Weekend America

To Look Back, or Not to Look Back

While the war in Iraq continues, there's renewed interest in revisiting how we got into it in the first place. Next week, the House Committee on Oversight and government reform will hold a new round of hearings about the intelligence that led up to the war. We get mixed signals about the past all the time--as citizens and as individuals. We're admonished that "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it." But we're encouraged to "let go and leave the past behind." So which is it? That's what Weekend America's Krissy Clark wants to know.

America at War

Project Censored

The war in Iraq often dominates headlines today, as it has for the past four years. That means many other stories aren't on the front page. Project Censored has been highlighting what it sees as the big but under-reported stories for the past 31 years. The group at Sonoma State University in California has already published its list for 2007. Host John Moe takes a peek.

Washington Post's Date Lab

For a date to work, there has to be chemistry. And when there is chemistry, there should be a laboratory. That's where Jill Hudson Neal comes in. She works on "Date Lab," a section of the Washington Post Magazine on Sundays. Date Lab features stories of people brought together for blind dates--with very mixed results.We talk to some successful daters, and some not so successful daters.

Letters: Food Stamp Chefs

This week listeners remind us that most people on food stamps aren't professional chefs; we learn that Brad Pitt wasn't in the movie Gladiator; and we hear from Canadian poet Richard Harrison about the "liquid poetry" of hockey.

I'm the Piano Man

Jim Allen has been playing piano at Marie's Crisis for the past 18 years. It's a divey little piano bar in New York where the off-off-Broadway crowd congregates after-hours. Over the years, Allen has memorized some 16,000 songs and acquired a dedicated family of regulars he calls a "Fellini version of the Waltons." As a child, Allen's father taught him to only play music for religious purposes. Today, Allen sees his work at the piano bar as a continuation of his father's mission as a Christian.

America's Weekend, via Flickr

Every week we do our best to find out what's happening this weekend in America. But we know that some stuff falls through the cracks. Okay, a lot of stuff falls through the cracks. We're remedying this situation by taking a peek into your photo albums, at least the ones you post on Flickr.

This One Time, at Math Camp...

This weekend in Columbus, Ohio, the nation's Mathaletes are gathering to start eight weeks of outrageous math stuff. On Monday, the Ross Math Camp at Ohio State begins. This year is the 50th anniversary of the prestigious camp for math whizzes from around the country. An alumni of the camp, math genius Tami Sagher, tells us about her love affair with math has waned.

Wanted, A Few Good Chaplains

Chaplain Kenneth Beale, along with serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Army, is in charge of making sure the Army has enough chaplains. The Army Reserves is suffering a shortage of chaplains right now. It's less of a problem in the regular military, but not when it comes to Catholic priests. Nearly a quarter of all Army soldiers identify themselves as Catholic but only eight percent of Chaplains are Catholic priests. Host John Moe asks Beale how he's trying to change that.

Deconstructing "Organic"

What exactly does the "organic" label mean? Don't worry, the USDA doesn't know either. The deadline has come and gone for the USDA to decide on a list of 38 non-organic ingredients that will be allowed into all organic food. The list includes things like celery seed, fish oil and hops. We asked Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist, to help us break down what it means when something is labeled organic and why this list of 38 non-organic ingredients is so important.

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 this week is comedy writer Dana Gould, essayist and actor David Rakoff, and Yale Literature Professor Amy Hungerford.

Weekend Soundtrack

Weekend Soundtrack: Dion

This week, we hear about a song that makes Joan Spence of Solway, Minn., think of her father. She told Weekend America's Bill Radke that Dion's "Abraham, Martin and John" is her Weekend Soundtrack.

Voicemails from Dad

On Father's Day, if dad's gone, we think about what he meant to us. If he's around, we call him to say hi and tell him that we love him. And we often wonder why we don't call him on other days to say the same thing. He's still dad the other 364 days. Producer Sasha Aslanian has been thinking about her dad. She began saving his voicemails, and heard a story in them, about a dad missing his grown daughter.

Head, or Heart?

The Great American Think-Off in New York Mills, Minn., asked people to write on which is more important, the head or the heart. Contestants submitted essays on the subject, and finalists joined a debate. The winner of this year's think off, Joe Kaiser, argued in favor of the heart. We hear Joe sharing his essay.

A Prayer Unheard

Last week, we heard from Sister Mary Assumpta of Cleveland, who'd been asking God to help her home-town team in the NBA Finals. This week, the Cavs lost in a four-game sweep. Host John Moe talks again with Sister Assumpta about how she's taking the news.

Charlie Schroeder Learns to Dunk

It's safe to say that Charlie Schroeder won't be suiting up for a professional basketball game anytime soon. In fact, earlier this year he made a big fuss about getting in shape on this very show. Well, we here at Weekend America were disappointed to find out Charlie is no longer shaking his booty. AND he's in terrible shape again. But he still thinks of himself as an exceptional athlete, so this time we're sending him to Dunk Dreams. It's a class where students spend up to three hours a day learning how to jump higher.