It's good to be here, Tony.

You know, you've been getting pretty hot under the collar about this issue, I understand. Why is it such a concern for you?

It's a concern for me because it's a misunderstanding that a lot of ex-convicts have. If you have a felony it has been in the past that often states do restrict or disenfranchise those who have a felony conviction. Those laws have changed over the years, and now in most states it's no longer the case, or there are means by which you can get your civil rights back. But a lot of people - a lot of ex-convicts or felons that I knew that ended up in my court system simply rested on the false notion that they did not have the ability to vote. And that ended and that kept them from further embracing or engaging in the community, and kept them separate, and apart, and not where they needed to be.

Is it a situation where an ex-felon is allowed - is entitled to have his or her voting rights restored, but the process by which those voting rights are restored is so cumbersome that they either don't know about it or they don't go through it?

turn 0 : It is reassuring to be accepted and welcomed here by Tony.

What is Tony's response to PersonA's statement in turn 0?

Answer: You-know


The big one was that they died of lead poisoning due to the canning of the canned tin goods. The problem with that - these guys hadn't eaten any tin food. It was only three months into their voyage.

It was a dire situation anyway you look at it. But, of course, in your book, it wasn't dire enough. You throw in an Arctic beast.

I do, an unexplained Arctic beast that we never see. And the reason for that is I wanted something to personify just the terror, the horror of the darkness, the five months of darkness, the terrible cold - 100 degrees below zero - the constricting ice that you had to listen to against the hull, you know, all the time.

What would be the best-case scenario for you if they find which ship it is?What would you like to know?

turn 1 :  B: "It wasn't dire enough" - The literal meaning suggests that the situation was not severe enough, but in the context of the conversation, it implies that the situation was already very dire, and adding an Arctic beast to the story made it even more terrifying.

What did PersonB suggest about the situation in the conversation?

Answer: Severe


Oh, yeah. There's just devastation to all the homes. Power lines are down, broken by trees. Just devastation everywhere. I mean, mold in the homes is already setting in. Just everything is destroyed.

Alison, do you worry about some of the chemicals and the detritus that's left behind?

I do worry about the chemicals. You know, none of us are by any means professionals, but there's fiberglass in the insulation. There's mold. We don't know if there's sewage covering, you know, these belongings are anything, but we do the best we can by wearing masks and gloves. And that's pretty much all we can do for now because you can't wait long to clean these homes up or it just gets worse. So we're doing the best we can now with the tools we have available to us.

Yeah. Alison Reagan, let me ask you. People in Houston and the rest of Southeast Texas have have won so much admiration from Americans this week for reacting to these terrible events with such courage and pluck. Is there something you learned about human beings, about your neighbors and strangers this week that you'd like to pass on to us?

turn 2 : Asking if people are concerned about the potential health risks caused by the debris and contamination left behind.

What do they wear while cleaning the homes?

Answer: masks


Do you think that this case is going to spur new changes to procedure or to policy regarding migrant care?

Investigations into this latest migrant death are still ongoing. The FBI, local police, CBP all have their own investigations, which may eventually shed some more light on what exactly went wrong here. But I think we're already hearing calls for these agencies to just follow the law and hand over migrant children to Health and Human Services within 72 hours as they are supposed to do. For their part, the agencies say they're trying to comply, but they need more resources. Not only are these Border Patrol stations overwhelmed, but the migrant shelters that are overseen by HHS are also near capacity.

One more thing - today the president appointed an immigration hard-liner, Ken Cuccinelli, to a post inside the Homeland Security Department. How could this affect immigration policy?

Right. This is the former attorney general of Virginia who ran for governor on a hard-line immigration platform a few years ago. He's already been a White House adviser on immigration. He has advocated for sending more troops to the border and stopping the migrant caravans that were a big story last year. Now Cuccinelli is going to have a formal role inside the Department of Homeland Security.

To me, this shows that President Trump is doubling down on his crackdown on immigrants that is likely to be a central focus of his 2020 reelection campaign. Though of course, as immigrant advocates point out, that strategy seems to have backfired, at least in part, when Republicans lost the House in last year's midterm elections.

That's NPR's Joel Rose. Joel, thank you.

turn 4 : President Trump's immigration policy may have hurt Republican's midterm election results

What was the focus of President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign?

Answer: Immigration


Will you try and legislate in spite of the president instead of with him?I mean, it seems that he is distracting from what the Republican Congress is trying to do.

Oh, absolutely. I think we'll move forward without that. I think that the president can certainly - I mean, it would be helpful, obviously, if the president makes that pivot - and I certainly hope that he does - where he's certainly more deliberate, more thoughtful in his approach - certainly gets off this Twitter stuff (laughter) - where, you know, I think that, as commander in chief - and I've said this before - that the men and women who serve this country in uniform want to see a president focused on the fact that we're a nation at war and not in a Twitter war with Rosie O'Donnell.

And so I think - I hope that this president can self-correct - this presidency can stabilize. But the Congress needs to move forward with policies that matter to the American people. And the president is doing something important right now in having visited Saudi Arabia - and to strengthen our alliance with Saudi Arabia, to counter that Iranian - Syrian, certainly under Assad, and Russia axis of power that is strengthening.

You know, you're talking about Twitter, but there were reports last week that the president disclosed sensitive intelligence information from Israel to Russian diplomats in an Oval Office meeting. You're a veteran. Do you have any concerns about the president's national security judgment, just briefly?

turn 1 : "get off this Twitter stuff" - figurative meaning, implies that the president should stop using social media as a means of communication and focus on more important issues.

How does PersonA suggest the president should change his behavior?

Answer: Stop


I have to say, I'm a huge believer in the laws of political physics. The first one is gravity. And the sheer idiocy of what he said seems to me - it is going to drag him down. The second one is momentum. And you saw yesterday what was clearly a coordinated message on the part of Senator McConnell, Senator Cornyn and Governor Romney, to say, you've got 24 hours to think it over, buddy. They left the buddy out. Think what's best for you, what's best for your family, what's best for the Republican Party. They didn't say that, not necessarily in that order. It's the way we're thinking about it. And it may be that Mr.  Akin will hold on past close of business today. But I have to say, I'll be just stunned if he is the nominee who's on the ticket in November.

The deadline is 5 P. M. , Central Time. Ruth Marcus, thank you very much.

Thanks a lot.

Ruth Marcus is an editorial writer for The Washington Post. She joined us from a studio at the newspaper. Her piece is called "Self-Preservation, Meet Cynicism. "You can find a link to it on our website. That's at npr. org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION. And this is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

turn 0 : gravity implies that in politics a person's actions can hinder them from acting further

Which law of political physics does PersonA believe is going to drag someone down in the dialogue?

Answer: Idiocy


I hate to see it fade out.

Yeah, me too.

There's another story that really sounds like it has to be made up, about the driver who brought a hotshot guitarist from Macon, Georgia to Stax for a session.

Yeah. The driver kept bugging the musicians in the studio to give him a chance. And someone had promised him, OK, buddy, you know, chill out for a second. You'll get your chance. When nothing happened with the big talent, people had already started packing up their cars when they remembered, oh yeah, we got to let this guy try.

turn 3 :  (4) A is implying that the driver was persistent and eventually was given a chance, even though it almost was forgotten.

What did the driver want from the musicians in the studio?

Answer: Chance


For sure. I remember I approached my mom with an article by the CDC and asked why, according to the CDC, vaccines don't cause autism and why mercury is not this extremely dangerous substance and poison found in vaccines that, you know, some people like herself would claim. And her response was simply, that's what they want you to think.

And I was just blown away that, you know, the largest health organization in the entire world would be written off with a conspiracy theory-like statement like that. And so moments like that I can recall back to, where I just thought, like, the concern with the evidence is not here.

When did you get vaccinated?When did you start?

I had two vaccines when I was 2 years old. My mom claims that one of those did not happen, or it happened against her will, and the only vaccine I should have gotten was a tetanus shot when I was 2. And that was it. Alongside that, I've never got any other vaccines - hepatitis, polio - anything.

turn 0 : to approach someone with something in this context means you are showing them something

What was the response of PersonA's mother when asked about vaccines?

Answer: Conspiracy


I think both can be true. I think - look. It's outrageous that there's an invoice. But it's not new. The invoice was not given lately. It was given to Special Representative Yun when he went to North Korea to collect Otto Warmbier. And at that point, when you're giving that invoice, you sign, and you leave. So it's not new. That's one. Second, it's not unique, either. When. . .

It's not unique to negotiations with North Korea or. . .

Correct - North Korea specifically.

North Korea specifically has a habit of this.

turn 3 : North Korea has a history of engaging in this type of behavior during negotiations.

Which country's behavior during negotiations is being discussed in the dialogue?

Answer: North-Korea


So Iran, I think, is going to respond to what it sees as its advantage. If the Trump administration were prepared to say we're going to remove a good part of the sanctions on Iran if you will sit down at the table, I think Iran would probably take that very seriously. The Trump administration, because of its opposition to the nuclear deal, created a crisis that really wasn't necessary.

And it could get worse. There is a real chance of misperception and misunderstanding that leads to military conflict. And I think this is something that nobody wants.

That's Gary Sick. He's a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute. Mr.  Sick, thank you so much for talking to us.

It was a pleasure.

turn 1 : The situation between Iran and the US may lead to a military conflict, which nobody wants.

What is the potential outcome of the situation between Iran and the US?

Answer: Conflict


Yeah. And the police have actually been very open about this, and they've done a number of internal investigations. And they believe if everything had gone absolutely properly and correctly, they could've been there 16 minutes earlier. Part of the problem here, though, because they have taken something some - a fair amount of criticism I thought was unfair, They didn't have a plan for this because why would you?I mean, who sits around and dreams up a plan in a country with a miniscule violent crime rate to expect that someone's going to blow up Central Oslo and then drive out to a youth summer camp on an island and start gunning people down?

I mean, that's not going to rank high in the probability scale. There was a fair amount of distance to cover, and they had a problem with the boat. You know, I spent some time with a police officer named Hakon Hval, who was one of the first to respond. He had worked in that district, the North Buskerud District for, I believe, eight years at that point, and he'd never been to Utoya. There had never been a reason to go to Utoya. But he was driving one of the boats, and he turned to pick up some Delta commandos. And when they all got in the boat, the bow of the boat pushed out on some rocks and was grounded. So to get the bow up, they shuffled to the back and the stern just. . .

Flooded the engine, yes.

Yeah.

turn 2 : The boat had engine trouble and flooded due to a group of Delta commandos shuffling to the back

Which group caused the flooding of the boat's engine?

Answer: Group


I don't know many, but I know they exist - the person that doesn't really want fiction. They want nonfiction. They want something smart to read. I'm thinking more along the lines of, like, Ron Chernow's "Hamilton" that everybody became obsessed with, that read like fiction but was actually the book that's going to impress people that you read this summer.

That's right. There's literally a picture of Lin-Manuel Miranda on the beach reading that, but it's an old. . .

(Laughter).

In any case, yes. So there's a wonderful book that I think actually kind of brings together a lot of our - of our genres. And it's called "Murder By The Book. "It's by Claire Harman. And it's about a murder in Victorian London in which a minor aristocrat is murdered by his valet. Now, it actually does sound like fiction, right?It's nonfiction. But what's so wonderful about it is this guy's defense was that he had read a popular novel, and the book made me do it, which is kind of a wonderful thing if you think about what fiction can do.

turn 0 : Not "everybody" was obsessed with Chernow's book. This is an exaggeration, but is meant to convey that the book was popular.

Which book was the murder case centered around in "Murder By The Book"?

Answer: Popular


Well, it certainly, was fine with you because I'm reading from your book here. This is what you said about non-African-American writers. Quote, "I have learned over the years as much about African-American life from non-African-American writers as I have from African-Americans. "That's interesting.

Yeah, I've read some very important books. I mean, there've been some very important scholars in my field which I deal with African-American studies. There've been some very important non-African-Americans who have written in that field and - who've done tremendous, pioneering work in that field and who were important. And I've learned a great deal from them as a result. I feel no reason to discriminate against them in any way. I remembered that John Hope Franklin once told me that in the south African-American colleges he said were he called - were integrated so he called them, these islands of civility. I like to think that the volumes that we're putting out are sort of islands of civility where, you know, lots of people can, you know, be shoulder to shoulder.

Gerald Early, thank you very much. Good luck with this project.

Thank you very much.

turn 1 : No actual islands, but small groups of people that acted civilly toward one another surrounded by large groups that did not.

How does PersonA describe the volumes they are putting out?

Answer: Civility


And obviously, Florida is a very important state. It's no coincidence he's kicking off his campaign there. Where else do you expect to see President Trump in the months ahead?

So he'll be back in Florida; we know that for sure. It's a key state in that he isn't president without winning Florida, and he needs it for re-election. But you can also expect to see him in those other states that he won very narrowly in the upper Midwest - Wisconsin, Michigan. And the campaign is stretching. They want insurance. And at this point, they have money. They've been fundraising since Inauguration Day. And they are stretching, trying to reach into states you wouldn't expect, like Minnesota or even New Mexico and New Hampshire, which Hillary Clinton won last time around.

That's NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith at President Trump's rally in Orlando, Fla. Thanks, Tam.

You're welcome.

turn 1 : President Trump's campaign is targeting swing states for re-election

How is President Trump's campaign strategizing for re-election?

Answer: Swing


So this didn't happen overnight. Russian agents start making covert research visits to the United States all the way back in 2014. They used that information to then begin these social media accounts about different political issues, and they start gaining momentum, getting hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of likes and follows, even gaining legitimacy and reach by getting retweets and engagement from people in President Trump's orbit, people like Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump Jr. , engaged with this content.

And then you think back to 2016 when these social media companies were basically saying, we don't have much of a role in election interference. And this report really shows that that's not true. This content was seen by as many as 126 million people on Facebook alone.

Now let's talk about the issue of hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign. What does the report say there?

So this section got really technical, but the report detailed exactly how these Russian agents ended up getting a hold of these emails that ended up on WikiLeaks. It all starts with a phishing campaign. They're able to break into the account of one account holder with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and they basically leveraged that access into being able to start exploring the entire Democratic national party network between the DNC and the DCCC.

turn 2 : There are no idiomatic expressions or figurative language in this turn.

How did social media companies describe their role in election interference in 2016, according to the report?

Answer: refrain


. . . You are from this area - born in D. C. , raised in Maryland and Virginia - the DMV, as we like to say. So what's it like to be back home now that you're blowing up like this?Can you go to, like, the CVS if you want to without being recognized?

Yeah. I definitely can go to the CVS. You know, sometimes people recognize me, sometimes they don't. But it's a beautiful feeling, and I just can't wait to move back eventually.

How did you start singing or how did you realize you could sing?

I don't know. I just was always singing. I didn't know if it was good or not, but my grandma, she told me that I sounded like an angel. And that maybe - perhaps that kept me going. I mean, I always wanted a solo at the church, and they didn't ever give it to me. But eventually they did, and I froze. But then I killed it. And I just feel like that kind of just followed me all throughout my life.

turn 1 : the phrase "sometimes people recognize me, sometimes they don't" does not literally mean that the speaker is unrecognizable or that their appearance changes, but rather that their level of fame and recognition varies.

How does the speaker feel about their ability to go to CVS?

Answer: Can


That's absolutely correct. The charges themselves don't go to anything about the collusion aspect. I think one thing that's important to understand, though, some folks don't realize this about cooperation - cooperation's like being a little bit pregnant. You're either cooperating or you're not. You have to be completely in (laughter). And the value of somebody like Manafort for the prosecutors may not necessarily be a smoking gun but rather just the fact that he's so familiar with what happened and they'll be interested in that as well.

Let's turn now to Department of Justice's inspector general report on how James Comey and the FBI handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server. Mr.  Comey didn't come off well, did he?

He did not come off well at all. I think it had been widely thought that he was not going to come off well, and he really violated some basic protocols at the Justice Department. I mean, I was there with Miss Reno as the attorney general. You're very, very careful about anything that could affect a political election. And then on top of that, he is supposed to simply talk about, are they doing the investigation or not?And he really kind of usurped the authority of the prosecutors in making that statement - no reasonable prosecutor would take on this case. He's not a prosecutor there. He is the director of the FBI.

Yeah. At the same time, what do you think of Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, saying that the Mueller investigation ought to be suspended because of the IG report?

turn 0 : "cooperation's like being a little bit pregnant" - This is a figurative expression meaning that there is no middle ground when it comes to cooperation. Either someone is fully cooperating or not cooperating at all.

What is the value of someone like Manafort for the prosecutors?

Answer: Familiar


Very often that's the case, certainly in surface sediments if they come from a lake or from the sea. They're the waste product. We can test them by looking at various isotopes. So there are different isotopes of sulfur, and there's a specific pattern of the isotopes of sulfur that's characteristic for this particular pathway.

And we were able to find that, and not only that but in some examples of the material we looked at we could see little sort of bean-shaped cells, not much more, again, than a micron or a thousandth of a millimeter across, which were sitting on the tissue on the cells of material that was itself being consumed.

So we hypothesize anyway that these may be the creatures caught in the act of eating other creatures.

And so the world was filled at that time with these microscopic creatures, right?

turn 1 : "Sitting n" doesn't seem literal. These tiny cells don't have rear-ends and cannot really sit that way, but it means they are positioned on top of other material.

How were the tiny cells positioned on the material?

Answer: Positioned


So how would it come to be that the FAA would tell Boeing, in effect, inspect yourself?

Well, people may be surprised to hear it, but, in fact, that's the norm. For years now, the FAA, with lack of funding and resources, has delegated increasing amounts of this work to industry. And when it comes to certifying new airplanes, that means to Boeing. The FAA, of course, is supposed to have final sign-off on everything. But I talked to one engineer who was involved in the certification of the MAX - told me that there wasn't complete and proper review of the documents. Review was rushed to reach certain certification dates.

And the document that you were looking at - does it show that engineers had real safety concerns a long time ago about this specific system?

No, that document doesn't express their - it's the analysis that went into certification. The feedback I got from safety engineers was that they weren't happy with certain aspects of that analysis that was - that, in the end, was signed off. For example, it allowed that the system would be triggered by a single sensor on the side of the fuselage called the angle of attack sensor. That was faulty on the Lion airplane, and it triggered the whole system. And that's, we believe, what caused the Lion Air crash.

turn 0 : This statement implies that FAA could not expect Boeing to essentially self-inspect their own aircraft.

How did PersonA describe the norm of FAPersonA's work delegation to industry?

Answer: Boeing


Investors are ecstatic about central bankers working there. Listen to this, the German DAX Index up about 10 percent, the French CAC 40, up more than nine percent. Now, they are both measures like the Dow 30, which on Wall Street jumped 500 points in the morning.

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown put $65 billion of government money into three British banks. NPR's Rod Gifford is in London. We're going to him. Rob, hello. I think that people are saying it is this British plan, the so-called British plan that seems to be may be spurring a little bit of a recovery around the world. What is the British government doing, and what does it want in return?

Well, as you say, Alex, Gordon Brown is getting a lot of kudos from this, because he was the one who put this plan forward last week. What they're doing, as you say, is to put a lot of government money that is taxpayer's money, $65 billion worth of it, into three British banks into order to - they hope - free up the bank to bank lending, and the whole crisis of confidence that has struck British banks as it has done elsewhere.

In return - some very important conditions they want in return. Right upfront, leaders of these banks that have got into trouble must step down. Bonuses are being frozen for other executives who stay on and crucially, the demand that these banks maintain mortgage lending and small-business lending at 2007 levels, levels of last year.

turn 3 : The British government has set important conditions in exchange for bank bailouts.

Answer: Conditions


You know, it was - I've done a couple of Kickstarter campaigns before with both of my indie films. And I always looked at it more as a way to kind of build a fan base, less so than the actual financing of it all. You know, it kind of allows you to, as a filmmaker, to kind of announce that you're doing something but in, like, a non kind of braggadocious way. And it kind of allows people who, you know, may want to be involved or kind of see the project through to help out. And so it just seemed like a - the obvious first step for us. And it ended up becoming the highest-funded Kickstarter campaign for a short film.

So what is it that you think people are responding to?I have to say that, I mean, look - the little girl is absolutely adorable. The dad has locks, and he's struggling with the hair.

It's just hard for me to describe, but the hair, for anybody who's tried to do little black girl hair, it's very accurate. It kind of has a life of its own.

Yeah.

turn 2 : "It kind of has a life of it's own" implies that the hair is hard to manage and style and doesn't easily get taken care of

What phrase does PersonA use to describe the hair in the film?

Answer: Life.


So, I'm a little concern about that, especially with the amount of technology connections that they have made through this campaign, and the amount of donors that they've received through online mechanisms. So it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. But, clearly somebody is going to want that data Farai. There's no way out that the Democratic. . .

Don't let Sascha get a hold of the mass email list. And you know, start asking for Christmas presents or something.

Let me tell you, somebody in the Democratic Party. . .

I'm glad you clarified that. Somebody in the Democratic Party is definitely saying, hmm, that's a gold mine of data sitting right there.

turn 1 : Asking for Chrstmas presents implies they need the things they are looking for and hope they get them.

Which holiday is mentioned in the dialogue?

Answer: Christmas


And, of course, we have bioenergy here, too, and the debates about things like corn ethanol. That's another big contentious issue here in the Midwest. And one where, again, middle grounds might have to be found between groups that are in very different poles on that issue.

And what do you think is the most promising - again, the symbolic areas, those are always going to be difficult. But are there other conversations that could be had that, as you say, skirt the ideology?

Well, it's very interesting. Regardless of, you know, how you think of him politically, the Obama administration has actually done more, may be by accident - or may be on purpose - to think about, to take on climate change than all previous administrations, really, combined. Our CO2 emissions in the United States have gone down pretty dramatically in the last few years, partly because of the recession, of course, but partly because people are retooling and getting more efficient.

The American car fleet is getting lot more efficient. We finally got those CAFE standards going up again, which is fantastic, after about 30 years of going nowhere. And maybe that's a benefit of bailing out Detroit. We could work with them to make cars more efficient, the cars Americans want to buy. We've also - the fracking, moving away from coals, where it's natural gas, has helped a lot, although we have to watch the other aspects of fracking. And also, renewables are beginning to make a bigger and bigger dent in the American electricity supply and other energy supplies.

turn 2 : The Obama administration has made efforts to combat climate change

How have CO2 emissions in the United States changed in recent years?

Answer: Down


What are the odds that the Iranian leadership, after maybe some public demonstrations of disapproval, decides, well, you know, there's still a lot of overwhelming economic reasons for us to stay in this agreement with the European Union?

Well, the problem is there's still not overwhelming economic interests coming in. If European Union can somehow protect its businesses and come up with some mechanisms that could give Iran at least some promises and guarantees that - moving towards the future, there could be some economic benefits. And depending on that, I think if Iran believes - as President Rouhani actually put out a different statements on his Instagram and Twitter - what matters is national interests, economic interests, whether Europeans can guarantee it without U. S.  We would be willing to remain compliant to the deal. And the supreme leader actually put out a statement approving that, as well. So all eyes are on Europeans right now.

Should the Iranian government be worried about their survival?

I don't think so. Usually, when the crisis like this arises, it actually brings more unity than anything. And I think the more pressure and sort of the more isolation for Iran, it actually strengthens the regime in a way. You know, I don't think that this strategy that some people talk about - and they think that there is a possibility that this could bring about regime change - is at all anything likely. And I think having to deal with a short-term crisis with the hopes that this will bring change - I'm skeptical on that.

turn 2 : The statement mean that There is possibility for Iranian government to face difficulty for survival if there is not support.

How might Iranian government be affected if there is no support?

Answer: Difficulty


Well, what would that serious diplomacy look like?I mean, I - the United States would have to - what?- accept a. . .

It's a fair question, you know, why diplomacy would work now when it's failed in the past. I think that the breakout is a game-changer for the United States because we're directly - become directly vulnerable to North Korea. But it's also a game-changer for China because they'll either - they'll have to live with the strategic consequences of a breakout, which could - are unknown. South Korea could reassess its non-nuclear status.

So I think the conjunction of factors that we can bring China into play would have the goal of obtaining a nuclear - a freeze to lock in North Korea at its current level of capabilities. And for China - I think the conjunction of factors is that for China, they would retain their buffer in North Korea. And they would prevent these adverse strategic consequences. North Korea would maintain its minimum deterrent, and the regime would remain in power. For the United States, it would prevent this breakout, and it would offer us a not-great narrative. But we would say that this is an interim agreement toward the long-term goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

Well Mr.  Litwak, in the minute we have left, can you really trust any - the process of reaching or signing any agreement with a regime like North Korea's?

turn 2 : So I think the conjunction of factors that we can bring China into play would have the goal of obtaining a nuclear - a freeze to lock in North Korea at its current level of capabilities." - The implied meaning is that involving China in the situation could lead to an agreement that aims to prevent North Korea from further advancing its nuclear capabilities, essentially freezing its current level of capabilities.

How would involving China in the situation aim to address North Korea's nuclear capabilities?

Answer: Freeze


Governor, let me have you answer your own question. Why are fewer businesses being created?

There are a combination of reasons behind the reduction in business creation. One is that we - like any enterprise - and government is an enterprise - we've had more and more kind of red tape. And sometimes that bureaucracy is excessive and makes it harder for people - the successful employees in somebody else's company - makes it harder for them to take a leap and start their own business.

But I also think a big part of it is we have a consolidation of just two or three companies dominate that industry, right?There - 84% of all the hardware sales are from two companies. So starting a neighborhood hardware company is almost out of the question. People don't think they have a chance.

The question of whether or not certain companies are monopolies has come up again and again throughout the course of this campaign. Would you break up the big tech giants - Facebook and Amazon - as Elizabeth Warren has said she would do?

turn 2 : Dominance of a few large companies is discouraging people from starting their own businesses.

How many companies dominate the hardware industry according to turn 2?

Answer: Two


You had to actually take the thing apart to change games.

Take out the battery and everything to change games.

That would be a drawback.

That's a drawback. And number two - they didn't have any games. There was, like, two games that were worth playing.

turn 3 :  "That's a drawback" - The speaker is not referring to the fact that there were only two games worth playing as a drawback. Instead, they are adding to their previous statement by stating another drawback of the thing they are discussing.

How did the speaker refer to the fact that there were only two games worth playing?

Answer: Two


That's correct. Yes, well, the last thing we've heard it was just outside of Port Fourchon, which is at the lower end of LaFourche Parish. So the winds have been picking up a bit and that's what we're getting ready for here. So far, however, we are putting stuff up on the web and we haven't stopped all night.

I hear people on the radio behind you, you must be at a sort of emergency control headquarters or something?

No, no, not us; we're just communicating with our reporters. We have reporters out in different parts of the parish, and we're trying to keep in touch with them as we can, and get what information they're getting as travel with the authorities.

What are you going to do when your internet connection goes down?

turn 1 : The speaker assumes that the background noise suggests an emergency control headquarters

How does the speaker describe their communication with reporters?

Answer: Reporters


I think the initiative is going to be very helpful in helping to solve these problems.

One last question about your new potential treatment using amyloid for multiple sclerosis. How far along - are we in phase one, have we got phase one studies, or have we not even gotten that far yet?

On this one we haven't reached phase one yet. We're still doing the toxicity testing. We're moving slowly because of the villainous reputation of these proteins. But as I said, someone over in Holland has taken this through phase one, and it looks - looks pretty good. They're doing it with alpha B-crystallin.

Well very interesting. Thank you, Dr.  Steinman, for taking time to be with us today. We'll be following this.

turn 1 : The use of "we" is not literal. 'B' has nothing to do with it. "We" just means how far have researchers progressed.

Which pronoun is used in a non-literal sense in the dialogue?

Answer: We


First, the president speaks to a joint session of Congress tonight. It's not officially a State of the Union speech, but it will have much of the same pomp and ceremony. The speech is at 9 p. m.  Eastern. It will be televised, and so Mr.  Obama's real audience will be you and I, the people watching at home. NPR's Scott Horsley's here now. He's also be monitoring the speech.

And Scott, I guess it'll be economy as the number one topic.

You know, there's really no escaping that. The president said yesterday that this is not the situation he or any new president would like to inherit, but he's faced with rising unemployment, you talk about those plummeting home prices, a record number of foreclosures. So he's going to be talking about the steps he and Congress have already taken, like the $787 billion stimulus plan, the foreclosure prevention plan he unveiled last week in Arizona.

He's also expected to provide some more detail about his administration's efforts to shore up the banking system. That's something that the secretary of Treasury rolled out a couple of weeks ago and has been criticized for not having enough details. So we may learn more about that and about efforts to strengthen and update financial regulations so we don't find ourselves in a situation like this again.

turn 0 : It will have all of the same importance and rituals as the first speech.

How will the president's speech tonight be similar to the State of the Union?

Answer: Similar


A big gamble - why?

Well, because there could be very negative consequences. I mean, first of all, they could lose. The Houthi rebels in Yemen could defy the bombing and succeed in taking over the country, which would be a mighty embarrassment, especially because Iran would then step in to fill the aid and friendship vacuum in Yemen. You could get civilian collateral damage in which the Saudis would be seen to be bombing Sunni Muslims in a neighboring country. Yemen is already the poorest country in the region and its prospects are getting worse, not better. If you get a complete state failure or breakdown of services in Yemen, which is also running out of water, you could have an uncontrollable flow of refugees or other trouble for Saudi Arabia.

You haven't mentioned the possibility that this whole thing might open the door for al-Qaida, the al-Qaida in Yemen, to take advantage of the chaos.

Well, that's also correct. I mean, it's sort of the mirror image of the situation in Iraq. There, the fight against ISIS has sort of obscured the fight for control of the country. And in Yemen, the Saudis are taking on the Houthis, which could in fact relieve Houthi pressure on al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a group which is the Saudis' dedicated mortal enemy.

turn 3 : implies that the fight against the Houthi rebels could relieve al-Qaida pressure in the region.

Which group could benefit from the fight against the Houthi rebels in Yemen?

Answer: al-Qaida


And then, just a few days later, you're back on the set at your television show, "Ryan's Hope. "

Yeah, possibly more harrowing than the birth itself in terms of my sense of loss, my sense of disequilibrium, my understanding that the size of what I had done would never leave me. The dimension of the decision was not only epic, but infinite. And whereas my teacher had promised me that the work would lift me up, in this particular case, three days after the birth of that baby, being handed a tiny stunt baby by the studio nurse and told to start a monologue when the light goes off. And the monologue is a promise of fidelity, endurance, love and maternal care.

I guess we should say that your character on this television show also had a baby.

Well, of course. Anybody who watched "Ryan's Hope" at that time knew that Mary Ryan was pregnant, and many millions of people did watch me, in fact, carry this child to term. But at any rate - yes, many, many people watched me have that baby and then come in and claim another baby altogether as my own as Mary Ryan.

turn 3 : Implied meaning: The speaker is implying that her character's story line on the show mirrored her own life experience.

Answer: Birth


So, for instance, in our culture, there's really this idea right now that parenting is stressful, and we're all stressed out. Turns out not all mothers in every culture feel this way.

All right. Convince me.

OK. So a group of researchers have been studying Mayan families for decades because they've been really intrigued by this idea that the kids are so helpful around the house. And they wanted to figure out what the parents were doing to get the kids to be so helpful.

So for one of the stories in this series, I went down to the Yucatan and spent some time with some Mayan families. And right away, I was amazed by these moms. So a lot of them are raising four or five children. They're doing all the housework. They help out with the business, so they're doing work, too. And they totally didn't seem stressed. And I actually asked them, do you think being a mother is stressful?And the first woman, like, looked at me like I was an alien. She was like, what?Why would mothering be stressful?And I was like, oh, my gosh. Tell me your secrets (laughter).

turn 3 : She looked at him like he was very strange and unknown to her.

Answer: First


We normally surveyed the coastline up and down the West Coast. The second year, we went to a joint ocean adventure, the Indian Ocean expedition. And there I went to the Philippines, Jakarta, Malaysia, Singapore, India, West Ceylon, which is now Sri Lanka, Penang, Midway, all of the ports between California and India and back.

You also learned to do karate while you were on that ship, right?

I hung out with a bunch of guys from the Islands, Hawaiian guys, and that's where I first heard of Ed Parker. And I started talking to him and the philosophy and how they had to take care of themselves, and we would punch the metal sidings around the quarter deck to toughen up our hands. And of course, they showed me a few things. Why I got started, I was with a bunch of Hawaiian guys, and we were on Waikiki, and there was a little Chinese guy that didn't sail with us, but a couple of - I guess mainlanders were bothering him. And he tried to walk away several times, and they caught up with him. And then it was like, in a flash, and it was over with. All these guys were like on the ground, and I said, what was that?And that was, of course, some kung fu. And Ed Parker teaches kung fu on the streetside.

And Ed Parker went on to become one of the best-known names in martial arts.

turn 1 : A learned karate from Ed Parker during his ocean adventure.

What did PersonA punch to toughen up his hands while learning karate from Ed Parker?

Answer: Sidings


Well, they're very angry, obviously. I mean, in Argentina, they're already facing really very hard times. Inflation there is among the highest in the world. The economy is - you know, they've got this boom-and-bust economy that's right now in such a mess that the government very controversially decided to sign on to this huge $56 billion IMF bailout. There are strikes and protests over President Mauricio Macri's austerity program, regularly.

And right now, Steve, there's a very highly charged political environment - I mean, even more highly charged than usual - because presidential elections are coming up in October. Macri's fighting to keep his job in the face of a remarkable resurgence by the former president, Cristina Kirchner, who's running with her former cabinet chief, this time on a ticket to be vice president, despite a stack of corruption charges against her.

Plenty of debate to come on who can keep the lights on. Philip, thanks so much.

You're welcome.

NPR's Philip Reeves.

turn 0 : The situation in Argentina is very bad due to high inflation, strikes and protests, and the government's decision to sign a huge IMF bailout.

How is the political environment in Argentina?

Answer: Tense


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

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

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

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

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

What did the International Trade Commission's report confirm?

Answer: strengthened


Far be it for me to sort of put words in the first lady's mouth, but I think that what that shows to me anyway, as an observer, is that these dress codes are so ingrained that I would imagine for Melania potentially it just would not occur to her in a public appearance to not be wearing heels.

You know, I think certainly we see the same with the royal family in the U. K. , Kate Middleton coming out of the hospital each time after having her babies wearing these enormous heels. And, you know, womankind across the world, I think, was wincing looking at those photos, thinking, oh, God, that's the last thing you want to be wearing when you've just given birth.

And I do think that we tend to associate high heels with making an effort, with being appropriate and no more so than for these figures who are - have the eyes of the world on them.

Before we let you go, you know I'm going to ask you, what are you wearing now?

turn 2 : High heels are associated with making an effort and being appropriate, especially for public figures

Which item of clothing is associated with making an effort and being appropriate for public figures?

Answer: Hair


We're hosting an online viewing party of sorts. For all those people who couldn't be among the 75,000 at INVESCO, I guess the next best thing to do is have your computer at your desk and join us. So we'll be linking to a stream of the event, and we'll host a real-time conversation.

So give that address again.

nprnewsandviews. org.

All right. Geoffrey Bennett is the web producer for News and Notes, joining me from the studios at the NPR west. Geoff, thank you very much.

turn 0 : Virtual event for inclusive engagement and community building.

Answer: inclusive


Scott, there's an outside chance, but it's unlikely. And it's definitely not going to happen before the presidential election takes place. It's going to take a long time for the FBI to go through all these messages, get through all the red tape with intelligence agencies to decide what may be classified or not.

And Hillary Clinton had a swift response, didn't she?

Yeah, she came out in Iowa, did an impromptu news conference. She said she didn't know anything about this. She found out through media reports. She's demanding the FBI director release a lot more information and explain the facts here. Some of Clinton's close allies, including California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, went even stronger. She said the FBI move was appalling and that the bureau was playing into the campaign slogans of Donald Trump.

turn 1 : And the FBI director, James Comey, has already told Congress Hillary Clinton didn't lie to agents when she was interviewed - same for her aides. He found no efforts to obstruct justice, no desire to betray the country here. So unless something really huge emerges, it's hard to see the legal analysis changing or any criminal prosecution at all.  Implicated meaning: Despite the FBI director's findings that Hillary Clinton and her aides did not lie or obstruct justice, the speaker implies that there may still be a possibility of uncovering significant evidence or developments that could change the legal analysis and potentially lead to criminal prosecution.

What did the FBI director find regarding Hillary Clinton's aides?

Answer: Not


And that - you know, that - it totally imbued his soul. He was - you know, I've been in the presence of a lot of great men. And almost all of them preferred to talk about themselves. He wanted to talk about you. And that's what made you fall in love with him.

Yeah. I don't want to draw everything to what's going on now. But, you know, you would have dinner with President Bush. You would talk about things. Did - can we draw distinctions between the kind of president he was and what we see in the country now?

Oh, Scott, there will be time for that conversation. And I'm sure it's being held. And of course there's - we're in a very different world now. But I think George - I can almost hear George Bush right now saying, now, now, let's not have any of that. He. . .

Yeah.

turn 2 : A believes that George Bush would want to avoid political discussions and focus on a more positive conversation.

Which conversation would George Bush want to avoid?

Answer: Political


That poem is called "A Flower Song For Maidens Coming Of Age. "It was written in 1440 before European contact in Mexico. And it's from a collection of Mayan poems - extraordinary. Tell me about why this poem resonated for you. It describes a moon ceremony.

It was such an important revelation to have come across this poem. I cried. I cried for two days - the whole week because, as you know, colonization basically eradicated all of our written documentation in the Americas. All of our traditions have been passed down through word of mouth. But to have written documentation that women have been honoring the moon and celebrating their bodies and their transitions, their milestones in this way, I really felt like my ancestors were watching over.

And you wrote in the afterword to this book that you really wanted young women to find their own way to connect with their roots. Why?

Well, I think it's important for any person, really, but young girls in particular who come from marginalized communities to find their - not only their roots but the meaning and the legacy of wisdom and power that comes from those traditions. And Celi, because she's bicultural and multiracial, she has all of these beautiful intersections happening that I really tried to play up in the novel because I wanted children that are just like Celi, who are multiracial and bicultural, to see themselves and their hybridity in all of its beauty and all of its power.

turn 1 : The person implies that they cried all week. Actually they are just implying that they were emotionally affected for days by the poem.

Answer: ancestors


Help us understand. Just how good were the Lightning before this collapse?

Oh, quite good. They had 62 wins in the regular season. That tied the all-time NHL record for wins in a season. This was a team that was doing historic things in the regular season. Consider this. Thirty of their 62 victories were by three goals or more. So every time they stepped on the ice, they weren't just winning. They were blowing away their opponents.

So it's safe to say any sane hockey analyst (laughter) basically would have said that the Lightning was going to win the series, right?So what happened?

(Laughter) Well, I think Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh put it best. Everything that they did so well in the regular season, the Columbus Blue Jackets did it better in this series. But the bigger picture is this for the Lightning. They clinched a playoff spot in early March. They've been on cruise control for months. The Columbus Blue Jackets had to win seven of their last eight games just to get into the playoffs. So when push came to shove and adversity hit in the series, the Lightning had a bad six days compared to a great 82 games in the regular season, and then they were swept.

turn 2 : "safe to say" in line 3 - The phrase "safe to say" is being used idiomatically here to express the idea that it is highly likely or almost certain that any sane hockey analyst would have predicted the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the series, rather than a literal guarantee of safety.

How did "safe to say" phrase express the idea of predicting the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the series?

Answer: Likely


You know, Latin America used to be the region of crisis where crises used to be the most frequent and most sinister. And this time around, Latin America is being hit from an outside shock, and the shock finds Latin America in a relatively strong position in terms of its domestic policy frameworks. So, the shock this time is very interesting for Latin America, contrast with its past where domestic financial system and domestic policies are not a source of trouble, independent source of trouble. Therefore, the shock is coming from outside, it's hitting Latin American countries that are most open and small and have greater exposure to the U. S.  markets…

Now we're seeing…

Latin America and Mexico. South America, by contrast is being hit with a delay. When you go to Colombia or Peru, people are aware of the bad news of the global economy, but in the local economy they do not feel the - the impact with great strength yet.

Now, we're seeing reports, for example, that say that unemployment has hit every sector in Latin America, even the bodyguards in drug-torn countries like Colombia are losing their jobs. How big an issue is unemployment?

turn 3 : They are implying that drugs running rampant in their country may be cause for "unemployment."

How do the bodyguards in drug-torn countries like Colombia feel about their employment?

Answer: Losing


So how did this all come about, and how did you get involved?

My partner, Josh Farahzad, just about this time last year, you know, he started thinking - well, what if I launched a rocket into outer space?You know, he didn't really know what he was doing. So he started sending emails to pretty much every university rocketry team in the country. And I was doing a launch with the Princeton University Rocketry Club. He saw our livestream, and he had reached out. I guess after that, I spent thousands of hours just working with Josh one-on-one and leading this very, very tremendous team.

And as the team grew to - what?- I guess about 40 people, you're communicating with one another via a Slack channel.

That's right. You know, at some point, we didn't pay for the Slack premium account. So, you know, I think within a month or two, our messages capped at 10,000. So we started losing our data.

Well, what's the big goal here, aside from actually getting a rocket into space?

turn 1 : Josh Farahzad had a random idea about launching a rocket and reached out for help. A worked hard to lead the team.

What was the name of PersonA's partner who came up with the idea of launching a rocket and reached out for help?

Answer: rocket


From NPR News, it's Day to Day. Later tonight, I will be hosting dinner at my house with friends I invited, which hopefully will keep the meal mellow because we all tend to see eye to eye on most things.

But not everyone is as lucky. If you find yourself sharing a table today with family or friends who don't share your political views, well, fret not. Slate. com's chief political correspondent John Dickerson has put together some ammunition to help you should the conversation turn to politics. He joins us now from his home in Washington, D. C.  Hi, John.

Hello. Happy Thanksgiving.

And to you as well. John, you have for Slate provided backup to both sides of the argument on a number of topics. Let's start off with the financial crisis. Now, let's say that your Aunt Edna is a Democrat and your cousin Joe is a Republican. What argument can each of them make over the pumpkin pie as to who's to blame for all this mess?

turn 1 : Political conversations can be contentious and require preparation

What kind of conversations can require preparation?

Answer: Preparation


Hi, how are you doing?

How do you do that?

Well, you know, it turns out there are lots of little corners in all the information we see. I mean, we're used to the idea that somehow everything we type in the computer is very exact. You don't type in the right password, the computer gets upset. If you don't type in the right URL, it gets upset.

But it turns out that there's lots of little wiggle room that we don't even realize is there, and that's what steganography uses. We kind of go in, and we exploit things. You can make a color just a little bit more blue, or you can make it a little bit more red. And then if you do that enough times, you can send a signal, and then the computer can piece it all together into a complex message.

turn 2 : the computer gets upset implies that the computer does not do what the person wants it to do

Answer: Information


What were some of the challenging parts of school?What did you find the hardest?

Reading, studying my lessons. You know, because I had to read more, you know, and because, you know, as you get older, your short-term memory sort of fails you once in a while. So to make sure that you got the material where you could reproduce it, you had to study a little harder and do a little more research.

So tell me what graduation day was like?

Oh, the best day of my life, I guess. Life doesn't get any better. Life doesn't get any better. With my family there, all my friends cheering me on, I felt like I was 16 years old. What a day. What a day. I was happy. Everybody was pleased. They gave me a good ovation. I really enjoyed it. I really did. I cannot explain to you in words my feelings.

turn 1 : Reading, studying my lessons.You know, because I had to read more, you know, and because, you know, as you get older, your short-term memory sort of fails you once in a while.So to make sure that you got the material where you could reproduce it, you had to study a little harder and do a little more research.

What subject did PersonA find challenging in school?

Answer: Reading


(Laughter) I'm not sure if that's a compliment, Steve. But thanks.

I don't know. If it means tough, if it means on top of things, it is you, Melissa. Own it.

Well, gosh. Thanks.

She's in Lyon, France. This is NPR News.

turn 0 : A is unsure whether Steve's comment is a compliment or not

Which city is mentioned at the end of the dialogue?

Answer: Lyon


There was an early and well-organized campaign of civil disobedience on the streetcars by forcing their way nonviolently onto streetcars and hanging onto their seats until conductors or police officers bodily threw them off.

You know, we like to say he's one of the few historic figures who has been likened to both Martin Luther King and George Steinbrenner. He was part of a generation of young men and women of color who had been raised by parents who had been denied the right to a schoolhouse. And yet, by the time Octavius Catto was 12 or 14 or 15 years old, he'd gotten a terrific education because his father was going to get that for his kid by hook or crook. And so along comes Catto and other men and women like him, by civil war time, came to adulthood believing that they could change the world.

And I have to ask about the baseball team.

turn 1 : Octavius Catto must have been an extraordinarily compelling personality.  Implicated meaning: The statement suggests that Octavius Catto possessed exceptional charisma or persuasive qualities that made him stand out. It implies that his personality had a significant impact on others and likely garnered attention and admiration.

What is the implication of the statement about Octavius Catto's personality?

Answer: Implication


And then, from that point, he had a great change in his life. Because with that adverse discharge, dishonorable discharge, he wasn't able to secure the kinds of benefits that he wanted to, and he had to overcome that. And I think the great story of his life is what he did afterwards, for the duration of his life and leading his family. He was an ordinary person under remarkable circumstances.

Now unfortunately, he passed away in 1984. So how did you get involved with the case?

Well, it all goes back to Jack Hamann, who is an author who wrote the book. He did some research, he found out, he's from the Seattle-Fort Lawton area. Discovered there was something very unusual in terms of the courts martial, and then sought to investigate the matter. And when he did, he uncovered, essentially, just a tremendous miscarriage of justice, very well documented. He researched it, he published the book.

And at that time, the family members came forward as he did more and more research in terms of trying to find and locate the individuals. And from there, I became involved when the - last September, when Congressman McDermott's office asked me to assist some of the individuals with their cases before the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. And that's how I, for example, got to know the Townsell family.

turn 2 : "tremendous miscarriage of justice" implies that something really wrong happened, not that a physical miscarriage happened.

How was the justice system described in the case?

Answer: Unjust


Oh.

. . . You know, for the courts to go through. And maybe this issue will come all the way to the Supreme Court. Car companies, they need at least five years certainty to design a car, and they don't have that. So unless there is an agreement with California, they're going to find themselves dealing with uncertainty, which means, you know, lack of stability for the industry as a whole. It's pretty bad for the companies.

To what degree, is it your impression, automakers see the reduction of pollution as part of their responsibility in this country now?

Well, you know, clearly, what they will tell you is that they care about climate change. But also, they're worrying about competitiveness. Back in 2012, when we set the standards for cars, the U. S.  was ahead of every other country. China is doing better than us now and so is Europe. So companies realize that the way forward is to invest on advanced technologies, like electric vehicles. And if they don't, they're going to stay behind, and they're going to lose the competitiveness in the marketplace.

turn 1 : Car companies need at least five years certainty to design a car, but without an agreement with California, they will have to deal with uncertainty, which means instability for the industry as a whole.

How long do car companies need certainty to design a car?

Answer: Five.


I can imagine someone being stunned for a moment by being struck by an object, especially at a high speed like that. But I don't understand that because if there was over a minute when the throttle was advanced farther than it should've been and - you know, things happen when you're an engineer. You should be used to them. So I - it doesn't really seem to me like that's a probable cause, but we'll have to wait and see.

I don't have to tell you, Mr.  Hughes, that the crash and the deaths of eight people have set off a debate - those who say the derailment says Amtrak needs more money, others who say Amtrak isn't - is wasting a lot of the money that it gets. Recognizing there are no guarantees, would greater government funding have perhaps meant this derailment wouldn't happen?

It might have. The thing that is important here is Amtrak doesn't have any discretionary money. Every penny they get goes into something that's really important, especially capital money like this. And so I would think that money played some part in it in that when Amtrak has to do large projects, they have to space them out in smaller parts over multiple years. And I don't know the facts in this case, but I do know that that is true with a number of large capital projects. You just can't do them quickly 'cause the funding isn't there.

When you were in charge, Mr.  Hughes, did you find it hard to get funding for Amtrak, a lot of skepticism and doubt?

turn 1 : Is increased government funding the solution to preventing this kind of accident from happening in the future?

How did the derailment lead to a debate about Amtrak's funding?

Answer: Funding


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

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

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

And what would that look like?

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

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

turn 2 : Advocating for abolishing the police department and starting over

Which mindset does PersonA have towards the policing system?

Answer: Abolitionist


Constitutional?

I think across the board. This is emblematic of the broader problem that we face, which is Congress not doing its job in pushing off issues that the American people want to adjudicate to the president who then uses dubious authorities to do things that he couldn't otherwise do. It's about the very basis, the very nature of our regime.

What effect do you think this declaration of national emergency might have on that?

I think it makes everybody just a little more cynical, right?Here we have a situation where Congress has been facing this issue for months. We had the longest shutdown in American history. And they chose not to do anything about it. So far as I can tell, people who opposed the wall didn't try to win that debate. People who supported the war didn't try to win that debate. And the president didn't seem to be overly interested in trying to win that debate.

turn 1 : Congress is not doing its job and is passing their responsibilities to the president who then abuses his power

Which institution is not fulfilling its responsibilities and passing them on to the president?

Answer: Congress


Antivirus experts are calling Flame one of the most complex threats ever discovered. Once a machine is infected, the operator of the malware can expand its functionality almost like adding apps to a smartphone. Its operators sent out another app with orders to erase it this week, leaving no tracks behind.

Much like Stuxnet, Flame is also believed to be the handiwork of a nation-state. Why are antivirus experts so concerned about Flame?How does this malware tool, spy kit(ph) and eavesdrop?Who's behind Flame, and who are they targeting, and why is it being compared to Stuxnet?

That's what we're going to be talking about this hour. Our number is 1-800-989-8255, 1-800-989-TALK. My guest is Kim Zetter. She is senior reporter at Wired covering cybercrime, privacy, security and civil liberties. She's currently writing a book about Stuxnet and joins us from Oakland, California. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.

Thank you.

What makes Flame different?

Well, different from the average run-of-the-mill malware that criminals use?

turn 2 : "She's currently writing a book about Stuxnet and joins us from Oakland, California." - The literal meaning is that Kim Zetter is joining the radio show from Oakland and is writing a book about Stuxnet. The implied meaning is that Kim Zetter is a reputable and knowledgeable expert on cybercrime and security, and her insights will be valuable to the discussion.

Answer: senior


It doesn't, really. I mean, I have obviously no view on his guilt or innocence. But, I mean, abuse can be perpetrated by anybody in any walk of life. And rank does not guarantee that somebody will not be an abuser of children.

What do you think it says about how much progress the Catholic Church has made in fighting abuse by the clergy?

I think it shows progress in one area. And that is that civil authorities now are not reluctant to charge any member of the clergy. There's not that deference there was in the past. And that's a good change. As far as the actual church itself, there is still a reluctance. I mean, even in this case, the church guidelines themselves - most guidelines say that if a priest is accused of abuse, he must step down from his position on the accusation, must be investigated. But the accusations against Cardinal Pell were known months ago. And yet he was allowed to remain in his position until he was actually charged.

You've met with Pope Francis. How committed do you think he is to doing what's necessary?

turn 3 : "How committed do you think he is to doing what's necessary?" - the literal meaning is asking about the level of commitment of Pope Francis to take necessary actions. The implied meaning is that there are actions that need to be taken to address abuse within the Catholic Church, and it is unclear if Pope Francis is fully committed to taking those actions.

Which actions are implied to need to be taken within the Catholic Church?

Answer: Abuse


It stores the equivalent of ones and zeroes. We came up with the idea in a bar in Hamburg a few years ago because the institute where I work is - keeps some of the world's big, biological databases. We store the information, we archive the information, and we serve it to research biologists around the world over the Internet for them to do their research.

And the data that's coming to us is increasing exponentially. It's quite a headache for us to keep hold of all of that because our budgets don't increase exponentially.

Yeah, did you actually try this out on some DNA?

Yeah, we tried it out in a real - it's sort of compared to the databases we store, it's a small example, but compared to what people have done before, it's a pretty big example. We wrote a computer program that embodied a code that would convert the zeros and ones from a hard disk drive into the letters that we use to represent DNA, and then we - our collaborators in California were able to actually synthesize physical DNA.

And what did you store in that DNA?

turn 1 : when something is a headache in this context it means its annoying

Which word is used to describe the problem of keeping hold of increasing data in the dialogue?

Answer: Headache


Well, I only recently arrived, so I haven't seen the whole city by any means. But when I got here, I went straight to a demonstration on the city's east side. This was one of those demonstrations that have been called by Juan Guaido for what he billed as the biggest-ever demonstration in the history of Venezuela.

There were a lot of people there - thousands, possibly in the tens of thousands. But I have seen much larger crowds turn out for Guaido before. And so this was a smaller turnout. And I think the most noticeable thing about it is that the mood has quite substantially changed. Whilst these demonstrations for the opposition leader, Guaido, were before quite very lively - there'd be a lot of chanting, a lot of singing - now there's a mood of wariness. I thought it was more subdued.

And not far away from where I was, there were violent clashes underway between the security forces and a small group of anti-government protesters in which, you know, they were exchanging. . .

Yeah.

turn 2 : the phrase "they were exchanging" is likely an understatement for the violent and potentially deadly exchanges happening between the security forces and protesters.

How would you describe the exchanges between the security forces and protesters?

Answer: Violent


Yeah.

I'm also told by White House officials the Secret Service director was not connected to security questions at Mar-a-Lago. It was in the works before the latest security breach there - Chinese woman with a lot of passports and hard drives.

Right.

But - so this is not necessarily directly connected to immigration unlike Nielsen's resignation, which was immigration-related.

turn 1 : In turn (2), the phrase "in the works" does not mean that something is being constructed or manufactured, but rather that plans or preparations are being made. Similarly, "security questions" does not refer to queries about security, but instead refers to security concerns or issues.

Which phrase in turn 1 does not refer to queries about security?

Answer: Questions


We're talking with Henry Petroski, author of "To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. "And I got a minute before the break. Henry, tell us why after two decades of book writing, you made - you wrote a sequel "To Engineer is Human. "This is "To Forgive Design. "

Well, the first book I concentrated on mechanical reasons why things fail. In this book, I wanted to concentrate on larger questions of systems. Everything is embedded in a system, and that system includes these people who - some of whom are not the best of actors. So I wanted to tell that story. A knee-jerk reaction is when a plane has an accident or something happens, oh, it was a bad design. That's not always true. In fact, in more cases than not, it turns out not to be true. It turns out that the operators or the inspectors or some person involved wasn't. . .

All right.

. . . holding up his end of the deal.

We'll talk about more stuff from his book "To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure" with Henry Petroski. Our number, 1-800-989-8255. You can tweet us, @scifri. Stay with us. We'll be right back. I'm Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.

turn 1 : A "knee-jerk reaction" in this phrase doesn't refer to the legs. The implied meaning is an automatic response to something, done without much thought. Akin to how when your knee is struck your leg flexes - no thought, pure reflex.

How does PersonA describe a knee-jerk reaction in relation to the failure of a design?

Answer: Automatic


Yeah. I think anybody I grew up with could have said that. Anybody that I'm friends with now in Hazelwood, Haywood County, could say that. That's the reality of people who have nothing. They all know what it's like to miss a meal or to have the lights turned off or to have to decide - do I make my car payment, or do I pay my health insurance?That's a common theme that bridges the gap all across this country. And the unifying thing about that is poverty.

You also talk about addiction. The opioid crisis, as we know, is enormous right now. And you say that people just want to be listened to. What is the story that we aren't hearing?

I think - where that part of that essay came was I'd sat with the man who was interviewing me. And he said - when we were off-camera, he said, you know, I don't understand what would lead somebody to use methamphetamine or heroin. He said, I went to Chapel Hill in the '60s and, believe me, I experimented with drugs.

And what I thought was, your recreational drug use in the '60s is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about people with $20 in their pocket who feel that the weight of the world is on their shoulders. And the only escape they can get from that is found in a bottle or found in a vial or found in a bag. That's the type of addiction I'm talking about. And I think, until you're willing to recognize that, you're having the wrong conversation.

turn 2 : The speaker is implying that the interviewer's drug use in the 1960s is not comparable to the type of addiction that he is talking about.

What type of addiction is the speaker referring to?

Answer: $20


Now let's turn to West Africa. For more than a decade, Liberia has been struggling to recover from civil war. It has a female head of state now, and it also has big supporters in the U. S.  One of them is Bob Johnson, who founded and later sold Black Entertainment Television. Now he's building a four-star beachfront resort near Liberia's capital, Monrovia. Bob Johnson recently told me why he decided to invest millions of dollars in Liberia's economy.

It's part of a commitment I made to President Johnson Sirleaf and the people of Liberia, to help Liberia recover from some 13, 14 years of civil war. And it came about as a result of my participation, as well as President Sirleaf's participation in President Clinton's global initiative that he hosts every year in New York. And the charter is, do something, small or large, but do something. And so my something is to help Liberia.

What are we talking about in terms of the kind of money it takes to make this happen?

We are putting in approximately 12 to 13 million dollars in the construction of this hotel and the opening of the hotel, which is scheduled for March of '09. It'll be an 86-room hotel, as I said, situated on the beach, great facility for everybody from government officials and expats who want to go back and visit Liberia, as well as business people who are looking to do business in post-conflict Liberia.

So, do you expect to get a tourist crowd eventually?

turn 0 : Bob Johnson is supporting Liberia's recovery after civil war

How is Bob Johnson contributing to Liberia's recovery?

Answer: Investment


Nineteen, OK, 18 at the time. Yeah.

Yes, sir. As soon as I got to my job, I exited my car, and I walked away probably like no more than 50 feet and, you know, I was apprehended by - it was either four or five ICE agents. You know, the good thing was that my daughter didn't see when they took me because I know she would have been probably even more devastated to see it happen.

Do you have any idea how they - how they began to get interested in your case?

Well, I had a prior deportation from when I was younger for a minor drug offense. Of course, I had to return back to the states because I had my daughter. You know, I was a single father for - ever since she was 3 years old. And the way they found out where I lived, it was the day of Thanksgiving in 2015. I got pulled over because of - my tags were expired on my vehicle. And they took me in. They said I had what they called a misdemeanor warrant from 15 years back. And I went to court, like, four - four or five times, and they ended up dismissing the case. You know, so I thought that was over with, so, you know, I went about my life. And a little over a year later is when they came and picked me up and they said that - pretty much they told me that I went back on their radar for having been pulled over that day in 2015.

turn 2 : the speaker is implicitly asking the listener to ask how ICE agents found out about the speaker's case and location.

Answer: ICE


If you thought the fight over the FBI's Russia investigation couldn't get any more contentious, this past week, of course, it did. The White House has refused to declassify a competing Democratic memo that challenges claims made by the Republicans alleging bias and abuse in the FBI. President Trump had given the OK to release the GOP memo. Both documents are products of infighting within the House intelligence committee. Jamil Jaffer was a lawyer in the White House under President George W.  Bush. And he was senior counsel to the House intel committee. He joins us from Colorado today. Welcome to the program.

Thanks. Good to be here, Lulu.

You've called this a, quote, "massive strategic miscalculation on the part of the White House. "Why?

Look. I mean, part of the challenge here is the president is alleging that there was massive corruption at the FBI, at the Justice Department - an attempt to engage in political surveillance. And by allowing one side's memo to come out - the House Republicans' memo to come out - without releasing the House Democrats' memo, it plays into that partisan narrative. And as a result, it discredits the ability to make the point that there was - whether there was or was not, in fact, problems with the FBI.

turn 2 : The White House made a mistake by not releasing the Democratic memo, which may discredit their claims of FBI corruption.

How did the White House's decision to not release the Democratic memo impact their claims of FBI corruption?

Answer: Discredit.


I think I understand the differences between older and younger generations a little more than your average person. My colleagues and I, again, specialize in talking with large corporations and helping them understand street trends and, you know, more kind of what's going on with regular people. And I think that that's one of the problems with economic and social issues in the world today, is that all these big leaders are meeting at places like Davos, and they're coming up with these amazing plans of action and initiatives.

But then, it's hard to relay the message to a younger generation and speak to them in a language that they understand and that they can relate to. So I'm hoping that maybe I can translate that gap a little bit, and help people understand what's really going on.

Rebecca, when you're there at Davos, who are you most looking forward to talking to, and what questions do you think you might ask?

I mean, there's so many people who are going to be there. Kofi Annan, I would love to talk to him. And I just kind of want to find out what these people think about what's going on in the world and the solutions. But maybe more on laymen's term and have them explain, you know, what young people and what individuals can do to make a difference. What someone can do who's maybe not in a position to mingle and brainstorm with other distinguished people at a convention like Davos.

turn 1 : to relate to means to like something on a personal level, that you personally can like and understand.

Answer: Understand


So even though Wall Street seems to be blowing up or it did yesterday, the hedge funds are doing just fine. And these Masters of the Universe are ensconced happily in their Greenwich, Connecticut mansions?

Well, right now, they are swimming the tightest defensive positions they can. They're like turtles pulling themselves back into their shell just trying to wait this thing out. They could be hurt badly. In fact, today is one of the four times a year that people can take money out of hedge funds. Usually there's a certain fixed percentage that they can take out at any one time. That's for the protection of the fund itself. But still, there could be enough taken out today to seriously hurt a lot of hedge funds.

But the point I want to make is, it hasn't happened yet. These Masters of the Universe are very bright, I mean, they're smart. And they're much smarter than the people they left behind at the investment banks. And investment banks now are - it's a closed chapter in American history. When Goldman Sachs now has to become a bank, who with - not Masters of the Universe, but a lot of young female tellers sitting at windows with packets of red dye to give to the robbers when they come in to take money out of the place.

SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER

turn 3 : ROBBERS ROBBED PEOPLE'S MONEY AND THE PEOPLE ARE CARELESS TO LOSS THEIR S

How did Goldman Sachs have to change after becoming a bank?

Answer: Bank


It's necessary because of the drop in consumption.

When the government is spending over $150 billion on a stimulus bill like this, will that have a long run effect on how every person gets a check has to pay out their taxes in the future, has to deal with the realities of how much service the federal government can give in the future?I mean, will there be a sort of back-end re-tax for people who might get a cut in the short run?

I wouldn't put it that way. The problem is in the short run will people be much worse off and will they be able to recover from that?Because during a recession it's not unusual for families to lose two or three percent of their income. So the issue is do you want to lose that two or three percent because in the future you don't want to get a tiny tax increase to balance the budget.

So I think you have to think about what's the potential loss in income, which can be huge if we have a severe recession, or even a mild recession like the one we had in 2001.

turn 1 : "back-end re-tax" - This phrase is not a standard idiom or expression, and its meaning is not clear. However, it seems to suggest that people who receive stimulus checks in the short run may have to pay more taxes in the future to make up for the government's spending. The figurative meaning is implied, rather than explicit.

How does "back-end re-tax" suggest the future consequences of receiving a stimulus check?

Answer: Consequences


Well, I'm going to try to make this as succinct as possible. But it's a complicated game of musical chairs. Next in line to take over the governor's job would be the local secretary of state. But that position has been vacant for the past two weeks because the former secretary of state resigned his position because he was involved in the original leaked chat that led to the governor's resignation.

Oh, the same scandal got the next - the second in line before it got the first guy. OK, go on.

Right. And then it would be Wanda Vazquez's turn. But as we've seen, she's a controversial figure, and she has already expressed her desire that she doesn't want the job. After that, it would be the Treasury secretary's turn. But he's been in his post for less than a month after Governor Rossello fired his predecessor for publicly denouncing corruption schemes within the Puerto Rican Treasury without first consulting with the governor's office. So the problem with the current Treasury secretary is that he's 31 years old and doesn't meet the minimum age requirement to be governor. . .

Wow.

turn 0 : Referring to a complicated game of musical chairs, not an actual game but referring to the fact that anyone could take the spot, similar to the game of musical chairs.

How would you describe the situation in the dialogue using only one word?

Answer: Complicated


Well, they're sort of wrapping up. I mean once the storm makes landfall here then they sort of move on to the next thing. So, you have a lot of media around, but in fact the meteorologists are just checking their figures and sort winding down.

And what details do you have on the storm?How much rain is expected from the hurricane?

Well, the hurricane could drop up to a foot of rain in some areas. It really depends precisely where you are. Especially areas that are to the east and north of the center of the storm - could get very very heavy rainfall.

There have been, kind of, expectations that the storm would be as big, maybe as Katrina, maybe even bigger and a lot of very scary talk from New Orleans fears prompting evacuations. What is the difference between hurricanes Gustav and Katrina?

turn 2 : The rainfall from the hurricane varies depending on location

Which aspect of the hurricane's impact is discussed in turn 2?

Answer: Rainfall


He and his commission had better get it organized. Otherwise, the fury Nigerians are feeling today could spill into much worse. So they say the presidential vote and, of course, it wasn't just voting for president - also for governors, also for national assembly, also for the state assembly.

So we'll have the presidential next Saturday in another vote. But some other votes have been postponed till 9 of March. That's after the original second-round vote date of the 2 of March. So the electoral commission has got to get itself sorted out.

NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, thanks so much.

Always a pleasure.

turn 1 : The electoral commission needs to fix itself before the postponed votes.

How do the postponed votes relate to the state assembly election?

Answer: State


In the fall of 2017, Bowe Bergdahl was dishonorably discharged from the U. S.  Army for deserting his post in Afghanistan years earlier. His rank was reduced. He had to pay a fine, but he did avoid prison time. And on the day Bergdahl was sentenced, President Trump tweeted that his sentence was a, quote, "complete and total disgrace. "This wasn't the first time Trump had weighed in on the case. On the campaign trail, he had called Bergdahl a dirty, rotten traitor and said he should be executed for deserting.

Now, this week, a panel of military judges ruled that Trump's comments were evidence of what's called unlawful command influence. That's when someone higher up on the chain of command tries to influence the outcome of a military trial. Here to further explain unlawful command influence is Stephen Vladeck. He teaches military justice at the University of Texas School of Law. Welcome.

Thanks for having me.

So I should first mention that while these military judges did find evidence of unlawful command influence, they still declined to change Bergdahl's sentence in any way. Bergdahl still lost his appeal. That said, what were the specific comments from Trump that these judges took issue with?

turn 0 : Trump's tweet was an attempt to influence the outcome of the military trial

How did Trump's tweet affect the military trial's outcome?

Answer: Tweet


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

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

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

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

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

turn 1 : The guest will provide insight into how local governments are dealing with the issue of car sales.

How will the guest contribute to the discussion?

Answer: Insight


That's correct. Yes, well, the last thing we've heard it was just outside of Port Fourchon, which is at the lower end of LaFourche Parish. So the winds have been picking up a bit and that's what we're getting ready for here. So far, however, we are putting stuff up on the web and we haven't stopped all night.

I hear people on the radio behind you, you must be at a sort of emergency control headquarters or something?

No, no, not us; we're just communicating with our reporters. We have reporters out in different parts of the parish, and we're trying to keep in touch with them as we can, and get what information they're getting as travel with the authorities.

What are you going to do when your internet connection goes down?

turn 3 : The speaker asks how they will communicate when the internet connection fails, implying that it will fail at some point.

Which question does the speaker in turn 3 ask about communication in case of internet failure?

Answer: Communication


How was that?

Well, it was astonishing. I think that the grown-ups around us were much too confused themselves to be able to sort of sit down and tell us that when they said that television sets belong to Satan, maybe they hadn't been right. Suddenly, we've got a television set in our house. Suddenly, we've got a radio. . .

Oh, boy.

. . . (Laughter) In our house. And suddenly, we're being taken to go and see "Gone With The Wind" in the cinema.

turn 3 : Implied meaning: Amused disbelief at the sudden change in the status quo.

What was PersonA's reaction to the changes in their household?

Answer: Amused


This country, Cameroon, acts as a source, transit and destination. Especially the Kumbo Diocese, as it is economically poor region. It's a source for many traffickers to have children from our region to take them to the cities, to the towns and to the other nations, especially to the Middle East, where they're exploited sexually, physically and mentally.

So they're taken from homes. They're taken from schools. What happens?

Mostly, they're taken from homes or from where they are working. If they are working in somebody's house, they lobby the girl, say that OK, there is a job opportunity in Middle East as a teacher or as a nurse. Then when they go, they go to a center called a kadama (ph). In Arab, it is called a slave. So they go there. They are bought and sold to various places to be exploited.

What do you do, Sister?What can your organization do?

turn 2 : highlighting the deceptive tactics used by traffickers to convince girls that there are job opportunities in the Middle East as teachers or nurses, but in reality, they are being trafficked and subjected to exploitation.

Which region is mentioned as being economically poor and a source for traffickers to take children to be exploited in the Middle East?

Answer: Kumbo


Well, there's no doubt about that. So the near-Earth asteroids number about 500,000, but we only know of 9,000. And the reason that they're so interesting, Ira, is because they are actually energetically easier to reach than the surface of the moon. So we've been to the moon many times, and the moon is a great place, which is very worthy of our exploration. But just to give you an idea of how close some of the asteroids are, they're easier to reach than our own moon.

Yeah.

So they're not way out there in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. These are. . .

Right.

turn 0 : The actual meaning is that there are only 9,000 known near-Earth asteroids despite there being approximately 500,000 in total.

What is the approximate number of near-Earth asteroids that are energetically easier to reach than the surface of the moon?

Answer: 9,000


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

And starts on Monday?

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

Alice Fordham in Beirut. Thanks so much.

turn 0 : In (1), A is expressing a pessimistic view about the chances of success for the peace talks in Syria. A is highlighting a major obstacle to the talks, which is the opposing views on the future of Bashar al-Assad's presidency. A is suggesting that this disagreement is a significant barrier to progress and is indicating that there are no positive examples from the past to suggest that the talks will be successful.

What is the sticking point mentioned by PersonA in turn 0?

Answer: Assad's


Yes, and that's a very different situation because the ice sitting on the ocean, when it melts, it doesn't change sea level. If you think of a glass of ice tea and you put your ice cubes in the ice tea, when the ice melts, your ice tea, obviously, doesn't overflow. The ice just - it. . .

There's quite a difference in volume, but not big enough.

Yeah. It basically doesn't - but the melting ice that's floating doesn't matter, but what - but a lot of the ice sitting on Greenland and on Antarctic, the continent of Antarctica, when that ice melts, that does, in fact, add water to the sea. And those are in the long term, likely to drive the sea level rise and could drive the sea level rise by a great deal in the coming decades and centuries.

So is anomalous - I mean, is this - as you said, it's definitely part of a trend. There's no way to argue with it anymore, about the warming and that it's having real effects. How is it going faster than people feared?

turn 0 : Melting ice on Greenland and Antarctica adds water to the sea level.

Answer: Melting.


OK.

We're in a tent at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. So if you hear some extraneous sounds that you wouldn't normally hear in Studio 3A, please forgive us. But it gives us the opportunity to do some things that we wouldn't ordinarily do. We want to hear from comedians today. How do you translate your material, which comes from a certain time and place, to a wider or different cultural or even ethnic group?Give us a call: 800-989-8255. Email us: talk@npr. org.

And Trevor Noah, what did you find translated well?Is there a material that you did in Cape Town that you can do in Los Angeles, or Baltimore for that matter?

Not really, no. Because the points of view changes, you know?I think the one - well, I could talk about Oprah. Oprah is worldwide. Yes.

Oprah is worldwide.

turn 4 : Oprah is worldwide. (This turn has an implied meaning that Oprah's cultural influence and recognition transcends different cultures and settings)

How would you describe Oprah's influence?

Answer: Influence