http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-913472.mp3
Albany, NY – Dozens of women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
That's despite the presence of the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world. Researchers estimate as many as five and a half million people died in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last two decades. Yet the victims of that are not just men in uniforms. Most people died from starvation and disease. Nearly half were children under five. And amidst the fighting, amidst the war within the war, tens of thousands of women were raped so many, Washington correspondent Laura Iiyama reports, that it's almost becoming part of the culture.
6:52 Congo Rapes Iiyama
Now to another type of violence the reality of living with the Mafia. The vast majority of businesses in Sicily still fork over something called pizzo. Basically, it's extortion money paid to the Mafia. "You pay the money, we won't set fire to your business or threaten your family," is the basic explanation. Pizzo in Sicilian means the beak of a chicken. That's because the Mafia pokes at businesses, taking a little money each month, as a chicken pecks around the farmyard for food. Pizzo helps keep Sicily poor by hobbling the economy there. Few people defy the practice. But Nancy Greenlease introduces us to the Sicilian who's leading the charge against pizzo: an 81-year-old grandmother.
3:35 Defying Pizzo Greenlease
If Annette Funicello and Gidget were the teen role models from Hollywood in the sixties who are girls modeling themselves on today? Author Selena Rezvani has the answer - and the question is what kind of adults will these role models create?
3:40 Rezvani
Selena Rezvani is the author of "The Next Generation of Women Leaders" and she'll now be a regular commentator on 51%. We're delighted to have her. To find out more about her, go to her website at nextgenwomen.com
If those Gossip Girls make you crazy, imagine how their mothers feel. Theresa Keegan says she's discovered an unexpected lifeline - texting.
2:37 Keegan commentary
Theresa Keegan is a writer. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
And finally, a little bit of Artspace. Any self-respecting prog rock fan knows progressive rock and space music in the 1970s was all about the Mellotron. Before digital synthesizers, it was an instrument that played back the sounds of orchestras, choirs, and a variety of unexpected, mind-bending sounds. Director Dianna Dilworth's film goes back to the birth of the Mellotron in the late 1940s and the Chamberlin keyboard and explains how it turned into an instantly recognizable, though often unidentifiable, part of modern music. John Diliberto has more..
3:17 Mellodrama Echoes