NPR News

NPR's new series explores how the "American Dream" is evolving during a period of economic uncertainty. Host Michel Martin talks with NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax about the series, and whether home ownership is still at the heart of the "American Dream," even after the historic collapse of the housing market.

The Navy SEALs are known for conducting some of the U.S. military's most dangerous missions. But they're not necessarily known for their diversity. Host Michel Martin speaks with two men trying to bring people of different backgrounds to the elite military force.

Memorial Day marks the start of barbecue season for many backyard grillers. Host Michel Martin gets some tips for how to grill it up. She checks in with rockabilly singer Ruby Dee, author of Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. And we're about to get funky with a special rebroadcast.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIVE UP THE FUNK")

BOOTSY COLLINS: (Singing) We're going to turn this mother out. We're going to turn this mother out. We're going to turn this mother out...

MARTIN: He played bass for James Brown and George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic all before striking out on his own. You know who I'm talking about. Bootsy Collins.

Many people are rapturous over the work of Wes Anderson, and for them, I expect, Moonrise Kingdom will be nirvana. The frames are quasi-symmetrical: a strong center, often human, with misaligned objects on each side suggesting a universe that's slightly out of balance, like a series of discombobulated dollhouses.

^{Note: We've asked NPR journalists to share their top five (or so) political Twitter accounts, and we're featuring the series on #FollowFriday. Here are recommendations from reporter Andrea Seabrook (@RadioBabe).}

I have a thing about political fakes on Twitter. I HATE them. And when I say fakes, I mean a handle that appears to be a senator or representative, but is very obviously written by some 22-year-old staffer.

Jeff Neely, the regional official at the General Services Administration who hosted a 2010 taxpayer-funded conference in Las Vegas that became a scandal as details about excessive spending, gifts and lavish parties were revealed, has left his job at the agency.

This interview was originally broadcast on August 25, 2011. The Leftovers is now available in paperback.

Last year, California-based preacher Harold Camping announced that the beginning of the end of the world would take place on May 21, 2011. The date passed by with no apparent rapture, and Camping became the butt of many late-night talk show jokes.

This interview was originally broadcast on May 10, 2012.

To all appearances, Chris and Lisa Faris seemed to have it all together. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Special Operations Command to become its top enlisted man, command sergeant major, and his wife tended to their family and many others on his long deployments.