Rabbi, how are you and the other people doing this profound work doing, feeling, thinking about?

Well, I cannot speak for anyone else. I can only answer you the same answer I've given everyone since Saturday night when they've asked how I'm doing. And the answer is, ask me in a few days. And I'll try to figure it out. Right now I'm not - I'm focused on what I and others - there's so many people working day and night on this issue and on other communal issues. It's inspiring to see. But right now I haven't even allowed myself to cry because if I do, I will fall apart. And I will not be able to do what has to be done. As the days go by, it's getting harder and harder for me to push those tears back. So I'm going to probably need a corner soon just to fall apart in. But right now we have work to do.

At some point, Rabbi Wasserman, that synagogue becomes a place of worship once again. Will that be difficult for you?

Well, that's not my synagogue. I'm the rabbi at one of the other synagogues.

turn 1 :  by person A is different from its literal meaning. While the words used in the turn are clear, the intended meaning is metaphorical. Person A is saying that they are emotionally overwhelmed but are trying to maintain their composure to continue doing the necessary work. The phrase "fall apart" is not meant to be taken literally, but rather as a figurative expression for losing control or breaking down emotionally.

How does person PersonA feel about crying?

Answer: Hard


No. There have not been significant infrastructure improvements since that storm. County voters passed a $2. 5 billion bond a year ago, but these projects take time, and most are still in the design phase. They haven't started construction. And the city of Houston doesn't have a comparable funding source, and so the city and county are both mostly waiting on federal aid for disaster recovery. And that's been extremely slow to arrive.

Help me understand this a little bit better here. Is there a political consensus in the area about what needs to be done?Does that exist?

Probably mostly yes to that. I think people agree that we need to do more projects, dig more detention basins, accelerate widening and deepening of the bayous, the streams and rivers that run through the area. I think most people are generally on the same page about that. It's just a question of money. But you've got to remember that our infrastructure, even at current standards, is only designed to accommodate maybe one or two inches of rain per hour, and the county got four, five, six inches of rain in one hour. And some areas got 30 inches in little more than a day, when our region usually - the city usually gets 50 inches of rain in a year. No infrastructure system is going to be able to handle that kind of storm without flooding.

Maybe people aren't ready for this conversation yet. Are people marrying the bigger conversation about climate change with the local conversation about infrastructure?Are people ready to talk about that?

turn 3 : Marrying two topic implies that people are grouping them together even if they are different.

How are people connecting climate change and infrastructure in the local conversation?

Answer: Money


They can get federal aid. They can get the Pell Grant. In Illinois, they can get state aid, which is up to $5,000 year. And they can qualify for university aid. They can qualify for university scholarships for needy students.

What's been the reaction to your story so far?

There's been a lot of outrage. The thing is there's only a finite amount of money. It's not limitless. So that is true for federal aid, state aid and university aid. So money that is going to these families who would not otherwise be eligible for it means that that's money that is not going to a student who really needs it. In Illinois, for example, last year, there were 82,000 students who were eligible for the state grant who did not get it because the state ran out of money.

Have you heard from federal aid officials?Has anyone weighed in on this?

turn 3 : to weight in on something means to give an opinion on something

How can you describe the meaning of "weighed in on"?

Answer: opinion


DR.  GABRIEL FITZPATRICK: Well, all I can say is we too in this area are having some positive news stories from patients who have recovered from of Ebola, but this is not due to any experimental medical treatment which is available. When a patient is admitted here with Ebola, they're given various forms of supportive medical treatment such as anti-malaria treatments or spectrum antibiotics, which can treat chest infections, urinary tract infections. And they're also provided IV hydration if that's required. And these have some effects on reducing the mortality rates associated with Ebola, but there are - I have to say - not a treatment for Ebola.

Seven out of 10 patients that you admit for treatment with Ebola die. It must be going through your mind what have they done there at Emory in Atlanta that we might be able to use here because they seemingly saved two lives there.

In the situation I am working here at the moment, we have no experience with any experimental drugs. And I am not in a position to comment on that because we are here at the invitation of Sierra Leone. And we cannot do things that break the law, only with possibly faced expulsion. So everything we have done is in conjunction with the government of Sierra Leone. And we will continue to do that. But obviously MSF welcomes any new novel treatments. They should be made available as quickly as possible to patients if they're found to be of adequate value.

Dr.  Fitzpatrick, I am told you have a family back in Dublin?

turn 3 : Is Dr. Fitzpatrick worried about his family in Dublin due to the risks of his work in Sierra Leone?

What risks is Dr. Fitzpatrick facing in Sierra Leone?

Answer: Health


Does an event like this and forecast like that have the effect of concentrating the mind of not just financial planners. . .

. . . but people in Congress making these decisions. And I hear a little laugh.

You would think it would. And in the past, it has. I mean, as they gotten closer to the deadline, enough fear spread that they could pass something or do something or kick the can or whatever. But this time, one of the things that makes this time feel different is that there really are a lot of House Republicans who say, ah, let it default. It'll just shrink the government, will be all good. And it is an act of - I don't even know how to describe it. It's insanity.

Yeah. Well, Austan Goolsbee, I believe, used that word. Quick last question, if we could. So, October 17th is a real deadline but you think some of the effects, potentially, will be down the road.

turn 0 : The phrase "concentrating the mind" is a figurative expression meaning that the event and forecast are likely to focus the attention of not just financial planners, but also people in Congress making decisions.

Answer: Concentrating


The bottleneck. That's this place where this column of ice fell. It tore away lines, fixed ropes that people used to get up and down there. This is a narrow passageway. So you were almost there. And how far is that from the peak of the mountain?

Quite a ways. But, of course, climbing times vary based on people's physical fitness and mental alertness at that altitude, as there's very little oxygen.

At the point where you decided to turn around, just below the bottleneck, the place that later became such a problem, how late in the day was that, and what were the weather conditions like there?

I decided to turn around at around eight o'clock in the morning. And it was - there, it was actually almost too hot. We normally (unintelligible) down suits because the temperature is around minus 20, even on a perfect day. But we were all quite warm.

turn 0 : The bottleneck is a dangerous area and caused problems for climbers.

Which passageway caused problems for climbers?

Answer: Bottleneck


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

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

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

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

turn 1 : "Voyager is science." - actual meaning: Voyager is a scientific mission that involves discovering and understanding the universe.

How would you describe the Voyager mission?

Answer: Scientific


They still want the same things they wanted on Tuesday, but because of the heavy-handed security tactics, they're also now saying that they want the Iraqi army and the Iraqi security forces to stop firing on them. What they - overwhelmingly, what you hear is, we are Iraqi. We are the people of this country. Why are you firing at us?We have a right to protest.

And what is the scene tonight?This is Friday. This is typically a day of rest in Iraq. Is - are the streets quiet right now?

Well, the curfew has now been in place, you know, almost 36 hours. There are checkpoints every 300 meters. One of my Iraqi friends actually turned around to me and said, this feels like it was during the height of the invasion and the occupation of Iraq in. . .

Wow.

turn 0 : The tactics used were very dangerous and deadly to the protestors.

Which word describes the level of danger of the tactics used?

Answer: Dangerous


Yes, absolutely. And to all of who are - and even though I don't do it anymore, I mean, it's like really once a clown always a clown. Once you've been a real performing clown you realize you've tapped into something big and universal and eternal. It's a frustration to us because clown, which was a word that used to be associated with joy and laughter and happiness, now has a lot of negative connotations to it. You know, you got characters like Crusty the Clown on "The Simpsons" and there are members of Congress.

By the way, isn't it amazing this year I think there's a record number of members of Congress who are retiring at the same time there's a shortage of clowns?What doesn't work here?

I'm reacting almost reflexively with regret and woe over a clown shortage. But I'm wondering, I mean, you know, there are not as many shepherds as there used to be. Is this just - to my knowledge - is this just something we have to. . .

They certainly are in my living room.

turn 1 : In (2), the speaker is using humor to point out the irony of a record number of Congress members retiring at a time when there is a shortage of clowns. The actual meaning is not that there is a real shortage of clowns.

What is the PersonA's reaction to the shortage of clowns in the dialogue?

Answer: Humor


Ron, tomorrow, President Obama will sign the stimulus bill in Denver, and then it's on to Phoenix, and then, he'll round out the end of the week with a trip to Canada. Why so much travel?

I think he's learning from the last few weeks. When he stayed in D. C. , the economic stimulus package got stalled. When he got back on the road, got back on the stump, the energy in the atmosphere changed quickly. And being the campaign Barack. being in campaign mode, talking back to Washington from out in the country, that worked better than being the Washington Barack Obama talking to the country. He wants this symbolic energy to be flowing in that direction. He wants to be the voice of the people talking to the federal government, not the symbol of the federal government talking to the people.

NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving. Thanks, Ron.

Thank you.

turn 1 : Obama wants to be seen as the voice of the people.

Which city will President Obama visit after Denver?

Answer: Chicago


Now I'm more self-assured, and - but the thing now, which is funny, is that my kids sort of act the way parents, I think, act for most people, you know, when they're teenagers, that I sneak around dating under the noses of my kids. So when they're asleep in the other room, I can have a date and close the door and, you know, not have them know about it.

Have you ever been busted?

No. That's what I have locks on the doors. I'm very good about that.

One time when we were - you know, when I was engaged after the divorce, and I remember one night, the next morning my son said something like, you know, were you hurt last night?Something about the noises he heard the night before, and that was horrifying.

turn 3 : "Something about the noises he heard the night before, and that was horrifying." - The literal meaning is that the son heard noises the night before, which were scary or upsetting. However, the actual meaning is that the son may have overheard the person having sexual activity, which was embarrassing and uncomfortable for the person to hear.

How was the son feeling after hearing the noises?

Answer: Embarrassing


Well, do you know, patients liked me 'cause I was really jolly and nice and what they didn't realize is they'd probably been much better off with some mumbling introvert who actually knew something. And in fact, I dreaded it. And my only happy day as a doctor was one sunny summer day where we got no admissions at all and I sat on the lawn outside the hospital and read "The Longest Journey" by E.  M.  Forster. That was the only happy day, and in the end, I didn't go back. And I thought, well, what could I do?I'm not qualified for anything else. I thought, the only thing I've done is comedy. And I applied for and got a job with BBC Light Entertainment in radio.

I am among those that think that British humor is one of the great forces for civilization in the world.

(Laughter).

But that being noted, it must be rough to - a challenge to take a comic approach to the Blitz, which is, in a sense, the great national heroic story of Britain.

turn 1 :  The speaker is not only expressing admiration for British humor but also implying that it has been a positive force in the world. (3) The speaker is expressing amusement and agreement with the previous statement, not simply laughing for no reason. (4) The speaker is expressing admiration for the challenge of using comedy to tell the story of the Blitz, not simply noting the difficulty of doing so.

Which story did the speaker read on their only happy day as a doctor?

Answer: Journey


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

(Laughter).

It got downgraded in the intervening years.

That seems so unfair.

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

What emotion do the people who sent the probe feel about Pluto's downgrade?

Answer: Disappointed


Let's go deeper, linguistically into this. When, at the time that I spoke with Reverend Jackson, and this was yesterday, we believed, knowing what we did, we being most of the press, that he had said that Senator Obama had emasculated himself. As it turned out, the phrase was much rougher and much more, you know, I want to blank, blank, blank. Is there a difference between those two ways, neither of them particularly nice, of parsing out lack of manhood?

Well, you know, I actually read that slightly differently. When I heard about the specific comments and the castration and sort of the anger in which it was delivered, even though it was a whisper of. I immediately began to think back historically about, you know, the ways and which powerful black men, or uppity black men were punished.

And it was, you know, the threat of castration was very real in the 19th century. And there's a moment of irony that Jesse Jackson would want to assert his power, his relevance, to Barack Obama's campaign by placing himself over Barack in a sense in suggesting that he is the man and also capable of taking Barack's manhood away.

Coming up this weekend, we have the start of the NAACP's annual convention and although he has not started yet, Ben Jealous is the incoming president. He's 35. He's going to be the youngest president ever of the NAACP. We seem to be seeing a generational shift overall. Is there going to be blood on the floor, metaphorically, as this shift happens?

turn 1 : Historically, powerful black men have been punished by threats of castration

Which type of threat was very real in the 19th century?

Answer: Castration


And a lot of people might ask, how are you measuring innovation and creativity?

Well, most people measure innovation typically by looking at rates of patenting. Now people have become to track the number of start-up companies emerging in urban centers or the venture capital. And the good news is that cities are upping the ante. New York now, Manhattan is the second highest center for venture capital-backed start-up companies behind only Silicon Valley. But the other caution I wanted to make, and I think you know and folks listening know I'm a dyed-in-the-wool urbanist, that also places like Silicon Valley, which are somewhat car-dependent, can work. They can emulate many of the functions of the city.

So as we begin to build denser cities, the key is not just piling up people in buildings higher and higher and higher and creating vertical suburbs where people just interact in the building, it's to build cities that can be dense, that can have multi-story buildings, that can be close together. But having that interaction is a key part of keeping our cities innovation and creative not only here but in those emerging economies around the world.

Is there a difference in expense as well?Some of those older buildings in New York, hardly any place in Manhattan that anyone would describe as cheap, but they're less expensive in SoHo or Chelsea than they are in one of those big high-rise buildings in Midtown.

turn 1 : Measuring innovation and creativity is not limited to patenting and also includes the number of start-up companies and venture capital.

Which factors measure innovation besides patenting?

Answer: Start-up


We're coming over the initial shock. It's a very strange situation to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. And we have been living in more luxury than almost any other nation on this planet, and now all of a sudden we find ourselves almost like beggars.

You talk about the swift difference between being so wealthy to now being in a totally different place. Is this what everyone - is the average person going through something like this?Or is this just a select few that went from being so wealthy to so not wealthy?

The general public here has been very, very well off. But now people that are starting to lose their jobs - hundreds of people that used to work in the banks have been losing their jobs recently. We know that a lot of companies are going to become bankrupt. We had almost no unemployment in the past years. We've been importing workers from Eastern Europe because we didn't have enough people to work in our companies.

So, how are people coping with this?Are they selling off their belongings?What are they doing?

turn 3 : People may be selling their belongings to cope with the financial crisis.

How are people coping with the financial crisis? (Answer: selling)

Answer: Treasury


Tomorrow, car sales numbers for November are due out, and they're not expected to be good. That could lead to more dealerships shutting down, and that could mean a big loss of revenue for local governments. For example, this year, the state of California has lost at least two billion dollars in sales taxes due to the drop in car sales.

To get a better sense of how local governments are coping, we're joined now by Marshall Bond. He is the city manager for Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Thanks for joining us, and why don't you tell us how many car dealerships are in Monroeville?

Just about every major domestic and foreign manufacturer sells cars here in Monroeville.

And so, how much of your budget comes from the revenue from car sales at these dealerships?

We have a business tax which obviously is, I'd say, probably of that - I'd say total tax is probably about 15 to 20 percent is based upon our related car industry.

turn 0 : Car sales numbers for November are not expected to be good

How much of Monroeville's budget is based on the car industry?

Answer: Budget


Chop, chop into smallish pieces.

OK.

Then you soften eight ounces of cream cheese, and you blend that with two-thirds of a cup of sour cream, get it all nice and smooth and then you spread that over the minced onion.

And you have the ambulance on speed dial, but yeah. . .

turn 1 : Hurry up and get started on the task.

What does PersonA instruct PersonB to chop?

Answer: cream-cheese


Well, this administration - officials from this administration have offered very strongly worded commitments to implement - reimplement - sanctions lifted under the Iran nuclear accord and add on more sanctions on non-nuclear areas pursuant to their concerns about ballistic missiles and terrorism.

Would the effect of unilateral sanctions, as you see it, be enough to force Tehran to decide, no, we want to stay in the agreement and maybe even make one that the U. S.  will accept?

Well, that depends on how other countries respond to the U. S.  imposition and reimposition of these nuclear sanctions. Will the international community join the United States?Will they stand back and not directly challenge the United States?I think what Tehran will respond to most is what the Europeans in particular do to challenge the United States and its reimposition of sanctions or not.

And based on your experience, Ms.  Rosenberg, how much do France and the U. K.  and Germany want to be different than U. S.  policy in this regard?

turn 1 : Unilateral sanctions might force Tehran to reconsider their decision to stay in the agreement

Which country's response to the U.S. imposition of sanctions will Tehran respond to most?

Answer: Europeans


Do you have to be a certain kind of person in order to do this and do it well and get satisfaction from it?

You know what?I don't think so. I think that it could just be anybody. Anybody that genuinely wants to - that inner feeling of just feeling complete and feeling loved, basically. When you feel the love with - inside, then ultimately, it's easier to kind of give to other people and to do this type of work, and I think it's a component that we're all built with.

You've done it for ten years, can you do it for ten more?

Absolutely. Absolutely.

turn 2 : You have done this challenging job for 10 years so do you have the energy/desire to do it for 10 more?

What is the duration of PersonA's experience in the challenging job mentioned in turn 2?

Answer: Ten


NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has been following this story, and she's here now. Dina, scientists and legal experts, they're saying that the evidence against Ivins is really far from foolproof, that there is no smoking gun. What are they concerned about?

Well, a lot of the scientists who have looked at this say that they couldn't - that the FBI couldn't possibly have ruled out everyone who might have matched the anthrax vial or had access to the anthrax vial that they matched to Ivins. And this is basically, without getting too much into the science, this is because anthrax, all you have to do is grow more. So if you had some anthrax, conceivably, from this vial that they linked to Ivins, you could have grown your own source of more of that.

They also can't place him in Princeton, which is where the letters were mailed from, and he has this very distinctive, cramped handwriting that they couldn't match the handwriting on the envelopes. The FBI said it was similar, but there was nothing conclusive there. And there's this broader feeling that he couldn't have possibly accomplished all of this on his own. The plan was too elaborate and too technical for one person to do by themselves.

So what does the FBI say to all those questions?

turn 1 : "grow your own source" - This is a figurative expression that means to cultivate or create more of something, in this case, anthrax bacteria, by using the original sample. It does not refer to actually growing a physical object like a plant or animal.

What is the meaning of "grow your own source"?

Answer: Grow


Yeah. The embassy guards, it's kind of a, you know, a misperception. In any embassy they essentially protect the chancellery in the embassy and the ambassador's residence itself, and particularly to, you know, you get them into a safe place if there is an attack or to - and if that fails, to destroy the classified material and so forth.

They're not responsible for the overall external or internal security of the embassy compound per se. They can augment that and they have if necessary, but there is a diplomatic security mission that does that sort of thing, and then - obviously which didn't happen on this case. You're hoping that you've got a competent external protection from the host nation, which is responsible for the safety of the entire compound.

We're talking with retired Marine Colonel Gary Anderson about lessons learned from before and during the attack in Benghazi. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

And any number of recommendations were made by the Pickering Mullen report. As you look at those, are they going to address the kinds of interagency communications problems that you're worried about?

turn 0 : Embassy guards are not responsible for the overall security of the embassy compound.

What is the main responsibility of embassy guards?

Answer: Embassy


The Staples Singers, Booker T and the MGs, Isaac Hayes and more - but the Stax tale isn't just one of another record company that became an international sensation. It's a story of tragedy - business and personal. But most importantly, it's a tale that features racial harmony in a city with a troubled racial history. In the late '50s and early '60s, Memphis, Tennessee was a city divided.

It was a city that you might say had hate pulsing through its veins.

That's author Robert Gordon. He lives in Memphis. His new book is "Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion. "But Stax didn't start as an explosion of soul. The owners of Stax Records, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton, set out to do something very different.

They were two white siblings. Jim was a white country fiddle player. You just wouldn't believe how far black music was from their minds at the time.

turn 3 : "black music was from their minds" - The literal meaning of this turn is that Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton were not thinking about black music at the time. The implied meaning is that they had no previous interest or exposure to black music, which makes their eventual success in the soul music industry all the more surprising.

How surprising was Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton's success in the soul music industry?

Answer: Surprising


They were part of the crew of the USS Monitor, a celebrated Civil War ship that helped open a new era in naval warfare. The ship was ironclad, powered by steam instead of sails, and supported a rotating gun turret. The Monitor sank in a storm in 1862. Sixteen of 62 men on board went down with their ship. They were thought to be lost forever until 2002. The Monitor was being restored and the remains of two of the sailors were discovered in the turret. We're joined now by historian Anna Holloway. She's curator of the USS Monitor Center in Newport, Virginia. Thank very much for being with us.

Well, thank you so much for having me.

What do we know about these two sailors who have finally been buried?

Well, we still don't know their names, and that is one of the ongoing mysteries about these two heroes of the USS Monitor. However, as you mention, 16 men went down with the vessel, so there are 16 possibilities. Now, forensics tells us a little bit about them - their relative heights, their ages and their race - so that does narrow it down a bit.

turn 2 : There are no turns in the given conversation that have a meaning different from their literal meanings. All the turns convey their literal meanings without any implied or figurative language.

How does turn 2 contribute to the understanding of the conversation?

Answer: Ongoing


What's your greatest regret?

Well, the greatest regret is that we lost the referendum - that I didn't prevail, that we could have fought, perhaps, a better campaign. We could have conducted, perhaps, a better negotiation. Perhaps the timing wasn't right - and that I didn't take the country with me on what I thought was a really important issue. And I resigned because I felt - I didn't fight the referendum as a sort of chairman - on the one hand, on the other hand, you decide. I was wholly on one side of the argument. And so I felt it was right to resign, having lost, because the country needed a new prime minister, a prime minister with a credibility to take us forward and deliver the outcome of the referendum.

But, of course, you know, I will to my dying day wonder whether there was something more we could have done to have secured what I thought was the right outcome, which was to keep Britain in, but to recognize we were, in many ways, the odd one out.

OK.

turn 1 : They regret not trying harder on their campaign for the referendum. They also regret not getting more of the people to support them.

What is the main issue that PersonA regrets about the referendum?

Answer: referendum


Yes. In fact, by far. And that's why the Senate's version of this tax bill largely prevailed in the negotiations with the House over the last few weeks. Before those began, the Senate vote was just a bare majority before they had that big sit-down with the other chamber. And there were several Republican senators on the fence about it, even as yesterday morning dawned. That would include Bob Corker of Tennessee, Marco Rubio of Florida, Susan Collins of Maine.

But now Corker and Rubio are fully on board. Rubio got some more money for the child tax credit. And Bob Corker was objecting to the deficit increase, which is kind of still there, but he says it won't be, maybe, that bad. And he is, of course, a good Republican and a businessman. And he has to like a lot of what's in this bill.

Is this the bill Republicans feel they need to say that they can govern when they have control of the Senate, the House and the presidency?

Indeed. It shows that they can pass a big and complicated piece of legislation that they promised to pass and do it with just their own majorities in both the House and the Senate. It should satisfy the hardcore support base and the donor class that has been growing restive in recent months since the Obamacare repeal failure. And, of course, the jury is out on how many other people it's going to satisfy, including the wage-earners who voted for Donald Trump last year, believing he would be their champion.

turn 0 : (1) The actual meaning is that the Senate's version of the tax bill was more influential in the final negotiations with the House, despite the Senate having a bare majority vote before the negotiations began.

Which version of the tax bill prevailed in the negotiations between the Senate and the House?

Answer: Senate's


From NPR News, I'm Farai Chideya. For Wednesday, February 13th, this is News and Notes.

From NPR News, This s News and Notes. I'm Farai Chideya. The White House race only gets hotter, especially if you're John McCain. Yesterday the Arizona Senator picked up the Potomac primary wins in Washington, D. C.  and Maryland. He also took Virginia, where Mike Huckabee put up a good fight. The victories are edging McCain closer to the GOP candidate seat, and as for the Democrats, yesterday was all Barack Obama. He swept the Potomac Primaries and stacked up key delegate points. Joining me now to sort through the numbers is Ron Elving. He's NPR's senior Washington editor. Hi, Ron.

Hello, Farai.

So how many delegates did McCain pick up?

McCain picked up a little over a hundred, possibly as many as 113, depending on how they sort out Maryland. But he got everything in Virginia, all 30 delegates, despite the fact he only won by nine percentage points. That's the way the Republican rules work. You can win certain winner take all states, no matter what your plurality or majority may be, you get all the delegates. So he did that in Virginia and the District of Columbia and he'll get virtually all of the delegates in Maryland. So he picked up somewhere between 100 and 113 delegates. It puts him pretty much out of sight. He's got more than three times as many as Mike Huckabee.

turn 4 : McCain has a significant lead over Mike Huckabee in terms of delegate count.

Which Republican candidate has a significant lead over Mike Huckabee?

Answer: McCain


Hurricane Dorian is pounding the Carolinas. Parts of downtown Charleston are already flooded. It has weakened since it hit the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm. At least 20 people are confirmed dead there, and that number is expected to rise as recovery efforts are just beginning. Parts of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas are destroyed.

Alex Cepero stayed in the Abacos town of Marsh Harbour, thinking he could ride out the storm with his two dogs, but Hurricane Dorian destroyed his home while he was still inside of it. And I want to warn listeners that this is a wrenching story. Alex, thank you for talking with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

You're welcome.

First of all, are you OK?Were you injured or hurt during the storm?

turn 0 : The impact of Hurricane Dorian resulted in extensive damage and loss of life.

Which natural disaster caused destruction and loss of life as mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: HurricaneDorian.


Well, I think it's been a historical thing. It's not a new thing. Mental illness has always been a mystery. And in ancient times, it was considered to be some kind of supernatural phenomenon, demon possession. In the modern era, meaning the beginning of the 19th century, there was an effort to consider mental disorders as illnesses. But then when researchers attempted to see what the pathology of the illness was in individuals who, when they were living, were ill - when it came to mental illnesses, they couldn't find anything. And I think then what happened is that in the desperation of psychiatrists who, by and large, were the custodians of asylums - as an alternative, people sought treatments, but the treatments turned out to be in retrospect pretty barbaric. And it's only really been in the last 50 years that psychiatry has established a scientific foundation for itself and developed treatments that truly work beyond a shadow of a doubt and are safe. But the lulled attitudes still persists.

Yeah. No name is bigger still, in a way, than Sigmund Freud. What did he get right, and what do we now know was not as helpful?

Well, Freud is undisputedly a towering figure and the most famous person in the history of psychiatry. And in the absence of any scientific theory of mental illness, he introduced concepts that were completely novel to civilization and endure today as valid and have really been given new life in the context of cognitive neuroscience.

What did he get wrong?

turn 1 : "No name is bigger still, in a way" - This phrase is not meant to be taken literally. It means that Sigmund Freud's influence is still significant and widely recognized in the field of psychiatry.

How is Sigmund Freud's influence described in the dialogue?

Answer: Significant


Coastal Texas did have a couple of days to prepare for this storm. People were urged to leave the area. What's your estimation?Did many people take that advice and get out before Harvey hit?

Well, certainly some did. As I was driving in from Austin and San Antonio yesterday, you could see a fair number of cars, you know, going the other direction. So certainly, there were some people that evacuated. But here at the hotel that we're staying, there are hundreds of residents who are from Corpus Christi who decided to hunker it out and stay the night here. You know, there were no mandatory evacuations ordered for Corpus Christi.

Some are beginning to wonder, you know, was that the best plan of action?Had a mandatory evacuation been ordered, they would have had to evacuate the hospitals. And that, you know, picks up a whole series of logistical issues. So you know, as the Texas governor ordered yesterday, if you feel unsafe, if you feel unsecure then you should flee.

And Russell, what do you see for the next few hours and next few days about when conditions might improve and what people have to contend with?

turn 0 : (1) Did many people take that advice and get out before Harvey  hit?

How many cars did PersonA see going the other direction?

Answer: Fair


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

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

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

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

turn 2 : There have been no serious discussions of safeguards for the return of the Rohingya, despite their forced relocation and massive abuses.

What is the main issue with the return of the Rohingya?

Answer: safeguards


Hey, Tony.

So, a recent New York Times article detailed Oprah Winfrey's growing influence, I should say, in Saudi Arabia, of all places. What's that about?

Well, yeah. "The Oprah Show" first broadcast in Saudi Arabia in November 2004, and it became an instant hit with women 25 and younger in that country, according to the Times. Now, the article reads, in a country where the sexes are separated, Ms.  Winfrey provides many young women with new ways of thinking without striking them, or Saudi Arabia's ruling authorities as subversive. So, you know, Oprah, love her or hate her, is always a flash point for conversation. And on our blog, Jessica writes, it's amazing to see a down to earth black woman from Mississippi appeal to so many different people here in the U. S.  and in other countries. Another reader named Zakita Jones(ph) says, I'm awed at how fast different forms of globalization are taking off and reaching other countries, but Candice James(ph) writes, Oprah works my last nerve. Saudi Arabia can have her!

Speaking of women's issues, another hot topic on our blog this week, women who are choosing to be single mothers. What's been the response?

turn 2 : Oprah Winfrey's show provides young Saudi Arabian women new ideas.

How is Oprah influencing young Saudi Arabian women?

Answer: Newideas


This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer sitting in for Scott Simon.

The Silk Road, the centuries-old trade route that the West traditionally associates with Marco Polo, is believed to have brought silk and pasta from China all the way to Italy. Of course, it didn't happen quite like that. History always depends upon the teller of the story. And we have a new version from Jen Lin-Liu. She's an American food writer who lives and works in China.

She's written a book called "On the Noodle Road," and she joins us now from our bureau in Beijing. Welcome to the program.

Thank you, Linda.

How is Jen Lin-Liu connected to the Silk Road?

Answer: Food


That's what won, finally, the attention of the old man. And only when he was tough did the old man respect him. And I think when his father became incapacitated, Bobby began to resort to who he was as a kid. As a kid, he was - he hung around all the time with African-American kids. Those were his playmates, even in Hyannis. He was - he, you know, Father Feeney - when Father Feeney said no salvation outside the Catholic Church, he railed against that, which was so extraordinary in that very Catholic family.

You know, Ralph Bunche - he insisted that that great African-American statesman get to speak to a integrated audience at UVA when he was in charge of the lecture series down there. There's all kinds of evidence of Bobby in the beginning being a liberal in the best sense of that word. And I think it just came more to life after Jack was gone and after the old man was out of action.

Well, I think the hardest thing for him - and to me, the sweetest part of the book - was his evolution on Joe McCarthy. There's no doubt that he loved the guy. It came through right to the end when he was driving in the car at National Airport. And Kathleen, his young daughter, said he was so stricken by the news that McCarthy had just drank himself to death at Bethesda Naval Hospital that he drove around the airport three times. He was just distraught.

turn 2 :  (3) Will American voters these days - and donors and journalists, for that matter - let a public figure change in public the way Robert Kennedy did?

Which figure in particular was Robert Kennedy able to change in public that has raised concerns about public figures changing?

Answer: public


But instead the executives went in with the don't-tell-us-what-to-do approach, and they overplayed their hand. And this has happened before in the EU with the massive privacy law and billion-dollar fines. It's clear Europe is giving big tech a smackdown. And Google, whose motto used to be, don't be evil, might consider a new motto - play nice.

So what do these new rules mean for, say, artists, for creators?How helpful is all of this to them?

Well, there could be a fascinating rift here. Last summer, Sir Paul McCartney from the Beatles - OK?- he wrote an open letter to the European Parliament. He said, music and culture matter. They don't just happen. The companies exploit artists' work. And he wanted the law overhauled. But he's a big-time artist with lawyers who can produce copyright documents - right?- and negotiate agreements with Google.

Yeah.

turn 1 : Implied meaning: The speaker is subtly suggesting that the other person is being unreasonable or unrealistic in their expectations or demands.

Which person is being suggested as unreasonable or unrealistic in their expectations or demands?

Answer: Other


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

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

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

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

turn 0 : kicked around means people are talking about it quite frequently

What is the name of the blog mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Season


You know, let's come back to the Large Hadron Collider because if you talk about things, if you talk about this theme, there's much more to the universe than meets the eye, the other one that you know well is the prediction from string theory and similar theories that there are extra dimensions. And one of the ways to look for things like extra dimensions or shadow universes is to look for the leakage of material from our universe into their universe.

And let me use the LHC. One way to look for evidence of extra dimensions would be to carefully look at collisions that take place at the Large Hadron Collider and look for some of the energy to disappear. And what's interesting about that technique is when I put there's - when I say there's much more to the universe than meets the eye, the top of my list would be neutrinos, and we now know neutrinos exist. We can't see them with the eye, but we can build detectors to detect them. And the original evidence for the neutrino was missing energy in beta decays that were observed in the early part of the last century and then poly-hypothesize this particle, the neutrino. And eventually, we built detectors that were sensitive enough. So this technique of looking for energy leaking out of our universe going elsewhere is a very powerful technique for looking for things that we can't see.

Michael Turner, a pleasure as always to come have you come on and explain this stuff to us. Thanks a lot, Michael.

Glad to be on.

turn 3 : the literal and actual meanings are the same. The speakers are simply exchanging pleasantries and expressing gratitude for the conversation

How did PersonB respond to Michael's explanation?

Answer: Thanks


Not a bad thing. Oh, yes. But my favorite apple that's in the book - that's mentioned in the book - is called the Pitmaston Pineapple. And it tastes of nuts and honey, but it also has a kind of pineapple finish - faint taste of pineapple at the end. And - but I love them so much that I have planted my own Pitmaston Pineapple tree. And in a couple years, I'm really hoping it bears fruit.

Tracy Chevalier's new novel is "At The Edge Of The Orchard. "

Tracy Chevalier, it's good to talk to you. Thanks so much.

Thank you.

turn 1 : The narrator has a strong appreciation for the Pitmaston Pineapple, as they have made the effort to plant their own tree to experience the taste of it.

How does the narrator feel about the Pitmaston Pineapple?

Answer: appreciative


Yeah, it's light and it's very dark at the same time, yeah.

Well, that's what you go for or what?

Yeah, you got to have a little bit of - a little bit of an edge, I think.

You have a woman in a classical gown looking out over the sea coast in the moonlight holding a lantern. The caption - night after night she watches the sea, longing for her husband's departure (laughter).

turn 2 : This is implying that A believes art should have an interesting or captivating element to it.

How does PersonA describe the edge that he thinks art should have?

Answer: Interesting


He was an amazingly debonair guy. He was a man of society, as I came to figure out. He was a guy who attended functions at The Plaza for the Soldiers, Sailors, Marine Corps and Airmen's Association, the Petroushka Ball at the Waldorf, the Russian Nobility Ball, the Viennese Waltz Ball - all of these crazy events that, frankly, I had never heard of, but he was - had long-standing involvement with.

And he - this was his life.

This was his life. He was the organizer of these things. He would orchestrate table settings. He was the man at the door who would greet everybody. You know, he actually invited my wife and I to one of these events one time. It was one at The Plaza. And there stood Alan, right behind the reception table as you walked in: tuxedo, tails, you know, medals on his chest. He had served in the Air Force. And he - you know, he was the host of this whole universe, really. I mean, he was involved in numerous events like this.

And among those phone messages, you used to get messages from women named Muffy explaining what a grand, smashing time they'd had.

turn 2 : The man was the host and organizer of social events, well-dressed and decorated with medals.

Answer: Attended


And so the - now we know as a result, I think, of Mueller's diligence and quiet pursuit of just the facts that there were more than 80 contacts between members of the Trump campaign and Russian agents. There were - there have been - developed more than 20 meetings between people in his orbit and Russian agents. His national security advisers pled guilty. His campaign chairman's on trial. His deputy campaign chairman's on trial. And yet he continues to call this a witch hunt. And, you know, I can't help but thinking that the hunters have caught some witches here.

And for you being a target of this investigation, what else are you waiting to find out from the investigation?

Well, I'd like to see the - you know, obviously, this is going to be a difficult case to bring to trial in the United States. These are 12 foreign agents, military intelligence agents who undertook this operation as laid out in great detail in the indictment. I'd like to see it brought to justice. I can't wait for President Trump to ask President Putin on Monday whether he'd agree to extradite them to face the bar of justice. And I'd like to be in the court if they were here. I'm not holding my breath either for the fact that Trump will do that or that Putin would agree. But, ultimately, you know, I don't think those agents would probably be vacationing in Western Europe, so. . .

John Podesta, thank you very much for joining us. He - John Podesta's the former chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Thanks much.

turn 2 : "I can't wait for President Trump to ask President Putin on Monday whether he'd agree to extradite them to face the bar of justice." (The phrase "face the bar of justice" is being used figuratively to mean face a trial or legal proceedings.)

What is being used figuratively to mean face a trial or legal proceedings in turn 2?

Answer: Witchhunt.


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

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

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

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

turn 2 : "John Edwards was - has truly been a forcing figure during this election, compelling Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both, to be more progressive than they might otherwise have been." - The literal meaning is that John Edwards has pushed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to be more progressive in their policy proposals. The actual meaning is that John Edwards has had a significant impact on the policy proposals of the other candidates and has influenced the overall political discourse during the election.

How has John Edwards affected the policy proposals of Obama and Clinton?

Answer: Progressive


It is largely an age distinction. There are younger people who think that our geography has now trumped our history. We are in the world where it's more relevant than the ties we used to have. But for an older generation, those ties are really important, especially when it comes to war, and World War I and World War II, and New Zealand lost more soldiers per the population than most countries in the world. And they died and served under that flag.

Well, what are some of the alternatives that have been proposed?

Who gets to choose?

turn 2 : The prime minister, John Key, here is a big fan of the silver fern. We have a symbol that we use on our sporting outfits. And one of our major teams, which is literally of a plant, a wee fern plant on a black background. For others, though, that's a bit too much like a brand or a logo than really a sovereign flag. There are artists who have come up with sort of designs of white skies and - 'cause, you know, it's also known as (Foreign language spoken) in Maori, the land of the long white cloud. There are Maori, the native people here, have independence flag that are talked about. So, quite a lot of options on the table to be debated.  The implied meaning in this turn is that some people perceive the silver fern as more of a commercial symbol or branding rather than a true representation of national sovereignty. The mention of alternative designs, such as white skies representing the "land of the long white cloud," and the discussion of independence flags for the Maori people, suggests a range of options for consideration. The literal meaning would focus on the description of different symbols and designs being discussed.

What is the symbol of the major team in New Zealand?

Answer: Fern


Tony, it's been a long time.

It has been a long time.

It's good to hear your voice, my friend.

Listen, Gil, you were one of the official inauguration photographers traveling with the Biden motorcade yesterday, in front of the Capitol today. I guess I should ask you this, did you get the money shot you were looking for?

Well, I'm working with a great team of photographers too. We're with the obamaphotobook. com group. We're the official inaugural book photographers, and certainly, I encourage any of your listeners, if they took any photographs here in Washington, D. C.  or even at home, send them in. We may include those photographs in the book. It's obamaphotobook. com, and you know, yeah, I got some - I think some decent photographs.

But yesterday was a particularly wonderful day because there was only one photographer plus myself with the vice president. And then to everyone's surprised, the then-President-elect Obama showed up at the Biden event, and so we got some - I think some pretty good stuff.

turn 3 : B is asking A if he got a good photograph of the inauguration

Which group was Gil working with as the official inaugural book photographers?

Answer: obamaphotobook.com


Earlier this week, Deacon White was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And yes, we know, you've never heard of him. White's career began in 1871, at the dawn of professional baseball. He played catcher in the days when catchers use no equipment at all: no glove, no pads, no facemask. They became heroes celebrated for their courage and their wits, and Deacon White stood out as one of the best.

Baseball historian Peter Morris serves on what used to be called the Veteran's Committee at Cooperstown. It's now called the Pre-Integration Era Committee. He's also the author of "Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero" and joins us now from the studios at Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor. Good to have you with us today.

My pleasure to be here, Neal.

And in your book, you argue that the generation that came of age after the Civil War looked around for some heroes and found them behind home plate.

turn 3 : The generation after the Civil War looked to catchers as heroes.

How did the generation after the Civil War view catchers?

Answer: Heroes


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

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

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

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

What is the percentage of stocks owned by the top 10 percent wealthiest households in America?

Answer: top10%


That's the unmistakable voice of Faith Evans, known as the first lady of hip hop. At 35 years old, she's been through more than most folks will in their entire life. Faith was raised by her grandparents in a house full of children, foster children, and other relatives. By the age of four, she found her first adoring audience in her church.

By 15, she was climbing out of her bedroom window to go learn how to record and mix music. Three years after that, Faith was a college dropout, a songwriter, a single mother, and a survivor of a brutal and abusive relationship. By 24, she was a successful singer and a widow.

Now, Faith Evans is telling all in her memoir, "Keep the Faith," starting with the death of her estranged husband, the rapper Notorious B. I. G.

Basically, my life was changed in a matter of seconds. I mean, I think that's pretty much how I did sum in up in the intro, I mean, before I even described what I was doing and you know, what he was doing.

turn 1 : She was able to rise above her difficult circumstances and become a successful artist despite her hardships.

Answer: Singer.


It's the 100th birthday of the Pulitzer Prizes this year - the centenary of a prize that can change the life and the career of a journalist, a photographer, a biographer, a dramatist or a poet. In the latest conversation in our series to mark the Pulitzer's big year, we welcome Gregory Pardlo. He won the Pulitzer for poetry last year for his collection of poems entitled "Digest. "And he joins us from our studios in New York. Greg, thanks so much for being with us.

Hi, Scott. Thanks for having me.

Can we hear a bit of your work, maybe from the poem "For Which It Stands?"

Absolutely. (Reading) "For Which It Stands" - for a flag, I answered facetiously. A flag of tomorrow. Fluent in fire, not just the whispers, lisps, not just the still there of powdered wigs, dry winds. Who wants a speckled drape that folds as easy over smirch as fallen soldier?

turn 3 : implies that the Mexican government is trying to portray El Chapo in a negative light by discussing details of his private life.

How is El Chapo being portrayed by the Mexican government?

Answer: Damage


I mean, it's tempting, and certainly we do it in the news business, to look at a figure like $9 billion and say, you know, figure out what that cost per arrest and everything. But I wonder, isn't it in a sense worth, I don't know, a billion dollars a year to the American people to have that deterrent aboard?Because as people in the program have pointed out, if something happens, there's no one else to call upon for help in an airliner.

Well, you could justify almost anything on that basis. But I will tell you that on any cost-benefit analysis, this program does not hold muster. I can tell you also that while a billion dollars might not seem like much money in the whole federal government. . .

Oh, no, it's a lot of money. Don't get me wrong. . .

It's a lot. . .

turn 0 : Turn (1) has a non-literal meaning. The speaker is suggesting that the cost of the program may be justified by its deterrent effect, even though it may not be cost-effective in terms of the number of arrests made.

How does the speaker in turn (0) suggest justifying the cost of the program?

Answer: Justify


And here's her plan. You get your kids into their PJs. You tuck them in with a math equation on top of their bedtime story. And you can find a simple - a sample of her bedtime math puzzles on our website at sciencefriday. com/bedtimemath. Laura Overdeck is here with us. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

Hi. Thank you.

This is a cute little book. It's a big book. It's nice. You think you can teach math to kids while they're getting their bedtime story?

Oh, I think absolutely. Where this came from was that my husband and I, we like math, and when our first child was 2, we started rolling in a little math problem with her book at night, just, you know, started with counting the ears and noses on her stuffed animals. It got tougher as she got older. We've rolled in a second child, a third child. And what we found was that, in our house by now, math is like dessert. It's a treat. . .

Is that right?

It's a treat the kids want. They actually ask for their math problem at night.

turn 3 : They begin the math with the kids,not actually roll anything.

What did they start with their first child at night?

Answer: Counting


Well, in a way, it was easy to not think about it, let's put it that way. After all, you know, the community had been tremendously traumatized by all this, so we were not in a mental situation to examine it or to think about it that much. I mean, people had to survive. But over the long haul, I do feel that because we had been subjected to something that was so totally outside of our control, one had to really internalize a lot of the, well, gee. You know, why did they do this to us?

And in my particular case, my parents decided that they no longer wanted to stay in this country, you know?So they signed up for what they called a repatriation. My father was not a citizen, so he had decided to go back to Japan. And for me, this was unthinkable. I just could not imagine leaving the home, the country that I knew. I'm very alienated from my parents for a while over this situation. We did not go to Japan, but that's something that will always haunt me because I was blaming my parents for something that was imposed on them, really.

What made you decide that you wanted to protest now at Fort Sill?

Well, some of us just thought, because of our particular history, that we had, you know, the moral authority to go in and say, well, you've done it to us, so don't repeat history.

turn 0 : The long haul is a length of time where the issue had to be dealt with.

What did the speaker have to internalize due to something outside of their control?

Answer: Gee


President Trump's declaration of a national emergency along the southern border has been criticized by congressional Democrats, but some Republicans, conservative activists and thinkers are also voicing concerns. James Wallner is with the R Street Institute, a pro-free market conservative research group and joins us in our studios. Thanks so much for being with us.

It's a pleasure.

Do you have reservations or objections?

I think what we've seen over the past couple of days is really the epitome of dysfunction in our government at present. So I say, yes, I have a lot of objections to what we're seeing.

Constitutional?

turn 3 : A thinks that the government is not functioning properly.

Which word describes PersonA's opinion on the government's current functioning?

Answer: dysfunction


Ground-based solar is only good when the sun is shining. And this applies to wind energy, too. It's only good when the wind is blowing. You have to have fossil fuel generators, standing by to pick up the load when the wind stops blowing, or the sun stops shining. So that has to be figured into the economics of wind- and ground-based solar. And, of course, you don't have either of those problems with a solar power satellite.

What would my electricity bill look like if I were getting solar power beamed down from satellites?What would it cost me?

That is hard to come by, but the best estimates we have, it's somewhere between eight to 20 cents a kilowatt hour.

Well 20 cents a kilowatt hour would be very expensive electricity.

turn 0 : Ground-based solar and wind energy are not reliable sources of power.

Which sources of power are not reliable according to turn 0?

Answer: solar,wind-energy


Well, all I can tell you is this. When I asked Commissioner Davis that question, he didn't hang up on me. He said the answer that I gave - that I reported - he said absolutely. It's possible that just the feeling that we're over the hump, that we're through this. I mean, it's human nature. You've watched events. They get there early. They're on high alert all the time. Plus, in this particular case, the bomb-sniffing dogs had gone through twice, once in the morning and an hour before the explosions have gone off.

So there was a feeling, there was a reason to feel basically secure that at time. It turned out not, you know, the security was - sense of security was misplaced. But again, I don't think it's an insult at all to what the response and, you know, the courage and all of that happened afterwards to rethink, and, you know, again, to use an overused term, connect the dots about how things were set up, were they followed out as they should've been.

Joan Vennochi, thanks very much for your time today. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

turn 1 : It's not an insult to think about what has happened again and to make sense of it and see where things were related to each other.

What is it important to do after a security incident?

Answer: rethink


Hey. How you doing, Lulu?

I'm very well. For people who haven't been to Richmond, can you describe Monument Avenue for us?What statues are there?

Monument Avenue is one of the most beautiful stretches of street in the United States of America. I mean, it's tree-lined. It's on the national historic registry. There are statues to Robert E.  Lee. There's a statue to Jeb Stuart, to, you know, Stonewall Jackson. And there's a lonely statue of Arthur Ashe, which I call the only true champion on that stretch of street.

The tennis champion, Arthur Ashe.

turn 1 : "I'm very well. For people who haven't been to Richmond, can you describe Monument Avenue for us? What statues are there?" - The actual meaning is the speaker is politely introducing themselves, expressing their good health and asking a genuine question about Monument Avenue and its statues, rather than just making small talk.

Which stretch of street has statues of Robert E. Lee, Jeb Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, and Arthur Ashe?

Answer: Monument


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.

Which word suggests that the PersonA's attempts were futile and frustrating?

Answer: Futile


That's a really good question. I just want to know that he worked alone, that it was all him. Because there is a lack of official information coming out, that area's just been filled up with conspiracy theories. And, you know, with time, I've come to say, OK. It's just one person who was fully loaded with ammunition. But there's still in the back of my mind - did he really work alone?Did he carry all that stuff up to his room by himself?I feel like there's some more pieces. And they've just really clamped down on it.

What about a week like this when so many people observe the 5th anniversary of the - yeah, of the children who were killed at Sandy Hook?

First time I'm going to cry talking to you. Yesterday was so hard on me, thinking about those beautiful, beautiful children. And I'm a teacher. And thinking about the educators that were killed - it just is such a sad day in our history. And then seeing that it happened at our concert and then seeing what happened in Texas, you know, a couple weeks later - it's just not stopping. And it just affects so many people. And what did we really change?Did we help anyone with mental illness?Did we change anything about gun control or school safety?You know, it's just a really sad brotherhood or sisterhood. But you feel connected because you understand what they went through. And some of them just have such a long road to go.

Yeah. What about your road?

turn 3 : BELIVE THAT MOST THEM WILL AGREE EVERY SURE

Which word in the dialogue is associated with a tragic event that happened in the history?

Answer: killed


My final thing is this, and I appreciate your coming on, one of the cornerstones of the president then-candidate Obama's approach to the people was that he would reach across the aisle, and there have been questions as to whether he really reached across the aisle effectively as far as the stimulus is concerned, fair or unfair?

I think he was effective. I mean, I'm not sure he ever could have expected to win a lot of people over but he had to be seen as trying. A budget after all like this stimulus economic recovery plan is actually a budget measure. It incorporates the priorities of the majority party, and the Republicans and Democrats have very different ideas of how to handle spending and taxes. So he was never going to get a lot of votes, but he tried. And he clearly, he tried not just stylistically but substantively. And what your listeners have to remember is that there are very moderate Republicans left in Congress. There's very few people left to deal with because Democrats have been so successful at the polls for the last two cycles.

I've got about 15 seconds for this, would you say that the president - this president - is under more public scrutiny that either of his recent predecessors?

Well, any president is under scrutiny, but I think yes. I mean, he's a ground breaker. He is the first African-American president that alone would bring him more scrutiny.

turn 0 : cornerstone means in this context that it is a significant issue.

Which word describes the significance of the issue in turn 0?

Answer: Significance


Yeah,. It's really amazing, yeah. It turns out he was, you know, an avid, you know, layperson but had great interest in butterflies and how they evolve and so on. And he suggested that butterflies moved in certain ways from between Asia and Europe and so on. And just about a couple of years ago scientists discovered that, you know, what he suggested is actually correct.

And how did he come up with that idea?I mean, was it based on fact?

He was really following - yeah, yeah. He was following, you know, the butterflies and, you know, and where - what kinds of species you find where and so on. He was really very interested and very knowledgeable in butterflies.

Mm-hmm. OK.  Let's move on to another famous guy: Lord Kelvin. Tell us who Lord Kelvin was and what his big blunder was.

turn 0 : The person being discussed was not an expert on butterflies but had great interest in them

What was the hobby of the person being discussed in turn 0?

Answer: Butterflies


Well, I mean, one reason that I think it's worth doing this is that when campaigns gather and take stock of this information on Election Day, they use it to make game-day decisions about how to market to you, right?So if you're a voter in a key state, the campaigns in that state will look at the same kind of information we're going to be gathering and publishing. They'll decide to move their radio resources around. They might send you a couple push text messages. They are going to try and drive your voting behavior based on the information they're seeing about the race and how it's going. You know, I think one of the jobs of journalism is to make its users savvier and more aware of the marketing that they're subjected to. And I think that publishing the information we plan to publish could help do that.

I'm going to return to the same question. I mean, how?What's the crying need for that?

Well, I mean, I think isn't it useful for voters to see the election the way that insiders do?The campaigns are trying to get you to vote in a certain way, and they are pushing you. And if you can understand why and how they're doing that, maybe you can make a smarter decision.

Julia Turner of Slate, thanks so much for being with us.

turn 1 : The speaker is not actually asking a question but rather implying that the need has not yet been established.

Which turn implies that the need for publishing the information has not yet been established?

Answer: Turn1


We've got two foreign vessels in Iranian custody. We've got one Iranian tanker in British custody and no sign of the tensions cooling off. So what happens next is the big question and a lot of the options are not that great. I mean, remember, this is all happening in the context of the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign against Iran.

Trump has been saying the return of American sanctions on Iran and other pressures are all designed to force Iran back to the negotiating table to hammer out a tougher version of the 2015 nuclear agreement - that's the one Trump pulled the U. S.  out of. So far, Iran's unanimous response from the military to the supreme leader has been, nope, Iran doesn't negotiate under pressure. We're not going to do it. So we'll have to see if this continuation of commercial vessels being seized in the Persian Gulf adds more pressure for some kind of international response.

That's NPR's Peter Kenyon in Istanbul.

Thank you very much.

turn 1 : The table simply means that Iran is being forced to return to negotiations.

How does Trump want to force Iran to negotiate?

Answer: sanctions


Right, but it was not my choice to be here. And this is what people forget. I applied for asylum in 27 different countries around the world, and it was the government, the United States government, then-Secretary John Kerry, that canceled my passport as I was leaving from Hong Kong en route to Ecuador. And this locked me in place.

I believe they panicked. And I think the reason that I'm in Russia today is because what we know - this was actually publicly reported in 2013. Every time one of these other countries, one that the United States public would be much more comfortable with - a France, a Norway, a Germany - one of two people would call the Foreign Ministry of that country. And it would be either Secretary of State John Kerry or then-Vice President Joe Biden.

The idea here is they would go, look; we understand that he has been charged with political crimes. This means you don't qualify for extradition, and you almost always do qualify for asylum protections. And the government - we know you can do this, but if you do, we want you to understand there will be a response. We're not going to say what it will be, but it will be severe because we don't want to see the public seeing this guy as a whistleblower, which the public then was coming around to do.

You say the U. S.  government panicked. Did the U. S.  government panic, or just they felt it was important to the national interest of the United States to make certain you - your movement was limited?

turn 2 : The person complained publicaly about things that were illegal and private.

What did the person publicly complain about?

Answer: B


That's where I went to school.

You went to Fremont?

I went to Fremont High School, I did.

Oh, my goodness. So, you know, East 14th is now called International Boulevard, and you lived in two very different worlds in that part of Oakland. Tell me a little bit about the best and worst of both sides.

Well, I lived my - after my parents divorced, my mother remarried a guy who made us be in that religion that rhymes with tehova's sitnesses (ph).

turn 1 : Asking for confirmation that the person went to Fremont.

What is the name of the high school PersonA attended?

Answer: FremontHighSchool


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 2 : It will be difficult to keep the unemployment rate at 8 percent and it is likely to increase.

What is the likelihood of the unemployment rate increasing?

Answer: Likely


Well, Lyrics Born, thanks so much.

Thank you. My pleasure.

Rapper and producer Lyrics Born's new album is "Everywhere At Once. "He joined us from the studios at UC Berkeley School of Journalism.

(Rapping) I came a long way From eating off-brand rice I came a long way From writing fourth grade rhymes I came a long way To get my pay grade high Baby, you ain't never heard me come the same way twice.

turn 3 : Lyrics Born has come a long way from his humble beginnings.

What was Lyrics Born's new album called?

Answer: Everywhere-At-Once


This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Flora Lichtman. If you're listening to our program over the radio today, you have Nikola Tesla to thank. Many of the things we take for granted now - electricity, radar, X-ray technology - come from research done by Tesla about a hundred years ago. But even though he's been come - he's come to be known as the father of the electric age, Tesla died penniless and largely forgotten in 1943.

Skip ahead to present time and enter Matthew Inman, creator of the website The Oatmeal. You may have seen and laughed at his comics, and if you haven't, to get a flavor of them, go to our website at sciencefriday. com to see his one about Tesla. Inman partnered with a nonprofit called the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe on a mission to raise money to buy Tesla's lab in Shoreham, New York, and turn it into a museum. And here's the amazing part: they did it. They raised over $1. 3 million from the public to fund a science museum. There's hope yet. Matthew Inman joins me from Atlanta. Welcome to the program and congratulations.

Oh, yeah, thanks for having me.

Who are these people that gave to your campaign?

turn 0 : Tesla's research contributed to modern inventions, but he died in poverty and obscurity.

What is one of the things that we take for granted now that comes from research done by Tesla?

Answer: Electricity


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

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

Oh, my pleasure.

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

turn 1 : The speaker is referring to an article in The New York Times about a person's secret life as a society maven.

How was the person's secret life described in The New York Times article?

Answer: Secret


You know, there are a number of reporters who've contacted me that have said, what do you we do?I've got sinusitis. What do I do?It clearly is a prevalent problem in the general population. But clearly, we need controlled clinical trials to determine the efficacy of these kinds of interventions. And the FDA has ruled that if we are doing such trials, we need investigational drug status for every species that we want to instill into a patient to treat our disease.

So it maybe a while before we can actually get to a point where we would be instilling these kinds of organisms into the sinuses. But it's certainly another way of thinking about treating chronic inflammatory disease, of the sinuses, at least. There's certainly prostins in the gastrointestinal tract. For example, when there's recalcitrant C.  difficile, clostridium difficile infection, which is this thing that outgrows when patients have had, again, a lot of antimicrobials and have depleted diversity. Fecal transplant works very well.

So taking the feces of a spouse or a relative, and basically repopulating the gastrointestinal tract with those species, has a rate of 91 percent efficacy. So I think we could consider this for mucosal services as, perhaps, the general rule that this kind of restoration ecology approach to try to reinstate the healthy protective organisms in this niches, maybe an alternative strategy for treating some of these chronic inflammatory diseases.

Yeah. Did we once all have them and they went away somehow?Or what - why did some of us have the healthy population and some of us don't?

turn 1 : Fecal transplant may be an effective treatment for some chronic inflammatory diseases.

What is the alternative strategy for treating chronic inflammatory diseases mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Transplant


A young upstart reporter at a national news network, a political newcomer fresh from Hollywood, his opponent - a female senator firmly rooted in the establishment, a ratings-obsessed media mogul - does any of this sound familiar to you yet?Amazingly, Alisyn Camerota, a veteran news anchor and host of CNN's morning show "New Day," started writing her new novel years ago. And now the book "Amanda Wakes Up" seems like a crystal ball. Alisyn Camerota joins me from our studios in New York. Welcome to the program.

Thank you, Lulu. Great to be with you.

So are you psychic?(Laughter).

Well, there were many times, many times in the writing of this that my agent editor and I thought I was. But I think, what it turns out, is that there are some perennial favorite themes in politics and in presidential races. And I hit on them because you can predict with some certainty what will come back around.

turn 2 : "psychic" - This word is used figuratively to describe someone who can predict future events or has a sixth sense. It does not mean that Alisyn Camerota actually has psychic abilities.

Which word did PersonB use to describe someone who can predict future events or has a sixth sense?

Answer: Psychic


We were with addicts on the street as they were having encounters with law enforcement. We were in treatment centers with people trying to kick the addiction. There's this one phenomenal picture of five inmates. They're all pregnant and being let in to get their methadone and things like that. We were in in drug courts, where people were being dealt with by the criminal justice system.

I think one of the reasons that it's gotten so much attention is because of the spareness with which we report it. We just report anecdote after anecdote after anecdote after anecdote over seven days. And anybody who reads it cannot come away without understanding how deep and how pernicious and how totally involving of our society this epidemic is.

Are there things that happen in Cincinnati every day that people walk past that you wanted to use this opportunity to share with?

Well, yes, I mean, in the sense that we wanted people to understand that this is going on all around them. Heroin is not a demographic or racial or any socioeconomic status - however you want to put it - drug. Its terrible reach is universal.

turn 2 : The drug epidemic is pervasive and affects people from all walks of life.

Answer: epidemic


Different things. Some people have heard of the Ig Nobel Prize, many have not. To some of them - there have been some winners who have been waiting for it for years. More typically they're not quite sure what it is. Our standard policy, which - it has a few twists now and then. But in general, when we've chosen somebody, we will quietly get in touch with them, offer them the prize and give them the opportunity to quietly to decline the honor. And if they say no, that's fine, that's it. We never mention it. We don't even keep records. We give it to somebody else. But happily for us, not many people decline. Almost everybody accepts.

And some of them - do they actually go on to win the real Nobel Prize?

That's happened at least once. In the year 2000, we gave the Ig Nobel Prize in psychics to two physicists in England, Andre Geim and Michael Berry, who were, and are, quite eminent physicists. They won the Ig Nobel Prize that year for using magnets to levitate a frog. I don't know if you've seen the videos on the Web of that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

turn 0 : Winners of Ig Nobel Prize are eager to receive it

What is the standard policy for declining the Ig Nobel Prize?

Answer: Quietly


But Zoe Wesloski(ph) emailed from Pittsburgh to say: I don't get it. I'm 39. This was not an option for my generation. Not only did I enter the job market without a college degree, but I found a way to survive. And when I left home at 22, I never went back. I found a way to make it through nursing school as a single mother in my 30s. She continued: I don't know what's wrong with this generation, but it sure as hell ain't the economy.

We also spoke with New York Times writer Alex Williams about the challenges of making friends after college. Anne Scranton(ph) in Blue Ash, Ohio, wrote: Everyone told me I'd make lots of mom friends when my kids got in school. But as a working mom, I found it tough to connect on weekends when many families are having family time. I decided to enroll in a leadership class held in the city where I work, and through that class, I've met other working families and folks of all ages and stages. Everyone needs to be open-minded in reaching out to people of all ages. We all have experiences to share.

And finally, Greg Alexander in Bloomington, Indiana reminded us that the beginning and end of the story of adult bonding is happy hour. It's good to go to a place where everybody knows your name. Cheers.

(Singing) Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You want to be where you can see. Our troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name.

turn 1 : People of all ages can make good friends regardless of their stage in life

Which Indiana town was Greg Alexander from?

Answer: Bloomington


Eastern Congo may be the most dangerous place on Earth, and it's getting worse. A rebel army is moving on the biggest city, Goma. Hundreds of thousands of people are running for their lives. This is the region of infamous ethnic killing between the many people who call themselves Hutus and the far fewer Tutsi.

Hez Holland is a correspondent with Reuters. He's been reporting from Goma. He joins us now. Hez, welcome. And remind us, this is also a region of enormous wealth - timber and minerals. People have been fighting over it for a long time.

At least. It's historically been a curse, what with the mineral wealth and, as you said, the timber, has been something that has been fought over for - since the Belgians. It's always been a place where minerals have been extracted and exploited, and the people have always been just pawns in the great game of any kind of colonial power, really.

Well, now, there's this rebel group led by a man named General Nkunda. He is a former Congolese general. And it is moving on the city of Goma. What are you seeing there now?

turn 0 : The word "most dangerous place on Earth" implies an exaggeration to emphasize the severity of the situation.

Answer: Goma


I'm great. So, what excites you?I mean, it's a huge accomplishment to coach this team. And what excites you about this year's Olympic Games?

We have a fantastic team. You know, naturally, the team isn't picked yet and everyone will go through Olympic trials. But whoever comes out in the top three, they will represent this country to the highest degree. I'm sure it will be a balance of our veterans and our up-and-coming athletes. And they did very well last year in the world championship. And I'm looking forward to seeing the U. S. A.  do very well in Beijing.

What does it take - you're an Olympian, a medal-wining Olympian. What does it take to have, not just the skill, but the heart to get a medal in the Olympics?

You know, it takes a lot of sacrifice, you know?Many times the athletes have, they've done a lot of competition, of course. From age-group track & field, through high school, and if they attended college, it takes a lot of dedication, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of focus. You know, a lot of times, you know, sometimes they can get distracted. But the ones that you see, the cream of the crop that you see at the Olympic Games are extremely focused and dedicated athletes.

turn 1 : The coach is confident in the team's abilities for the Olympics.

What is the coach's sentiment towards the team's performance in the Olympics?

Answer: Heart


Right.

You know, she said, he's sort of Ralph Lauren type. Do you like that type?And here I am thinking, like, God, no.

What did she ask you to do?

She didn't tell me to do anything. She just said, just do whatever he asks, and you'll be fine. And again, that's another comment that was made as we were leaving the car as we walked into the house that didn't land right away. But obviously, in hindsight now, that - the comment, you know, landed pretty hard with me.

turn 1 : A dislikes Ralph Lauren type, but she thinks B might like them

Which type of person does PersonA dislike?

Answer: Ralph


To occur at the same time. . .

Exactly.

. . . Which, of course, would deplete the emergency resources the city could bring to it. In the. . .

turn 0 : Yeah, Scott, well it began with - you know, it was a warm night last night, and people were out - it was a Friday night - sitting at a restaurant out at a cafe. And that's how it started. The attackers drove by with Kalashnikovs and just fired into everyone at that outdoor cafe. And there was also an attack on the stadium - the national stadium - where Francois Hollande was watching a game - a friendly game - match between France and Germany - a soccer match. And two assailants blew themselves up with - they were suicide bombers outside the stadium. And everyone ran to the grass to take cover. There was complete chaos. It had to be evacuated. The thing authorities are saying that's so striking is that they were perfectly coordinated.

Answer: Paris


Thanks. Good to be with you.

So you start your book by talking about a conversation you had with your young son. Tell us about what prompted that.

Well, he was 7 years old. He got in the car, put his seatbelt on, and he said to me, Mom, do you know what a hooker and a stripper are?And I was a little bit floored because I had been pretty much the mother from hell in terms of making sure that I knew everything he had ever seen, and I was the one that was acculturating my children. I wasn't having the media do it, and what the story turned out to be is he'd been at the playground that day and a bunch of boys had been talking about a video game that one of them had been playing. He told me that, Mom, you know, if you kill enough people, you get to go into a room where a lady takes off her top. That's what a stripper is. And if you kill more people and you get to a higher level of the game, you get to go into a room where a lady takes off all her clothes. That's what a hooker is. Well, needless to say, I was really floored because without anything coming from me or the home, he already had in his mind a connection between violence and killing and sexuality.

So what did you do?

turn 2 : The mother was surprised that her 7-year-old son already knew about the terms 'hooker' and 'stripper' and their connection to violence and sexuality without her teaching him.

What was the boy's explanation for learning about the terms 'hooker' and 'stripper'?

Answer: Video


What is - let's start with this. What is your personal collection to the work and the images in this book?

Well, to me this was a labor of love. I've been living in the U. S. I came back to England. It's my homeland. I came back to London, my home city, and I felt that the culture of the young black people in particular here were suffering from a kind of deficit, historically speaking.

There were younger people in my neighborhood who were bereft of history, who took their idea of themselves from watching their kind of generic hip-hop video material that they got from the video screen rather than really inquiring into the particular history and experience of our communities in this country.

As I looked at the book, I was trying to find a theme, and I don't know if I found one or not. What was, in your view, the major trends or themes that you saw unfolding over the century that are depicted in these photographs?

turn 0 : "personal collection" is a figurative expression meaning "personal connection or attachment"

What was the reason behind the deficit of history in young black people in particular?

Answer: Deficit


So when you think about -particularly African-American neighborhoods you've got a lot of neighborhoods - and you know not just black neighborhoods where you'll see for sale signs. Sometimes now you are starting to see abandoned houses. We've even heard stories about how abandoned houses then produce crime, because people will base out of those houses. Is this going to really help people at the grassroots level?

It's going to help some people at the grassroots level. As with anything in the economy, it's going to take a long time or at least some months for the real fallout from this to be known. What it does mean in the immediate term is that some banks will be able to lend more money, again, because Fannie and Freddy is going to get a cash infusion from the government to continue their work of buying mortgages from the banks, and so that should ease up credit. It should also make it potentially a little bit easier and a little bit cheaper to borrow because banks- when they're not taking as much risk then they can lower some mortgage rates things like that.

I don't know that it's necessarily going to clean up any neighborhood where you've got people going into an abandoned house and free basing or selling drugs or, you know, abandoned houses, that sort of thing. I don't know that this move is going to have that immediate impact on the ground in neighborhoods that are already blighted.

What about at this upper level?What about what's happened in the stock markets and in the international communities?The ramifications of this?

turn 0 : Abandoned houses in African-American neighborhoods lead to crime

How does abandoned housing impact crime in African-American neighborhoods?

Answer: crime