People & Life
People & Life on Weekend America
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Letters: A Hitchhike Reunion
A few weeks ago, we aired a story about a woman who hitchhiked on her spring break to Florida back in 1972. We got lots of letters about that story, including one from the state trooper who picked up that hitchhiker and her friends. She hadn't spoken to the state trooper since 1972, but Weekend America changed all that.
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Old-School Wrestling, Alive and Well
Hulk Hogan-like personalities and WWE Wrestlemania stadium events on cable TV all but killed off the regional pro wrestling scenes that filled arenas for decades. But in St. Louis, a working-class cast of characters keeps the spectacle alive -- just on a more intimate scale.
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Eating Our Way Out of the Carp Dilemma
A growing number of fishermen love angling for carp, a much-maligned bottom-feeding fish. That's a good thing -- Asian carp are pushing out native species in U.S. lakes and rivers. One food writer says a good way to keep numbers down is to put carp dishes on restaurant menus and develop a taste for the bland white fish.
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McCain's Rosy Future, Corpses Down the Drain
Our panel of non-experts tackle the weighty issues of this weekend: John Ridley, who writes the "Visible Man" blog for NPR.org; author David Rakoff, whose latest book is "Don't Get Too Comfortable"; and "A Red State of Mind" author Nancy French.
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Reviving the Art of Conversation
It's tough to randomly meet people and strike up a conversation in Los Angeles -- too much time stuck alone in cars, perhaps. Self-described "Idaho farm boy" Andrew Simmons is trying to change that, one chat at a time, with his Free Conversation Booth.
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Life in the Slow Tractor Lane
Last weekend, the town of Boscobel, Wisc., (pop. 3,000) held its annual two-cylinder tractor show. The day-long event features antique John Deere tractors. There's a parade and a series of races and demonstrations of the old equipment. Independent producer Lyn Millner takes us into the heart of the action.
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My Motorcycle Momma
Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and we wanted to share some stories about that special lady in our lives. Producer Sanden Totten shares this tale about growing pains -- specifically, his mom's growing pains as she neared the big milestone of turning 50. She did what a lot of folks do in a midlife crisis: she got a motorcycle.
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Two-Buck Chuck, Child-Proofing Discipline
Our non-experts tackle the weighty issues of this weekend: political consultant Tara Setmayer; writer Dana Gould, whose credits include the "Simpsons"; and author and New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman.
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Jell-O Wrestling Food Fight Fun
One Sunday a month, women from all walks of life don costumes and wrestling personas and take each other down in slippery gel. It's less "Girls Gone Wild" and more like campy fun to let off some steam. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch is a regular in the ring, and she shows us the ropes.
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The Best Mother's Day Gift Ever
For the past two weeks, we've been asking you: What's the best Mother's Day gift ever? Was it a macaroni-encrusted picture frame you received back in 1989? Or something special you gave your wife on her first Mother's Day? Well, we received some great stories.
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Staying Home to Dodge La Migra
The sheriff's department in Nashville, Tenn., was among the first to take on immigration enforcement -- usually a federal responsibility -- and now deportations are way up. Reporter Daniela Gerson explores how the program's success has triggered fear among immigrants, and why some say it's making the city less safe.
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Letters: Pit Bulls and Hitchhiking
We got lots of letters about last week's story of a woman remembering her hitchhiking odyssey from Minnesota to Florida, with lots of folks sharing their own hitching stories. And we also got some angry letters from owners of pit bulls, who didn't like the way the breed was characterized in another story about Las Vegas foreclosures.
