Remembering Traditions
America will be divided this weekend. Some of us will be headed to barbecues and picnics, while others will be at a graveside or a parade to honor fallen soldiers. When did Memorial Day shift from being a day of remembrance, to being a weekend of celebration? Weekend America's Krissy Clark finds out that this divide has existed longer than one might think—since the holiday first began.

Tough-Love Graduation
It's graduation season and all across the country bright-eyed collegians have been hearing optimistic words of encouragement about their futures from their commencement speakers. But what if these speeches were a bit more honest about the bumpy professional road that stretches ahead? Alan Olifson, a writer living in Los Angeles, shares his version.

Summer Movie Pool
The summer movie season kicks off this weekend, and studio execs are crossing their fingers, hoping their films will make bank. But, they're not the only ones with a lot at stake. Weekend America's Bill Radke sits down with Jason Oremland and Heather Cocks who are participating in a summer movie pool. They're throwing down some cash and making predictions about which summer blockbusters will boom and which ones will bust. The person with the best picks wins a pot of money and bragging rights until next summer.

Indie Music Pick: Beirut
Mark Wheat, from The Current, a Minneapolis radio station, joins Bill Radke with some new independent music. Mark brings a new album from a band called Beirut called "Gulag Orkestar."

By the Time I'm 25
When he was 11 years old, Sidney Cosby didn't have much hope for the future. Sidney lived in Inglewood, California, and like many other kids in urban environments, he didn't think he would make it past 25. Sidney is now 34 years old, he has a master's degree in education and is the director of a college prep program. Perhaps no one is more surprised at his success than Sidney himself. Weekend America's Barbara Bogaev talks with Sidney Cosby about how a lot of kids don't have much hope for life past 25. Barbara then talks with Ronald Mincy, a professor at Columbia University and the author of "Black Males Left Behind."

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

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The Downtown Art Scene
New York in the 1970s is a place that Larry Miller remembers vividly. It was gritty and it was dangerous but it was also teeming with avant-garde culture. The art scene included luminaries like Keith Haring, the Talking Heads, and Basquiat. Larry Miller was part of this scene and he shares some stories with Weekend America's Amanda Aronczyk. This weekend, an exhibit about the seventies era in New York, called "Downtown Show," opens at the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburgh.

Weathering the Storm
Hurricane season begins on June 1st. That means a lot of communities that suffered the brunt of hurricanes Katrina and Rita are bracing themselves once again. Many of those communities are still piecing together their lives, but the aftermath of the storms has brought many communities closer together. A small makeshift trailer park in Cameron Parish in southwest Louisiana is a good example. Residents there lost nearly everything, and they've banded together in their trailers, waiting for the slow rebuilding process to unfold. Independent producer Pauline Bartolone has the story.

Flood and Tears
Moving on after a disaster like a hurricane or a flood is tough, and according to psychologists learning to laugh again is part of the process. Weekend America's Bill Radke talks about the healing process with Kit O'Neill, a member of the American Psychological Association's Disaster Response Network. She counseled disaster victims in Louisiana after Katrina.

Fort Hood Grads
The school year is coming to a close at high schools across the country. It's a big life transition, leaving high school - one that's especially tough for the students in Fort Hood, Texas. Fort Hood is home to the largest active duty armored post in the Armed Services and many of the graduating seniors in Fort Hood have parents currently stationed in Iraq. Weekend America's Alex Cohen spent time this week with one of those students, Keishana Pangelinan.

Indie Music Pick: Camera Obscura
Mark Wheat, from The Current, a Minneapolis radio station, joins Bill Radke with some new independent music. Mark brings us a new album from a band called Camera Obscura. They are Scottish and are known for their catchy hooks and brooding lyrics. Mark shares a cut called "Lloyd I'm Ready to be Heartbroken."

Human Enhancement
Bioethicists, members of the human rights community and legal scholars will be participating in a conference this weekend at Stanford University about human enhancement technology and human rights. Smart drugs, nanotechnology and robotics all fall into the human enhancement category. Weekend America host Bill Radke talks with Joel Garreau, a Washington Post reporter, who has written about this in his book "Radical Evolution." Garreau has even test driven one of the new smart drugs out there called modafinil.

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

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Burn As Usual
Stamp collectors are surely licking their lips with excitement this weekend. Not only is the biggest stamp show in the U.S. opening in Washington DC, but this is also the weekend that "Blue Boy" will be returning to DC. "Blue Boy" isn't quite a stamp, it's a provisional postmark that was stuck to an envelope by the postmaster of Alexandria, Virginia, in 1847. It is the only one of its kind known to still exist, and it's worth around one million dollars. "Blue Boy" has made its way back to the beltway, and independent producer Jule Gardner pays it a visit.