Weekend America for SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
Hour 1
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Remembering Balbir Singh Sodhi
On Sept. 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi was killed in front of his gas station in a suburb of Phoenix, Ariz. His killer believed he was avenging the September 11 terrorist attacks by killing a Muslim, but Sodhi was a Sikh. Since then the Sodhi family suffered another tragedy when Balbir's brother was gunned down in San Francisco. Reporter Rene Gutel tells the story of how one surviving brother's life has been changed by these incidents.
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- Music Bridge:
- Giant Sunflowers
- Artist: Norken
- CD: My Favourite Kind of Irrelevance (Hydrogen Dukebox)
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What's in a Pledge?
Recently, a university in Missouri attained an original sorority pledge that writer William Faulkner wrote for his step-daughter's friend. The pledge isn't published yet, but Weekend America decided to ask writers how they would re-imagine brotherhood and sisterhood. Writers Rick Moody, Christina Archer, Brendan Lorber and Pagan Kennedy share their pledges.
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- Music Bridge:
- Off Work
- Artist: Thurston
- CD: Trees Outside The Academy (Ecstatic Peace)
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Listener Letters: One Dog, Two Owners?
Last weekend, a story about one pit bull with two different owners riled up our listeners. The pit bull was rescued from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and now the original owner and the new owner in California are in the middle of a custody battle. Weekend America speaks with Amanda St. John, founder and director of Muttshack.org, to get her thoughts on the situation.
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- Music Bridge:
- Wet Paint
- Artist: Cale Parks
- CD: Illuminated Manuscript (Polyvinyl)
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Roughneck, Wyoming
This weekend, the gas fields of northwest Wyoming are filled with men (and sometimes women) known as roughnecks and roustabouts. They work on the drilling rigs, in shifts of 14 consecutive days, followed by 14 days off. On their off days they head into nearby towns to shake off the boredom and loneliness. But this steady stream of rowdies is adding pressure to these towns, including Pinedale, Wyo. And as any roughneck will tell you, the more pressure you add, the more likely something is to blow. Reporter Brian Calvert spent the weekend in Pinedale to see how the town is holding up.
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- Music Bridge:
- The Dropper
- Artist: Medeski, Martin, and Wood
- CD: Note Blue: Best of the Blue Note Years 1998-2005 (Blue Note)
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Scotia for Sale
The town of Scotia, Calif., is being put up for sale by its owners, a lumber company called Palco. Scotia is a company town owned and operated as a part of a business. Weekend America talks with long-time resident Deb Jeffries about living in a town her employer owns.
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- Music Bridge:
- Amy
- Artist: Dirty Three
- CD: Cinder (Touch and Go)
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Listening In: The Delivery Room
Weekend America has shared stories about music to listen to while sleeping and while playing poker. In this installment of "Listening In," Gideon D'Arcangelo brings you music to give birth to.
Hour 2
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A Few Bad Apples
Nothing says September like getting up, reading the paper, then driving out to the country to go apple picking. That morning paper and box of apples might more in common than you think. The phrase "bad apple" or "a few bad apples" can mean apples you don't want to eat, or people you don't want in your neighborhood. Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the intersection between socially unacceptable behavior and tree fruit.
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- Music Bridge:
- Move Slow
- Artist: ROM
- CD: Rom (Wimm)
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Who Wants to Be a Public Radio Host
The race to be the next public radio host is closing in. In two weeks, three of the five remaining finalists will get the opportunity to present their idea for a show to the powers that be. Weekend America asked the finalists to create a sound piece about the future of public radio. In the piece they must use three specific sound effects-a needle hitting a record, food sizzling in a frying pan, and a rooster's crow. Listen and find out how they did.
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- Music Bridge:
- From Here to There (Bonus Track)
- Artist: Birdy Nam Nam
- CD: Birdy Nam Nam
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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 former Simpsons writer/producer, Dana Gould; Elizabeth Spiers, formerly of Gawker.com; and Christopher Hitchens, the author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."
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- Music Bridge:
- Thriftstore Jewelry
- Artist: The Bad Plus
- CD: Prog (Do The Math)
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Life Changing Injury
Football player Kevin Everett, tight end for the Buffalo Bills, sustained serious injury to his neck last weekend. As football fans watched on television, ex-football player Mike Utley saw something all too familiar. Weekend America speaks with Utley from Orondo, Wash., about how he recovered from his career-ending injury and what it takes to pull through.
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- Music Bridge:
- I Kissed the Dirt + She Kissed Her Bobtail
- Artist: Guitar
- CD: Dealin with Signal and Noise (Onitor)
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Baby Season
For the last 20 years, September has been one of the most popular months to give birth and demographers don't know exactly why. With all these little ones are scheduling their arrivals at the same time,it's getting harder and harder to find hospitals willing to deliver them. The problem is especially serious in Philadelphia, where 11 maternity wards have closed in the last decade. Hospitals still in the baby business are feeling the pressure. Reporter Joel Rose visited one of those maternity wards to see what it's like.
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- Music Bridge:
- Lost Message
- Artist: Air
- CD: Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks)
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A Weekend at the Convent
Weekend America's Kelly McEvers grew up thinking nuns were pretty cool. It helped that her aunt was a nun. But through the years, she noticed some changes at the convent her aunt belonged to. McEvers spends some time at Sisters of St. Francis in Independence, Mo.
