All Things Considered

Storm Chasers Seek Thrills, But Also Chance To Warn Others

Steve Mullis — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:33:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GhYAknfTkk

Discovering A Family Member's Lost Time In Amsterdam

Margot Adler — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

When I found out that one of my cousins — now 88 — had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, just like Anne Frank, it was a revelation. It made me want to know more about my cousin's life and story.

"I like to analyze what happens and to put it in writing; that gives you neatness in your head, and that is what I'm after," says my cousin, retired Judge Suzanne Hoogendijk. She was 87 at the time, and was talking about why she loved being a judge.

Pat Metheny And John Zorn: A Vivid Sound World

Tom Moon — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Guitarist Pat Metheny is revered for his bright, accessible modern jazz. Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is associated with much knottier, often dissonant experiments. Metheny's new Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol.

'Arrested Development' Leads The Charge For Old Brands In New Media

Neda Ulaby — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:37:00 +0000
Arrested Development returning via Netflix? Just another old-media brand reviving itself on new media.
The TV show, which originally ran on Fox from 2003 to 2006 and unveils new episodes on Netflix next weekend, finds itself in splendid company. Radiohead, Louis C.K., Veronica Mars — all found their audiences with promotion and distribution from big studios and networks. Radiohead was signed to a major music label. Louis C.K. enjoyed HBO specials and TV shows.

China Builds Museums ... But Will The Visitors Come?

Frank Langfitt — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:58:00 +0000
Shanghai did something last fall that few other cities on the planet could have even considered. It opened two massive art museums right across the river from one another on the same day.
The grand openings put an exclamation point on China's staggering museum building boom.

Business Owner Describes Major Destruction After Tornado

editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:13:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Casey Mongold, owner of Casey's Tire and Auto in Moore, Okla., where a tornado caused widespread destruction on Monday.

Forecasters Had Chance To Warn Moore, Okla., Before Tornado

Jon Hamilton — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:12:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Jon Hamilton about the science of tornadoes.

An Ancient Religious Pilgrimage That Now Draws The Secular

Eleanor Beardsley — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
A 1,200-year old European pilgrimage route is experiencing a revival. Last year alone, some 200,000 followed in the footsteps of their medieval forebears on the Way of St. James, making their way some 750 miles from Paris across France to the Spanish coastal city of Santiago de Compostela, and the relics of the eponymous apostle.
But now, what was once a strictly religious affair has become a cultural and social phenomenon that attracts the nonreligious as well.

The Low-Tech Way Guns Get Traced

Melissa Block — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
Opponents of expanding background checks for gun sales often raise the fear that it would allow the government to create a national gun registry — a database of gun transactions. In fact, federal law already bans the creation of such a registry. And the reality of how gun sales records are accessed turns out to be surprisingly low-tech.
The trace begins after police seize a gun at a crime scene and then reach out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, W.Va.

At L.A.'s UnCabaret, 25 Years Of Letting It All Hang Out

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
A lot of the stand-up comedy that gets done in Los Angeles is really just comics auditioning for parts in TV or movies.
Not at UnCabaret: For 25 years, it's been a place to hear unvarnished, rough-edged ideas being tried out — mostly for the first and possibly only time.
Michael Patrick King, co-creator of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, has worked out some issues there. So has comic, actor and Twitter titan Patton Oswalt, who took the stage to tell a tale about a date that changed his life.

Tornado Ravages Oklahoma City Suburb

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000
Melissa Block talks to Joe Wertz of the public radio initiative State Impact about the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area on Monday.

Iran's 'Zahra' Tells Alternate Tale Of Presidential Campaign

Peter Kenyon — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000
Iranians choose a new president next month, and one thing Iran's leaders are intent on avoiding is a repeat of the massive street protests that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election in 2009.
The sponsors of those protests, known as the Green Movement, have been effectively silenced inside Iran, but not online.

With New Xbox, Microsoft Makes A Bigger Play For Living Room

Laura Sydell — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000
Microsoft hasn't exactly had a great couple of years.
Its new Windows 8 operating system was held responsible for the drop in PC sales last quarter. Sales of its Windows Phones lag far behind both the iPhone and Google's Android phones.
The light in the darkness for Microsoft has been the Xbox 360, which has been the top-selling game console for over two years — beating out both the Nintendo Wii and Sony's PlayStation.

Latest Health Hurdle: Buying Insurance Without A Bank Account

Sarah Varney — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:28:00 +0000
When movie stars become unbankable, they're no longer a slam dunk at the box office. When investments become unbankable, they're relegated to the Wall Street's junk pile. For ordinary Americans deemed unbankable — those who don't have a traditional checking or savings account — it can be hard to simply pay bills.
And that absence of a bank account is about to become a big problem for those who also lack health coverage — and for the health insurance companies trying to sell them coverage.

Pope Francis Puts The Poor Front And Center

Sylvia Poggioli — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000
Over the past week, Pope Francis has launched a crescendo of attacks on the global financial system and what he calls a "cult of money" that does not help the poor.
The 2-month-old papacy of Francis — the Argentina-born Jorge Bergoglio — is shaping up as a papacy focused on the world's downtrodden.

Decades Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due

NPR Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:18:00 +0000
Sometimes you need some distance to appreciate a classic.
That was certainly the case for John Williams' novel Stoner. When it was originally published in 1965, the only publication to mention the book at all was The New Yorker, in its "Briefly Noted" column. The novel received admiring reviews over the years, but sold just 2,000 copies and was almost immediately forgotten.
Fast forward to today and the book is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.

Boom Or Bust? Saving Rhode Island's 'Superman' Building

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:58:00 +0000
Rhode Island is home to beautiful beaches, top-notch universities and a thriving arts scene.

Deke Sharon Makes A Cappella Cool Again

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:48:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExW80sXsHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q573_hDhTbE

The Movie Katie Aselton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000
The weekends on All Things Considered series Movies I've Seen A Million Times features filmmakers, actors, writers and directors talking about the movies that they never get tired of watching.
Actor-director Katie Aselton's credits include the TV show The League, and the films Jeff, Who Lives At Home and Black Rock— currently in theaters and on VOD.

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:09:00 +0000
The main character of Claire Messud's novel, The Woman Upstairs, is a good woman. Nora is a 37-year-old elementary school teacher — responsible, kind and reliable. She is also very, very angry.
Her dreams of being an artist have been suppressed; she is seething inside with rage and resentment. But she keeps her anger in until she meets another woman who has everything she does not: a husband, a child and a successful art career. And then everything begins to unravel.