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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
7:30 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Bluff The Listener

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 8:35 am

Transcript

CARL KASELL: From NPR and WBEZ-Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME!, the NPR News quiz. I'm Carl Kasell. We're playing this week with Luke Burbank, Brian Babylon and Roxanne Roberts. And here again is your host, at the Chase Bank Auditorium in downtown Chicago, Peter Sagal.

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Thank you, Carl.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Right now, it's time for the WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME! Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-Wait-Wait to play our game on the air. Hi, you're on WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME!

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
7:30 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Prediction

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 8:35 am

Transcript

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Now, panel, what will replace wrestling in the Olympics? Roxanne Roberts?

ROXANNE ROBERTS: Cage fights between drugged roosters and nervous fish called Cock-a-doodle Don't.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Brian Babylon?

BRIAN BABYLON: A new aquatic event called Competitive Cruise Ship Towing.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And Luke Burbank?

LUKE BURBANK: Drug Free Cycling, which in all honestly is going to mean sometimes walking the bikes up the hills.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
7:30 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Lightning Fill In The Blank

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 8:35 am

Transcript

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Now onto our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill in the blank questions as he or she can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Carl, can you give us the scores?

CARL KASELL: We have a tie for first place, Peter. Brian Babylon and Roxanne Roberts both have three points. Luke Burbank has two.

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The Two-Way
4:50 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

For Australian Observatory, Asteroid 2012 DA14 Was Their Time In The Spotlight

Credit Aaron Kingery / NASA/MSFC
This image shows asteroid 2012 DA14 and the Eta Carinae Nebula, with the white box highlighting the asteroid's path. The image was taken using a 3" refractor equipped with a color CCD camera. The telescope is located at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and is maintained and owned by iTelescope.net.

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 2:01 pm

If you watched any of NASA TV's live coverage of asteroid 2012 DA14 buzzing Earth today, you were looking at a live feed of a telescope at the Gingin Observatory in Western Australia.

Shortly after DA14 completed its fly by, Lakshmi Singh and Diane Waugh of our Newscast unit spoke to the motley crew of astronomers and technicians who made the live feed happen.

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The Salt
4:27 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Romanian Horse Meat In British Lasagna Reveals Complex Global Food Trade

Credit Jacques Brinon / AP
Not all countries in Europe shun horse meat, as the sign above this butcher shop in Paris attests. But horse-eating Europeans still don't like being swindled.

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 5:35 am

How did the Romanian horse meat wind up in the British spaghetti sauce? Follow its path, and you'll get a quick tutorial in the complexities of the global food trade.

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Book Reviews
3:52 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Tales Of Transformation Make 'Vampires In The Lemon Grove' A Stunner

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 5:54 pm

In one of the eight stories in Karen Russell's new collection, a group of dead presidents has been reincarnated as horses. Rutherford B. Hayes, a skewbald pinto, frantically licks the palm of a girl in a secret code that he's worked out, revealing his true identity and asking her to alert the authorities. "Ha-ha!" the girl laughs. "That tickles."

I know, you're probably thinking: "Dead presidents reincarnated as horses? Oh, come on, Meg, that sounds like the plot of so many short stories."

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Superstorm Sandy: Before, During And Beyond
3:04 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

After Sandy, Not All Sand Dunes Are Created Equal

When Superstorm Sandy hit Island Beach State Park — one of the last remnants of New Jersey's barrier island ecosystem — it flattened the dunes, pushing all that sand hundreds of feet inland.

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The Two-Way
2:52 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Jesse Jackson Jr. Charged With Illegally Spending Campaign Funds

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) in 2009.

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 5:04 pm

Former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. of Illinois was charged Friday with conspiring with an unnamed person to illegally spend campaign funds.

As Politico reports, some of that money was spent on buying a $43,000 Rolex watch, "fur coats and memorabilia associated with Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Bruce Lee."

Politico adds:

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Deceptive Cadence
2:48 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Can You Learn To Like Music You Hate?

Credit iStock
Harmony — it's in the ear of the beholder, Australian researchers say.

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 5:23 pm

You hear some music you hate. That's fair. We all do on occasion. But can you learn to love — or at least not loathe — that music? Can you intentionally transform the visceral response you have to certain pieces and styles, or does that happen at some more incalculable, subtle level?

Researchers at Australia's University of Melbourne say that the more dissonance (which they describe as "perceived roughness, harshness, unpleasantness, or difficulty in listening to the sound") that we hear in music, the less we enjoy said music. Seems obvious enough, right?

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Around the Nation
2:29 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

NYC School Bus Strike Takes Toll On Disabled Kids

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

For nearly a month, school bus drivers and aides have been on strike in New York City. They're fighting for job protections. The strikes has left thousands of children without yellow bus service. And while many are able to take public transit to school, students with disabilities who rely on door-to-door bus service have had a harder time. Yasmeen Khan from member station WNYC reports on how families are scrambling to get their kids to and from school.

YASMEEN KHAN, BYLINE: At least the Noris-Weitzman family has a car.

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Politics
2:24 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Week In Politics: State Of The Union, Chuck Hagel

Robert Siegel speaks with political commentators E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and syndicated columnist Mona Charen. The discuss the State of the Union, and Chuck Hagel's nomination for defense secretary.

World
2:18 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

More On The Life, Death Of Prisoner X

Originally published on Thu February 21, 2013 7:42 am

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. And we're going to hear now about Prisoner X, a man who was held in Israel under a false name and who committed suicide in 2010. Israel continues to cite its secrecy laws to justify withholding most details about the case, but thanks to media in other countries, we now know that Prisoner X was an Australian-Israeli.

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Shots - Health News
2:18 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Popular Workout Booster Draws Safety Scrutiny

Credit iStockphoto.com
Some sports supplements contain the ingredient DMAA. The FDA has warned that DMAA may not be safe.

Richard Kessinger loves to hit the gym. But some days he needs a little something to get him pumped up for his weightlifting routine.

"You might be a little bit sore. You might be tired. You might have had too many beers the day before," says Kessinger, 23, of Arlington, Va. "So you might start putting up a set and you get a few reps in and you're like, 'I'm not feeling this. I can't keep going.' "

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It's All Politics
1:33 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

President's New Voting Commission Greeted With Skepticism

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 2:18 pm

One of the more memorable moments in President Obama's State of the Union address this week was his introduction of an elderly woman sitting in the House gallery. The president said that Desiline Victor had to wait three hours last year to vote in North Miami.

"Hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line to support her," Obama said. "[Because] Desiline is 102 years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read, 'I Voted.' "

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The Two-Way
1:29 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Caught Their Attention: House Committee Will Hold Hearing On Asteroids

Credit Yekaterina Pustynnikova / AP
In this photo provided by Chelyabinsk.ru a meteorite contrail is seen over Chelyabinsk on Friday.

The two hulking rocks hurtling toward Earth today seem to have caught Congress' attention: Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, is calling for a Congressional hearing on what we can do to protect our planet from asteroids.

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Planet Money
1:18 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Should The U.S. Import More Doctors?

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 2:52 pm

People around the world want the same thing from their doctors. First, do no harm. Second, take a look at this weird bump and tell me if I should get worried.

The job is basically the same in many countries around the world. But the pay is wildly different. The median salary for U.S. doctors is about $250,000 a year. In Western Europe, it's less than half that. In developing countries, the salaries are even lower.

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Business
1:10 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

As Cruise Industry Grows, So Have Its Problems

It's been a rough voyage for the cruise-line industry in the past few years.

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Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz
12:59 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

George Duke On Piano Jazz

Credit Courtesy of the artist
George Duke.

On this episode of Piano Jazz, multifaceted keyboardist George Duke joins host Marian McPartland for a session recorded in 1994.

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Religion
12:55 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Korean Pastor Tackles Prejudice At Home

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. It is Presidents Day, a day we celebrate the nation's presidents, and for many people it's a day off: a day to spend time with friends and family.

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Books
12:55 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Al Roker On Being 'The Jolly Fat Person'

Originally published on Tue February 19, 2013 6:03 am

This segment was originally broadcast on Jan. 28, 2013.

Al Roker, the veteran weatherman on NBC's Today show, endured years of indignities as an obese teenager and throughout his television career. Then, in 2002, he had bariatric surgery and lost more than 100 pounds. But deciding to have the procedure, which is potentially life-threatening, wasn't easy — and neither was keeping the weight off afterward.

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Music
12:55 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Singer Emeli Sande Shares Her 'Version Of Events'

Originally published on Mon February 18, 2013 4:14 am

This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 17, 2013.

After huge critical and commercial success last year, breakthrough British sensation Emeli Sande has her sights set on America.

It's a long way from her roots. Born to a Zambian father and English mother, the singer-songwriter was raised in Scotland. She tells NPR's Michel Martin that being the only mixed-race family in a small village had a big impact on her.

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Middle East
12:46 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Conflict Transforms Syrian English Teacher Into War Photographer

Originally published on Thu February 21, 2013 11:33 am

Syria's war has thrown ordinary citizens into situations they never could have imagined and changed them in ways they never would have dreamed. It's turned carpenters, engineers and doctors into armed rebels. And in Aleppo, it has turned a young female teacher into a war photographer.

We first met Nour Kelze back in October, on our first trip to Aleppo. We asked her to work with us as an interpreter. She agreed but said she also would be shooting pictures.

Kelze, 25, had been teaching English and only recently became a war photographer.

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The Two-Way
12:42 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Is Russia Marked For Meteors?

Credit AP
A hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake where a meteor reportedly struck the lake near Chelyabinsk, about 930 miles east of Moscow

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 11:13 am

Russians might be forgiven for thinking they have a big, fat celestial bull's-eye painted on their heads.

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The Two-Way
12:36 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Educators Killed At Sandy Hook School Honored At White House

Credit Shawn Thew / EPA /LANDOV
President Obama with Donna and Carlos Soto, who accepted the Presidential Citizens Medal awarded to their daughter, slain Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto.
The Two-Way
12:27 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

It's Out Of Here: Asteroid Whizzes By

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 1:46 pm

Update at 2:25 p.m. ET. Asteroid Has Passed By:

According to NASA, asteroid 2012 DA14 — a rock thought to be about 150 feet across and the weight of about 318 fully loaded Boeing 747s — just flew past the planet.

So, we're all safe.

Update at 3:43 p.m. ET. A Photograph:

NASA has released this photograph of 2012 DA14:

Our original post and earlier updates:

If you haven't heard by now, then we've got some perhaps unsettling news:

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The Two-Way
12:00 pm
Fri February 15, 2013

Airbus Pulls Lithium-Ion Battery Out Of Its A350

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A tail of an Airbus long-haul A350 XWB under construction at the European aircraft maker's assembly line in France.

Boeing's European rival Airbus announced a significant change to its A350-XWB airliner on Friday: It is abandoning plans to use a lithium-ion battery, the same kind that has caused Boeing so much trouble with its 787 Dreamliner.

The A350 is Airbus' version of the Dreamliner — a lighter, more fuel efficient plane made primarily out of a carbon fiber instead of aluminum and steel.

The New York Times explains:

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All Tech Considered
11:37 am
Fri February 15, 2013

DIY Broadband Comes To The English Countryside

Credit iStockphoto.com
The Record
11:28 am
Fri February 15, 2013

A Brief History Of The Grammy Sales Bump

Originally published on Fri February 15, 2013 3:21 pm

As televised prize-givers, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences are slouches. The dozen prizes given out in a typical Grammy Awards telecast is the lowest of any major awards-show telecast, from the Oscars to the Emmys. NARAS gives out the bulk of its little gramophones in an untelevised ceremony.

But as sales-juicers? The Grammys are unparalleled.

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The Salt
11:18 am
Fri February 15, 2013

How To Make A Chinese New Year-Worthy Potsticker

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 12:59 pm

Even though he estimates he's made hundreds of thousands of them, Scott Drewno says pork potstickers never get old. In fact, they are the food the executive chef of The Source by Wolfgang Puck, a fine dining Asian fusion restaurant in Washington, D.C., says he would take to a desert island.

"They're everything you want in a dish — salty, savory, filling," says Drewno, as he lovingly holds up one of three bowls of ground pork he planned to season and stuff into dumplings before our eyes.

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Movie Interviews
11:11 am
Fri February 15, 2013

Kushner's 'Lincoln' Is Strange, But Also Savvy

This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. 15, 2012.

Tony Kushner spent years writing the screenplay for Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln, but that wasn't the only heavy lifting he had to do. It also took some effort to overcome Daniel Day-Lewis' reluctance to play the title role.

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