Weekend America for Saturday, October 29, 2005


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How did your life collide with the headlines in 2007?
Iraq, the subprime crisis, Facebook, immigration, oil prices - 2007 had no shortage of hefty headlines. We'd like to hear about how these and other major news events of the past year affected you. Where did your life collide with the news in 2007?

What's your holiday performance story?
The office talent show, the neighborhood caroling posse, the school pageant ... At holiday time we often sing, dance, and dress as shepherds. Did you bloom in the warmth of your audience's adulation, or freeze up like the snowman you'd rather be building? Did your holiday performance change your life or that of someone close to you?

Broadcast Date: October 29, 2005 | Map these stories

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Real-Life Shakespearian Tragedy
Politicos inside The Beltway have been in a frenzied state this week. Unlike most Americans, they've been eagerly following the ongoing scandal surrounding the Valerie Plame case and every detail of Harriet Miers withdrawing her Supreme Court nomination. Host Barbara Bogaev talks to writer Chris Nelson and filmmaker John Ridley about why the Plame and Miers stories make for such good theater.

Online resources:

» I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Indictment
» Statement from Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

Music Bridge: Coltan Anyone - Artist: Baikonour
CD: For The Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos (Melodic)

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Debris Tracker
You don't have to be in Florida, Louisiana or Mississippi to track the aftermath of the recent hurricanes. Historian and beachcomber Steve Hathcock can size up a lot of the damage by looking at the debris washing ashore on a South Texas beach.

Online resources:

» Padre Island Traders & Beachcomber's Museum

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On the Climate Beat
Heidi Cullen has been tracking the aftermath of the Gulf Coast storms. But the Weather Channel's first-ever climatologist is collecting data to see how, or if it can be connected to global warming. She joins host Barbara Bogaev to talk about the challenges in her work.

Online resources:

» Dr. Heidi Cullen Bio (Weather.com)
» The Weather Channel Blog

Music Bridge: Loft - Artist: Landing
CD: Brocade (Strange Attractors)

Prime Beef
Not everyone is laughing at the new Meryl Streep movie, Prime. The American Psychological Association has had its fill of Hollywood inaccurately portraying their profession. Houston psychologist and Media Watch chair Harriet Schultz points to some big screen therapists who should hang it up.

Online resources:

» Prime official movie Web site
» Monitor on Psychology - A publication of the American Psychological Association
» How are psychologists portrayed on screen? (APA.org)

Music Bridge: Antrozous - Artist: Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard
CD: Batman Begins (Warner)

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Scary Stories with Peter Grove: Frog
Storyteller Peter Grove returns to Weekend America with another Halloween story. This tale is about an old man with a strange obsession with frogs.

Online resources:

» Web exclusive: Listen to Peter Grove's reading The Green Mist
» More Peter Grove from the Oct. 30, 2004 broadcast: The Green Thumb
» Peter Grove tells scary stories the Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.

Music Bridge: Thunder Night - Artist: Deaf Center
CD: Pale Ravine (Type Recordings)

Weekend Weather / Hometown Happenings
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

Online resources:

» Event information

Music Bridge: Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)

Pop Music: Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple is back with a new CD. Host Barbara Bogaev talks to freelance music writer Alan Light about Apple's appeal to her core fans.

Online resources:

» Fiona Apple | Extraordinary Machine, Parting Gift, O'Sailor | From the album, Extraordinary Machine (Sony)

Goodbye Harriet Miers
We present a song parody on Harriet Miers withdrawing her nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court from songwriter Roy Zimmerman.

The Eternal Question
It's a question man had always wondered about: "Is there life after death?" It's a question science writer Mary Roach attempted to answer for herself as she wrote her new book, Spook. She talks with host Bill Radke about the extraordinary things she experienced as she attempted to find out.

Online resources:

» Mary Roach's book, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, is available for purchase at the Public Radio BookSource.

Scary Story Roundup
Last week, Weekend America asked listeners about their own haunting experiences and compiled this creepy montage.

Pop Music: My Morning Jacket
It's not easy to define the band My Morning Jacket. The Kentucky-based band has explored southern and classic rock, alternative country and numerous other genres. Music critic Alan Light joins host Barbara Bogaev to talk about what the band's new CD is all about.

Online resources:

» My Morning Jacket | Off the Record | From the album, Z (Ato Records)

Trick or Treat
What happens when the treats are gone? Is that when the tricks start? Host Bill Radke probes this ethical dilemma in a spoof with two comedians.

Music Bridge: The Clearing - Artist: Deaf Center
CD: Pale Ravine (type recordings)

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Miller's Dream Wind Chimes
What do you do with a yard full of junk? For artist Jim Miller, the answer is Blowin' in the Wind.

Gautreaux Revisited
During the last 30 years, the Gautreaux residential mobility program has helped thousands of African-American families move from poor inner-city Chicago to more affluent communities. Host Barbara Bogaev talks to Seitia Harris, one the people who moved, to learn how she's living now. Then, Northwestern professor James Rosenbaum joins to discuss what he's learned studying the Gautreaux program for two decades.

Online resources:

» More about The Gautreaux Project (York Daily Record)

Music Bridge: Goodbye South Goodbye - Artist: Readymade
CD: All The Plans Resting (We Are My Records)

Weekend Weather / Hometown Happenings
Weekend America's John Moe takes a look at the weather and Saturday happenings all across the country.

Online resources:

» Event information

Music Bridge: Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version) - Artist: lcd soundsystem
CD: DFA compilation #2 (DFA)

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Coffin Art
While some people get the creeps looking at a coffin, others, like Amanda Barnes gets inspired. Producer Ayala Ben-Yehuda joins the former infomercial producer and present-day mortician for a tour of a coffin art exhibit in Los Angeles.

Online resources:

» More about The Coffin Show: Between Life and Death at the Black Maria Gallery