Weekend America Voices
Julia Barton
-
Julia Barton has 12 years of experience in public radio. She started as an announcer and reporter at WSUI-AM in Iowa City, where she covered the 1996 Iowa Caucuses. She later covered urban policy and politics as a general assignment reporter at WHYY-FM/Philadelphia from 1998-2001. Her freelance work has appeared on numerous national programs including "Weekend America," "Marketplace," "Marketplace Money," "Studio 360," "The World," and various NPR News magazines.
In 2000, she traveled to Ukraine on an International Reporting Project (formerly Pew) Fellowship to report on media repression. In 2002, she received a Knight International Press Fellowship, returning to Ukraine and also Russia to visit radio newsrooms across the former Soviet Union. She joins "Weekend America" after three years of freelancing from Tucson, Ariz. Barton has a B.A. in English from Oberlin College and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa. She enjoys memorizing Sesame Street records with her son Zachary, and also trying to sing along to Russian rock songs.
Recent Stories
-
Senate Do-Over
Minnesota still lacks one U.S. Senator, but it's not the closest Senate race in history, at least not yet. That happened in New Hampshire in 1974. Republican Louis Wyman and Democrat John Durkin went through two recounts, and then the whole mess moved to Washington, DC for the spring and summer. We reached John Durkin at his home in Manchester for the rest of the story.
-
The Cassandras
As we look ahead to 2009, one of the most pressing questions we ask is, will our economy will get better, or worse? And how do we find any answer that is anything but pure shoulder shrugging speculation? It's natural to turn to sources who predicted the economic disaster all along. You know, the bears. The doctors of doom. The Cassandras of Wall Street.
-
JFK World
Forty-five years ago this weekend, President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie landed at Love Field Airport, got into the presidential limousine, and emerged onto the streets of Dallas. We all know what happened minutes later. It's been nearly half a century, but the world's interest in the JFK assassination has hardly waned. But there's one place where its resonance is oddly muffled: Dallas.
-
Conversations with America: Brian Turner
The party platforms of the presidential candidates represent the direction a whole group of people want to steer our government. But maybe here on the weekend there's a way to think more broadly about some of the issues facing our country. So we've asked some writers and thinkers what they believe should be on voters' minds as they cast their ballots. Our essay today comes from Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner.
-
Conversations with America: Alexandra Fuller
Elections are bearing down on us. Sometimes we can get a sort of mental whiplash from all the back-and-forthing during the week. The weekend, if you're lucky, is a time when you can stand back from some of that and reflect on what's really important. Between now and election time, we're asking some folks to bring us their personal takes on what's important in this election. Our first essay comes from Alexandra Fuller. She's a writer in Jackson, Wyoming. But she grew up in a very different place. Sort of.
-
America's Weekend: Astroland's Final Days
On our website, there's a little feature called "America's Weekend via Flickr." It's a photomontage of snapshots tagged "weekend" and "america" on the photo-sharing service Flickr. One photo that caught our eye is of friends on the beach. And it caught our eye because that beach is Coney Island - you can see the defunct parachute jump in the background. Another big part of Coney Island became defunct last weekend after Astroland closed for good last Sunday. We talked to the photographer, Diana Taft Shumate.
-
Dread of Back to School
This is back to school weekend. For parents, it's a relief. But for students and many teachers, it can create a feeling of dread. Even kids who like school and teachers who love their jobs get this feeling of resentment, fear, even animosity at the prospect of returning. Many adults, long after graduating, also report that feeling of dread at the end of summer. It's a serious thing. We wanted to hear from folks who are going through it right now.
-
America's Weekend: Making Biscuits, Riding the Hurricane
We look forward to hearing from our listeners here at Weekend America, especially when you all tell us about the things you get into over the weekend. This week, we went through the Flickr feed of pictures tagged "Weekend America", picked some of our favorites and contacted the photographers to hear the stories behind them.
-
Say Hello to My Little House
Dee Williams really wanted to downsize. So Williams built herself a house so small, it would easily fit inside a suburban kitchen. She powers her three light bulbs with solar panels. The propane she cooks and heats her place with costs about $8 a month.
-
The Beauty and Wrath of Nature
The damage from floods in the Midwest could run into the billions of dollars. James Galvin teaches poetry at the Iowa Writers Workshop in Iowa City. And it turns out, he's also a part-time rancher in Wyoming. He's given weather -- its simultaneous power of beauty and destruction -- a lot of thought:
-
A Ren Fair Magical History Tour
When Julia Barton was 11, she was introduced to the strange and magical world of Renaissance faires when her parents' music ensemble was invited to perform at the famed Scarborough Faire outside of Dallas. This weekend, she returned to catch up with some old characters from her youth.
-
A Hug on the Way Home
Soldiers returning home from war through Dallas Fort Worth airport are landing in the arms of two strangers. Linda Tinnerman and Constance Carman give out hugs upon re-entry.
