Weekend America Voices
Marc Sanchez
Recent Stories
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Running the Music Marathon
At various points along the New York City marathon route this weekend, runners will hear everything from bagpipes, hip hop, rock and jazz fusion to a high school band playing the theme from "Rocky." The focus is naturally on the runners, but the dozens of musicians who show up are posted along the route to entertain onlookers and lift the runners' spirits.
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Independent Uprising
It's easy to see this election as being between Democrats and Republicans. Most candidates are affiliated with one party or the other. But an increasing number of voters are breaking out of party lines and defining themselves as independent. John Avlon thinks they represent the ideas of most Americans. He's the author of "Independent Nation" and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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Key-tar King
Ben Folds has been touring on and off for more than 10 years now. That can be a grind, especially when you have to play the hits each night - and enjoy doing it. So Ben Folds brings toys. You should see the stage at his concerts: French horns, multiple glockenspiels, melodicas, a grand piano that he pulls from town to town. It's like an orchestra up there, but with just a few guys. We caught up with him at a recent show to talk about his touring arsenal.
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Debate Advice
Did you watch the debate last week? Millions of you did. If not, you have only one more chance. Wednesday night in New York is the third and final contest between John McCain and Barack Obama. That means this weekend, the Obama and McCain camps are trying to get their candidates ready to make one last push. Even though they didn't ask for it, we decided to get some advice for the candidates, so we brought in two of the top high school debaters in the area.
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Lessons from the Crash of '29
We've been watching the market rise and dip all week. Congress has passed a bailout bill to, hopefully, quell the fears of the country. It's easy to start comparing today's economic crisis to the historic crash of 1929. When banks closed after that crash, it was because people took their money out in fear. We speak with Maury Klein, professor emeritus of history at Rhode Island University.
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The Economy Across America
As you may know by now, the president has signed the bailout bill Congress sent him Friday. It'll be weeks, months, and maybe years before we fully understand what's gone on in this credit crisis and its implications. Marketplace's New York Bureau Chief Amy Scott left her perch over the center of the financial universe this week to hit the road and ask people across the country what's going on for them in the middle of this mess.
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Economic Meltdown Music
Television news networks have figured out exactly what sort of musical arrangements work for a war on terror. But what about an economic meltdown? We talk to Peter Fish, a composer who is scoring our country's financial collapse. Fish has been crafting TV news themes for over two decades.
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The Marfa Sessions
Marfa, Texas is no stranger to the arts. Sculptor Donald Judd moved there in the 1970s, bringing a flock of artists with him. This weekend the folks at Ballroom Marfa, a local gallery, open a series of sound installations that artists have created and installed all over town. We've gathered a few of the artists to tell you about how their projects relay the sounds of Marfa.
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Music for the Deaf
For many of us, going to see live music on the weekend is something we take for granted. We obsess over a band, listen to their music and go to their shows. There's a smaller segment of the population that has been mostly ignored by musicians, but they're just as passionate about the music: the deaf and hard of hearing. This weekend, a competition kicks off to come up with technology that will help the hard of hearing community experience music.
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Cartoons and Poetry
As a kid, Saturday morning meant one thing: cartoons. You'd wake up early, maybe pour yourself a bowl of cereal, turn on the tube, and get lost in a universe of the implausible. Billy Collins remembers. His Saturday mornings were flooded with the Looney Toons characters of Warner Brothers. Before he was twice appointed U.S. Poet Laureate, before he'd won awards and written volumes of poetry, Billy Collins was just a boy sitting in front of a black-and-white TV.
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Preparing for Fall
Ever since John Moe moved to St. Paul last March, he's been on alert, waiting for the next weather extreme. It was eight degrees below zero when he arrived, and there was snow on the ground until April. Spring was around just long enough to get a whiff of the wild flowers, and summer seems like it started about a week ago. Now, we're on to fall, and John's started bracing for the winter. Before then, we had him get some insight into what fall has in store for him.
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Pappenfus Tomatoes
Harvest time is fast approaching. The corn is sweet, apple trees are heavy and tomatoes are plump. Especially plump is the Pappenfus tomato. Never heard of it? You're not alone. It's a variety brought to the United States from Germany in the 1860s. And it's not for sale. It's only grown by and for the Pappenfus family. Tomato seeds have been carefully passed down from generation to generation. But what happens when you're the last one in the family?
