News Analysis Grim Prospects For The New Year December 31, 2008 • In 1996, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cautioned against "irrational exuberance." Now, in the 21st century, we live in the age of anxiety. Shopping is down; shoplifting and other woes are up. Dickens was only half-right: it's not the best of times, but only the worst of times. Grim Prospects For The New Year Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98912392/98912383" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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From Our Listeners Letters: Fish And Ducks December 31, 2008 • Robert Siegel and Melissa Block review listeners' e-mails from Monday's story on bread, fish and ducks in Linesville, Pa. People gather there to toss bread to the carp in a spillway, and there are so many fish that the ducks literally hop, skip, and jump across the fish to get their own slices of bread. Letters: Fish And Ducks Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98912409/98913252" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Letters: Fish And Ducks Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98912409/98913252" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Facebook Status Updates Feed Connection Addiction December 31, 2008 • The holidays are usually a time when all but my nearest and dearest fall off my radar screen. But it's just the opposite this year thanks to microblogging. It's as if everyone has nothing better to do than text a play-by-play of everything from sweeping up pine needles to cleaning wax out of their menorahs. Facebook Status Updates Feed Connection Addiction Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98869864/98879850" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Facebook Status Updates Feed Connection Addiction Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98869864/98879850" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Sorry, Son: A Jets Fan's Apology To Next Generation December 31, 2008 • Although I have nurtured and protected my two sons, I have blithely yoked my eldest to a life of heartbreak and angst with my support for the hometown team. And with the Jets' December Dive that can be described only as Mets-ian, as a father, I could only think, "What have I done?"
The Top 'Non-Troversies' Of 2008 December 31, 2008 • They were issues that dominated a news cycle — or many — but, in the end, they just didn't matter. Before they completely fade from memory, commentator John Ridley highlights some of the major "non-troversies" of the past year. The Top 'Non-Troversies' Of 2008 Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98697202/98861137" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Top 'Non-Troversies' Of 2008 Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98697202/98861137" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Raise A Glass For Richard Yates December 30, 2008 • Author Richard Yates is best known for his novel Revolutionary Road, which has been adapted to a movie to be released in January. But a life defined by drunken nights left Yates' own life journey as rocky as it was revolutionary, says Alan Cheuse. Raise A Glass For Richard Yates Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98519486/98711513" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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'Son, Let's Talk About Drinking' December 30, 2008 • New Year's Eve is just around the corner with extravagant celebrations being planned on many levels. But the decision to consume alcoholic beverages can have serious consequences for many youngsters who are eager to raise a glass or a bottle. Moms discuss teaching kids how to drink responsibly, whether to drink at all and reaction to when youngsters choose not to take their parents' advice. 'Son, Let's Talk About Drinking' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98810447/98810437" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Son, Let's Talk About Drinking' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98810447/98810437" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Op-Ed: Bush Should Ask For Shoe Thrower's Pardon December 30, 2008 • The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush, Muntadhir al-Zaidi, faces up to 15 years in prison. Mark Bowden believes Bush should ask Iraq's government to pardon him. "A small outrage," he writes for The Wall Street Journal, "requires a grand gesture." Op-Ed: Bush Should Ask For Shoe Thrower's Pardon Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98828335/98828327" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Op-Ed: Bush Should Ask For Shoe Thrower's Pardon Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98828335/98828327" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
From Our Listeners Letters: Influential People And Barber's Call December 30, 2008 • Talk of the Nation listeners make a few more nominations to our list of most influential people of 2008. Also, a letter from a listener who survived a small plane crash, and another listener thanks us for playing tape of Red Barber calling a game he didn't attend. Letters: Influential People And Barber's Call Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98828340/98828328" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Letters: Influential People And Barber's Call Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98828340/98828328" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Stop-Lossing Capt. Rawlings Essay: Troops In Iraq Face Economic Battle At Home December 30, 2008 • Just as Capt. Nate Rawlings decides he's ready to leave the Army for journalism, he watches the newspapers and radio shows he adores go under. Some of his fellow soldiers are planning to stay in the military, he says, rather than try to find a job in such a severe recession.
The Opinion Page Op-Ed: Black Republican Torn After Obama Win December 29, 2008 • Former Republican congressional staffer Sophia Nelson feels conflicted. As an African American, she loves the idea of a black family in the White House, but she's chagrined by her party's "blistering electoral defeat." She calls on Republicans to make amends with black Americans. Op-Ed: Black Republican Torn After Obama Win Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98788620/98788612" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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From Our Listeners Going To Inauguration? Tell Us! December 28, 2008 • If you or someone you know has managed to snag one of those 250,000 golden tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, we want to hear from you. Join the multimedia fun and tell us everything — how did you get tickets? Who's going with you? Who isn't? How are you getting to Washington, D.C? Going To Inauguration? Tell Us! Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98766585/98766562" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Going To Inauguration? Tell Us! Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98766585/98766562" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
From Our Listeners Letters: Totenberg Carols, Ballet Class, Pinkwater December 27, 2008 • Scott Simon reads from listener letters and e-mails. Letters: Totenberg Carols, Ballet Class, Pinkwater Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98754586/98756575" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Letters: Totenberg Carols, Ballet Class, Pinkwater Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98754586/98756575" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
From Our Listeners Letters: 'Little Rascals,' Chapel, Pinter, Yo-Yo Ma December 26, 2008 • Listeners commented on the stories on The Little Rascals, The Old Bethel Chapel, Harold Pinter and Yo-Yo Ma. Letters: 'Little Rascals,' Chapel, Pinter, Yo-Yo Ma Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98740954/98740953" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Letters: 'Little Rascals,' Chapel, Pinter, Yo-Yo Ma Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98740954/98740953" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
YR Media Father Returns To Mexico; Should Son Follow? December 26, 2008 • Youth Radio's Luis Sierra describes his father's decision to return to Mexico after decades in the United States. His father believes the U.S. economy is so bad, he can find better jobs in Mexico. Some other parents are doing the same thing. Luis has to decide whether he should stay and finish college or take his chances finishing his education in Mexico and job-hunting there. Father Returns To Mexico; Should Son Follow? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98718795/98718768" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Father Returns To Mexico; Should Son Follow? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/98718795/98718768" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
