europe finds evidence that Dracula was real, and may be hunting them. Elizabeth Kostova's first novel created a bidding war in the publishing industry.

As a student of history, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has studied the collapse of thriving civilizations. He believes strong leadership can protect America from a similar fate.

Israel says it will finish a separation barrier around Jerusalem, which critics say will make a viable Palestinian state impossible. The Israeli government says the wall could eventually be torn down.

Part three of the Day to Day series on marriage education profiles a traveling conference called SmartMarriages. A diverse collection of people have devoted their careers to teaching people how to have a successful marriage -- but their ideologies often clash on the exhibit floor.

News and Notes with Ed Gordon concludes its three-part roundtable series on the art and business of African-American music. This week, we talk with three professionals who've been on the business and creative sides of the music industry — and who know all too well the business of music.

Director George Romero unveils another installment in his series of B-movie zombie classics. At the world premiere of Land of the Dead in Pittsburgh, where Romero filmed most of his movies, fans sing his praises.

Gene Miller spent 48 years as a reporter and editor at the Miami Herald. He died this past week. Dave Marcus worked as a reporter for Miller and recalls the newsroom presence of a martini-drinking man with a fondness for colorful bow ties.