Weekend America

The Study Group

The conclusion of the long-awaited Iraq Study Group report is that U.S. policy in Iraq is "not working." One key suggestion the group gives to turn this around is that U.S. troops in Iraq shift from combat mode to training and advising. To find out what the challenges on the ground are, we talk with Rick McGovern, a platoon sergeant from Hershey, Pa., who headed military training for Charlie Company in Iraq.

On the Dock

This Saturday night, on the waterfront in the San Francisco Bay, a community of boaters will light up their yachts. It is the 18th Annual Sausalito Lighted Yacht Parade. Reporter Nancy Mullane spent a day, with one "anchor out," or a person who lives on the water permanently, and she shares their story.

Is SPAM Pudding?

Last month we brought you the great debate: Is a burrito a sandwich? This week, a new food conundrum: Is spam pudding? Spam and pudding are two things you may not have put together on your own, but one of our listeners brought the pairing to our attention. We'll ask Linda Absher, a reference librarian at the Portland State University, if SPAM fits the definition of pudding.

Melton Barker

The 1930s is remembered as the golden age of Hollywood, when small towns had a palatial movie theaters, and stars like Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin and Shirley Temple lit up the screen. But, even then, Hollywood didn't have a monopoly on filmmaking. Some of the nation's first independent filmmakers worked during those years, and in the true sense of the word. Weekend America's Michael May follows a film archivist who has been tracing the path of Melton Barker, a so-called itinerant filmmaker, from the era.

Open Letters to Entities Unlikely to Respond

Open Letter

You know the drill. You order something from a catalog to give as a gift, the present comes in the mail, and you move on. But the thing is, it's hard to move on, because for years afterward the catalog keeps on coming. This is what happened between Erik Bowie, and the mail order meat company, Omaha Steaks.

Shopping Blind

Finding the perfect holiday gift has extra complications for Carmen Apelgren. She's been blind since she was a kid and exchanging money, which all feels the same, can be a challenge. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the Treasury Department had to consider changing paper currency so that different denominations could be easily identified by people who are blind. Bill Radke went shopping with Apelgren to see how this issue comes up in her everyday life.

Owens Valley

This weekend, water is flowing once again in one of the largest river restoration projects ever, the Lower Owens River. The river has been dry for 93 years, ever since the Los Angeles water department diverted the flow to guarantee enough water for the arid but growing city. Weekend America's Pat Loeb went to check it out the Owens Valley, 250 miles from Los Angeles.

After the Storm

Life is returning to normal after last week's snowstorm in the Midwest. Power has been restored to most areas in southern Illinois and Missouri. But the damage from this ice-and-snow combination is enormous in some places. We talk with Bill Wedel, who owns the Moorings Yacht Club in Osage Beach, Mo. He said he's never seen damage like this before.

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 is Dana Gould, co-executive producer of "The Simpsons," our weather guy and culture vulture, John Moe, and writer Nancy French.

Yellow Wiggle

When Greg Page, the lead singer of the popular kids' singing group the Wiggles, announced he is leaving due to chronic illness, kids were left bereft and parents were left at a loss for words. It's tough explaining illness and loss to a kid. Reporter Mhari Saito of WCPN in Cleveland finds the conversation is often harder on the adults than on the children.

Memoirs of the Elderly

The local writing community in Boston is working to preserve the memories of its residents. The elderly who live in the city are being asked to take a memoir writing class. And one neighborhood at a time, the stories are being collected in hopes that one day they can be published. Weekend America's Shannon Mullen sat in on some of the classes to see how the project is going so far.

Command Performance

Czech Playwright Vaclav Havel was a leader of the "Velvet Revolution," the 1989 revolt that ousted Czechoslovakia's totalitarian Communist government. It was a term coined by a French journalist to describe the peaceful revolution. And it also fit nicely with Havel's love for the art-rock band the Velvet Underground. Independent Producer Trey Kay recently found out just how big a fan Havel is. Kay's band played the Velvet Underground's "Banana" album in a special performance for Havel last week. We follow up, to see how it went.

Kids on the Rock

Alcatraz was the end of the line for federal prisoners who had tried to escape from other prisons or murdered guards or other prisoners. The maximum security penitentiary on an island in the bay about a mile out from San Francisco housed some of the most famous criminals in American history, and no one ever escaped alive. But it wasn't as austere as you'd think. At least not for the children who lived there. From the time the prison opened in 1934 to its closure in 1963 hundreds of children, the sons and daughters of prison employees, lived on the island. Reporter Julie Small tells us more about their lives.