Absolutely. And that's something that my father always stressed upon my sisters and me and that we've all thought it's very important that you should be engaged in the process. In this case it is a political process, because the process of electing our government leaders is one that will have a direct impact on whether we're here and what we do here. So it's fine to criticize, but at the same time if you're not engaged in the process I feel that's a real discredit to everything you try to protest against.

Do you sense a great excitement among the men and women there about the election?

Well, there's certainly a lot of open questions, a lot of us are wondering if Barack Obama's elected versus John McCain and vice versa, whether that will have an effect not just on this tour, but on future military careers because we have a lot of soldiers and a lot of officers who are planning to make a military career and I'm not one of them. I'm going to be leaving active duty when we return from this tour.

But for those soldiers especially, the big question now is, when and how soon they'll have to deploy to Afghanistan. Because many of these soldiers are on their third, some even on their fourth tour here to Iraq. And so now they're looking at another open ended involvement in Afghanistan. And so they've got a lot of questions about that and so we're really just curious right now what both candidates - what decisions they'll make.

turn 3 : "open-ended involvement" - this means a long-term and uncertain commitment to the mission, not literally an involvement that has no end or closure.

Which term describes the nature of the military mission in Afghanistan?

Answer: Nature


And so, finally, what would affect this backlog?What would be the most - in your view, based on your experience - the most effective way to address this backlog - this enormous backlog of cases?

I think, to begin with, any high-volume court system - criminal courts, you know, outside of the immigration system - can only survive when you have - the two parties are able to conference cases, are able to reach pre-case settlements, are able to reach agreements on things. If you could imagine in the criminal court system, if every jaywalking case had to go through a - you know, a full jury trial and then, you know, get appealed all the way up as high as it could go, that system would be in danger of collapse as well. So I think you have to return to a system where you allow the two sides to negotiate things.

And you also have to give the judges - let them be judges. Give them the tools they need to be judges and the independence they need to be judges. And lastly, you have to prioritize the cases.

Before we let you go, I assume that there were different political perspectives at this conference, given that people come from all different sectors of that - of the bar. And I just wondered - and I assume that there are some there who favor more restrictionist methods and some who don't. I was wondering, overall, was there a mood at this conference?

turn 1 : cases implies situations, issues or conditions and not suitcases or packs

How does the term 'cases' relate to the conversation between PersonA and B?

Answer: Legal


I am honored to be the district attorney of Brooklyn. But with respect to wrongful conviction cases, I have inherited a mess. I am currently investigating over 100 claims of wrongful convictions. Those numbers are staggering. And that's why I created the conviction review unit, and was able to convince a very prominent, well-respected law professor, Ron Sullivan, who's a law professor at Harvard Law School, to come down to Brooklyn and run my unit.

How do you go to the family of a victim of the original crime and tell them that the person or persons they thought killed their loved one didn't?

That was the hardest thing I had to do to. To sit down with the Blenner family and to let them know that the two defendants whom they believed for 29 years were responsible for the abduction, robbery and murder of their son and brother were wrongfully convicted was extremely difficult. And I pledged to them that I would do all I could to pursue the leads that we do have because we have leads to try to hold the people who killed him responsible.

How does a conviction review unit go about the business of looking at so many cases?

turn 2 : (3) A's statement implies the emotional weight of telling the Blenner family about the wrongful conviction, rather than a literal description of the physical act of sitting down with them.

How was PersonA able to convince Ron Sullivan to run his unit?

Answer: Difficult


Well, prior to me going to medical school, I was actually a vegetarian. I was a martial artist. And I got exposed to concepts of diet and nutrition as it impacted health, and I got exposed to concepts of energy with respect to martial arts practice. And I really didn't see any of that in my medical school experience. Along with that, I had a just really open-ended approach to looking at medicine.

Being an African-American, I was not one of the good old boys in medical school. So you can either try hard to be a part of that club, or you can say to yourself, well, gosh, maybe there's some other things that can actually be explored. So Chinese medicine - I've explored that. I explored classical homeopathy. I explored nutrition. I explored other, particularly African cultural arts. And out of that, it just opened a whole worldview to me.

Give us some specifics on what African traditional medicine might incorporate into your practice.

At the heart of traditional African medicine is God and the ancestors, OK?So now, you have many Africans that want to take advantage of traditional medicine, but they don't want to acknowledge the roots. So the roots, as I'm saying, is understand your relationship with ancestors in terms of ancestors being a part of the community. The use of divination - on the surface, I mean, we've seen different things, maybe on TV or someone is throwing bones or caraway shells and then makes a pronouncement.

turn 1 : As an African-American, I had to explore unconventional areas such as Chinese medicine, classical homeopathy, and African cultural arts, to gain a wider perspective in medicine.

What specific areas did the speaker explore to gain a wider perspective in medicine?

Answer: A


Well, so what I got really interested in was that when the coat showed up, it showed up in a black plastic package from China Post. So I thought I was buying a coat from some brand that represented itself as kind of this modern gentleman. You know, I was expecting it to have its headquarters, you know, in New York or San Francisco or Los Angeles or something. And this thing is shipped direct from a technology park in China.

So I kind of started thinking like, well, what is this brand?And I started diving into this new class of online retailer that use a tool called Shopify, which allows anyone to kind of spin up a retail store in five minutes; sucks products in from a service called AliExpress, which is sort of like Amazon but in China, and it's dedicated to kind of the export market for Chinese and other Asian manufacturers; and allows - basically - consumers in the U. S.  to take a different route into this manufacturing ecosystem, which makes so many clothes, which makes so many consumer goods, in Asia.

When you ordered this coat, were you genuinely surprised to be able to trace this stuff back, or was that the whole idea?

Well, no. I was genuinely surprised. I was literally - I had been tagged in the Facebook advertising system, which Instagram also uses, as someone who likes to buy clothes. And what I came to find was that this is a pretty widespread phenomenon.

turn 0 : "Modern gentleman" is used figuratively to describe a brand's image or style, rather than a literal definition of a man who is modern and well-mannered.

Which phrase is used figuratively to describe a brand's image or style in turn 0?

Answer: Modern


To the outside world, your mother, a progressive voice, but what was going on inside the family?

My mother was dealing with a lot of what black women were dealing with in Jackson, Miss. So from the outside, it looked like she was doing really well. She was on television - local television - doing political prognostication. She was in an abusive relationship. She did not make much money. She was dealing with what I would call, like, the shards of abuse. And, you know, when I was around 9 or 10, she started to whip me when I didn't do right. And she would always say she was whipping me because what I would face from police or white people would be even harsher.

And those beatings just I think started to get progressively worse, and I think that the beatings my mother was taking from life, from our town, from her partner, also started to get progressively worse. And I think the scariest part about it looking back is that we just didn't know how to talk about any of it. We didn't know how to talk about what we were doing to one another, and we didn't really know how to talk about what the world and our state was doing to us.

As the very title suggests, that the cost of trauma, including, for example, the beatings you endured from your mother, the beatings that she endured, all of that takes a toll on our bodies. What happened to you?

turn 1 : Despite looking successful, my mother was dealing with abuse and financial struggles.

How did the outside world perceive PersonA's mother?

Answer: Successful


Well, I think they're convening a panel tomorrow to discuss it once more. Declaring a public health emergency of international concern has big implications. So the closing of borders - you know, these are border towns. People - their livelihoods are dependent on being able to cross borders and do business.

Yeah.

Refugees who are fleeing armed conflict in DRC not being able to come into Uganda. So it - there are some serious implications on making that declaration, and I'm sure those will be considered.

How hopeful are you that this outbreak can be contained?

turn 0 : Declaring a public health emergency of international concern has serious implications on border towns and people's livelihoods.

What are the implications of declaring a public health emergency of international concern on border towns and people's livelihoods?

Answer: Implications


That was a time that postwar era in India when you had a tremendous amount of aspiration for development in the air. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India. And there was a sense in the air of the chance for a collective progress that many, many different kinds of people who came from different backgrounds could actually participate in, could share in. And I think the momentum of that time also swept my own grandparents up. Their condition was precarious.

The jacket that my grandfather was wearing was borrowed. The jewelry that my grandmother is wearing was costume jewelry. I think the prosperity that you see in that image is less about the wealth that they have in hand at that moment and more about that future horizon that they might feel is already coming within their reach.

What do you think your grandfather's story might tell us about today's India?

What I think is so interesting about looking at the life of someone like my grandfather over the course of nearly a century is that you see that there is a kind of ongoing momentum of change that exists throughout his life and that takes him and those alongside him in many different directions. That these patterns of change that we see now in India have been with us for some time and have had a lot to do with the kinds of aspirations that people like my grandparents as well as my own parents grew up with.

turn 3 : What I think is so interesting about looking at the life of someone like my grandfather over the course of nearly a century is that you see that there is a kind of ongoing momentum of change that exists throughout his life and that takes him and those alongside him in many different directions - This implies that change is an ongoing process that people must adapt to if they want to move forward.

Which process is ongoing according to turn 3?

Answer: Change


I don't think about what they don't have. I don't think in those terms. But for me, you know, I was not only the Budget Committee chairman and the chief architect of the '97 agreement where we balanced the budget for the first time since we walked on the moon and had big surpluses, but I also served on the Armed Services Committee, so I was deeply engaged in national security policy. And my private sector experience was invaluable. And now I am an executive of, you know, one of the most important states in America. I don't mean just politically, but economically. And no matter who you are - drug addicted, mentally ill, working poor, autistic, disabled, minority - you're all in the Ohio family. Everybody should have a chance to rise. That's our philosophy in Ohio and that's my philosophy for America.

Do you want to overturn the Affordable Care Act?

I'd like to replace it with a health care system that would be market-driven, that would begin to shift us to quality-based health care rather than quantity-based health care. In other words, with the primary care doctor being the shepherd to shepherd us through our health care needs, with insurance companies and hospitals working together to share profits, to share the gains they make by keeping people healthy rather than treating them on the basis of how they're sick.

It's often pointed out that you use the Affordable Care Act law to expand Medicaid coverage in Ohio. Does that suggest to you that the law known as Obamacare has helped people?

turn 1 : The implied meaning of the speaker's response to the question of overturning the Affordable Care Act is that they don't only want to do away with it, but also to replace it with something better.

How does the speaker suggest improving the healthcare system?

Answer: Market-driven


Well, it's very important when dealing with Iran understanding that they're not an ally of the United States. They are an adversary. They're - one, that they're a nation that is the world's largest state sponsor of terror. We often talk about the nuclear activity of Iran over the course last several years - but other activities where they've developed ICBMs in violation of international treaties and Security Council resolutions where they have worked to help the Houthis overthrow a foreign government in Yemen trying to build a land bridge across the Middle East to the West. They call Israel the little Satan and America the great Satan. And the list goes on.

So in dealing with Iran and understanding that they're an adversary, we also have to approach them knowing that they don't respect weakness. They only respect strength. And we're talking about the Iranian regime. . .

OK.

. . . Because Iran's filled with millions of very - you know, good people who want a free, stable, prosperous, democratic country for themselves. They've wanted it for a long time. So the administration's approach is with eyes wide open understanding this adversarial threat. And with regards to the leverage that brought the Iranians to the table in the first place, the problem with the JCPOA included - well, several things. One was sunset provisions, issues with the verification regime. So, you know, but I'd love to see which way you want to go from there because. . .

turn 0 : Israel the little Satan and America the great Satan implies that the two countries do acts that Iran greatly disapproves of.

Answer: Little


Oh, well, there are a lot of asteroids near Jupiter. You know, Jupiter orbits pretty close to the asteroid belt, for one thing. So that's a part of the solar system that's very cluttered with space rocks. And Jupiter ends up being a target for a lot of them because - mainly because it's such a big planet. It has so much gravity. It actually pulls some of these space rocks toward it.

What makes you not believe it was - might have been a comet?

Oh, well, it might have been a comet. The only way to tell the difference between an asteroid and a comet impact is to look at what kind of debris it leaves behind in Jupiter's atmosphere. Now - but the problem is, in this case, astronomers have been watching the impact site - the place where the flash of light occurred - all week long, and they've been looking through debris, but there is none. Now, if you could look at the debris and see what it's made of, you could say, oh, yes. That's material that's characteristic of an asteroid, or in the case of a comet, you know, comets tend to be very watery. And the debris cloud has chemical byproducts of water in it if a comet has hit. . .

Yeah.

turn 0 : Jupiter being a big planet with lots of gravity attracts space rocks.

Answer: Jupiter


You're welcome. What a pleasure.

What are the factors you had to take into consideration to do things like help create flags and currency for South Sudan?

What I learned was these state symbols are really marks of consensus. They're about design, but they're really about agreement. So South Sudan is comprised of 60 ethnic tribes, and for the one symbol that they were able to produce during the time of the referendum to the time of their independence, they produced a national seal. And they had to get the agreement of 28 cabinet ministers representing these tribes.

And what's the seal look like?How would you describe it?

turn 2 : A: "These state symbols are really marks of consensus. They're about design, but they're really about agreement."  Here, the literal meaning would be that state symbols are merely designs created for aesthetic purposes. However, the intended meaning is that these symbols represent the agreement and consensus of the people and hold significant cultural and political value.

What do state symbols represent besides design?

Answer: Agreement


Let's start with what's happening in those factories that produce or produced all those goods that we just couldn't get enough of during the boom. What's happening there now?

The scene on the shop floors in China is a grim one. There are tens of thousands of factories being closed, many thousands already shuttered. Those numbers don't tell you how big those factories are. China has factories with everything from five people in them to 150,000 people in them.

But the story is bad. I mean, if you just count the migrant workers who have lost their jobs in the last seven months, that count's up to over 10 million. And that's a government number, so it's probably low.

So, it could be many more than 10 million.

turn 1 : The situation in Chinese factories is dire with many factories closed and workers losing their jobs, including millions of migrant workers.

How many migrant workers have lost their jobs in the last seven months in China?

Answer: A


Oh, thanks. We're professional seguers here at NPR.

You took my breath away there.

Well, speaking of age, though, you're - you play a geezer in this picture.

Yeah, but I'm the youngest in the cast.

Really, I'm the baby.

turn 1 : you took my breath away implies being very amazing, surprising and beautiful in view and performance. Not taking someone's breath or air by trying to suffocate them

What was the reaction of PersonA to PersonB's statement?

Answer: Amazed


On the whole, that - it's been amazing. The volunteers, the support has been amazing. Obviously, there's a small percentage of people who are detractors and don't like the idea at all. But I think most of them are just kind of misinformed on what the status is of the asylum-seekers. And, you know, they want them all to go home, and that's just not possible. But on the whole, it's been really positive.

Well, you mentioned that some residents of your community are curious about the status. I wonder, has Customs and Border Protection told you not just what you're supposed to do with these people but how long you should plan on them being there?

Well, first of all they're - they have a legal U. S.  status, so there's nothing that we're supposed to do with them.

OK.

turn 2 :  The asylum-seekers have a legal status, which means the speaker is not responsible for them.

How are the PersonA's responsibilities towards the asylum-seekers defined?

Answer: Nothing


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

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

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

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

turn 1 :  "the employment piece" is a metaphorical phrase that refers to the importance of employment in the overall economic situation, rather than an actual physical piece.

Which phrase in the dialogue refers to the fact that most people support themselves through working every day?

Answer: Every


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

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

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

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

turn 2 : None of the turns in this statement have a figurative or non-literal meaning. The speaker is describing a specific case they worked on and their role in collecting and analyzing physical evidence related to the crime.

What was the defendant's threat to his girlfriend after confessing the crime?

Answer: Death


Before the pardon, he was thinking about working through the Justice Department to help Arpaio off. And this was not because, necessarily, the merits of the case. The Washington Post reports that this was because the president saw Arpaio as an ally, a loyalist who needed to be protected.

You mentioned Congress comes back after Labor Day. Do you think Republicans go it alone and maybe pass what laws they want and then send them up to President Trump for his signature at this point?

When it comes to tax reform, Congress will take the lead. The White House is not trying to outline the details. Look for Congress to try to set where the rates are on corporations and on individuals and just try to get the president to sign it so he can maybe get a victory. That's what they've been seeking in Congress. They weren't able to get health care through. They're going to try to get a simple tax care package through.

Robert Costa is national political reporter for The Washington Post. Robert, thanks a lot.

turn 0 : All the turns in this conversation appear to have their literal meanings, and there are no metaphors, figurative language or idioms used.

Which turn in the conversation includes a reference to a victory?

Answer: Victory


The yield curve has inverted for a full quarter, and that has been associated with predicting a recession for the last seven recessions. So from 1960s, this indicator has been reliable in terms of foretelling a recession. And also, importantly, it has not given any false signals yet.

So that would mean yes (laughter).

That means yes.

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

turn 2 : A is confirming that the yield curve has inverted.

Which indicator has been reliable in terms of foretelling a recession?

Answer: B


You definitely - I mean, mosses definitely occur down there and hepatics, as well. But as far as I understand, there's a very limited flora down there. It's not like the Canadian Arctic, where we're in an Alpine sector of the Canadian High Arctic. So there's a lot of diversity, a lot of meso- and microhabitats for the bryophytes to survive in.

What would you - what would be a home run, a grand slam for you in this field?What would really you like to find?What would, you know, besides. . . ?

I think what would be really fascinating is that if you could go under a melting glacier that was 100,000, 150,000 years, maybe 200,000 years old, and you actually found macrofossils, what would be called macrofossils underneath the glacier and be able to rejuvenate them. That would be pretty amazing.

Yeah, about the mosses that you found. Are all mosses like this, or is this a particularly hardy species of moss that you've discovered in the ice there?

turn 1 : They are asking what would be the best thing for the person to find.

How would you describe the focus of PersonB's question?

Answer: Best


The people in Somalia are suffering in a tremendous way. Actually, last month, the International Red Cross said that the fighting in Somalia that's going on now is the worst in 15 years. The government, the transitional government that was put into power with the help of U. S.  and Ethiopian invasion about 15 months ago has controlled nearly none of the country. They control a small of Mogadishu. The rest of the country is literally falling apart around it.

There is also, actually, in the last month alone 40,000 people had fled the capital. These are urban dwellers who are now literally camped out at roadsides, trying to get U. N. -staffed displacement camps, but really relying on international community for their most basic need. It's a really, really dire situation for the people of Somalia.

What's going to happen with some of these relief organizations?Will they be able to continue to operate in this climate?

We feel for the last 12 months that a couple of things have happen. Several of these organizations have actually put out of the country, organizations like Oxfam, World Division - organizations that are usually are, in times of crisis, the best and both trained do this kind of work. They had because they're worried for the safety of their staff pulled out.

turn 3 :  "put out of the country" in turn (4) is an idiom that means "to force someone to leave a place or country", which is different from its literal meaning.

Which idiom means "to force someone to leave a place or country" in turn 3?

Answer: Put-out


I think the purpose of the announcement today was, at least to some extent, about the huffing and puffing that Ilan Goldenberg mentioned in the prior commentary. But it's also, I think, a reaction to some sense that there was an appearance that the policy had begun to soften a bit because of the president's decision not to retaliate and some of his seemingly conciliatory rhetoric over the weekend.

Right. So after a year or so of what the Trump administration describes as a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, how do you increase the pressure from maximum, I guess, is the question.

Well, and that's the dilemma that the administration is beginning to face - that once you've sanctioned all of the major industries and sectors of the Iranian economy, there's very little that you can do that's not already redundant or just largely incremental. It also, I think, highlights the fact that the Iranian economy - what's left of it - has become more insular and less interconnected, which means whatever economic activity continues in Iran today is going to be more resilient to U. S.  penalties.

Now, the White House says this is all a means of getting Iran to the negotiating table. Do you think these steps are likely to do that, likely to have that effect?

turn 0 : "the huffing and puffing" and "soften a bit" are figurative expressions whose actual meanings are different from their literal meanings.

How did Ilan Goldenberg's prior commentary contribute to the purpose of the announcement?

Answer: Contributed


So first, he doesn't read French. And I was very scared. I have to tell you. The man, as you know, is very rich. And he's super well-known. And he cares about his image. And he has - you know, he can hire very good lawyers.

(Laughter).

And I was very, very scared because I wrote about his thoughts. I wrote about his sentimental life, about his sex life. You know, I'm - here I am, a woman, a heterosexual French woman, writing about a British gay artist. How do I dare?I was very, very scared - my husband, too. He thought, you know, there would be a. . .

(Laughter) You'd be bankrupt.

turn 0 : She was not actually scared but was worried about doing a good job.

Which emotion did PersonA pretend to feel while writing about the British artist?

Answer: Scared


But you're talking to the real deal now, Ira. This is not about - there's no science fiction here.

When you have an antihydrogen and a hydrogen bumping into each other, they get annihilated, right?

That's right.

But what happens if an antihydrogen bumps into something bigger - let's say a carbon atom?

turn 0 : The whole sentence e is not literal. "Real deal" (there's no actual 'deal' involved) and no science fiction implies that what B is saying seems unbelievable, but is in fact real and true.

Which phrase in turn 0 suggests that what PersonB is saying seems unbelievable, but is in fact real and true?

Answer: Real-deal


Because they need to. They need to become the number two search-engine in the world. Google is number one. Microsoft's MSN's portal is a lame duck in the number three position. This would give them a better search-engine opportunity, which would increase the amount of online advertising dollars, which is where everyone is going and why this would make a lot of sense to do.

So are they going to take the offer, you think?

You know, I hope so. It would be nice to see. You know, I would like to see Yahoo stay independent, but I don't know. I mean, they're talking about a thousand layoffs, Farai. So if it can stop people from losing their job, I'm all for it.

All right. Well, Mario, thanks a lot.

turn 0 : The speaker in turn (1) is not just explaining the reason why Microsoft needs to become the number two search-engine in the world, but also implying that acquiring Yahoo is the best way for them to achieve that goal. The speaker suggests that Microsoft's MSN's portal is not doing well in the number three position and acquiring Yahoo would give them a better search-engine opportunity, which would increase online advertising dollars. The speaker believes this acquisition would make a lot of sense to do.

How would acquiring Yahoo benefit Microsoft's search-engine ranking?

Answer: Online


Well, yeah. But you see what I mean?Because it is about perception and how we need to be - to understand what we're seeing before we can really see it, that's really key to understanding this whole issue of climate change and why we see or don't see what's right in front of us.

What drew you to monarchs in the first place?

I had really wanted to write about the subject for a long time. I live in southern Appalachia. I am surrounded by neighbors and friends - people I respect very much - who don't really understand climate change or believe in it, even though, as farmers, they're getting socked by it. We've had unprecedented, disastrous weather time and again. So it's such a strange contradiction that the people in our continent who are first to feel the harm of a changing climate are the last to be able to talk about it.

That was such a conundrum and such rich territory for a novel to tread, that I was just looking for the right way to get into the subject. And one morning, I just woke up with this vision in my eyes of millions of butterflies covering the forest behind my house. I just - I mean, I didn't actually see it. I imagined it. I woke up and there it was, and I knew that was it.

turn 3 : The author woke up with a vision of millions of butterflies covering the forest, which inspired the novel.

Which natural phenomenon inspired the author's novel?

Answer: Butterflies


Now, we're going to head east to New York. NPR's Robert Smith spent the day in the raucous Harlem Armory yesterday. He joins us now. How are you doing, Robert?

I'm doing great. And no offense to Cheryl; she's talking about the hometown pride for Barack Obama. They like to point out in Harlem that before he moved to Chicago, Barack Obama went to Columbia University and lived in East Harlem. So, there you go.

All right. Well, how did they process this spectacle yesterday?

"Process" is a tame word for it. It was an out-and-out party. Everything from giant video screens on 125th Street; there were big events at the Schaumburg Center for Black Culture and at the Apollo Theater. I went to a schoolchildren event at the Harlem Armory, and if you can imagine the sound of about 5,000 middle-school students in a concrete bunker like the Armory screaming at the top of their lungs, you can imagine, it not only hurt your ears, but it was a little hard to follow the inauguration with that much excitement in one place.

turn 1 : Harlem residents take pride in Obama's previous residency

How did Harlem residents show their pride for Obama's previous residency?

Answer: Party


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

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

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

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

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

What is the tone of PersonB's statement about the mammoth?

Answer: Humorous


Mm-hmm. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR, talking with Jennifer Linder. You say it's UVA and UVB, make sure you have that in the sun - both - protection from both kinds of ultraviolet.

That is correct. It's actually probably the most important thing for people to remember because you want to have broad-spectrum covered. The reason is you can think of the UVB rays as being the burning rays, and you can think of the UVA rays as being the aging rays, and that's because the UVB rays go into the epidermis, which is where the nucleus is for the keratinocytes, the ones that when the DNA is changed, actually it turns into skin cancer, versus the UVA rays are longer wavelengths. And they actually go - capable of going into the deeper dermis, which is where the collagen is. And when you break down collagen, that's how you age, and probably about 80 to 90 percent of aging is actually a result of sun exposure.

What about the SPF factor?Does SPF 30 protect you twice as much as, say, SPF 15 and half as much as 60?

Great question. So it's - actually the way that the studies are done it's a little bit confusing because an SPF of 15 protects you from 93 percent of UVB rays, and it's only UVBs that SPF actually tells you about. Now, an SPF of 30 is going to protect you from 97 percent of those UVB rays. And when you get up to 50, you're only protecting yourself from 98 percent. So you can notice it's partial percentage points differences. . .

turn 2 : SPF is not directly proportional to the level of protection.

How is the level of protection related to SPF?

Answer: Nonlinear


Right. And people in Detroit and in Michigan have seen that up close. Detroit is one of the country's leading cities for foreclosures, and people have just seen the values of their houses plummet there. What do you hear from your readers?

Well, they're very angry. And the next question is, well, who are they angry at?And the answer seems to be, well, who's available. If McCain is doing a swing through the suburbs today, they'll be mad at McCain. If the Democratic governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, visits Detroit, they'll be mad at her. Both candidates still have favorable ratings above 50 percent. That's a little bit at variance with what I'm hearing anecdotally from readers. They seem much more polarized than that, and the Obama people seem much more hateful towards McCain and vice versa.

And what do they want to hear from the candidates?

They want to hear how the candidates are going to stem the hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs in Michigan or alternatively, what they're going to replace those jobs with. Michigan has been struggling with job losses, foreclosures and high unemployment for well over a year now. And there's anger, but there's also a little bit of numbness at the constant patter of bad news.

turn 1 : "swing through the suburbs" - actual meaning: visit the suburbs

How did McCain upset some of the readers?

Answer: Mad


Well, we got some comments about a story we did on a reported drop of media coverage on the war in Iraq. Charles Durn(ph) in Doylestown, Pennsylvania wrote us this. I am amazed how the various reasons given for the reduced coverage skip the obvious. One of your guests said that coverage switched off the same week General Petraeus said the surge was working. The obvious reason is the press is not interested in success in Iraq, especially if it made Bush look good.

Caroline Madelle Bennett(ph) in Rochester, New York praised us for a guest on that same segment. I don't care for much of what NPR puts on anymore, but I want you to know that I appreciate your having Laura Flanders on this evening. She's one of the intelligent voices of which there are so few on radio, in broadcast news, commentary and analysis.

We got a couple of comments on the monthly series on jazz that we're doing. Last week, we talked about how radio stations were dropping jazz from their programming lineups. Melinda Kennedy, who listens on WMUE FM noted this. It's not the music that keeps me from listening, but the radio personalities that host the shows.

And Don Nickels(ph) from Wildwood, Missouri chimed in, jazz has not suffered. Most of the greats are gone, but other than that it is the same as it's been for decades. It is a black genre and has never made it out of that community. Should it have more exposure on the radio?Maybe. But if no one is listening, who will pay?Welcome to what makes the world go round. It's called capitalism.

turn 0 : The press is biased and not interested in reporting positive news about Iraq.

How did Charles Durn describe the reason for reduced media coverage on the war in Iraq?

Answer: Bias


It's a pleasure to be here. And I'm one of many people who are running the Dog Aging Project.

What do you folks hope to learn?

We're trying to create the largest long-term study of aging in dogs that anyone has ever done, with the goal of trying to understand how genes and environment determine healthy aging in dogs.

So it's not just that old rule of thumb that one year is seven years in a dog's life?

turn 1 : (2) - What do you folks hope to learn? - Implied Meaning: What is the purpose of your research?

What is the goal of the Dog Aging Project?

Answer: Understanding


Well, I just hope that we can make it through. I don't know. We don't know what is in store - you know, the future has for us because we've already - when they cut the shifts back, we've already lost a lot of our business from over there. Now, there's going to be nobody, and we just don't know where it's going to go from there.

And this is a family business, I understand.

Yes, it is. Yes, it's me and my sisters. My father works here. My son's a grill cook. And, you know, we're not a big chain, so we're just really wondering what's going to happen. We're trying really hard to hang in there, but it's pretty scary.

And you say that you've had this business for 15 years.

turn 1 : to not know whats in store means that you don't know what will happen

How would you describe the business owned by PersonA and their family?

Answer: Family


That's because they're dark horses, Tony. I don't who they are.

I know who will not be in the final four this time around. My beloved Bruins from UCLA, they're not going anywhere this year.

Serves then right.

Yeah. They had their chance, right?

turn 0 : dark horse in this case implies an unknown entity, as in a team that no one knows of or is aware of.

Which term implies an unknown team in the dialogue?

Answer: A


Should the NSA be held responsible for this?I'm just wondering. The fact that this crown jewel, as you put it, was leaked or stolen and became public, is that their fault?

This is a great question. Actually, there's controversy. So initially, losing control of this hacking tool - and really, thousands of others - was clearly the NSA's fault. But at some point, I guess, their responsibility for criminals reusing what has become public is diminishing. But the problem here is that the U. S.  government - first Obama, then the Trump administration, and of course, also Congress - have never addressed the underlying extraordinary leak that took place that is known as Shadow Brokers, which is arguably the worst security breach the NSA has ever suffered - even worse than the Snowden leak.

It just seems remarkable that something that has such significance and such a power to disrupt people's lives hasn't gotten more attention. Does it seem strange to you?

Well, you know, the story is quite complicated. But I think we have to do better and really understand the Shadow Broker's leak, it's reuse. This is ultimately an attack, if we take the whole thing, that has caused tens of billions of damage to the world economy - billions.

turn 0 : Asking whether the NSA should take responsibility for the leak implies the possibility that they might be at fault.

How was the responsibility of NSPersonA for the leak suggested?

Answer: Implied


You've been raising questions about Jared Kushner's security clearance for a couple of years. Should he have one?

No. He should not - well, he should not have top-secret security clearance. You know, there are at least three problems - one is that he had numerous errors and omissions on his initial security clearance form where he did not report foreign contacts. Two, he has tremendous financial vulnerabilities, including this property called 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City where he's tremendously indebted. And he's seeking investment from all over the world to shore it up. And then three, it appears that the president concealed the fact that he had actually ordered John Kelly and Don McGahn to give Jared Kushner a top-secret clearance. And law enforcement officials didn't want him to have it. And so these factors all point to him not having it or not - he should not have it, I should say.

Quick last question. Do people in Schaumburg, Ill.  - in your district - care about whether Donald Trump lied about paying hush money to an actress or the job he's doing as president?

I think they really care about making sure that we get to the bottom of what happened in 2016. At the same time, they also care about us delivering on their pocketbook priorities. And so as Chairman Cummings pointed out in the Oversight hearing, this hearing with Michael Cohen was not the first hearing of the 116th Congress in Oversight. The first hearing was about trying to tackle the problem of rising prescription drug prices. And so we got to walk and chew gum at the same time, Scott.

turn 1 : Jared Kushner should not have top-secret security clearance due to errors, financial vulnerabilities, and concealing facts

How many factors are mentioned by PersonA for Jared Kushner not having top-secret security clearance?

Answer: 3


Thank you so much for wanting to talk to me.

When someone says to you, tell me about your mother, it's not a simple question, is it?

Oh, not at all, man, not at all. I look forward to it, though. My mother's an incredible model. And like most Americans, she just had a rough patch, and she was not comfortable talking about a lot of those rough patches. She had me when she was a sophomore at Jackson State University, and she got a job teaching at Jackson State maybe four or five years later after she started graduate school, so we moved to Jackson probably in 1979, 1980. And Jackson was home, and books were really home for me. She just made me read and write before I could do anything I wanted to my entire life. I thank her for my writerly practice that I still have now, but that writerly practice also enabled me to write into a lot of the gaps and a lot of the terror that I think she probably did not want me to write into.

Well - and we do have to get to that, don't we?

turn 2 : rough patches means in this context a bad period of time

How would you describe the mother's past?

Answer: Rough


Good morning.

The White House - rather, the House and the Senate worked out the differences between their tax bills. What are some of the highlights of this final legislation?

There are big cuts for corporations in here, also for pass-through businesses, where owners pay taxes as an individual. There are individual tax cuts. Those by and large go more toward wealthy earners. And those tax cuts will expire in 2025. But Republicans made a calculation here that whoever's in control of Congress next decade will not be super thrilled to raise taxes on a lot of voters. So that's that.

I think it's worth noting that Republicans all along sold this as not just tax cuts but a simplification of the tax code. You heard President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan say, you can file your taxes on a postcard. By and large, they did not simplify the tax code here. There are still seven brackets. There's still a lot of deductions, a lot of loopholes, a lot of language. So. . .

Five hundred pages.

turn 4 : This implies that there's a lot of deduction or loopholes in the tax code.

What does turn 3 suggest about the tax code?

Answer: Not-Simplified


At some point, it does cross your mind and you do worry about contracting the illness, but there are only fleeting moments. We have to concentrate on the patients here to provide them with appropriate medical care, but also to make sure our outreach program of finding cases, of following up of contacts is performed in a comprehensive manner so that we can bring this outbreak to a close.

I don't want to the leave the conversation with you without asking what can the world do as far as you're concerned?

We need an organization that can provide some leadership across multiple countries in the region of West Africa. To date, we have not seen that occurring. And if we don't find the cases in the community, and we don't do the contact tracing, this outbreak will linger on for months and months. Solving outbreaks is not rocket science. It just requires those features I have described previously. But unfortunately, they're not being applied in an appropriate manner at the moment to reach the world.

Dr.  Gabriel Fitzpatrick of Doctors Without Borders - Medecins Sans Frontieres. Thanks very much for being with us.

turn 1 : (2).  In this turn, B says "I don't want to leave the conversation with you without asking what can the world do as far as you're concerned?" which literally means that B wants to know what the world can do to help. However, the implied meaning here is that B is acknowledging the gravity of the situation and the need for collective action to address the Ebola outbreak. This turn is an example of rhetorical questioning, where the speaker asks a question for effect rather than to elicit a direct answer.

What does PersonB mean by using rhetorical questioning in turn 1?

Answer: Effect


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?

Right now is the period of true testing of exactly that question. How independent do they want their foreign policy to be, given that there's a long-standing, close relationship between trans-Atlantic security partners and significant collaboration and interconnectivity in the economic sphere?So on the one hand, Europe wants to adhere to its own principles on foreign policy and economic relations, which lead it to diverge from the United States in the matter of this Iran deal. On the other hand, that may mean risking quite a lot.

Elizabeth Rosenberg of the Center for a New American Security, thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you.

turn 1 : Europe wants to assert its independence from the US while risking consequences

What is Europe's stance on foreign policy regarding the Iran deal?

Answer: Divergence


Not letting anybody down - what do you mean?just being able to hold the salute for so long.

Yeah, maintain my position and in life. You know, it's much more than one day out of the year thing. The families that lost their loved ones, they're like, wow, my son wanted to be that. And it kind of honors them, in essence, because it doesn't let the sacrifice go in vain.

This seems to resonate with Korean vets, who are getting older now, vets from Vietnam, same thing - also Iraq, Afghanistan. I mean, it's all generations.

Yes, and it's very humbling. I was in a diner in Lexington, Ky.  And this guy saw a shirt I had with my salute on the back that said, thank you, veterans in all the wars. And he goes, I know that Marine. And I'm like, well, I'm that Marine. He started to cry. He said, please keep doing it. He had to give up his motorcycle when he came home from war. And now he bounces and tries to go to school and is trying to find his way.

turn 0 : letting anybody down implies not to disappoint anyone not to bring people down from carrying them on high

Which word describes the impact of the salute on the families of fallen soldiers?

Answer: Honors


I'm bullish on it. It's a big change. We're working through all the challenges. One challenge is for creators. They use Instagram to make a living. Likes are a sign of how relevant they are, so we have to figure out some way to make sure we preserve that.

You're talking about influencers. Right?I mean, there are people who now essentially make a living off of their social media presence. And the way they show potential advertisers - look, I'm a good bet - is how many likes I get.

Absolutely. We've actually had a pretty mixed response from influencers. So I think - I'm optimistic to answer your question very directly. We aren't there yet. We're still iterating on the experience. But I am personally optimistic and really personally invested in making it work.

So the boss is bullish. (Laughter) That's the take so far.

turn 3 : The boss refuses to change their mind on what they think about situation.

How is the boss feeling about the situation?

Answer: Bullish


Yes, and I suppose my book, quite apart from being a memoir about my mother and what happened to her and this mystery - it's also a campaign against collective silence because these people who knew - they knew. And they knew, and they never said anything, all the way through, decade after decade. And I went back in the 1980s to Lincolnshire with my mother and my brother to try to find out more about everything that'd gone on. And even then, they wouldn't talk to us. They would talk about absolutely anything else, but. . .

Why not, do you think?Why were they still so protective of these old, old, old secrets?

I think that they were protecting one particular person - my mother's adopted mother, a woman called Veda Elston.

The woman you knew as your grandmother.

turn 0 : The phrase "it's also a campaign against collective silence"  has a non-literal meaning, as it does not refer to an actual physical campaign but rather a figurative one, meaning that the author's book aims to raise awareness and encourage people to break their silence on the topic.

What is the author's book campaign against?

Answer: Silence


Earlier this week, viewers of the CBS drama "The Good Fight" were greeted by an 8 1/2-second-long image. It read, CBS has censored this content. Content was a piece of animation, along with a song, that took critical aim at Chinese censorship, often of American products, and the importance of a Chinese market to U. S.  businesses, sometimes at the expense of U. S.  values.

The animator who brought that bit to life is Steve Angel. He joins us now from Toronto. Mr.  Angel, thanks so much for being with us.

My pleasure. Happy to talk to you.

And I should disclose I'm a special contributor to "CBS Sunday Morning," a production of CBS News. Since we can't see that scene for ourselves, could you describe it to us?

turn 1 : The animation bit wasn't literally brought to life; it just means that the man created the animation.

Answer: Created


And so when two clumps of free protons and electrons hit each other, they will slow each other down. But dark matter has no charge. That's why we can't see it because the only reason you and I could see anything, it's because there's charges that are being accelerated. That's what light is. But if something has no charge, it doesn't give off light.

So yeah, so in the Bullet Cluster, dark matter and galaxies stayed together just as they should, and in Abell 520, they do not, and that is a mystery as to why exactly that is. There isn't a comfortable explanation that can be readily arrived at.

Is there a theory about what may be happening, or just - you have to just think about it some more?

Well, so there's a number of things that could be happening. All of them are slightly disturbing.

turn 1 : (2) The speaker is discussing the phenomenon of dark matter and how it behaves in the Bullet Cluster and Abell 520. The fact that dark matter and galaxies stay together in the Bullet Cluster but not in Abell 520 is a mystery.

How does dark matter behave in Abell 520 compared to the Bullet Cluster?

Answer: Separately


I'm doing great. Now, let's talk a little bit about Charlie Rangel. He's an icon. He's got this gravelly voice. This slicked back hair. Dapper dresser. And with his reputation as a deal maker he's held onto his seat for 19 terms. So, what are the most important parts of this multifaceted story?

Well there's a lot of issues that have been brought up related to the chairman. But the one that seems to the most teeth is really this issue of his taxes and specifically his ownership of a beach house in the Dominican Republic where he didn't report rental income for about two decades, and he owes taxes on that. And for most people that's a problem. If you are the chairman of the committee that writes the tax laws that's arguably a big problem.

So what is he risking if critics continue to push for him to leave this powerful committee post that he holds?

Well there are few positions in the House, certainly, that are more important than the one that he has and at this point the Democrats seem to be standing by him. Were he to lose that, though, you lose a great deal of influence over tax policy and one of the odd little inner workings of Washington is that a lot of what really affects economic policy right now goes on in tax policy as opposed to elsewhere.

turn 2 : to hold something in this context means that the person has power

Which word describes the type of power Charlie Rangel holds?

Answer: Powerful


What changed your mind because you did start college for a while?

Well, ever heard of the Three Cs?Civilian Conservation Corps, that was started by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at that time the president of the United States. And he started that program to get young boys like me off the street and try to put them in places where they could learn a trade. And I joined that, and that's when I started to learn about gasoline engine, diesel engines and heavy equipment.

That probably served you pretty well when you went into the military. How did you get into the military and what did you do once you went in?

After I left the CCC camp, I went to the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. That's where I learned to run engine lathe and I made part for ships. And I wanted to volunteer for the Army, but I was drafted. And drafted and was sent to Camp Ellis, Illinois where I take my basic training and went to - overseas in a quartermaster service company in Germany, first France.

turn 1 :  "And he started that program to get young boys like me off the street and try to put them in places where they could learn a trade." - The phrase "off the street" does not refer to a literal street, but rather means to get young people away from a life of idleness and potential trouble.

What was the purpose of starting the Civilian Conservation Corps program?

Answer: Boys


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

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

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

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

turn 0 : Shaving his head affected how people perceived him

What did people think he was after he shaved his head?

Answer: Perceived


That's something that has come up quite a bit.

Agreement's vacated if he. . .

Precisely, yeah.

Yeah. As someone with your experience, knowing lawyers on both sides, I gather - has the prosecution laid out a convincing case in the couple of weeks it's had?

turn 1 : The agreement is no longer valid if he... (implied condition)

Answer: Invalid


How hopeful are you that this outbreak can be contained?

Specifically in Uganda, they are very well-prepared. But the way the response is going in the DRC is very concerning. There's a lot of scale-up and better coordination and closely working with the community. There's a lot of armed groups operating in the area. There's a tax on Ebola workers. NGOs are forced to suspend their programming on a regular basis.

And so it's really important that we gain the trust of the community in the DRC, that people make sure they're starting to bring suspected cases into the clinics because we're still seeing a lot of cases in the communities, which shows that people are not trusting the response, and they're not bringing their loved ones into the clinics for treatment. So in order to stop it spreading, we have to stop it in the source, which is in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kellie Ryan with the International Rescue Committee in Uganda. We reached her by Skype. Kellie, thanks so much.

turn 1 : The response to the Ebola outbreak in DRC is not going well and there are a lot of challenges to overcome

What is concerning about the response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC?

Answer: response


What goes in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse - until the baseball manager writes a book, that is. It's Thursday, and if you haven't guessed, it's time again for a look at sports with our very own sports guru, the New York Times Sports Columnist, Mr.  Bill Rhoden. Mr.  Bill, what's up?

Hey, the great Tony Cox. How you're doing?

I'm doing great, man. Joe Torre, leaving New York as a beloved figure, but now he has written his autobiography, "The Yankee Years. "I know that he's been on his New York tour. People are buying the book. But, you know, some people are happy, some people not so happy.

Well, the people who are most important to be happy are happy. The publisher of course. . .

Anybody reading book, it's about selling books. And I, Tony, I sort of equate it to in football, the most important statistics for a receiver are yards after catch.

turn 2 : Some people are unhappy with Joe Torre's book

How are some people feeling about Joe Torre's book?

Answer: Unhappy


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 : Hurricane Dorian caused extensive damage and loss of life.

What is the name of the town in Abacos where Alex Cepero stayed during Hurricane Dorian?

Answer: MarshHarbour.


We're learning more about the nine people who died Thursday in a shooting attack that shattered the peace in a small town in Oregon. Authorities have released the names of the victims who were murdered at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. Nine other people were wounded. The shooter died as well. NPR's Tom Goldman has been in Roseburg since the day of the shooting and joins us. Tom, thanks for being with us.

Hi, Scott, my pleasure.

And of course, we usually talk about sports - not today. Oregon's your home.

Not today, indeed. I'm based in Portland, about three, three-and-a-half hours north of here, close enough for me to come here and report on this.

turn 3 : "based in Portland" - This is an idiom meaning that the person's primary residence or place of work is located in Portland, rather than a literal description of their location.

Which idiom describes the location of PersonA's primary residence or place of work?

Answer: Portland


Being an African-American police officer is one of the most difficult things that you'll do because there are African-American police officers all around this country and in this city who I talk to on a daily bases that, even before recent history, believe that there were issues between police officers and young black men. And one of the things that I think creates the problem - I've heard the word utilized a lot in describing the relationship - is that African-American men and particularly young men - say late teens to early-to-mid-30s - are - the word used is demonized.

And there are black officers that you talk to on a daily basis who will tell you that it's tough. I see this, and I still have to be accepted. I still have to be a part of the police culture, living in two worlds.

But I'll say that if you're a black police officer in America, there are some difficulties simply because you know that your race and gender has been on the receiving end of some very serious and questionable uses of force, whether they be deadly or just plain force used to make an arrest. So it is seen as something that - a burden that we carry as African-American men who also work in police profession.

Lieutenant Thomas Glover is president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas. Lieutenant Glover, thank you very much.

turn 3 : (4) Turn B: The literal and implied meaning are the same, which is a simple expression of gratitude towards Lieutenant Glover for his role as the president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas.

How did PersonB respond to Lieutenant Thomas Glover?

Answer: thank


Yes, yes indeed, yeah.

Where are they now?

They're blue-collar, and many of them remain Democrats, although when the national election comes, many of them outside of Allegheny County do start voting Republican. Part of the reason is that this is an older state, and for pensioners, unless the economy is really going haywire and frightening them about the condition of their pensions and the future of their Social Security, they are going to worry less about breadbasket issues than they're going to worry about the social flashpoint issues.

And out here, Democrats, and we're talking about liberals, Democrats are pro-Second Amendment. They're pro-life. They are very religious. They're socially conservative. Gay marriage simply confounds them as a theory. In other words, we're talking about a place where the liberals have guns.

And so, where are those liberals going?Are they going to Obama or McCain?

turn 3 : Liberals in this area hold conservative beliefs and values.

Which group's beliefs and values do the liberals in this area hold?

Answer: Conservatives


Yeah, of course. I think it's right for the employer to know. But let the person go all the way through the process until the point where they're being offered a job. It creates more momentum towards hiring and more of a chance that that person's actually get a job.

Why do you include in this legislation a provision that would allow felons to vote in every state in the country?

You know, these felony disenfranchise laws - if you go back to some of the state legislative debates that were happening after Reconstruction, they were designed to stop African-Americans from voting. These have racist roots to these laws. And it gets to a point now where you can see the fruit of that poison tree - is that you have some counties in America where 1 out of 4 African-Americans can't vote. And remember; the overwhelming number of charges are for nonviolent drug offenses.

So here, you've served your time, and now you're going to have 10, 20, 40, 50, 60 years more as an adult. And you're told that your citizen rights have been stripped from you?This is a way, I think, that poor people especially - low-income people are being stripped of their democratic power.

turn 2 : "And it gets to a point now where you can see the fruit of that poison tree." The figurative meaning here is that the negative consequences of the racially motivated felony disenfranchisement laws are becoming evident or visible. The phrase "fruit of that poison tree" implies that the current situation is a result of something harmful or unjust in the past.

What is the metaphorical meaning of "fruit of that poison tree"?

Answer: Consequences


Only that she's been willing to tell her story from the beginning. She testified voluntarily to the Senate intelligence committee in April before all of this. And she's never been hesitant to tell her story. And she'll tell her story if the government asks her to in whatever form they ask her to.

What about U. S.  person No. 1, Paul Erickson, the Republican political operative?He appears throughout the plea agreement. He and your client, I gather, had a romantic relationship. He apparently helped her establish those back-channel relations. Should he be indicted?Do you think he will be?

I mean, that's going to be up to the Department of Justice. I mean, I think if one takes the view the department has - the broad view of the foreign agent statute - there might be some risk there. But I don't think there's going to be any news about that beyond what's been in the statement of the offense.

Are you worried about what happens if your client is sent back to Russia?

turn 3 : Russia here refers to or implies a prison

How is Russia referred to in the dialogue?

Answer: Prison


ou're also seeing some extreme moves by companies like Advantage Consultants who basically say, hey, we can supply you, Mr.  and Ms. Candidate, with an army-full of bloggers ready to get your campaign out on the blogosphere 24/7. It's just - it's like the wild, wild West right now on the Internet.

Is that - I mean, of course, all fair - all is fair in love, war and politics. But is that cheating in a way, you know, blogs were created initially as if, like, I'm just going to express what's in my heart. And now, it sounds as if what you're saying is that there is a lot of people who are saying, I'm going to create the appearance that people are speaking from their heart.

Yeah, and, you know - and this is - gets into astroturfing and a whole bunch of other terminology behind what's the real message of these types of Web sites. You're right. The organic nature of a blog was to be something that was transparent, that wasn't agenda-driven. And obviously, when you start looking at politics and campaigns, it's agenda-driven. So now, they're looking at these tools being PR machines, more than this transparent, here-is-a-look-into-my-life type of outlet that it used to be.

Speaking of transparency, there is some information that campaigns don't always give out, like where their money is coming from. And tell me about OpenSecrets.

turn 0 : "wild, wild West" is a figurative expression that means a situation where there is a lack of control or regulation.

How would you describe the current state of the Internet according to turn 0?

Answer: Unregulated


Well, part of number two is to go and send swarms of Arkyd 300 spacecraft to these high targets that - high value targets. And then after number two, we'll choose the ones that we want to actually extract resources from. And then number three, phase three comes along, which is to go and extract those resources and deliver them to the point of need.

Good luck to you, Eric Anderson. I hope you get a webcam on those asteroids for us to follow along with you.

We will. Don't worry.

All right. Thanks for joining us.

turn 2 : A is confident about the success of the mission and reassures B

Which phase of the mission is PersonA most optimistic about?

Answer: Two


That's right.

Tell us about that one.

Well, that's around a star called HD 10 - excuse me, 40307. I'm losing track of the numbers, there are so many stars now. And this is a system where we first tried out some of these techniques, where there were already several planets known around it, three planets known around it, and we found three more by basically being more clever in how we deal with the noise due to the star's surface activity.

And this was - you have a rating scale for how close to Earthlike they are correct?

turn 2 : Well, that's around a star called HD 10 - excuse me, 40307.I'm losing track of the numbers, there are so many stars now.And this is a system where we first tried out some of these techniques, where there were already several planets known around it, three planets known around it, and we found three more by basically being more clever in how we deal with the noise due to the star's surface activity.

Which techniques were used to discover three more planets around the star HD 10, mentioned in turn 2?

Answer: noise


Oh, thanks for having me on, Scott.

What made you decide to do this?

You know, Scott, we'd been trying to sort of open up the view of this place to the public pretty much from day one. But we had to get through some of these hurdles so that, in the event of bad things going on in jail, we're not going to hide from it. We're going to be transparent. And we'll attempt to work through firing, criminally charging, if - as necessary as well - but to let the public know that we're trying. We're not involved with some cover-up, or this isn't some big secret.

Bad things going on - I mean, to be plain about it, you mean mostly guards abusing inmates?

turn 3 : The literal meaning of turn (4) is that the interviewer is seeking clarification on what the interviewee means by "bad things going on." However, the actual meaning is that the interviewer is making an assumption that "bad things going on" primarily refers to guards abusing inmates, even though the interviewee did not explicitly state this.

Which assumption does the interviewer make about "bad things going on"?

Answer: Guards


Putin has, shall we say, not excluded the possibility that he may want to run again for yet another term. He is aware that a lot of people didn't want to come - him to come back this time, even amongst with his own closest collaborators. So he is not trying to drive home the point that, you know, you get 12 years of me now. He says, we'll have to see, and for a lot of people, that's a hopeful possibility.

Ambassador Sestanovich, thanks very much.

Thanks a lot.

Stephen Sestanovich of the Council on Foreign Relations joined us by phone from here in Washington. Tomorrow, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  on a new collection of his writings on race, culture and politics. Join us for that. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

turn 0 : Putin has not excluded the possibility of running again for another term: Although Putin is not making any firm commitment, his statement suggests that he is considering running for another term in the future. This is an example of implied meaning, as Putin does not explicitly say that he will run again.

Which possibility did Putin not exclude?

Answer: Running


And many of your students have to work for a living in order to be able to afford to attend college in the first place.

Well, that happens in many - or most community colleges. And certainly, El Centro is a prime example of that. We're a very diverse community in terms of students from different backgrounds, including of color. Many students have families. They have children, and so over 80 percent of our students are part-time students because of that in part. And they also are low-income students, so they need financial aid such as federal Pell Grants as well as what Texas, here, provides in support for students as well.

And what if there was no longer a deduction for student loans?

Well, that's another area. At El Centro, the percentage of students that leave the college debt is about 34 percent. And the average student debt is about $21,000. Students are eligible for Pell. Pell doesn't cover all of the needs that students have. It does cover tuition. It does cover fees. It does cover books. But students need living.

turn 2 : The literal meaning of the turn is asking about a hypothetical scenario, but the actual meaning is asking about the potential impact of eliminating a deduction for student loans.

What percentage of El Centro students leave college with debt?

Answer: 34


And now it's letter time. Our editor, Sasa Woodruff, is here with me. Hey, Sasa.

Hey, Farai. How's it going?

I'm doing fabulously. So, what are folks saying this week?

Well, our series on race and our discussions on California's measure to ban gay marriage got the most hits this week. Jenny Livingston(ph) in Brooklyn, New York wrote in after hearing one of our discussions about Prop 8. She wrote: As a supporter of the Obama campaign, I was ecstatic about the Obama victory. Then the news the next day about Prop 8 and about other civil rights setbacks for lesbian and gay and transgender families flavored our victory with more than a dash of bittersweet. I like your piece the other day, as I always like your show. But I think it could have gone much deeper. The question I wanted to hear more directly addressed was, is the black community and Americans at large open to seeing gay, lesbian, transgender rights as a civil rights issue?

turn 3 : The victory of Obama was flavored with sadness after Prop 8.

Answer: A


UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #4: And you can just tell the way the big fellow was laughing, he thinks that's it.

. . . But his new book is a tribute to another legend, his coach at UCLA, John Wooden. Their 50-year-long friendship started on the court at Pauley Pavilion and grew over lunch at VIP's Cafe in Tarzana and long afternoons of easy conversation in coach Wooden's den. This week on Out of Bounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author of "Coach Wooden And Me. "He joins me now from NPR West. Welcome so much to the program.

Thank you very much, nice to talk to you.

At the beginning of the book, you write about how you and coach Wooden when you first met were an odd couple sitcom waiting to happen. Tell us about who you were then.

turn 3 : (4) implies that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John Wooden were an unlikely pair when they first met.

How were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John Wooden when they first met?

Answer: unlikely


But you're talking to the real deal now, Ira. This is not about - there's no science fiction here.

When you have an antihydrogen and a hydrogen bumping into each other, they get annihilated, right?

That's right.

But what happens if an antihydrogen bumps into something bigger - let's say a carbon atom?

turn 0 : The whole sentence e is not literal. "Real deal" (there's no actual 'deal' involved) and no science fiction implies that what B is saying seems unbelievable, but is in fact real and true.

What is the implication of PersonA's statement in turn 0?

Answer: Credibility


When you lament where the company is, do you feel there are steps that can be taken to bring it back to the loftier values that, you know, you first believed were true?

Yeah, I think there are steps, but I don't think they're kind of what Uber should do. I think they're what regulators and lawmakers and sort of society should do. I mean, sort of a very easy step would be to, you know, re-examine this independent contractor status of their drivers and see if there's some way to have them be employees or gain some equity in the company. That would be one way.

So basically you're saying, as we're about to hoo and ha over the massive figure of possibly a hundred billion dollars in worth - regulators, pay attention and protect the drivers and the little people in the game?

Yeah. And I think actually, you know, Uber going public may prompt that - which we are seeing strikes. We are seeing protests from drivers. And we're in this moment where lawmakers, presidential candidates, regulators are paying more attention to this industry and its effects on the world. So I don't think Uber's IPO is going to be the end of the story for its drivers and for its culture. I think it's, you know, maybe the beginning of a new, more restrictive, you know, oversight over the company.

turn 3 : The public offering will not be the end of scrutiny and oversight over Uber

How will Uber be affected after going public?

Answer: Oversight


Billion with a B. And they have their own cable channels. I mean, they're major sports players. And almost all that revenue comes from two sports, men's basketball and football.

So where does all of that money go?

Not to the student athletes. Under NCAA rules, they're amateurs. They cannot be compensated beyond their scholarships and the cost of attending college. But it goes to coaches' salaries. It goes to facilities. It goes to the conference commissioners who all make an excess of $2 million now. There are a lot of people who are millionaires because of these sports. And so everyone gets paid except for the student athletes.

So how does race factor into all of this?

turn 2 : It implies that Student-athletes are being exploited for their labor and not fairly compensated.

Answer: Scholarships


Yeah. You know, it's a great question. I think that the core of the problem is that they say that they pursue these weapons out of insecurity. So the logical thing is can the world provide them some sort of security?And in past agreements that I have participated in, we provided them security guarantees and offered to negotiate a peace treaty with them. The problem is I think the security - insecurity that they feel is generated by the regime itself. You know, these sorts of totalitarian regimes never feel secure. And that's the core problem.

Because there's mass starvation. There's mass poverty. There's mass oppression.

Right. And that they - all those things, and that they don't rule by the consent of the legitimacy of the people. And that's the basic problem.

Yeah. China has a role in this?

turn 1 : There's mass starvation. There's mass poverty. There's mass oppression."  Here, the speaker is not simply stating the literal existence of these problems but implying that these issues are widespread and pervasive, affecting a large number of people in a significant manner.

Which word in the dialogue implies that the speaker believes the issues of mass starvation, mass poverty, and mass oppression are widespread and pervasive?

Answer: Pervasive


Well, it just occurred to me in the last few months that what I do is almost like a drug for me. If it's not there on some nights when my instrument is not working correctly like I want it to, or the sound isn't right, or the audience is heckling me, or somebody's not happy, it's almost like I'm not getting that fix that I need. And it is kind of the biggest drug in my life is taking music to people, in a way.

So, Lalah, you have a bunch of different sounds on this CD, and let's talk a little bit about the song, "One Mile" which has a little bit more of a hip-hop, R&B edge.

(Singing) Bring me all around the world, Tell me I'm the only one. I believe you love me so, Wondered how you let me down. Tricky how you said the words, Didn't even feel disturbed. You're my one and only girl, Those are only words I heard.

So, when you think about the story telling, and this sound, how do you cross-pollinate them when you put together something like this song?

turn 3 : cross-pollinate implies to understand and digest things

How do you describe the process of combining different ideas in creating a song?

Answer: Combine


And what Kansas has done is to try to turn things around once again so that not every parolee who runs afoul of an administrative rule, is immediately shipped back to prison, but instead is given another chance. And actually, the parole officer will work with them to try to keep them out of prison, as opposed to just trying to lock them - lock the cuffs on them as fast as possible.

Well, Jennifer, great to talk to you. Thank you.

Thanks so much, Farai.

Jennifer Gonnerman is the author of "Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett. "She wrote the article, "Slammed: Welcome to the Age of Incarceration. "It's the lead article in a special edition of Mother Jones magazine examining America's prison system. And she joined us from our NPR Studios in New York.

turn 0 : Not every parolee who violates an administrative rule will be sent back to prison

How will parole officers handle parolees who violate administrative rules?

Answer: Work


Whichever direction the U. S.  is going, it's clearly not great news for the Europeans, who Iran is very close to their borders. It's just next door in the Middle East. And we've seen what happens in the Middle East doesn't tend to stay there and has direct consequences for the Europeans. So the Europeans have been trying to urge, sadly, unsuccessfully so far, for the U. S.  side to show a bit more pragmatism and realism about what it's expecting from Iran.

At the same time, you have said that Iran knows all the, quote, "red buttons. "Can you talk about what that means and how that can contribute to escalation?

Iran has essentially been living as a neighbor to the United States, if you think about it, for 20 years. Why?Since the invasion of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, which are two big, bordering countries to Iran. . .

Where there is an American troop presence.

turn 0 : The situation with the US and Iran is concerning for Europeans

What is the main concern for Europeans regarding the situation with the US and Iran?

Answer: consequences


So, I don't how it would go anyway.

You sounded fine to me. But let me ask you, because - in part because Allison is still here with me, and we always talk about this on Friday, these kinds of things. Do you know what you're going to wear?

I do, I do. I'm nominated in the Urban/Alternative Performance category, and I decided to just go with that. So, I've picked a young designer who is a good friend of mine. Her name is Carmen Webber of Sistahs Harlem, and she was on "Project Runway," actually, and we've been friends for years. She has made me a fantastic jumpsuit for the Grammys. That's all I'm going to say.

OK, OK.

turn 1 : B is not really interested in what A is wearing and is just making small talk.

Answer: A


It was really beautiful.

My daughter's a dancer. And so she - we invited her dance teachers. And we invited my family. And we gathered beneath the full moon. And we did many of the rituals that are described in the book. And we offered, and we created space. And we sat in circle together.

This book is written in verse. And one of the most moving things that I saw is that you referenced a poem that I had never heard of until I read it in your book. I want you to read the last stanza of it.

We stand at the heart of the forest beside the stone pool, waiting for Venus, the smoking star, to glimmer above the trees. Remove your clothes. Let down your hair. Bask in the moonlight, naked as the day of your birth - virgins, maidens, women.

turn 3 : Heart of the forest means the center of the forest. The stone pool is a creek with rocks in it. Venus looks smoky due to the position of the planet in the sky.

Answer: Glimmer


I got a glance over the weekend, and the sky was beautifully blue. I mean, really, it was wonderful. And the air pollution index for that day was exceedingly low. Also, it was like 17. That's lowest since I've been keeping track.

This, I think, has to do with changes in weather patterns that appeared to start somewhere in the first week of August. The arrival of rainfall and winds from the northeast and form the northwest, which would bring in cleaner air, and in particular lack of strong winds from the south that would bring up the heavy levels of pollution.

Yet, you've said earlier that the air pollution in Beijing mostly blows in from elsewhere. So these steps that the city officials have taken in recent months with changing traffic patterns and closing factories, really, that's not a factor here?

Well, you know, I've been looking at the day they very carefully tried to decide what is really going on this summer. We know that the controls did something. It's just that I, at least, am unable to pick out their effects in the data so far.

turn 2 :  "blows in from elsewhere" means "originates from other regions" rather than "physically blows in from other regions"

How does PersonB interpret the phrase "blows in from elsewhere"?

Answer: Originates


Huge.

Bringing peace there. Is there - there are some similarities I would imagine with Rwanda.

You know, I haven't heard the organized ones like we did see there. But always I think, they've been the backbone of the country but always in the background, not even allowed to own property. And now with these new rights given to them, we're seeing some real, real progress.

So, Carl, for you, in a sense you could say that Rwanda was ground zero, but now you have expanded beyond there to continue your works around the world. Tell us briefly about that.

turn 2 : the group of people they are referring to have been pivotal to the success of the country

What is the role of the group of people mentioned in turn 2?

Answer: Pivotal


So are you surprised by these numbers?Is there anything in the report we haven't really heard before?

Unfortunately I wish I could say I was surprised. But it's pretty much an extension of what we've known going back for decades now, and that is that our path of tougher sentencing laws and higher rates of incarceration has really continued unabated. And at this point, as this report points out, we stand alone on the global stage with really no other peers in terms of our use of incarceration.

Can you break down the numbers by race?

Well, that's where the numbers are most compelling and most frightening. The one in a hundred number that got most of the attention, one in a hundred Americans are in prison or jail, obscures the underlying trends and the geographical concentration of incarceration, particularly among low-income communities of color. And once you look for young African—American males, as the report points out, black men between the ages of 20 and 34, one in nine of them are in prison or jail on a given day.

turn 2 : The underlying trends and geographical concentration of incarceration disproportionately affect low-income communities of color, particularly young African-American males.

How are low-income communities of color impacted by incarceration?

Answer: Communities


Those same streaks are in Europe. We're seeing people who are rebelling against the European Union, the open market, the open borders, who are rebelling against migration and refugees and who have lost out or feel that they have lost out on globalization and trade and are now opposing trade. So the same phenomenon we see here in the United States you also see in Europe. And in that sense, we are having a crisis that really affects Western liberal democracies writ large.

Well, I think that is a sentiment you are hearing increasingly in places like Belgium and France that - the problem is that the threat is not just from without but it is also from within. Belgian citizens, people born in Belgium, blew up the metro station and airport, where French citizens born in France who blew up the concert hall and stadium in - last November.

That threat needs to be dealt with not only by the countries themselves but can more effectively be dealt with by the Europeans coming together, sharing intelligence, which is not what they're doing right now, protecting their external borders much better than they have been able to do, rather than each individually trying to deal with this challenge.

turn 1 : "I wonder what you'd say, Mr. Ambassador, to a citizen of Belgium or France who might say now a united Europe is just too bureaucratic and too centralized to protect its population."  The actual meaning implied here is that the citizen of Belgium or France believes that a united Europe, due to its bureaucratic and centralized nature, is unable to effectively safeguard its population. It suggests skepticism or doubt regarding the ability of a united Europe to fulfill its protective role.

What is the sentiment expressed by the citizen of Belgium or France towards a united Europe's ability to protect its population?

Answer: France


And, you know, in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act is constitutional by calling the penalty for not having insurance a tax. And Congress has the power to tax people. So these attorneys general come in, and they argued that since Congress eliminated that tax penalty, the law can no longer stand. And that's what the judge agreed to last night. And he took that argument, and he struck down the entire law.

Now, it's going to be appealed.

Yeah.

The attorney general of California's already said so.

turn 0 : The judge rejected the law so hard that it's being compared to striking something down.

Which word describes the judge's decision on the law in turn 0?

Answer: Rejected


Is President Trump right to blame the Fed. . .

Perhaps. . .

. . . For increasing interest rates?

Yeah. Perhaps a little bit on the margin. He's not wrong about that. So interest rates are still fairly low. The Fed raised its rate, its benchmark rate, to 2. 25 to 2. 5 percent, which is not - it's not, you know, like a hugely high rate. But they are starting to kind of cool the economy off a little bit. And, you know, for years and years and years, that rate has functionally been very, very close to zero. And they've been raising it slowly but surely. They've forecast that they are going to continue raising interest rates unless they see something in the numbers that really upsets them. So, yeah, you know, the Fed is not providing more help to the economy. It's looking at the economy and saying, hey, GDP growth is still 2. 8 percent per year this late in the recovery. We're going to keep on raising rates. And if there's a recession. . .

turn 1 : A is not fully agreeing with B's statement

What is PersonA's stance on PersonB's statement?

Answer: Disagree


We begin with history. The slave codes of South Carolina, 1739. A fine of $100 and six months in prison would be imposed for anyone found teaching a slave to read or write, and death is the penalty for circulating any incendiary literature.

Just a couple of minutes later, she concluded with a citation from a mentor, Dr.  Katie Cannon.

Black people, you said, were the only people in the United States ever explicitly forbidden to become literate. I am now officially speechless.

This year, Nikky Finney's on the other side of the National Book Awards, judging the poetry category. She's currently a professor of English at the University of Kentucky, but recently accepted a position at the University of South Carolina. Nikky Finney joins us today from member station WUKY in Lexington. Nice to have you on again.

turn 3 : Nikky Finney's ancestors were denied the right to learn to read and now she  can read and is a judge at the National Book Awards.

Which event in Nikky Finney's life reflects the impact of the slave codes of South Carolina?

Answer: Ancestors


That may be the case, but - I don't have foresight in the future, that could very well be the case. But what we do know now is that there has been a precipitous decline in Harlem's black population. And that decline has taken place over the past two decades, and the main issue has been one of affordability as it is in other inner-city areas - inner-cities across the country. Harlem just mirrors that.

Let me return to one point that you made in terms of certain historical facts. About Harlem never having been a black community, or even built by blacks. Well I beg to differ with that. And Ms.  Suggs really does not have a grasp on her history. We know from the 1600s that the Dutch arrived in Harlem with slaves who helped to build Harlem. That is from the 1600s because we know about the Harlem Reform Church of the 1600s. And just recently, because of the 125th Street rezoning - a major public policy issue that will change the physical landscape of Harlem - we have in one of the public-mandated environmental impact statement the acknowledgment of an African burial ground which is at 125th Street east of Second Avenue from the 1600s.

So blacks have always had a presence in Harlem. They built Harlem, and so their investment - the historical investment - of blacks in Harlem certainly did not begin with the great migration or the Harlem Renaissance. Blacks' presence in Harlem, their - the building of Harlem certainly precedes that and into the 1600s.

Here's my final question. I have less than a minute for your answer. When a neighborhood gentrifies and it becomes more mixed racially and class-wise, is this more about race or about class?

turn 2 : Blacks have had a historical investment in Harlem since the 1600s, predating the Harlem Renaissance and great migration

What is the historical significance of blacks in Harlem?

Answer: Stimulus


And not to make any comparisons, but I seem to recall that there was a time when J. Crew was a catalog retailer - didn't have any real stores. And now, of course, they've got plenty of them in addition to a very ambitious online retail site.

Absolutely. The way that I've thought about these Shopify stores is they're undoubtedly strange because they're new, but their model is fundamentally not that different from, like, a big corporate enterprise. It's just that the tools have democratized the ability for people to tap into the globalized economy. And so before, it took the idea of having a supply chain and having all these people who would know factory owners in China and all these other kinds of things - that took a lot of infrastructure.

What these tools have done is eliminate the need for all that infrastructure. And so now it's this alternative way into what is a real thing about our economy, which is that many, many of the goods that we all purchase are made in Asian factories and are sold to us at a very high markup from their production costs.

So where's the coat now, may I ask?

It's hanging up in my closet, kind of towards the back - in there with the things that are too small for me to fit into now (laughter). But I'll bring it out at some point, I'm sure. Everyone needs a coat like that, you know, maybe for gardening or something.

turn 0 : J.Crew has evolved from being a catalog retailer to having physical stores and an online retail site.

Which company has evolved from being a catalog retailer to having physical stores and an online retail site?

Answer: J.Crew