We're getting a rare inside view of a massive Taliban attack in Afghanistan earlier this month. In that assault, the Taliban nearly succeeded in seizing control of a key provincial capital - city of Ghazni, about 90 miles from the Afghan capital, Kabul. In a matter of days, the Taliban offensive was halted, but the death toll and destruction were immense. Hundreds of Afghan civilians, police officers and soldiers were killed. U. S.  Special Forces and Army played a key role in crushing the attack. Nine of them were hurt - among them, two who sustained what will be lifelong injuries. Time magazine correspondent William Hennigan was reporting in Afghanistan at the time and was allowed to travel with the Green Berets to Ghazni. They had gotten a call that several Afghan helicopters were down. And they headed out to secure the area.

As they approached the city overnight, they were seeing that the city of Ghazni was on fire. And they knew that they had quite a fighting force to go up against. And the signs were readily apparent. Aside from the great fire that was burning in front of them, there was craters, IEDs, trucks that were standing like tombstones in the middle of the road. So the ODA had to muscle their way around these vehicles in order to push through to the city.

The ODA being the Green Beret unit.

That's correct. And while they're doing that, in comes mortar fire and RPGs and AK-47 fire. So it was not only a difficult task to punch into the city. It was also quite deadly because of the ambush that they had walked into.

turn 3 : They used ammunition to make their way into the city.

Which weapon did the Green Berets use to push through to the city of Ghazni?

Answer: 0


Yeah. And the Curia is the administrative. . .

The Curia is basically the civil servants, the bureaucrats. Although, this weekend we do see that he has replaced Cardinal Muller, who was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Can you tell us what that is for people who may not know?

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith deals with discipline within the church and doctrinal matters. But it also handles all cases of abuse and the disciplining of perpetrators of abuse, et cetera. So they are very much involved in actual cases of abuse that are brought to the church.

turn 1 : "The Curia is basically the civil servants, the bureaucrats." - The literal meaning of this turn is that the Curia is a group of civil servants or bureaucrats. However, the actual meaning is that the Curia is the administrative body of the Catholic Church, which includes the civil servants and bureaucrats but also includes the Pope and other high-ranking officials.

Answer: Administrative


And then I decided to come out. Now it's been going on several hours. I'm several streets away from the Champs-Elysees, Scott, but the people - it's like it's the second revolution coming because people are turning over - they're building barricades in the street. We're still - we've got helicopters overhead. They're still firing tear gas. And everyone around me is wearing a yellow vest.

Now, fuel prices have gone up - I have read, I think - 23 percent over the past year. And protesters blame the government for this.

Well, the government - the French pay some of the highest gas prices in the world, like, about more than $6 a gallon, Scott. And the government says it's going to raise the taxes again in January to finance the transition to an ecological economy - you know, more environmentally friendly fuels.

And, you know, for people who have to drive to work - blue-collar workers, just everyday people - this is outrageous. They say they can't make it anymore, so they've come out into the street. And, Scott, this movement has no leaders. There are no unions behind it. There are housewives. There are retirees - regular people. There are people who have never protested before. So it's turned into a movement. No one knows where it's going to go now.

turn 0 : The social safety net is inadequate due to strict eligibility requirements and inadequate benefits.

How has the government's decision affected the protesters?

Answer: Fuel


Do you have any explanation for that?Can you speculate on why that would be so different?

You know, it's just very curious. They must have - you know, they had time to go hands-on with all of the products that were involved in the case, and so they may have, you know, seen from prior art that they thought that it was very clear that the phones involved stemmed from this iPhone design and - but not so much the tablets.

There were several instances of tablets and tablet patented designs that existed before the iPad. So they may have thought that, you know, Samsung got their ideas from somewhere else.

So what's this going to do to buying a future Samsung or other brand that might - you know, has Apple put the fear in people of copying them now?

We'll have to see. So one of the biggest consequences that could come out of this verdict is that the price of Android devices could go up in the future because now Apple's - this portion of Apple's patent portfolio has been validated by the court system, and Apple can pretty confidently go forward and start suing any other Android hardware manufacturers it thinks are infringing on these patents.

turn 1 : The jury had access to all products involved in the case.

Which products did the jury have access to?

Answer: All


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 2 : "Nothing worked out." - The literal meaning of this sentence is that none of the attempts to recover the Pinta population of tortoises were successful. However, the actual meaning conveyed by the speaker is more negative in tone, suggesting that their efforts were futile and perhaps even frustrating.

What was the result of the attempts to recover the Pinta population of tortoises?

Answer: Futile


It was really expensive. It was the most expensive substance on Earth at the time. We're talking about equivalent of 2. 2 million dollars for a single gram.

Wow. And in 1917, of course, with World War I cranking up, there was huge military demand for watches that you could see in the dark and dials that you could see in the - in the dark.

That's right. And as you said, this is when the book opens, so shortly before America joined the First World War. And once they did, of course, join that global conflict, there was this huge boom to the radium industry. Soldiers needed watches, and people needed it for the planes and the trucks and so on. And so the dial painters, who were the radium girls - they were employed to paint all these dials with luminous radium paint. And they were taught to lip point, so to put their brushes between their lips to make a fine point for the detailed handiwork.

To actually put the brush with the radium paint into their mouth.

turn 3 :  the workers were instructed to put the brush with the radium paint into their mouth, not just place it between their lips.

What were the workers instructed to do with the brush?

Answer: Mouth


It's the first time we've described a new medicinal leech species from North America in 40 years. And it has a number of characteristics that make it as a new - considered a new species.

What's up with the three jaws?Is this common?

Most leeches in this group and other groups have three jaws, but the number of teeth in those jaws is more variable.

So why three jaws?What do they need them for?

turn 3 : "why do they need them for" implies rather "what would" they need them for.

How can the three jaws of leeches be described?

Answer: Variable


OK. So let me break down - let me ask you to break down what that means. What is the yield curve, and what does it mean when it's inverted?

So the yield curve represents interest rates at different maturities. So usually, it's the case that a longer-term interest rate has a higher rate than a short-term interest rate. So think of a certificate of deposit at your bank. If you lock your money up for five years, you expect to get a higher rate than, let's say, locking it up for six months.

But in certain rare situations, things get backwards, and it turns out that the long-term interest rate is lower than the short-term rate. And that's called an inverted yield curve. That's exactly the situation we've got right now. And it is a harbinger of bad news.

So unemployment is at a 50-year low. The GDP is growing. Does that have an effect on the yield curve?

turn 2 : The inverted yield curve is a bad sign for the economy.

Which curve is a harbinger of bad news for the economy?

Answer: interest


So over the years, we've had competitions on piano, bass, drums, trumpet, saxophone, hand drums, vocals and have launched a number of careers. Marcus Roberts won our very first competition and Joshua Redman won the competition on sax in 1991. And there are many others from Jackie Terrason to Jay Manhide(ph) and others. And so, this year is the saxophone. We have a great panel of judges - the great Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Jane Ira Bloom, David Sanchez and Greg Osby are all coming out to judge this group of students.

They will be of young people. They must be under the age of 30, and they've been guaranteed a recording contract by the Concord Music Group. So the first place winner walks away with a recording contract along with a $20,000 scholarship. The second place has a $10,000 scholarship, and the third is five.

All right, I actually want to talk about someone. You've talked about a bunch of people who have been involved with this competition. But one of them is Lionel Loueke, a guitarist from Benin. And he thought that you were Herbie Hancock after he had auditioned for the Monk Institute. He's gone on to record a debut album for Blue Note, and let's listen to a little bit of him playing live in the NPR Studios in New York.

So, what do you hear when you hear his music?

turn 1 : He is implying that the first place winner will get the prize.

How much is the first place winner rewarded?

Answer: $20,000


Yes. We are quite cognizant of that. And most fundamentally, we are not inducing anybody to commit a crime. We're not asking for somebody to take something that was top secret. People need to make their own choices about what they think inside the government deserves public attention. That's not a decision for us to make. It's a decision for them to make.

The Obama administration was accused of invoking the Espionage Act to crackdown on leakers and pursuing whistleblowers more aggressively than any other administration in history. So why didn't you make this call under that administration?

Well, first of all actually, we have had a page for a long time on our site encouraging people to send us documents and information, including in secure ways. So the answer to that is we have been asking people. Why have we pushed it even farther now?Well, one of the reasons that we've pushed it farther now is because we have been hearing about ways in which federal employees are being told to keep quiet. And if people are being told to keep quiet, well, that means that there's a good chance that relevant information is not coming out that should be.

Haven't there been gag orders during the transition of previous administrations too?

turn 2 : The actual meaning of the third turn is that the speaker is implying that the current administration is trying to prevent important information from being released, and this is why they are pushing people to contact them with information.

Which administration is being referred to in turn 2?

Answer: current


You have also done "Celebrity Fit Club" and you had a particular experience with a very tall object. Tell me about how you felt with that.

So they didn't tell me that it was boot camp. And when I found out it was boot camp I didn't know that I would be actually living on the premises in the woods. You take a person that every single weekend I'm standing on five-star hotels and now I'm living in a log cabin with Erin Moran who I grew up watching on TV, on "Happy Days. "So I'm star struck, I'm hungry, and I'm feeling like a girl scout. The day came for me to climb up a tower, and I totally panicked. I thought that I could do it, I wanted to do it, but my mind could not digest it. So here I am, over 35 years old, on TV, no eyebrows, no make-up, stuck in a harness crying with a head rag on.

How embarrassing. How. . .

I love how you mention the head rag because it's like. . .

turn 1 : I am living in a log cabin with celebrity Erin and feel excited about the experience. When it was time to climb a tower, I panicked.

How did PersonA feel when it was time to climb the tower?

Answer: Panicked


That's right, Book Club is coming. . .

SCIENCE FRIDAY Book Club has picked the September read, right?

Yep. It's "Flatland. "

Ooh, that's an old one.

turn 2 : The chosen book for the Book Club is Flatland.

How is the book for the Book Club called?

Answer: ancient


Michael was 23. He was the son of Nelson, who was the governor of New York at the time. As you said, his father had opened the Museum of Primitive Art. So he was collecting primitive art from the Asmat, who were incredible, beautiful carvers. And he was on a makeshift catamaran in a lot of rough, turbulent water, and they got into trouble. And they ended up drifting. . .

Like, capsized.

. . . a day. And. . .

. . . capsized on this catamaran. He's there with this guy called Rene Wassing, the Dutch anthropologist, and his last words are: I think I can make it.

turn 3 : In this turn, the speaker uses the phrase "I think I can make it" in an ironic or sarcastic manner. The actual meaning is that the person's last words were probably expressing optimism or confidence, but the speaker implies that it was unrealistic given the dire circumstances.

How does the speaker use the phrase "I think I can make it"?

Answer: ironically


Stocks in two major computer chip companies - Qualcomm and Broadcom, two major ones - were down 6% today. Google dropped 2%. And this was after Google said it would stop supporting Android devices for phones made by Huawei because the company was on the Commerce Department's blacklist. Google is a major software provider for Huawei. And if these restrictions went on for months, Google could take a beating.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, Jackie, but didn't the U. S.  back off last year in a somewhat similar way shortly after blacklisting another Chinese telecom company?

That's right. It was a company called ZTE, and they were on the blacklist. And it went on for a while. And they were on the verge of bankruptcy. And this is a major Chinese corporation - almost went bust until the Trump administration reversed that decision and allowed U. S.  companies to supply it again. So it's the same sort of scenario. But, Mary Louise, the Trump administration has been tightening the screws on Huawei for months now in part because it has links to the Chinese government.

And U. S.  intelligence agencies believe Huawei could use its equipment to spy on the U. S.  and its allies. The administration asked Canada to arrest and extradite one of Huawei's senior officials. And administration officials have been fanning out across the world asking allies, pressuring allies not to use Huawei equipment. So up until now, it's been a full-court press by the administration to contain the company.

turn 0 : The drop in stocks of major computer chip companies is related to Google's decision to stop supporting Huawei.

What were the computer chip companies that experienced a drop in stocks?

Answer: Qualcomm,Broadcom


A lawsuit was filed this week in federal court on behalf of a man who moved from Puerto Rico to Southeast Georgia in 2017. He applied for a driver's license after waiting at the required 30 days. The man, Kenneth Caban Gonzalez, says that an inspector from the Georgia Department of Driver Services confiscated his documents and asked him a number of trivia questions such as, who is Roberto Clemente, and what is the name of the frog native only to Puerto Rico?He alleges he also asked trick questions such as, where is Caguas beach?There is no beach in Caguas.

The lawsuit accuses the state of violating the Civil Rights Act by holding residents of Puerto Rico to more stringent requirements than it does transplants from other U. S.  states. The advocacy group Latino Justice is litigating the case along with the Southern Center for Human Rights. And with us now is Gerry Weber. He's a senior attorney at the Southern Center.

Welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

turn 0 : The trivia questions asked by the inspector were discriminatory towards Puerto Ricans.

What was the alleged discrimination based on?

Answer: Treasury


Yeah. This is, again, completely innovative. You know, part of the problem that we have with tall buildings is building them all out of glass and then having to go to gymnastics to kind of cover them up on the outside, and we see that in America. But in intense solar environments like the desert, it makes even less sense.

This is an innovative way to control this. It actually, to my knowledge, for the first time creates this skin on the outside made up of, you know, hundreds of modules, which can open and close by computer control, depending on the angle of incident sun. So if the sun's on the other side of the building, the modules open up and allow natural daylight into the space. And if the sun is incident on the building, then those modules close up and block the sun from entering.

Is what makes a tall building great the ability to actually look like it fits in with the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood or the culture of the people?

I believe so. That's - you know, as a professor, that's the thing that I advocate. I believe that a Chinese tall building or a, you know, an American tall building or a Middle Eastern tall building should be different to each other in the same way that, you know, religious and other architecture is clearly identifiable.

turn 3 : "clearly identifiable" - This is a figurative expression that means easily recognizable or distinctive, rather than literally being able to be identified with clarity.

What does the phrase "clearly identifiable" mean?

Answer: Recognizable


Are they willing to let people die over that principle?

Oh, no. No, you don't - but to who - and that's such an interesting - I love that you got right to the college dorm part of the argument, you know - are you going to let people die?No one's going to let people die. You know, there's talk about - oh, my gosh, the Trump budget cuts Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels gets 3 percent of its funding, approximately, from government sources. Ninety-seven percent is people want to take care of their neighbors.

I. . .

People are not going to let their neighbors die.

turn 1 :  Oh, no. No, you don't - but to who - and that's such an interesting - I love that you got right to the college dorm part of the argument, you know - are you going to let people die? No one's going to let people die. You know, there's talk about - oh, my gosh, the Trump budget cuts Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels gets 3 percent of its funding, approximately, from government sources. Ninety-seven percent is people want to take care of their neighbors.

Which organization receives approximately 3 percent of its funding from government sources?

Answer: Meals


And a few facts to guard those younger than you and me. Britain seized the Falklands in 1833, illegal then and illegal now, according to Argentina, which calls them the Malvinas. Every Argentine school child learns Islas Malvinas son Argentinas, but the roughly 3,200 residents adamantly insist they and the Falklands are and will always be British. But Jackson Diehl, none of that has changed since the end of the war three decades ago. Why has this dispute reemerge now?

I think it has to do with Argentine politics more than anything else. The reason the Argentine junta in 1982, military generals in charge at the time, invaded the Falklands, was they were desperate to distract popular attention from the fact that the economy was tanking and that they were losing their legitimacy. Now we have a civilian government in power, which, to its credit, doesn't want to invade the Falklands, but it has the same difficult economic problems again and it has the same problems with potentially losing legitimacy at home. And this is a very easy way to distract people.

This time, though, there is no hint of military action.

There isn't. And I think the interesting thing about this government is they have cut the Argentine military budget so severely in the last few years that even if Argentina wanted to invade the Falklands, they would be incapable of doing so. So that's one good thing.

turn 3 : Implied meaning: The speaker may be using a euphemism or understatement to convey a more significant or sensitive message.

How is the speaker expressing their opinion in turn 3?

Answer: Euphemism


I would never have imagined an Ebola epidemic going at this pace because all the prior epidemics - some 20 outbreaks since 1976 - have occurred in isolated, rural areas and been primarily a handful of family members co-infected coming into a medical facility, and then the medical facility itself became the amplifier of the infection.

But this one has broken all the rules. So for the first time, we really see classic, urban, person-to-person spread in Monrovia, in Freetown and in Conakry. It has also crossed borders. So we have three countries with three different sets of policies and skills levels. And it also hit countries that had been through two of the most brutal civil wars in modern history, civil wars that pitted clan against clan, village against the village so that as this began to unfold, it unfolded in an atmosphere of deeply embedded distrust to give us the worst Ebola epidemic in history.

Laurie, what about those people that think that this might be tragic, but it's on the other side of the world, got nothing to do with us?

I don't think there's many serious voices saying that sort of thing anymore. This week, when the Security Council convened and voted on a resolution related to the Ebola epidemic, it was cosigned by 130 other nations making it the most strongly-supported resolution in the history of the United Nations. One key element of that resolution is declaring that Ebola now represents a national security threat for every nation on Earth.

turn 1 : In (2), the speaker is responding to the idea that the Ebola epidemic is not relevant to people who are not directly affected by it. The speaker notes that the epidemic has spread to multiple countries with different policies and levels of expertise, and that the affected countries have a history of deep-seated distrust and conflict. The implied meaning is that the Ebola epidemic is a global issue that affects everyone, not just those who are directly impacted.

What is the Security Council's resolution on the Ebola epidemic?

Answer: Notmentioned


I didn't. I've always had the theory that the shower scene works as well as it does because just beforehand, you have this quite long supper conversation between Normal Bates and Marion Crane - Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh - which is the quietest, calmest moment in the film.

And it lulls you and it prepares you for the shocking, violent moment that is to come.

And so I went for that scene because I think it's a beautiful, beautifully acted scene and really, the heart of Anthony Perkins' performance. And I think that sometimes, an actor is essential. I don't know who else could have played that part.

That's interesting. So it's not the stab in the shower or the bridge blowing up that stays with us.

turn 1 : implies that the quietness of the supper conversation before the shower scene prepares the audience to be shocked by the violent moment that follows

Which scene lulls the audience before the violent moment in the movie?

Answer: supper


Well, you know, the military hardware is not my specialty. I kind of look at the refugees, so good for you. But what I do know and what we can count is that they have been pretty effective in taking down some of these planes. There was a MiG that was shot down outside of Damascus. And so, in effect, this is their homemade stinger, they're homemade SAM-7. And all of this stuff has been captured from Syrian airbases. They continue to ask for these weapons from the international community.

In some ways it's become a way to say, do you support us?And if you do, will you give us those weapons?I have talked to a number of military analysts who say they don't really need outside weapons. They are beginning to capture what they need.

NPR correspondent Deborah Amos on the border between Turkey and Syria. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. And as the areas under rebel control expand, are there coalitions developing between these local groups that have liberated various areas?Are there frictions developing among these groups?

We asked that today in this small town, and there is a council that has formed there. But these are people who've never done this before. They have committees for finding flour for the bakeries. They have committees for the refugees. They have committees for cleaning up the town. But all of this is done with no money. And because what happens when you are in a, quote, "liberated area," when the rebels liberate the area from the government, you are essentially under sanctions from the government.

turn 0 : The rebels are effectively using weapons they captured from Syrian airbases.

What did the rebels capture from Syrian airbases?

Answer: Weapons


So this is the second year that the numbers are up. What kind of numbers are we talking about?

We are reporting four hectares of overwintering colonies. That's 9. 1 acres. That is the area that they occupy, so that is indeed very good news compared to last year where we only had a little bit over one hectare.

You've been out in the field with them. Just describe for our listeners what - if they haven't been able to see them, what these monarch butterflies look like when they come to stay in Mexico.

Once they arrive to Michoacan - which is the name of the state where the forests are and the state of Mexico - they congregate on fir trees.

High up in the mountains - I mean, it's quite a steep climb to get there.

turn 1 : (2) We are reporting four hectares of overwintering colonies.That's 9.1 acres.That is the area that they occupy, so that is indeed very good news compared to last year where we only had a little bit over one hectare.

Which area had a little bit over one hectare last year?

Answer: last


The government sets the interest rates and so the banks can make a lot money. And if you're a Chinese person, you can't really get much of your capital out of the country. So where else are you going to put it?

One of the problems with the banks is that they tend to invest in state-owned enterprises. It's kind of part of their job, and it's less risky. But most of the jobs in China are really produced by private enterprise, as they are here in the United States. And it's much harder for them to get capital. So people are, in many ways, feelings that the economy is out of whack in a number ways and that there need to be some serious changes. The government knows this, but there are now very strong vested interests in state-owned enterprises and the banks. And so getting that done is not going to be easy politically.

And even some of those big industries who are in the, I guess, the equivalent of a China's Pittsburgh, the Steel City, and a couple of vast enterprises there, well, they've gone under.

The over-capacity in the steel is extraordinary, and the debt now is over $400 billion. It's actually owned by steel companies largely to Chinese banks. And it's going to take years to work through that over-capacity.

turn 3 : Chinese steel industry's overcapacity and debt are significant problems

What is the debt of the Chinese steel industry?

Answer: $400


It's been, you know, the most difficult and the most rewarding. And as I've performed in America and in England, I've seen some of the slight language differences have actually come up between, you know, performances and altering things.

Joe, do you think that you've learned something about human nature, in other words, the things that the psychologists are trying to put - to quantify and put numbers on. Do you think that you've instinctively figured out some things about human nature, about how the mind works, and how perception works?

JOE #2: Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's the most rewarding part about being a magician, I think. And I think that anybody who would want to go to your public library and get, you know, the first book on card tricks or coin tricks or whatever interests you, you'll find that you'll learn way more than just how to do a trick at a party because it's in performing that trick at a party or for your friends or your family that you'll find that you get a little inside glimpse at the backstage of the human mind.

Interesting. Joe, thanks very much for your call. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION on NPR News. Teller, we have an email that's just come in. Guess what the guy's name is.

turn 0 : (1) The implied meaning is that the speaker has encountered some subtle differences in language between American and British audiences while performing, which has been challenging but also rewarding.

How has performing in America and England been for the speaker?

Answer: Challenging


You know, I give him mixed reviews. I knew Daniel Hahn prior to him becoming chief. I am a former high school teacher. And I worked hand in hand with the police department. And in working with him, I truly, truly believed that he has a good heart and good intentions. But now that he's the chief of police, we have to hold him to the line of accountability and transparency.

Sonia, Stephon's death is the latest of several fatal shootings of black men by police across the country. And some of these killings are not well-known. But they're still happening. What do you feel needs to be done to address this?

You know, I'm of the mind set that our whole policing system needs to be dismantled and abolished. And we need to start over.

And what would that look like?

What that looks like here in Sacramento - what we have done successfully as a BLM organization is we've created community resources, alternatives to police. We have resources in the community that if this were to happen, call these people instead of calling the police.

Some of the protests that have been happening since Stephon was killed have been marches and protests that have filled streets and blocked traffic. Some protests blocked basketball fans from entering a sports arena. How far should the protests go?

turn 2 : The speaker believes that the current policing system is irreparable.

How does the speaker think the policing system should be addressed?

Answer: Dismantled


What I'm going to do next time or in the next few months is I'm going to get storm shutters put in my house. We have no plans on moving, though.

With the electricity restored, the whole family is moving back in today.

And how's baby William doing?

He's doing wonderful. He's eating and sleeping like a champ (laughter). And his big sister is loving her new role, so we're very happy.

turn 3 : The speaker's baby and family are doing well and they are happy about it.

What is the PersonA's emotional state about their baby and family?

Answer: Happy


And what makes them so good at invading?

Well, they share a suite of traits with a lot of the world's worst invasive ant species, one of which is that they are what's called super-colonial. And on a continental scale they can be called uni-colonial. What that means is that colonies don't recognize boundaries. There's no (unintelligible) population there's no aggression between crazy ants. All individuals in the population treat other individuals in the population as members of the same colony.

So you can take ants from any population in Texas, introduce them into another population in Texas or - I haven't tested this - but probably other parts of the Southeast, and they will join and work together. So that's - it really cuts down the costs of interest-specific competition and can allow the more efficient use of space in the environment they're in.

They also rely very heavily on sugary resources that they get from homoptera insects, things like aphids and mealy bugs. And they seem to be very good at exploiting these resources, which helps maintain their populations at very high densities.

turn 1 : There's no aggression with ants that do not behave like normal ant colonies.

Which word describes the behavior of crazy ants towards all individuals in their population?

Answer: Same


Then last week, we produced a segment on how third party candidates were affecting the presidential race. Daniel Rosenfield (ph) in Dallas, Texas, thanked us for interviewing Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. He writes, "Bob Barr rarely receives any media attention, and you guys have given new hope for third parties. In this election year, where third parties are reaching new voter records, it is important to educate the people of America. "

Listener Kevin Smith wrote in about an interview you did with comedian David Alan Grier about his new Comedy Central show, "Chocolate News. "He thinks Grier's comedy is funny, but too often crosses the line. He writes, "When people like me stop laughing, and point this out, we're called uptight. No, I want to laugh like everyone else, but I don't want to do it at the expense of our dignity and progress. I'm sorry, but we're not in the same position as whites who wield power in this country. They can afford to satirize their leaders and ancestors, we can't. Leave Maya Angelou and MLK and the like alone. "

And finally, Laura Tillman (ph) in Athens, Georgia, wrote us this. "I moved to Georgia last year from Vermont, and was really happy to discover the NPR News & Notes program, which brought a perspective that was lacking from my old Vermont NPR station. However, I sometimes feel that the shows are a little rushed. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoy the show, and thank you for a job well done. "

And thank you for your letters. Please keep your comments coming.

turn 3 : keep your  comments coming means to keep talking

What did Laura Tillman (ph) in Athens, Georgia, say about the NPR News & Notes program?

Answer: Rushed


He kept the Colombian restaurant's painting of a traditional Latin American market scene with a tiny cross perched on the archway. It dominates the whole hall.

So this is the story. In Islam, you can't remove a picture which has a cross in it. That was my wife's understanding. She - that's what she gave me to understand. And she said, don't ever remove this. And then this restaurant became very lucky for us. We - from being hand to mouth, we became self-sufficient. So this proved to be a lucky painting. Plus, this was a colorful painting, and this was all we could afford at the time. So we want to keep it, and we want to keep that cross as long as I'm alive and kicking.

It's a sign of how so many communities have built Houston into what it is today - influencing each other, melding into something unique. Lashkari has applied that to the dishes he serves. His signature chicken curry, cooked in huge metal pots in his sweltering, fragrant kitchen, is made with Mexican tomatillos and cilantro. It's incredibly delicious. And we ate that along with the best saag paneer, a spinach and cheese dish, that I have ever tasted.

We do a lot of fusion right now. This restaurant is famous for its fried chicken. It's fried the Southern way, but it's - the chicken - the raw chicken is marinated with Indian spices. My white gravy is made with cashew nuts and almonds and coconut. So it looks like a white gravy of the chicken-fried steak, but it's totally different.

turn 2 : "Lashkari has applied that to the dishes he serves... His signature chicken curry, cooked in huge metal pots in his sweltering, fragrant kitchen, is made with Mexican tomatillos and cilantro. It's incredibly delicious. And we ate that along with the best saag paneer, a spinach and cheese dish, that I have ever tasted."  The actual meaning of this turn is different from its literal meaning. The speaker is not simply describing the food and its taste, but also highlighting the diversity and cultural fusion that has contributed to Houston's unique culinary scene.

Which dish did the speaker describe as the "best saag paneer" they had ever tasted?

Answer: Saag


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

But the more that he does not disavow the things that they believe in and either tacitly or directly supports them, the better.

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

Thank you so much for having me.

turn 3 : Thank you so much for having me." - The literal meaning is the speaker thanking the host for having them, and the implied meaning is likely just gratitude and politeness.

Which word did the speaker use to express gratitude and politeness?

Answer: Thank


This was back in 1982?

'82. But I think people thought, oh, my God, you know, you can't put a black person's heart in a white person. You cannot possibly put a woman's heart in a man. I mean, it's interesting that with the heart, sort of the emotions we ascribe to it get all wrapped up in the medical techniques also.

So they got beyond that. And you write about this group of researchers and doctors in Houston - big egos, big personalities and a big state (laughter). Tell us about these two pioneers who had this incredible rivalry that helped shape this field - Dr.  Denton Cooley and Dr.  Michael DeBakey.

When I started looking into it again, it was kind of like the right stuff for heart surgeons. These were people with outsized personalities and outsized wills. And the story really starts in Houston with the theft of an artificial heart from Michael DeBakey's lab. And DeBakey at the time was perhaps the most famous heart surgeon or surgeon in the world. And his nemesis was a guy named Denton Cooley, who, for a time, worked under him and got tired of waiting for Dr.  DeBakey to put this artificial heart in someone. So he purloined it with the man who had designed it into DeBakey's lab and put it in a man. And the operation, to some extent, was a success because the patient lived. And this became the most famous feud in medical history.

turn 1 : The notion of gender and race plays a significant role in the medical field.

How did people react to the idea of putting a black person's heart in a white person?

Answer: Reactions


Yeah.

Why has the price gone up in recent years?

Prices will rise to whatever the market will bear, right?We see that uniquely in the U. S.  One vial of insulin in the U. S.  costs seven times what it does in Germany. So there's a huge disparity there. Some of the reasons have to do with reformulations of insulin that are, in fact, better than some of the older ones. Although, when I'm talking about that 1 in 7 price comparison, that's the same exact insulin.

In the U. S. , what's happened - and this is something that I know the Trump administration is looking at and many experts in the field have decried - the slow arrival of biosimilars or generic insulins onto the market, which are on the market in other countries. The problem in this country is the lowering of prices of insulin. And insulin patents have been held up in the courts for years now in suits and countersuits between the three big insulin drug makers, including by Eli Lilly, which is the former employer of our new HHS Secretary.

That's Alex Azar - has been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services.

turn 2 : A's turn has a figurative meaning as it uses a common expression "Prices will rise to whatever the market will bear" to convey the idea that the prices of goods will be as high as the market can tolerate.

Which country's insulin costs seven times more than Germany's?

Answer: Germany


Yes. You know, you will talk to Republicans and Democrats who will make very passionate cases that the other party will be to blame in this shutdown. I think shutdown politics are tricky. For one, we have a recent one in memory. The 2013 shutdown was largely driven by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a member of the Republican Party. Republicans were seen as responsible for that shutdown. They went on to win big in the following midterm elections.

So the idea that being seen as the party that shuts down government will have electoral consequences, I'm not so sure Democrats view it that way.

Yeah. And the last shutdown lasted 16 days.

It lasted 16 days. If this one lasts as long as that, we will also be in a very interesting situation because President Trump's State of the Union address is 10 days from now. And I - my mind. . .

turn 1 : In (2), the speaker implies that Democrats may not be concerned with being seen as the party responsible for the shutdown, even though it may have electoral consequences.

Which party's concern for electoral consequences is being questioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Democrats


I was broke, and I like my wine, and then I saw this woman buying wine, and I was like, no way. And she even had fancy shoes on. I looked at her. She's like, it's really good. And so, I was like, so that's when I bought a Sauvignon Blanc. And I was like, I got wine for the summer, thank God. And that was when I started thinking, maybe there's food here too.

Turns out there was lots of food. Most of it brands she hadn't heard of before or in boxes that were slightly misshapen or discolored, but what was inside tasted just fine, she says. And with a bit of creativity, Christiane realized 99-cent ingredients could turn into truly delicious dishes.

I'm really hoping that people are going to use this as an opportunity. I think the economy is going so downhill, and I think there's a way to just kind of keep a smile on your face and find cheap ways to still have fun. I hate it when people say, oh, I don't have money, so I can't do anything.

How much culinary expertise do you need?Is it good to have some basic cooking backgrounds before you take on the 99-cent cuisine?

turn 0 : I was broke implies being financially bankrupt and not implying having broken bones

Answer: financial


That's right.

How did the capital - how did the changes strike you since you'd been there a year ago?

A huge sense of despondency - I mean, huge humanitarian suffering, people, again, displaced from their homes - but a sense of resolve that people were committed to defending the capital against what they saw as an aggression but I think a real fear about what can come next for this country. I mean, the social fabric of this country of 6 million has been really torn apart, and it's been worsened also by foreign meddling in the country.

Foreign meddling meaning what?What's going on?

turn 2 : "a sense of resolve that people were committed to defending the capital against what they saw as an aggression" - The literal meaning of the sentence is that people were determined to protect the capital against a perceived act of aggression. However, the implied meaning is that people were afraid of an actual act of aggression, not just a perceived one.

Which sense did people have towards defending the capital?

Answer: Resolve


So, this is an exciting moment for us to take a look at ourselves. So, you know, first of all, how do you compare this presidential race with ones in the past?

Can't do it. This is not like any presidential race in the past. We have already had the first woman candidate to be this close to being nominated. The first Hispanic candidate to be a major candidate. First Mormon. We have the first African-American nominee, now presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. And we also had a very interesting race on the Republican side that would have been kind of a barnburner in its own right. So, this has been a much more interesting presidential race that we've had in my lifetime. And it's just got an awful lot of facets of great news value.

So, how would you say, what would you say even coverage is?What is the goal really?

The best thing you can do is to reach the end of the campaign and have people say, well, we got a fair look at the candidates from the beginning to the end. We got a fair look at the two nominees of the major parties. We got a fair look at the third party candidates. And we got a fair look at all the competitors back in the primaries. I don't think you can say that at all is going to be exactly the same number of minutes devoted to each.

turn 1 : This implies that this presidential race is unique and different from previous ones, possibly due to the diversity of candidates and the amount of news value it has.

Which race is being referred to as unique and different from previous ones?

Answer: B


Boy, melodrama going on, on the Washington football club whose team name I refuse to utter. Coach Shanahan benching Robert Griffin III for the rest of the season - good idea or. . .

Well, it's all part of a bigger power play. The big problem is the owner. The problem with the Redskins goes back to Daniel Snyder. He's worse than George Steinbrenner, worse than Marge Schott; worse than all of them. He's one of the worst owners that you could possibly have. When he started, he had past-prime players with Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith trying to make a splash.

We're about to run out of time. Not much time for many more worse, yes?

Awful. He's just bad.

turn 2 : The coach's decision to bench Griffin is indicative of larger issues within the organization, likely stemming from the owner's poor management.

How is the coach's decision reflective of larger issues within the organization? (Answer: indicative)

Answer: Indicative


So why did some members of Congress choose to vote for the bailout bill and some against it. We've got two prominent members of Congress who made up their own minds and made different choices. A little bit later, we're going to talk to Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas who voted against. But first we have Representative Maxine Waters of California, who voted for. How are you?

Hello. How are you doing today?

I'm doing great. So you voted for this bailout bill, why?

This is a rescue effort that has caught everybody by surprise. The fact of the matter is not only do we have to be concerned about our financial institutions and the market, we've got to be concerned about trying to do something to stem the tide of foreclosures and keep people in their homes. And part of this bill had in it a modification plan. We're going to acquire, that is buy up all of these toxic paper, or bad paper from these financial institutions. We then have an opportunity to do the kind of modification that we've been urging all along.

In addition to that, we have small businesses that are at risk. These small businesses that depend on banks for loans to make the payroll will literally go out of business. And we have the smaller minority bank, many of them who had their money invested in Fannie and Freddie when it was taken over, and they've lost all of their investment in that preferred stock. So we're trying to stem the tide of this devastation, to get the market stabilized and to protect the average citizens.

turn 3 : The bailout bill is necessary to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and help small businesses stay afloat.

What is the modification plan included in the bailout bill?

Answer: Treasury


Why does the American Civil Liberties Union defend the rights of Nazis?Membership and donations have boomed since the 2016 election, as the ACLU has taken on a number of high-profile cases challenging Trump administration policies on immigration, deportation and voter suppression. But some supporters of the organization have questioned the ACLU's defense of the free-speech rights of hate groups, especially following their defense of white nationalist rally at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville a couple of weeks ago, when Heather Heyer was killed. A board member of the ACLU's Virginia affiliate resigned, tweeting - what's legal and what's right are sometimes different. I won't be a fig leaf for Nazis.

We're joined now by the national executive director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero. Mr.  Romero, thanks so much for being with us.

It's my pleasure, Scott. Thank you for having me.

Is the ACLU a fig leaf for Nazis?

turn 2 : having me implies hosting someone or engaging with someone and not referring to owning someone

How does turn 2 suggest a non-literal meaning?

Answer: Engaging


Wow.

On steroids, that's what Tops in Blue is. And it's serious stuff. It's a lot of fun. There's a little break dancing, a little pop locking. And once again, it's very interactive. It's very much a very different theater experience.

You know, we had on Brian Copeland, who has a very successful one-man show called "Not a Genuine Black Man" and also dealing with some really very harsh realities of his childhood. It strikes me that, you know, that's got to be part of what shaped you as a person who's able to do - what is it?How many characters do you have in the show?

Twenty-three characters.

turn 1 : Tops in Blue is not just a regular show, it's something exceptional and unique.

Which show is serious, interactive, and offers a different theater experience?

Answer: Blue


I like that.

It requires constant boosts and constant sort of shots against that and priming the mind and the creative muscle. And so I think on that level, people relate to having a resource that gives that sort of steady stream of these things in a very small and subtle way and not as formal as education but does enrich lives and enrich sort of our pool of creative resources.

It is a really steady stream. I mean, I read on Brainpickings that it takes 450 hours, maybe more, to keep it alive.

Yeah, I put that number down so people don't think I don't have a life, but it's probably a lot more than that.

turn 1 : "Constant boosts and constant sort of shots" implies that the mind needs a lot of training, the mind isn't actually getting a physical boost or shot.

Which word suggests that the mind requires constant training and is not actually receiving a physical boost?

Answer: constant


I'm not so sure that it was missed, per se. I think it's been there at the forefront of the news for a really long time. I just don't think that we saw the potential that it would impact the election in the way that it did, insofar as it's tied up in these other economic and social struggles that are occurring within the same communities.

And to be clear again, you're not saying that people that have a problem with opioids or drug or alcohol voted for Donald Trump so much as people who live in those communities that have been affected by it statistically in your study voted for Donald Trump.

Well, that's right. And I can't say necessarily who voted for Donald Trump, but we have to remember that addiction and depression and these diseases and deaths of despair go far beyond the individuals themselves who are affected by them. They affect friends and family members and coworkers and first responders and service providers and employers in communities who are dealing with the struggles of these and experience the same sort of frustration and anxiety that are associated or wrapped up within diseases and deaths of despair.

You conclude your study by - I believe the quote is community level well-being played an important role in this election.

turn 2 : saying that the effects of addiction, depression, and other diseases go beyond the individual, which is not the same as the actual meaning of the statement which is that people in these communities dealing with the struggles of these issues experience the same kinds of frustration and anxiety.

What is the conclusion of the study mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Important


But yes, they do make them vulnerable. But to my knowledge, he has no problem with his feet. And there was another horse with three white feet who did pretty well, and his name was Secretariat.

Oh, yeah. OK.  Victor Espinoza is Chrome's jockey. What do you expect from him?

He's a very talented rider. He has been here before. He won two legs of the Triple Crown with War Emblem a few years ago. He's made beautiful decisions in terms of where to position the horse and strategy is everything in the Belmont. This is a riders race.

I don't know if he will win, but this afternoon, pin your heart on this beautiful little horse and this odd cast of characters around him. The pantheon of Triple Crown winners admits only the truly great. So if he is good enough to do it, you will be looking at a horse for the ages.

turn 3 : the meaning of "pin your heart on this beautiful little horse and this odd cast of characters around him" is to invest your emotion or faith in Chrome and his team, even if there is no guarantee of success.

Answer: Emblem


You know, it's quite clear that it is a cherry-picked narrative. But reading it makes you wonder if that's an insult to cherries.

(Laughter) Which, after all, have many valuable antioxidants. Before it was released, a lot of Democrats said the result of releasing the memo would be catastrophic. Last night and today, many Democrats seem to be saying, is that all you got?Are you kidding?

Well, for some, it's more a dud than a slam dunk. But at the same time, of course, the Democrats want to release their own memo - their critique memo - their response or rebuttal. And that's going to be the big focus when we get back here on Monday.

Rod Rosenstein - long for his position in the Justice Department?

turn 0 : "it's quite clear that it is a cherry-picked narrative.But reading it makes you wonder if that's an insult to cherries." Implicated meaning: The speaker thinks that the narrative is biased and selectively chosen. They express their criticism in a humorous way, by questioning if even cherries would be offended by being associated with the narrative.

Which fruit is the subject of a humorous comment in the dialogue?

Answer: Cherries


No. We banned those in 2001 after the disastrous 2000 presidential recount. And fortunately for the state is - part of the reform packages passed after 2000 were a number of standards, methods and clear ways in which to perform recounts. And, lucky us, we now probably have three statewide recounts in Florida, as well as three state legislative seats - a record six in the state in one election.

Oh, my word. Well, how close is the governor's race, Marc?

The governor's race - I would like to use one of those old phrases, you know, the old cliche. It's about as tight as a tick in a rug or something. But it's not as tight as the Senate race. The governor's race is about 36,000 ballots almost on-the-nose apart - the margin. The - in the end, the margin is 0. 44 percent. And it takes 0. 5 percent - that is half a percent - to go to recount. So the governor's race in Florida's probably going to recount.

And what about the Senate race?

turn 3 : Senate race implies the quest to become a senator and not a running competition between senators

Answer: Senate


Thanks, Scott.

What's the latest - quick shutdown or will it last?

It became pretty clear by early evening on Friday that there would be a shutdown, so it sort of began with a whimper. Members had already adjourned and gone home at midnight when the shutdown officially started. Where we're at as the bill is in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the next vote is going to be on what can pass. And that is a bill that's going to need to be able to overcome a 60 vote hurdle and have the guarantee from President Trump that he will sign it. Negotiations are expected to continue through the weekend. In the House, lawmakers have been told that they'll be given 24 hours' notice before there's a vote. What needs to happen is one party is going to have to blink. Either Republicans and the president are going to have to agree to less money for the wall or Democrats are going to have to agree to it but try to extract some kind of compromise to make it something they can support. You know, the wall has just become just this volatile political symbol of this presidency. So it's added and loaded of all the politics between the two parties that doesn't make compromise very easy on this.

And it's the third - the third shutdown in a year. This is becoming a habit. Remind us how the federal government and citizens are affected by a shutdown like this.

turn 3 : A government shutdown affects the government and its citizens negatively.

What is the impact of a government shutdown?

Answer: A


That's right. There are a few things in particular that stood out in the early excerpts. I haven't had the chance to get my hands on the book yet. But a couple of things in particular. One is that Bannon talks about that infamous Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016 that featured Donald Trump Jr. , Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and the meeting that they had with the Russian lawyer, who was offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. Bannon describes the meeting as treasonous, as unpatriotic. And he says that those three should've called the FBI immediately. A second thing is that he also says that there's no way - there's no way that Trump Jr.  didn't walk the Russians up one floor to the 26th floor of Trump Tower and introduce them to Trump himself.

We should explain that's his - he doesn't know that happened, but he just finds it inconceivable it didn't.

He doesn't offer any proof. He wasn't in the campaign at the time. But this would be important if true because Trump has denied any knowledge of the Russian overtures, any knowledge of Russian outreach. And it would - this would obviously contradict that. The last thing is that Bannon says that the investigation is going to focus on money laundering. There are indications that Mueller's team may indeed be looking at that. So a lot to digest there.

NPR's Ryan Lucas, thanks so much.

turn 3 : "NPR's Ryan Lucas, thanks so much." - The actual meaning of this turn is a polite expression of gratitude, rather than literally thanking Ryan Lucas for something specific that he did.

What is the purpose of turn 3 in the dialogue?

Answer: Gratitude


So you just said that hitting hospitals would be the primary target of any military operation. Did I understand you correctly?

That's perfectly correct. When there is an intent to displace people, then hospitals start to get targeted and in a pattern that's very predictable. We've seen it before in Aleppo. In addition to putting those hospitals in underground structures or in caves hospital (ph), we share the location, the coordinates of these hospitals with the U. N.  agencies, with Russia, with the United States, as they both are leading the humanitarian task force in Syria.

So everybody is aware of the locations of those hospitals. And last week for example, going back to what's going on in Idlib, when you have 12 hospitals hit in a small area, when they're struck and they're damaged directly, you realize that this is beyond just collateral damage and beyond just a limited-scale operation.

Are these bombings of medical facilities that you describe causing the health care system, what's left of it, to collapse?

turn 1 : Military operations intentionally target hospitals during displacement of people.

What is the primary target of military operations during displacement of people?

Answer: Hospitals


You've got lots of reasons to be concerned about this economy, not the least of which is the fact that the Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke has done yet another interest rate cut. And the question is, how many more cuts can he do?He has so many arrows in his quiver.

So, we're looking at a very fragile economy. And certainly, the employment piece is the most important piece for most Americans because most people don't have trust funds or extra money. Many who do have home equity have it tapped out. The way that 90 percent of us support ourselves is that we work every day, and increasing numbers of people don't have employment opportunities.

When you look at what's happening right now, there were - there have been times when there are certain, you know, white collar jobs that have really gotten hit hard, I'm thinking of the computer industry, the technology industry in the '90s when there was that dot bomb era. But is this really, for now, more of a blue collar job loss or is it mixed?

It's really a mixed bag. You see many corporations who are downsizing, they call it rightsizing, who are cutting even if it's by as little as 5 percent, Farai, it adds up. We see state governments also looking at a drop in revenue coming in because of a drop in tax revenue, and they are thinking of cutting in — may have already done some cutting.

turn 0 : "so many arrows in his quiver" is an idiom that means having many different strategies or options available to use, rather than referring to actual arrows in a quiver.

Which idiom refers to having many different strategies or options available to use?

Answer: Arrows


So there's always been this open question about why Deutsche Bank lent to Trump when other banks wouldn't. And for investigators, the question is, you know, all the more pressing because Deutsche Bank has really a record of malfeasance and irregularities.

Tell us more about that history, some of the allegations. We mentioned money laundering earlier.

Right. Well, yeah, money laundering - the bank paid fines totaling $630 million in 2017. Regulators said some of its clients moved a huge amount of money, like $10 billion, out of Russia into offshore accounts illegally. And Deutsche Bank basically allowed it to happen. The - and the allegations about money laundering continue. Just recently, in November, the bank's headquarters in Frankfurt were raided by investigators. They were looking at how Deutsche Bank helped set up illegal accounts as part of this big, money laundering - global money laundering scheme.

So add to that Deutsche Bank paid $7. 2 billion for helping set up toxic mortgages before the financial crisis. It paid a big fine for violating U. S.  sanctions against Iran and Syria. So really, the bank has a long record of scandal, to say the least.

turn 2 : allowed it to happen" and "set up illegal accounts" - These phrases suggest that Deutsche Bank was complicit in facilitating illegal activity.

What did regulators say Deutsche Bank's clients moved out of Russia illegally?

Answer: $10billion


But not far behind is the idea which really threatens the foreign service that has served this country pretty well over the years - that senior diplomats should be part of that political agenda. And if they don't, they have to get out of the way. Their careers will be curtailed. And a lot of these people, you know, are now serving at research institutes and universities around town because they are not being used. And that, therefore, is the message that it looks like they are sending.

So play ball or get out.

Play ball or get out. And then to find out on top of that the president is willing to disparage you and threaten, you know, things that might be coming your way; and on top of that, it now appears that the secretary of state was listening in on that call and, rather than defending his people, said nothing and did nothing and pretended like nothing happened and looked like he's part of it. And, you know, it takes a long time to build up an organization like this, but it can be destroyed very quickly. And I'm afraid that that's the direction in which we're going.

Philip Gordon, thank you so much for sharing your perspective.

turn 1 : The people should obey their leaders or lose their jobs.

Answer: acquiesce


Phil Simms was quarterback for the New York Giants.

(Laughter) Yeah.

This is NPR, Dan. We have to fill in the blanks sometimes.

(Laughter) I understand. Well, Bill Parcell is one of the legendary coaches in NFL history. I called Bill and, you know, 'cause saw in the press guides that Ernie was his pro player personnel director for a couple of years in the 1980s. And Bill could not remember anything about him. He says, I don't know the guy. I said, Bill, it says on the press guide that he was your director of pro personnel for two seasons when you were head coach. And he says, well, I don't remember the guy. So they're all either being very careful about it or Ernie just does not leave a personal mark with them.

turn 2 : The speaker is not providing information about how to complete a blank, but rather communicating to his interlocutor that they need to be careful about what they say since they are on NPR.

What organization are they on during the conversation?

Answer: NPR


The economy is humming, but we may be hearing some sputtering as well. The stock market fell 3% this past Wednesday but later made back some of those losses. While in the bond market, a key marker of a coming recession has been playing out. Now the payoff for long-term government debt fell below the yield on short-term debt. So what are we looking for when the bell rings tomorrow?Catherine Rampell writes about economics for The Washington Post, and she joins me now. Welcome.

Good to be here.

So first off, I just want a gut check from you - Wall Street ups and downs, that warning flare in the bond market, but we're also seeing strong consumer spending at the same time. What is your take on these mixed indicators?

I think the story thus far has been there are warning signs out there. Consumers have been the strong point. Up until this week, however, there was a consumer sentiment number that it was at its lowest notching since, I want to say, six or seven months. So that does suggest that consumers may be wavering a little bit. I think the bigger picture, though, is the global risks essentially. So right now, we have something, like, nine major economies around the world either currently in recession or on the verge of recession, and you could imagine that there would be contagion effects.

turn 2 : It's not a check of the gut but of the person's true opinions and feelings.

How would you describe the type of check that "B" wants from "A"?

Answer: true


I also translated my previous novel, "The Corpse Washer" - I translated it from Arabic to English.

But with this novel, you chose to have someone else translate it into English. Why?

Well, in all honesty, the subject matter of the novel is quite intimate and has a lot to do with my own memories of my home city and what it means also to be an Iraqi living in the U. S.  and watching the - my new country bomb my homeland. So it's very traumatic. So when Jonathan Wright offered - as soon as the novel came out in Arabic, he offered to translate it. I - he's an experienced, excellent translator, so I said, why not, you know?

I think I hear you telling me you could not go through that story twice.

turn 2 : The traumatic memories of the author made it hard for him to translate the novel himself, so he had someone else do it

What made it difficult for the author to translate the novel himself?

Answer: Trauma


You're a breast cancer survivor. Your husband passed away. One of your other children was in a serious accident, and yet when you deal with the Imus ordeal, you say I've never felt so powerless in my life. Why did that touch you so much?

You know, Farai, one of the things that maybe people didn't know is that here I had a team of 10 players, and five of those young ladies were freshmen. Less than a year before that, they were sitting on bleachers at a high school graduation. Some of them that came to me had braces on their teeth. They had dreams and aspirations of becoming doctors and psychologists and musicians and all the like.

And here while they had done something that they should be commended for because throughout the year, the year had been a tremendous struggle. They had been pushed to the brink, and yet somehow they survived. And beyond surviving, here they were standing before a national audience and being honored as one of the top two teams in this nation.

And I was so proud of them because I could remember seeing some of them cry or think that they couldn't and then to see their faces on television or USA Today and, you know, this is what it's all about - for us as leaders and as parents and as people that care about our young people - to take them to places that they don't think that they can go, have them accomplish those things, and then with that level of security and confidence, they can take on the world.

turn 2 : As a leader and parent, it is important to help young people achieve their dreams and goals

What is the purpose of leadership according to turn 2?

Answer: Dreams


UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.

Ships deposited more than 150,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy. German forces were waiting in the cliffs above, and they unleashed. Meanwhile, paratroopers boarded planes, took to the air and dropped behind enemy lines.

Oh, it was a lot of noise - one after another.

What did it sound like?

turn 0 : Allied forces have begun their attack on France

Which country was attacked by the Allied forces?

Answer: France


And Gina Perra(ph) in San Mateo, California sent us this. "I'm a 52-year-old white person, and this is one of my favorite shows. So if you think that this show has, quote, limited appeal, think again. Please cancel something else. "

And finally, Joe Bennett in Dallas, Texas chimed in with this. "I'm very disappointed that of all the shows that could be canceled, News & Notes was. It's the only one that is specifically addressing the concerns of African-Americans. As an American with African heritage, I think it is very important to have my issues addressed on the air waves. I'm sure that you will say that the other shows address these issues. However, I disagree in the format in which they do. More often than not, it is addressed not from the African-American perspective. "

And that's it for letters. Thank you so much for your letters and love this week. Please keep your thoughts coming over the next few months.

To write to us, just log on to npr. org and click on Contact Us. When you get there, you'll see lots of shows to choose from. Make sure you pick News & Notes when you write to us, and keep writing to us. We're here with you for three more months.

turn 1 : when Joe Bennett says "I'm sure that you will say that the other shows address these issues. However, I disagree in the format in which they do," he implies that the other shows may address issues that affect African Americans, but not in a way that is satisfactory or effective.

Which show does Joe Bennett believe is specifically addressing the concerns of African-Americans?

Answer: News&notes


I wouldn't say a list of specific charges but some general charges. So the one that is the most specific is the claim that in 1996 she went on a spy mission to China to Guangxi province and, you know, spied for the FBI. And, I mean, there's a number of issues with that. I mean, one of them is that I have all kinds of evidence that Sandy did not go to China in 1996. I have the evidence of her passport. I have the evidence of her paystubs.

I mean, she was a full-time employee of the Houston Police Department as a secretary, a clerk typist, when she allegedly was doing the spy work. The paystubs show that she'd taken 11 hours off during the time in question. I've also got a newspaper article that she appeared in. So, I mean, we have a fair amount of evidence that shows that she was not in China in 1996.

Why would the Chinese government be interested in putting your wife in prison if there wasn't something that made them suspicious?

So this is not the police that investigate regular crimes. This is the, you know, China Ministry of State Security. This is a bunch of spies. They don't trust anybody. And in point of fact, I mean, they look at people involved in nonprofit work like my wife with a great deal of suspicion. And the fact of the matter is the state security has sent a number of people to the U. S.  to spy, and the FBI has been catching these people. And I am sure that the Ministry of State Security is just not very happy about that.

turn 2 : asking why the Chinese government is interested in putting your wife in prison. The actual meaning of the turn is to ask why the Chinese government is suspicious of your wife's activities.

How many hours did Sandy take off during the time in question?

Answer: 11


Well, about five years ago, when we started the project, it was actually the internal project name, and we had a series of scientists and engineers trying to think about how we could make glass tougher, more resistant to damage. And someone in the room just threw it out and said gorilla, and it stuck, and it became the product name.

And tell us about the history. Wasn't Corning experimenting with a super-tough glass back in the '60s?

Yeah, we sure were. Back in the early '60s, we had a product that we actually launched called Chemcor. The basic principles of trying to strengthen glass were the same, but we were targeting different applications to include automotive and safety glasses.

And so why is it not in automotive and safety glass?

turn 0 : The name 'gorilla' was not related to gorillas at all.

Answer: Thrown


The numbers you've tossed around show you how expensive. People have been able to do experiments. They've found all kinds of really interesting possibly valuable properties, but nothing, no industry is really going to start until they can make enough of this stuff cheaply to use it.

Until now, most of the ways of making it started with this first step: Get some really pure, really expensive chemicals that you're going to mix in and do the next stuff. Huge expense. What Jim Tour down in Houston discovered and showed is that anything that's got carbon in it you can turn into graphene.

And to demonstrate that he meant anything, he did it with Girl Scout cookies. He turned those into graphene. He did it with chocolate. He got some chocolate half-dollar coins. He did it with dog feces from a miniature Dachshund, and he did it with a cockroach leg. And essentially he just got a really big oven, heated it up to about 1,000 degrees C and filled that oven with a little bit of this stuff, the cockroach or the dog feces, whatever, and a sheet of pure copper and a little bit of gas, left it for about 20 minutes, and viola, he'd made little bits of really high-quality graphene.

Wow.

turn 0 : Numbers tossed around implies that they did some calculations for the cost

How did Jim Tour turn Girl Scout cookies into graphene?

Answer: Oven


That's right. And the U. S.  scientists had been very disappointed in the '58 Brussels fair because they felt the Russians had outshone us in terms of science. And they said we need to do something. And the Seattle guys came along and said, we want to do a fair. You want a science fair. That's what this will be about. The Space Needle was designed to be a symbol of the kind of uplift that science and technology represented to the world.

When they broke ground on the Space Needle, it was literally the same time that the Berlin Wall was being built. And it became this kind of symbol about the difference between us and the Soviets. They were putting up barbwire. We were putting up a vista to the world.

Talking with Knute Berger on SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow here at - in Seattle at the Pacific Science Center right next to the Space Needle. If it were to be built today, would anything be built differently about it, structurally or design-wise or is it almost a perfect needle?

You know, I asked the engineer who's still alive who worked on it. I asked him that exact question. I said what would you today?And he said, basically, we wouldn't anything different. He said we could take some of the weight out of it. They overbuilt it. He. . .

turn 2 : He wants to know if the tower is perfect as is or should it be changed.

What question did PersonB ask about the Space Needle's design?

Answer: Built


I understand, Mr.  Doyle, that you and other members of the Watergate investigation team still with us - well, you have reunions now and then. And I gather for the first time you had a reunion on the actual anniversary of the Saturday Night Massacre. What are the - my 15 year old now says, you know, what's the tea?What went on there?

Three weeks ago, Saturday night October 20, the Watergate Special Prosecution Force held a reunion. It was the 45th anniversary of the Saturday Night Massacre. None of the senior leaders are any longer with us. But the young idealists who had been in their 20s back when we began, they all showed up in their 60s and 70s as earnest as ever, as idealistic as ever and still full of hope.

Sorry.

No, I think someone was talking to you, telling you that, I think, we're running out of time. But did you want to make the final point?

turn 1 : The young idealists who attended the reunion are still passionate and hopeful despite their age

How were the young idealists at the reunion?

Answer: Passionate


We've been going on the assumption - I suppose largely from movies - that dinosaurs made a big noise. They're such big creatures. Why do you think we're wrong.

Most dinosaur sounds are based on models that are more like lions and tigers and bears. And we know that the two groups of animals alive today that are most closely related to extinct dinosaurs are birds and crocodilians. In fact, birds are living dinosaurs.

So you look at the way birds make noises?

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.

turn 0 : (1) We've been going on the assumption - I suppose largely from movies - that dinosaurs made a big noise. Actual meaning: We have been mistakenly assuming that dinosaurs were very loud creatures based on what we have seen in movies.

Which aspect of vocal behavior did the study focus on?

Answer: Resonate


Hmm. Was this a candidate for the - one of your Ig Nobel Prizes?

Everything's a candidate for the Ig Nobel Prize. This one has not won. But the disturbing thing here is what it says that - is that there's a lot of science out there done over generations that assumes that damage to bones had to come from teeth or from knives beforehand. Now we know a lot of damage to bones happens from the chemicals inside the body. So there's a lot science out there that people believe in that may not be quite so correct.

And is that one of the reasons why you put a lot of these stories together in your book, to talk about what science is out there that people may not be aware of?

Yeah, yeah. And I'd like to say that this particular story, by the way, I'm kind of happy with the headline I came up with for that. I called it "The Tasting of the Shrew. "

turn 1 : Not all scientific beliefs are accurate, even if widely accepted.

How does the speaker describe the damage to bones?

Answer: Chemicals


So you have companies like Altria, a tobacco giant, that sent four representatives right in the middle of this decision-making process. Altria, several years later, went on to buy a 35% stake in the company Juul, which was the most popular e-cigarette among teens. So you certainly see representation from the tobacco companies showing up at the Office of Management and Budget during this time frame.

Can I just clarify that, 'cause I think many people might find it curious that the tobacco companies were involved here because I think a lot of people have the impression that e-cigarettes are an alternative to tobacco products?I mean, the whole point was to get people to stop using tobacco products. That's not true?

Very interesting point that you make. And that's a question that many federal officials are trying to get to the bottom of right now. Even in Congress, Senator Durbin is on top of this issue. You've seen companies like Juul arguing that they are an alternative to tobacco, that they're even a safe alternative to tobacco. But, of course, giant tobacco companies have a large stake in the company. So a lot of people are wondering the same thing you're wondering - how can that be?

So when you approached former Obama administration officials to ask them what happened there, what did they say?

turn 0 : Altria is an extremely large tobacco company that sent representatives.

Which company had representatives present during the decision-making process?

Answer: Altria


It is. There is an auction being held out of Boston that is auctioning off the first Hasselblad camera to fly in space. This was the first professional quality camera that astronauts used to photograph the Earth.

Now, since it went to space and since it was the first thing of its kind to go to space, what sort of price is that going to bring?

It's really hard to tell. This is a fascinating piece of history and just to put this into some perspective, another Hasselblad camera that's sort of the direct lineage of this camera - that was said to have flown to the moon - sold earlier this year for nearly a million dollars. And that camera had a lot of questions about its history. This one has a really solid history in terms of - we know what astronauts used it, we know how it was obtained. So there's a lot of excitement about the possibility of this camera setting a new record, maybe breaking the seven figure amount.

Robert Pearlman is the editor of an online magazine called collectSPACE. Mr.  Pearlman, thank you for talking to us.

turn 2 : "This is a fascinating piece of history and just to put this into some perspective, another Hasselblad camera that's sort of the direct lineage of this camera - that was said to have flown to the moon - sold earlier this year for nearly a million dollars." - Actual meaning

Which camera sold earlier this year for nearly a million dollars?

Answer: Another


A lot of people are very skeptical of the talks. The government, before even going to Geneva, voiced their concern that they're not going to Geneva to negotiate or deal. They just wanted to go to Geneva to make sure that the Houthis will comply when the U. N.  see a resolution. So to begin with, the political parties were in Geneva not to talk, not for dialogue, not to negotiate. They were there for blinking contests.

And what's the mood there in the capital?

A lot of people are depressed 'cause pretty much everybody was hoping that there's going to be some sort of a truce, especially now that it's the month of Ramadan. It is the holy month for four weeks where people fast. People - they don't actually have food to begin with. But it's a religious month where people fast, so we were hoping for some sort of a cease-fire, some sort of a truce where the blockade will be lifted so that the aid will come in, so that the commercial vessels now stuck at the seaports will be allowed to move in. Yemen imports 90 percent of its food, so we're in dire need of those commercial vessels to be allowed into the country. Unfortunately, the Geneva talks ended without the lifting of the blockade, without a truce being agreed upon.

We should explain to our listeners that blockade has been led by Saudi naval forces to keep weapons out of the hands of rebels. You have said that you're both anti-Houthi and anti-airstrikes. How do you solve one problem without the other?

turn 3 : "solve one problem without the other" - This is a figurative way of describing a difficult situation where two interconnected problems must be addressed together, rather than separately. It does not literally mean that one problem must be solved without the other.

How does turn 3 describe the situation where two interconnected problems must be addressed together?

Answer: Interconnected


Well, it's just so different as to be almost unrecognizable to everything else they ever do. Well, first of all, there are over 4,000 credentialed members of the media. I have met many of these people, and I question their credentials. (Soundbite of laughter) But aside from the crush and the demands on their time, it is a weird travel schedule.

For a regular game, there is usually a week between games in the NFL. And a team will arrive in the visiting team's city usually, maybe, a day before the game. Here they arrive almost a week before the game. And that is just to accommodate the fact that the Super Bowl is this huge corporate affair, this huge media affair. So it's interviews and a little bit of practice, and interviews and a little bit of practice. And if a team losses focus, it could really hurt them come Sunday.

It sounds like a pretty intense week. Now, let's say I were a betting woman. Does this kind of hectic schedule favor one team over the other?

Well, you know, even if you weren't a betting woman, even if you were someone with, you know, who lives and dies with the Steelers or who bleeds Cardinals Burgundy - I think there probably are people like that - you might say that the Pittsburgh Steelers might have the edge, because in general, they are the more experienced team, having been to and won a Super Bowl just three years ago.

turn 0 : The comment about questioning their credentials is a joke. 'A' is just joking that some non-reporters are obtaining journalist credentials to see the game for free.

What is PersonA's opinion on whether the Steelers have an advantage in the Super Bowl?

Answer: Edge


And there was hell to pay. And there was hell to pay, first weeks, then months, then years, then decades. This story did not go away. And, you know, an assassin was hired to go to Tuskegee to kill Booker T.  Washington. He was pursued wherever he went. Theodore Roosevelt was criticized in ways that presidents were not criticized. There were vulgar cartoons of Mrs.  Roosevelt that had never been done before. This was all new territory.

Obviously, the president was criticized but it did not prevent his re-election a couple of years later.

No, it didn't. But there were some interesting spinning sessions that went on among Republicans. One, was to turn the dinner into lunch because it seems that lunch would be a less objectionable meal, and. . .

. . . so the story went that, no, you know, Booker T.  Washington didn't go to the dining room at the White House. He was sitting in the office, and they got hungry and they ordered a tray. And by the time they were finished, there was barely a sandwich on it. And that seemed to make the meal a little more palatable in the South. But - and this persisted for decades actually until finally in the '30s, a journalist asked Mrs.  Roosevelt, was it lunch or was it dinner?And she checked her calendar and she said, it was most definitely dinner.

turn 0 : "And there was hell to pay" - this is an idiomatic expression meaning that there were severe consequences or punishment for something that happened. It does not literally mean that there was a payment made to the devil or hell.

What was the consequence of something that happened according to turn 0?

Answer: consequence


The director of the U. S.  Census Bureau, John H.  Thompson, announced his retirement this week in the wake of a disagreement with Congress over funding for the 2020 census. The census is conducted every 10 years. The results determine how many seats in Congress and electoral votes that each state receives, and it helps guide how more than $400 billion is spent each year on education, health and infrastructure.

We're joined now by Robert Groves. He's former director of the U. S.  Census Bureau. He's now the provost of Georgetown University. Mr.  Groves, thanks so much for being with us.

Good morning. Great to be with you.

Congress has approved nearly $1. 5 billion to fund the census this fiscal year, and it's supposed to be the same for next year. Is that enough?

turn 3 : (4) implies that Congress' budget for the census may be insufficient for the project.

Which budget may be insufficient according to turn 3?

Answer: Budget


. . . Battles. Yes. It was bloody, but it was also joyous because we're - all three of us - just super fans of Nancy Hale's.

I mean, people always ask fiction writers - as you would know better than anyone - how much of your writing, how much of your protagonist is you. And writers always say, it's fiction. You know, I made it all up. But you write that with Hale, it's - it actually really matters to know what her life story was when you're reading these stories.

You know, every story that a fiction writer writes has something of them in them. And I had to go through her story and sort of understand where they came from in her life. She wrote so close to the bone to her own life in many ways, and you can see herself in her characters in these stories - in a lot of them.

All right. So let's get to some of the stuff she writes about because she writes about things that are uncomfortable to discuss today in 2019 - must have been incredibly edgy at the time she was writing some of these. She writes about mothers feeling ambivalent about their children. She writes about how oppressive marriage can be. She writes beautifully about female desire. I actually wanted to let you read a little bit from one of her stories, titled "Midsummer. "

turn 3 : her stories were not what people were usually reading and the topics of them were not what was normally talked about.

How were Nancy Hale's stories perceived by people?

Answer: Uncomfortable


Yeah. Marianne really is a kind of civilian commander, (laughter) in all ways, of this group, isn't she?

Yeah. In the preface of the book, we see the resisters originally coming together and starting to think of conspiring. And in the context of that, Marianne offers to be the commander of widows and orphans, should it come to that. And it's sort of an offer she makes somewhat in jest. It doesn't feel real at that time - that it could get to that level. But then in the end, her own words come back to haunt her. And that's what inspires her to bring the other two together and to keep searching for others, as well.

I want to be careful with historical analogies because Nazi Germany is the precedent that people - it seems of all political stripes - cite as the nightmare we want to avoid. But what about readers who see parallels between the 1930s Germany in your book and in history and anything we're living through today.

I think, for me, what I felt was really relevant when I was writing this book was the question of - what did ordinary Germans, the people whose lives sort of touched very peripherally on the darkness experienced during that time - and how did they let this happen?How did they either not see it or blind themselves to it?

turn 2 : Implied meaning: The speaker's use of a certain metaphor or analogy suggests they are drawing a comparison to another concept in order to illustrate their point or express a deeper meaning.

Which metaphor or analogy did the speaker use?

Answer: Metaphor


The United Nation says it's made an agreement that will gradually release 3,000 child soldiers from an armed group in South Sudan. The children are between 11 and 17 years of age. They have spent their childhoods fighting and killing for a group called the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra faction. Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF's South Sudan representative, says these children have been forced to do and see things that no child should ever experience. Sudan has a long history of civil war and using children for war. Only a few of the thousands of children who get captured and dragged into the conflict manage to escape. Emmanuel Jal did. He's now an actor and musician in Toronto, who had a role in last year's film "The Good Lie. "He was 8 years old when he became a child soldier.

Most of us have seen our homes burned down, have seen terrible things happen. So, I mean, I witness one of my aunt raped in our home area. And witnessing and seeing my home village burned down and then when we're told that I'm going to be given skills and a gun to fight the people who did that to my homeland, there was not much for me to be convinced.

What was life for you like as a child soldier?

It's hell seeing 6, 7 years old burying their own dead. Nobody's going to give them questions when they're beginning to ask questions. Simple questions - why are we here?Where's my mommy?That's when you get to know, like, these are children sometimes when the terrible things happen.

turn 1 : Emmanuel Jal was willing to join the army, because he wanted revenge for the people who caused harm to his home and family.

What motivated Emmanuel Jal to become a child soldier?

Answer: Revenge


Thank you for having me with you.

So, let's start with what exactly they are.

Okay. Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors. They're growth of muscle within the uterine wall. And sometimes they can be the size of a dime, and because of their location, they give you severe symptoms. And rarely, they can get to be the size of a basketball before they're recognized.

That's sounds pretty horrific.

It can be. It's amazing how much difficulty they can give to women that, in general, women can have severe menstrual bleeding - the kind of bleeding that keeps you home from work or keeps you from being able to do your daily activities - or they can press on a lot body structures. And they are very common, and it's surprising that so few women know that they have fibroids and that their symptoms may be related to them.

Now, research shows that about 25 percent of women in America are going to show some symptoms of fibroids, but they occur a lot more often in black women than white women. How much more often and why do scientists think that is?

turn 0 : Thank you for having me with you. Implicated meaning: Expressing gratitude for the invitation or hospitality.

Answer: Thank


Yeah.

So trains stopped running. Water supplies were disrupted. Gas stations couldn't pump gas, so there were long lines at those stations that could. Phones and the Internet were disrupted. It happened on a day in Argentina - in parts of Argentina, where there were gubernatorial elections. These actually still went ahead, but people had to use their cellphones. . .

Wow.

. . . To give themselves enough light to vote by. And it also happened on Father's Day, when people were hoping to go out for Sunday lunch but had to cancel because, you know, restaurants and businesses were shut. It took all day to get the lights completely back on; they are now back on. But people have a lot of questions about what precisely happened and what's going on in the region.

turn 1 : The power outage caused chaos and inconvenience to people's lives.

Which event caused disruption in Argentina?

Answer: Poweroutage


I mean, your site gets something like seven million visitors a month?

Yeah.

Wow.

So that, that audience helps too, having those people, you know, kind of at bay, you know, willing to sort of jump in at, like, my command and help out when necessary. And like I said before, a lot of those people who read my site are also Tesla fans, so that's sort of a double reason for them to be willing to commit to a campaign like this.

turn 3 : The audience of the site is willing to support the campaign when needed

Answer: Campaign


It's something that I think I've kind of really kind of gotten used to it over the years. But back when we really started taken off, it would be really strange to walk into a room with 20,000 people and you were the only African-American person in the room. I mean that happened a lot. And it's one of the things where I really had to come to grips with it.

I mean, I chose this life. I chose this job. This is what I wanted to do and, you know, I just - now it's no big deal, it's just the way it is. I love my job and I'm not going to change my job. So that just comes with the territory.

There's so many, what I call racial sharing moments going on right now and we, you know, we take them seriously, but we can also laugh at them. But sometimes have you ever felt that people ask you to be their guide into some greater understanding of blackness?

Oh, absolutely. You know, I've been playing Hootie & the Blowfish for 23 years, and we, you know, we've been doing' it. And I think my friends use me as a - like you said, as a vehicle to experience - and I know a lot of people that probably when they met me were pretty racist people, that are now really good friends of mine.

turn 2 : Some people expect the speaker to provide insights into black culture and use him as an example to improve their understanding of it.

Answer: Guide