Weekend America

A Ride on the Pearblossom Highway

Some of the thousands of Californians who trek to Las Vegas by car, take a shortcut through the high desert on California State Route 130. It's also called the Pearblossom Highway and has quite a past as an iconic open road, but it doesn't seem so open anymore with more commuters and roadwork trying to expand the area. Eve Troeh reports on where the highway stands today.

The Ten Commandments of Driving

This week, the Vatican issued a list of 10 recommendations for drivers in an effort to combat road rage. Weekend America Guest Host John Moe speaks with Father Austin Doran of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Encino, Calif., to get his thoughts on driving for a higher power.

Why San Francisco?

This weekend is the 37th-annual Pride celebration in San Francisco. San Francisco has long been synonymous with gay pride and queer identity. But why? Weekend America's Krissy Clark takes to the street to find out why San Francisco became that place.

Weekend Soundtrack

"Southland in the Springtime"

We've been asking you what song says the weekend for you. This week, listener Vedana Vaidhyanathan from Chapel Hill, N.C. shares her weekend soundtrack with us.

If a Tree Falls in the Great Outdoors...

It's summertime and that usually means a chance for kids to go outdoors and enjoy the good life. But studies in the past few years show kids are spending more and more time indoors. Weekend America speaks with author Richard Louv, an activist who reconnects children with nature.

Saving Coney Island

It can't be much of a surprise that a developer has finally bought New York City's Coney Island. It's been a staple of New York City since the turn of the last century, known for its cheap, low-brow and just plain weird collection of games, rides, fried food, and freak shows. Coney Island catered to the middle- and lower- classes, for whom it was just a subway ride away. But that playground is changing drastically. A private equity firm has plans to build a glass-enclosed water park, hi-rise hotels, movie theaters, and chain stores. The landmark Cyclone roller coaster will stay, but developers say everything else must go. We hear from residents and visitors about the Coney Island they remember and the new one they want.

The Rock Video

The video is called "Mike Gravel Rock". It isn't running on TV, but it's all over the internet. It's about three minutes long. We see presidential candidate Mike Gravel in a park by a lake. He stares at the camera for a minute and eleven seconds in an extreme close-up, then turns, picks up a rock, throws it in the lake, and walks away. That's it. But what does it mean when a guy just stares at you then throws a rock in a lake and walks away? Weekend America's John Moe asks Gravel to explain. He also asks a film critic, a band and baby what they see in the clip.

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. This week we have Ana Marie Cox from Time magazine and formerly of Wonkette; Sherman Alexie, the author of "Flight"; and columnist Dan Savage.

Take My Wedding Dress, Please

The dream wedding dress ended up being a nightmare when bride-to-be Elisa Zuritsky didn't get her dress until three days before her big day. Elisa got a back-up dress for the wedding, but she still kept her "dream dress" in a box, unopened. Then she decided to have a contest to give it away. She asked brides-to-be to tell her their tales of woe. Weekend America Guest Host John Moe speaks with Elisa Zuritsky as well as the winner of the dream wedding dress.

Lessons from Emmylou

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival plays host to some of world finest bluegrass musicians, including Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, and Emmylou Harris. In addition to performing at the festival, Harris will be taking part in a songwriting workshop. When Weekend America host Bill Radke heard about the workshop, he was pretty psyched. Radke, like a lot of folks, likes to pick up the guitar on the weekend, so he was thrilled to get his own lesson from Harris.

Checking in with the Walkers

Erin McKittrick and her husband Bretwood "Hig" Higman are 120 miles into their 4,000-mile walking trek from Seattle, Wash., to Unimak Island, Alaska. Weekend America asks the couple to see how their walk is going so far.

Cowgirl University

Every year the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, sponsors a women's retreat they call Cowgirl University. Women travel to a ranch and sign up for a three-day event to find that inner cowgirl. Independent Producer Jule Gardner went to this year's session in Missoula, Mont., to see what the event was all about.