WAMC

Episode 459: Getting It Right

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:16:12 +0000

On today's show: Three short stories about trying to figure out what things are really worth.

When Lady Gaga writes a song, does that count as economic output? Is a $20 bill worth $20 in Myanmar?

Steve Forbert On Mountain Stage

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:15:43 +0000

Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert makes his seventh appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. Originally from Mississippi, Forbert relocated to New York City and scored a hit in the early '80s with "Romeo's Tune," and has been recording and performing steadily ever since.

Forbert's most recent collection of original material, Over With You, is his fifth in three years, and features contributions from Americana luminaries Ben Sollee and Ben Harper.

Previously, On Arrested Development

editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:15:17 +0000

We wrote down all the recurring gags in every episode (like Lindsay's charities), how they connect to each other, and when they were being foreshadowed (like when Buster lost his hand).

Click for obsessive detail: http://apps.npr.org/arrested-development/

Syrian Troops Target Key Rebel-Held Town

Krishnadev Calamur — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:41:00 +0000

Dozens of people are dead in heavy fighting around the Syrian rebel-held city of Qusair where troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are making a strong push.

News reports say as many as 50 people are dead.

NPR's Jonathan Blakley, who is in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, is reporting on the fighting for our Newscast Unit:

"Qusair is a strategically important town that lies between the city of Homs, where the Syrian uprising began two years ago, and the Lebanese border.

Ghost Ships, Murders, Bird Attacks: Stories To Keep You Awake

Ethan Rutherford — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:02:54 +0000

Ethan Rutherford is the author of The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories.

I'd seen the movies before reading the stories — Nicolas Roeg's masterful version of "Don't Look Now" featuring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie; and Alfred Hitchcock's strangely flat-footed and clunky version of "The Birds" — so I thought I knew what to expect from Daphne du Maurier's fiction. I was, in fact, a little bored by the prospect of reading these stories, since I'd already seen the movies, but one day a friend insisted, loaned me her copy of Don't Look Now and just said: Trust me.

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

NPR Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:02:13 +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.

Ten Ring Fingers

Tamara Breuer — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:01:46 +0000

She found the first ring on a night that smelled of body odor and beer. The bar's last customers had finally given up hope of taking her to bed and staggered away, leaving her to clean the stains of their desperation. She mopped the floor as quickly as possible to escape the place that made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

A glimmer of gold caught her eye. She bent down and pulled the thin metal band from a pile of grime.

Young Kenyans Build Mobile Apps For Local Use

Gregory Warner — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:25:00 +0000

You're out navigating the jammed sidewalks of Kenya's capital city when you suddenly realize you're in desperate need of a toilet. You crane your neck over the crowds, vainly seeking a McDonalds, a Starbucks — no such luck. What next?

There could be an app for that.

Two Excerpts You Should Read From Obama's Morehouse Speech

Eyder Peralta — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:04:00 +0000

President Obama, on Sunday, delivered a rare, very personal commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically black, all-male insitution that is the alma mater of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a short speech, but Obama did not shy away the subject of race and responsibility. We've embedded video of the address above, but here are two excerpts you should read. They are taken from his prepared remarks:

On Personal Responsibility:

"We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices.

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.