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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?

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Broadcast Date: April 22, 2006
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The Weather Makers
Global Warming is a key topic discussed by environmentalists today, but is the world listening? Until recently, few people did. But scientist, explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery is getting people to sit up and take notice. His book, "The Weather Makers" has been so influential, the government of Australia changed its stance on global warming based on the evidence it presented. He joins host Bill Radke to describe global warming's implications for the environment and society.
Online resources:
» "The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth" by Tim Flannery

Extreme Makeover: Mother Nature Edition
Today's environmental movement appears to be distancing itself from the clichéd sandal-clad, granola-eating activists of the past. Weekend America's Krissy Clark explores this change and how veteran environmentalists became so stigmatized.
Online resources:
» Check out the environmental news and commentary magazine, Grist.org
» Everything you might want to know about Granola
» View a selection of artist Deborah Fisher's sculpture based on climate change
» Deborah Fisher's blog
» See more of Lisa Law's photographs

Music Bridge: Sir Dub Plate - Artist: Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
CD: Dub Plate Selection (M Records)
Prison Reunion
Don't expect any fond reminiscing at this reunion. When former inmates and employees of Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary get together this weekend, they'll be sharing stories of how they survived one of America's most brutal and isolated prison systems. Reporter Peter Crimmins met recently with a former prisoner and jail worker for a tour of the closed facility.
Online Resources:
» The official Eastern State Penitentiary web site

Music Bridge: Modul 35 - Artist: Nik Bartsch's Ronin
CD: Stoa (ECM)
Music Picks
Pop Pick: Candi Staton
Remember singer Candi Staton? She had a few hits back in the 1970s before turning to religious music. She's recording secular music again and has just released a new CD. Music critic Alan Light joins host Barbara Bogaev to talk about it.
Heard:
» "His Hands" by Candi Staton from the album, "His Hands"

The New Age of Bankruptcy
It's been a year since a major new bankruptcy law was passed. So what's happened since then? Memphis has been considered the nation's bankruptcy capital, with more people per capita filing for bankruptcy than any major city. Sasha Aslanian of American Radio Works follows two Memphis working mothers, one who filed bankruptcy, the other who didn't.
Online resources:
» American Radio Works' "Bankrupt: Maxed Out in America"

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One Red Paperclip
Last year, 26-year old Toronto resident Kyle MacDonald told hosts Bill Radke and Barbara Bogaev about a little trading game he started online. He started by trading a small red paper clip for a pen that looked like a fish. The idea was to keep "trading up" until he reached his ultimate goal: a house. He's come a long way since that fish pen. He joins hosts Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke to talk about his progress and his newfound celebrity.
Online Resources:
» OneRedPaperClip.com: Kyle MacDonald's blog
» Check out our previous story on Kyle MacDonald

Music Bridge: Chrapnell - Artist: Isolee
CD: We Are Monster (Playhouse)
Weekend Weather
Weekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

» Event information

Music Bridge: Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)
Safeway Cindy
How much do you know about your neighborhood grocery store clerk? There's a woman who's been the most popular checker at the Evergreen, Colorado Safeway for years, though most folks don't even know her name. Although she says her work is boring, she finds ways to make the most of it. And customers appreciate the difference. Independent producer Claudia Cragg introduces us to this hometown celebrity, as part of Weekend America's fall story contest.
Online resources:
» Meet the story competition winners

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Election in New Orleans
Voters in hurricane-stricken New Orleans have a chance to shape their city's future at the polls this weekend as they choose their next mayor. There has been a lot of political organizing by the city's remaining residents in recent weeks. Independent producer Eve Troeh explains what's been happening.

Kinky for Governor?
California has Arnold Schwarzenegger. Minnesota had Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Could Kinky Friedman be America's next celebrity governor? The singer is serious about running for Texas governor and he's hired one of Ventura's old advisors, Dean Barkley, to run his campaign. Host Bill Radke talks to Barkley about what it takes to make an unlikely candidate appealing to average voters.
Online resources:
» Kinky Friedman's campaign website
» Commercials from other North Woods campaigns, including Jesse for Governor

Music Bridge: Up From The South - Artist: The Budos Band
CD: The Budos Band (Daptone)
A Break from the Blight
Since Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster 20 years ago, various organizations have sprung up to bring children there to the United States for medical care and a break from the problems in their homeland. Are today's children faring any better than those who first came two decades ago? Weekend America's Bill Radke talks to some American parents about what they've experienced caring for their young visitors.

Since this story aired, Sergey, the young man Clem and Maggie had been hosting for years, found out his cancer had come back from remission. With the help of family, friends and CCP, he plans to undergo additional treatment at the New England Medical Center/Floating Hospital for Children. (April 27, 2006)
Online resources:
» An Update on Sergey's Condition from WCVB in Boston
» The Chernobyl Children Project USA provides medical treatment and care for children from the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
» Children of Chernobyl Foundation offers summer visitor programs to children whose immune systems may be affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion.

Music Bridge: Birdland - Artist: Takagi Masakatsu
CD: Journal for People (Carpark)
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Bunny Boom
What becomes of those cute little rabbits that parents give their kids around Easter time? As Weekend America's John Moe discovered, the future is pretty dim, regardless of where they wind up on the bunny trail.
Online resources:
» Learn more about the Rabbit Meadows Sanctuary

Music Bridge: Welcome to the Jungle - Artist: Guns N' Roses
CD: Appetite for Destruction (Geffen)
The Insanity Defense
This week the Supreme Court considered some of the issues surrounding the insanity defense in criminal cases. How can we determine what's actually going on in the minds of someone in a delusional or psychotic state? Host Barbara Bogaev seeks some insight from Will Hall. He has a history of mental illness and helped establish the Freedom Center, an advocacy group for the mentally ill in Northampton, Massachusetts.

In most states, mentally ill people can be legally forced to take medications. Proponents say it's a way to help protect them and society. Opponents argue it violates civil rights. Weekend America's science correspondent Rebecca Roberts asked some people living with mental illness for their thoughts on court-ordered treatments.
Online resources:
» The Treatment Advocacy Center was founded with the help Jonathan Stanley's parents
» The Mind Freedom Center, where David Oaks is the director
» The Freedom Center and Icarus Project, where Will Hall is co-founder and staff, respectively

Music Bridge: Friend of the Night - Artist: Mogwai
CD: Mr. Beast (Matador)
Weekend Weather
Weekend Weather
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

» Event information

Music Bridge: Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)
Change for "The Threepenny Opera"
Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming are breathing new life into Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera." They're starring in the first major production of the play since 1990. Wallace Shawn provided a new translation for this latest version. He talks about its history, the changes he's made and how the new performance came to be. Independent producer Pamela Renner brings us this story.
Online resources:
» The Roundabout Theater Company Presents "The Threepenny Opera"

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As Mentioned on Weekend America
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As Mentioned on Weekend America
... on our December 15 broadcast:

» Weekend America
iPodEnhanced Podcast:
Skip back and forth through stories, see images on iTunes and on your iPod, all with better sound quality.
» The Huckabee Mystique: See video of Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris.
» Another Great Moment in Small Talk: Read how Charlie Schroeder became an unpopular "tool" because of Borat.
» Listener Letters: Renewable Christmas Trees: Read listeners' alternate endings to "Puff the Magic Dragon."
» Sign Up for the Weekend America weekly newsletter: Find out what's on the upcoming show, and listen to the most popular previous segments.
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Weekend Weather

From the July 5 broadcast