Weekend America

Kosher Meat Plant's Immigration Woes

Last month, the largest kosher meat processing plant in America was raided by immigration agents. More than 300 workers, one-third of the workforce at Agriprocessors in Iowa, were arrested in the sweep. The bust shines a light not only on the kosher meat market, but also on working conditions for vulnerable immigrants.

Eat Well, Pay What You Can

Brad and Libby Birky's restaurant in Denver, the SAME Cafe (for So All May Eat) does things a little differently. When it comes time to pay for a meal, patrons can pay what they want, or what they can. And if you can't pay, you can volunteer your time. Their theory is that everyone deserves decent, healthy food.

Bill's Values

Figuring Out Beauty for Herself

My daughter turns 16 months old today. The older she gets, the more people comment on her looks. And so it begins: a lifetime of the world telling her what she looks like. I'm sure someone's going to think she's pretty and no doubt someone will find her ugly -- or at least, not right-looking. And I wonder how she's going to react to these appraisals.

Letters

Letters: Race Relations, PTSD

We share a sampling of letters and emails from listeners reacting to recent stories heard on Weekend America on race relations and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among older war veterans.

Knowing When to Give Up

Hillary Clinton plans to announce Saturday her support for Barack Obama's candidacy, ending her bid to become president. Here's some stories from our listeners about a time in their lives when they were so dedicated to something that people around them wondered if and when they would quit.

Summer Travel: A Farm Sanctuary

For some people, baling hay or feeding chickens is work. But for others, it's a vacation. It's fun. If you're one of those folks, there's a farm in Woodstock, N.Y., you would love. But this isn't your typical farm -- don't expect fresh bacon in the morning. This is a sanctuary where farm animals can just be animals.

The Weekend Shift

Hacking NYC's Not-So-Mean Streets

For a lot of New York City cab drivers, weekends mean long hours behind the wheel, shuttling creatures of the night from one party spot to another. Cab driver Melissa Plaut takes us behind the wheel as she shuttles people across the five boroughs.

This Weekend in 1968: RFK's Enduring Message of Hope

Coming just two months after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy's death was too much to bear for many Americans. People talked about the end of hope. But Kennedy's life continues to inspire others, and his presidential campaign resonates today, perhaps more than any year since his death.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Hillary's Adios, Post-Rapture Email

Our non-experts weigh in on some of the biggest and oddest headlines of the past week: relationship advice columnist Dan Savage; John Ridley, author and blogger for the "Visible Man" blog at NPR.org; and conservative writer and commentator Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind."

A 'Done With Your Childhood' Party

Folks all across the nation are hosting graduation parties this weekend, and Nanci Olesen is one of them. She's having an open house for her first-born son Henry, who is graduating from high school -- and wondering just how this moment sneaked up on her so quickly, and how she might be able to reverse time...

Rocking Out in the War Zone

"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is now playing in selected cities. It's a documentary about two New York filmmakers who go to Iraq in search of the metal band Acrassiacauda. It's about the band trying to stay together as musicians while surviving a war. We talk to the band's drummer and the film director.

America's Weekend on Flickr

Behind every great photo is a great story. We spoke to two people who've taken some of our favorite photos and posted them on Flickr.com, and asked them for the stories behind them.

Pre-Wedding Jitters for a Gay Couple

The civil ceremony performers who make all those marriages legit are the true unsung heroes of June. And for at least one of those civil servants in Northern California, the diagnosis this weekend is exhaustion and the slightest case of something he never really thought he'd have -- his own pre-wedding jitters...