The Takeaway - Story of the Day
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The Mayor of Oklahoma City on How His City is Coping
Yet again the mayor of Oklahoma City has been tested and challenged by tragic circumstances. The latest giant tornado to strike the Oklahoma City area and its suburbs on Monday destroyed entire neighborhoods, leaving at least two dozen dead, and hundreds injured. Mick Cornett, the mayor of Oklahoma City, gives an update on how his city is faring now, and what work is at the top of his to-do list.
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Why We Stay When We Know We Should Leave
We’ve all found ourselves in bad situations, and chosen not to get out. On a personal level, those situations might be a bad jobs or unfulfilling relationships. On a bigger level, they might be international conflicts or government cover-ups. But regardless of scope, one question persists: Why is it that we so often stay, and for so long? To quote Kenny Rogers: Why don’t we know when to walk away, or for that matter, know when to run? Turns out there’s a reason, and that reason has a name....
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Star Trek: Past, Present and Future
They vowed to go where no one has gone before. But can the crew of the Enterprise really go new places without paying tribute to the old? And what are those old places that brought us to where we are now? David Goodman is something of a “Star Trek” historian. He’s the author of “Star Trek Federation: the First 150 Years.” He’s even written for the Star Trek franchise, specifically for the TV series “Star Trek: Enterprise.” And he’s also the man who penned the famous “Futurama” episode “Where...
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Sexual Assault in the Military: Sen. Kirsten...
A recent Pentagon report demonstrates the severity of the problem: based on anonymous surveys, the Defense Department estimates that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted in fiscal year 2012, up from 19,000 the year before. Of these 26,000 victims, only a small fraction, 3,374 in 2012, reported the crime. These grim statistics combined with recent sexual battery charges against the Air Force's sexual assault prevention chiefand similar accusations against an Army coordinator...
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Selling the Affordable Care Act
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services, which largely writes the regulations; oversees notifying hospitals and providers about what is changing; provides insurers with fair warning of new regulations and requirements; and heads up the national campaign to inform the public. In a controversial move, the federal government has turned to private sources to help with the marketing and information campaign for the ACA....
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Isabella Rossellini's 'Mammas'
This Sunday marks a year since last Mother’s Day, and while many of us say thanks in the form of a card, a text or a bunch of flowers, celebrated actress, model and environmental activist Isabella Rossellini says thanks through a short film series called “Mammas.” After writing and directing the Webby-award winning Sundance series “Green Porno” and “Green Porno Seduce Me," which celebrates the mating rituals and sex lives of animal. Rossellini turns her attention to exploring creatures’...
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The Evolution of Marijuana Culture
Marijuana regulation has changed radically over the last few years. Voters in Washington State and Colorado legalized marijuana in the 2012 election, and, with a prescription, almost any Californian can walk into a dispensary and buy the substance. With changing policies come new challenges regarding the economics and culture of marijuana. First, a regulatory angle. Six months ago, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. While...
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Judy Woodruff Once Thought She Could Do it All
All this week we're talking to women and mothers who have harnessed smarts, spirit, and self-awareness to break into male-dominated careers and rise to the top. Judy Woodruff has covered news and politics as a broadcast journalist for more than three decades for PBS, CNN, and NBC. She served as an anchor and senior corresponded at CNN for 12 years and was the White House Correspondent for NBC News from 1977 to 1982. Woodruff is also a wife and mother of three, including a son with spina...
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The Medical Ethics of Force-Feeding Guantanamo Hunger...
This week a large team of “medical reinforcements” including Navy nurses, corpsmen, and specialists, were deployed to Guantanamo Bay as a response to the ongoing inmate hunger strike. With about 100 inmates refusing food in protest, the use of force-feeding tubes is now widespread, due to a military directive that aims to keep patients alive, regardless of if they want to be fed or not, or live or not. In a press conference Tuesday morning, President Obama responded to the force-feeding, and...
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Gay Athletes, In and Out of the Closet
A lot of people are talking about NBA player Jason Collins right now. Yesterday, he came out, becoming the first openly gay player in major American team sports. There have been those who’ve spoken out in support of Jason Collins, including Bill Clinton and Kobe Bryant, who tweeted, “Proud of jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.” Not everyone, however, has been supportive. On Monday, on the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,”sports analyst Chris Broussard...
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A Growing Wealth Gap
A new study from the Urban Institute offers strong evidence that the recession has exposed the United States as an economy without equality of opportunity. The study shows a growing disparity in wealth between non-Hispanic white Americans and most minority groups-- and argues that major policy reforms are necessary to level the playing field for all Americans. Darrick Hamilton, associate professor of urban policy and economics at the New School in New York breaks down the...
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Mira Nair on "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"
The notions of terror and terrorism have occupied the headlines recently, in many ways, terror has been a large part of the American conversation since September 11, 2001. But one side of the conversation we don’t often see on film is that of the people living their lives in America, working alongside us, living alongside us as neighbors, only to be reframed as enemies or others because of how they look or worship. Mira Nair’s new film, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” boldly goes there. Based...
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Knowing Your Neighbors: Boston Bombers Lived 200 Yards...
After the bombings at the Boston Marathon last week, residents in the city have come together in a sign ofresilience. On The Takeaway this week, we're talking about the importance of residents getting to know their neighbors, especially during times of crisis or tragedy. For Hassan Malik, little did he know that the Boston bombers lived just 200 yards from his home. Malik, a PhD candidate in international history at Harvard University, never met either of the Tsarnaev brothers, but he walked...
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America's Relationship with Marijuana
America has a love-hate relationship with marijuana. Millions of people use the drug but it remains mostly illegal. A journalist and self-professed marijuana enthusiast explores the country's dysfunctional relationship with cannabis and his own experience with the drug in a new book, "Marijuanamerica." Part travelogue, part analysis, author Alfred Ryan Nerz goes inside a medical marijuana dispensary and finds himself entrenched with a major West Coast dealer as he looks at the drug's effects...
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How Security Video Helped Authorities Identify Possible...
When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, social media networks lit up with cell phone pictures and videos. Investigators requested that anyone with footage of the attacks share them with authorities. While that information may have been helpful, the key technology used to identify the bombing suspect was Closed Circuit Television footage. There have been huge advancements in this technology over the past decade. John Cutter, former Commanding Officer for the NYPD's Criminal...
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Security in the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon...
The tragic bombing of Boston's marathons leaves many unanswered questions. Who orchestrated it, and for what purposes? Marathons are always equipped with security forces, but in this case, they were unable to stop this horrific attack. Here to talk about the security measures marathon organizers should pursue in the aftermath of this attack, and counterrorism around large events more generally is Nick Casale, New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority's first Deputy Director of Security...
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Can Companies Patent Human Genes?
Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., a case that will determine whether companies have the right to patent human genes. The case centers on Myriad Genetics, a company that patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 1994. For women, thepresenceof either BRCA gene indicates increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad Genetics discovered the genes and developed the test to determine whether patients have them. Myriad claims...
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Navigating Portland's Food Culture with Nine-Year-Olds
We’re in Portland this week, and there’s a lot to love in this town when it comes to food: food trucks, farmers markets, artisanal cheese, artisanal everything. It's hard to know where to begin. After all, who's a food snob, and who's a food lover? Enter Leo and Soren Westrey. They consider themselves anti-food snobs. And they also happen to be only nine years old. Leo and Soren are the young twins who write the food blog, KIDCHOWPDX, which includes everything from restaurant reviews to...
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Gun Control and Immigration Reform Snake Through Congress
The president went off to Newtown, Connecticut yesterday to try and get some momentum for some new gun legislation. Here's what he had to say: "Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done, in fact, I'm here to ask you to help me to show that we can get it done. We'r not forgetting." Senate passage is iffy, and there is still the House to consider, and yet lawmakers on both...
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Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dead at...
According to her spokesman, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died of a stroke this morning at 87. She served at the head of the Conservative party from 1979 to 1990. She was the first female prime minster. Claire Berlinski is the author of "There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters."
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A Priest Takes a Stand on Sexism, and is Expelled by the...
For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church’s policy has been to ordain men — and never women — as priests. Some call it tradition, but as Father Roy Bourgeois sees it, it’s plain and simple sexism. Father Bourgeois spoke out about his beliefs. And then, last November, after 40 years in the priesthood, the Roman Catholic church expelled him for his beliefs. Last month a new pope was installed in the Vatican. And Father Bourgeois hopes that Francis will consider changing the church’s policy....
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Have Scientists Finally Found Dark Matter?
Dark matter makes up more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe. But up until now, it’s eluded scientists. Yesterday, however, NASA announced a possible breakthrough. A particle detector mounted on the International Space Station may have detected dark matter. The detector is called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and it measures cosmic ray particles in space. These measurements appear to have uncovered dark matter. Michio Kakuis a theoretical physicist and author of the New York...
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Even Those Closest to Newtown Are Unsure About Gun...
In the wake of the the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre three months ago, the Connecticut legislature announced an agreement on a package of what they consider to be the nation's strongest gun-legislation package. The package includes a provision mandating a new state-issued eligibility certificate for the purchase of rifles, shotguns or ammunition; expands the assault weapons ban; establishes universal background checks; and prohibits the sale of new high-capacity...
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Applying for Jobs? Try Inventing a Job Instead
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently wrote a piece highlighting the spirit of innovation that future generations will need to "find" jobs. In fact, finding jobs, he says, will be obsolete. He says the jobs of the future will be self-created and directed. But what will these jobs look like? And how can an average person create these jobs for themselves? Two people who’ve already invented their own jobs share their stories. And as they see it, you can do the same. Sasha Laundy...
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How an Anonymous Rider Functionally Deregulated GMOs
Last week, Congress and the president managed to avoid a government shutdown with a continuing resolution that funds the federal government for the next six months. Unbeknownst to most lawmakers, a last-minute rider, nicknamed the "Monsanto Protection Act," found its way, anonymously, into the continuing resolution before President Obama signed it last Tuesday. Senator Jon Tester,Democrat from Montana, was outraged. "These provisions are giveaways worth millions of dollars to a handful of...
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Tracking Arms and Armies in Syria
Reporting on the ongoing conflict in Syria has been a challenge for traditional journalists for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of getting into the country and the safety concerns on the ground. FilmmakerOlly Lambertgained access to Syria last year and spent five weeks reporting on both sides of the war, from the perspective of both Syrian rebels and government soldiers. Eliot Higginshas never been to Syria, but he is considered something of an expert when it comes to the...
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Samsung Pushes Colossal Development in South Korea
As the North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un continues to exercise his power, South Korea is pushing forward on another, business-related front. The country is home to the world's largest smartphone maker, and its influential economic leader, Lee Kun-Hee. Lee Kun Hee may not be a household name in the United States, at least in comparison to his former Apple contender Steve Jobs, however, his influence is felt at Apple, Sony and without a doubt, in the homes of many Americans. Over 75 years of...
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Where in the Solar System Is Voyager 1?
There was a moment last week when the scientific community was on the edge of its seat after news that NASA's Voyager 1 had left the solar system. Voyager 1 is one of two spacecraft sent into the far reaches of the cosmos in the late 1970s to tour the solar system and collect data. Last week, a new study alleged that Voyager 1 had burst through the heliosphere into interstellar space. NASA quickly shot down that explanation. "Voyager 1 is about 18 billion kilometers, or 11 billion miles,...
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Same-Sex Marriage Goes to the Supreme Court
Today the Supreme Court hears the first of two cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage. The first case isHollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved, state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage back in 2008. On Wednesday, the nation's highest court will hearUnited States v. Windsor, the case that will determine the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (also known as DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton in...
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Growing Up with Gay Parents
This week, the Supreme Court will hear two cases on same-sex marriage: Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case will determine the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, and United States v. Windsor, the case that will decide the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA. Over the last decade, in the midst of public legislative and court battles over same-sex marriage, many gay and lesbian couples have privately decided to start families. According to the 2010...
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When Fathers Anchor The Home, They Don't Have It All...
Due in large part to the release of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg's new book "Lean In," for the first time in a long time there is a robust discussion about how to recruit and keep more women in leadership positions being had on a large scale. Underscoring these discussions is the issue of how children and work-life balance impede the advancement of women in the workplace. Mike Wineripwrites and anchors theBoomingblog for The New York Times. He says that his experiences...
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The Choices and Challenges of Feminist Stay-at-Home Moms
Over the past week or so, we’ve been talking about the changing world of work in America — from older Americans who are working beyond traditional retirement age — to childcare workers who are trying to strike a work-life balance. Today, we continue with a look at educated, independent women who choose to leave the workforce to raise their children. Self-proclaimed feminist stay-at-home moms, these women face a whole new set of challenges — and judgments — as they make parenting their...
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Cuban Dissident Yoani Sanchez Hopes for a Post-Castro Era
The blogger/journalistYoani Sanchez, a leading dissident voice in Cuba and one of the most influential people in the world, according toTime Magazine, is on her first worldwide tour. Sanchez finally received her passport in January, after the Cuban governmentrejected her application20 times. At the age of 37, Sanchez is the voice of a younger generation in Cuba. Her blog,Generacin Y, receives millions of hits a day. Takeaway host John Hockenberry spoke with Sanchez (through a translator)...
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Tracking Employees to Boost Productivity
What goes into the average work day? A walk to lunch, a walk to the bathroom, a few clicks through your favorite blog, a conversation by the coffee maker. These behaviors are natural aspects of office culture in the United States and they are increasingly being monitored by employers. More companies are turning to tracking devices to learn about employee behavioral patterns in the hopes of boosting productivity. This kind of data collection is just one of many new attempts to predict our...
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Why Drones Are Our Modern Nuclear Bomb
The use of the nuclear bomb in World War II fundamentally altered the nature of modern warfare. For the United States, it forever changed the role of the presidency, giving the executive branch the power to unilaterally detonate a stunningly destructive bomb. Today, drones have, arguably, become the modern version of the nuclear bomb, controlled from a computer, with the potential for no loss of American life, no boots on the ground, and a relatively small price tag. The use and deployment...
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Unwilling Witness: The Terror of Reporting on Your Own...
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi, who covered the war as a correspondent for The New York Times,has mixed feelings about the consequences of the occupation of his native country. Like many Iraqis, Al-Saiedi initially welcomed the war that brought an end to Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship. Especially since his brother had been executed in Abu Ghraib prison by Hussein's security forces. However, Al-Saiedi was not prepared for the...
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North Korea Ups the Ante
On Monday, North Korea declared the 1953 Korean War armistice nullified. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper emphasized the danger posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, calling them, for the first time, "a serious threat to the United States." "The rhetoric, while it is propaganda-laced, is also an indicator of their attitude and perhaps their intent," Clappersaid. Is it time to start to take North Korea more seriously?Karin Lee, executive...
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Taiye Selasi Examines the World of the Afropolitan in...
Author Taiye Selasidescribes herself as an "Afropolitan," a member of a distinctly 21st century generation of African origin. The characters in her new novel, "Ghana Must Go," reflect this sentiment as well. Selasi's first book follows the Sai family: father Kweku from Ghana and mother Fola from Nigeria who meet as college students in Pennsylvania in the 1970s and raise their children in Brookline, Massachusetts. "Ghana Must Go" is, in part, a story of immigration. The Sai parents leave...
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The Young Iraqi Translator Who Gave His Life for the...
As America and the people of Iraq are challenged to make sense of the decade that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people who witnessed the violence and the cauldron of change that accompanied the fall of Saddam Hussein are not here to testify. In their eyes is a story of sacrifice, of lives wasted of children never permitted to grow up. Imagine telling the story of the war in Iraq from the perspective of one young Iraqi who cared deeply about his country and who also...
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Can a Math Museum Remedy 'Math Anxiety'?
It may not surprise you to learn that American students dread math. Or that that they feel that dread physically through stomachaches, headaches, fluttering heartbeats and sweaty palms. Many Takeaway listeners have been sharing their own tales of math-induced terror: Listener Aman writes, "I have failed every single math class I have ever taken. I am humiliated by this fact and it led to years of low self-esteem, but the only thing that kept me going is the fact that I am a bright,...
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Iran, Russia, and United States Join Forces
Now here's something the United States, Russia, and Iran can all agree on: Wrestling should stay in the Olympics. After the International Olympic Committee announced last month that the sport will likely be dropped after 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both pledged to fight to keep wrestling in the Olympics. That cause is one Americans are sympathetic to as well — even on Wall Street. Mike Novogratz, president of Fortress Investment Group,...
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Wendell Pierce of 'The Wire' and 'Treme' Hopes Groceries...
Wendell Pierceis best-known for his role as Bunk in the HBO series "The Wire," and he currently plays a struggling trombonist in the series "Treme." But he's taking on a much different job these days in his hometown of New Orleans, where he is in the process of opening a chain ofgrocery storesmeant to revitalize the city he loves. Inspired by first lady Michelle Obama's healthful food financinginitiativein 2011, Pierce and his partners created Sterling Farms, a grocery chain dedicated to...
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Diet Advice Abounds, But Are We Getting Healthier?
Even if you're relatively secure about your health and waistline, it'd be impossible to completely miss the buzz around the major diet trends of recent years. We want to know what to eat and when to eat it, and we sometimes take it to extremes. In Japan, a fad called the "Morning Banana Diet" even set off a banana shortage — spiking banana prices by 20 percent in 2008. But as we careen from one diet to the next, we’ve been making substantive changes in our eating habits, too. Over the past...
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One More Sign that Washington Can't Handle Money
The budget wars seem never ending in Washington D.C., with the sequester just one day away and no agreement between the White House and Republican leadership in sight. After sequestration goes into effect, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have months of budgetnegotiationsahead of them. In the weeks ahead, both parties will have to find a way to strike sort of compromise on spending levels, or face a government shut down come March 27 when the current authorization for spending runs out. The...
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How the Voting Rights Act Came to Be
Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, the case that will determine the constitutionality of Section 5of the Voting Rights Act. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, the Voting Rights Act represented a significant achievement for the young activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Section 5 forces states and select counties with a history of racial discrimination to get Justice Department or federal court approval before changing their voting laws. When...
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A Year Later, Community Awaits Justice in Travyon Martin...
One year ago on the evening of February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked out of a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida. A resident named George Zimmerman was sitting in his car at the time, and said that Martin looked suspicious, "looking at all the houses" as he walked "leisurely" into a gated community. He called 911 to report the suspiciousbehaviorand then began following Martin on foot. Moments later, the two scuffled and Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest, killing him. Days...
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Forget Organ Donation, Scientists Are Now Printing Body...
Three-dimensional printingis a dynamic new technologythat promises to revolutionize how we manufacture and create things. Still in its early stages of development, it's already being used to make chocolate, guns, and even body parts. The technology is even being employed by ordinary (if technologically-inclined) people who are building their own 3D printers at home. Three-dimensional printing has been around for awhile, so what's new about it? According toLawrence Bonassar, a professor of...
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Mapping the Basics in Detroit
In northeast Detroit in the neighborhood of Osborn, Robin and Donald Hudson can feed up to ten hungry grandchildren ages three months to 16-years-old on any given day. With five children and 15 grandchildren they stock their basement freezer with 40 pound boxes of chicken. But finding healthy affordable food can often be a challenge. This is the sort of conversation Robin and Donald Hudson have when they're shopping: "I wouldn't get my wheat bread from here — this is $1.79. I'd go to Aldi's...
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Sequestration Could Put Nearly One Million Defense...
If you're a civilian employee working for the Defense Department, you've been put on notice. The sequester is very real and it's extremely likely you are going to feel the effects of it soon. About 800,000 employees received notification that a furlough could be on the way. J. David Coxis the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal employees.Dave Gassett, a mechanic in Arkansas, has worked for the federal government for 38 years. If you're a...
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Bringing Out the Dead, At Home
Death is painfully human, strangely ordinary, and universal. It causes us pain, it requires planning, and it requires final decisions. But here in America, in most cases, it doesn't require one thing: personally handling the dead. More often than not, we leave that to professionals. But more and more often, Americans are deciding to do things differently. After death, but before the final goodbye, they are handling those final moments with their loved ones' bodies by themselves, with love...
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How to Emerge from Default and Debt: Lessons from...
In December 1978, Cleveland, Ohio became the first in the United States to default on its debts since the Great Depression. The city, soon nicknamed "Mistake by the Lake," owed six banks a total of $15 million. It took 22 months -- and a new mayor, George Voinovich -- for the city to regain financial solvency. In the next few days, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing will decide whether to appoint an emergency manager for the bankrupt city. Thomas Sugrue, professor of History and Sociology at the...
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Why We Cherish Letters
Ever since The Takeaway reported on the US Post Office's plans to scale-back mail delivery, eliminating Saturday deliveries, listeners have been calling, emailing and texting us with stories about their most cherished letters -- missives from parents, grandparents, lovers and friends that have changed your lives. Here at The Takeaway, we're collecting your letters -- and your stories about why they matter so much. If you have a letter that you cherish, whether it's one you've written or...
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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Russian Meteor
A meteor streaked across the sky in Russia today, reportedly causing hundreds of injuries. The meteor, which was captured on video, came as many were focused on another space object, 2012 DA14, which will fly within a few thousand miles of Earth today. Neil deGrasse Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of Star Talk Radio.
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How Important Was Preschool to Your Child's Education?
In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Obama called for universal early childhood education, citing a range of studies that show "the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road." And yet, the president continued, "today, fewer than three in ten four-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks a week for a private preschool. And for poor kids, who need help the most, this lack...
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Why Working Less Leads to Getting More Done
On average, Americans leave more than nine vacation days unused per year. More than a third of American workers regularly eat lunch at their desks, and more than half plan on doing work while they're on vacation. ButTony Schwartz, author of "Be Excellent at Anything" says we're doing it all wrong — and that the trick to getting more out of work is to do less. Schwartz believes that managers and supervisors need to fundamentally rethink their investments in their employees. "It’s far better...
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Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Struggles to Return to...
This past Veteran's Day, President Obama reassured vets that his administration was doing everything it could to help them find jobs and readjust to civilian life. "We know the most urgent task most of you face is finding a new way to serve," he said. "That's why we've made it a priority to help you find jobs worthy of your incredible skills and talents." But despite the administration’s best intentions less than half a year later, many veterans are still out of work. One of those veterans...
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Chinese New Year Earns Stamp of Approval
For the Chinese, this Lunar New Yearmarks the Year of the Snake, a creature of the Chinese Zodiac that embodiesgracefulness, materialism, and intelligence. Brooklyn-based illustratorKam Mak's work can be seen in the Postal Service's commemorative stamp for this Chinese New Year. It's a beautiful image of fireworks, common to the Lunar New Year celebrations of Vietnam. KamMaksays this year he is returning to simple memories of youth and tradition, growing up in Hong Kong and New York's...
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What's Your Six Word Story of Love or Loss?
As Valentine’s Day nears, we’re asking you for your biggest stories of love and loss. But there’s a catch: We want you to tell your story in just six words. Tweet your story with the hashtag #sixwords or call 877-8-MY-TAKE. We'll be collecting your replies on this pageand sharing some of the most attention-grabbing memoirs — and complete stories behind them — on Valentine’s Day. Larry Smith, editor of Smith Magazine, and pioneer of the six-word-memoir project explains why this format works...
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Over 1,600 Gun-Related Deaths Since Newtown
Every few months, the media reports on a shooting so tragic that it causes the nation to pause. Last year, shootings in Aurora, Colorado and Oak Creek, Wisconsin became horrific preludes to the mass shooting carried out in Newtown, Connecticut. But these shootings, while tragic in scope and scale, are not isolated events. Take the map below, for example. The red dots represent adults killed by guns, the yellow dots represent teenagers, and the blue dots represent children. The data was...
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Ad Execs Attempt 'Kick Ass' Rebranding of Kentucky
A group of ad executives in Kentucky decided it was time to give their state a branding makeover. The state's official slogan is "Unbridled Spirit." But the "Kentucky for Kentucky" campaign decided it was time for something a little more provocative — like "Kentucky Kicks Ass." Griffin VanMeter of Bullhorn Creative explains why they're giving the state's image an update, and how the state has responded.
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Is Abe Lincoln Safe?
Today marks the last day the Royal Canadian Mint will distribute the penny, a coin that has been in production in Canada for more than 150 years.The sinking of the Canadian penny is a recognition of the reality that itcostsof 1.6 cents to manufacture a penny, and that many people consider them more of a nuisance than a denomination of money. Jeff Goreis the founder of Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny. He's also a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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John Kerry Begins Work as Secretary of State, Facing...
Experienced as John Kerry is with diplomacy, negotiating foreign policy in regions volatile to the United States will not be an easy task. How will Kerry confront the crisises of the moment? Stephen Kinzeris a journalist and a professor of international relations at Boston University. Hisarticle"John Kerry and the restraint of American power in U.S. foreign policy," published recently inThe Guardian, suggests that the new secretary of state will have limited influence in key areas of foreign...
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Hillary Clinton's Legacy: Ambassador to the World?
Hillary Clinton steps out of the political spotlight today, as she departs from the U.S. State Department after four years as secretary of state. From her contentious start as first lady, in 1992, to her historic run for the White House, to the highest ranks of the federal government, Hillary Clinton has had quite a political career — one that may continue, in 2016. In her four years as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has visited 112 countries and has enjoyed great popularity. And yet,...
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Harvard to Conduct $100 Million Study to Make Football...
In recent years a lot of attention has been focused on the health risks that N.F.L. players face, especially with concussions and brain injuries, but the range of health problems that current and former players experience are far more extensive. Now the union representing N.F.L. players has chosen Harvard University to lead a $100 million study to research, treat, and eventually attempt to limit and prevent injuries and other long-term health complications for its members. Dr. Lee Nadleris...
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The Most Beautiful Thing You Will Ever See
What is truly beautiful to you? Is it the face of someone you love? The first several notes of your favorite song? Or perhaps it’s a sunny day. If you’re Frank Close, it’s none of these things. In fact, that sunny day is the last thing he wants to look at when he seeks beauty. He prefers the opposite: the sun being blocked out, the light being hidden, the magic and mystery of a solar eclipse. They only come around every 18 months, but Frank has still managed to see five solar eclipses. And...
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This Is How Undocumented Immigrants Define Immigration...
Congress and the White House unveil their comprehensive immigration plans this week, and the hopes of over 11 million people hang in the balance. What are their hopes? Are they they optimistic? Anxious? And what’s at stake? We’ve assembled a roundtable of undocumented immigrants to share their stories. Victor Palafox was born in Mexico, and came to the United States illegally when he was six. He now lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama, with a work permit. His mother is still undocumented....
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Former NFL Quarterback Steve Bono on His Financial Life...
Steve Bono knows the importance of staying financially healthy after a successful career in professional sports. Bono spent roughly a decade and a half as a quarterback in the NFL, bouncing between teams, vying for playing time, and constantly worrying that he could lose his livelihood at a moment's notice. Being cut early in his career gave Bono "perspective that this does end. And it can end quickly, it can end any day." And now Bono is working to ensure that a new generation of...
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Revisiting the Brothers Grimm
Once upon a time…there was a little girl.Once upon a time…there was a little boy.Once upon a time, we heard a story or paged through a book or were tucked into bed at night thinking about once upon a time. But where did "once upon a time" begin? Maybe you heard the phrase in a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, or a retelling of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, or on the big screen…in "Sleeping Beauty" or "Snow White." As "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," the latest Grimm re-telling, hits the big...
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Actor Explains How He Portrayed Bin Laden in 'Zero Dark...
Osama bin Laden first appeared on the FBI Most Wanted list in 1999. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, every American knew his name, and he represented America's ultimate villain, and the America's number one target. Today, the threat seems more amorphous. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained in her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, "The Arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the...
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How Companies Should Regulate Employees on Social Media
The National Labor Relations Board has recentlyruled, in a number of cases, that employees posting about wages, hours, and working conditions on social media is protected speech. According to Steven Greenhouse, labor and workplace correspondent for Takeaway partner The New York Times,"The Labor Board is saying, just as you have the right to talk together, to band together, while standing at the water cooler, in the break room, or in the cafeteria, you have that same right when you’re...
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The Declining Value of an MBA
As more and more individuals pursue professional degrees as a means to a more rewarding career, there are fewer and fewer jobs waiting on the other side of graduation. And when it comes to MBA programs, changes in technology and in the economy have accompanied a shift in the job landscape that doesn’t necessarily align with the dated design of the degree. Jay Bhatti, a graduate of the Wharton MBA program and currently anadviserto start-ups in New York, explains how a master'sdegreein...
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The Unofficial, Crowd-Sourced Inaugural Poem
Today, poet Richard Blanco joined the likes of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou, taking a national stage to recite what was the country’s fifth inaugural poem. President John F. Kennedy began the tradition, commissioning Frost’s "The Gift Outright" for his 1961 swearing in. Since then, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have decided to place poetry front and center on the inaugural dais. Here's the poem Richard Blanco read today: One Today Here at The Takeaway, we think poetry was built for the...
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President Lyndon Johnson's Legacy Ahead of Barack...
As we think about the formality of the upcoming inauguration on Monday we remember a time in American history, back in the 1960s, when a momentous transfer of power occurred without any forethought, without ritual, and without inauguration at all. The whimsical bubble gum 60s were interrupted in 1963 by a bullet. Young president John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas and his much older successor vice president Lyndon Johnson, a Texan, took the oath of office a few hours later. A stark...
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Notre Dame Football Player Reportedly a Victim of an...
The football star playing at a college legend needs an image in a championship season where every move is under a microscope. To make it, you need to be good, but also to be loved. Such is the story for Notre Dame star linebacker, Manti Te'o. We learned during the football season that he was dealing with the death of his grandmother and the death of his girlfriend from cancer. And in his girlfriend's honor, Manti Te'o missed her funeral to play in a football game. It was one of her last...
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Free Gun Training for Teachers
Today President Obama will announce his new agenda on gun control, a response to last month's deadly school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Some states, like New York, are already pushing for stricter laws on gun ownership, but other communities are moving in the opposite direction. The Buckeye Firearms Foundation, headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, just launched an initiative called the Armed Teacher Training Program, which offers weapons and medical training to teachers and other school...
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Can Coca-Cola Re-Brand Itself as an Anti-Obesity Company?
Coca-Cola has been a part of Americana for as long as any living American has been alive. For over 125 years — if their ads are to be believed — hey’ve been a part of our courtship rituals and our family get-togethers, and even our dreams for world unity. But Coca-Cola hasn’t just dreamed of teaching the world to sing (in perfect harmony). Over the decades — and long before the invention of Diet Coke in 1982 — they’ve dealt off-and-on with the concerns of the American waistline. Ads dating...
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Aaron Swartz, Internet Crusader, Commits Suicide at 26
The government's perceived right to control information and protect private data networks has become entangled in a tragedy. Aaron Swartz — 26-year-old programming genius and, in a sense, a budding philosopher of the information age — took his own life on Friday. Swartz co-invented the RSS feed when he was only 14 and went on to help create Reddit. But he was also was accused of illegally downloading research documents from academic service JSTOR, using networks at the Massachusetts...
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Rape Kits Mishandled at NYC Lab
Another medical examiner's office has discovered serious problems with their analysis of DNA evidence in criminal cases. Just a month ago, The Takeaway reported on a rogue medical technician in Massachusetts, a technician who allegedly tampered with thousands of cases during her tenure at the state crime lab. This time the New York City Medical Examiner has announced that the office is reviewing more than 800 rape kits, cases handled by a former lab technician who made a series of incorrect...
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Voices from Texas on the Future of the G.O.P.
Legislators gathered here in the Texas State Capitol on the eve of the next Legislative session. For conservatives it was a mixture of feelings about what just happened last November. Here's what the head of the Texas Republican Party Steve Munistieri had to say: “If only men had voted, Romney would be president. He won the male vote 52-45. That's pretty significant." He's done the numbers nationally, as well as state-wide, and while he says the November election brought lots of good news...
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Investigating the Underground Trade of Human Trafficking
In aspeech last year, President Obama used the term “modern slavery” to describe human trafficking. The trafficking of people — for sex or forced labor — is a multibillion-dollar worldwide criminal enterprise that is well organized and operates mostly undercover. Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter for our partner WGBH, has been examining human trafficking and efforts to stop the practice. His reporting has taken him to Vietnam, Thailand, and Dubai. In his new series, "Underground...
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A Teenage Girl's Perspective on the Culture of Online...
Temitayo Fagbenle is sixteen-years-old, and like a lot of teenagers, she sees a lot of images online that fall squarely under the definition of sexual cyberbullying; or in layman’s terms: online slut shaming. They're photos of girls in various states of undress, often taken by their own boyfriends, and then posted on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Temitayo wanted to find out more about what it’s like to be one of the girls exposed, what goes through a boy’s mind when he’s the one posting...
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'Reportero' Tells the Story of Journalists Who Risk...
The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that 48 journalists have been killed or kidnapped in Mexico between 2006 and 2011. With violence escalating along the border due to Mexican drug cartels, coupled with government corruption, the job of reporters has become increasingly risky, and at times, life-threatening. In the face of all of this, Zeta,a weekly Mexican newspaper, continues to cover and investigate the violence and corruption, often putting their journalists on the frontlines....
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Lessons from Traditional Societies on Raising Children,...
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in some societies around the world, that is quite literally the case. Within civilizations made out of hunter-gatherers, the practices for raising children and caring for the elderly are far different than in the developed world in the West. But there may be lessons to be learned from thesetraditionalsocieties. "There have been humans for six million years… They brought up their children in different ways, they treated their old people in...
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Why One NRA Member is Reconsidering His Membership
Former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate president Bob Brown owns 20 guns. His enthusiasm for firearms is more than a private hobby. As state legislator, was he was honored with a commendation from the NRA for his support of gun rights. "The trouble," he argues in an opinion piece in the Sydney Herald, "is the modern NRA, like other time-honored institutions, has become hijacked and radicalized." He tells The Takeaway how the NRA has changed, what he believes the fight ahead over...
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Is the House Broken?
The fiscal cliff remains unresolved, and on the cusp of the new year, it appears that dysfunctional government has trumped any self-imposed deadline. In the days leading up to Christmas, Speaker Boehner could not even manage to cobble together enough votes from the GOP to pass his own bill, “Plan B.” Congress was left with no choice but to return to Capitol Hill during a holiday week in an effort to at least determine a pathway to the bill. But little progress has been made and it seems...
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The Legacy of General Norman Schwarzkopf
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf,commander of American-led forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf war, died of complications from pneumoniaon Thursday. Schwarzkopf became the nation’s most acclaimed military hero since the mid-century after crushing Iraqi forces. He was born on August 22, 1934, in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of a West Point graduate who fought in World Wars I and II. He graduated from West Point in 1956, and then served two years with airborne units in America and Europe. He went...
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Shortcomings Prevent A.T.F from Curbing Gun Violence
It’s been six years since the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last had a permanent director. Now, in the wake of the tragedy at Newtown, more and more questions are being asked about why this government agency isn’t more equipped or successful at fulfilling its mission to curb gun violence. Aside from a lack of leadership, the ATF is also troubled by legal loopholes, a stagnant budget, and political squabbling with gun rights groups. Jerry Nunziato, former head of the...
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The Real Science of Erasing Your Brain
What if you could erase any knowledge of unpleasant experiences? It would be easier than forgetting, wouldn't it? This is not just a Hollywood fantasy as in the plotline of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." In reality, scientists have been working for years on figuring out how memories are stored, and how we can might be able to erase them. Todd Sacktor is a neurologist and neuroscientist, who has been working on this question. He runs a memory lab with the State University of New...
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George Takei: Christmas at a Japanese Internment Camp
For George Takei, gift giving will always be associated with something that was taken away from him as a child. The actor, activist, and author is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise on the original Star Trek. But as a boy he remembers being rounded up at the beginning of World War II and sent to an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Takei’s most recent big project is a called "Allegiance - A New American Musical." It's all about that disturbing...
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Before Les Misrables Returns to the Screen, a Look at...
Tomorrow, Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of Les Misrables will debut intheatersnationwide to the delight of millions of fans. For many, the star-studded cast and sweeping musical numbers are enough to distract from the rich historical text that lies behind every adaptation of Les Misrables. But a look back Victor Hugo's 1862 novel reveals the social, political, and literary impact of a masterpiece that took Hugo nearly 20 years to write. Patrik Henry Bass, books editor for Essence,discusses...
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What It Means to Be a Woman with a Gun
For decades, firearm manufacturers have capitalized on associating guns with masculinity. The gunmaker Bushmaster recently came under criticism for a macho ad campaign that equates gun ownership with earning one’s "Man Card." But a recent Gallop poll proves that it’s not just men who are buying guns. Gun ownership among women is at an all time high—43 percent report having a gun in their home. That’s not far off from the 52 percent of men who claim household gun ownership. Women own guns for...
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Essay: Owning a Gun Is Part of What It Means to Be an...
In an essay mixed with listener responses, host John Hockenberry attempts to answer a simple, but at the same time limitlessly complex, question: Why do Americans own guns?
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Mapping Noise Pollution to Save Marine Life
To many, our planet’s oceans appear peaceful.But underwater noise pollution is taking a toll on marine life. The clamor is entirely human-made. It’s the whine of ship engines, the searing blasts of military exercises, and the thunderous booms of air guns searching for oil and gas. The noise particularly affects underwater mammals like whales, which rely on sharp hearing and echolocation to communicate and look for food. In response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is...
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Assault Rifle Ban Back on the Table
There are more guns in the United States than in any other country in the world.Add that to the fact that Americans also have the highest gun ownership per capita rate — around 90 guns for every 100 Americans — and it makes sense why most Americans, constituents and politicians alike, assume that the National Rifle Association is powerful beyond control. According to Paul Waldman, contributing editor at the American Prospect, the money and influence of the NRA is largely exaggerated in...
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'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother' Author Speaks Out
Ablog postthat sprung up shortly after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut has people all over the country talking about the influence of mental health on Friday's events. In the blog post,Liza Longwrites about her own son 'Michael,' and the resemblance he bears to the alleged shooter at Sandy Hook, Adam Lanza.
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New Film Tells True Story of Gay Couple Trying to Adopt...
In America, gay and lesbians have more legal rights than ever before. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has come to an end. Domestic partnerships are legal in over a dozen states. And as of November 2012, couples can marry in nine states, plus Washington D.C. But despite this, gay people face a litany of challenges in the United States, including adopting children. The new film "Any Day Now" explores these challenges. Based on a true story, it follows a gay couple that takes in a neglected child and...
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How Children Become Good Adults
Decisions to act out of kindness, compassion, and concern confront us regularly in our lives. They vary in scale and impact, from the choice to hold the door to choosing to help someone in grave danger. In moments of empathy, our emotions go a step further. Beyond sympathy, empathy allows us to share and experience the emotions of another. When it comes to attributes of altruism, “prosocial behavior” allow us to assert our better selves. But prosocial behavior also raises the question of how...
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Teen Innovator from Sierra Leone Wows MIT
How do you get from a culture that depends on aid to a culture that promotes innovation? The story of Kelvin Doe, a 16-year-old from the West African nation of Sierra Leone, offers hope. @thetakeaway "How do you get from a culture that depends on aid to a culture that promotes innovation?"- u enable youth w/ Creative Freedom — David Moinina Sengeh (@dsengeh) December 12, 2012 Kelvin Doe and his family do not have access to many of the things that we take for granted, including a regular...
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The End of Irony?
The definitive explainer on the hipster has eluded our culture. We have taken on this task, as many others have in the realm of cultural studies.Christy Wompole, a professor at Princeton University, took this task on recently with our partner The New York Times. Her piece attracted hundreds of comments. People reacted negatively and positively to her analysis of why irony has pervaded our culture and why the hipster seems to be the edification of irony in post-modern culture.We decided to...
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Christmas Music According to George Takei
Last week we sat down with Japanese American actor, Star Trek legend, pop phenomenon, and frequent Howard Stern Show guest George Takei. George Takei is kicking off our annual series "Remixing the Holidays." We learned that in the Buddhist household of his youth, Christmas songs were a perfect holiday accompaniment to sunny Southern California.
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When a College Degree Doesn't Matter in the Job Creation...
The U.S. Labor Department released its monthly employment numbers this morning, showing that the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.7 percent, with 146,000 jobs created in November. Thereportis better than expected, andindicates that the economy is continuing to recover, however slowly.As the economy recovers, most employers prefer candidates to have a college education, but that's not the case forSharon Virts Mozer, founder and CEO ofFCi Federal.Mozer believes that most employers...
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Lessons Learned from the Oslo Accords
Today,as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves new settlements in the West Bank, and Chairman Mahmoud Abbas succeeds in his pursuit for recognition at the United Nations, Israelis and Palestinians seem further apart than ever before. Yet twenty years ago this month, Palestinians and Israelis managed to come together in secret talks that concluded with the Oslo Accords the following September.The Oslo peace process marked a dramatic shift in Arab-Israeli relations. Israeli Prime Minister...
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'My Friend Dahmer': The Education of a Serial killer
Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and charged with murdering 17 people. The horrifying crimes involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. Overnight, he became a media sensation, the subject of interviews and television specials and more than a few books. Derf Backderfwent to school with Jeffrey Dahmer. After Dahmer's death, he finally sat down to tell his story about what it was like to have Dahmer as a classmate in "My Friend Dahmer." "The remarkable thing...
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Essay: The Roots of Opposition to the U.N. Disability...
Update: The U.S. Senate rejected the treaty that was "intended to protect the rights of those with with disabilities." Takeaway host John Hockenberry, who uses a wheelchair, looks at the people opposing the United Nations Convention on Rights for People with Disabilities. The Senate is expected to vote today on an international treaty that would sign the United States up to a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities in nations around the world. The 'convention,' as it is...
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'We're Nowhere' on the Fiscal Cliff
Worries about the fiscal cliff are beginning to sound like predictions from the Mayan calendar. Dave Weigel, political reporter from Slate, tries to demystify the smoke and mirrors of Washington politics. Though John Boehner said of the fiscal cliff negotiations, "We're nowhere," Weigel says of the opaque statement: "Reading all of this is just like reading any sort of gypsy tea leaf prediction, or statement. You know, these people are not really saying what their final negotiation position...
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From the Heart: Five Novelists on Writing About Love
At the Miami Book Fair International, The Takeaway gathered five novelists to discuss their experiences with love.Christopher Beha's novel "What Happened to Sophie Wilder"explores the conflicts between religious and romantic love. Jami Attenberg's most recent novel, "The Middlesteins" follows the travails of a dysfunctional but loving Midwestern family across three generations. In "Wingshooters,"Nina Revoyrexplores themes of justice, loyalty, prejudice and love in a small town in...
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Is Literature Necessary?
We asked Takeaway listeners to tell us: What is the book or reading you were assigned in high school that had the biggest impact on you? And the responses have been pouring in:"Lord of the Flies," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Catcher in the Rye," "A Tale of Two Cities," and dozens more. Listeners from all over the country have offered hundreds of titles that changed their lives. But notably, none very few of them were non-fiction.Nearly all of them were works of fiction. But the kids of today...
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YouTube's New Greatest Hit
Gangnam style marked a new milestone over the weekend as it became the most-watched item ever posted to YouTube with more than 800 million views. It has even edged outJustin Bieber— such is its success. But Korean rapper Psy's Gangnam style is only the latest incarnation of a pop sensation that fuses video, youth, dance, and social media into a virtual club scene that never goes dark. Euny Hongis the lifestyle editor for Quartz.
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Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and American: A Woman's...
When listener Loren Levinson heard our segment on Madeleine Albright earlier this year, in which she talked about the discovery of her Jewish identity and family members that were killed during the Holocaust, it got her thinking about her own roots. Her incredible story fascinated us, as it bridged together two of the unlikeliest of cultures. Loren was raised in Jewish family but discovered that she was an adopted baby sold on the black market. Her birth father was a Pakistani Muslim and her...
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The Hidden Power of Vulnerability
Vulnerability: it's when we feel fragile, uncertain, and isolated. But there's a power hidden in being vulnerable, saysBrenBrown,professor of social work at the University of Houston and author of the book"Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead." Brown discusses the power and paradox of vulnerability. "It's the first thing I look for in you, and the last thing I'm going to show you."In an attempt to understand the anatomy of...
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Giving Thanks: Our Takeaway
It's been a difficult fall for this country, with a bitter and divisive election and a deadly storm whose effects are still being felt in the Northeast. But there is a lot to be thankful for today nonetheless. John Hockenberry, host of The Takeaway, shares his Thanksgiving reflections. My thanksgiving moment came early this year. It was a very specific visual image, two actually, and while you're not going to hear me whining about what happened during Hurricane Sandy — I was lucky, big time...
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Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister on the Situation in Gaza
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister,Danny Ayalonjoins The Takeaway from the BBC's offices in Washington D.C. to share his perspective.He's also the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Here's a transcript of the interview: Todd Zwillich (host): We heard the Secretary [Clinton] use the phrase ‘durable outcome.’ Can you explain what that means from Israel’s perspective beyond simply a stop in rocket fire coming from Gaza – what does ‘durable’ mean? Danny Ayalon: Yes, and this is the...
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Middle East Peace Negotiations: There and Back Again
As Hamas and other groups in Gaza continue to launch rockets into Israel, and the Israeli Defense Forces bomb Gaza in turn, it's hard to remember that there have been moments of reconciliation, and promises of peace, between Arabs and Israelis. American leaders have often taken the lead in these negotiations. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski helped negotiate the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula...
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Nicholas Kristof Visits War-Torn Syria
The sounds of distant explosions and nearby sniper fire are not new to war-torn Syria, which has been embroiled for nearly 20 months in what some have called civil war. President Bashar al-Assad's military has shelled cities and forced civilians from their homes and into refugee camps in neighboring countries. The rebel-comprised Free Syrian Army have risen up against the regime, and although they have wide international support, the group has also been accused of committing atrocities as...
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Ken Burns on the Generation that Survived The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, created during the so-called Dirty Thirties, is considered one of the worst man-made environmental catastrophes in American history. In his latest film, director Ken Burns tells the story of the migrant farmers who in the early 20th century moved to an area of Oklahoma once called “No Man’s Land." With infrequent rain, this part of the country was a risky place to eke out a living, but in the 1920s the southern plains experienced an unusual wet spell and a boom in wheat...
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Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
In recent years, the Catholic Church has faced countless accusations of child abuse, cover ups and institutional secrets. The cases number in the thousands. And all of them are horrific. But one of the most shocking took place in Milwaulkee. It involved a priest named Father Murphy and 200 deaf children in his care. Alex Gibneydelves into Father Murphy’s history of abuse, and the church’s decision tocoverit up, in his new documentary, “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.” Gibney,...
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Military Marriages: Does a Higher Set of Standards Apply?
As General David Petraeus’s marital infidelity comes to light and his storied career comes to an end, questions have arisen about his marriage, his life in the military, and whether members of the military are — or should be — held to a higher standard than the rest of us. We asked listeners to give their take on this question yesterday, and many of you weighed in. Frimet said:"No, they should not be held to a higher standard, unless it poses a threat to our national security. We've lost too...
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Many Opinions on the Fiscal Cliff, But Few Options
The big issue facing Congress as it gets back to work is the so-called 'fiscal cliff.' To that extent, nothing is going to get much of a look in unless a deal is reached on a range of laws which, if unchanged by the end of the year, will result in tax increases and massive spending cuts. The policy differences between the Republicans and Democrats are endless, but the ways forward are pretty limited.Todd Zwillich,The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, explains.
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Petraeus Scandal Grows as New Details Emerge
General David Petraeus' storied career in public service came to a sudden end on Friday as the details of an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell became known to the world. The general, who is credited with game-changing tenures in both Iraq and Afghanistan, had to resign his current post as director of the Central Intelligence Agency as details of an F.B.I. investigation revealed the affair. Retired Colonel Peter Mansoor, former executive officer to General David Petraeus and now...
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How America's Changing Demographics Will Affect the 2016...
On election night, November 6, before the results came down,Fox News Host Bill O’Reillytold his fellow pundits that "20 years ago, President Obama would've been roundly defeated by an establishment candidate like Mitt Romney." What's changed, O'Reilly explained, is that "the white establishment is now the minority." White Americans may not be the minority quite yet, but the demographics are shifting in that direction, and those shifts will certainly affect the electorate. As demographer...
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Four More Years and President Obama's Legacy
President Obama won a second term this week, but he still faces a looming debt crisis, a hobbling economy, and a hyper-partisan Congress. As he enters his second term, what has President Obama learned from his first four years? What are his goals for the next four? And how does the President hope to shape his legacy? Jodi Kantor, correspondent for Takeaway partner The New York Times and author of "The Obamas," examines these questions, and says that, watching the Obamas after the election,...
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Obama Wins a Second Term
President Obama secured a second term last night after an emotional and hard-fought campaign that enabled him to sweep nearly all of the swing states, including Virginia and Ohio. Obama thanked Romney for a passionate battle, and returned to the tenets of his campaign, hope, and progress. Mitt Romney admitted defeat last night from his headquarters in Boston, after months of campaigning and over a billion dollars spent. Despite his loss, Romney insisted that the principles of his campaign...
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Boiling Down the Past Four Years
We're finally here! The Takeaway has spent countless hours covering this campaign and election, and as we hunker down for a long week of coverage, we wanted to bring you a look back at the last four years of politics in America, starting on election day 2008 and bringing you all the way through yesterday's final comments from the candidates.
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It's Time for Independents to Choose
For months, the Takeaway has been checking in with independents and undecideds, seeing where their crucial votes will land. They've seen the political landscape shift with each ad, each debate, and now, a natural disaster.There are some who haven't made up their minds, and there's not much time left. We're following up withAJ Dellingerfrom Wisconsin,Julia Pfafffrom Virginia,Kim LobeandRick Robolof Ohio,Horacio Soberon-Ferrerof Florida,Barbara Dymondof New Hampshire,and asking them where...
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Small Business Owners Cope with Loss
Despite the optimistic outlook that the urgent need to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy will result in the creation of jobs, small businesses in New York have taken a huge hit.Storefronts and bars were flooded, restaurant equipment destroyed, and many business owners remain in the dark about whether or not they will even be able to reopen. New York City small business ownersDawn Casale, and Sherry Delamarter join us to share the impact Sandy has had on their livelihoods, and what steps they are...
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Will Hurricane Sandy Change Your Vote?
Pictures of devastation continue to pour in from across the Northeast. With much of the damage in the country’s largest media market, the plight of New Yorkers and others affected by the storm is sure to dominate the news cycle for weeks — if not months. But could the effects of the hurricane extend beyond the flood zones and power grids? Could it decide a presidency? Three independent voters far away from the battered beaches of New York and New Jersey weigh in. Julia Pfaff is an adjunct...
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Hurricane Sandy's Election Impact
The 2012 election is just six days away, and voters in swing states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, and even as far west as Ohio are still reeling from Hurricane Sandy. Flooding and felled trees continue to block roads, andmillionsofpeople are still without power. How might Hurricane Sandy impact affect early voting, and voter turnout on election day? The New York State Board of Elections notes on its website that, "Due to Hurricane Sandy, poll site information for the November 6, 2012 election...
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Hospital in the Path of Sandy
As Sandy pummels the East Coast, cities and states up and down the eastern seaboard are dealing with what’s been described as the worst storm on record for the Atlantic. The Takeaway is talking with voices who are on the ground. David Goodman, a reporter for our partner The New York Times, explains what happened at a hospital in New York after it lost primary and backup power.
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When Disaster Strikes: Film and Reality
When it comes to disaster movies, New York is well-represented.From King Kong’s climb up the Empire State Building to the aliens dedicated to the city’s destruction in Independence Day, action films never hesitate to take on the Big Apple. But how do New Yorkers deal with actual crisis? And how well do disaster movies represent New Yorkers’ reality? Radio host and pop culture buff Seth Rudetsky has thought a lot about these questions. Seth is the host of On Broadway and Seth Speaks on...
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Man with Down Syndrome Responds to Ann Coulter's Use of...
During this past Monday’s presidential debate, political commentator Ann Coultertweeted: “I highly approve of Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to the retard.” Her choice of words in referencing the president elicited widespread uproar across social media. One particularly well-written and well-thought out response stood above the rest. Special Olympics athlete and global messengerJohn Franklin Stephenspublished, “An Open Letter to Ann Coulter” on the Special Olympics blog. In his...
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China Prepares for Leadership Transition as US Readies...
On November 8, just two days after Election Day in the United States, the Chinese Community Party will undergo its own leadership transition, at the 2012 Party Congress. China has figured prominently into the 2012 presidential election, as President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have promised severe action against the Asian country in every debate. "On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator," Romney explained in the first debate, "which will allow...
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U.S. Senate Candidate in Hot Water Over Comments on Rape
It seems like dj vu: a U.S. Senate candidate in a tight race makes a controversial statement about rape, setting off an awkward need for a response from the Republican presidential nominee. This time it wasRichard Mourdockin a Tuesday night debate against his opponent Democratic Representative Joe Donnely. He said that, "Life is a gift from God. Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Mary Beth Schneideris a political...
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Obama and Romney Debate Foreign Policy
With election day just two weeks away, Americans tuned in on Monday to watch the third and final presidential debate, which focused on foreign policy. In arecent pollin three battleground states, foreign policy was only the fourth most important factor for voters, ranked below the economy, the deficit, and health care. Did this debate change the minds of any independent voters? We check back in withAJ Dellingerof Wisconsin,Julia Pfaffof Virginia,Horacio Soberon-Ferrerof Florida,Dan Starrof...
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A Climate of Doubt
Just a few years ago, climate change was widely considered an "inconvenient truth" — something that would likely be expensive and difficult to fix, but an issue that nearly allpoliticiansfelt compelled to reckon with. In the 2008 election, Republicans and Democrats alike talked about global warming as one of the most pressing problems our nation faced. But in 2012, climate change has all but evaporated as a political issue. The new Frontline documentary,Climate of Doubt, investigates...
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Boy Scouts Release 'Perversion' Files
Yesterday, the Boy Scouts of America, one of the most illustrious and respected youth organizations in the world, released a number of “Ineligible Volunteer Files.” Also referred to as the “Perversion Files,” these documents list over 1,200 suspected child molesters both within the organization and in the communities they serve. Dating back several decades, they were originally assembled as a means for keeping track of potentially dangerous individuals who were considered ineligible to...
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Can the Government Create Jobs?
In Tuesday night’s presidential debate there was much discussion about job creation, but it was the comments of one of our independent voters in Ohio, Dan Starr, that really set a lot of listeners off. "The government doesn't create any jobs — they really don't," he said. "That's the job of the private sector. There was a moment right in the beginning when Obama said, 'Look, we've created such and such jobs,' and I said, 'No you haven't, that's false.'” Several listeners called to say they...
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Independents React to the Second Presidential Debate
After thefirst presidential debate, we spoke to several independent voters throughout the country who have not yet decided who they will be voting for come November. While some of them remain undecided, others said the first debate brought them closer to voting for either Romney or Obama. Now, after the second presidential debate, we check back in with these voters to see what they thought and where they are leaning. We speak withAJ Dellingerof Wisconsin,Julia Pfaffof Virginia,Horacio...
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One Tough Neighborhood, Two Friends, and Thousands of...
We’ve seen the rough, urban neighborhood documented thousands of times by photojournalists dating all the way back to Jacob Riis in the 1800s. Over and over again, the images appear the same: children playing in alleys, kids standing on street corners, poverty, rubble, and graffiti. But urban blight is more than its set pieces. Each face in a crowd has his or her own story. And Andy Velazquez is one of those faces. Andy grew up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on a street in which half the houses were...
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Growing Up in a War Zone
While war continues to ravage Syria, the world watches in horror. The question weighing most heavily on our collective conscience is simply this: What about the children? Nadja Halilbegovich and Natasha Saade know the wounds inflicted on children of conflict first hand. Both women were young when war broke out in their home countries — Nadja was twelve when the Bosnian War shocked the once peaceful Sarajevo, and Natasha was fourteen during the 2006 war in Lebanon. "I remember the first day...
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Biden and Ryan Spar in First and Only Vice Presidential...
Governor Romney was largely seen as the winner of last week’s presidential debate, as he gave a confident, direct, and what some called a “presidential” performance. He subsequently gained a significant post-debate bump in the polls.So naturally, all eyes were on Vice President Joe Biden last night, as he and Paul Ryandebatedin Kentucky. So did Biden make up for his boss’s lackluster performance last week? Or is Paul Ryan likely to cause another bump for Romney?Todd Zwillich, our Washington...
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Has Obama Narrowed Our Discussion of Race?
Hermene Hartmanwas an enthusiastic supporter of President Obama in 2008. In fact her magazine, N’DIGO, was the first to publish his image on its cover back in 1997. Since then, her enthusiasm has faded. Earlierthis monthwe spoke with Ms. Hartman about how she thinksthere has been "disappointment in Barack Obama as an African American" and that "there’s been no focus and deliberation with the black community." Her comments elicited a widespread backlash, including people who told her she...
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Supreme Court Could Overturn Affirmative Action
On June 23, 2003, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor read her majority opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger, the case that upheld the affirmative action policy at the University of Michigan Law School. "It has been 25 years since Justice Powell first suggested approval of the use of race to further an interest in student body diversity in the context of higher education" Justice O'Connor said. "We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to...
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The Trouble with Depicting God
Depictions of the sacred are everywhere in modern American society: a white, bearded, and haloed Jesus on the cartoon South Park; a painting of The Last Supper in your grandmother’s living room; Mel Gibson detailing the crucifixion in The Passion of the Christ. But America is not removed from conflict over representations of sacred figures. Turmoil has been present since the country’s settlement and continues today in disputes over God’s race and gender. And so, as Americans stand aghast...
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Thinking Like a Scientist: Solution to Politics?
Is there a science to the way American politics is conducted?Rep.Rush Holt(D-NJ) argues that morescientificthought is needed when it comes to the political system. Rep. Holt argues that thinking analytically — whether it's when drafting bills, negotiating in Congress, or creating new programs — would lead to higher value political policies. Hewrote about this issueforNature. Rep. Holt is the onlyphysicistin Congress today and is the ranking member of theEnergy and Mineral Resources...
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Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Speaks at...
On Tuesday at the General Assembly,Obamachallengedthe international communityto get "serious" about ideals of freedom and democracy.Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, believes that the effectiveness of these remarks will depend on whether the United States is seen as a force of hope, or a force that divides the world even further. "People generally tend to see the U.S. in a very positive light," says Albright. "In all the countries that were part of the Arab awakening,...
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Virginia: For the Love of Swing Voters
The presidential campaigns have only 41 days left to get to every corner of every battle ground state and get out the vote. That effort includes Virginia, where both Romney and Obama have been campaigning. Obama currently holds a 4.5 point lead in the state, according to the Real Clear Politicspolling average. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich took a drive down there yesterday to get a sense of where the campaigns are spending their resources and what the voters are saying,...
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Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee on...
Two years ago today the education reform documentary"Waiting for ‘Superman’"opened in theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The movie reignited a national debate about education reform, and it introduced many Americans to charismatic D.C. schools chancellorMichelle Rhee. Two years later, Rhee is no longer in charge of D.C. schools, but she remains one of education reform’s most controversial figures. Her advocacy group, StudentsFirst, pushes for teachers to be evaluated — and get pay...
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'Treme' Enters Third Season, Continues the Story of New...
For years now,David SimonandEric Overmeyerhave been dramatizing the story of New Orleans in "Treme." There is a tension in stories of recovery like this one: How do you tell the story of New Orleans in a way that isn't voyeuristic or cliched? But the beauty of the recovery story, Simon and Overmeyer say, is the way that the past and future mix before your eyes. The HBO series begins its third season this Sunday, and the show is evolving in its portrayal of post-Katrina New Orleans. "It's...
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Massachusetts Considers Bill Allowing Assisted Suicide
For voters in Massachusetts, election day will mean a decision on Question 2, a ballot question that would legalize physician-assisted suicide. The measure, referred to by proponents as "death with dignity" and by opponents as "assisted suicide," has been under fire from the Catholic Church and a number ofother groupswho are concerned about the possibility of its being abused. In the interest of full disclosure, John Hockenberry explains that, as a person with a disability, he is opposed...
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Life After Death: Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three
Damien Echolshas lived through a nightmare. At the age of 18, he was wrongfully convicted, along with two others, of murdering three young boys,. His co-defendantswere Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. Together, they came to be known as The West Memphis Three. Echols spent the next 18 years on death row, and was finally released, along with Baldwin and Misskelley, on a plea bargain last August. Echols writes about this experience, as well as his childhood, in a new memoir, “Life After...
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Leaked Video Shows Romney's Latest Slip Up
In a video leaked last night by Mother Jones, Mitt Romney said that 47 percent of voters are dependent on the government and will vote for Obama "no matter what." "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it, and that's an entitlement and government should give it to them."...
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The Hidden Power of Vulnerability
Vulnerability: it's when we feel fragile, uncertain, and isolated. But there's a power hidden in being vulnerable, saysBrenBrown,professor of social work at the University of Houston and author of the book"Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead." Brown discusses the power and paradox of vulnerability. "It's the first thing I look for in you, and the last thing I'm going to show you."In an attempt to understand the anatomy of...
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Have Swing State Voters Made Up Their Minds?
Over the summer, Anna Sale, politics reporter for WNYC’s interactive politics site It’s a Free Country traveled across the country speaking to swing state voters in Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, and Ohio. This past week, she caught up with some of those swing voters to find out if their views have changed after the convention.
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White House Says Attack in Libya May Have Been Planned
Who was behind the attack in Libya and what this means for the future of US relations with the country -- and the region -- remains uncertain.
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Major Charities Dupe Donors
In a major investigation conducted by Bloomberg Markets Magazine, senior reporter David Evans found that the American Cancer Society, among other major charities in the United States, have signed suspicious contracts withtelemarketersto raise money. The American Cancer Society is the largest health charity in the country and has enlisted InfoCision Management Corp. to raise millions of dollars over the past decade. In 2010, InfoCision raised $5.3 million through hundreds of thousands of...
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The Gender Bias Lawsuit that Changed Journalism
The story of the women's movement, and of women entering the workforce in positions of power, often begins with the publication of Betty Friedan's book "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963. But history provides a much more complicated picture of the modern American workforce. While World War II provided a range of employment opportunities for women, once the soldiers returned, a majority of American women retreated into the home. Some retained their jobs, as Gail Collins writes in her book on the...
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'Junk DNA' Not So Useless After All
On Wednesday, scientists published the most comprehensive analysis of the human genome, and their findings offered a very different view of human DNA than was previously understood or even imagined. More than 400 scientists from 32 laboratories across the globe worked on the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project (Encode), which was launched back in 2003. The Encode researchers were tasked with analyzing and mapping the huge area of the human genome once considered “junk DNA,” and what they...
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Libertarian Party Nominee Gary Johnson: A True Fiscal...
Last week, the media was inundated with images of delegates gathering in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney for president, and this week delegates will be doing the same for Barack Obama. Yet there are been many other nominating conventions of late, although they have received substantially less attention. While it may appear that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are the only Americans running for president, there are still many third party candidates in the race. Gary Johnson, a libertarian, is one...
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Who Dictates the Definition of "Rape"?
While there are an estimated 25,000 rape-related pregnancies each year in the United States, there still remains an overwhelming level of confusion surrounding the issues of rape and abortion. This confusion is only exacerbated by polarized politicized debate that often overshadows the real issues at stake. Though Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" once again brought the issue of our country's understanding — or misunderstanding — of rape to the forefront, arguments over statistics,...
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Meet the Delegates: Rick Santorum Supporters
Delegates from all over the country have travelled to Tampa, Florida for the Republican National Convention. Those delegates will choose the next Republican nominee for president. The Takeaway has taken some time to talk to delegates from across the country about the GOP convention and what they think about the future of the country. Toni Jarms and Emily Jarms are mother and daughter delegates from Oregon. They've come to the convention in support of Rick Santorum. They tell The Takeaway...
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New Orleans Resident Documents the Storm
As Humvees rolled into New Orleans yesterday and officials urged Gulf Coast residents to leave their homes, you couldn’t help an eerie sense of familiarity. The details are similar: Katrina hit the gulf coast exactly seven years ago today. The fears are familiar, as well: the fears of floods, looting, and the vulnerability of a large homeless population. John LaTier was not there for Katrina. The filmmaker and photographer came from Sacramento to film the chaos two weeks after the city went...
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The Art of the Convention Speech
With primary competitors like Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul now in the distant past, and with his running mate now chosen, Mitt Romney is ready to kick his campaign against Obama into high gear. And at the Republican National Convention this week, he’ll have the opportunity to define precisely where he and Paul Ryan stand in opposition to the Democrats. Historically, candidates have used the publicity afforded by the national conventions as an opportunity to define, or to...
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Anti-Obama Documentary Is a Box Office Hit
There may be a storm headed for Tampa this week, but there’s a different kind of Republican storm happening at movie theaters right now. "2016: Obama’s America," a documentary by conservative writer Dinesh D’Souza is set to break box office records for political documentaries.The anti-Obama film includes an interview with the President’s African half-brother, George Obama. Rafer Guzman is film critic for Newsday and co-host of the Movie Date podcast.
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Navy SEAL Dishes on Osama bin Laden Raid
A new book set to be released on September 11th tells the blow-by-blow account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and its author is reportedly a Seal Team Six member who was on the mission. “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden” was written under a pseudonym to protect the identity of the author, but FOX News identified him yesterday as Matt Bissonnette, a 36-year old from Alaska. Chuck Pfarrer is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and author of “SEAL...
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Comparing the Campaigns of 2012 Obama to 2008 Obama
In 2008, hope and change were Barack Obama's rallying cries, and tens of thousands showed up to hear him speak. The Obama campaign was an almost unparalleled machine, staying on-message with almost zero in-fighting. Today, the Obama campaign more closely resembles a standard presidential re-election team. There are differences in ideology, personal disputes, and a candidate unhappy with some of the actions pursued by his campaign team. A new e-book by Politico's Senior White House...
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Women's Health Leads Election Debate
The debate over women’s health issues has been at the forefront of this election.Just this weekend, Rep. Todd Akin caused a stir when he said most victims of “legitimate rape” don’t become pregnant.Then on Tuesday, the GOP included language in their official platform calling for a constitutional amendment banning abortion with no specific exceptions for rape or incest. Two voters who are weighing their vote a bit more carefully this year in light of these events are Callie Pioli and Ally...
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Mary Elizabeth Williams' Guide to "Legitimate Rape"
The latest major political misstep goes to Todd Akin, Republican Representative from Missouri, who in an interview on Sunday said, "if it's legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." People quickly came out against Akin for his comments, questioning exactly what he meant by "legitimate rape." That's the premise of a piece Mary Elizabeth Williams just wrote for Salon. What exactly constitutes rape under current laws?
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For Premature Babies, A Fine Ethical Line Between Life...
One of the medical areas where technology has most rapidly advanced is neonatal care. In the 1960s when Neonatal Intensive Care Units first opened, a premature baby had a five percent chance of survival. Now, that chance is at 95 percent. Despite this high survival rate, premature babies often have severe disabilities as a result of their time in the NICU. Doctors and parents are then left with tough decisions about which babies they fight for. Art Caplanheads the Division of Medical Ethics...
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Special Ops Group Takes a Shot at Obama Over Bin Laden...
Attack ads have been a fixture of this election, but on Wednesday a 22-minute-longvideotitled “Dishonorable Disclosures” was released by the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund. The ad criticizes President Obama and his administration for taking full credit for the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and for leaking vital secret information about the mission to the public. While the organization, which is set up as a 501(c)(4), claims to have no partisan leanings, they’ve already raised about a...
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Kirby Ferguson: Creating is Stealing
You've probably heard the American tune, "This Land is Your Land." What you probably haven't heard is "When the World's on Fire," the song whose melody Woody Guthrie stole to write his patriotic ode. Now think about the last time you did something creative. Did you have help? If the answer is no…the answer is still yes. That’s according toKirby Ferguson,a filmmaker and creator of the four-part video series, “Everything is a Remix.”In the series, Ferguson takes viewers through a long history...
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Remembering Helen Gurley Brown
Her 1962 book, "Sex and the Single Girl"was an American revelation: not only did unmarried women have sex, but they liked it, too.And as the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine from 1965-1997, she laid the blueprint of the most successful women’s magazine in the world. Helen Gurley Brown died yesterday in New York, aged 90. Jennifer Scanlon, professor of the humanities in gender and women’s studies at Bowdoin College and author of "Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown." Edith...
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Why 'Having It All' Is Impossible
'Having it all.' It's the phrase of a generation who fought for equal rights in the workplace. Earning an income, raising a family, and maintaining a social life became the ultimate standard of balanced success in the modern era. But who's to say when you have it all? What standard are we measuring against? And who says there's an ideal life, anyway?In June, Anne-Marie Slaughterspoketo The Takeaway about her piece in The Atlantic called "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." Within a week, it...
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Living Well in Tiny Spaces
Spaciousness could become a thing of the past in urban areas as we continue to contract ourselves into smaller and smaller spaces.In September, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote on aproposal to reduce the minimum apartment sizeto 150 square feet. In Boston, there are plans to reduce minimum unit size from 450 to 350 square feet, and in New York, Mayor Bloomberg has launched a contest to design compact apartments to accommodate an expected influx of new residents. It all begs...
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Olympic Athletes Protest Social Media Restrictions
Several U.S. athletes are protesting the strict rules that limit what they can post on social media sites during the Olympics.They're using twitter to speak up about it, using the hashtags #Rule40 and #WeDemandChange. The International Olympics Committee’s "Rule 40" prevents athletes from promoting brands other than the official Olympic sponsors during the days before and during the Games. The rules aim to protects the Games’ official sponsors, who paid big bucks for exclusive deals.But some...
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Why Can So Few American Minorities Swim?
During the first week of the Olympics, all eyes turn to the pool. Phelps, Lochte, Coughlin: America routinely produces some of the world’s best swimmers. But as a country, America is barely keeping afloat. According to the Red Cross, 37 percent of Americans say they’re not good swimmers. Thirteen percent say they can’t swim at all. While those numbers are bad, they'reeven worse among minorities. According to the U.S.A. Swimming Foundation, 70 percent of African-American children and 60...
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Why I Changed My Opinion About Guns
After the shooting in Colorado that killed 12 last week, gun control — an issue that had stayed mainly on the sidelines during the presidential campaign thus far — was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. The massacre had many people wondering whether such a tragedy could have been prevented by stricter gun control laws, or whether armed citizens can serve as a deterrent to future crises. But what does it take to change someone’s mind about guns? Joining us are two men who have completely...
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Should Voting Be Mandatory?
Few things in America are mandatory. It was once mandatory for young men to sign up for the draft, but there's no longer a draft in effect. Young Americans are required to get at least some level of schooling and in just a few years, health insurance will become mandatory, too. But there's something that's noticeably absent from the list of requirements for Americans: voting. It's not a secret that voter turnout in America is low, hovering around 50 percent.ButNorman Ornsteinis trying to...
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'Searching for Sugar Man': A Rock Star's Cinderella Story
In the 1960s and 1970s, most Americans tuned in to the protest music of Bob Dylan or Simon and Garfunkel, to rock legends like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. At that time, few Americans had ever heard ofRodriguez, a protest rock musician who, after making two albums in the early '70s, quit the music business. Rodriguez returned to his native Detroit and began working in construction, but his music played on for decades — just not in the United States. Rodriguez's albums became the most...
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Oprah's Recent India Episode Not an "Aha!" Moment
For nearly 30 years, Oprah Winfrey has been one of the most influential voices in American culture, overseeing a multi-billion dollar empire that includes publishing, radio, movies, and television.But this past weekend, millions of viewers in India believe they witnessed Oprah at her worst. Two episodes of Winfrey's OWN series “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” aired over the weekend in India and created an explosion of criticism. Criticssaythat the episodes reinforced stereotypes of India, complete...
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Was the Colorado Shooter a Terrorist?
In the days since the Colorado shootings, commentators and politicians have started to liken James Holmes, the suspected killer, to a terrorist. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper did so twice yesterday morning — on NBC’sMeet the Press, and again onCNN’s State of the Union. "In a funny way, this guy was a terrorist," said Hickenlooper on CNN. "He wasn't a terrorist in the sense of politics, but for whatever twisted reasons that we can barely even imagine, he wanted to create terror. He...
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Bioethical Questions Raised by 'Cyclops Baby'
A recentblog postbyDr. Fredric Neuman has stirred up questions about the ethics surrounding babies born with fatal deformities. When he was an intern in 1960, Neumanrecallsa baby born withholoprosencephaly, a disorder where the brain has failed to fully develop. The child had only one eye fused into the middle of its forehead, and could not be fed. In an attempt to spare her the trauma of seeing her child, the doctor told the baby's mother that it had died at birth. Then, the hospital staff...
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The Case of the 'Cyclops Child'
Doctor Fredric Neumanis now the director of the Anxiety and Phobia Center at White Plains Hospital. But when he was a medical intern, he saw something no one should ever have to see. In a recentblog postfor Psychology Today, Neuman detailed the birth of a "Cyclops Child." Thisbaby was born with a “single fused eye in the middle of its forehead.” Parts of the brain and skull were missing, and the child’s esophagus had never separated from the trachea and led straight to its lungs, making it...
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Chen Guangcheng on Disability, Human Rights and China
Earlier this year, Chinese activistChen Guangchengescaped home arrest and took refuge at the American Embassy in Beijing. Little did he know that he would bestudying lawat New York University months later, following diplomatic negotiations involving Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Chinese officials. Guangcheng, who is blind, has spent his career confronting the Chinese government’s approach to disability rights, something he’s continuing to do from...
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The Struggle to Find Adulthood Friends
The friendships we develop as children are vital to our social and emotional growth, confidence, and general happiness. But what happens when we become adults — with children of our own and demanding jobs and making friends suddenly does not seem so easy? How do we make time for new friendships when we barely even have time for ourselves? Marla Paul struggled to make friends as an adult when she relocated from Dallas to her hometown of Chicago. Paul is the author of "The Friendship Crisis:...
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Saudi Arabia Sends Women to Olympics for First Time
For the first time, Saudi Arabiawill be sending two female athletes into Olympic competition.While the decision is a historic one, it rings hollow for many women's rights activists. Saudi women are prohibited from voting or driving and require permission from a male relative to work or travel. Eman Al Nafjan, who is from Saudi Arabia, writes a blog promoting women rights in her country. She is dismissive of the change in policy given the multitude of more pressing women's rights problems...
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Diverse Neighborhood, Uniform Friends
Tanner Colbyis what you might call your typical, liberal, city-dwelling, 30-something white guy. He has a good education. He votes for Democrats. He loves Obama. He thinks of himself as tolerant and open-minded. But one day he looked around and realized something: Despite living in Brooklyn, one of the most diverse cities in the world, he had no black friends. And when he asked his friends if they had any black friends, it turned out they didn’t either.How did this happen? The search for...
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Reduced to Minimum Wage: A Firefighter's Struggle
Imagine you’re a city employee who works hardto earn $23an hour. Then one day, the mayor of your town cuts your salary, and the salaries of 400 other city employees, to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. It sounds like a nightmare, but in fact,it’s real lifefor the city employees of Scranton, Pennsylvania. And it looks as though there are no easy solutions. After all, Scranton is in the midst of a $16.8 million budget deficit. John Judgeis a Scranton firefighter and president of the...
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Seeking an Endgame for AIDS in Black America
From July 22 to 27, the United States will host the 19th International AIDS Conference. The conference has not been held in the United States since 1990 because of a travel ban that had restricted people infected with HIV from entering the country. President Barack Obama removed the ban in 2010. The global conference will be held in the American city worst affected by the pandemic: our nation’s capital, which is also the nation’s HIV capital. Washington, D.C. is predominantly black, and the...
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The Takeaway's Musical Road Trip: Brooklyn with Reggie...
This summer, The Takeaway is embarking on a virtual road trip around the country to some of America’s greatest music cities. Our tour guides will include some of the most popular recording artists and experts from each town.And we want you to be a part of it. Call 877-8-MYTAKE to nominate the music city that you think should be a stop on our virtual road trip. Or write us at Facebook. We’re kicking off the series today in the great city of Brooklyn, New York. Our tour guide will be one of...
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Photoshopping the Real Girl Out of the Girl
This week, Seventeen magazine released their “Body Peace Treaty,” which promises to “celebrate every kind of beauty” and “never alter the shape of a girl’s face or body.” The treaty comes in the aftermath of anonline petition, signed by nearly 100,000 girls, asking the magazine to “give girls images of real girls.” The petition was started by 14-year-old Julia Bluhm. And now her friend, 16-year-oldCarina Cruz, hasstarteda similar petition, targeted at Teen Vogue. "This problem has always...
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Nicholas Kristof on the People of Iran
For journalist, author, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winnerNicholas Kristof, one of the biggest mysteries about Iran was how the regime not only stayed in power, but remained relatively popular among the Iranian people during the Arab Spring. To find out, he took aroad tripacross Iran looking for an answer to that question. He also brought along his two children. Kristof found that a lot had changed since he lastvisitedin 2004, when the Iranian people were open about their discontent with the...
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The Higgs Boson: Closer Than Ever Before
The Higgs Boson has eluded scientists for centuries. Modern physicists believe that the discovery of the Higgs Boson could possibly be the most important molecular discovery of our time, and we may have found it. The director of the world's biggest atom smasher in Geneva said this morning that they've discovered a new subatomic particle, and perhaps finally filled in the missing piece from the long-standing Standard Theory with a particle that scientists have searched for for decades....
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CERN to Unveil New Evidence for "God Particle"
In December, scientists from the CERN lab in Switzerland announced that they had found "hints" about the existence of Higgs Boson particle, otherwise known as the "God particle."On Wednesday, CERN will announce the latest evidence. The God particle is key to explaining why matter has mass, an understanding that would explain how subatomic particles, and thus our universe, formed in the first place. In December, scientists from CERN announced that they had found "hints" of the particle's...
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How Will Hospitals Change after the Supreme Court's...
The political guessing game is over: the Supreme Court has ruled on President Obama's health care bill, the Affordable Care Act.Hospitals across the country are already adapting to a growing number of uninsured Americans, but today's announcement that the individual mandate for health care is constitutional will have very substantial repercussions for the entire industry of medical services. Wayne Keathleyis not only the President of Mount Sinai Hospital, he's also the COO, responsible for...
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Remembering Nora Ephron
Born in 1941 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, she got her start as a journalist in the mail-room of Newsweek Magazine. She went on to become novelist, a playwright, and an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a movie director. Alessandra Stanleyis the chief television critic forThe New York Timesand friend of Ephron's. For Stanley, there was never a dull moment around Ephron's comedic genius. "Dinners at her house were a three-course comedy, and she was at the center of them," Stanley says....
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How Should We Balance Our Work and Personal Lives?
Anne-Marie Slaughteris a busy woman. She's a professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton, a former director of policy planning at the State Department, and a mother of two boys. Last week in The Atlantic, she published an article called “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” The article is as honest as its title, and as frustrated, and hopeful as that "still" in the middle. It speaks to those men and women who would like to see more women on the Supreme Court, and in the State...
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The Books that Shaped America
It’s the ultimate summer reading list. The Library of Congress has announced its list of the 88 ‘Books That Shaped America.’From Benjamin Franklin’s "Experiments and Observations on Electricity" to the late Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit451" and from the "Scarlet Letter" to "The Cat in the Hat," the chronological list is diverse. The Library of Congress claims that the list isn’t intended to be a “best of”. Instead, it's an eclectic mix of books that have contributed to the American conversation...
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The Invisible War: Fighting the Rape Crisis in the U.S....
A female soldier in combat zones today is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. It’sestimatedthat over half a million service men and women since World War II have been sexually assaulted. In the civilian world, these crimes are reported about half the time. But in the military, less than 14 percent of assaults are reported. And when they are, they're rarely punished. Of the estimated 19,000 sexual assaults that occurred in the military in 2010, less than one...
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African Pottery Gives Hints of the Earliest Dairy Farmers
When did earliest humans make cheese? Butter? Yogurt? New archeological findings suggest humans were in fact processing milk 7,000 years ago, as researchers examining pottery from from a site in Libya recently discovered traces of dairy fats on the earthenware. Julie Dunne is an archaeologist at the University of Bristol in England and the study’s first author. Dunne's team discovered the traces of animal fats using organic residue analysis and stable carbon isotope analysis. The findings...
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Gay and Republican: Are They Compatible?
The Democratic Party has long curried the favor of gay voters, and President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage has helped solidify Democrats as the gay rights party. On the other side, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opposed even civil unions.Due to the stark ideological contrast, has being gay become fundamentally incompatible with being Republican? Richard Grenell says no.Earlier this year, Romney appointed Grenell, the openly gay long-time U.S. spokesman at the United...
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