Weekend America for Saturday, December 17, 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: December 17, 2005

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The Ringer
The Farrelly brothers movie, The Ringer, opens in theatres next week. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with director Peter Farrelly about the depiction of the mentally disabled in the film.

Online resources:

» Official movie Web site for The Ringer

Disability in Films
Weekend America host Barbara Bogaev talks with Lawrence Carter-Long about the best and the worst depictions of people with disabilities in popular culture. Carter-Long has Cerebral Palsy and is an advocate for disability rights.

The Tasting Heard Around the World
In 1976, Time magazine journalist George Taber attended a wine tasting in France. He expected it to be your average tasting. What he didn't anticipate was that it would change the world of wine forever. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with Taber about this revolutionary day in wine history.

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Pointe of View
The Pointe of View Winery is the first winery ever in North Dakota. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with Jeff Peterson, one of the co-founders, to see how fruitful the wine business can be in the Midwest.

Online resources:

» Pointe of View Winery

Looking at Redemption
Father Joe Carroll is a Catholic priest in San Diego, who works with people looking to make amends. Carroll is known for working with crooked politicians who've committed crimes. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with Carroll about his philosophy on redemption.

Online resources:

» Father Joe's Villages Web site

Old World, New Kitchen: Tamales
This month, Weekend America is exploring some of the connections we have with food, our traditions and different cultures. In the third piece of our series, producer Beth Hoffman explores Colombian cuisine with Maria Cecilia Estrada, an immigrant from Colombia who makes her home in Utah.

Parts I and II of this series:

» Tahmina Martely - Beef Curry
» Nasrin Mohamadi - Chicken Tahchin

World Music: Either / Orchestra
The Either Orchestra has a new CD of Ethiopian pop classics from the 70s. Music Critic Tom Pryor offers his review with host Barbara Bogaev.

Online resources:

» Either / Orchestra | Muziqawi Silt | From the album, Ethiopiques, Vol. 20: Either/Orchestra Live in Addis (Buda Musique)

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

Online resources:

» Event information

Almost Ready-Made Christmas Crafts
Feeling crafty this holiday season? Hosts Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke have been trying their hand at some Christmas crafts with the help of a new book, Ready Made: How to Make almost Everything.

Online resources:

» Build your own chandelier
» ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer is available at the Public Radio BookSource.

A Gift Certificate Will Do
Some people love making crafts. That's fine for Weekend America's Phyllis Owens. That is, until they start bestowing their handiwork on her as gifts.

Iraqi Elections
Iraqis hit the polls this past week -- Weekend America hosts Barbara Bogaev and Bill Radke speak with Iraqi expatriates in the U.S. about the significance of voting in the latest election.

Leaves of Grass
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Leaves of Grass, producer Curtis Fox has spent the past few months producing a one-hour radio documentary about Walt Whitman for New York public radio station WNYC. Barbara Bogaev talks with Fox about the project and plays some excerpts.

Online resources:

» Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is available at the Public Radio BookSource.
» Revising Himself, Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass (Library of Congresss)
» "Walt Whitman: Song of Myself": An Hour-long Special about America's Most Radical Poet (WNYC.org)

World Music: Thione Seck
Critic Tom Pryor talks to host Barbara Bogaev about some new music from Senegal. The artist is Thione Seck, and the cut is called "Siw".

Online resources:

» Thione Seck | Siw | From the album, Orientation (Stern's Africa)

Gifts on the Table
Food can be a pretty nice gift for that person on your gift list who has everything. Lynne Rossetto Kasper from the public radio show, The Splendid Table, shares some of her favorite food-related gift ideas with host Bill Radke.

Gift suggestions:

» Make Scents of Wine: Wine Education Kit
» Big Top Candy Collection Web site
» Splendid Table Web site

A Holiday Tradition
Sometimes, you have to go through a lot to get someone a Christmas gift. And sometimes, you have to go through a lot to receive one. Weekend America's Marc Sanchez shares his family's Christmas pre-gift-giving custom.

Watch video of Marc's fancy footwork today:

» (low bandwidth: 56k modem or better)
» (high bandwidth: dsl or cable modem)

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

Online resources:

» Event information

Baby It's Cold Outside
In 1949, Margaret Whiting and the legendary Johnny Mercer recorded a song that would become a classic. Margaret Whiting shares the story behind the music.

Online resources:

» More about Margaret Whiting (Wikipedia)