Life After the Flood
A year after Hurricane Katrina, we revisit some of the people we met in New Orleans in the aftermath of the storm. Mary and David Richard fled New Orleans. They boarded a plane with other evacuees, and it wasn't until they were mid-flight that they found out they were on their way to Salt Lake City, which they have made their new home. Judy Arceneaux lived in the French Quarter and evacuated safely, but she has since returned to New Orleans. Bill brings the Richards and Judy Arceneaux together to talk about life, post-Katrina.

The Future is Now
Most of us probably try not to think too often of disaster. But there are some people who like to try to imagine them, and their aftermath, down to the smallest detail. You'll find 10,000 of those people in Southern California, this weekend, at the World Science Fiction Convention. Weekend America's Krissy Clark drops in.

Indie Music Pick: M. Ward
Mark Wheat, from The Current, a Minneapolis radio station, joins Bill with an album by M. Ward, called "Post War." And whether they like it or not, Mark thinks the indie community's best kept secret is about to win over the rest of the world. We hear "To Go Home," a cover of a Daniel Johnston song.

A History of Noise
According to Bart Kosko, a professor at the University of Southern California, noise has a lot to offer. He says that noise isn't all bad, and that some is actually healthy. Kosko has written the first scientific history on the subject. Barbara tries not to keep it down, when she chats with the professor about all things noisy.

Then, one might think of the oceans as a refuge from all of the noise on land but whales and other marine mammals are subjected to the oceanic equivalent of a big city, thanks to ships and other sounds introduced by human activity. Barbara talks with John Hilderbrand, an oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. He measures ocean noise for a living.

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

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Piano Tuners
Interlochen Arts Academy is one of the largest performing art camps in the world. Every spring, the camp acquires about 200 brand new pianos from Kawai. Just keeping all those pianos in tune requires a staff of five full-time tuners--and it's no small job. Ginny Bear is an apprentice piano tuner from Seattle. We follow Ginny as she moves from piano to piano trying to restore pitch to the northwoods.

Teaching in the Bush
Alaska has to recruit as many as 700 teachers from out of state every year. That means teachers used to lower 48 amenities—like highways, video stores and The Gap—have to adjust to their new lives in villages reachable only by plane, snow machine or boat. Ashley Gross of Alaska Public Radio Network follows three newly arrived teachers through a rite of passage, a visit to the Anchorage Costco, before they head out to their new lives in the bush.

Back to School
Those three words can make many kids feel nervous, especially those who are starting off in a new school. Amanda Perez knows the freshman jitters. She will be starting high school this fall. Amanda's mom Carol is dealing with a whole other kind of nerves: She's realizing that her kids are growing up, all too fast, before her eyes. Bill talks about going back to school with the Perez family at their home in Anaheim, California.

Car Horn Personality
If your car horn could reflect your mood at the moment, your frustration, your glee or your groove, what would it sound like? Barbara poses this question to sound artist Scanner, and he rises to the noisy challenge.

Indie Music Pick: Califone
Mark Wheat, music host from The Current in Minneapolis-St. Paul, shares some music from the "prog-folk" band Califone. It sounds like King Crimson crossed with Woody Guthrie and the song is called "The Orchids."

Sewing New Orleans
Only about half of the population has returned to New Orleans, after Katrina. Friends and family scattered and people have had to form new connections. Independent producer Eve Troeh shares the story of an unlikely friendship that grew out of two very different lives being rebuilt.

A Disaster of the Mind
New Orleans has been so focused on its physical recovery, that its mental health has been overlooked. Health officials have recently realized that anxiety, depression and suicide are skyrocketing. At the same time, only a fraction of mental health workers have been able to return to New Orleans after being evacuated. Psychiatrist Mark Townsend talks with Barbara about what happens when the need for help overwhelms the services available.

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

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The End of the Road Trip
Every summer, Nanci Olesen and her kids pack up their van and head out on a road trip. It's a family tradition. But Nanci has a sneaking suspicion, now that her oldest son, Henry, is fifteen, that the end of the summer road trip tradition is nigh. We catch up with Nanci and the family on the road.

WEB EXTRA: Subway Special
Generally, the New York City commuter wants to get on and off the subway as fast as possible. So we were quite surprised when we heard that Don Badshefsky and Matt Green spent an entire 24 hours in the subway passing through every single stop on the system. They did it to break the speed record. Independent producer Sarah Elzas tagged along to see what it was like.