Weekend America for NOVEMBER 4, 2006
Hour 1
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An Election in Wartime
Dozens of mid-term races across the country are too close to call. This weekend is the final push, and what polls tell us is that the major issue in most of the close races is 6,000 miles away. The Iraq war is swaying voters more than the local economy or political scandals or any of the other factors that usually drive votes. In Tennessee, Senate majority leader Bill Frist is retiring and all through the summer it looked like Republican Bob Corker was a shoe-in to replace him. Now, Corker has a real race on his hands against Democrat Harold Ford. Why? Well, voters tell pollsters, it's because Corker is "stay the course" on Iraq. Of course, as in most things, it's complicated. Reporter Kim Green explores how Iraq is influencing voters in the state.
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- Music Bridge:
- Last Night
- Artist: Swimmingpool
- CD: Good Old Music (Combination Records)
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Red State, Blue State, Purple State
There are lots of ways to divide the world: Optimists and pessimists. Scorpios, Geminis, Leos, etc. Vegetarians, carnivores and omnivores. Sure, labels are rigid, overly simple and never tell the whole story. But there's something fun--and potentially revealing--about trying to make sense of the world through a set of arbitrary categories. That's the impulse behind our monthly parlor game, where we get some of our favorite funny, smart people together to sort through the latest goings-on in America.
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- Music Bridge:
- Divinorum (Quantic Remix)
- Artist: Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada
- CD: ESL Remixed (ESL)
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Music Pick: Willie Nelson
Critic Alan Light shares some new tunes from Willie Nelson. Willie's new album, "Songbird," was produced by musician Ryan Adams. We hear how it sounds.
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Lice!
About 80 percent of schools across the country have at least one outbreak of head lice a year. And this past week it hit Barbara's daughter. Head lice might be a common problem, but as Barbara tells us, it's still a hellish nit-picking affair.
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- Music Bridge:
- Something
- Artist: Glissandro 70
- CD: Glissandro 70 (Constellation)
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- Music Bridge:
- Yet Again
- Artist: David Goodrich
- CD: Dust of Many Horses (Thought So)
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Voting Places
In the final stretch of the midterm elections, we consider whether where a person votes relates to how they vote. Stanford researcher Jonah Berger tells us that pulling the lever in a church versus doing it in a school could change how a vote turns out. Then we'll talk to reporter Bill Bishop with the Austin American-Statesman about how people have self-selected into communities with others who vote the same way they do. Finally we'll take the bird's eye view and talk with a computer science student who used Google maps to prove that population density predicts voting patterns.
Hour 2
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Non Voters
Whether from apathy, well-considered conviction, or a feeling of disenfranchisement, half or more of all eligible Americans opt out of the election season. Minnesota Public Radio producer Sanden Totten investigates their motives, and looks at what role the non-voter, by his or her absence, plays in our election process.
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- Music Bridge:
- Sensucht
- Artist: Ellen Allien
- CD: Camping: A B-pitch Control Compilation (B-pitch Control)
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Interpreter of Maladies
For non-native English speakers, it's one thing to learn the language for every day life, but imagine going to a hospital for an emergency operation and having words like tracheostomy and echocardiogram thrown at you. Edna Morales knew basic English when she came to the United States, but when her son needed to get a liver transplant, Edna needed help understanding the medical words she didn't know. This weekend, Edna will be speaking at the American Translators Association Conference in New Orleans, along with Gerhardt Smith, who is an interpreter for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Bill talks with Edna and Gerhardt about their experiences.
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Music Pick: Lady Sovereign
Critic Alan Light shares some new music from British rapper Lady Sovereign. She's from one of North London's roughest projects and she's a darling of the critics. Her new album is called "Public Warning."
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Last Swim
Independent Producer Nanci Olesen has been swimming in Lake Harriet near her home in Minneapolis everyday since May. It's been a daily break from the responsibilities of her life. But as winter creeps up—the lake is 38 degrees right now—she'll have to put away her swimsuit, wet suit actually, and stop swimming until next May. Nanci tells us what her daily swim has meant all year, and what it means to stop doing it.
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Autumn Leaves
In 1955, Roger Williams recorded the song "Autumn Leaves," which launched his career and was, and still is, the only solo piano instrumental to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. It's the best-selling solo piano recording of all time. Bill talks with Williams about what the song, and autumn, mean to him.
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- Music Bridge:
- Autumn Leaves
- Artist: Nat King Cole
- CD: The World of Nat King Cole (EMI)
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A Starry Reopening
The Griffith Observatory reopens this weekend, after a five-year renovation. The Los Angeles observatory sits atop a large peak in Griffith Park. From its perch, visitors can gaze up (and down) at the stars. Bill talks about the grand reopening with Dr. Ed Krupp, the astronomer and director of the Observatory since 1974.
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WEB EXTRA: Pies & Propositions
This Saturday night, Kitty Felde, a special correspondent for KPCC, is hosting a "Pie and Propositions" party at her house. The ballot in California is long, and Kitty invites her guests to either research both sides of one ballot proposition or bring a homemade pie. Those that researched a proposition share their findings with the group. Kitty will be baking a rhubarb one.
