Weekend America for Saturday, December 31, 2005


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How did your life collide with the headlines in 2007?
Iraq, the subprime crisis, Facebook, immigration, oil prices - 2007 had no shortage of hefty headlines. We'd like to hear about how these and other major news events of the past year affected you. Where did your life collide with the news in 2007?

What's your holiday performance story?
The office talent show, the neighborhood caroling posse, the school pageant ... At holiday time we often sing, dance, and dress as shepherds. Did you bloom in the warmth of your audience's adulation, or freeze up like the snowman you'd rather be building? Did your holiday performance change your life or that of someone close to you?

Broadcast Date: December 31, 2005

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What's to Come?
What will 2005 be remembered for? Natural disasters? The war in Iraq? The divorce of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt? And what will be the buzz in 2006? Weekend America hosts Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke put this question to a roundtable of writers. Screenwriter and author John Ridley, Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum and Financial Times reporter Andrei Postelnicu mull it over.

2006 Trailer
Weekend America offers a sneak preview of the year 2006 in this "movie trailer" of the upcoming year, created by independent producer Jonathan Mitchell.

Music Bridge: Chroma - Artist: Fridge
CD: Sevens and Twelves (Output)

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New Year, New Country
A new year can signal a new beginning, a new resolve or a reinvention of self. Independent producer Rachel Dornhelm introduces Weekend America to a woman whose new year's resolution involved the embrace of a new country.

Online resources:
» Kristallnacht website

Music Bridge: Toy Bass - Artist: Paul Duncan
CD: Be Careful What You Call Home (Hometapes)

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Old World, New Kitchen: Lebanese
This month, Weekend America is exploring some of the connections we have with food, our traditions and different cultures. In the fifth piece of our series, producer Beth Hoffman explores Lebanese cuisine with Jinan Abu Ismail, an immigrant from the Lebanon who makes her home in Utah.

Cook this recipe at home: Jinan's Mujadara.

Parts I-IV of this series:

» Lulu Olivera's Chicken Relleño, Filipino style
» Maria Cecilia Estrada - Tamales
» Tahmina Martely - Beef Curry
» Nasrin Mohamadi - Chicken Tahchin

Music Bridge: Wonderplucks - Artist: Freeform
CD: Outside In (Skam)

Jazz Music: Deerhoof
Jazz critic Nate Chinen usually highlights jazz music on Weekend America. This time, he shares music from the San Francisco-based rock band Deerhoof with host Bill Radke.

Online resources:

» Deerhoof | Running Thoughts | From the album, The Runners Four

Looking at Redemption
In the past few weeks, Weekend America has been examining what it means to be redeemed. Producer Adam Allington shares white-collar criminal Mark Morze's story of redemption.

Weekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

Online resources:

» Event information

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Reflections on Motherhood
Around Mother's Day this past year, Weekend America caught up with writer Alexandra Fuller, who at the time was expecting her third baby. Fuller discussed with us how life would be different for the child. Fuller was living in Wyoming, but had grown up in Africa. Today, host Barbara Bogaev checks in with Fuller to see how the addition of her new daughter has changed her life.

Online resources:

» Read our original piece on Alexandra Fuller.

Home Sweet Home
Weekend America first introduced you to Judy Arceneaux during Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans resident had safely evacuated from her home and couldn't wait to get back to the city she loved. Now that she's back in her French Quarter house, she talks to hosts Bill Radke and Barbara Bogaev about whether she can ever make a home again in a city that she says may have lost its soul.

Music Bridge: The Old Song - Artist: TG Mauss
CD: Mechanical Eye (Quatermass Belgium)

New Year Laws
Just as our personal New Year's resolutions reveal something about what we want to improve or change in ourselves, new laws and regulations can bring insight into our aspirations as a people. New law school graduate and independent producer Brendan Newman looks into what legal changes await us on January 1, 2006.

Music Bridge: How Do You Really Feel - Artist: Breakestra
CD: Hit the Floor (Ubiquity)

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Rose Parade
Many Americans enjoy the New Year's tradition of watching the Rose Parade, with its lush floats made from millions of exotic flower petals. Each year, only a handful of these creations are designed and made by ordinary folks rather than corporate sponsors. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with a small band of volunteers from South Pasadena, Calif., who have been lovingly crafting an annual entry since 1910.

Forgive Me
In order to start the coming year with a clean slate, contributor Tom Bodett takes stock of the various mistakes he's made, and offers his forgiveness for slights that came his way, in an amusing mea culpa.

Music Bridge: An Ear Out - Artist: Bright
CD: Bells Break Their Towers (Strange Attractors Audio House)

Pop Music: Lee Ann Womack
Music critic Alan Light usually highlights pop music on Weekend America. This time he shares a little bit of country music from artist Lee Ann Womack with host Barbara Bogaev.

Online resources:

» Lee Ann Womack | Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago | From the album, There's More Where That Came From

Consulting the Stars
Chicago resident Lynn Ristich takes us into her psychic practice, and describes that moment when she first realized that she had insights into other people's lives.

Music Bridge: Cold (Funckarma remix) - Artist: Plaid
CD: Refurbished One: Funckarma Remixes (n5MD)

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Decorate Your Life
Potter and designer Jonathan Adler shares his ideas for feel-good decor in the new year with Weekend America host Barbara Bogaev. Adler has a new book out called "My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living," which is a manifesto about how to improve your life through design and color.

» Take a look at Jonathan Adler's pottery and interior designs on his official website.

Weekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

Online resources:

» Event information

Winter Count
As we bid goodbye to 2005, what one image would you choose to encapsulate the year? The tradition is called "winter count" and was a practice of several Native America tribes. Weekend America host Barbara Bogaev talks with author Barry Lopez about how this tradition of capturing images created a sense of tribal community and continuity.

Online resource:

» Smithsonian: Lakota Winter Counts Online Exhibit