People & Life
People & Life on Weekend America
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"City Boy"
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 Mark Delmonte. Mark has been traveling the country, trying to find a place to settle down. His weekend soundtrack for his journey is "City Boy" by Keb' Mo'. He spoke with our host John Moe.
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Obama Infomercial, Joe the Plumber, Candy Cutbacks
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: Luke Burbank, host of the radio show "Too Beautiful To Live"; Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind"; and David Rakoff, whose latest book is "Don't Get Too Comfortable."
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Running the Music Marathon
At various points along the New York City marathon route this weekend, runners will hear everything from bagpipes, hip hop, rock and jazz fusion to a high school band playing the theme from "Rocky." The focus is naturally on the runners, but the dozens of musicians who show up are posted along the route to entertain onlookers and lift the runners' spirits.
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Cooking with Loser Candy
Maybe you've got that bowl, that plastic pumpkin, that pillowcase of sweets. What do you do with the good stuff? Easy. Eat it. But what about the loser candy? You know, Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, generic suckers from the drug store. Eating that stuff just plain tastes like defeat. Don't worry, we're here to help. Lynne Rosetto Kasper offers us tips on cooking with loser candy.
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The Great Halloween Candy Fiasco
Trick or treating is over, and you might have a giant mound of candy to get rid of. A couple weeks ago, we asked you for suggestions on what to do with your Halloween leftovers. A number of you wrote back, but one idea in particular stood out. It came from the budding entrepreneurial mind of Johnny Vince Evans. The plan he hatched in junior high was perfect. Until it went horribly awry.
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Aging Out
Each year 26,000 American teenagers in foster care make a difficult transition as they turn 18 and become adults in the eyes of the state. This weekend, 700 people will gather for a conference that connects former foster care kids with mentors and educational programs. Ellen Guettler of American RadioWorks brings us the story of one young woman in the years after she aged out of foster care.
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Scaring the Kids
What's the scariest movie moment you recall from childhood? It might not even be from a movie that was supposed to be terrifying. Instead, maybe it was a weird little moment of fright in a movie that seemed fairly innocent. Perhaps Gene Wilder's psychedelic boat ride in "Willy Wonka"? The Child Catcher in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"? Or the ultimate in childhood terror: the flying monkeys in "The Wizard of Oz."
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Baseball Magnet
This weekend the Tampa Bay Rays face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series. More than 43,000 fans will be on hand to catch the game. And some will catch more than that: a foul ball, or maybe a home run. Weekend America's Charlie Schroeder recently talked with one man who knows a thing or two about the art of getting baseballs at games. He's the Babe Ruth of the bleachers.
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Obama, Japan; McCain, North Carolina
In this, the penultimate weekend before the election, you might be wondering what Obama and McCain are doing in their off-camera moments. That's what Weekend America's Krissy Clark was wondering. And she discovered that, oddly enough, Obama will be baking a lot of sweet bean cakes this weekend. And McCain will be eating a lot of turkey. You probably think we're talking about Barack Obama and John McCain. But we aren't.
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Letters: Race, Money, and Sailing
It's time to open the Weekend America mailbag and hear your responses to recent shows. This week, host John Moe learns about whether there's any way to determine world records in endurance sailing. Also we hear your responses to last week's segments on race and forgiveness at a Michigan church, and our essay from a college teacher forced to sell her books to buy food.
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Irrational Shock, Early Voting, and Expensive Lipstick
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said this week that he "made a mistake" in trusting that the free market could regulate itself. Speaking to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he said, "Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief." Was Greenspan's admission of error good news, bad news or no news?
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Key-tar King
Ben Folds has been touring on and off for more than 10 years now. That can be a grind, especially when you have to play the hits each night - and enjoy doing it. So Ben Folds brings toys. You should see the stage at his concerts: French horns, multiple glockenspiels, melodicas, a grand piano that he pulls from town to town. It's like an orchestra up there, but with just a few guys. We caught up with him at a recent show to talk about his touring arsenal.
