Weekend America Voices
Marc Sanchez
Recent Stories
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Putting 'Danny Boy' to Rest
Alfred O'Neil, Jr. sang "Danny Boy" at his father's funeral. He sang it so well he was asked to sing it again, and again, and again. Today he retires "Danny Boy" with an open-mic tribute.
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Battling Brains at the Memory Championships
Most folks have a difficult time remembering what they had for lunch yesterday. But for a select few, memorizing is a sport and their brains are well-toned muscles of memorization. Bill Radke talks with two high school students competing at the National Memory Championships.
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Fifty-Two Alternatives to Suicide
When he woke up in a psych ward after a drunken suicide attempt, Owen Lowery made a list of 52 things he wanted to do, and then spent the next year meeting them. He fought a shark, went hang gliding, and made someone's dream come true. Making a movie was at the top of the list, so he filmed himself going through his self-imposed check-list. We talk to Lowery about his film, "An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrists."
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(Really) Going Semi-Pro
Believe it or not, a basketball team like the one depicted in Will Ferrell's movie, "Semi-Pro," actually existed. The Flint Pros had a fantastic first season and some of its players, such as Justus Thigpen and Phil Stevens, moved on to play in the NBA. The team itself flared out midway through its second season. David Rizik, whose dad helped to start the team and became the announcer for the games, tells the story.
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Moldy Moose and Other Tales from Wrangell, Alaska
The station in Wrangell, Alaska, just added Weekend America to its roster, so we decided to drop in on them and see what's happening in the remote fishing village. We talk to Beth Comstock, who works for the local paper, The Wrangell Sentinel.
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An Old Town Under Hollywood Lights
Two of the Best Picture nominations, "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will be Blood," were shot in the small, southwest Texas town of Marfa. We hear from a local resident about the experience of having Hollywood invade his quiet town.
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The World's Smallest* Chocolate Factory
Colin Gasko runs what may be* the smallest chocolate factory in the world. It operates out of his 350-square-foot converted warehouse space in Minneapolis. He calls himself the Rogue Chocolatier. In anticipation of a busy Valentine's Day, Weekend America host Desiree Cooper pays him a visit.
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The Weekend America All Stars do Super Tuesday
There was only one thing, we thought, keeping Super Tuesday from being really super: no music. Phew. That's fixed. Here are two more Super Tuesday tracks to get your election on.
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The People of the Ice
Anne Aghion is probably less cold than you. She's spent four months filming the Ice People of Antarctica. They're a strange tribe: scientists who spend months working in the freezing Arctic.
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Yelling and Screaming
This week's panelists discuss a stimulus package, the fight between the Clintons and Obama and a very angry voicemail message.
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Hot Beams, Cold Air
Six months since the I-35 W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, construction plans have been going at warp speed. Crews have been working for about three and a half months, nearly around the clock, to build a new bridge by its scheduled opening date of Dec. 24. Round-the-clock work crews are nothing new, but in the dead of Minnesota winter, it's a feat. We check in with the workers building in sub-zero temperatures.
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One Thing: A Chat With the Producers
Producers Ann Hepermann and Kara Oehler found so many compelling stories of refugees and the special thing they brought with them, that they couldn't fit them all into the One Thing Series. They share some of stories and special moments with host Bill Radke.
