News & Politics
Weekend America on News & Politics
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Letters: Race Relations, PTSD
We share a sampling of letters and emails from listeners reacting to recent stories heard on Weekend America on race relations and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among older war veterans.
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Pre-Wedding Jitters for a Gay Couple
The civil ceremony performers who make all those marriages legit are the true unsung heroes of June. And for at least one of those civil servants in Northern California, the diagnosis this weekend is exhaustion and the slightest case of something he never really thought he'd have -- his own pre-wedding jitters...
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Figuring Out Beauty for Herself
My daughter turns 16 months old today. The older she gets, the more people comment on her looks. And so it begins: a lifetime of the world telling her what she looks like. I'm sure someone's going to think she's pretty and no doubt someone will find her ugly -- or at least, not right-looking. And I wonder how she's going to react to these appraisals.
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Rocking Out in the War Zone
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is now playing in selected cities. It's a documentary about two New York filmmakers who go to Iraq in search of the metal band Acrassiacauda. It's about the band trying to stay together as musicians while surviving a war. We talk to the band's drummer and the film director.
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Hillary's Adios, Post-Rapture Email
Our non-experts weigh in on some of the biggest and oddest headlines of the past week: relationship advice columnist Dan Savage; John Ridley, author and blogger for the "Visible Man" blog at NPR.org; and conservative writer and commentator Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind."
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Kosher Meat Plant's Immigration Woes
Last month, the largest kosher meat processing plant in America was raided by immigration agents. More than 300 workers, one-third of the workforce at Agriprocessors in Iowa, were arrested in the sweep. The bust shines a light not only on the kosher meat market, but also on working conditions for vulnerable immigrants.
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Memories of High School Drama
Remember those days when high school meant everything? There was drama around every locker... What if you don't have the right hairstyle? What if you forget your lines in the school play? What if that C in physics keeps you out of your top-choice college? A new blog asks readers to share their memories.
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Gay Marriage and Terrorist Donuts
Our latest panel of non-experts weigh the week's biggest headlines: Firoozeh Dumas, author of "Laughing Without an Accent"; Gustavo Arellano, writer of the infamous "Ask a Mexican" advice column for the OC Weekly; and David Rakoff, author of "Don't Get Too Comfortable."
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The Power of Breaking Bread
The Democratic Party is hotly divided, and a fundraising dinner tonight will bring the topic to a boil. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of American Public Media's Splendid Table, talks about the power of breaking bread with your rivals, and how it can lead to deeper understanding and even amicable compromise.
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Military, Married and Serving Together
In May of 2006 the U.S. Army began allowing married couples to live together in Iraq to boost morale, preserve marriages and bolster re-enlistment rates. Bill Radke talks to Bikiesa and Joe Cole, two sergeants stationed at Camp Falcon in Iraq, about their cramped quarters, private time and the terrors of mortar attacks.
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An Honest Talk About Race
For about a month now, Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice has hosted an online forum on race, where she encourages Web visitors to be honest. Some of those comments have been at times upsetting, controversial and touching. Trice discussed her feelings about the experience so far with Desiree Cooper.
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Teen Researcher Targets PTSD Treatment
Ilana Rice is only 16, but she's already making a difference for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She's linking treatment of PTSD with the relationships veterans make with those who haven't seen the horrors of war, and how that dynamic might lead to better treatment.
