News & Politics
Weekend America on News & Politics
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Foreclosure Double Punch
Foreclosures are ravaging the historic Detroit neighborhood of Palmer Woods, where reporter Desiree Cooper has lived for the past two decades. Many of the historic homes are now in advanced stages of foreclosure as home prices fall hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead of weathering the storm, two of Cooper's neighbors are walking away.
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The End of Weekend America
It's the final Weekend America show, so we're reflecting on all the weekends we've spent with you in the past. Weekend America host John Moe has some thoughts on the end of Weekend America and how his long involvement in the program has changed his thinking about patriotism and America.
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Conversations with America: Concluding the Conversation
Since last September, Weekend America has been asking writers and thinkers for their take on what matters to them and what should matter to all of us during this time of political change. Now that we have a new president, we thought we'd get some of the contributors back together to continue the conversation - with each other.
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Good News, Bad News, No News
Our panel of non-experts weigh in on this week's news events in a parlor game to gauge what kind of week America had. Joining us on this week's panel are Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind," comedian Dana Gould and Reihan Salam, associate editor at The Atlantic.
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Spending the Stimulus Money
This week, the Obama administration's stimulus package passed the House. The Senate votes next. For some state agencies, you'd think it might be a challenge divvying up the funds. But Malcolm Wolf doesn't think it will be too difficult. He's the director of the Maryland Energy Administration, and we spoke to him about how the money will be spent in his state.
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Race and Forgiveness
Members of Macomb County's Renaissance Unity church faced the legacy of racism eight years ago. Out of the blue, their white, female minister asked whites to apologize to blacks in a forgiveness ceremony. The church has had several ministers since then. But church members say they'll never forget the impact of that moment.
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Letters: Ocean Pollution and Goodbyes
We open the Weekend America mailbag to hear your responses to recent stories. Weekend America's last episode is January 31, and listeners have been writing us to say goodbye. We also revisit our story on ocean pollution from earlier this month, which prompted questions from listeners about the pharmaceutical pollution entering U.S. waterways.
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Fist Fight
For more than 15 years, Rob McGinley Myers has been telling a story about the only fist fight he's ever been in. He stood up to one of the toughest, scariest guys in his high school, even though Rob was a puny freshman at the time. The thing that makes this story slightly more complicated is that the tough, scary guy he stood up to was his older brother, Scott.
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This Weekend in 1968: Miss America
In Las Vegas this weekend it's the 88th annual Miss America pageant. At the 1968 competition, outside Atlantic City's Convention Hall, a group of women gathered on the boardwalk. They held signs that read "Women's Liberation." Their demonstration was a window into the emergence of a movement that would gain considerable strength in the decade to come.
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Presidential Transparency
Transparency is a key issue in President Obama's new administration. The executive branch wants to shake government free from the veil of secrecy that cloaked the previous administration. And if you happened to be watching the official White House website this past Tuesday, you might have seen transparency in action. Whitehouse.gov has undergone a major overhaul.
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Good News, Bad News, No News: Executive Transparency, Printed Blogs, and Hotel Cutbacks
It's time for our weekly parlor game to keep track of the good, bad and unworthy news of the week. We're joined by Luke Burbank, host of the radio show "Too Beautiful To Live" in Seattle; Kerry Howley, contributing editor to Reason magazine; and Yale University Professor of Literature Amy Hungerford.
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Garageland: Hydrogen in the Garage
President Obama and Congress are promising to kick into serious negotiations this week over the proposed $800 billion economic stimulus package. The stimulus might provide $100 billion to alternative energy and energy efficiency. In New Jersey, Mike Strizki is already living the energy-efficient dream. He's turned the garage at his house into a hydrogen and solar power plant.
