Arts & Culture
Coverage of the Arts by Weekend America.
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Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen made history during World War II as the country's first black military pilots. Their performance paved the way for the end of racial segregation in the military forces. Now they've been invited to the Inauguration to watch Barack Obama make history as the country's first black president. Poet Marilyn Nelson talks about the struggles and the legacy of these legendary pilots.
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Presidents of the United States of America
We're getting a new president, and who better to write a song for the occasion than the pop group the Presidents of the United States of America? We hear their composition and how they wrote it.
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Lady Dottie
Dorothy Mae "Lady Dottie" Whitsett is the lead singer of Lady Dottie and the Diamonds, based out of San Diego, Calif. The sound is a bit of soul, blues and garage. Whitsett's background is gospel music. San Diego isn't known for blues or soul, but Lady Dottie has an intense following in the indie scene. Producer Angela Kim reports.
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Good News, Bad News, No News: Flight 1549, Economic Stimulus, and Love
Time for our weekly parlor game to keep track of the news of the week. We're joined by Simon Doonan, author and creative director of Barneys New York; Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind"; and Reihan Salam, associate editor at the Atlantic.
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Faux Bono
This weekend promises a groovy pre-inaugural concert. Crossing the stage in front of the Lincoln Memorial will be performers including Beyonce, Garth Brooks, Herbie Hancock, and, yes, Bono. But not the not-Bono. Did you know Bono has a doppelganger? He can be found not at the Lincoln Memorial, but in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
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What Happens in the Middle of the Night
Here at Weekend America, we asked listeners what they do in the middle of the night when they're not sleeping. And lots of people took a break from their nocturnal activities to write us. One was an artist/telephone technician who got his best work - both musical and telephonic - done in the wee hours. Another was an emergency room doctor who described the late-night hours in the ER.
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Weekend Soundtrack: "From the Bottom of My Heart" by The Wallflowers
It's time to listen to your weekend soundtrack - the songs that bridge the gap from Friday to Monday. This week our story comes from Amy Hoffman. Her weekend soundtrack is the song "From the Bottom of My Heart" by The Wallflowers.
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Food for the Inaugural Ball
Pasquale Ingenito is executive chef of Windows Catering Company, one of the premier catering companies in the DC area. This weekend his kitchens will be in "full production mode" as they prepare food for the various Inaugural events over the next few days. Weekend America host John Moe checks in live with Pasquale in the kitchen.
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Our First Inaugural Poet
A lot of people are going to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as the country's next president. They'll squeeze into D.C. by the millions for the ceremony, and more will be watching on TV, including poet Linda Pastan. She'll see the whole thing sitting on her couch, just like she did almost 50 years ago when she curled up to watch John F. Kennedy's Inauguration.
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Mortuary Band
Even in the best of times, it's hard to make it as a working musician. Gigs can be few and far between, and often either don't pay well, or don't pay at all. In San Francisco, Julie Caine met up with some of the best musicians in the city who pay their rent by scaring off ghosts.
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Walk Across America
Back in 2006, BJ Hill walked across Massachusetts collecting handwritten messages for the Governor in a notebook, which he handed over to Governor Deval Patrick personally. This year, BJ set out to do the same thing on a much larger scale. He's been traversing the country coast to coast collecting messages for the next President of the United States.
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Good/Bad/No News: The Green Stimulus, Roland Burris, and Squirrel Eating
Time for our weekly parlor game to gauge the week's news. Our guests this week are Luke Burbank, host of the radio show "Too Beautiful To Live" in Seattle; Stacey Grenrock-Woods, a sex advice columnist for Esquire Magazine; and John Roderick, songwriter and guitarist for The Long Winters.
