Weekend America

To Shop or Not to Shop?

The recession is starting to get you all fired up for some last minute Christmas shopping, right? Because don't forget, every time you reach for your wallet, not only do you hold the fate of your own economic health in your hands, you also hold the fate of the nation's. This is a big and completely confusing responsibility. So what do you do? That's what Weekend America's Krissy Clark wanted to know.

The Weekend Shift

The Weekend Shift: Cleaning Houses

The last thing most people want to do on a weekend is housework. But a group of immigrant women in New York are proud to spend their weekends dusting and mopping. "We Can Do It" is a Brooklyn business run by cleaning ladies, many of them without working papers or education beyond elementary school.

Skull Scanning

For years, anthropologists have wanted to do research inside the heads of human skeletons to answer questions about the evolution of the human brain. Problem is, getting inside a skull is tricky without cracking it open. This weekend, researchers in Philadelphia are finally getting their chance to CAT scan 19th-century skulls.

Letters

Letters: Cowboys and Human Rights

We open the Weekend America mailbag to hear your responses to recent stories. This week, in response to our story about Muslim country singer Kareem Salama, we hear from a black country music fan. Many of you also had questions about our piece on homeless people moving into foreclosed homes in Miami. We turned to an expert to learn more about human rights vs. property rights.

The Real Story of Hanukkah

Sunday is the first night of Hanukkah. Traditionally, Hanukkah wasn't a major holiday for Jews. But its position on the calendar gave American Jews a chance to enjoy the holiday season. Hanukkah's assimilation can be a sensitive subject among Jews. But independent producer Eric Molinsky looked into the origins of Hanukkah and found that these tensions are nothing new.

Garageland: Ben Jackel

If it's not too cold in there, some of you may be listening to this show in your garage. Ben Jackel in Los Angeles does, and he heard me asking for garage stories a while back. We're calling this series Garageland - about that space where a little free time and a little extra room can allow our visions, hobbies, or dreams to flourish. For Ben Jackel, the garage is home to a very precise, intense form of art.

Backstage at "A Christmas Carol"

As Christmas approaches, it's hard to escape from "A Christmas Carol." The classic Charles Dickens tale is on stage in cities around the nation. Here in the Twin Cities, actor Michael Booth has played the role of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's put-upon employee, for six years. We wondered how he kept things fresh. John Moe went backstage at a recent performance to find out.

Economy Down, Environment Up

President-Elect Obama announced his picks for the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency administration this week. He has also been touting a plan that will jump start the economy through green jobs. We spoke about one of the recessions' few bright spots with the president and founder of the Earth Policy Institute, Lester Brown.

First Weekend Home

First Weekend Home: Laid Off

For 544,000 people in the US, the line that divides the week and the weekend got a little more murky last month. The unemployment rate now stands at 6.7 percent, the highest it's been in 15 years. For reporter Jonathan Menjivar in Philadelphia, all these statistics recently became a reality. Not for himself, but for his mother, Rosanna Leisure.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Auto Bailout, Shoe Throwing, and Romantic Comedies

Time for our weekly parlor game to gauge the news of the week. We are joined by Luke Burbank, host of the radio show "Too Beautiful To Live" in Seattle; Kerry Howley, contributing editor to Reason Magazine; and Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor at The New Yorker.

Zappa in Bronze

The City of Baltimore has declared December 21st to be Frank Zappa Day. Zappa was born in Baltimore, but the city has only recently begun embracing his legacy. Last year, they held Frank Zappa Day in August, when Zappa's son Dweezil came to town for a concert. And next year the city plans on unveiling a new bronze bust of the musician. It was a gift from Lithuania. Lawrence Lanahan explains how Baltimore ended up with a big Frank Zappa head from Lithuania.

Picture Perfect

Holiday cards are stuffing mailboxes around the country. If you're short on time or words, why not send a picture? Round up the kids and head to the photographer; or better yet, cheer on dad as he runs from behind the tripod, sets the timer, and tries to sit down and smile before the camera flashes. Brooke Williams spent her youth posing for her family's annual photo. And it was excruciating.

America at War

The Brutal Poetry of the Iraq War

There's a whole group of Americans who won't be home for the holidays this year. Over 140,000 US troops are in Iraq right now. And holidays at war can be strange times. Poet Brian Turner served as an infantry team leader in Iraq in 2003. To get through the holidays, he put home out of his mind. But on his last night in Iraq, with home in sight, Brian wrote a poem called "Cole's Guitar."

High Times and Halvah

Hanukkah starts this Sunday at sundown. A new book tracks Jewish history through four generations of Jewish albums. After discovering rare vinyl records of Jewish music during trips down to Florida retirement communities, Josh Kun and Roger Bennett put together a book that tells the story of Jewish past "by the records we have loved and lost."