Weekend America

Coming Back, Fitting In

Unlike the Civil War veteran, who had to trudge across muddy fields and back roads for weeks or even months before getting home, today's soldiers are put on a jet in Baghdad one day and are back home at Wal-Mart the next. Some military experts say the transition from combat to civilian life is too fast. And veterans say when they do get back they're strangers in their own country.

Crazy for Christmas Lights

Inside Dominic Luberto's Boston home, the sound of Christmas is the steady hum of burning electricity emanating from circuit breakers in the basement. Luberto may have the most heavily decorated home in the U.S. And his neighbors aren't smiling.

Weekend Soundtrack

Cleaning to an "Icy Blue Heart"

Roxanne Cronin listens to "Icy Blue Heart" by John Hiatt while she cleans. And mends a broken heart.

Lutefisk, and Other Childhood Traumas

Weekend America's John Moe is from a Norwegian family, and Christmas is a time of gastronomical revulsion. His family's Christmas dinner table has included lutefisk, pickled herring, mackerel in tomato sauce, and something called blood pudding, which is exactly what it sounds like. Finally, decades after childhood, John grabbed a fork, with his tape recorder rolling, dove in.

A Sweet Potato Tradition

First there's apple pie. Pecan has a respectable following, as does strawberry rhubarb. Even key lime is kind of popular. But there is a real divide between pumpkin pie lovers, and the devotees of the sweet potato.

The Virtual Suck Tour

Back in 2001, a couple of teenagers in Arlington, Mass., were so sick of where they lived that they launched a Web site called "The Virtual Suck Tour of Arlington," a 25-page travelogue of their town's worst places. This was around the time that Weekend America's Sean Cole moved there.

At Home in the Parking Lot

For close to a hundred people in Kirkland, Wash., home is a church parking lot. They're part of a tent city there--one of several that have been roaming the Seattle area for a few years now. They're now part of the area's shelter system.

Stories about Coming Home

Whether home is the place you grew up in or where you live today, anything can happen when families and friends gather. We talk with listeners about some of their surprising, funny and sad holiday homecomings.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Fertility and Horse Death

Our panel of non-experts review the week's events in a parlor game to gauge what kind of week America had. This week, we have National Book Award Winner Sherman Alexie; columnist Dan Savage; and author and commentator Linda Chavez.

America at War

Cole's Guitar, by Brian Turner

On December 3, 2003, Brian Turner crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq. He was an infantry team leader with the Third Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division. Turner is a poet, and he shares his thoughts of home on his final night in Iraq.

Coming Home to a Smell

In California, I-5 connects Los Angeles with San Francisco. The trip takes about six hours, and it can be monotonous. But almost exactly halfway between the two towns, there is a stop that distinguishes itself. By smell.

The More (Holidays), the Merrier

Michael Idov's family celebrates just about every holiday imaginable from the beginning of December through the end of January. He describes the never-ending party.