Weekend America

A Battle over Unions at Smithfield Pork

North Carolina is the second-largest producer of hogs, and it has the second-lowest rate of unionized workers. Those two realities are at the heart of one of the longest and most bitter union battles in the country. At the largest hog processing plant in the world in the town of Tar Heel, Smithfield Pork and the United Food Commercial Workers have spent 15 years fighting over the right to represent the plant's 5,500 workers.

Election 2008

Race versus Gender in 2008

Are black women voters really torn between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as a matter of race and gender? Weekend America host Desiree Cooper weighs in.

Signing Up to be Watched

Jody Gnant is never alone. People are always watching her, when she's sleeping, brushing her teeth or having a so-called private conversation. But it's all Gnant's choosing. She's a "lifecaster."

Weekend Soundtrack

The Haunted House

Sue Ely listens to "Haunted House" by Natalia Zukerman on the weekends. Host Bill Radke gets inside it.

Laughing in the Museum is Allowed

Comedian Stephen Colbert got his portrait hung in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, at the entrance to the restrooms. Humor's not unknown in museums, but we don't always expect to find it there. Weekend America host Bill Radke speaks with conceptual artist and critic Jonathon Keats.

Change of Seasons

Songs in the Dead of Winter

Last year, Bon Iver, aka Justin Vernon, holed up in his father's hunting cabin, far away from everything and everyone. His band had just fallen apart, he was sick in bed for three months and he broke up with his girlfriend. He tells us about the time he spent alone in with the Wisconsin winter and the music he made.

Dance Dance Party Party

There's a big difference between dancing around the living room in your underwear and going out to a nightclub. Each has its advantages. You're not inhibited in your living room--but dancing alone can get boring. Dance Dance Party Party bridges that gap. There are no rules. No men. No judgments. Just women, dancing in the dark.

Back to the Paper Age in Ohio

Poll workers in Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, are learning about a new voting system. And it's actually just like the old system. In late December, Ohio's Secretary of State cast a tie-breaking vote to scrap their three-year-old electronic voting machines and go back to paper ballots. And it's a move more parts of the country are considering.

Election 2008

Democrats Abroad Cast a Vote

Presidential campaigns are pulling all-nighters in South Carolina and Florida, as well as in Sweden, Hong Kong and Madagascar. American Democrats living abroad will be voting next month by mail, fax, in polling places and -- for the first time -- over the Internet.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Yelling and Screaming

This week's panelists discuss a stimulus package, the fight between the Clintons and Obama and a very angry voicemail message.

Hot Beams, Cold Air

Six months since the I-35 W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, construction plans have been going at warp speed. Crews have been working for about three and a half months, nearly around the clock, to build a new bridge by its scheduled opening date of Dec. 24. Round-the-clock work crews are nothing new, but in the dead of Minnesota winter, it's a feat. We check in with the workers building in sub-zero temperatures.

A Sighting in Stephenville

Since the alleged UFO sighting in Stephenville, Texas on Jan. 8, the town of almost 17,000 has been a buzz. News crews and UFO investigators have taken over the town with the common goal of finding out what it is people really saw. Some locals shared their stories with Weekend America.

Sounds from the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon commemorates the son of a Chippewa chief who delivered mail by dog sled along Lake Superior's rugged North Shore in the late 19th century. The Beargrease draws world-class sled dog teams from around the world. Field-recordist Curt Olson brings us the sounds of the dogs, the mushers and the fans at the event.

The Non-Barbecue of North Carolina

When host Bill Rake is in North Carolina, he decides to go against the grain, to throw convention out the window, to NOT eat barbecue. Food writer Kelly Alexander was his guide to distinctive North Carolinian foods that are un-barbecued.