The death toll in Sudan has risen sharply. A doctors group there now says more than 30 people were killed and hundreds wounded when the military fired on a sit-in outside the defense ministry. Pro-democracy protesters want a new government in Sudan. They have been negotiating with the military. In a televised statement, the military said now all agreements are off, and elections will happen within nine months.

Joining us now is Nima Elbagir. She is senior international correspondent with CNN. She was in Sudan not long ago, and she joins us now from London. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

Good morning, Rachel.

Nima, I understand you're in touch with people in Khartoum. What are you hearing now that this violence has happened?

turn 0 : The military opened fire on peaceful protesters resulting in numerous deaths and injuries, causing political instability in Sudan.

What was the reason for the political instability in Sudan?

Answer: Firing


When we lose sight of the importance of our Constitution and upholding our systems of justice, then we slide a little bit - not to sound dramatic, but we slide a little closer to anarchy. We in the criminal justice field have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to uphold our systems of justice. And that's for the victims. I frankly don't really care about Jeffrey Epstein. But I care about our systems of justice, and these kinds of things just can't happen.

That's Cameron Lindsay. He's a former warden at three federal facilities, and he's been in top leadership posts and numerous others.

Mr.  Lindsay, thanks so much for talking to us today.

Thank you very much, ma'am.

turn 0 : We do not physically slide closer to anarchy - this is a metaphor

Which word in turn 0 is used to describe the movement towards anarchy?

Answer: slide


Oh, my goodness, the crisis keeps deepening by the day. Yesterday, some of the parties called for a vote of no confidence. The chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, was hoping that he could get rid of Interior Minister Kickl, who has also been the center of several scandals himself during the course of the 18 months that they've been in government. The other ministers of Transport, Defense and Labor said, we're going to leave, too.

So you're describing all sorts of behind-closed-doors machinations going on here. But bottom line - as Austria prepares to go to bed tonight, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is still in charge of the government, but he doesn't have much of a government now that his coalition has fallen apart.

Exactly.

How is this playing as you are out and about interviewing people on the streets of Vienna?

turn 1 : Although Kurz is technically still in charge, the government has lost much of its power and stability due to the coalition's collapse.

What has happened to the government's power and stability due to the coalition's collapse?

Answer: power


Five cases of cholera have now been confirmed in the port city of Beira, Mozambique. And this is spreading in the wake of what the United Nations has called the worst catastrophe to hit southern Africa. A cyclone and massive flooding two weeks ago killed hundreds of people.

Earlier this morning, we were able to reach Caitlin Ryan. She is the emergency communications officer for the group Doctors Without Borders. They're also known by their French initials MSF. She is in the city of Beira, and I asked her what it's like there.

In many ways, it does feel like life is returning to the city. There's some food in the market; people have cleaned the streets. And we're starting to treat a lot of injuries of people repairing their homes. So in many ways, life is returning to normal. But in many other ways, maybe even a hundred thousand people are sleeping without roofs, they don't have enough food, and access to clean water is severely, severely limited.

Well, speaking of health problems - I mean, what can you tell me now about these cases of cholera?

turn 3 : In (4), the speaker is not asking for a description of the current health problems; they are asking for information specifically related to the cases of cholera that were mentioned in (1).

How is the speaker in turn 3 specifically asking for information on what health problem?

Answer: Cholera


The billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein has been taken into federal custody related to sex trafficking. According to The Daily Beast, who first reported this story, Epstein was arrested yesterday and will appear in court tomorrow to be charged in connection with sex trafficking minors. This comes more than a decade after accusations first surfaced that Epstein had paid dozens of young girls for sex. But he avoided federal criminal charges and significant prison time in a plea deal that continues to draw criticism for its lenient terms. For more on this, we called Pervaiz Shallwani, one of the Daily Beast reporters who broke this story. And he's with us now.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

And I'm just going to start by saying that the details may be disturbing to some listeners because this does involve accusations about the treatment of young girls. So, having said that, Pervaiz, as briefly as you can, what are the allegations that first surfaced against Epstein in 2007 and 2008?

turn 2 : He was happy to attend the talk show

What was PersonA's response when PersonB thanked him for being with them?

Answer: Thank


As a parent, or as a wife, or both?

Well, I mean, how can I answer that?I spend a lot of time at home, especially now that I have kids, so, I'm mostly confronting these situations that involve white people making assumptions about me and my children. But, you know, when we go into Boston, both with my kids and with my husband when he was, you know, my boyfriend, or my fiance, or whatever, and we were living in the city, yes, I think, you know, we certainly got our fair share of double takes and then some. And not very subtle, either, by blacks which I also find just as disconcerting, if not more so.

You mention towards the end of your article that you are hopeful, but not necessarily convinced, that everything is moving in the right direction racially. Why do you think that?

Well, I really just don't know. You know, I am very hopeful because I think that, you know, my biggest fear as a parent is that my kids will somehow feel squeezed between these two identities, and feel forced to choose one. And there are many stories of, you know, friends and acquaintances of mine who are biracial who go through these stages of, you know, rejecting their black parent or feeling embarrassed by their black parent. And then reading "Malcolm X" freshman year in college and then rejecting their white parent. I mean, it's a very common thing, or it's not uncommon, at least.

turn 1 : The speaker faces racial discrimination and stereotypes from both white and black people.

What type of discrimination does the speaker face?

Answer: Racial


Well, it's about four, five, six percent. But we also asked questions about whether or not people would change their minds. You can add an additional about 20 percent of voters who are picking a candidate in the month of September, but are still saying they might change their mind how they're going to vote. When you add those two numbers together, you get almost to a quarter of the electorate in Ohio that could change its mind between now and Election Day.

And the number one issue, as it is in many places in the country, the economy?

The economy is the number one issue. And one of the things that makes it very difficult for a candidate to campaign in Ohio is that when they come to Ohio to talk about the economy, they can't just talk about a single aspect. When you talk to folks in the northern part of the state, northeast Ohio which includes Cleveland, and northwest Ohio which includes Toledo, when you're talking about the economy there, oftentimes the discussion is about trade.

When you talk about the economy in southwest Ohio, which is the Cincinnati area, there's much less talk about trade, and more discussion about wages and the salaries that people are making. The southeast area of the state, which is also known in part because of the Appalachian history of that part of the state, has high unemployment. A number of counties in southeast Ohio have double-digit unemployment. Many people in that region are talking about and focused on unemployment, solely as their economic concern.

turn 3 : None found - the turns "less talk about trade" and "focused on unemployment" appear to have their literal meanings.

Which turn focuses on the economy in the Cincinnati area?

Answer: Cincinnati


When you say muscle through an agenda, the implication is they've got to twist arms in their own party?

Well, I think the Republican Party is going through change. The more populous, working-class element of the Republican Party is on the ascent. And the tectonic plates within both parties, frankly, are changing as both parties are becoming more tribalized. As you see on the Democratic side, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have a significant and outsized voice in their party just as the House Freedom Caucus and the more populous, working-class wing on the Republican side have an outsized voice.

Ken Spain was managing director of communications at Koch Industries. He's now a partner at the CGCN consultant group. Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

turn 3 : having me implies hosting someone or engaging with someone and not referring to owning someone

What does turn 3 imply about the meaning of "having"?

Answer: Hosting


You can never protect someone by stripping them of their rights. The premise is that unless California lawmakers become complicit in denying California athletes equal rights, then somehow those players will be harmed. And that's just a false premise.

And before we let you go, do you feel like you're making headway?Like, you know, part of the reason you got started with this - you were a former UCLA football player yourself. You saw the NCAA suspend your teammate for accepting a bag of groceries when he had no food. You know, you've seen a lot over the course of time that you've been working on this. And I'm just wondering if you feel like your arguments are making headway. Are people starting to take the questions around how college athletes are treated more seriously?

I do think there's progress. Not as fast as I would like - you know, you look at the multi-year scholarships are now available, the name, image and likeness lawsuit from Ed O'Bannon that resulted in stipends. There's still a ways to go. Let's put it that way. But I do think there's reform. I think a lot of key people are listening, especially lawmakers.

That is Ramogi Huma. He is the founder and executive director of the National College Players Association, an organization founded to advocate for college athletes.

turn 1 : NATIONAL COLLEGE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION  FOUNDED TO ADVOCATE  COLLEGE ATHLETS

What is the purpose of the National College Players Association?

Answer: advocate


Let's get back to the news organizations who weren't permitted in this briefing. Now, I gather this kind of briefing is called a gaggle. What happened?

That's right.

Were you there?What did you see?

Well, what happened is instead of the daily on-camera briefing, Sean Spicer called a gaggle so he could talk to the pool. That's the small group of reporters that go places where the entire press corps can't fit. And then they share their transcripts and their notes with everyone else in the press corps. The White House said this gaggle would have an extended pool. And turns out they invited some additional organizations, but they pointedly excluded others like CNN, The New York Times, Politico. NPR was not there.

turn 0 : (1) implies that the speaker wants to know what happened to the news organizations that weren't permitted in the briefing,

What was the name given to the type of briefing that Sean Spicer called?

Answer: Gaggle


Well, this ongoing and developing saga between singers Chris Brown and Rihanna. The president's proposed stimulus package is getting kicked around online as well. This is from the blog Political Season. He writes: Half of America is very weary of the bailout, and the other half loathes it, and nobody understands the logic going into it. Is it just me or would it have made a whole lot more sense for there to have been some public disclosure so that people understood the urgency and the emergency involved?

And this is from the blog Cob(ph): Like the woman who was pregnant when she voted for Obama because she thought he'd change America's health-care system in time for her baby, a lot of people are going to be disappointed to find that the stimulus plan is not going to be as broad and timely as the economy will be wiping out jobs.

And after today's developments, they are probably going to be even more confused in terms of what's about to happen. What can people find out on our Web site this week, Geoffrey?

Well, we've got two recent in-studio performances, one from Maisha, another one from Asha. They're both female singers who go by one name.

turn 0 : The stimulus package is being talked about online in a good and a bad way.

How is the stimulus package being discussed online?

Answer: Weary


So I shaved my head kind of as a social experiment, you know?And sure enough, no more hey, baby, you know?But suddenly I was public enemy No. 1. People thought I was a skinhead or some kind of punk that was going to break something or steal something.

People were visibly intimidated - which, again, here's a girl moving through the world, craving eye contact, craving human connection, even fleeting connection, passersby, you know?And so the fact that people no longer even would look me in the eye was - it really weighed on me, and it started to accumulate in my chest. Even people who are politely nervous just eventually enraged me.

(Singing) I am not an angry girl, but it seems like I've got everyone fooled. Every time I say something they find hard to hear, they chalk it up to my anger and never to their own fear.

You had - as you talked about in the book, you were struggling with this idea of how to make art and how to sell your art or even if you should.

turn 1 : People's avoidance made the speaker feel isolated and angry

Which emotion did the speaker feel due to people's avoidance?

Answer: Weight


Yes. There are tens of thousands of North Koreans who are hiding in China today. At the peak in the late '90s, early 2000s, there were more than half a million. But in - about 25,000 have made it safely to South Korea where they're living today. And about 140, 150 have come to the United States, and there have been several hundred who've gone to Europe.

And this underground railroad, obviously the phrase we associate with escaped slaves from the South before the Civil War, but the analogy, you say, is apt.

The analogy is very similar. It's a secret network of safe houses and routes - secret routes across the country. It's staffed. It's operated mostly by Christians, similar to the original Underground Railroad, though there are also people who are in it for the money who are involved - brokers and human traffickers. And many of the people who help the North Koreans in China are ethnically Korean. That is they're Korean-Chinese or they're South Korean or there are - they are Americans who are of Korean heritage. I interviewed a number of the rescuers, and their stories are incredibly inspiring. Especially in this Christmas season, you think about these are people who are living their faith by going to a hostile country to help, and helping people that nobody else in the world is prepared to help.

And it's interesting. You tell the story of one of them: Adrian Hong.

turn 2 : The people involved in the rescue are risking their lives to help refugees based on their faith and compassion.

How are the people involved in the rescue motivated?

Answer: faith


Most certainly, you know, because when it's so many deaths and injured, emotions tend to run really high. And we're certainly worried.

But so far, have you heard of any incidents of intimidation or violence?

There has been a few minor incidents - nothing major. Pelting stones at a few mosques. And on Sunday itself, two shops were burned down.

Two shops, I think.

turn 2 : A is implying that there have been small reports of violence, such as stones being thrown at mosques and shops being burned down.

Which religious places were targeted in the reported incidents?

Answer: mosques


Yes.

They got very close.

Yeah. They got way too close. It would've been an absolute disaster, politically, politically - never mind anything else - for Mr.  Lincoln if the Confederates had just marched into Washington, you know, burned Washington. And that could have very easily had happened. Grant would have been disgraced. Lincoln might have lost the election in November because this would be such an embarrassment, psychological impact would've been incalculable.

I want to talk about Lincoln and I think that there's a monument up there to Lincoln's role in this battle.

turn 3 : Turn (4): "I want to talk about Lincoln and I think that there's a monument up there to Lincoln's role in this battle" - The literal meaning is that the speaker wants to discuss a monument related to Lincoln's role in a battle. However, the actual meaning could be that the speaker wants to discuss Lincoln's role in the battle itself, rather than just the monument.

Answer: Washington


Well, Pluto's official designation is a dwarf planet. And I have to tell you the people who sent this probe all the way out to Pluto are a little angry about that because when they launched it a decade ago, Pluto was still a planet.

(Laughter).

It got downgraded in the intervening years.

That seems so unfair.

turn 0 : The people who sent the probe feel disappointed that Pluto was downgraded and their efforts were for nothing.

Answer: The


In a word, Ari - schadenfreude. I think at this moment, whether you look at politics or society in general, there is a lot of concern about fraud, about misrepresentation, people not being who they say they are, not to mention a lot of resentment of wealth and privilege and all the trappings that come with it. And the way this story has unfolded, the fact that these families really seem to believe that the rules should not apply to them - that's been galling to many people.

And then look at the setting, right?So elite colleges are the source of such cultural fascination. Some would say obsession. Highly selective colleges - you know, they only enroll about 1 percent of all college students. So they're very, very small. But then again, they have these brands that are known all over the world. And they're supposed to stand for merit, for hard work, for the best and the brightest.

And so when you look at something like this or, even bigger, the legacy admissions or the fact that some wealthy donors can write a check and get their kid into college that way supposedly, it - all of this is really going to undermine the idea of having institutions in our society that represent hard work and being kind of excellent.

So where do these cases go from here?

turn 2 :  Implied meaning: These cases may lead to a general mistrust of institutions that are supposed to represent hard work and excellence

What is at risk because of the unfolding story in the dialogue?

Answer: Institutions


Well, the Republican reaction is pretty typical. Whenever we see Donald Trump act like a stress test on democratic institutions, Republicans in Congress are usually silent. They don't seem to be concerned by the president involving himself in an internal investigation or openly calling for the Mueller investigation to end unless they are Republicans who are not running for re-election. So we have heard some criticisms from Republicans who are planning to retire. In the past, Republicans have come to the defense of Attorney General Jeff Sessions because the president has relentlessly humiliated and criticized him. And Republican senators have stood up for Sessions. He's become a kind of proxy for the rule of law. What we don't know is if firing Bob Mueller is a kind of red line for Republicans in Congress. That's really the big question.

So what do we know about the Justice Department?What are they saying about all this?

Well, there has been pushback from former DOJ officials who say this firing was inappropriate. We also know how Andrew McCabe has reacted. He said he was singled out and treated this way because of what he witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey. He says that he was fired to undermine the credibility of the Mueller investigation. We also know that McCabe made contemporaneous notes just like his boss, James Comey, did. All FBI agents are trained to do this. And coincidentally, James Comey is about to embark on a book tour, one of the highest-profile book tours ever.

Yes.

turn 0 : Republicans in Congress are not doing enough to hold Donald Trump accountable for his actions and words

What is the big question regarding the firing of Bob Mueller for Republicans in Congress?

Answer: Red


The State Department has said that the ambassador concluded her three-year diplomatic assignment in Kyiv as planned, that there was no kind of retribution or she was not yanked back unceremoniously. Why are there doubts on that in the diplomatic community?

My understanding is that Ambassador Yovanovitch had been expected to stay on in her position through the end of the summer. And then suddenly in May, there was a torrent of criticism, including a tweet by the president's son, Don Jr. , calling her a joker and calling for her dismissal and a bunch of Fox News segments criticizing her. And then, lo and behold, she was called back, and the explanation was put out that this was as planned. But it was completely inconsistent with everything else we understood about her term and expected tenure in Ukraine. And the notion that this was done to coincide with a transition of power in Ukraine is very far from standard practice. That doesn't make any sense.

I can see your eyebrows raised from here about this whole story. And I guess what is the lesson that you think other State Department workers are taking from this?Is it the idea that you're vulnerable to attack from the president?Is it becoming a target of right-wing sites?Like, what is the thing that you think will have a chilling effect?

The core problem here, which Congress is appropriately focusing on in the impeachment hearings, are primarily about, is the president abusing his power and what looks like withholding military assistance to a vulnerable partner country in order to advance his political aims?So that's No. 1, and that's front and center.

turn 0 : She was not abruptly forced to return with no reason given.

Which diplomatic assignment did the ambassador conclude as planned?

Answer: planned


Wow, is this the same thing that happened a couple of years ago, or am I just imagining this?

Now, we've had actually more stratospheric warming events in the past decade than we generally have in the past. This is somewhat of a new science, we've only been able to study the stratosphere since the '50s. So we don't really have any statistically significant time periods to be looking at. But we are seeing that these are occurring now almost every year. We're seeing them about every two years in the past. Now we're seeing them almost every year for the past decade.

And so this is becoming a more common event. So I'm not exactly sure what timeline you were looking at, but we did have a stratospheric warming event in 2011.

Yeah, is there some event that actually triggers this to happen?

turn 0 : No, this is not the same thing that happened a couple of years ago. It might be similar, but it is not the same.

Which event is not the same as what happened a couple of years ago?

Answer: HIV


. . . Of Puerto Rico. (Laughter) So that would leave the secretary of the Department of Education fourth in line. And he took over that agency from Julia Keleher, who is facing corruption charges in federal court.

Oh, my goodness.

And I think it's important to remember that the arrest of the former Department of Education secretary almost three weeks ago initiated this head-spinning series of events that has led to Governor Rossello's announcement last Wednesday that he was resigning.

Mr.  Trelles, I just want to know because we're going so far down the line of succession, is there some point in the rules where the governorship just falls to you, that it's the editor of Radio Ambulante who becomes governor of Puerto Rico?

turn 3 : It is being implied that if everyone resigns he will be the new leader.

How would the editor of Radio Ambulante become governor of Puerto Rico according to PersonB's question?

Answer: Governor


The flaws that one makes, that one has, are more apparent. The mistakes one makes are more apparent when you've died. The sweet scent of marjoram sweeps away all the contradictions, but yet Jesse Jackson has been the most extraordinary rhetorical genius to articulate the vision, the virtue, and the value of black life in the American public square.

Al Sharpton has emerged in the last few years. Reverend Al Sharpton himself sees himself as part of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. , but at the same time, he worked up north, Dr.  King worked down south. Jessie Jackson, of course, worked in Chicago. And these two gentlemen then challenged some of the prevailing forms of oppression in the midst of a northern culture that had not yet tested its commitment to civil rights.

And Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton forced them to grapple with it. Jackson in Chicago, Sharpton in New York, especially focusing on police brutality and forms of white mob violence directed against vulnerable black people. Barack Obama…

And then - yeah, Barack Obama has a sort of different place in the…

turn 0 : The literal meaning of this phrase is that the scent of marjoram can be used to mask contradictions. The actual meaning, however, is unclear and seems to be a metaphor or poetic expression that may require further context or interpretation.

Which phrase in turn 2 suggests that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton worked to challenge oppression?

Answer: Advocacy


Yeah. These were street fights that got very intense at some stage. And what happened is a large group of pro-Russian protesters fled into a building. I guess they were seeking shelter or looking for a place to perhaps launch their own attacks.

And what video footage shows is that protesters - other protesters began throwing Molotov cocktails at the building, which went up in flame. And many of these victims died of smoke inhalation or jumping from windows or - you know, when they were jumping from windows.

And let's try and follow up on a couple of things, too. What happens now that the European military - we can no longer refer to them as hostages. European military monitors have been released. What happens to their mission?

turn 3 : (4) A: Well, we have to remember that these particular people who were taken captive were not part of the OSCE or - that's the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - they were not part of this official mission that's supposed to be monitoring what's going on here. And so they will - obviously, they're not going to be back here to do what it was they were doing. They were just monitoring separately. But the OSCE mission is continuing to look at what's happening here.

Which organization were the captured individuals not part of?

Answer: OSCE


But I'm sure that there's something else that you want to share with us. You have your poems about California, poems about the blues.

I've got one. The once called "Who I Am in Twilight. "And it's a poem that is actually emblazoned on the sidewalk. And it's set in stone, as it were, on something called "Poetry Walk" in Berkeley, California. They put down on sidewalk, Addison Street, about a hundred poets', I think, work. So it's fun to go over there and see how posterity works, because always somebody has dropped some pizza on it, mashed out a cigarette on it, or something like that.

So don't live for posterity, live for now. But here it is. "Who I am in Twilight. "

Like John Lee Hooker, like Lightnin' Hopkins, like the blues himself. The Trickster Sonnet, hoedown, the tango, the cante jondo. Like blessed spirituals and ragas, custom-made. Like sagas. Like stories. Like slick, slow, sly, soliloquies sliding into dramas. Like crime and punishment. Like death and birth. Canal Street, New Orleans. Like the easy, erasable, troubled voices a whirling ceiling fan makes in deep summer nights in hot, un-heavenly hotels. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee. Like the Mississippi River so deep and wide, you couldn't get a letter to the other side. Like Grand Canyon. Like Yosemite National Park. Like beans and cornbread. Like rest and recreation. Like love and like. I know we last. I know our bleeding stops.

turn 1 : The poet's work has been preserved in a special place in California.

Which state is the special place where the poet's work has been preserved?

Answer: Various


Without warning, I sat down to my meal. The pot pie looked like something Martha Stewart whipped up. And served in her mother's best china, Christiane's potatoes au gratin with green chilies could've been an expensive appetizer at a fine restaurant.

Mm, mm. Oh my gosh. It's really good. It's kind of got like that Tex-Mex flavor to it, like jalapenos. . .

I think if you don't add the chilis. . .

Mm.

turn 0 : The pot pie looked like it had been professionally made and then served in an expensive manner.

Answer: something


I have credit, but it was delayed. I've never had trouble getting credit here in Brazil. I've always paid my bills, and so credit's available for me. But this year, the credit promises were made, but then the credit wasn't going to arrive until it was too late to order the fertilizer and actually work out the logistics of receiving it. And so it's changed my plans a lot this year.

And timing is really essential for farmers. So, how is that going to play out there with your 2000 acres of soy?

The 2,000 acres I'm going to plant this year are technically for another farmer. I'm not going to farm anything in my own name this year. And that's common enough, really; I'm not alone in that. Total acreage of corn and soybeans could easily be down this year in Brazil. Most people expect there to be less corn, a lot less cotton, and also less of some of the food crops like rice and edible beans. So, it's caused everyone to plant less than they normally would.

Where do all of those crops grown in Brazil - corn, wheat, and soy - where do they get exported to?

turn 0 : A has had trouble getting credit in Brazil this year despite having a good credit history.

How has PersonA's credit history been in Brazil this year?

Answer: Delayed


You are a brave man. You think there's going to be any political spats at your table?

Well, the entire house becomes the table with that many people, so we won't actually have room for argument. Anybody who wants to bicker will have to go outside.

John Dickerson is the chief political correspondent for slate. com. Thanks, John, and happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

turn 1 : The house is too crowded to have political arguments

Which event won't happen due to the crowded house?

Answer: Arguments


We're not paid a huge salary by a league at all. Instead, our income comes almost exclusively from sponsorship deals with inked apparel companies, like Nike and ASICS, that keeps them bound for three to five years. And we don't get rich.

No, point taken. Well, when you decided to have a baby, like, what happened?I mean, did you tell your contact at Nike?Did your agent speak to them?Like, what happened?

Back in 2012, I just finished the Olympic year. And I finished fifth at the Olympics. I noted hey, you know, you guys, it's - I'm looking at my contract here, and there aren't any protections in place. And they would not provide me with what would happen to me. That led us to kind of seeking out other options. ASICS came into play and kind of stated the same thing. Hey, I plan on expanding my family. ASICS at the time had said, we appreciate full athletes. Come over here. And so I did. I finished a year with them in which I finished with a bronze medal at world championships.

And so in that off-year, I'd hoped that we would conceive and be able to have our daughter and return to the sport. And I did conceive. I did have my daughter. And my daughter was two months old. And I got a phone call that said, I want to talk about your contracts in regard to your performance this year - which means - you mean the year that I've been with child?And then I was - my payment was reduced.

turn 0 : Despite being a professional athlete, their income comes from sponsorship deals.

Answer: sponsorships


Yes. I don't think the government contends that she was a spy. She pled guilty to one count of failing to register as a foreign agent. But still, in her statement of the offense, the activities she undertook weren't necessarily covert or spycraft. There's no allegation she's a member of Russian intelligence. And I think that's worn out, although she did pled guilty - plead guilty and is accepting responsibility for not registering as a foreign agent.

Yeah. What was she trying to do then?

She was trying to build bridges between the two countries, and through civil society groups, which I think happens with a lot of foreign nationals and foreign students.

Well, build bridges or - I'm going to mix metaphors here - or create a road in for Russian interests?

turn 2 : build bridges implies engaging in good human relationship and connections

Which phrase describes the activities the woman undertook?

Answer: Engaging


It takes a whole lot of land to produce meat. If you think about it this way, imagine around the globe all of the crop land out there - one-third of it is used to grow food not for people but for animals. It's animal feed. And when you combine the land needed to graze animals and feed them, this is just a whole lot. The World Resources Institute has estimated that for every gram of protein, producing beef can require 20 times the land and emit 20 times the emissions compared to what it takes to produce beans.

So are there certain types of meat that are better in terms of environmental footprint?Or basically is the suggestion that we should not be eating meat?

There are definitely better choices, and it does not have to be all or nothing. I just mentioned cows and other ruminants. They require a lot of land and feed. But they also release a lot of methane into the atmosphere. Every time these animals belch, a bit of methane goes up into the atmosphere. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas.

So from an environmental perspective, options such as chicken and turkey can be better. It takes less animal feed to produce meat from these animals. They grow faster. They require less land. So when it comes to reducing the environmental footprint of your diet, you don't have to completely give up meat.

turn 0 : Producing beef has a significant impact on the environment.

How does producing beef affect the environment?

Answer: Land


Obviously, everything in this book is something that I concluded is accurate and true. That's a process of, do I trust my source?No. 1. And then I, you know, like to hear it a couple of times.

I'm thinking of the famous Watergate stories by Woodward and Bernstein. It was said that their standard was they wanted to hear two sources. Was that your standard?Anything in here is by two sources?

Most everything in here is either by multiple sources or, in some cases, by someone I absolutely trust.

Does the president talk to you anymore?

turn 1 : A relies on multiple sources to ensure accuracy, unlike Watergate reporters who required two sources

Answer: Trust


So the sport itself has given me countless opportunities. And for me, the reason why I'm so interested in doing this, it's sort of like my way of giving back, in a sense. You know, I'm going places with the javelin and it's helping me out and probably going to get me into a nice school. So why not give back?And I feel like if I have to do this research project at my school, why not do it on something that I like?

Yeah. I'm just going to guess you've heard from some people that know somebody who was injured by a javelin who've said there's no need for this sport?

Honestly, I haven't. I mean, I know there are some people that have gotten injured and there are people that are against the implementation of the event. But personally, I do not know anybody that has been injured.

You know, Mr.  Christensen, there are people listening around the country I'm sure might point out that it seems easier to buy a gun in South Carolina than to throw a javelin in high school.

turn 2 : "there are people that are against the implementation of the event" - The literal meaning is that some people are against having the javelin event in competitions. The actual meaning is that there are some concerns about the safety of the sport, but the speaker does not personally know anyone who has been injured.

Which sport has some people against its implementation?

Answer: Javelin


As far as race goes, you know, many of the African-American women who came forward about what Cosby did to them struggled with that, too. And in the end, they concluded, as I conclude, that he's not your typical African-American defendant. He had seven attorneys at his second trial. How many do you know that could have the income level to afford that?It's about power and privilege and wealth, and that's what allowed him to escape justice for so long.

That's Nicole Weisensee Egan. Her new book is "Chasing Cosby: The Downfall Of America's Dad. "We spoke with her from member station WHYY in Philadelphia.

Nicole Egan, thanks so much for talking to us.

Thank you.

turn 0 : There are no turns in this dialogue whose actual meanings are different from their literal meanings. All the turns are straightforward and do not contain any figurative language or idiomatic expressions.

What was the name of the book mentioned by A?

Answer: America'sDad


Well, they do. But what people don't always realize about the Affordable Care Act is it's not just a discrete program in and of itself. It changed other government programs, too, and that includes Medicare.

What was the biggest change for Medicare?

Well, the one that's gotten the most attention is the change to prescription drug coverage. You may have heard about something called the doughnut hole. That's where Medicare would get you a discount on prescriptions but only up to a point. After that, you had to pay full price for drugs until you shelled out around 1,300 bucks. Then Medicaid would help you out again.

Now, some people never really reached that point because when they had to pay full price, they just started skipping some of their prescription meds. So the Affordable Care Act has been phasing out this gap. It saved people on Medicare more than $23 billion. But this program could go away with the repeal of the law.

That could go away, and we should say, once again, that we don't know yet what any replacement will look like. What have you heard among the ideas being proposed that might affect older Americans?

Well, a few members of Congress, Republicans, have circulated their own proposals for replacing the Affordable Care Act. And one thing that comes up in some of them, including in House Speaker Paul Ryan's plan, is a major change to Medicaid. Now, that's known as the program that provides health care for the poor. But it's also the program that pays for long-term care for a lot of older people. In fact, Medicaid pays the bills for most nursing home residents.

turn 2 : "That's where Medicare would get you a discount on prescriptions but only up to a point. After that, you had to pay full price for drugs until you shelled out around 1,300 bucks." The phrase "shelled out" is used metaphorically here to mean "paying money," indicating a non-literal meaning.

What is the term used metaphorically to mean "paying money" in turn 2?

Answer: Shelled


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 3 : (4) The performance of a mournful melody on the Armenian flute symbolized the grief of the Armenian people.

How did the performance on the Armenian flute make the Armenians feel?

Answer: Grief


Microfauna, can't get enough.

Microflora and fauna.

That's right.

Excuse me, I just thought of - wow, and was this something he started out to do, I mean, as a scientist?

turn 3 : Women are vulnerable due to lack of privacy and basic necessities

Answer: Women


Yeah. And you know, it - so what they're studying - so I could gush about the animals for a long time, but there's actual science going on here. And the idea is to understand sort of how muscles work and how our skeletons help us move. And engineers are collaborating with them to make better robots, and they have sort of influence on people looking for treatments for movement disorders in people.

I mean, this is a really basic biology happening here, but you need to have all these kinds of animals to compare how a guinea fowl runs versus how an emu runs or - and so they also have, you know, really cool gadgets. So there's like a huge X-ray machine that takes X-ray video and high-speed cameras everywhere.

And. . .

It's sort of like a visual dream.

turn 1 : "make better robots" - In this context, making better robots refers to improving the design and functionality of robots by studying how animals move. The literal meaning of make is to create something physically, but in this case, it refers to designing robots.

What is the purpose of studying animal movements in relation to robotics?

Answer: improve


No, no, I worked with John, he had already come here, and I worked with John, and then I went to Bell and worked with John Moll and then later was in the Army in a group they won't let me talk about too much, it was an intelligence group in Japan.

And then when I got out, I was six years at GE, and that's where this happened. And then I had a fantastic colleague there, Bob Hall. Bob's getting a little bit old, but he was a stalwart figure. He would've been the next Nobel Prize I would've given in the semiconductor field.

But I had access, you're right, to some of the very, very best people that were pioneers.

It must have been very exciting during those times.

turn 1 : Bob Hall was a great colleague and could have won a Nobel prize

What accolade did the speaker say Bob Hall could have received?

Answer: Nobel


I do. I hope I give them - my songs give them a reason to wake up, you know, and think about what is going on in the world. And hopefully they resonate with the audience, the people who are hearing them. I've always hoped from the time we started singing the freedom songs that our songs - was singing them to make a difference. You know, make a better place. Help somebody instead of hurting somebody. You know, so much we could do to make it better.

Well, it's such a delight to speak with you again. I am so excited that I get the chance to talk with you about this new album. You know I'm going to put you on the spot and ask you if you have a favorite.

All of these songs, Michel. I love every one. But I do love "Heavy On My Mind. "

(Singing) We did everything we could to slow this world down. Now my love is in the ground.

turn 0 : The songs that I sing have a message that can inspire change in the world.

Which song does PersonA mention as their favorite?

Answer: Heavy


They have to do this because if they don't do this, they end up rolling back into the dung pad. And there's a lot of beetles there, all competing for this very valuable resource, and it's very likely that they get their dung ball stolen after quite a fight often. So they must get away from the dung pad in a straight line. That's the quickest and the most efficient way of leaving the dung pad, and so it's critically important for them that they do this. And so the stripe of light in the sky helps them to do this. They can actually orient with respect to it and orient in straight line away.

So what happens when it's a cloudy night and they can't see the sky?They just don't go out that night?

No, they do but they roll in circles. So it's actually a very dangerous night indeed for dung beetles.

But thankfully, in South Africa where we were working, cloudy nights are not all that common.

turn 1 : He is implying that the beetles will be blind at night.

Which sense do the beetles rely on to orient themselves at night?

Answer: Light


Exactly. That's what we did in this particular study. We looked at one aspect of vocal behavior, which is whether the mouth is open or closed. And we looked at living dinosaurs - birds. We have 10,000 species today. Most of them vocalize, sing with an open mouth. But some birds produce sound with a closed mouth. They actually inflate different structures that allow them to resonate, often at lower frequencies than many other birds. But we also needed to look at alligators and crocodiles as the closest cousins to dinosaurs.

Well, I have actually heard alligators bellow and make a terrific noise.

Well, exactly, and that bellow is a closed-mouth sound. So when we think of our T.  rex, we don't need to imagine just simple cooing. But there are a variety of generally low frequency sounds that are produced in this way.

Do you think there are other things about dinosaurs that we've gotten wrong for a long time?

turn 1 : The literal meaning of this turn is that the speaker has heard alligators bellow and make a great noise. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker is surprised to know that alligators produce sound with a closed mouth.

Which type of sound do some birds produce with a closed mouth?

Answer: Low


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

turn 2 : The speaker is hinting that the situation is difficult or complex.

Answer: Difficult


Thank you.

You introduced your own proposal based on an idea that you've called unilateral disarmament. Can you explain that?And I'm assuming it doesn't have anything to do with guns.

No, absolutely not. Democrats have used the term unilateral disarmament when it comes to redistricting a number of times. It seems more often than not that it's Democrats taking the mantle of reform and Republicans not following suit. And so I have proposed a bill - and I will be proposing it again this year - for a two-state compact between us and Virginia.

Maryland does have some issues with redistricting that we do need to solve, and we do want to put it to a truly independent commission to be able to draw those lines. But Virginia has the same problems in the opposite direction. And I think if you look across the map, I think there are more states that have a Republican redistricting problem than a Democratic one. And so my bill, in addition to creating an independent commission, also requires that before we implement, Virginia does, as well.

So basically, everyone has to drop their arms at the same time. I want to get to the crux of the matter, though. Let's talk about Maryland. Democrats have a huge advantage in the state, and they hold seven of the state's eight seats in Congress. Is that good for the people of your state?Can it really show their will?

turn 2 : Democrats are usually in favor of reform while Republicans are not.

What do Democrats usually support in comparison to Republicans?

Answer: Redistricting


Yeah. Well, I learned quite a bit. And the year that I worked at the maximum security federal penitentiary in Atlanta, one of my primary responsibilities was to administer an assessment called it the psychopathy checklist. And psychopathy is a clinical diagnosis for someone who has a natural criminal disposition, someone who receives gratification out of a variety of criminal and risky lifestyle behaviors. And my dissertation was looking at the psychometric properties - when I say psychometric properties, I mean whether or not this test is a fit test, if it's appropriate to use, if it gets the kind of information that we need it to get for a certain populations. And I did an assessment of this instrument on African-American male inmates.

And what prompted me to do that particular study was because the instrument that we were using, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, was originally normed on a Canadian inmate population that had very few African-Americans in it. I guess no African-American as we think of them in the United States, and maybe some Afro-Canadians. And so - but it's widely use in the criminal justice system here in the United States. And so the risk with that, if you're giving assessment to African-Americans, but the norm reference is white Americans, then there are certain risks involve with that.

So you think that there can be a question of whether or not even how we think about these criminal justice issues is reflective of racial differences. But the whole idea of racial differences on any level has been one of the biggest bonfires of world culture, you know.

Right.

turn 1 : The Hare Psychopathy Checklist might not be accurate for African-Americans

What was the primary responsibility of "A" when they worked at the maximum security federal penitentiary in Atlanta?

Answer: Administrating


And when we went to the break, you were saying that one of the advantages of storing it in DNA is once you make it, it will last a very long time.

That's right, and you gave the example in your introduction that - one of the examples that we like to use, it's quite well-known, you know, there's been these Neanderthal samples found, and they can get DNA out of there and read the DNA in technical - we call it we sequence the DNA. And those samples from Neanderthals, or another great example is wooly mammoth, they get samples routinely from 10,000- or 20,000- or 50,000-year-old mammoths.

And that's not even a carefully controlled sample. That's just, you know, a mammoth that laid down and died somewhere cold.

I'm sorry for the mammoth. So - but if you took your DNA, you would store it in a controlled environment somewhere, or does it not need that?If the mammoth is lying in the ice. . .

turn 3 : "I'm sorry for the mammoth" is a joke. The mammoth in question died a long time ago. 'B' isn't actually sad for the creature.

Which animal's death is being joked about in the dialogue?

Answer: Mammoth


You know, in the post-Katrina era, Scott, the assumption has been that when a hurricane comes, you focus on that and set other things aside. So it was jarring when the president went ahead with his summit with Kanye West. And as you say, it was a major full-media presence in the Oval Office.

But the president's theme all week has been to keep the focus on the president. He's had a flurry of news availabilities - way more than usual. In fact, in the last month, he's had more than in all the time previously in his presidency - very flashy events, campaign rallies around the country, night after night.

And that happens just as the cable operations - television, news - has - well, they've begun to lose interest in some of those rallies. They're not covering them from beginning to end anymore, sometimes not covering them all - at all, perhaps because they do seem to be news-free campaign events, and maybe because they've become so frequent.

Does this week's sudden stock sell-off raise questions about what had seemed to be so much good news about the economy, including that historically low unemployment rate?

turn 1 : The President has been using flashy events and rallies to maintain the spotlight on himself and his presidency

What has the President been using to keep the focus on himself and his presidency?

Answer: Events


And what do you serve?I said $5 bowls of cereal, but expand on that menu if you could.

We sell 120 different cereals from all over the world. So we import cereals from America, from New Zealand, from Australia, from France, from Israel. We import cereals from all over the world, so it's a real experience coming in here because the walls are just littered with cereal memorabilia, toys that you used to get in the boxes. It's a real experience.

Now, I don't for a moment expect you to identify with the people who attacked your store. But can you - can you see where fancy bowls of cereal would kind of fit into their agenda about the world, their neighborhood changing right before their eyes?

I can see their point, but there's also a Versace shop that has just opened up around the corner. They're complaining that people in the area can't afford to come here and afford four pounds for a meal. But there's a Versace shop open around the corner and I think it's - very, very few percent of people in this neighborhood would even be able to walk in there and buy anything. I know I couldn't.

turn 3 : The cost of the store's offerings is out of reach for most of the people in the neighborhood, while the Versace shop does not offer any affordable items.

How is the affordability of the Versace shop compared to the store's offerings?

Answer: Unaffordable


There is no good precedent for thinking that these peace talks will work well for exactly the reason that you have said. The Syrian regime and its allies should - have at no point countenanced the idea that Bashar al-Assad will step down. And then the opposition negotiating committee reiterated in London this week that they foresee a six-month transitional period at the end of which Assad is no longer the president of Syria. So that's a pretty big sticking point.

And starts on Monday?

Starts on Monday at sundown, which is also the beginning of the Muslim Eid festival, yes.

Alice Fordham in Beirut. Thanks so much.

turn 1 : expression of surprise, as the speaker is asking if the peace talks are starting on Monday despite the big sticking point.

Which day of the week are the peace talks starting?

Answer: Monday


And we simply took surgical samples of the sinus lining from patients with chronic sinusitis and healthy individuals who didn't have sinus disease but were in for surgery for different indications. And we simply compared those samples and asked the question, what's different between patients with chronic sinusitis and healthy individuals?And we show that the sinusitis patients had this incredible collapse of the microbial community in their sinus cavity.

And they were characterized by having kind of an outgrowth or an enrichment of this one bacterium called corynebacterium tuberculostearicum - it's quite a mouthful - and we know very little about it. And as it turns out, this organism typically lives on the skin and really doesn't do anything harmful there. But in the context of a loss of the microbial diversity and this organism there in very high numbers, this is what characterized the patients.

So we moved on to look at this in mice and to really see if something that we consider to be not very harmful in one context could, under this depletion of the microbiome, cause hallmarks of disease. And that's indeed what we found in our murine studies, in our mouse studies.

So if you had a healthy population to offset the bad bacteria, that kept you feeling better and not. . .

turn 1 : Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum is not harmful on the skin but is harmful in the sinus cavity with loss of microbial diversity

What bacterium causes harm in the sinus cavity due to loss of microbial diversity?

Answer: Corynebacterium


Colin Powell - not one black candidate on the ticket, but two. That would be remarkable.

Well, let's also remember Colin Powell is a Republican. He would establish a kind of bipartisan bridge. And if you want to say, yes, it's a ticket of two African-Americans, which it would be, it is already a ticket of one African-American. So people who have perhaps a problem with that might not necessarily have that much more of a problem with two.

And I think that the advantage that it would have would be to say, we're kind of, in a sense, taking race off the table here. We're not talking about electing the first black president. We're asking you to vote for Barack Obama and Colin Powell and look at those two individuals.

It's a really interesting suggestion, I would imagine that a number of Democrats would say, wait a minute, he was on the wrong side on Iraq. Plus, we've got our own guys. We want a Democrat, a real Democrat. Who's out there?

turn 1 : Framing the ticket as Barack Obama and Colin Powell instead of the first black president could take race off the table.

What advantage could framing the ticket as Barack Obama and Colin Powell instead of the first black president have?

Answer: Advantage


So is presentation, how you present the food, influence how it's tasting, you know?Does the fact that it's presented in - on a tray in an airplane at 40,000 feet mean it's going to taste different, or your expectations might be different?

Absolutely. Presentation is very important. And you bring up an interesting point about eating at 30,000 feet. The - as we all know, if we're lucky enough to get served a meal in an airplane. . .

. . . food just doesn't seem to taste right on an airplane.

Right.

turn 2 : The turn whose actual meaning is different from its literal meaning is turn (3).  In turn (3), the speaker says "food just doesn't seem to taste right on an airplane." The literal meaning of this statement is that the food does not taste good when eaten on an airplane.

Which turn includes a statement about the taste of food on an airplane?

Answer: Turn2


It says, he that copieth this letter shall be blessed of me. He that does not shall be cursed, etc. , etc.

Oh, my gosh. Gotcha. And people believe this?Or enough people?

Many people believed it because they needed to or they wished to because the gaps in history - we have nothing from Christ's life that survives directly, physically from that moment. And so people wanted to fill in gaps - desperately to fill in gaps so that they could feel closer to the concept of a Jesus that was like them.

Well, show us something else.

turn 3 : B is suggesting that A should provide evidence other than the letter to prove its authenticity.

How is PersonB responding to PersonA's explanation?

Answer: Belief


Several of them. I mean, Espanola had only 14 individuals left in the 1960s, and then it was 12 females and two males. A third male was found in the San Diego Zoo and brought back to Galapagos (unintelligible) 1975. And there have now been about 2,000 young tortoises released back to that island through the reproduction program at the tortoise center here on Santa Cruz.

The same holds true for several of the other populations. I would say many of the populations are out of danger. But we're still, given the exploitation from the 1800s, the total tortoise population of Galapagos is still about 10 to 20 percent of the original population. So we have a long way to go to bring them back to the original populations.

A couple of questions tweeted and asked by listeners of the same ilk, saying: Would it be possible to clone him?

OK, this is an interesting thing, and we are trying to save some of Lonesome George's tissues, cells. Cloning in reptiles has really not been developed at all, and we're doing - a few mammals seem to be doing OK, but in general the technology, the methodology to actually clone reptiles is decades away.

So hopefully they will be able to maintain cells as in cryogenics, and who knows in the future, but at the moment, it would be impossible.

turn 0 : "released back to that island through the reproduction program" - This implies that young tortoises were bred in captivity and then reintroduced to the wild on the island of Espanola to increase the population, rather than just physically released.

Which island did the reproduction program release young tortoises back to?

Answer: Espanola


Are there any good reasons to use this?

There is a separate group here working on storing data in DNA. It turns out that DNA is really robust for long-term storage, whereas, you know, hard drives may die after a few years. You can conceivably store data in DNA for hundreds or thousands of years. And as long as life continues to be based on DNA, we'll always have a reason to read and write DNA. So it's sort of a technology that won't go obsolete.

So, I mean, we underscored the aspect of some kind of mischief or outright miscreants. But I wonder, you know, a few years from now, instead of having hard drives or storage systems, will people just carry around that information in themselves, in their DNA?

I'm not sure that people will carry around that information within them. But I do believe people will start using DNA for sort of long-term storage. So accessing data from DNA and putting data into DNA is a pretty slow process. And so you'll want to, you know, archive photos in there and things like that. But you won't want to use it for your day-to-day tasks, at least not for the foreseeable future.

turn 1 : ) Implied meaning: DNA is a reliable storage option for long-term archiving of data

How can DNPersonA be used for data storage?

Answer: Archiving


And there were a lot of things we did with George, always trying to recover the Pinta population of tortoises.

But nothing worked out, huh?

Nothing worked out. George was never very interested in any other tortoises. He was pretty much of a loner. And if you think about his life on Pinta, he spent probably the first half of his life alone on that island, and maybe by the time he'd gotten company with other tortoises, he just wasn't too into socializing much anymore.

Now, what made him unique genetically?Why is he the last of his kind?

turn 3 :  "Why is he the last of his kind?" - The literal meaning of this question is asking for the reason behind George being the last of his species. The actual meaning is more complex, as the speaker is likely asking for an explanation of the genetic factors that led to the extinction of the Pinta tortoise population and George's unique genetic makeup.

Which question was asked by PersonB about George's genetic makeup?

Answer: Unique


And the damage that has been done and that has been wrought does not appear to be facing any kind of true reconciliation or any kind of true reckoning. There's a lack of justice. There's a lack of accountability. And there's the presence of an incredible amount of impunity.

Well, take me into Syria. What are people feeling there now after these eight long years?

You know, it really depends on where you're situated and how you're situated. And a lot of Syrians are now outside of Syria. I, myself, haven't been back since 2013.

I think people right now are in a place of absolute exhaustion, whether they're, you know, see themselves as amongst the victors or not. It took an incredible toll. And the death and the destruction, as you've noted, is incredible.

turn 0 : The damage itself can not face anything. The cause of the damage, the person or people are what is meant here.

Which noun can not face anything in turn 0?

Answer: Damage


What happens if you and all of your neighbors don't get your corn into the field?Like I say, as you've told me now, you've got like only about a fraction in the ground if what you normally would have at this time of year. Are we going to - forgive me for being selfish about it - are we not going to have corn this summer to go with our barbecues and everything else or what?What's going to happen?

The corn the majority of the Midwest grows goes toward feeding pigs, feeding cows, feeding a lot of different livestock, also goes toward corn oil and ethanol and various products that are on our store shelves. Long story short, we're looking at lower supply, which should increase the price if the demand stays the same.

But before we let you go, I mentioned that you're a fourth-generation farmer. And I presume that you've talked to your parents about the rain situation, the heavy rains. Have they ever seen anything like this before?

No. This is relatively unprecedented. I was talking to a neighbor here the other day about the drought in 2012. And, you know, we had a really short crop in 2012 because it got so hot and so dry. The corn crop didn't amount to anything, but at least we were able to get it in the ground. When you go out into a situation like this where we can't get the seed into the ground, it's worse than a drought for the fact that, you know, you don't even have a chance.

turn 0 : The shortage of corn may lead to a price increase in the market.

What is one of the main uses of the corn grown in the Midwest?

Answer: Livestock


One last, I think, pretty blunt question we've got in 40 seconds left - why is President Trump more critical of Alec Baldwin than he is of Vladimir Putin on this week when Putin shows an animated video of Russian missiles smacking Florida?

I, you know - I think if you look at the President Trump style with ISIS as an example - he doesn't like to tip his hand. He was critical of the last administration by declaring departure dates, and so forth and things going on in the Middle East. And I think he's been tougher on Russia and Vladimir Putin than any other administration, at least the last two.

Really?

And so I would say, stay tuned to that. He's pretty predictable in that way.

turn 0 : President Trump is more critical of Alec Baldwin than Vladimir Putin despite Putin's provocative action.

What was the topic of the discussion at turn 1?

Answer: ISIS


Good to be here, David.

So let's return briefly to that last decision of the court on the Affordable Care Act. It was controversial, to say the least. Public opinion surveys after that decision showed how, you know - I mean, I guess it raises the question: How can the court convince the public that it really is impartial, since that case seemed to really bring it into the field of politics in so many ways?

Well, look at the John Roberts opinion. The chief justice was the deciding vote. He's a conservative guy, a Republican appointee. And in the end, he wasn't willing to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. I think Roberts' view was, what he has said all along, was that it's my job. If there's a constitutional basis to uphold a law passed by Congress, I should do it.

He didn't think this was - could be justified as a regulation of commerce, because that would be requiring people to buy a product. But he also thought, gee, the government has very broad power to use its taxing power. And so he accepted the sort of fallback argument, which is that it could be upheld as a tax.

turn 2 : The conservative Chief Justice John Roberts upheld the Affordable Care Act despite his political affiliations.

How did the Chief Justice vote on the Affordable Care Act?

Answer: Uphold


Well, one way is that the schemes at issue here were really sprawling. This was not just one man doing something criminally inappropriate but rather pervasive, longstanding, industry-wide conspiracy, for lack of a better word, to promote these products.

And, you know, there may be a false sense of vengeance or accountability in pinning it on one individual and essentially letting others go free who were the ones that carried out this scheme. You could argue that the deterrent effect of legal action would be greater with a massive financial penalty that would really send a message to all other executives at all levels of a corporation that this could be their economic downfall.

Did we see that with the $500 million judgment in Oklahoma?Is that a big enough penalty to be a deterrent, or is it just the cost of doing business for Johnson and Johnson?

I think for a company on the scale of Johnson and Johnson, $570 million is not a lot of money. And we saw that in Wall Street's reaction to the verdict. To them, it was good news. This was probably the first time that having to pay $572 million was considered good news.

turn 1 : pinning it on someone refers to someone else having to take the consequences for something

How did Wall Street react to the verdict?

Answer: Good


Oh, yes. On Friday morning, I was involved in a lockout drill at one of my high schools as I was sitting in a counseling office, talking with a student.

And I guess as a parent, I have learned to be grateful that these drills are held. But I wonder if there are some students who aren't panicked by the drills in and of themselves.

It can be a very scary experience. It's a reality now that our students in our schools are preparing for. So when we do a drill, we don't tell our students they are drills because we need them to take everything seriously. And we want to normalize and help them feel calm during those things. And I've also wondered, what is the impact of doing these drills for our students?

Well, you're a gifted counselor. What do you think it might be?

turn 3 : "What do you think it might be?" - The literal meaning of this question is asking for the speaker's opinion. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker is acknowledging the other person's expertise and asking for their professional assessment of the situation.

Which question implies that the speaker is acknowledging the other person's expertise and asking for their professional assessment of the situation?

Answer: Turn2


No, wow.

Well, all right. So, let's get to your best political conversation of the week.

You know, it's about John McCain. Everybody in town just watched as McCain came back, and it was very low key. And not only was it at low key; there was a sense of, you know, sadness about it. There he was; suddenly Joe Lieberman's over arguing with the Democrats and trying to get back in with the Democrats and retain his position, in terms of a leader on the Democratic side, no longer hanging around with John McCain. The right wing of the Republican Party never wanted much to do with John McCain, and so they're not rallying to him; they're not offering him any leadership position. So, John McCain is kind of out there on his own, and everybody is saying, you know, what's to come of John McCain?And the answer is, you know, John McCain will try to be his own man, but the fact is he's a man really without a country in the U. S.  Senate at this moment.

NPR news analyst Juan Williams, always a pleasure.

turn 0 : B is surprised or impressed by what A just said

What was the topic of PersonA's best political conversation of the week?

Answer: McCain


Now lots of lawyers were lining up to lead the Justice Department. So why did the White House decide to go with Lynch?

First of all, she has a reputation for working well with others. She's very understated and under the radar. Another important factor for the White House I hear from sources is that she's diverse and historic. She'd be the first black woman on the job. She descends from a long line of Baptist preachers in the south. And she has a rich, rich voice and an ability to speak and communicate a message. She's also, Linda, quite noncontroversial.

So about that. What is the reaction from Republicans in the Senate?Can she be confirmed?It's kind of late in the term.

It is kind of late in the term. She's going to have a year and a half or two years to make her mark. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican who's in line to lead the Judiciary Committee next year, says Lynch is going to get a thorough vetting. And he's going to make sure that happens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another Republican, sounded relatively positive, too, about this election. And finally, Linda, Mitch McConnell, who's going to run the Senate as majority leader starting in January, said he is willing to consider her nomination. He wants it to happen in 2015 instead of during this lame-duck session.

turn 3 : A: "He's going to make sure that happens." - The literal meaning is that Senator Chuck Grassley will ensure a thorough vetting of Lynch's nomination. The actual meaning is that Grassley may put obstacles in the way of Lynch's confirmation.

How may Grassley affect Lynch's confirmation?

Answer: Obstacles


That's a great question. Things are definitely improving in the eurozone. It is unfortunately too early to say that they're out of the woods or even completely out of their recession.

I gather that most of the growth appears to be centered in Germany and to a lesser degree France. And is this then just a case of work with the best economies to begin with getting a little bit better?

Well, Germany has been the better of the European economies, since they're getting a little bit better. France has struggled. Portugal had some good numbers last quarter. That's encouraging. But you're right, we are still deeply worried about other places, such as Italy, Spain and, of course, Greece.

Well, that brings up the question because unemployment still continues to be perniciously high in Spain and Greece. Does this improvement somehow filter through to them?

Well, it certainly will - should if it continues, but you need faster growth rates than this. The hope is that this is the beginning of a faster recovery. But the way the European economy is, roughly speaking, you need more than 1 percent per year annualized growth rate in order to reduce unemployment. Unemployment's very high. We want to be seeing on an annualized basis 2 percent, perhaps even 3 percent in this recovery phase in order to feel that they've really turned the corner.

You need greater growth to be able to spur greater hiring and to lower the unemployment.

turn 3 : The current improvement in the eurozone is not enough to solve its problems, and more growth is needed to reduce unemployment.

What is the main issue with the current improvement in the eurozone?

Answer: Growth


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.

What is there about this delightful mucus of the tongue?

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

turn 1 :  (2) A: It's a first. - Implied meaning: This phrase is new and has not been used before.

What did PersonA say about the phrase "snot-like"?

Answer: first


Well, we had some great conversations about what it took to play the position. And you know, Bob Watson, who started out as a catcher, was one of the committee members. Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven and Don Sutton, Pat Gillick, all pitchers, all Hall Famers, were really able to add a lot of insight to what it must have been like.

And the other - one of the main things we talked about was just how they played much shorter schedules in the 1870s. So when you look at career statistics, that's a huge distortion. Deacon White ended up with 2,000 career hits, but he was playing in a - in an average of 40, 50, 60-game schedules a year. So there was no way to generate the kind of career milestones that we look at as benchmarks today. You know, 3,000 hits would be all but impossible. And 2,000 was a terrific accomplishment.

And the number of errors he recorded even as a great defensive catcher would have been, you know, totally unacceptable by today's standards.

Oh, exactly. Yeah. And again, an issue where we had to really sort of look at what - compare him to people from his own era. And when we did that, you know, it became really obvious just how much he stood above his contemporaries.

Are the records from those days good enough that you have reliable accounts of who was good and who was great?

turn 0 : Bob Watson's transition from catcher to committee member added unique insight to the position.

How did Bob Watson contribute to the conversation about playing the position?

Answer: Insight


Well, it's very worrying. We've got nearly 1,900 people infected, 1,200 people dead, and over the last several weeks, the rate of new infections has jumped dramatically. We're seeing more than 100 new cases every week. And that's because there is a lot of violence, gunmen storming Ebola treatment centers assassinating health workers. And there's this suggestion that a lot of the violence is actually coordinated, that Ebola is being used as a political weapon. And that's what's led to this really quite remarkable U. N.  decision.

You said remarkable. What's the significance of this decision?

Well, until now, the outbreak response on the international side has really been led by health officials, the World Health Organization. But the U. N.  does have a large peacekeeping force in Congo. And the deputy head of that, his name is David Gressly, that is who they've appointed to this new position that they've created. In other words, it's a recognition that they have to treat this as much as a political problem as a health problem.

This is a place where you have a lot of political players who've been jockeying for position against each other and against factions of the national government. And it seems like a lot of them have connections to these small armed groups all through the area that are said to be behind a lot of these attacks on Ebola responders. Basically, it's a way to destabilize the area as a way to gain power against your rivals.

turn 2 : "it's a recognition that they have to treat this as much as a political problem as a health problem" - The actual meaning is different from the literal meaning. The intended meaning is that the situation is not just a health issue, but also a political issue that requires attention and action, rather than literally recognizing something.

How should the U.N. treat the Ebola outbreak in Congo?

Answer: Action


Absolutely. I played hockey starting when I was 3, 4 years old, loved to go see the Canucks here in my hometown and, you know, certainly not only saw a lot of fights but kind of internalized the message that they were inherently good and valuable to the game of hockey.

And what happened that changed your view of the fighting?

So I went to a junior hockey game here in Vancouver. And it was just a regular night out with the boys, Friday night, drinking some beers, sat down in my seventh row seat. And it was one of those games where the gloves beat the puck to the ice. So there's a fight before the game even starts. And the crowd rises up around me. There's this guttural thunder. You hear it. And usually I would have been right there kind of cheering it along or not really paying it much mind.

But for some reason in that moment, I really zoned in on the two players' faces, and in that moment realized they're just children, and had to ask myself in that moment, what are we doing?We're 10,000 adults in a big room cheering for two kids to pulverize each other's faces. And I looked at the program, indeed - 16 and 17 years old. I've never been able to look at fighting the same since. But it would be a lie to say that there aren't a lot of people who are hockey fans who sincerely love this practice and this tradition.

turn 0 : The person believed that fighting was good and valuable for hockey and normal.

How did the person initially view fighting in hockey?

Answer: super


We submitted this proposal yesterday to President-elect Obama, his transition team, and congressional leaders. As you may know, right now, they are working on trying to develop an economic stimulus plan that they're hoping to enact early in 2009. We are suggesting that this be part of that plan.

The National Retail Federation's leadership thinks that we need a two-pronged approach for fiscal stimulus. We think that you need something to provide some long-term economic stimulus, such as investment in infrastructure, which is being suggested. But that type of stimulus has a long lead time.

We think that you also need something that's developed to provide some short-term economic stimulus. As you may know, consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the GDP. So we think that if, through these sales tax holidays, we can do something to spur consumer spending, that that will get re-circulated through the economy and will have a positive effect in 2009.

There are some states out there, for example Oregon and Maine, which currently don't have sales taxes throughout the year. Is there anything that you can potentially learn from states that have been doing this for a while?

turn 1 : long lead time means it takes awhile for something to happen

Which term describes the process of waiting for something to occur?

Answer: Waiting


One last, I think, pretty blunt question we've got in 40 seconds left - why is President Trump more critical of Alec Baldwin than he is of Vladimir Putin on this week when Putin shows an animated video of Russian missiles smacking Florida?

I, you know - I think if you look at the President Trump style with ISIS as an example - he doesn't like to tip his hand. He was critical of the last administration by declaring departure dates, and so forth and things going on in the Middle East. And I think he's been tougher on Russia and Vladimir Putin than any other administration, at least the last two.

Really?

And so I would say, stay tuned to that. He's pretty predictable in that way.

turn 0 : This means that Russian missiles were aimed at Florida but they did not literally 'smack' there.

Which state was mentioned in the animated video shown by Vladimir Putin?

Answer: Florida


They all talk about the shape of the recession. The conventional wisdom for a while was that we'd have a V-shape recession, which means a downturn and then a bounce back up, just like the letter V.  But I think most of them agree that we're going to get something more like a U-shaped recession and recovery, which means that it could be sort of a long period of no growth before we start to go up again.

There's a term people use, emerging markets - countries, small countries that one would have hoped for in terms of influencing the global economy. What do you think about that - about those countries?

Well, you know, the hope for a while was that the emerging economies would pick up the slack if U. S.  growth slowed down. So I'm talking about countries like Brazil, India, China, Russia. And the theory for a while was that these countries had become decoupled from the U. S.  economy, that they had their own momentum in terms of economic growth. But now I think people are realizing that the decoupling was something of a myth.

Blake Hounshell is the Web editor of Foreign Policy Magazine. Thank you very much.

turn 0 : The recession will not have a quick recovery

What was the conventional wisdom for the shape of the recession?

Answer: Treasury


Well, approved solar filters are what you really need. The cheapest and I think probably the best way is to go with these welder's glasses. They're called number 14 welder's glasses. They're a very dark shade. You go into a welding store, and you say you want number 14, they know what you're doing. They always look at me and they say, oh, you're going to look at the sun?I say yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

And so you want to get those glasses. They usually cost about five, six bucks or so. And then you can put those up to your face and look right at the sun all you want. Then you can also get filters for your telescopes, binoculars, that type of thing. But really, we recommend making this into a social situation.

As astronomers, we always like company, and we recommend people to join or find any astronomical groups that are in their area, because there are astronomy clubs all over the country, and they love to share their expertise, and on these days of the eclipse on the 20th and the Transit on the 5th, join up with one of them because it's a lot of fun having a sun party.

Wow, and you can find these - you can find more information on your website, or. . .

turn 1 : The speaker suggests that in addition to getting solar filters, people should make viewing the eclipse or transit into a social event by joining an astronomy group or having a "sun party" with friends.

How can people make viewing the eclipse or transit into a social event?

Answer: Social


In the 15 seconds we have left, if there's an agreement of some kind this weekend, does the debate just begin all over again in a couple of weeks over the debt ceiling?

Absolutely. We are sort of going through one crisis at a time right now.

Ramesh Ponnuru is senior editor for the National Review and a columnist for Bloomberg View. Thank so much for being with us, sir.

You're welcome.

turn 1 : (2).  While the literal meaning of A's response is simply agreement with B's statement, the implied meaning is that there are multiple crises happening simultaneously, and therefore the country is not able to focus on one issue before another arises. This suggests a sense of overwhelm or difficulty in managing the situation.

What is the sense conveyed by PersonA's response in turn 1?

Answer: Sense


Well, just along those lines, we read reports that temperatures in the contiguous 48 states have been above average in each of the last 15 months, which has never happened for as long as people have been keeping records, and that 2012 is on track to be the warmest year ever. As we read about this record Arctic ice melt, is this a coincidence?

Well, it's all part and parcel of the same thing, but I will say that January through August of this year has been the warmest period - January through August period since 1895 when they started taking temperature records. That's in the contiguous lower 48. Alaska has actually had a fairly average year, so everything doesn't march in lockstep. But again, the situation with the ice and the Arctic is this has been accumulating over decades of warming up there, and we're finally seeing the results of that.

So this one summer was not at all a key up there. In fact, what was interesting to one of the scientists I talked to, he said, basically, you know, what was astounding about this was that there was no astounding weather pattern up there that explained this dramatic difference. It was just kind of reaching this point of where the ice was just so thin that it was just ready to crumble.

Ice is white. It reflects light. The sea is blue. It does not reflect light. It absorbs it, and thereby, the heat that comes with it.

turn 2 : There was no extraordinary weather pattern to explain the dramatic ice melting in the Arctic, it was caused by the ice being too thin.

Which factor led to the dramatic ice melting in the Arctic?

Answer: Thin


Let me ask you about what are called battleground states in this coming election. I'll rattle off Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Is there early voting there?Will people take advantage of it?

Absolutely. Florida - it'll be - approximately 40 percent of the ballots will come in early, perhaps a higher number. Half of those will come in early in person. Ohio also has a lot of early voting. Pennsylvania - no. Pennsylvania still only allows for excuse-required absentee balloting. So in Pennsylvania, they still wait until Election Day.

And, Scott, this is going to change the dynamics in those states so that you will expect to see early rallies timed when the early voting period opens up, likely in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina. The candidates' travel schedule will reflect this because they want to follow up that kind of enthusiasm and get people to the polls right away.

And are more people voting early now not because they have to but because they just want to?

turn 3 : In (4), the speaker is implying that more people are choosing to vote early, not because they have to, but because they want to.

Which question does PersonB ask in turn 3 regarding early voting?

Answer: Just


As for the money that AIG does borrow from the government, the interest rate will be lower. The interest rate the government charged before was very high, and the reason it did this was political. The government knew that taxpayers wouldn't like lending AIG money. So, they wanted to take - make some of the terms of the loan pretty harsh so no one could come back and say, you know, this was some kind of sweetheart deal. Well, now the rate is going to be much more manageable. The company will have more time to pay it off.

Now, in exchange for this, AIG will have to agree to restrictions on financial compensation for five top executives. AIG, as you may remember, got into a lot of trouble because it sent some agents on expensive treatments to spas in California right after receiving the bailout. So, this compensation is kind of a sensitive issue for the company.

And what about taxpayers?Can we expect to get any of that money back from AIG at some point?

Well, as I said, you know, the government is going to be buying $40 billion in AIG stock. The money will come from the big, $700 billion bailout plan that Congress approved in September. You know, some of that, taxpayers presumably will get back if stock goes up. You know, but nobody really knows.

turn 0 : The government purposely made the loan terms harsh for AIG to avoid accusations of a sweetheart deal.

Which company had agents sent to expensive treatments in California after receiving the bailout?

Answer: AIG


Hello.

What happened to you this morning?What happened in Kathmandu?

Well, we were on a staff retreat with our editors and reporters up on a mountaintop overlooking Kathmandu Valley. And it felt as if I was propelled two meters up into the air. It was just such a heavy jolt. And when we looked down at the city, it looked like it had been completely destroyed because there was a ball of dust covering the entire valley in which Kathmandu is situated. And we thought the whole city had been destroyed. But as we got down back into the city through the roads, it looked like it wasn't as bad as we initially feared. Many of the residential buildings were damaged, but seem to be intact. On the other hand, the monuments of the world heritage sites in Kathmandu - Bhaktapur and Patan - many of them have been completely destroyed.

Mr.  Dixit, have you been able to get a handle on how extensive the damage is in Nepal and for that matter the region 'cause there are reports that India's also been affected.

turn 1 : ) B: "What happened to you this morning? What happened in Kathmandu?" This is a common greeting or small talk used to start a conversation. The speaker is not actually asking about a specific event that happened to the person in Kathmandu this morning.

Which city was covered with a ball of dust?

Answer: Kathmandu


He had time to rethink the music of his youth after an injury forced him to lay off the piano for months. Music triggers memories. And when the 36-year-old sat at our piano, the music triggered his.

I still remember my first teacher. Professor Zhu told me, you know, now you'll learn those pieces. But every 20 years, you got to come back and to rediscover what can you do with it.

And I was like, that's crazy. Come on. I already know. I mean, I know those pieces by heart. I know how to play this piece. Why should I play it, you know, 30 years back?And now I realize - oh, my goodness - I mean, I have to because those pieces was kind of my best friends, and I need to know them better.

This piece by Mozart takes Lang Lang back to his first-ever piano recital. He started early. The recital in China came when he was 5.

turn 1 : "rediscover what can you do with it" - this means to approach a piece of music with a fresh perspective or new understanding, rather than literally discovering something new.

How does Lang Lang approach the piece by Mozart?

Answer: With


That's quite a big change. Now either at this point people just think the Master of the Universe have all crashed, but they haven't, they haven't yet.

And I'm sure they'll figure out a way to survive and thrive.

I'm not - I don't - I'm not asking for anybody - tears for them because nobody is going to - a lot of these people have already put away the necessary nut, they call it. That is an amount of money that you've salted away in weather proof investments, that will yield enough interest for you to live a very high life in a place like Greenwich. I would say though that today, that nut has to be at least $40 million. If interest rates on bonds sink low enough, you might need 50 million. But I think it wouldn't hurt to live a little more simply, you know.

Tom Wolfe, he's the author of "Bonfire Of The Vanities". Thank you very much.

turn 3 : THERE IS A BIG CHANGE THE PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY LOST THEIR MONEY

Answer: Tom


I think it's really important to understand that this is literally part of our human condition, right?We're a pack species. We like other people to like us. We like them to know what we're doing. And we've been doing this for centuries, whether it was commissioning portraits, whether it was sending postcards from our trips, whether it was holding our neighbors hostage and making them watch 10,000 slides from our family vacation. This is part of who we are. It's just a matter of managing it effectively.

If this is an essential part of the human condition, are these fatalities just going to keep happening?

I think so. I think so. There are some measures in place to kind of help with those people who are accidentally finding themselves in the situation of taking risky selfies. I think the more difficult question to ask is, what do we do with those people who are deliberately trying to find that high-risk selfie moment?

I mentioned the U. S.  Forest Service warning against bear selfies and Yellowstone having this safe selfie pledge. What other steps are being taken to try to keep people safe?

turn 2 : The turn (3) "those people who are accidentally finding themselves in the situation of taking risky selfies" is an example of figurative language, as the phrase "accidentally finding themselves" implies a lack of agency or responsibility. In reality, individuals make a conscious decision to take risky selfies, and this phrase may be used to downplay their responsibility for their actions.

Which phrase in turn 2 implies a lack of agency or responsibility for taking risky selfies?

Answer: Accidentally


Let me switch subjects. We are walking on the way to the studio here this morning and two big tour buses came down the street. You're - one of the reason this all worked is you're performing right next door.

Right across the parking lot.

And I wonder, I was talking to Priska Neely, our producer, and said, I wonder if that's Mary Chapin Carpenter. Two big buses touring, pulling equipment trailers behind. Where were you coming in from at 8 o'clock in the morning?

We spent the last two days driving from Arizona.

turn 0 : A is acknowledging B's contribution to the success of their plan.

How is PersonA showing appreciation towards PersonB in turn 0?

Answer: Acknowledging.


Yeah. In 1970, the big focus was on pollution. I mean, it was "Silent Spring" with - in 1962 that had triggered the evolution and formation of the modern environmental movement, and that was pollution-oriented. And, well, we've seen since then is a shift to focus on environmental support systems, like the natural systems, like the forests and grasslands and fisheries and so forth, and what's happening to them. And now, of course, climate change is on the issue, and water has become a major issue.

These were not on the agenda in 1970. At that time, it was largely a focus on pollution, and that was at the time when the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire because there was so much oil and other combustible material there. So it was pollution. Now, it's many things.

It was just a couple of months after that first Earth Day, Congress authorized the creation of the EPA, a federal agency that regulates environmental regulations. The EPA has, of course, become - gone from an agency created with great bipartisan support to one of the most partisan ideas in government.

Yeah. I think the - as I recall, the first head might have been Russell Train. . .

turn 3 : not a physical head, like a head from a body, but the  person in charge of something, the leader of something

How was the first head of the EPPersonA defined by "A"?

Answer: Leader


I was wondering if we should do - or if such a thing exists, that human microbe projects, like the Human Genome Project.

Yes, there are a variety of types of human microbe projects at this point. So there are two gut projects right now that aim to characterize difference in gut microbes of people around the world. One of those in American Gut and is uBiome. And both of those projects, people can either donate or pay money to have their gut microbes sequenced.

And when they do, they can see what they have, and the scientists are going to see how that relates to what we know. And so in a way that's a beginning step. But what I think we kind of hope for is to have something akin to Mendelian genetics, where we can predict, you know, why you have a specific set of microbes and microbe genes. But we're very far from that still.

In the 30 seconds we have left, how can people get involved if they want their own microbes sampled and surveyed?

turn 2 : Understanding and predicting human microbe genetics is still a long way off.

Which step is considered as a beginning in understanding human microbe genetics?

Answer: Sequenced