Weekend America

Negotiating Iran

Every week the war of words between U.S. and Iranian heads of state gets a bit more heated, with the State Department in the last couple of weeks accusing Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons technology for killing American troops. At this dark time for US-Iranian relations, Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American living in San Francisco, has made a business of accompanying Western journalists to Iran, guiding them to the real people. Mostly Rezaian introduces them to street-level Iran, but the job also includes lots of unexpected twists, including procuring liquor for Christopher Hitchens. We'll talk with Rezaian about introducing Americans to the unknown.

Trip to Iran

For Ali Behdad, all the news from Iran this week has brought a special kind of anxiety. He's the chair of the comparative literature department at UCLA, and he's Iranian-American. He and his wife have been planning a trip back to Iran with their two small children in a few weeks. And now they're not so sure. Weekend America's Krissy Clark visited Behdad at his home in LA.

Owners of a Purple Heart

In 1932, General MacArthur changed the fabric Purple Heart badge to a medal. And at the last minute, he also changed the meaning: it went from a merit award to recognition of any soldier who had been injured in battle. But some soldiers aren't all that excited about getting a Purple Heart. To them, it's an award for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Weekend America's Hillary Frank talks with some Philadelphia veterans who are ambivalent about the honor. And then, host Alex Cohen shares her grandfather's story of not wanting a Purple Heart for his injuries in World War II.

Take it to the Courts

Free throws rarely make the highlight reels for basketball games. After all, it's just somebody standing there trying to make a basket. Even the name, "free throw," makes it sound easy. It's free! Still, many top level NBA players make only about half of their free throws. A few years ago, Dallas investment banker Gary Boren was watching basketball at home and decided this was ridiculous. But instead of yelling at the TV like the rest of us, he became obsessed with free throw technique and instruction. Not long after that, he was hired on as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks, the only free throw coach in the league. He's still a banker, but in his spare time he's coached the Mavericks to being one of the best teams in the league from the line. He tells about how he does what he does and helps Weekend America's John Moe sink a few.

Gilded Age

When body counts in the Middle East are in the triple digits and rhetoric from leaders sounds hollow, there are days it seems like the country is in a very dire place. Independent Producer Nate DiMeo puts these feelings into a little historical perspective by reminding us of the Gilded Age, the years just after the Civil War: "It was time a just like ours, but just way, way uglier."

Open Letters to Entities Unlikely to Respond

Open Letter to Buick Park Avenue Ultra

Usually when you write a letter, the recipient writes back. But sometimes, they just can't. From time to time we air open letters to people and entities who are unlikely to respond. It's part of our ongoing series with McSweeney's online magazine. Classic car owner Jeanne Shoemaker has something she needs to say to her 80-year-old parents' new Buick Park Avenue Ultra.

Rock Tour Blues

Six years ago, guest host Alex Cohen heard a band called Crooked Fingers play in San Francisco, and she was blown away. The lead singer, Eric Bachmann, has a voice that is gruff, sad and powerful. Cohen talked with Bachman about his current tour and how being away from how is harder than one might expect.

A Soldier's Deployment

The news of U.S. soldiers in Iraq has been grim lately. And at the same time more soldiers are getting deployed as part of the president's surge plan. We visited a going away party for Major Alan Hahn in Florence, Texas. It's a sad party, not because Hahn is leaving, but because one of his friends didn't come back.

Know Your Presidents

Even though lots of people call the holiday on Monday, Presidents Day, the official name is George Washington's Birthday. And even when we call it Presidents Day, Abraham Lincoln is usually the other guy who comes to mind. But other U.S. presidents have interesting, odd and little-known stories. Independent producer Nate DiMeo looks at some of the less iconic men and their surprising contributions. First up, 12th president Zachary Taylor was a war hero, and a food poisoning victim...

Good News, Bad News, No News

Good News, Bad News, No News

Our panel of non-experts review the week's events in a parlor game to gauge what kind of week America had. Weighing in is Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind," Amy Hungerford, a Yale literature professor, and Hollywood writer Dana Gould.

Kinderski

Ski resorts around Lake Tahoe, Calif., are grateful to have finally gotten some new snow this week to welcome the thousands trekking in, looking for fresh powder this Presidents Day weekend. Some of those ski-hounds will be tiny kids, blazing down the mountain, tackling hard terrain. Reporter Laila McClay tells us that a lot of those kids are already competing on ski teams, in the six and under category.

NASCAR Fans

This year, 43 cars will be vying for the checkered flag of the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of NASCAR events. And despite a major cheating scandal—earlier this week officials found illegal parts on four race cars—the event promises to attract an estimated 20 million viewers worldwide. Among those who'll be glued to their TV sets are Don and Pam Kramer of Monrovia, Calif. The husband and wife are die-hard NASCAR fans and season ticket holders at Irwindale Speedway, a racetrack ten minutes from their house. Independent producer Charlie Schroeder recently spoke with them about their most memorable night at the track.

Listener Letters

Every week we receive lots of emails and phone calls with comments about our past show and suggestions for stories, but last week drew some particularly strong reactions. We'll hear from our listeners on the story we did about "curing" homosexuality, and about the second time in two weeks that we spoiled the ending of Anna Karenina.

The Meaning of Rice

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is attempting give a face to statistics, something people in the news business are always talking about. But instead of using photographs of people or personal stories or any of the usual techniques, they're using rice. One grain of uncooked, long grain rice represents a human being, and another represents another human being and another and another, and suddenly, in the middle of the room you have a small Egyptian looking pyramid of rice meant to represent the entire population of America. Beyond that pyramid is another depicting the population of Brazil. Another pile shows world AIDS deaths. Heaps of statistics are all depicted in heaps of rice. Weekend America's Sean Cole takes us through the exhibit and finds the meaning in it.