Weekend America

The Secret Lives of Accountants

Most of us dread tax time, but what about tax preparers - is it an exciting time or approached with doom and dread? And what about those other nine months out of the year when they aren't doing taxes? Weekend America's Krissy Clark uncovers the secret lives of accountants.

No More Friday Nights at the Mall?

Two weeks ago, the Mayfair Mall in Milwaukee, Wis., imposed a weekend curfew on teenagers. If they want to be in the mall after 2 in the afternoon on Friday or Saturday, they must bring a parent. Next weekend, the St. Louis Galleria will follow suit. All in all, around 40 malls across the country have put similar policies in place. Some of us wondered how teenagers could go on being teenagers without the mall. Weekend America's Michael May visited Milwaukee, where the kids are fighting back.

Where's the Goal in Girls Soccer?

Outside the United States, soccer, or football, is a wildly popular men's sport. But here we know it as a favorite pastime of young girls. Independent Producer Scott Carrier gets inside the world of girls soccer and also talks with soccer scouts about youth soccer in America. This piece comes to us from the public radio Web site, HearingVoices.com.

Listening to Your Weekend Soundtrack

We've been asking what's on your CD player or MP3 player or even tape deck on Saturday and Sunday. What songs say to you, it's the weekend? This week we hear from listener Sophie Hess from Phoenix, Md. She tells us what a song by Motion City Soundtrack means to her.

April, the Cruelest Month in the Pawn Shop

In her quest to find out everything you didn't even know you wanted to know about taxes, Weekend America's Krissy Clark visits a pawn shop. Like accountants, is tax time a boon for pawn brokers? Clark tracked visited Elliot Salter and Ed Thomas of the Elliot Salter Pawn shop in Los Angeles and asked them.

Love and Rocket Men

The second Saturday of each month, members of the Rocketry Organization of California meet at Lucerne Dry Lake in California to launch elaborate rockets. These aren't toys -- they are 10- to 12-foot-long flying crafts that launch up to 20,000 feet. Independent Producer Claes Andreasson ventures out to the rocket testing area and talks with the pe ople who build these high-powered rockets.

Music and Lyrics?

In his apology for calling the Rutgers Women's Basketball team "nappy-headed-hos," Don Imus pointed out that language like that abounds in black music. Weekend America Host Bill Radke asked musicologist and UCLA professor Robert Fink about the evolution of lyrics in American music and what that might mean for Imus' use of adjectives.

Thou Shalt not Pay Taxes

There are members of a small religious society in southern New Jersey who will not be doing their income taxes this weekend, nor any weekend. The Restored Israel of Yahweh has spiritual doctrines that do not allow them to pay taxes, particularly to a government at war. Independent Producer Peter Crimmins went to Vineland, N.J., and met people for whom neither death nor taxes is absolute.

Fun With Taxes

We're not sure if we believe her, but Weekend America's Krissy Clark found out how taxes could be like a day at Disneyland. Could it be the crazy roller coaster ride that is itemizing your deductions? Or is the whirling spinning dizzy feeling of finding your income on the tax table?

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 Detroit Free Press columnist Desiree Cooper, Hollywood writer Dana Gould, and Yale University English professor Amy Hungerford.

In Honor of National Poetry Month

This month, Weekend America is highlighting National Poetry Month by playing some of our favorite pomens, reda by the poets themselves. Gerrit Lansing reads his work, "A Poem of Love in Eleven Lines."

Big Marathon in a Small Town

Located 26.2 miles west of downtown Boston, Hopkinton, Mass., is a small town: population 15,000. But for one day each year, Hopkinton becomes the second-most celebrated town in Massachusetts (and the running world), as the starting line for the Boston Marathon. The town's population more than doubles as it greets 22,000 runners. Independent Producer Ian Gray brings us a behind the scenes of look at the town as they prepare for this Monday's marathon.

Immigration and the IRS

In the midst of all the debate going on over illegal immigration, the Internal Revenue Service remains above the fray. They do not care whether you're here legally or illegally. They just want you to pay your taxes. The IRS is an equal opportunity institution. When it comes to your money, they'll take it. Weekend America's Krissy Clark explains.

Sustainability

Stepping it Up Against Climate Change

One of the surprising voices to come out of the environmental movement has been evangelical Christian groups. They have joined with environmental groups to bring attention to global climate change and other environmental issues. This weekend is the national day of action on climate change, sponsored through a project called Step It Up. Groups will be gathering at parks, streets and churches to bring attention to global climate change. Weekend America Host Bill Radke speaks with author and environmentalist, Bill McKibben and President of the Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists, Cal DeWitt, about how two unlikely groups have joined forces.

Song & Memory

Song and Memory: The New Christy Minstrels

In our latest installment of Song and Memory, we hear from acclaimed non-fiction writer Luc Sante. He was born in post-war Belgium, but his parents soon emigrated to New Jersey. It was while living in the suburbs of the Garden State that Luc Sante first discovered folk music. At the time, folk was so big that it had its own television program, "Hootenanny." The show made quite an impression on a boy from a strict Catholic family in post-war Europe. This piece comes to us from the public radio Web site, HearingVoices.com.