All Things Considered

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

NPR Staff — 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 20:58:00 +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.

Three-Minute Fiction: 'Ten Ring Fingers' And 'Ghost Words'

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:54:00 +0000
NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass. You can read their full stories below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.

New 'Trek' Goes 'Into Darkness,' But Not Much Deeper

Bob Mondello — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:14:00 +0000
The opening sequence of J.J. Abram's new entry in the Star Trek universe has all the ingredients of the classic franchise.
There's Kirk and his crew bellowing on the bridge, everyone worrying about the prime directive and our favorite Vulcan trapped in a volcano.
OK, I'm in. I may not be a fanboy anymore, but I sure was in my youth, and having these guys in their youths again is just as cool at the outset as it was last time.
Chris Pine's baby-Shatner is spitting his lines while Zachary Quinto channels his inner Nimoy.

Alzheimer's Cases Rise, But Hope Remains

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:27:00 +0000
More than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, and the National Institute on Aging estimates that that number is going to triple by 2050 — in part due to aging baby boomers.
The cost of coping with the disease — currently estimated at $215 billion — is projected to rise to half a trillion dollars by 2050.

Impossible Choice Faces America's First 'Climate Refugees'

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
Climate change is a stark reality in America's northernmost state. Nearly 90 percent of native Alaskan villages are on the coast, where dramatic erosion and floods have become a part of daily life.
Perched on the Ninglick River on the west coast of the state, the tiny town of Newtok may be the state's most vulnerable village. About 350 people live there, nearly all of them Yupik Eskimos. But the Ninglick is rapidly rising due to ice melt, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the highest point in the town — a school — could be underwater by 2017.
Suzanne Goldenberg, a U.S.

Internships: Low-Paid, Unpaid Or Just Plain Illegal?

NPR Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
Summer is almost here, and with it comes the army of interns marching into countless American workplaces. Yet what was once an opportunity for the inexperienced is becoming a front-line labor issue.
More and more, unpaid and low-paid interns are feeling their labor is being exploited. Some are even willing to push back — with lawsuits.
One of the most high profile intern-versus-employer lawsuits suffered a setback last week that could have implications for other cases.

'Waiting To Be Heard' No More, Amanda Knox Speaks Out

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
When 20-year-old Amanda Knox left for Italy in August 2007, it was supposed to be a carefree year studying abroad.
No one could have foreseen it ending in her being accused, tried and convicted in the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher.
The case, and Knox, became an international media sensation.
"I think that there was a lot of fantasy projected onto me," she tells weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden.

Three-Minute Fiction Reading: 'Plum Baby'

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000
NPR's Susan Stamberg reads an excerpt of one of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. She reads Plum Baby by Carmiel Banasky of Portland, Ore. You can read the full story below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.
Copyright 2013 NPR.

Draco Rosa: A Pop Survivor Returns From The Brink, With Friends

Mandalit del Barco — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRjWauwpvE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3UVw3a7qIQ

'Venus And Serena': An Extraordinary Story, Told On Film

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:50:00 +0000
It's Cinderella plus Jackie Robinson times two. When Venus and Serena Williams burst onto the lily-white world of tennis, they changed the game and made history: They were sisters. From a poor neighborhood. Who brought unprecedented power to the game. And both reached No. 1.
Their journey is the subject of a new documentary called Venus and Serena, showing in select theaters around the country.
"It's not just about sports," says co-director Maiken Baird. "I think of it as the great American story. It's rich with family, sisterhood, race, hard work and tenaciousness."

Michigan LGBT Youth Center Does Outreach With A Dance 'Hook'

Kyle Norris — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4M8Av-SnPA