Weekend America Voices
Millie Jefferson
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Millie Jefferson started as an intern with "Weekend America" and later joined the staff as a producer for broadcast and online. In the past she has done reporting and producing in the states and abroad, most recently in Cape Town, South Africa. Millie has contributed to ABC's "Good Morning America," Current TV and many other broadcast outlets. She was part of the first cohort of students to take part in the "News 21 Journalism Initiative" sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation. Now and then she is also a contributing writer for local magazines.
Prior to answering her journalism calling, she was an elementary school teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, a dot-com marketing coordinator and a physical therapy assistant.
She has a M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School and a B.A. in Anthropology from U.C. Berkeley.
Millie is a Los Angeles native who is by all accounts a professional basketball junkie. When not watching basketball, you can find her updating her iPod with 80s music, reading gossip blogs and fashion magazines, and searching for the world's best red velvet cupcake.
Recent Stories
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Wassup! The Most Memorable Super Bowl Ads
As the economy improves, companies are returning to the days of high-priced, high profile Super Bowl ads. Here's a look back at some of our favorites from years past.
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The Amethyst Initiative
We are now in late August, and that means back to school. And on college campuses, there is a heated debate raging about alcohol. More than 100 college presidents have signed a petition calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. Proponents say the current age limit encourages dangerous behavior such as binge drinking, While opponents say easier access to booze will cause more problems like DWIs.
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Spotting a Liar
There are a lot of popular conceptions about how to spot a liar: are they talking too fast; do they avert their eyes; did their hand go up to their mouth? How accurate are these popular ideas?
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Letters: Plumbing Curious, Hunter-Gatherers and Gourmet on a Budget
Time again to open up the Weekend America mailbag and hear your responses to our recent stories. Listeners wanted to know more about shopping and our brains, living in a tiny house without running water, and cooking in hard times.
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Tending the Fire
In the Big Sur area, fires that have burned for a month are now mostly contained. The area's National Parks are open again, but voluntary evacuations are still in effect which means people who live there need special passes to get in. And that includes the monks at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.
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The Modern Brady Bunch
"Individualism is great but at the same time, it consumes a tremendous amount of resources. We all understand the value of having our own car, but when gas is costing $4.50-$4.60 per gallon and likely to go up, people have an incentive to rethink some of these ideas."
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Japanese-American 'No No Boys'
During World War II, Japanese Americans put into internment camps were given a questionnaire. How they answered those questions would determine their quality of life behind the fences -- and the answers to two questions in particular about military service changed the lives of the so-called "No No Boys."
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Letters: Kites, Narcs Gone Bad
We love letters from our lovely listeners. Some of you praised us, others chastised us for the stories we broadcast. At least one story - on the "Turncoat Narc" - inspired a spirited debate amongst listeners. If something we broadcast touched you, angered you, saddened or inspired you, let us know. You can read more listener responses here.
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Economy, War and Military Recruiting
All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, with the exception of the Army National Guard, have been either meeting or exceeding their monthly recruiting goals. That's a surprise, given American discontent over the war in Iraq. MIT professor Cindy Williams has studied military recruiting trends, and says there is more to the numbers than people think.
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Wacky Wedding Stories
Wedding season is upon us, and we asked listeners for their amusing and/or painful stories of weddings gone wrong. This weekend, we share some of your many responses -- including Brooke Williams' battle to have a picture-perfect Martha Stewart wedding, even if she had to battle the queen of domesticity herself.
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Letters: Horse Commuter, Rhinoplasty Responses
We received a lot of letters regarding last week's feature on a man who took to commuting by horse to protest high gas prices. And we're still getting letters about Bill Radke's interview with a woman who had a nose job that changed her life.
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When the City is the Disease
Health officials are trying to pinpoint the source of the latest salmonella outbreak -- this one is the St. Paul strain. Naming a disease after a location happens a lot, and sometimes it can cause problems. Dr. Larry Altman, medical correspondent for the New York Times, talks about some of the complications.
