Weekend America

Immigration Weekend

After an effort to address the status of 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States died in the U.S. Senate this week, Weekend America's Pat Loeb looked around her own neighborhood in Los Angeles. It struck her that Americans concerned about the future of immigration might want to take a look with her. Los Angeles is essentially a border town, where America meets Latin America and Asia, so it can tell us a lot about living with an influx of immigrants.

Washington's Dirtiest Words

A federal appeals panel just ruled that broadcasting the curses of John McCain and Dick Cheney among others can no longer be outlawed by the FCC. But besides the f-word and its ilk, there are words that we're even less likely to hear. One of those is "amnesty."Weekend America investigates how words like amnesty get so charged in Washington and why.

Public Radio Talent Quest : The Final 10

Judges narrowed the final group of Public Radio Talent Quest finalists to 10 this week. The search for new voices in public radio started with more than 1,400 entries in April. Weekend America Host Bill Radke speaks with Talent Quest judge Jake Shapiro about the road that lies ahead for the final 10.

Weekend Soundtrack

Weekend Soundtrack: Jeff Beck

We've been asking you what songs are a big part of your weekend. You know, that one song that tells you it's Saturday or Sunday. This week we hear from Jeffrey Goodman of Boston, Mass., who tells us why one Jeff Beck song made it to his weekend soundtrack.

Catching Up with a Backstop

Jamie Burke, backup catcher for the Seattle Mariners, is probably one of a few handful of folks that is truly excited when his boss tells him he has to work a weekend. Weekend America's John Moe talks with three Mariners--Jamie Burke, John MacLaren and J.J. Putz--about what it takes to be a backup catcher.

Nun versus Nun

Sisters in San Antonio and Cleveland--nuns, that is--have been sending more prayers to God than usual. They're rooting for their hometown basketball teams, the Spurs and the Cavaliers, respectively. But who's really giving it 110 percent? We asked Sister Mary Assumpta from Cleveland's Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Sister Sandra Neaves from San Antonio's Sisters of Immaculate Mary Province.

Way Off Broadway

Along with Broadway's finest, Susan Booth of Atlanta will be celebrated at the 61st-Annual Tony Awards. Booth is the artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and will be receiving the 2007 Regional Theater Tony Award. Weekend America Host Bill Radke talks with Booth and artistic director Peter Brosius, whose theater won the same award in 2003, about what sets regional playhouses apart from other stages.

A Poet Laureate Under Fire

Poet Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr. was ready to accept the position of poet laureate of New York's Nassau County on Monday, when the county legislature balked. In 2005, Wheat wrote a book of poetry called "Iraq and Other Killing Fields: Poetry for Peace," something a little different from his other poetry. We talk with Wheat about the honor he is getting--with or without the county legislature's blessing.

America at War

A Veteran Poet

Mickey Cesar is a poet and a veteran of the Iraq War. He's written poems in the 140-degree heat of the desert with sand blowing every which way. He says all of his poems, regardless of the topic, are informed by the war. Cesar shares his story with Weekend America.

America at War

A Question About Iraq

We asked listeners last week to share their stories related to the Iraq War with us. Hear what people are talking about and how they are connected to the war in Iraq.

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 John Ridley, author of "The American Way," Ana Marie Cox from Time magazine and formerly of Wonkette, and Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor at The New Yorker

Sustainability

A Very Long Walk (for a Cause)

Erin McKittrick and her husband Bentwood "Hig" Higman are going for a walk, a very long walk. The couple will be leaving their home in Seattle, Wash., to embark on a 4,000-mile trek along the Pacific Coast through Anchorage, Alaska, ending at Umimak Island. They expect it to take nine months. They will walk, hike, raft, and ski along the way. Weekend America talks with the couple as they prepare to leave for their journey.

The U2charist

This weekend at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walla Walla, Wash., they will be holding a "U2charist" service: traditional hymns will be replaced with songs by the band U2. U2charist services have been popping up in Christian communities in the last few years, enough to be called a movement. Weekend America speaks with a rector of a church who has been called the mother of the U2charist movement.

Ultimate Fighting Education

Mixed Martial Arts works like this: Two fighters are locked into an octagon-shaped cage. They have 3 to 5 rounds to either knock out their opponent or put him into some sort of move where he basically gives up. The sport's biggest league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is drawing huge audiences on cable TV. And lots of young fighters are lining up for their shot in the cage. Independent Producer Mhari Saito visited one aspiring "ultimate fighter" in Cleveland, and got the moves put on her.

Song & Memory

Song and Memory: "96 Tears"

Rebel Chef Anthony Bourdain is best known for his raucous ways in the world of the professional kitchen, which he details in his book "Kitchen Confidential." We asked him to put away his pans and think back to when he was a kid -- is there a song from childhood that brings it all back? Bourdain can pinpoint his desire for a rebellious drug- and sex- drenched youth to one song: "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians. Weekend America asks him what he loved about that song.