News & Politics
Weekend America on News & Politics
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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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Sheriff's Calls
In Northern California's West Marin County, you can find all of this weekend's events listed in the local newspaper, the Point Reyes Light. But what most people turn to first in that paper is a weekly column called Sheriff's Calls. It highlights some of the more nefarious happenings in West Marin. Recently, Reporter Nancy Mullane got a behind the scenes look at how the column gets made each week.
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Butchery Class
In San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, the main commercial strip is usually filled with people pushing baby strollers, walking their dogs or carrying their yoga mats. But the third Sunday of every month, the local butcher shop invites folks to sharpen their knives and really get to know where their food comes from.
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Conversations with America: le thi diem thuy
As America prepares to inaugurate a new president, we've been asking writers and thinkers about transitions in their own lives. Le thi diem thuy is a poet and solo performance artist. She and her family went through a big transition when they left their native Vietnam by boat in 1978. The family settled in Southern California, but we caught up with thuy on a visit to New York City.
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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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Gas in Them Thar Hills
Over the past few years, prospectors have been combing the hills of Pennsylvania. The mineral that's setting off the frenzy is shale. It's a mile or more below ground, and it's full of natural gas - maybe enough to fuel the entire United States for two years. The "gas rush" could make some Pennsylvanians rich. But it could also pollute the state's air and water.
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Illegal Soldiers
Immigrants turned out in record numbers to vote for President-elect Obama, but it's unclear whether he'll tackle comprehensive immigration reform as president. As a Senator, Obama supported the DREAM Act, which offered help to children who were brought illegally over the border. Daniela Gerson reports that the act could be a win-win for both immigrant youth and military recruiters.
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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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Fronteras Unlimited
In West Texas, along the Mexican border, an American woman named Cynta de Narvaez spends her Saturdays making an all-day trip - one that used to take just a few minutes. The Rio Grande once was an easy way to visit her neighbors in Mexican border towns. That changed after the September 11 attacks, when the US government closed the border.
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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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Living Room Diplomacy
As fighting continues in Gaza, a grassroots effort called Living Room Dialogues tries to engage regular Jews and Palestinians living in the U.S. in conversations. Len Traubman started the dialogue group 16 years ago in San Mateo, California. One of the people he eventually invited to attend was Melek Nasr-Totah. She's a Palestinian-American whose father fled Palestine in 1948.
