Thank you for having me.

You know, I've heard about this going on in Ithaca, New York, and the largest of these systems we're told is in Western Massachusetts. I believe they call it BerkShares there. They've circulated about $2 million in BerkShares in two years. So, how do you explain this idea of local currency to the average person?

Well, we talk about Equal Dollars as a community currency and bartering system that essentially serves as a companion to the U. S.  dollar. It's what maybe our ancestors did like seeds, gold, silver, copper, beads, cattle, diamonds, spices, things that people have used over the years and centuries to expand their current way of acquiring goods and services. It acts as a non-interest-bearing, spendable, transferable discount. And it…

How does it work in terms of, you know, going to the store?Can I get on the bus with it?Can I catch a cab?Can I buy a refrigerator with it?

turn 3 : B doesn't literally want to know whether they can do all those things. The "I" is meant to refer to anyone... can any person buy a fridge with this currency.

Which pronoun does PersonB use in turn 3 to ask about the possibility of buying a refrigerator with the currency?

Answer: I


That's it. It's a very interesting technology. It shoots this - 125,000 laser pulses a second down at the rainforest canopy. Now - and then it measures the reflections. Now, 99 percent of what's reflected comes off leaves. But here and there, there are tiny gaps in the canopy where a laser beam can reach the ground, bounce off and go back up to the plane. And then with massive software processing, they're able to remove all the reflections from leaves, leaving only the ground.

And it's just incredible to see these scientists at work. I mean, you see this impenetrable rainforest canopy. And then with a press of a button, it disappears and you see everything on the ground. It's absolutely amazing.

Well, it's a little more complicated than that. They have to then process the signals that they receive back from the ground. As you say, most of them come back from leaves. And I think, what, they handed you the disc and you flew it out and gave it to the computer guy.

Well, that's right. And in fact, it is very complicated. The LIDAR machine has inside it a highly classified thing called an IMU, an Inertial Measurement Unit that was developed for the military for use in guided missiles. And in order to get an export permit for the plane, the State Department required that the plane be guarded by armed soldiers at all times when it was on the ground because this is a very highly classified piece of equipment. Because it's important to locate the plane in the air in three dimensions as it's flying to within an accuracy of about a centimeter. I mean, that's incredible.

turn 0 : The LIDAR machine is a highly classified technology.

Answer: Classified


Yes, I do think they are well-matched traveling companions. In that both of them bend but nobody really breaks. And so, even though Jack is certainly the student, and she is the mentor, there are times when Jack has the upper hand and he has the better humor. And that, almost off-camera, he can make an aside to the reader. You know, like, she's getting a little bit ditzy right now, so hang on to your hat.

We're - to use one of your phrases, were you a fringy kid?

Yes, I was definitely a fringy kid. I moved a lot as a kid, I went to 10 schools in 12 grades. And so, I was one of those kids that was a permanent wallflower, you know, I'd go I'd hang back and I would observe, and I would sort of be on the fringe. But then I realized that I liked the fringe because the fringe gave me the flexibility to appear or disappear, which I found to be very helpful.

And painful or, at least, vexing as it can be to be a fringy kid. With the advantage of hindsight, is it part of what made you a writer?

turn 2 : (3) A: "I was definitely a fringy kid... But then I realized that I liked the fringe because the fringe gave me the flexibility to appear or disappear, which I found to be very helpful."  The literal meaning of "fringy" would suggest that the speaker was wearing a fringe, or was on the edge of something. However, in this context, "fringy" is being used figuratively to mean that the speaker felt like an outsider or a misfit. The implied meaning is that the speaker found comfort in being on the outskirts of social circles and having the ability to control her level of participation.

What is the figurative meaning of "fringy" in this context?

Answer: Outsider


The MIT Media Lab has been under fire for the past several weeks for its financial links to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The lab's director, Joi Ito, initially said he had accepted $525,000 and more for his own private tech investment funds from Epstein, and he apologized. Now The New Yorker has detailed the lengths to which the MIT lab went to conceal its acceptance of millions of dollars more in gifts arranged by Epstein. Today, Ito formally resigned, writing, quote, "after giving the matter a great deal of thought over the past several days and weeks, I think that it is best that I resign as director of the media lab and as a professor and employee of the institute, effective immediately" - unquote. Joining us to talk about this is NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik from New York.

David, welcome back. Thanks for joining us.

My pleasure.

Could you just walk us through the scale of this?How far did MIT go to conceal their ties with Jeffrey Epstein?

turn 1 : joining us implies being a part or a participant

What was David's role in the conversation?

Answer: Participant


Yeah.

That's unbelievable and 27 of them three-pointers.

Yeah.

That's fantastic. As you looked around, though, people might say, don't your teammates get a little jealous?Might they want to take a shot every once in a while?

turn 3 : Take a shot means have a try in this context, not actually shoot someone

How might someone interpret the phrase "take a shot" in this context?

Answer: Interpret


Why is there - at least I can't come up with somebody who is quite like Mary McGrory, male or female, that's a columnist now. Or am I wrong?

You know, I think that the one thing that really stood out to me the most about Mary - and it literally got mentioned in every single interview I conducted for the book - was that she went out and did her legwork, that she went out there every day and talked to people and didn't just write a column from the comfy confines of her office.

Yeah, she wasn't just a pundit.

She wasn't just a pundit. Into her 80s, she was out there covering presidential primaries, having friends and family hurtle her over snow banks in Manchester. And I think that really distinguished her writing and her as a personality.

turn 2 : (3) - "She wasn't just a pundit" - This means that Mary McGrory was more than just a commentator - she was a journalist who actively went out and did research and interviews to back up her work.

How did Mary McGrory distinguish herself as a writer?

Answer: Research


I learned it from you, actually. yeah.

So if you're listening - donate blood, donate plasma, and you can save someone's life by being a live liver donor.

And as is written in both - I'm sorry (laughter) - oh, as it's written in both the Quran and the Talmud, he who saves one life. . .

It's as if you save humankind. So Shawn and his family have saved my daughter's life. My life belongs to them.

turn 3 : The father is extremely grateful to the donor and the donor's family.

Answer: Shawn's


Some of my friends and family still are able to work. However, my best friend - her DACA expires in mid-summer. So it's very important for me and for us as a community for legislation to pass.

Ciriac, I'm curious - do you regret having come forward and actually voluntarily given your information to the government when they started this program?

No, I think personally because I've been able to move forward with my life from going to college, graduating college, doing internships and now having a full-time job and having a car. I can't really regret having come out of the shadows and saying I want to do things right. This is who I am. I think it's given me a certain level of pride to say I was able to come out of the shadows, do all of these things. And I am, you know, part of your community. I am American. I am and always a Utahn. And so I can't regret coming out of the shadows if I was able to do so much and continue to move forward with my life.

Ciriac Alvarez Valle - she's a DACA recipient in Utah.

turn 1 : B implies that coming forward and giving information to the government was risky or dangerous

Which program did Ciriac participate in?

Answer: DACA


How did she describe it?

It happened to be a beautiful day when she posted this picture, but you see rubble side by side with, you know, people doing their shopping, people just going about their business, school kids returning to school. It's surreal.

So there's the physical scars of this conflict, but what about the other one that you mentioned, which is justice?Will there be justice for anyone who committed atrocities?There's so much evidence of the chemical attacks, the murders, the torture, the disappearances. What happens to that?

There are some bright spots of hope - the fact that we saw - that we're starting to see indictments in European courts. You know, interestingly enough, a lot of people who were perpetrators of some of the worst crimes inside Syria, whether they did it in the name of the regime or in the name of an opposition, have found themselves in Europe and, therefore, sort of subject to European justice because other Syrians have recognized them. Other Syrians have identified them. And there might be hopes that there can be an accountability in that sense.

But I think inside Syria, you know, the actual architects of most of this - of this incredible disaster still remain at large. And not only at large or in power, but about to potentially be incredibly enriched by the reconstruction that, in theory, is coming to Syria.

So what do you think the road ahead looks like for Syria?

turn 4 : They did not actually build something physical, they created the situation of the disaster.

What did the architects of the disaster do?

Answer: architects


Iceberg in particular has managed to transcend these unfairly feminine connotations that salad-eating has taken on.

So as you reconsider iceberg's place in the fabric of our society and on your table, Rosner urges you to think even beyond the delicious wedge salad. She suggests stir-frying your lettuce, pickling it or blending it into a cold soup. And even if lettuce experimentation isn't for you, you can still try to let go of your leafy, green pretensions. Not everything has to be arugula.

Enjoy the crunch for what it is. I think even people who are sneering down their noses at iceberg lettuce love it when it's on top of a burger, when it's shredded really finely on a sandwich. There are contexts in which we know that iceberg is the perfect lettuce.

Lettuce doesn't have to be a wedge issue. Helen Rosner is a food writer for The New Yorker.

turn 1 : Fabric of society is actually just the way the society is made up of different personalities and choices.

What has Helen Rosner suggested for experimenting with lettuce?

Answer: pickling


The videos of the embryos. He does sort of time lapse of human development, and it was really fascinating to watch, going from this sort of little hard to, you know, nondescript ball to what you would recognize. . .

As an embryo.

. . . as an embryo or a fetus.

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow talking with Flora Lichtman about our Video Pick of the Week, and it's a - videos of embryos, all different kinds of embryos. So you got the film, the footage. . .

turn 1 : This is an idiomatic expression that refers to a selected video for the week, rather than a literal pick of a video.

Which expression refers to a selected video for the week?

Answer: Race,Economics,Criminal,Justice,Cities


And why do you choose to move to this country and live in Los Angeles and try to make it here when you're, I guess, a big star back in South Africa?

Because you have to grow. It's fun, you know?And I think America was a great choice because we have such a great shared history in terms of South Africa's past and America's past. You know, we both have a history of slavery. We both have a history of black people fighting for their freedom and independence. And then you both - we both have the very sensitive change now in terms of - people have this like it's - in both countries, you see this subtle racism and, you know, they're struggling to deal with raise and people don't know how to deal with it.

I mean, I've seen out here, people don't even want to say the word black. I don't know when black became negative, but now people go, oh, you shouldn't say black. Yeah, we - you say urban, yeah. Baltimore is going to be real urban, Trevor. That's what people tell me.

And I got to Baltimore, and I was expecting, because urban means built up and new, you know. So I got there and I was, whoa, it's not as urban as people told me, you know, and like - but it's very black. I'll tell you that much. So it's interesting to see, you know?

turn 0 : big star implies being very popular  well known  or famous and not talking about the star in the sky

How would you describe the star in South Africa?

Answer: Popular


And that polio virus is thought to be non-zoonotic. It's thought to be a virus that only affects humans, but it's capable of passing from humans into chimps. So it seems to have made those chimps sick and killed some of them.

Likewise, the mountain gorillas of Rwanda and Uganda, when people visit those on - ecotourist adventures, they're not allowed to come closer than within about 15 feet. The gorillas are habituated. They're perfectly happy to have people nearby.

But the people who manage those gorilla populations are concerned that diseases, human diseases, will spill over into the mountain gorillas, which are an endangered subspecies and have a relatively small gene pool. So, yes, we have to be careful that we don't give diseases to wildlife also, especially wildlife that's closely related to us and that's endangered.

It seemed like many of the viruses you talk about in this book spilled over from bats, and I don't think of them as close relations to us particularly. But do we have. . .

turn 1 : The mountain gorillas are habituated to humans and tourists, but human diseases could harm them.

How could human diseases affect the mountain gorillas?

Answer: Harm


Yes, the mother of Norway. Yeah, that was - she was scheduled to be at this camp basically from breakfast through dinner. And there was a photographer, a newspaper photographer named Sara Johannessen who had been sent to document this, to hang out with Gro for the day. Breivik had planned to kidnap her. Expecting her to be there all day, he had planned to kidnap her and videotape himself beheading her. Now - he says this now. Whether or not that's true, it's - who can really say. But Gro was supposed to be there.

The only reason she wasn't is it was a terribly, terribly rainy day. The island was muddy and sloppy, and she decided to leave early. And Sara, who had been shooting some landscapes - I mean, it's beautiful, beautiful country there - Sara almost missed it. She didn't know that Gro was leaving. And she had to sprint down the hill to catch the ferry, which turned out to be the last ferry off the island that day. And then Sara got back. When she left Utoya, she drove back to Oslo and was parking her car when the bomb went off a block away.

And she immediately went to work from a light feature on the former prime minister to documenting one of the worst incidents in Norwegian history.

Exactly. I mean, she just sprinted right towards - she sprinted towards the blast and just - yeah.

turn 3 :  "she just sprinted right towards the blast" - the literal meaning is to run quickly towards an explosion. The actual meaning is that the photographer immediately went to work covering the aftermath of the explosion.

How did the photographer respond to the explosion?

Answer: Covering


Well, here's my question for you as a photographer. When you have a person who is as photographed as Barack Obama has been and for God's sake is going to be for the next four years, how do you find a shot that separates you from the rest of the crowd of photographers when he is your subject and target?

Well, certainly, that is an exceedingly difficult thing to do. But you try and capture, you know, the moment because he is a man that connects with the crowd and with the message that he has. So you're looking for that little twinkle in his eye or that little different look that he may have.

But frankly, Tony, a lot of my work was gauging the crowd as they were entranced with the day, and it was such a wonderful group - such a wonderful experience for ua all to be there. And I tried to capture some of this on film because there were black people, there were white people, there were Asian people, there were brown people there. And I have never been in a mob like today, just in terms of the density of the crowd. But everyone was so cool. And when they announced that - when they introduced the then-president-elect and he came - I mean, it was a roar, and you try and capture some of that on film.

Now, I have about 20 seconds for you to answer this. When he actually put his hand on the Bible and said - and accepted the oath, were your cameras trained on the crowd at that moment and did you get a shot?

turn 1 : Finding a unique shot of Barack Obama is challenging but possible.

How is the task of capturing Barack Obama's message and connection with the crowd reflected in the photographer's work?

Answer: moment


Great to be here.

And a little background: It's been almost 20 years since the end of Guatemala's so-called Dirty War. General Rios Montt is now 86 years old. Some might wonder if justice delayed is justice denied.

Well, this obviously has been a really long time in coming for the victims of the crimes in Guatemala, and for their country, as well. I think the victims who had an opportunity to testify in the trial proceedings would say that justice ultimately was not denied, as a result of this really historic outcome, that I don't think anybody expected to happen.

Why?

turn 2 : a long time coming means something has been meaning to happen but hasn't happened until recently

Answer: Outcome


Lastly, Mara, I have to ask you because it just seems that, week after week, tensions between this administration and the press grows more hostile. You're in that White House briefing room day in and day out. How would you describe the atmosphere?

The atmosphere is tense and contentious, but it always has been between the White House press corps and the press secretary. I think that the Trump administration has taken this to a new level. You have a president who considers the media a foil, calls the mainstream press the enemy of the people, fake news, dishonest, disgusting, horrible people. So part of his political strategy is to demonize reporters and the media. So, of course, that's going to show up in the briefing room.

That's NPR's national political correspondent, Mara Liasson. Thank you, as always.

Thank you, Lulu.

turn 0 : The atmosphere is how people are feeling toward one another and treating one another.

How would you describe the atmosphere in the White House briefing room?

Answer: Tense


You've been working, as we mentioned, on the Voyager mission since its genesis. What has kept you with this program all that time?

Voyager - well, Voyager is science. Science is about discovering things, about understanding what's around - what our neighborhood is like, what the universe is like. So as a scientist, this has been a wonderful journey because, especially during the encounters with the giant planets, every day there were a flood of discoveries. Next day - more discoveries. So as a scientist, this has been an incredibly wonderful mission to have been on. And even today at great distances, Voyager is still doing things no spacecraft has done before and still presenting us with puzzles that we are trying to sort through.

They are still on a voyage. Where are they now?

Well, this was a mission - we had a four-year mission to Jupiter and Saturn. We had two spacecrafts so that we would have a high probability of at least one succeeding on its four-year journey to Saturn and, of course, both have succeeded and exceeded by a great amount.

turn 2 : "They are still on a voyage." - actual meaning: Voyager spacecrafts are still traveling through space, exploring and sending back data.

How are the Voyager spacecrafts still operating?

Answer: Space


What about the government ordering banks to rewrite some of these loans, or mandating them, I should say, or even buying back these loans?

Well, mandating is tough. I mean, we do live in a country where contracts are held firm and the government can't essentially say, we want you to void these contracts. I mean, the government could give some relief from a legal perspective that would allow people to modify more easily. Some people have argued what you say, that, you know, the best way to do this is to have the government acquire these loans and then it could do - it can make any changes it wants with a much freer hand than sort of doing this from a bully pulpit or from a sort of a threatening posture.

And Vikas, what about all the people who have already lost their homes and have nothing. Is there anything for them?Can they get any money back?

Yeah, certainly that's painful. I'm not sure that anybody is really talking about that right now. I mean, in the settlement at the states, there were countrywide - there were some - and there was a provision that countrywide would help these people find, at least in that case, rental housing. It's unclear whether they will be more - sort of done broadly for those people. I think the best thing that could be done is to alleviate the economic problems in the country so that the people will be able to, you know, not to lose their jobs or find new jobs, if they have already lost their job.

turn 1 : The government could acquire loans and make changes more easily.

How could the government modify loans more easily?

Answer: Acquire


Yeah. I think a big local newspaper, you know, was kind of like the big local sports team. There's always been hostility toward the big, local paper but I think there was a certain amount of pride in it. And this is our paper. We are a big-time city. I think the Herald spoke more for the community and reflected the community better than any other institution down here could. And now there is no institution to replace that, unless, you know, you talk about sports team or something like that. And I think that's true of many, many cities now.

We talk so much about newspapers. Is journalism going to survive?Has that become DIY?Is this an opportunity for novelists to step in?

You know, novelists have been trying to step in for hundreds of years. And I think the same forces that are sort of working against newspapers probably are also working, to some extent, against books. I just, I don't know. It just feels like everything happens so fast now and everybody, you know, goes on to the next subject so quickly now. Books seem a little archaic, except as entertainment and, you know, as an escape from policy and that sort of thing.

Dave Barry. His new novel, "Insane City. "Speaking with us, of course, from Miami. Dave, thanks so much for being with us.

turn 2 : In turn (3), the speaker implies that the same forces that are affecting newspapers are also affecting books, and that books may be perceived as archaic except as a form of entertainment.

How does the speaker describe books in turn 2?

Answer: Entertainment


So I think that the Barack Obama, of course, then has a political legitimacy that neither of those gentlemen had because he's a United States senator elected to represent a district and serve a quarter of people. And yet, he's a charismatic figure as well, creating a sense of movement among the millions who now acclaim him as the best thing that happened to American politics since Jack Kennedy.

So Barack Obama has claimed the unique space within the context of American political destiny and has joined the charismatic authority that attends black messianic figures who become leaders in black America, as well as the quest for political legitimacy that transcends black communities. Because he's not just representing black people; he's representing white people and Latino people, and Asian people. He's representing Americans. And so he's taking it to yet another level in pioneering an even different path than the one blazed by Martin Luther King Jr.  or Jessie Jackson and, to a certain degree, Al Sharpton.

Well, Michael Eric Dyson, thank you.

Thank you very kindly, Farai.

turn 2 : "Well, Michael Eric Dyson, thank you." - This turn has no implied meaning beyond its literal meaning of thanking Michael Eric Dyson.

Which person does PersonB thank in turn 2?

Answer: Michael


Maybe in part but certainly not for all of it. I mean, look. You can see how investor might be inspired by the Trump administration, right?He is seen as business-friendly, as is the Republican Congress. They're talking about cutting corporate taxes. They're talking about cutting regulations. So that might make investors more bullish.

But you have so many other factors that weigh on the markets. For example, low interest rates. That might be sending stocks higher. Job creation is steady, like we were saying. And the global economy is doing OK.  And one other thing to emphasize here, Donald Trump does have a lot of economic policies he wants to pass. You know, he's talked about infrastructure. They've talked about overhauling the tax code. Those things haven't happened yet.

Definitely rich people, I mean, is the short answer. You know, according to data from 2013 - and I find this astounding - the top 10 percent of households in terms of wealth owned 80 percent of the stocks in America. That's a huge discrepancy. And still others, you know, are invested via retirement accounts. So you have some of the middle class that is benefiting, but you have all of those other people that own no stock. They might see some indirect effects.

turn 2 : (3) Who seems to benefit from the stock market climb right now? - Implied meaning: Who is most likely to benefit from the current rise in stock prices?

Which group of people owns 80% of the stocks in America according to data from 2013?

Answer: rich


For people who can't see it, can you describe what things look like right now and some - the actions the Corps is taking on a daily basis to address it?

You know, sometimes it is hard to describe. You know, you're driving down roads that were normally - there might be 50 or a hundred yards to the river. Suddenly, the river is, you know, 10 or 15 yards from where your car is or, you know, where you typically are running for physical training is now underwater.

And in terms of the levees themselves, when you walk the levees, you know, typically, where the water might be 20, 25 feet away from the top of the levee, maybe now it's within five or six feet. So when you see what, you know, a couple hundred thousand cubic feet per second of water looks like rolling down the Arkansas River and it's within feet of the bridges, whether they're pedestrian or vehicular, you know, sometime there used to be 20 feet of clearance, it's pretty awe-inspiring.

What are you doing to shore up the levees themselves?And are you inviting residents to help?

turn 2 : The scale of the flooding is massive and poses a serious threat to infrastructure and public safety.

Which word describes the threat posed by the flooding?

Answer: Serious


Glad to be here, Michel.

So you said that Thomas Jefferson was the first to hold July 4 celebrations at the White House in 1881 because he was the first to live in the White House during the Fourth of July. What did he do?

Well, Jefferson just had a little reception for some citizens and some officials. And they had some punch and some cakes, and they had some Italian musicians in to play some music. And this sort of set the trend for future presidents where they had receptions during July 4, something very low-key. And, in 1841, John Tyler had a dinner on that day, and he had turtle soup with - made from a 300-pound turtle they brought in from Key West, Fla.  And then, that night, they walked across the street to Lafayette Square, and they watched the fireworks, which has been part of the July 4 celebration from the very beginning.

So it seems as though the previous presidents had pretty low-key celebrations. This turtle soup was kind of fancy. But the letter from House Democratic leaders state that the Fourth of July celebrations have always been, quote, "nonpartisan and apolitical. "Is that true?

turn 2 : July 4 celebrations were not always low-key and small, and turtle soup was not the only fancy dish served during the celebration.

What kind of dish did John Tyler have during his July 4 celebration?

Answer: soup


Why they're talking about it is because they feel they have to talk about it. The government of Bangladesh wants the bulk of these people to return. They also would be feeling some domestic pressures in this area, as well. And the government of Burma, I think, is feeling some of the pressure from the international community and feels some need to be responsive. But the real story here is this is horrifying, this discussion, to be taking place right now, given the complete absence of measures in place to ensure safety and security upon return.

As I understand it, the Rohingya, according to this agreement, will be moved from the camps in Bangladesh to a camp in Myanmar where there could be security concerns.

Oh yeah, there are no safeguards in place. There - been no serious discussion of safeguards for return. You have to realize that we're talking about one of the greatest crimes in recent memory - massive abuses, forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of weeks.

There's problems, obviously, with monitoring the situation. The government won't let - of Myanmar - won't let international monitors in. And, in fact, the top U. N.  official responsible for human rights was barred from the country. Is that right?

turn 0 : The government of Bangladesh and Burma are under pressure to repatriate the Rohingya, but there are no measures in place to ensure their safety upon return.

Which community is being repatriated despite the absence of measures to ensure their safety?

Answer: Rohingya


And it was remarkable to find these little details that people had. Oh, yes, when he was in college, you know, he belonged to this - some society. I'm forgetting the name right now. But the idea of it was to perfect one's dancing and etiquette. And the next door neighbor said he was always very interested in, you know, in correct speech and in, sort of, you know, elegantly holding himself out and that this was something that just went back, back, back, back, back.

Alan Feuer tells Alan Feuer's story in two articles in The New York Times, the most recent, "The Secret Life of a Society Maven. "You could find a link to that on our website. Go to npr. org, click on TALK OF THE NATION. And, Alan Feuer, thank you so much for sharing your story.

Oh, my pleasure.

Alan Feuer is a reporter for The New York Times. Tomorrow, after a gun battle outside the prime minister's house in Tripoli, we'll talk about progress and pitfalls and the ripples of revolution in Libya. Join for us that. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan in Washington.

turn 0 : "perfect one's dancing and etiquette" - The phrase "perfect one's dancing and etiquette" does not mean that one should aim to become absolutely flawless in their dancing and manners. It means to improve or refine one's skills in these areas.

Answer: Dancing


Well, as you say, an assistive technology, other robotics to make people able to be more on their own. But I imagine that somewhere down the line, you'd like to be able to rejuvenate the arm itself, would you not?

Yeah, exactly. I think for people with locked-in syndrome, such as the two participants in the study - that is, no functional movement of their limbs and unable to speak - a comparatively simpler goal and one that we've published some work on over the past few years would be the simple control of a computer cursor on a screen.

And if one could provide point-and-click control over a cursor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that would certainly be a useful assistive technology for somebody with severely limited communication.

But just as you said, for somebody with paralysis, somebody who's unable to move their arms and their legs, the real dream for the research is to one day reconnect brain to limb, to take those signals out of the brain, to root them back down to the peripheral nerves in the arm, to stimulate those nerves and to have somebody use their own arm and hand to pick up that coffee again.

turn 2 :  Providing 24/7 control of a computer cursor on a screen would greatly improve the quality of life for people with limited communication abilities.

What would be a useful assistive technology for someone with severely limited communication abilities?

Answer: Cursor


I want to talk a little bit about the words that are used to describe wine. You know, normally we hear things like dry, oaky, buttery - I kind of understand what those mean. But sommeliers have a much more creative way of describing tasting notes that you might not hear in a restaurant.

Well, you get everything from the more straightforward fruits and vegetables. So it could be pomegranate, raspberry, blackberry, apple, pear, lemon. They can also range to the far more imaginative. There were times where I was sitting in a tasting group and I thought that I was hearing someone read from a Wiccan book of love spells.

(Laughter).

Burnt hair, desiccated strawberry, armpit, you know (laughter).

turn 1 : "There were times where I was sitting in a tasting group and I thought that I was hearing someone read from a Wiccan book of love spells." This turn implies that the person was hearing very unusual and creative descriptions of wine tasting notes that sounded like they came from a mystical or supernatural source, rather than a straightforward and literal description of the wine.

Which book did the wine tasting notes sound like they came from?

Answer: Wiccan


Do you think the royal family can really survive in a time when we have other kinds of celebrities that cost the taxpayer nothing?I mean, clearly, a lot of hopes are being placed on not only Meghan Markle and Prince Harry but the other younger royals like Prince William.

I very, very sincerely believe that Britain couldn't do without them. There's such a deep attachment. They're sort of the very, like, emblem of history, of continuity. Unlike America, there's been almost a kind of - a certain kind of disregard for history. Britain has always fallen back on the past. It's always needed the past. So they're - I think that they will find a way for the royal family to continue to carry on that symbolism, at least.

I must ask you - are you attending the wedding?

I'm not.

turn 1 : The royal family represents the past and continuity in Britain, and is essential for the country's sense of identity. Score: 5

What does the royal family symbolize in Britain?

Answer: Continuity


Yeah. I mean, I don't think they're damaging at all. I think Putin can be quite happy with these results. He had a real problem two years ago after the intervention in Ukraine. Western powers were ignoring and isolating Russia. Obama called the country a regional power. And today, Putin is deciding war and peace in Syria. And, you know, he's being attributed with powers of influencing a U. S.  election. So, in some ways, it makes Russia seem much bigger than it really is.

One thing to keep in mind is that Russians have been told, for some time, that they're at war with the West, not really a shooting war but an information war, sort of a struggle for influence. So there's a widespread perception here that Russia is, itself, the victim of a Western conspiracy. So I think you can say, from the Kremlin's perspective, Russia's just giving the West a taste of its own medicine. More broadly speaking, I think this report really doesn't matter very much here in Moscow. People here are waiting for the inauguration of Donald Trump and nothing else really matters.

NPR's Moscow correspondent Lucian Kim, thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you.

turn 1 : that Russia views itself as a victim of a Western conspiracy and is retaliating with its own tactics.

What perception does Russia have of itself in the context of the information war with the West?

Answer: Victim


So you were recently in Michigan speaking to autoworkers. The Detroit News quoted you as saying that the labor section in the agreement is actually better than NAFTA, but it still needs improvement. So can you just give me one or two ideas of what more needs to be done in your view?

Well, as it currently stands, the agreement can't be enforced. And there are three levels that it must be enforced at. One, Mexico has to show us not only that it can pass laws but that it has the wherewithal, the infrastructure and the resources to be able to implement those laws and give workers a chance to better their wages and working conditions because if they don't do that, no matter what the agreement says, it's - it won't matter. It won't change workers' lives in this country.

The second part is, the agreement's enforcement provisions need to be dramatically strengthened. The International Trade Commission's report recently confirmed what we already knew - that without a way to hold all three countries accessible, this deal isn't worth the paper it's written on. And under this agreement, any party can block a panel. A panel is the arbitrator that decides the dispute, the trade dispute. And if you can't ever get it decided by a third party, you can never actually implement it.

And then the third level of enforcement is that workers need to be able to enforce this trade agreement to make it better so that it works for us so that if somebody violates the agreement in Mexico or Canada, we should be able to stop their products at the border.

turn 0 : to give an idea means to tell them their opinion, or what is happening

How many levels are there for enforcing the agreement according to A?

Answer: three


Explain to me why that's a problem. I think defenders of the president would say Jared Kushner has a direct line of communication to the president of the United States, who will actually listen to him.

And that's OK. But that means that Jared Kushner, if he is going to play that role, should at least be informing the president by informing himself, by learning about the issues, by studying the issues, by doing the homework.

What was the personal calculation for you coming out publicly and speaking out about why you resigned as ambassador?Other foreign service officers have not chosen the same route. They have sort of quietly left.

That's correct. And that was my intention. There was an official at the Department of State who read my private letter of resignation to the president. And we know that this happened because it was published by Reuters. And it was there that I wrote to the president that when I was a junior officer, I had signed an oath to completely and fully implement foreign policy, even policies with which I might have disagreed. And then my instructors made clear to me that if there ever came a time when I could no longer do that, I would be honor bound to resign. And that time has come.

turn 0 : He can talk to the president directly with no in between people.

Which person has direct access to the president?

Answer: JaredKushner


She says, look, we've got to do something some investment on sort of global warming issues, energy, independence issues. Let's use the recession to start creating a green economy.

Now, when you look at someone who is no longer in the race, John Edwards, he was often portrayed by supporters and portrayed himself as someone who was going to make ending poverty the center of his campaign. How would his approach have differed from both Senators Obama and Clinton?

Well, actually it turns out at the end of the day, the Edwards approach is fairly similar to sort of a combination of the Clinton and Obama proposals, and that's not surprising. Because John Edwards was the person who came out with a plan first - I thought it was the best plan - and the other candidates fit in in a lot of issues, actually copied John Edwards. In fact, John Edwards was - has truly been a forcing figure during this election, compelling Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both, to be more progressive than they might otherwise have been.

Well, let's talk a little bit about political philosophy. We've talked a bit about trickle-down economics, but then there's also the model of the government getting directly involved. Certainly ending the great depression by creating jobs itself - everything from jobs for writers and artists to road building, infrastructure. That does not seem to be a model that's been followed, certainly not to that extent - in decades. Is that even on the table, the whole prospect of the government actually stepping in and doing job creation itself?

turn 3 : "Certainly ending the great depression by creating jobs itself - everything from jobs for writers and artists to road building, infrastructure." - The literal meaning is that the government could create jobs for a range of professions and industries, including writers, artists, and infrastructure. The actual meaning is that the government could play a direct role in job creation to address economic issues, rather than relying on trickle-down economics.

What range of professions and industries could the government create jobs for to address economic issues?

Answer: Range


Yeah, bubbly jock. And an owl is a hoolet. And that, again, is based on the sound that it makes. And - but my favorite is a wood pigeon, is a cushie-doo.

That is an absolutely dead-on approximation of its sound.

Isn't it lovely?So a frog is a puddock and sparrow is a speug. So I've never used speug in a sentence, but when I was a boy, we used puddock. So I don't go around trying to convince everybody that my culture's better than theirs, but sometimes it suits my face better. It sits nicely in my mouth.

And explaining your culture, it goes with the way you do your material. You don't tell jokes, per se.

turn 0 : Comparing animals names to the sound they make

Which animal name did PersonA mention that is a cushie-doo?

Answer: Cushie-doo


Well, so certainly President-elect Trump has issued a few statements on cybersecurity, including a campaign platform. Those are pretty thin on details. And some of his statements - it's been difficult to understand whether or not he - how literally to take those particular recommendations. Of his national security hires that have been announced at this point, none are known for having particularly strong cybersecurity backgrounds. So as we see more and more people coming into the administration, we might be able to start getting a sense of what exactly this administration's cybersecurity policy might look like.

Surely when you become the administration, you have a vested interest in national cybersecurity that maybe you lacked before, don't you?

Absolutely. I think while many of his statements during the campaign did not necessarily evince well-developed policy thoughts - he's going to have to come up with more specific ideas. One thing that Donald Trump might run up against is the existence of current laws. So, for example, he's indicated a number of times that he intends to transfer a lot of the cybersecurity mission to the Department of Defense to come up with a plan for defending critical infrastructure. And there are potentially rather serious consequences to sort of the militarization of civilian cyber defense. I think that they might find themselves coming up against an existing framework that doesn't necessarily square with the broad instinct towards wanting to turn towards the military to solve this problem.

I thought the Obama administration was pretty clear in saying, after they asserted that Russian attempts to meddle in the elections had been ongoing, that the United States was going to reply in kind. Can we assume those efforts are going on now?

turn 1 : sking if the Trump administration has an interest in national cybersecurity that it didn't have before

What is the main concern regarding the Trump administration's cybersecurity policy?

Answer: Interest


. . . Strong title. What do you mean by that?

I think it was meant as sort of a nonpartisan way of talking about what's gone on in the confirmation process on Capitol Hill and how both sides have tried to put their thumbs on the scale and try and steer these judicial nominations in the direction they wanted. And so there is bias on it, and it's been bias on both sides, honestly. I know people don't like to talk about both sider-ism these days, but, you know, both parties have had a lot to do with how mucked up the process has gotten.

All right. Well, we'll get to that. But let's start with where you start in the book, where you talk about the importance of a decision that the majority leader Mitch McConnell made - Republican leader - made in February of 2016. What was the decision?

I think this was one of the most consequential decisions in American history, really, as it turned out. We didn't know it that night. But Mitch McConnell is on a - the Senate majority leader is on a vacation in the Caribbean. The news comes out that Justice Antonin Scalia had died. And Mr.  McConnell that evening decided that President Obama, with 11 months left in his term, would not get an appointment to the Supreme Court.

turn 1 : Both parties have contributed to the biased confirmation process.

Answer: Confirmation


Yeah. To learn street - Glasgow street language.

They must have - well, a few particular words must have stuck to their vocabulary.

They spring to mind immediately, don't they?

Our guest is Billy Connolly. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News. And there is a lot of material, it would seem to me, that would go over better in Scotland than it would here. How do you have to change to adapt to audiences?

turn 2 : Adapting to different audiences requires changing language and material used.

What requires changing when adapting to different audiences?

Answer: Language


What's this program, Becoming a Man, meant to you and other students and your friends?

It means a lot. It gives you insight of how to be a man and take care of your business and have integrity, visionary goal-setting and respect for one another. It helps you be more aware of who you are and what you could do with your life.

Tell us a bit about your life, could you, and your family.

I'm the youngest of six, which is hard to be sometimes, because you get bossed around by everybody in the house. Come from a single-parent home - my mom. Dad was never around. I have sickle cell anemia, so I persevered over that. We had good times and bad times, you know, just like any other family. But we're very close.

turn 1 : It gives you insight of how to be a man and take care of your business and have integrity, visionary goal-setting and respect for one another.

How does the program Becoming a Man help individuals become better men?

Answer: Insight


You know, it's a tremendous feeling. You really feel like you have a view from the shoulders of generations. You know, I'm a fifth-generation member of the association, and we've been working for this moment implicitly since our founding and really explicitly since 1960. You know, just generations of activists registering people to vote. You know, suing local governments to make sure that blacks could run for various offices.

But you know, work has been done by generations with discipline to get us to a point where finally, 230 years after - 232 years after the founding of this republic, we have a multi-racial, multi-gender race. And it's incredible.

Let's go back to some of the practical issues because it strikes me that one of the people who certainly knows so much about politics, Donna Brazile, mentioned something about what can go wrong with the vote. In the year 2000, her sister encountered problems. She was asked by authorities to provide multiple forms of ID on her way to vote. And she called up Donna, and Donna, of course, was like, well, that's not the way things are supposed to work.

Right.

turn 2 : It is being implied that her sister was not treated according to law.

What did Donna Brazile's sister have to provide when she was asked to vote in the year 2000?

Answer: Multiple


Yes. Tsar Nicholas tried to seek asylum in Britain. And the British parliament actually was about to grant him asylum, but the king, King George V, vetoed it. And what's interesting is King George V happened to be Nicholas' first cousin. So, as the saying goes, with relatives like that, who needs enemies?

Why did he do that?Do you know?

He was afraid that it would cause a revolution in England as well. So, he said better stay away.

Now, then, of course, we have Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Most of us remember Imelda Marcos for her shoe collection. But I gather that before they left the Philippines, they gathered up a few more things.

turn 2 : The speaker's literal meaning is that King George V vetoed Tsar Nicholas' asylum request because he was afraid it would cause a revolution in England. The implicated meaning could be that family loyalty can sometimes be compromised by political considerations, and that monarchs might prioritize the interests of their country over those of their own relatives.

What was the reason for King George V's veto?

Answer: revolution


We propose three national sales tax holiday periods in 2009. They would be 10-day periods, including two weekends, and they would occur in March, July, and October. During that time period, the federal government would reimburse the states for any sales tax holiday revenue lost because of these holiday periods.

And do you have a sense of how much money this plan could save consumers?

We estimated approximately $175 for the average family.

And as you mentioned, the way that this would work is that the federal government would reimburse states for any losses that they might incur without the taxes during these periods. But could that work?Where's the federal government going to get that money from when they're already handing out to so many other industries?

turn 2 : to have a sense of something means do you understand something

What did PersonB ask about the potential savings for consumers?

Answer: Money


Well, at a Vatican briefing last Tuesday, the spokesman Father Frederico Lombardi used the Armenian term Medz Yeghern, which means the Great Evil. And he bristled when he was asked why he didn't say genocide. So when the prepared text of the Pope's speech last night used only the Armenian term, most of us thought that was a possible diplomatic overture toward Turkey.

In his actual delivery, the Pope added the word genocide. He said that genocide made possible by the twisted racial ideological or religious aims that darken the minds of the tormentors, even to the point of planning the annihilation of entire peoples. "That drew a standing ovation from the president of Armenia and the diplomatic corps.

The pope visited the genocide memorial today. What did he say there?

Well, it was a a very powerful scene. Francis stood with his head bowed in prayer next to the Armenian apostolate patriarch and a group of black hooded Orthodox bishops while musicians performed a mournful melody on an ancient Armenian flute that's called the duduk. Here's what it sounds like.

turn 1 : (2) The Pope's use of the word "genocide" was seen as a possible diplomatic overture towards Turkey - it was a subtle way of showing support for Armenia without directly confronting Turkey.

What was the Vatican spokesman's response when asked why he didn't use the word "genocide"?

Answer: Bristled


Yeah, exactly. I'd like to see it.

Yeah. Well, if you have any other interesting labs, let Flora know.

Yeah. And I'd also like to thank everyone who sent in videos when we requested - I'm still going through them. So if you haven't heard back from me, it's not personal. It's coming, but they were really great, so thanks for sending them.

Yeah. Couldn't compete with the guinea fowl this week on a treadmill. So thank you, Flora.

turn 1 : "Let Flora know." - The speaker is not literally asking the person to inform Flora. Instead, they are making a suggestion that the person should share any interesting labs they know of with Flora.

Answer: Flora


Waiting for the winds to drop down below 50 - sustained winds drop below 50. And at that time we send out all of our first respondents of police, fire, EMS, and our utility companies. Everybody goes out and does damage assessment report in their areas. Report it back to us. We make a priority listing, so we can get power back on if we lost any power. Get the resources back and so we can just bring our people back.

But the winds are above 50 miles an hour, now. So, you don't have anybody out right now?Every body's just hunkered down.

Ninety nine percent of our people are hunkered down. We have a few of our - like the sheriff, he is out, and a few other higher ranking agency people are out, but most - 99 percent of our people are hunkered down in shelters.

So, how long do you really expect that that's going to last?

turn 1 : Emergency responders are not currently out due to high winds.

What percentage of people are hunkered down in shelters?

Answer: 99


Duane, why don't you describe to us some of the work that you did with actual cases when you were at the California Department of Justice?I mean, what was your job, literally and physically?

Literally, I went to the scene of the crime. I was often the one who collected all the evidence. I also did photography of the crime scene. I did not do fingerprints. There was usually a technician who did that. Back at the laboratory, I would take all that evidence that I collected and inventoried, and I would begin a systematic investigation of that.

As an example, one case in the middle of my career was a triple homicide, and it was a great case from the physical-evidence standpoint. There was bullets. There was blood. There was saliva on cigarette butts. There was hair. There was soil. And I got to basically do it all. And what was really interesting is I presented all these evidence to the jury, laid out a scenario for the crime.

And during the time I was testifying, the defendant called his girlfriend and confessed the crime to her, and then threatened her with death if she ever talked. Well, five minutes later, she called the DA and told the DA about the confession. And she came in to testify at that point, and what she testified to was basically what I had testified to from the physical-evidence standpoint.

turn 3 : None of the turns in this statement have a figurative or non-literal meaning. The speaker is describing a situation where a defendant in a criminal trial confessed to the crime during the speaker's testimony, and the defendant's girlfriend later corroborated the speaker's testimony with her own testimony.

What did the defendant's girlfriend do after the defendant confessed to her?

Answer: Called


And so the children - we have 9,000 children in freedom schools around the country, but many of them are going to go out tomorrow, including Washington, D. C.  and then their state capitals and go see their senators and congressmen and say it is time to cover every child. Not some. God did not make two classes of children.

Tell me about tomorrow's day of social action. What specifically is it going to look like and where is it going to be?

Tomorrow is a civic participation day, they will be going to see their senators and congressmen and others. March into their offices and saying that it is time for every child to have healthcare. All should have the same benefits. All should be able be born with good healthcare.

They are going to tell them how upset they are that children died last year from dental abscesses that just didn't get treatment because children fell through the bureaucratic cracks. And while all of us at the Children's Defense Fund want universal coverage for everybody in America, which is long overdue, children can't wait while we debate for another two, three, four, five, 10 years, for universal coverage for everybody. And so next year they're going to be considering again the funding for the Child Health Insurance Program, but we want to make sure that any consideration of that program will say we're going to cover every child. Right now.

turn 2 : The civic participation day involves marching to senators' offices and demanding that every child should have access to healthcare, regardless of class or social status.

What is the purpose of the civic participation day?

Answer: Healthcare


Yeah, they hired an engineer from Southern California, a guy named John Minasian. And Minasian was an expert in towers, and he built rocket gantries for Cape Canaveral for the Saturn rockets. He also built missile testing gantries for the Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base and broadcast towers. And he contributed pretty significantly to the Needle design in terms of - for one thing, being from Southern California, he'd studied with Richter at Caltech. He said you're going to - we're going to put in a foundation that will stand the test of time.

Mm-hmm. And it has been and, you know, you're in a very tectonic part of the world. There are a lot of earthquakes that happen here. I imagine that was taken into account in the design.

Yeah. They did wind tunnel test at the University of Washington, and they basically doubled the load so that it was twice the required code at the time. I talked to an engineer who worked on the project says it could - it'll stay standing with a nine point, you know, quake.

Wow. Well, and was it designed with the Cold War in mind?We were right in the middle of the coldest past of the Cold War at that time.

turn 3 : They were in the middle of the highest tensions between the two countries.

What event was happening during the time the tower was being designed?

Answer: Cold


The president's reaction, they're happy with, I think. The alt-right - Lana actually - I asked her this specifically - I said, you know, what do you think about Donald Trump?And she said, let's be honest; he's not one of our guys. We've never thought that he was one of our guys.

Seyward Darby - her article "The Rise Of The Valkyries" is published in the September issue of Harper's Magazine. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

Thank you so much for having me.

turn 1 : A: "But the more that he does not disavow the things that they believe in and either tacitly or directly supports them, the better." - The implied meaning is that the speaker believes Donald Trump is indirectly supporting the alt-right movement by not publicly condemning their beliefs, and that this is beneficial for the movement.

What movement does the speaker believe Donald Trump is indirectly supporting?

Answer: Alt-right


And no problems for their ears?

Well, there sometimes are problems for their ears. I mean, whenever you hear a kid screaming their brains out behind you or in front of you on a plane, probably that kid is having air pressure problems. And what happens is that, if they can't pop their ears very well - that is, popping your ears is equalizing the pressure in the middle ear with that in the atmosphere around you, which we mostly do by making those funny little motions with our jaw and swallowing and things like that - little kids often don't know how to do that.

What can happen is that, as the pressure in the plane drops, the pressure in the middle ear remains at sea level, and so the ear drum gets stretched. And ear drums don't like to get stretched. Sometimes they get stretched badly enough so that they can even tear, although that's really quite rare. One of the things that it does lead to is terrible pain sometimes for kids. I always recommend that parents give kids something to drink and sometimes just sort of chewing on a candy increases saliva, so that you swallow, and it allows pressure to equalize.

OK, so for kids who are not healthy, what about them?

turn 2 : In turn (3), the speaker uses the phrase "the pressure in the plane drops" to describe the change in air pressure that occurs during a flight. This is an idiomatic expression that means the cabin pressure decreases as the plane gains altitude.

What happens to the ear drum when the pressure in the middle ear remains at sea level during a flight?

Answer: Stretched


You know, I think really when it comes to animal agriculture and pork production specifically, we've always been about open and fair markets and open trade. We know that when there's a level playing field and we have an opportunity to be able to compete with other pork producers worldwide, we continue to gain market share because we are good.

When we have tariffs, these retaliatory tariffs, obviously somebody else has an advantage over us. And especially in China here right now, obviously we've got two 25% tariffs that add up to a 50%, along with the 12% that they charge everybody. That's a 62% tariff. Well, that puts us out of the market, makes us uncompetitive.

Well, with this announcement out of the White House, kind of unexpectedly just in the past week, I mean, do you kind of feel like there's a game of chicken going on, and you're caught in the middle?

Well, let's be very realistic. The real issue at first was steel and aluminum tariffs, which the tariffs were put on Mexico. They retaliated against the United States, and our product was at a 20% tariff rate. And really that was worth about $12 per head. And that $12 came out of my and other pork producers' pocket. So that was the first one.

turn 0 : level playing field implies that all things rightly set in place or things happening as supposed and not a football field

How does PersonA describe the advantage of open and fair markets in animal agriculture?

Answer: Compete


I think that teenagers - I mean, some were very passionately involved in this. And, you know, teachers do feel things very passionately. It's why they're such a great audience to write for. But others are getting a little bit fed up because these controversies within YA, especially, are dominated by adults, and they're led by adults. So the teens are starting to kind of push back a little bit and saying, you know, this community is supposed to be for us, and you guys are messing it up.

(Laughter) As adults often do mess up things, don't we?

It's true. We ruin everything.

Kat Rosenfield, her article "The Toxic Drama On YA Twitter" is on Vulture. com. Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

turn 1 : Adults tend to make mistakes and create chaos when they meddle in things that are meant for teenagers.

How do adults tend to behave when they interfere with things meant for teenagers?

Answer: Mistakes


Yeah. I mean, Jodi came to me very strongly. Before I even realized that I was writing a book, I was hanging out with Jodi. And she kind of took up residence in my mind. And I became a little infatuated with her. I started thinking about her all the time. And then the plot and the rest of the story sort of fell into place. I really, actually, kind of felt like I was getting to know her. And so it was a process of realizing what she had been through.

Well, Jodi - without giving too much away - gets out of prison. She meets an interesting woman, Miranda, who has three children, a failing marriage to a has-been country singer and an addiction. What draws them to each other?

She's just gotten out of prison. And she knows, in many ways, that taking up with Miranda is a bad decision. I mean, she kind of looks at her the first night that they're hanging out and tells herself, don't do this. But at the same time, she's drawn to her. I mean, she's physically attracted to her.

But she's also, I think, attracted to the fact that Miranda is bound and determined to enjoy life despite everything that's going wrong. So it's this sort of love of life and determination to make something joyful out of life.

turn 0 : A implies that what Jodi had been through inspired his write up.

Which character's experiences inspired the book?

Answer: Jodi


Well, what we hear is a lot of relief, really, that this relentless countdown to all-embracing war, civilians may be averted. But, of course, people are still afraid because what is not off is this war on terror. There are a number of listed terror organizations in Idlib, formerly called Al-Nusra and other groups. And they will be hit with air raids. They will be moved out of this buffer zone that you just described. They will be fought. And hundreds of thousands of civilians can still end up in the crossfire.

How do you establish and enforce a nine-mile demilitarized zone?

Well, the idea of Russia and Turkey is now that Nusra and the other extremist groups will either voluntarily go from this zone, or they will be forced out by other groups and that Turkey and Russia have agreed that there will be an enforcement of this.

The possibility of a battle in Idlib is figured to be probably the last battle of the Syrian civil war that's been going on for a number of years now. Does this agreement avoid that battle or merely postpone it?

turn 0 : Despite the relief of averted war, people are still afraid of the war on terror and the potential for civilian casualties.

What is the reason for people's fear in Idlib?

Answer: terror


. . . In terms of choices. I mean, am I wrong about that?

You know, that research is still in the early stages as well. And I don't want to undermine it or underplay it, but you have to think about things sort of globally. And one thing that you can do is - if you're concerned about sunscreen use is you can just be extra careful about covering up.

So I know for my own kid, the swimsuit I got for him has long sleeves. And I'm always putting, like, a big hat on him. So you're telling me that's not overkill.

That is not overkill. That's actually a great idea. You know, there are a lot of sun-protective clothing on the market now, so that will help protect the environment 'cause you're using less sunscreen. And it will also help protect you against any potential problems with sunscreen ingredients.

In the end, how big a deal is this study published by JAMA?

turn 2 : Covering up with sun-protective clothing is a good idea.

How can you protect the environment and yourself from potential problems with sunscreen ingredients?

Answer: clothing


Because presidents that are about to be removed from office see the writing on the wall. Richard Nixon had a very good sense of his waning support in the Senate. And when he saw it collapse, he realized that if he hung on, he would be removed, and he would lose his presidential pension.

Interesting. So one of the complaints that President Trump is making and that his supporters are making is that this is a purely partisan process. Has that complaint been made before?Is that what people normally say?Or is there something about this particular circumstance that's different?

The reason that impeachment was kept on the shelf for over a hundred years after the Johnson impeachment process was that it was viewed by all sides in the American political community as highly partisan. But it doesn't always have to be the case. And in the Nixon era - a period when I think we saw a model impeachment process - the democratic leadership bent over backwards to make the process as bipartisan as possible.

We keep hearing all kinds of comments from - particularly from former Republican members about what members of their caucus say privately. But there's no way to know how to evaluate that. We do know that publicly, the Republicans are insisting that this is partisan. The Democrats are insisting that no, it isn't. It's a constitutional matter. Do you see from where you sit a way to bridge this difference of perspective?

turn 3 : The person wants to know what can be done to find a common thing the two political parties can agree on.

Which perspective does the person in turn 3 believe is the key to bridging the difference between the political parties?

Answer: Constitutional


You mean somebody rational?
Yeah, someone he could work with.
Yeah.
That would be very good.

turn 1 :  Turn (2) implies that the speaker is looking for someone who is reasonable and easy to work with,

How would you describe the ideal collaborator according to Turn 2?

Answer: Reasonable


So Flame has - so far they've found about 20 modules that can be swapped in and out, and they do everything from turning on the internal microphone and webcam on your computer, this way that they could record conversations that you have over Skype or conversations that you have in the room, in the vicinity of the computer.

It takes screenshots of your communications. They seem particularly interested in any email communications or instant messaging communication that you do. It also turns your computer into a Bluetooth beacon. So if you have Bluetooth enabled on your computer, they will turn that on and do a discovery for other Bluetooth-enabled devices in the vicinity, such as a phone, and they will use your computer to then siphon the contact information that is in any phone in the area.

Wow. Wow.

Why all those things?I mean, what's the reason for that?

turn 2 : "Wow" is an interjection that expresses surprise or admiration, and its literal meaning is the same as its actual meaning.

Which word expresses surprise or admiration in turn 2?

Answer: Wow


No costume changes, no props.

Did you go into being someone who could be so mutable in part because you had to kind of - you had to have a place to escape, I'm assuming?

You know, I think that's exactly what it was. I remember as a teenager that - you know, I was born in Germany. I lived in Japan 'til I was 10 and then, you know, moved to Iowa, which is where I graduated high school. But you know, just being surrounded by so many different cultures, I just found myself kind of being a sponge. And so, as an extracurricular activity, I ended up, you know, doing standup comedy, you know, telling jokes to my friends. And I think you're right. I think it ended up being an escape into these different characters to be able to make people laugh. And it kind of made, you know, kind of made me laugh on the inside as well, because everything on the outside was really, really hurting.

Can you either give us a snippet of a character, to be in character or show how you transition between characters?

turn 2 : A used comedy as an escape from personal struggles and pain

Which activity did PersonA participate in as an escape from personal struggles?

Answer: Comedy


Sort of the intellectual or business father of this. But he himself did not survive. But the practice did survive. And I want to ask for some distinctions here. You have different terms in the book, slaves, indentured servants and what you call free willers. I'm intrigued by the concept of a free willer. Who were they, and what did they get from essentially putting themselves in servitude?

Well, that's what they got. They put themselves in servitude. They were desperate. They were poor people or people who didn't have enough money to pay for the trip to America. They wanted a new life. They hoped that they would get one in America. And so they signed themselves away, their freedoms away, as indentured servants to pay for their passage. And that would be for anything between three and 11 years, usually. Now most of them, initially, didn't survive more than a couple of years.

The first - the average, I think, lifespan of a new indentured servant in the 1620s was probably two years. So these were - they were called at the time free willers because they went of their free will, and so many others didn't go of their free will. They were sent there. They were sent there in chains. They were sentenced to go there. They weren't free at all. Well, nor were these people. So that's the free willers. They are indentured servants.

What about the relationship of the white indentured servants to the African or African-descendant slaves?How did they get along, and how did the people who were essentially their masters treat them differently, if they did?

turn 1 : The 'free willers' were actually indentured servants who sold their freedoms in exchange for a trip to America.

Which term was used to refer to the indentured servants who went to America on their own will?

Answer: Free-willers


No, and to be honest, when we get into the 80s, people start taking off work because this is hot. This is, you know, incredible summer weather. We have to go enjoy it. And then so to make the jump up to 90 degrees was watercooler talk. Everybody - that's all you're talking about is how hot it got. Did you hear it got to 90 degrees?So this is a big deal for us.

Do you have air conditioning up there in Anchorage?

Most people don't in their homes. The office buildings do, naturally, but your regular home, my home doesn't. So I had to open windows. I have one little, tiny fan. You cannot find a fan on the shelves in stores in Anchorage. They're all bought up. As soon as they get some in, every store says they go out within an hour.

Well, how about the land around you?How prepared is it?I mean, I gather there are fires.

turn 2 : Fans are in high demand and difficult to find in Anchorage

Which item is difficult to find in stores in Anchorage?

Answer: Fans


I think it does make a difference. Different presidents, Lyndon Johnson and Carter, did a great deal in adding blacks to the - at least, district court bench, not as much on the appellate courts. So, I think it is a little easier. You have one man. If he is dedicated to the idea of having a diverse judiciary, and they're lifetime appointments, you're Article Three judges, so you do have a better chance.

On the state level, it tends to be so local with local prejudices and wants. In Ohio, we were talking about, there's a name game going on. Seats constantly being taken by guys with the same name. And a lot of people, in elected places, don't know who the judges are.

When you have 40 judges on the common pleas court bench, the odds that you don't know who they are, what they represent because they can't say anything really profound in their campaigning other then I will be fair and impartial, you don't know about their background. It's a difficult thing to do.

All of this said, given your experience, what do you think that some African-American judges can bring, first of all, in the courtroom, dealing with people who are accused of crimes, but secondly, among their colleagues.

turn 1 : "there's a name game going on" - Literal meaning: a game related to names. Actual meaning: Judges are being appointed based on their names rather than their qualifications.

Answer: game


Remember, David, the lead FBI agent assigned to this probe started a new job in Virginia this month. And other lawyers have been moving off the team, too. But Andrew Weissmann was, in some ways, aside from Robert Mueller, the most well-known. He's been attacked by conservative talk radio hosts. And he was called a killer by Steve Bannon, one of Trump's former advisers, who also called him the LeBron James of money laundering investigations.

The thinking being that, I mean, once the important work is done, you're going to let your investigators move on, even if you're putting the finishing touches on the report or whatever is happening.

That's exactly right. And we're seeing more high-level departures by the day.

So the prosecutor you're talking about, Andrew Weissmann, I mean, really played a central role in the case against Paul Manafort. And we're seeing a lot of news in that case over the past 24 hours with the sentencing. What exactly is happening?

turn 1 : The actual meaning is that investigators are typically moved off a case once their important work is done, even if there are still finishing touches to be made. This is different from the literal meaning which is simply a statement about the movement of investigators.

What is the difference between the actual and literal meaning of the statement regarding the movement of investigators?

Answer: Difference


Most Americans will cast our ballots on November 8, or will we?Early voting begins in some states as soon as the end of this month. Twenty million ballots might be in the hands of voters by the end of September. After several elections with early voting, can we see what impact it might have on the political system and even the final result?

Paul Gronke is a professor of political science at Reed College in Portland, Ore. He's founder and director of the Early Voting Information Center. He joins us from Philadelphia. Professor Gronke, thanks for being with us.

Absolutely, good to talk with you, Scott.

I think so. The Democrats really ramped up their operation with the Obama campaign in 2008, and they really got a very good data operation. Rick Perry led the way with the Republicans in some work in Texas to start to track Republican voters and connect them with whether they've cast their ballots early.

turn 3 :  Is it your impression so far that one party or one campaign is better prepared than the other right now for early balloting?

How did PersonA describe the Democrats' data operation in the 2008 campaign?

Answer: good


Justice Alito wrote a dissent that was more tailored to - the federal immigration law does have a passage that says states may cooperate in the apprehension or identification of illegal immigrants, and Justice Alito said if you just read the federal law, you might have thought most of these provisions could stand. So his was a more modulated dissent.

And this also, of course, comes in the course of a national election. Any idea which side may be energized by this particular ruling?

Boy, Neal, your guess on that one is as good as mine. My impression that President Obama - several things he's done certainly would have energized the Latinos and some younger people on the immigration issue, and my impression is there's some - another bloc of voters who are very troubled by illegal immigrants.

turn 3 : And Lamar Smith, the congressman and head of the Judiciary Committee, has a statement basically saying this is why we need a new, stronger Congress to pass tougher immigration laws here in Washington, thanks to - these kind of decisions show we need stronger laws out of Washington.  The turn does not have a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning.

Which congressman made a statement about the need for stronger immigration laws in Washington?

Answer: Lamar


. . . they did great animation in this. And I can't imagine having the patience to move these little dots around.

No. It's a. . .

It's coffee granules, I think.

. . . a great visualization. And I should say that we have another video that done in the same animation style. It's part of the series. It's an experiment people can do at home. So. . .

turn 2 : The electronic animation is as tiny as coffee granules.

Answer: tiny


In the end, has the IMF been a force for good?What has it done that might otherwise not have been done?

You know, I think the comparison is with what happened in the '20s and '30s - that was a world in which we did not have a international lender of last resort. And it was a world in which countries went bankrupt. There was a massive retreat from globalization, countries lost confidence in the way the international financial system worked. And I think the proof of how valuable the IMF has been is the onward march of globalization.

But you're aware of the fact that when the IMF meets, there are going to be protesters outside who are saying that globalization is the problem.

Yeah and I think they're mistaken. They are objecting to some of the cultural consequences of globalization. But I don't think anyone can object to an institution that's committed to preventing people from going under.

turn 2 : B: "the problem" refers to the negative effects of globalization, which may include job losses, cultural homogenization, and environmental degradation. The protesters are not necessarily saying that globalization is a problem in and of itself, but rather that the way it has been implemented has been harmful to many people and the planet.

How do the protesters view globalization?

Answer: Negative


Thank you. Thank you for saying snot-like. Not a - I don't believe we've had that phrase on our show before. So what is there. . .

It's a first.

Well, we spent a few years studying the frog tongue.

turn 2 :  (3) B: What is there about this delightful mucus of the tongue? - Implied meaning: What interesting properties does frog tongue mucus have?

Answer: scientifically


You know, that's a really great question. Our book hit No. 3 on the New York Times bestseller list on Wednesday. And here I am having written this book and stepping into a different version of, you know, women's rights feminist icon. And it's something I'm really proud of because I had to really educate myself on what I believe to be true.

And so I - I don't know. I think that recreating a person's identity is happening on the daily. And I - for me - I want to keep breaking free from all of these identities and get down to that last one, which is human. And I hope that people out there feel the same way because we are all the same matter.

That soccer star Abby Wambach.

Abby, thank you.

turn 1 : A: "breaking free from all of these identities and get down to that last one, which is human" - This turn is figurative language as it refers to the author's desire to move beyond societal labels and stereotypes and focus on our common humanity rather than actually breaking free from physical identities.

How does the author want to view people beyond societal labels and stereotypes?

Answer: Human


A lot of destruction, complete devastation - the poultry barns, for example, some of those barns are completely gone. Where the hardest wind gusts hit, it was like Godzilla came and just pulled everything up from the ground. With the banana plantations, you know, you can see when the weakest palm trees fell and broke - when they started feeling the winds because they're leaning one way. And then when the hurricane changed direction, then you see the other one's going to the other side and broken. So you can see the power (laughter) that the hurricane had.

What are we looking at in terms of how quickly they can start working again?

It will depend on the crop. For example, the coffee growers - the arabica bean coffee was being harvested right now. So they're working hard to collect from the ground whatever's left so they can sell it in the market. So we're giving them working capital to be able to pay their payroll, and then we'll start planning for next year's harvesting because it's a one-year crop. On the other end, some of the papaya plantations - growers, they also have bananas and plantains. They have younger trees. So if they cut down the banana trees, in eight, nine months they'll be able to get on their feet.

What does this mean for Puerto Ricans and their access to food?

turn 2 : Some crop growers are able to resume operations sooner than others depending on the crop type.

What is the determining factor for crop growers to resume operations after the hurricane?

Answer: Crop


Yeah.

Sterile. Good to drink.

Well, they didn't drink it. They didn't do the ultimate test.

And I don't blame them.

turn 1 : The water is so clean that it is safe to drink.

What was the result of the ultimate test?

Answer: Unknown


(Laughing) You would think, but its this weird sort of a - the more I get to know them, the more they become different objects with such different ingredients that I love them more with each passing day.

(Laughing) So I have a burrito specimen here with me in the studio. And I'm going to unwrap. . .

Is it in wax paper or tinfoil?

It is in both tinfoil and wax paper.

turn 2 : The implied meaning is that A is inquiring about the details surrounding B's special person.

What material is the burrito wrapped in?

Answer: Tinfoil


And they also said that there was going to be no one within 500 miles of you, right?

Yeah. They did. And I live in Florida. So 500 miles is practically the entire state. And there's seven of us living in this state alone.

So what is your advice to other kids of donors?

I would say just always keep an open mind. And I'm very fortunate that my donor has been receptive to meeting siblings. But, you know, there are some donors out there that want to remain completely anonymous. And so I would say, you know, if the donor is that way, then the best thing to do is just find siblings because it's one of the greatest connections you can ever have.

turn 3 : It's best to be receptive to any thought that comes your way.

What is the advice given by PersonA to kids of donors?

Answer: Open


The highlight, I think, of the BET Awards is, like they said, the BET Awards are great because they have all the celebrities. It's not like the other shows where you sort of go on, who is that?You sort of know who everyone is. But I think, for the BET Awards this year, Al Green was the best person. I mean, he really just, you know, he made you realize, you know, there's nobody out there like him anymore, and. . .

It was fabulous.

He was amazing. And then, Alicia Keys, when she brought, you know TLC and En Vogue and those girls back on stage, it may be felt old, but nonetheless, they were really good, you know, and they sort of was singing these songs that you know, you used to remember when I think music - all generations say this but when music was really good. You know, and who thought I'd say that about TLC, but I was like oh, I miss TLC.

They did "Waterfalls" with Alicia Keys.

turn 0 : BET Awards are great because they have all the celebrities, unlike other shows

What was the highlight of the BET Awards this year according to A?

Answer: Celebrities.


Yes. I think it still is hard for some categories of people, so I'm keen to support people from underrepresented groups in physics. But also, there are people who maybe badly need the money. People from less well-off households could be very good physicists but just don't have that financial cushion.

So I'm wondering what advice you'd give to a young woman pursuing a career in the sciences.

I'd encourage her to hang in there. It's not quite as easy for her as it is for her male colleagues, but it is getting better. And working in the sciences is fantastic. You'll never want for a job.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is an award-winning astrophysicist. Congratulations on your award.

turn 0 : Most people don't have enough money to pay for school.

Which category of people is PersonA keen to support in physics?

Answer: Underrepresented


Well, one of the big questions is going to be whether or not Donald Trump is able to turn out all of these new voters that he says he's going to be able to turn out. So if you look at the numbers on caucus night, if the numbers are about 150,000 or higher on the Republican side, people think that's a good day for Donald Trump. If there are 125,000 to 150,000, that's the number of people are saying could be good for Ted Cruz.

Democratic side, both Sen.  Sanders and Hillary Clinton seem to be getting good crowds.

For the Democrats, the thing to watch here is that Hillary Clinton has been in this state for two years organizing. They feel like they have their strong core base of support. They have Barack Obama's field operation there. Remember, he won this state in 2008. Bernie Sanders has a interesting complication because he's getting huge crowds. A lot of his supporters are young. They're college-age. The problem with them is that they're all concentrated in a few different places. He's winning more than a quarter of his vote right now in three counties. They're actually encouraging a lot of these kids to go back home so that they can filter out the vote in the rest of the state because the way delegates are picked, they need a little bit more of these kids to go back to other places. Otherwise, Hillary Clinton could wind up winning in rural counties and wind up beating Bernie Sanders, even though he might have a lot of vote concentrated in those cities.

All this concentration on Iowa - and I don't regret a moment on it. . .

turn 0 : "If there are 125,000 to 150,000, that's the number of people are saying could be good for Ted Cruz."  Implicated meaning: The number of people turning out to vote within the range of 125,000 to 150,000 is considered favorable for Ted Cruz's chances.  Explanation: The literal meaning of the statement is straightforward, stating that a voter turnout within a specific range is seen as beneficial for Ted Cruz. The implicated meaning, however, goes beyond the literal interpretation by suggesting that the voter turnout range is an indication of Ted Cruz's potential success in the election.

What is the range of voter turnout considered favorable for Ted Cruz's chances?

Answer: 125,000to150,000


I gather there were women who asked you for medical help.

Yes. So some of the women who had been raped asked to know if they were pregnant. One of the most heartbreaking things I would have to do would be to confirm for women that they were, indeed, pregnant as a result of rape. Some of them were requesting testing for sexually transmitted infections, which we couldn't do on the boat, but we helped to arrange in Italy once we arrived there.

One of the things I say about my Doctors Without Borders work is that I often come across the best of humanity, but I also come across the worst of humanity. And these women, especially, told me of things that had happened to them that it never occurred to me that humans could do that to one another.

All right, Dr.  Giles, you have at least a few ears in America right now. What do we need to hear?

turn 1 :  "confirm for women that they were, indeed, pregnant as a result of rape." The phrase "confirm for women" means to tell the women that they are pregnant, which is the literal meaning. However, the fact that the pregnancy resulted from rape adds a figurative meaning to the statement that conveys the emotional impact and the devastating consequences of sexual violence.

How did the women feel when they found out they were pregnant?

Answer: Devastated


That's right. It has a huge box that they call the LiDAR machine which basically can pierce through the jungle's foliage and map whatsoever on the ground underneath.

And this LiDAR machine can penetrate even triple canopy rainforest.

It's absolutely incredible. It strips it out completely. And you can actually see something as small as a meter on a side, sitting on the ground underneath this incredibly dense rainforest.

And this rainforest, it turns out even sites that had been discovered by archeologists before that the LiDAR technique from the air found vastly more than the archeologists ever suspected.

turn 0 : The machine can read images under the jungle foliage.

Answer: LiDAR


Well, because there are a number of reasons that a security clearance can be denied. Among them would be foreign contacts, foreign business interests, criminal activity, financial instability, drug and alcohol use. And some of these are very serious. If employees who had the history of these issues - and they weren't properly mitigated, they could be a risk to national security if they received security clearances.

You're saying hypothetically those could be reasons security clearances would be denied. Were they in these cases reasons that they were denied?

Some of them were applicable in different cases, yes.

Is overriding 25 security clearance denials a large number?I have no idea what's normal in this situation.

turn 1 : "You're saying hypothetically those could be reasons security clearances would be denied." - The actual meaning is that A mentioned several reasons that could result in the denial of a security clearance and B is asking if those reasons were actually used to deny security clearances in specific cases.

How did PersonB respond to PersonA's hypothetical reasons for security clearance denial?

Answer: Applicable


Yes, far more often. And I'm not sure we fully understand why. In this particular - the latest case, the president said he was not informed until 24 hours before Shanahan pulled out. That was just hard to believe. It's either that reflects gross incompetence on the part of his team in not telling him, or he's lying about it and/or some combination thereof. But we don't know the answer to that.

What we do know is there has been a pattern of withdrawals from nominations that were not fully vetted, or some things popped up at the last minute. You know, both the person nominated that the president wanted to be Army secretary and the person he wanted to be Navy secretary were both knocked out by disclosures that had not come up in the early vetting.

So who's supposed to find this stuff out in the early vetting?Whose responsibility is it?

There are two institutions that are responsible, take primary lead for it - nominees who require Senate confirmation. One first and foremost is the White House working in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, working as well with the FBI to do a thorough financial, legal and personal conduct - and that includes domestic violence - kind of search. While that is underway - and it can take a number of weeks - the Senate itself takes up a background check. And so it's almost shocking that the senators are saying they didn't know.

Every administration has some level of dysfunction. But in a White House that is running somewhat more smoothly than this one, how would this work when it's a well-oiled machine or something close to it?

turn 3 : The senators should have known about the nominees' background check

Which institution is responsible for conducting a thorough financial, legal and personal conduct search for nominees requiring Senate confirmation?

Answer: FBI


Right. You have this really shocking statistic in your article where you say that personal consumption amounts to 70 percent of the American economy.

Yeah, that's right. Basically, we are the engine of our own economy. And for far too long apparently, we've just been swiping our Visa cards willy nilly and pumping up this economy. The worry is that when we stop doing that, which is what's happening, our economy is going to sag.

So you went out to see if it was sagging. You went to the Mall of America. What did you find?

The most ambitious mall in the United States, the mall that is doing the most to put you in the fugue state that allows you to spend. They're up against it at the Mall of America. What I found was a lot of people who weren't shopping all that much and a lot of people that were counting their pennies in a way that they never had before.

turn 3 : The person found a lot of people not shopping and instead watching how much they spend on things in order to save money.

What were people doing instead of shopping at the Mall of America?

Answer: saving


Yeah. I mean, I don't think they're damaging at all. I think Putin can be quite happy with these results. He had a real problem two years ago after the intervention in Ukraine. Western powers were ignoring and isolating Russia. Obama called the country a regional power. And today, Putin is deciding war and peace in Syria. And, you know, he's being attributed with powers of influencing a U. S.  election. So, in some ways, it makes Russia seem much bigger than it really is.

One thing to keep in mind is that Russians have been told, for some time, that they're at war with the West, not really a shooting war but an information war, sort of a struggle for influence. So there's a widespread perception here that Russia is, itself, the victim of a Western conspiracy. So I think you can say, from the Kremlin's perspective, Russia's just giving the West a taste of its own medicine. More broadly speaking, I think this report really doesn't matter very much here in Moscow. People here are waiting for the inauguration of Donald Trump and nothing else really matters.

NPR's Moscow correspondent Lucian Kim, thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you.

turn 3 : is that the people of Moscow are not paying attention to the report, but rather are more concerned with the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Which event are the people of Moscow more concerned with than the report?

Answer: Inauguration


I saw poofy hot pants. They were like, they were kind of like a poof skirt but done in a hot pants style.

So many regrettable. . .

Regrettable, regrettable fashion sense.

Just unfortunate that you just sort of go, OK, all right. Just X, you know, that X thing they have with Glamour?Yeah, a lot of that.

turn 0 : Poofy hot pants are a ridiculous and impractical fashion choice.

What kind of fashion sense is described as "regrettable" by B?

Answer: Regrettable


That's the idea. With the blue ASU, the Army tried to - it was kind of supposed to be a throwback to the Civil War or to the Revolutionary War when soldiers wore navy-blue jackets. But it wasn't and hasn't been very recognizable to the public. Everyone knows what a Marine looks like. You know what a sailor looks like. Officers wear those nice dress whites. But that ASU wasn't as recognizable. And I think part of the idea behind this is that people have seen movies. They recognize what a World War II-era soldier looked like. And so there's a lot of - yes - public admiration for seeing the guy in the olive-drab suit.

And when are they going to make the decision?

There's supposed to be a decision this spring - so within the next few months. I think, though, the last bit of it is the sergeant major and a couple of models that he has who are wearing prototypes have been going around to events, going to Capitol Hill, getting, you know, Congress and the lawmakers to sign off, to give their stamp of approval and then, in the next couple of months, make a final decision about mass-producing it.

Meghann Myers of the Army Times, thanks so much.

turn 0 : The blue ASU uniform is not recognizable to the public and the Army is trying to change that by making it resemble the uniforms from World War II-era that people recognize from movies.

What is the Army trying to achieve with the blue ASU uniform?

Answer: Recognition