This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has had a rapid career rise. He was appointed Egypt's defense minister after the Arab Spring outpouring by Egypt's first freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi. But just a year later, General Sisi helped oust Mr.  Morsi and then he began to run the country. Now, his title is Field Marshal Sisi, the top military post. And just this past week, he took the next step to becoming Egypt's next president. The possible rise of a new military strongman raises questions about if the Arab Spring put Egypt on a path of democracy and civilian rule or more authoritarianism. Samer Shehata joins us. He's a political scientist at University of Oklahoma, and he joins us from the studios of KGOU in Norman, Oklahoma. Samer, thanks very much for being with us.

Pleasure to speak to you.

Why is a field marshal, according to various surveys, so popular in Egypt?

He's popular for a number of reasons. One, there were many people, of course, who were opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and Mr.  Morsi before he became president. And of course it was a disastrous year in office. And there are many people who, as a result of all of that, are longing for stability and security. And the idea of a military general running the show is reassuring.

turn 2 : "various surveys" - Literal meaning: different types of research studies. Actual meaning: There have been different opinion polls or data gathering methods used to understand why Field Marshal Sisi is popular in Egypt.

What is the reason for Field Marshal Sisi's popularity in Egypt according to different types of studies?

Answer: Stability


Well, I think every writer hopes to bring information to a reader or a viewer. Every artist wants to reach another person through the heart. Something that a novel can do is bring you information in a different way from journalism or all other forms of acquiring information. It brings you inside the mind of another person. So it creates empathy for the theoretical stranger, and that's - it's a fresh avenue, really, for bringing science to a reader, to get to the head via the heart.

Do you have science - we have 30 seconds left. But will we see science in your next book?

Absolutely.

Well, I look forward to it. Thank you for joining us today.

turn 0 : You do not actually enter the person's heart or mind, it means that you start to understand their perspective

What does a novel create for the theoretical stranger?

Answer: Information


But, you know, people have been, you know, taking this approach for a long time.

I notice that you might be able to - I think the Romans shipped apparent black wax tablets, and then you scrape off the wax, something's in there.

Oh sure, there are lots of different ways you could do this. And in fact, I mean, the story that's floating around, and I'm not sure if it's true or not, I haven't been able to dig deep enough to find out, is that during World War II, the censors would go through, and they would kind of change numerical tables.

So if somebody was sending a letter to someone in the theater and saying, you know, Johnny got good grades, got an A, B, a C or something like that, they might change them around a little bit. Or they might change, you know, put little changes just in case someone was trying to sneak a message in, you know, some table of data.

turn 2 : the speaker is hinting that a story about World War II censors tampering with numerical tables is potentially true, although they have not been able to find enough evidence to confirm it

How does the speaker feel about the story of World War II censors changing numerical tables?

Answer: Potentially


Bill M wrote about it - read about it and wrote. Kilpatrick's stays in the news proving all the naysayers right with his childish antics and questionable judgment. He should resign.

And there's also the news that Broadway's "The Color Purple" is closing next month due to slow ticket sales and some people said it was because of singer Fantasia left the show without any thunder after she left.

All right. Just briefly, what do you think about the newsletter?What does that offer people that everything else we do doesn't?We've got the radio show and the blog. But, you know, you put out this great newsletter every day. What's going on with that?

Well, we've got headlines that pertain to African-Americans. We have highlights from the show. And the difference is - it's called Push me (unintelligible). It's a '90s Internet buzz word. And the idea is that you get all these things that you want sent to your inbox every day without having to surf from Web site to Web site. And it's a service that we offer.

turn 0 : "childish antics and questionable judgment" implies that Kilpatrick's behavior is inappropriate and unprofessional, even though the literal meaning of the words is just describing his actions and decision-making

How would you describe Kilpatrick's behavior based on the implied meaning of "childish antics and questionable judgment"?

Answer: Inappropriate


So in some senses, it's unverifiable. You know, I guess one of the best ways to think about this memorandum is that when asked, Devin Nunes refused to share this memo either with the DOJ - or the Department of Justice - or the FBI - the very people accused in the memo, or with the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee. So that tells you a little bit about his level of confidence in the allegations that are made.

Apparently, Democrats are drafting their own memo in response to this memo. So now we're going to have dueling memos?What's in that one?

Well, we haven't completed it yet, but it will be a memorandum which points out the factual inaccuracies in the original one. Again, it's a bit sensitive because in - there's sort of an evil genius to this first memorandum because it does make reference to very highly classified intelligence that almost nobody has seen. But in as much as we can, we'll try to lay out the facts around these acquisitions - sorry, these allegations. And, again, just make the point that, you know, along with, you know, the belief that there was wiretapping of Donald Trump, you know, that there was improper unmasking - this is the latest in a steady stream of unfounded allegations designed to undermine the FBI in particular.

I'd like to understand a little bit about what the committee, at this point, is doing in the House that is investigating collusion between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. It's been nearly a year. Have you found an - evidence of any crimes?

turn 0 : Devin Nunes lacks confidence in the allegations made in the memo.

How does Devin Nunes feel about the allegations made in the memo?

Answer: Lacks


Are there any good reasons to use this?

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

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

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

turn 2 :  Implied meaning: Will people use DNA to store data instead of hard drives in the future?

What aspect of long-term storage does DNPersonA offer compared to hard drives?

Answer: Processing


Yes. Well, the Mayan mom would then just drop the kid off with the neighbor or the aunt and say, fine. I'm going to spend the day at the beach by myself. No worries (laughter). This actually brings up a second thing about the Mayan parenting style that's really different from us. And that's this idea that the Mayan mom is not stuck in a box.

Not stuck in a box. What does that mean?

So in our culture, there's this idea that the ideal thing for kids is, like, a stay-at-home mom who focuses her attention on the children. That ends up in practice being is that you have Mom stuck in a box, an apartment in the city, a big house in the suburbs. But if you look around the world, this is not how the parent-child relationship evolved at all or how kids have been raised for hundreds of thousands of years. Instead, the kids are raised by a whole slew of people - grandmas, aunts, nosy neighbors. And so what we do is actually really strange and maybe, arguably, one of the most untraditional family forms that has existed.

Wow. So I guess the takeaway for this Mother's Day is. . .

turn 0 : The mom is not confined to doing things one way and staying in one place.

Which word describes the parenting style of Mayan moms?

Answer: Flexible


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

What is the association of high heels with public figures?

Answer: Treasury


FLDS has been accused of forcing underage girls to marry adult men. For more, we turned to Salt Lake Tribune reporter Brooke Adams, and, Brooke, many people likely remember this story. Hundreds of children were removed from the ranch in April. And later on, they were returned to their family. When did that happen and why?

They were returned to their families in June - actually on June 2nd after first the Texas Court of Appeals and then the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a San Angelo judge didn't have enough evidence to hold all of them in custody.

And so they went back to their families. You wrote about a new report that was released just last week. There was a commission that reported on FLDS. What were some of their key findings?

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services found that there were 12 young girls ranging in age from 12 to 15 who had been married to older men. It's unclear from the report whether all of those marriages took place at the ranch, but that's where they found the evidence for that. And of those 12 girls, seven of them have had children, which is interesting. The girls now range in age from 14 to 18, so many of them are still minors. The youngest of those girls, I will say, however, have not had children.

turn 1 : The courts did not have enough evidence to hold the children in custody.

What was the reason for returning the children to their families?

Answer: Minor


. . . 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 3 : The phrase "I froze" does not literally mean that the speaker's body physically froze, but rather that they were nervous or scared.  The phrase "killed it" does not literally mean that the speaker caused harm to anything, but rather that they performed very well.

Which phrase doesn't mean that the speaker caused harm to anything?

Answer: Well


Yeah. What damage in the United States near as you can tell?

Well, we're not really aware of what the damage is precisely. I mean, that's still being accounted for. One thing interestingly for people that are dissecting what happened is that many systems are now trying to clean up the damage. So it's hard to know exactly what happened. It's kind of like cleaning up a crime scene before doing the forensics on it. One thing that is being discussed - this is possibly malware coming from the NSA. Some security experts who've been collecting samples of the malware and dissecting them have been saying that these criminal attacks are based on attacks designed by the National Security Agency and then released into the public by a hacking group called The Shadow Brokers.

You know, now, the NSA, they would have wanted to use the malware for spying purposes, right?The agency has a huge shop - we're very well aware of this - one of the world's best shops, dedicated to finding weaknesses in software and taking advantage of those weaknesses to break in and steal information for spying purposes. The problem is once you break in, you make digital keys, you can't really control who gets them. So this attack is raising one of these fundamental issues that we talk about in the security world about whether NSA surveillance protects people or creates unexpected damage that does more harm than good.

So I - so it's possible that there - it's possible that the NSA program to try and limit damage and trace people who would do harm to the country wound up doing harm across the world.

turn 1 : "It's kind of like cleaning up a crime scene before doing the forensics on it."

How is the damage from the attack being accounted for?

Answer: Cleaned


Yeah. Well, a big one can come from any number of faults here in Southern California. So if you looked at a map of Southern California and wanted to imagine all the faults, just throw a pile of spaghetti down on it, and all those little strands would be faults all over the place. These - this set of faults is inland from the San Andreas.

And so there was a less-than-1% chance that we would've had an above-7. 0 magnitude earthquake yesterday following the 6. 4 on Thursday, and that happened. As of today, there is a less-than-2% chance that we could see another magnitude 7 today, but we're going to have to see how that shakes out.

The San Andreas is not directly impacted by these faults, as far as we know. But there are a whole lot of faults in that area that might've taken a strain of some of these smaller faults that - when they released all their energy, because that strain doesn't just go away. It has to go somewhere else. And some of the other faults in the area took it on.

And how much do we know at this moment in time, this early in the day, about what the damage is up there?

turn 0 : Pile of spaghetti implies the fault lines on the map

How can you imagine all the faults in Southern California?

Answer: Crowding


Well, this technology is fantastic. Basically, if you're about to rear-end someone, this technology will first warn you. And if you don't act, it will hit the brakes for you. And the data show that it could reduce rear-end crashes by 40 percent or more.

Now, I said it will be standard by 2022, but if I buy a new car today, am I likely to have this feature?

Honestly, it's 50-50. If we look at 2019 model year data, about half of the automakers sell vehicles where the technology comes standard. Toyota, for example, and Honda have been making a lot of this technology standard on their vehicles. With the others, you may have to pay thousands of dollars to get that technology.

Is there something troubling about offering a safety feature that can save lives that costs thousands of dollars extra?

turn 0 : "hit the brakes for you" - This phrase does not imply that the technology physically hits the brakes for the driver, but rather automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision.

Which phrase explains the purpose of the technology mentioned in turn 0?

Answer: Prevent-collision


Are they willing to let people die over that principle?

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

I. . .

turn 3 : A: "People are not going to let their neighbors die." - Here, A is making a general statement that people are unlikely to allow their neighbors to die, regardless of the specific context of the conversation. The literal meaning of A's words does not match their actual meaning, which is more like "I don't believe that people will let others die, and I want to emphasize that point."

What is PersonA's actual meaning when they say "People are not going to let their neighbors die"?

Answer: meaning


The MIT Media Lab has been under fire for the past several weeks for its financial links to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The lab's director, Joi Ito, initially said he had accepted $525,000 and more for his own private tech investment funds from Epstein, and he apologized. Now The New Yorker has detailed the lengths to which the MIT lab went to conceal its acceptance of millions of dollars more in gifts arranged by Epstein. Today, Ito formally resigned, writing, quote, "after giving the matter a great deal of thought over the past several days and weeks, I think that it is best that I resign as director of the media lab and as a professor and employee of the institute, effective immediately" - unquote. Joining us to talk about this is NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik from New York.

David, welcome back. Thanks for joining us.

My pleasure.

Could you just walk us through the scale of this?How far did MIT go to conceal their ties with Jeffrey Epstein?

turn 3 : MIT concealed their financial ties with Jeffrey Epstein.

Which institute concealed its financial ties with Jeffrey Epstein?

Answer: MIT


We don't really know at this moment. But we do know that Director Comey has been under tremendous pressure ever since his announcement back in July. Republicans have been ripping him for not going further than his criticism of Secretary Clinton, which was quite strong, for her extreme carelessness.

And, you know, Donald Trump has been casting doubt on the legitimacy of the whole process. And here's the thing - the director might well have expected that if there is something being discussed internally at the FBI about these Weiner emails, whatever they are, that would become public at some point, whether he wanted that to happen or not. And he didn't want to appear to have suppressed them.

What's your estimation, as we speak today, on how this affects the presidential election in 10 days?

Well, let's start with the obvious, it's a tremendous boon to the Trump campaign. They've been thrown a life preserver of sorts. They had just had another week of mostly bad news, mostly down in the polls. We had just learned how far behind they are in terms of fundraising. We found out that the candidate himself had not contributed nearly as much money to the effort as he had promised back in 2015. And there was beginning to be something of an air of resignation about elements of the Trump campaign. . .

turn 2 : The implied meaning of (3) is asking what the effects will be of the FBI investigation on the election, while the literal meaning of the question is to ask for an estimation on the election in 10 days.

How does turn 1 imply that the FBI Director didn't want to suppress the Weiner emails?

Answer: appearance


Now, Republican Sen.  Jeff Sessions suggested - I guess - that Mr.  Lew, because he wrote the White House budget, might essentially lack the proper perspective. Is this going to harm him politically?

Well, Jeff Sessions is going to vote against him. But significantly, Sessions has not said whether he would put a hold on Lew's nomination, or lead a filibuster. And I think most betting in Washington is that Lew will be confirmed. He will not face significant opposition. It seems that Sessions' main problem with him is that he represents President Obama's budget policies - as he should, because he's working for the president.

Yeah. Of course, there's been a lot more objections voiced over the selection of Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for Defense secretary; questions raised about his depth of his commitment to Israel, policies towards containing Iran. Let's get an understanding - your understanding, at the moment, of where the opposition for that rests.

Well, first, the opposition is, obviously, with Republicans. They consider him an apostate. They think Hagel was a turncoat. He once talked about how the Jewish lobby intimidates people in Washington. They feel he's been squishy on Iran sanctions. He's said the Pentagon budget was bloated. He also was a loner, when he was in the Senate, so he doesn't have a lot of deep friendships. He has been going on the offensive; giving a lot of interviews, trying to clarify his remarks, explaining how he is as strong on Israel and Iran as anybody else.

turn 3 : Implied meaning: The speaker is expressing disapproval or criticism towards the listener or a third party, but doing so indirectly or politely.

Which speaker expresses disapproval indirectly?

Answer: Speaker


Lettuce is an incredibly water-intensive crop. And the relationship with climate change and drought. . .

And even gender.

Iceberg in particular has managed to transcend these unfairly feminine connotations that salad-eating has taken on.

So as you reconsider iceberg's place in the fabric of our society and on your table, Rosner urges you to think even beyond the delicious wedge salad. She suggests stir-frying your lettuce, pickling it or blending it into a cold soup. And even if lettuce experimentation isn't for you, you can still try to let go of your leafy, green pretensions. Not everything has to be arugula.

turn 3 : Iceberg has a place in society and the contruction of it.

Which type of lettuce is mentioned in the turn?

Answer: arugula


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

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

You're welcome.

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

turn 1 : Alex Cepero faced a devastating experience during Hurricane Dorian

Which hurricane caused Alex Cepero's devastating experience?

Answer: HurricaneDorian.


Have you spoken to the attorneys for Epstein?And what are they saying?

They were stunned. I mean, in fact, I told them myself. They didn't know about it when I called them last night. They were shocked.

Wow.

But they were pretty elated. More importantly, the victims, the four women that I interviewed - I spoke with one of them last night. And I heard through her lawyer from another and. . .

turn 1 : Stunned and shocked means that they were surprised greatly by the information.

How were the attorneys feeling when they learned about the information?

Answer: Stunned


Part of the problem is that you obviously need to deal with the security issues. But at the same time, that doesn't mean you put the human rights issues into the background. You can also raise human rights issues as you raise these security issues. You have to be able to walk and chew gum if you're going to practice international relations.

Yeah. You met North Korea's top nuclear negotiator in 2011. How did that go?I mean, how did you balance those concerns?

Well, the primary person I was - the reason that I was in North Korea at the time was to talk about the possibility of United States humanitarian assistance. North Koreans made a request. We were looking at the possibility of doing that. And our negotiations focused on that. On the other hand, there were meetings that we had and also time that we had after meetings or in connection with dinners and that kind of thing to raise human rights questions. You know, you don't start out by blasting them with the worst thing you can find. But there are ways that you can press them and push them and encourage them to accept the idea that human rights actually improves the standing of the regime if people like the government.

This administration eliminated the job you held. Do you think that matters?I mean, do you think this administration will even broach the issue of human rights?

turn 0 : The speaker is suggesting that it is possible to address both security concerns and human rights issues simultaneously, rather than prioritizing one over the other.

Which issue did the speaker emphasize while negotiating with North Korea?

Answer: Human-rights


And what about men?After all, they groom too, especially their beards. So, they need tables of their own. Well, these vanities aren't really tables. Men stood to shave at narrow cabinets with stacks of drawers for their grooming supplies. One glossy modern piece caught my eye.

It's red and it's plastic by Raymond Loewy. The design date is 1969. It was manufactured and he made variations on the theme. But this is the men's shaving stand. And as you see, there's no place to sit. So, he combined sort of the historical idea of men's dressing tables with new contemporary materials, the molded plastic. He has no handles, but the grips on the drawers come out of the molded plastic. And the mirror, again, pops up. When you pull it down, it looks like just one closed cabinet. But in fact it's a men's shaving stand.

It is inexplicable, it's innate. It's something in our gene pool. . .

turn 2 : (3) "What is it, do you think, in the human psyche that we - so many of us - I mean, look at the human history that's shown here in this exhibit - need to look at ourselves, at least for a time, to begin the day?"

What did PersonB ask about the human psyche?

Answer: Psyche.


That's right. I mean, the thing is many people are uneasy with what former Director Comey recounted as the president's words. But whether it constitutes obstruction is a more difficult issue. There were plenty of reasons to fire James Comey. Now, the president may have had any number of reasons in mind. But you're looking for something far more concrete in most criminal prosecutions. You're looking for a clear intent to try to stop an investigation.

All right. This is another word that we hear all the time - collusion, which is what started the Russia investigation, the idea that somehow members of the Trump administration colluded with Russia to influence the U. S.  election. What is collusion?Does it have any legal meaning?And what would the charge actually be if it were proven?

Well, that's another problem of getting ahead of our skis a bit. People have been referring to collusion like there is a crime of collusion in this context. There is no such crime. So what you're really looking for are collateral crimes. You know, the White House is allowed to speak to the Russians. The White House is even allowed to do remarkably dumb things with the Russians. The president is allowed to reveal classified information to the Russians. None of that is legal. That becomes a political question of holding someone accountable for things you don't like them doing.

But if a member of the Trump team before the election or after the election was talking to the Russians and saying, all right, we are - want to help you throw the election in our favor, is that illegal?I mean, that's what the implication is here essentially.

turn 3 : The phrase "throw the election in our favor" in (4) implies attempting to influence the result of the election, which is different from its literal meaning of physically throwing the election.

How is the phrase "throw the election in our favor" different from its literal meaning?

Answer: influence


Well, the regulations that I'm most concerned with are the ones that could be causing issues in getting approvals, new chemistries approved for crops that we grow. Cuts to different agencies could cause approval processes to take longer, which certainly in times where you have different pests and things that need taken care of, whether it's plant pests or, in our case, we have cattle as well, and if there's problems there and we don't have the ability to treat our plants or animals well or with the latest tools - you definitely want things to be safe. But it seems more like it's being pushed to the back burner for political reasons. It's very frustrating as a farmer sometimes when you see needs for things and you know there's fixes coming but regulatory issues are holding them up.

I have to ask, has your business been affected by climate in recent years?

(Laughter) Well, in the agricultural business, everybody's affected by climate. You know, I think anybody that says there's not changes happening is somewhat naive. On the other hand, it's the things that we can do to figure out what things we can do long term to make sure we're, you know, in good position to continue to grow the crops that we have here in the U. S.  and hopefully be profitable in the future and continue to be, you know, the largest producer of food in the world.

Kevin Ross, who grows corn and soybeans and raises cattle in Minden, Iowa, thanks so much for being with us.

turn 0 : Political agendas are taking precedence over the need for agricultural regulations.

How are political reasons affecting agricultural regulations according to A?

Answer: Prioritization


A couple of questions: Does a planet have to be like, quote-unquote, "like Earth" for it to be habitable?

Oh absolutely not, absolutely. The biology extremophiles can exist over a wide range of temperatures and salinities and pressures and such. So no, it doesn't have to be like Earth. But that makes it easier for us to imagine that there might be life as we know it.

What's interesting to me, exciting to me, is the prospect of perhaps these stars are very close, are they not?They're. . .

These are some of the closest stars. This one is the 19th closest star to us.

turn 3 : star implies a luminous body in the sky and not a celebrity.

How does the term "star" in turn 3 differ from its usage in media?

Answer: Luminous


Yes.

. . . Origins of the book.

So the seeds of this book really were planted within me 18 years ago. I've been carrying them and nurturing them for a very long time. In 2001, I was a young, queer immigrant woman here in the United States, and I was really urgently seeking a deeper understanding of my own country of origin, Uruguay, and how it connects to queer truths and histories.

I was going through my own personal moment where my parents were disowning me and saying that I couldn't be both gay and Uruguayan at the same time. In Uruguay, it is true that, you know, 20 years ago, queer voices were much less visible. I mean, in all of my research of the dictatorship history, the queer stories are simply not recorded.

turn 2 : The seeds of the book are the words of the story that she read that she remembered.

Answer: Queer


I think it's actually the opposite. And Jay Inslee ran as the climate candidate, but it turns out there are several climate candidates. So if you are a voter who's looking for someone who wants to overhaul the entire economy over the coming decades, to transition to renewable energy, massively cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, you have your pick - Beto O'Rourke has a plan to do that, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden to a more moderate degree, others. Many have put forward plans that would go far further than what the Obama administration tried to do on this.

Inslee did have the most detailed plan. He did talk about this the most. But that really didn't allow him to end up to stand out on the front. And you're right; most polls show that climate change is one of Democratic voters' top issues. This is something that this year Democrats are regularly talking about, voters are asking about, it's a topic in debates. In the past, that hasn't been the case. This has often been an issue that ends up getting ignored during elections.

You mentioned Bernie Sanders. He just rolled out a big climate plan. How does his proposal compare to the other plans we've seen?

I think it's fair to say this is the most aggressive plan yet.

turn 1 : to put something forward is to give an idea, they are giving ideas for climate change

What is the purpose of the plans mentioned for climate change?

Answer: Overhaul


It's the most vegetal thing I've ever smelled.

Excellent. And we're going to add the ginger.

OK.

And then I got some mint. And then I got a little lime. OK, and then I'll do a little agave.

turn 0 : The phrase "the most vegetal thing" in turn (1) is a metaphorical expression that means the smell is very fresh and green, like a vegetable, rather than literally smelling like a vegetable.

How would you describe the smell in turn (0)?

Answer: Fresh


Now, how does Ukraine come in?

It's very confusing, but let's see what I can do here. So on the Internet, things move really fast. It's like a huge game of telephone. So once this firm caught the attention of the far-right online, they discovered that it was owned by a Russian American man who had previously done some work for a think tank called the Atlantic Council. It's a D. C. -based think tank, sort of works alongside NATO. And it's a pretty innocuous place. It does research on misinformation and digital warfare, things like that.

And there's a Ukrainian oligarch who was on one of the advisory boards for the Atlantic Council. And it seems somewhere along the line, the Ukrainian oligarch became the owner of CrowdStrike. This is not true, of course. But when things are moving so fast online, facts start to combine together, and it becomes very confusing.

So the idea is people who are on the far-right, conspiracy theorists, went looking for a connection, went looking to say, who are these CrowdStrike guys?And once they do enough looking, they're able to find a Ukrainian oligarch who they say, aha, this is the connection. So what about this server that the president implied was somehow in Ukraine?I mean, he - on this call talked to Ukraine's leader and brought up CrowdStrike. What would he be looking for?

turn 2 : Somewhere along the process of the situation forming he becmae owner of Crowdstrike.

Which advisory board was the Ukrainian oligarch on?

Answer: Atlantic


Thanks again for tackling a subject that is often times neglected for discussion. But all too often it's the source of so much pain and misery in our community. When a family member suffers from an addiction, the entire family suffers. Emotionally, socially, and financially. Shows like yours help to bring the stigma of addiction out of the shadows.

As part of that series, we talked to a mother who said that she believed her son committed suicide because of the game EverQuest. While I tried to challenge our guest on that direct link, we decided to ask the game's maker for a response. Here's some of the statement from Sony Online Entertainment. EverQuest is a phenomenally popular game because it provides players with a fun, social, and interactive online experience. EverQuest is a game. The majority of the hundreds of thousands of subscribers play the game in moderation. As with any form of entertainment, it is the responsibility of each individual player to monitor his or her own playing habits, and prioritize his or her time as necessary.

And finally, Aljore Stallings(ph) in Glen Burnie, Maryland, wrote in about the interview we did with Cullen Jones. If you'll remember, he's the second African-American swimmer to win a gold at the Olympics.

She wrote, I am giving you praise and kudos for your interview of Cullen Jones. I am so glad to hear of a black person achieve success in a sport that isn't traditionally the norm for black folks. I do hope it encourages more young black people to look into learning to swim. It has encouraged me a whole lot.

turn 1 : The game's maker denies responsibility for any harm caused by their game.

What does the game's maker say about monitoring playing habits?

Answer: Monitor


How does the government even know that they might have overpaid?

Well, they have records going back that say, you know, you were eligible for X amount per month. And then maybe somebody in the family went back to work and got more in the way of earnings than they would have had to be eligible for those benefits. And so there was this debt sitting there on the account over all these years. But in many of these cases, the government can't even say who exactly incurred the debt. It might have been a surviving spouse. It might have been surviving children. All they know is that the debt is on the books. And apparently their regulations allow them to go after almost anyone in the surviving family without regard to whether they were the ones who got the benefits in the first place.

And they have no recourse?

Well, there's an appeals process, and you can seek a waiver. The folks I've spoken to, for the most part, when they call or visit Social Security, they're told, yeah, you can go through the waiver process, but you're not likely to win. The Social Security Administration tells me that about 10 percent do win their case, but that's 90 percent who don't. And of that 90 percent, some of them, it's just, you know, a few hundred dollars maybe, and they figure it's not worth the battle. In other cases, it's some thousands of dollars, and they really need the money. But very few lawyers will touch these cases because they are relatively small amounts of money involved.

turn 1 : "you know" is used as a filler phrase and does not add any literal meaning to the sentence

How does the Social Security Administration respond to those seeking a waiver?

Answer: Waiver


I think you maybe missed your calling as a cybercriminal, Scott. Criminals are always looking to, what is the formula that makes paying the ransom worth it to the person who I'm attacking?So I'm absolutely certain that you're right that you will see an uptick in at least attempts to do this in other cities.

Cities have computer experts, right?Shouldn't they be avoiding these attacks somehow?

I think it's a pretty sensitive issue. In the case of Baltimore, the mayor came out and publicly blamed the National Security Agency for having lost some exploits several years ago that had resulted in the attack that they sustained. But at the same time, there had been a patch available that the city hadn't put in place.

You know, nationwide, there was an enormous lack of people with cybersecurity skills. City governments aren't known for their enormously high salaries. So I think you'll see the competition at tech firms, at big banks making it very hard for these cities to have enough people in place.

turn 0 : A thinks Scott has good knowledge of cybercriminals

What does PersonA suggest is the reason for an uptick in attempts to attack cities?

Answer: Lack


You got a sinus infection but you taking a yeast infection medicine figuring if you lay down, it'll work its way up.

Do you believe in Mars and Venus, the whole idea that men and women are totally different?

I really do. And if I can get women to understand that every man that sleeps with you is not going to love you, then half of us will be all right.

What about the other half?

turn 3 : Again, "half" is not literal. It just means many women.

How does "half" refer to women in the conversation?

Answer: Women


There's definite bright spots. If you're Wal-Mart, you're doing fine. If you're Costco, you're doing fine. If you're Family Dollar, you're doing fine. If you're Dollar Tree, you're doing fine.

The consumer is trading down. Starbucks closes 600 stores, but McDonalds is doing fine. Bennigans closes all their stores. Steak and Ale closes all their stores, but Burger King is booming. There is a story out there. The consumer is in major trade-down mode. If you're in position to take advantage of that, you win.

What about hiring?Stores hire a lot of temporary workers around this time for the holiday season. What's going on there?

Well, we've got 82 clients. All of them, across the board, are planning to hire fewer people and for fewer hours. Hiring is going to be way down, inventory is down, sales is down; it's all down. You know, we've lost an average of 85,000 jobs a month so far this year. Unemployment is going to skyrocket, in our view, to 7 and a half, 8 percent. All the stores have canceled expansion plans, cutting back on investments. They're not opening new stores. They're closing stores, and they're slashing hiring budgets.

turn 3 : The economic situation is causing a significant decrease in hiring, sales, and investment.

What aspects of the business are decreasing due to the economic situation?

Answer: Hiring


And let's talk about the rivals themselves once they were in the Cabinet. You wrote about this this week in the Los Angeles Times in an op-ed. And you noted that, two years into Lincoln's administration, there was a full-blown crisis in Lincoln's Cabinet. What was that about?

Well, we reached this point in the middle of the war - it's December 1862 - when Lincoln actually says to one of his closest friends, we are now on the brink of destruction. And he was talking about a Cabinet crisis that was the result of this friction between these rivals. There was backbiting and intrigue, and it was ugly. Lincoln survived it, and that's why we tend to forget how ugly it was. But, you know, in the first two years of the conflict, the president is really struggling to manage these balky rivals.

And they're unable to, what, subsume their own egos to that of the president's?

You know, in retrospect, I think Doris Kearns Goodwin, you know, has a lot of wisdom when she says Lincoln had great personal strength to reach out to his rivals. But at the time, it was considered tremendous weakness and therefore, people in Washington at the beginning of the administration thought he was weak, and they tried to take advantage of it.

turn 1 : The Cabinet crisis was very serious and ugly.

How would you describe the Cabinet crisis?

Answer: Ugly


Yes, I think there probably would be. There are certainly places in Australia and potentially in South Africa where one could look. But the number of places where rocks of this age are preserved or well-preserved is rather few. Most of them have got sort of cooked and baked and shoved up and down by mountain buildings and the like.

And so you often have to look inside the interiors of very large and very ancient continents: North America around the margins of Canada; or in Australia, both of which are very ancient continental masses.

So what happened to the smell?Why doesn't the world smell like rotten eggs today?

Well, it's true that these bacteria are still active, and of course if you pass a blocked drain or something like that, you can see that smell, and it's exactly the same activity going on. Bacteria are eating other things, eating algae, eating other bacteria. And the reason you don't smell it is because the creatures that were living at the surface, the fossils that we first saw, were producing oxygen by photosynthesis.

turn 1 : Canada and Australia have ancient continental masses which you can look inside the interior.

What are some potential locations to look for rocks of this age?

Answer: Australia


Oh, wow, it's like turning off a switch. And suddenly I was running down these trails in the dark and I didn't know where I was and I didn't know where I was going and it was getting colder. And all I could see was the distant glow of Vegas. And I was thinking, wow, I really like that city right now. I wish I were there and I didn't know how to get there.

Yeah, you obviously were able to find your way to asphalt and you were able to get back to civilization. Very nice - of course, I'm a sucker for daughter daddy stuff in the book - but you really do say that marathon running - or the training even - reminds you of the preciousness of every moment, moment after moment.

Yeah, it does. It puts you in the minute and being out there every day - bad weather, good weather, light, dark - I started this morning about nine miles ago in the dark and it was cold. And you just find yourself saying, you know, there are things in life that are important and that are worthwhile that require a little bit of sacrifice and a little bit of struggle and a little bit of suffering. It doesn't mean you shouldn't do them. And running reminds you of that all the time.

Tom Foreman - "My Year Of Running Dangerously" - thanks so much for being with us.

turn 2 :  The speaker is using running as a metaphor for the struggles and sacrifices that are necessary in life and the importance of embracing them, even when they are difficult.

How does running remind the speaker of the importance of struggle and sacrifice in life?

Answer: Running


Well, there's no secret about this. The chief justice has been very clear. He doesn't want the court to be seen as a partisan institution. The other members of the court, both liberal and conservative, go around saying that this isn't a partisan institution at all. That's the message they want to convey, which is sort of hard at the moment.

But is that possible in this day and age, when we know by their - in their own account, conservative Republicans have tried to win elections so they can win Supreme Court appointments and you have several Democrats running for president now on the issue of enlarging the court?

You know, I wish I knew whether it's even possible anymore to have a Supreme Court that doesn't look partisan. I had always thought you really could. But if you look at the two cases before the court that are overtly partisan, the gerrymandering case and the census case, both would structurally allow Republicans to entrench their power even more than they have in the last decade or two. And I think it gets harder to sell the court as an apolitical institution, which is, as I said, what every member of the Supreme Court still tries to do.

You know, I interviewed Justice Stevens about a month and a half ago for a piece about his new book. And even he, a lifetime Republican, although deemed a Liberal on the court, appointed by President Ford, said it was hard for him to see the current court as apolitical. He said he still has hope, and so do I, but it's difficult.

turn 2 : The gerrymandering and census cases before the Supreme Court would allow Republicans to increase their political power.

Which two cases before the Supreme Court are overtly partisan?

Answer: Gerrymandering


Yeah. Yeah, I was. I got given "The Hobbit" to read on the set of "About A Boy," actually - by the directors, the Weitz brothers. So I read that then and really loved it, obviously. It's a magical world to disappear into. And then I was a fan of the films. They came out when - I think I was about 13, 14.

Exact age when this is the good stuff to be reading and watching.

Oh, I was prime, yeah, for that.

(Laughter).

turn 2 : I was prime, meaning I was the ideal age to appreciate and enjoy the book.

How was the age of the person described in turn 2?

Answer: Ideal


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

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

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

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

turn 0 : "Let's use the recession to start creating a green economy." - The literal meaning is that during a recession, the speaker proposes investing in creating a green economy. The actual meaning is that the speaker sees an opportunity to address global warming and energy independence issues by investing in a green economy during a recession, which could create jobs and stimulate economic growth

Answer: Investment


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

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

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

Thank you for having me.

turn 0 : The literal meaning of the first turn is that the speaker is asking the other person to explain what they mean by the phrase "muscle through an agenda". The implication, however, is that the speaker is suggesting that the people in their own party must use coercion (twisting arms) to get their agenda passed.

How does the speaker imply that people in their own party must get their agenda passed?

Answer: Coercion


Yeah. That was the scene I went out. Before I did that song, Creed said, man, write a hit. I said, oh, sure, it'll be gold(ph). Because commercialism never really fazed me. I mean, playing songs that - in links that you knew everybody would like. I always wanted to be a true jazz artist, you know that. But Creed said, write a hit, so I wrote "Red Clay. "And all my friends who were jazz musicians, they said, man, you writing that square stuff. So I kind of - but that tune has earned me a living.

That's a great tune.

I mean - and it reminded me of my early childhood when I was back in Indianapolis.

They have red clay in Indiana?

turn 3 : "I wrote 'Red Clay'" implies that the speaker was not initially interested in writing a commercial hit, but ended up doing so at the urging of someone else.

What was the name of the hit song that the speaker wrote?

Answer: Red


Right.

How do you think the election changed the political landscape in this country, or do you?

Well, it's changed the landscape entirely. All of the talk of the time of Bush's presidency from 2002, when we started, all the way up until Obama's election, things got more and more depressing as time went on. Even though Bush got actually elected in 2004 as oppose to the disputed election in 2000 - still, most of the news was bad news, and we had a steady diet of bad news and flubs in this, and worries about war and worries about domestic policy and civil liberties and civil rights, and it was just bad news. It was like everything was downhill. And the country was depressed, psychologically. And Bush, now that he's gone, you got a breath of fresh air. Everybody is waiting expectantly. People have been happy. They've celebrated. And now the news is always about, you know, what is going now and how is it going to play out, and with most people hoping that it will play out positively after so much depression.

Are you surprised at the level of engagement of what I would arguably say is the black community at large in the political arena, both as voters, as viewers, as readers and particularly, as political pundits.

turn 1 : They want to know how the election changed the way politics in the country work. Also, the people had a a steady amount of news information to read and watch and listen to.

Which community is mentioned in PersonB's question?

Answer: Black


Ukraine, I think, has enough storages of gas for this winter, but nevertheless, it's a long-term issue that Ukraine really has to address.

Yeah and it owes billions to Russia, doesn't it?

It owes some on the contracts it has and there's a negotiation going on at the moment between Russia and Ukraine on those contracts. But the fundamental point for Ukraine is its energy efficiency levels are very low. If Ukraine could get to Western European levels of energy efficiency, it would actually need to import very little gas at all.

But how do they do that?

turn 1 : In turn (2), B's comment about Ukraine owing billions to Russia is not directly related to A's comment about Ukraine's gas storage and long-term energy issues. B's comment is an implication that Ukraine's ability to address its energy issues may be hindered by its financial obligations to Russia. It also suggests a possible underlying political tension between Ukraine and Russia.

How is PersonB's comment in turn (2) related to Ukraine's energy efficiency?

Answer: Financial


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

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

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

NPR's Ryan Lucas, thanks so much.

turn 2 : "the investigation is going to focus on money laundering." - The actual meaning of this turn is literal, as it refers to the literal focus of the investigation on the illegal practice of disguising the proceeds of crime as legitimate funds.

What crime is the investigation focusing on?

Answer: Money


So a medicinal leech is a common name that we use for leeches that feed on humans. . .

Oh.

. . . And have anticoagulants that could be used in modern medicine. Leeches have these anticoagulants in their saliva. So when they bite, that causes the blood to flow and for the blood to stay liquid inside the leech once it's eaten it. And this has been used in medicine for many, many years. It was most popular in the 17, 1800s in Western medicine, and it's even used today in modern medicine. Leeches are approved medical device in the United States, and they're used readily.

Tell me about your collection method. How did you find this three-jawed leech?

turn 3 : It's not three jawed but has multiple capabilities when it bites a person.

What is the unique capability of the leech that is being discussed?

Answer: Multiple


Thank you very much.

I think the profession of science is under attack. And why is that happening?Because we've really ceded the floor. We haven't engaged in politics. We've left that open for politicians to come in and really hijack and obfuscate science for their own selfish needs.

When you say that science is under attack, to what degree should we read this march as a protest against Trump administration policies?

turn 1 : (2): "What is the mission of this March for Science?" While the literal meaning is a straightforward request for information, the implied meaning is that the speaker wants to know more about the motivations and goals behind the March for Science. It implies that the speaker is interested in the larger context and political implications of the event.

Which question does PersonB ask about the degree to read the march as a protest against Trump administration policies?

Answer: Protest


There's been such wild swings. You know, in 2014, we were here talking about a dreadful harvest in Italy that was mostly due to the olive oil fruit fly, which was a big problem following a warmer-than-usual winter. This year, it's a deep freeze. And among farmers in Italy, they feel like these extreme swings are happening more often. Experts that we talked to believe that climate change is a factor.

I don't know the Olive Oil Times.

(Laughter) Well, you should. It's the most read olive oil publication. You know, it seems niche, but there are 3 million people around the world who make - who work to make olive oil. It's a very important food, one of the healthiest products that the Earth provides us. And there's a lot to tell. It's also a cultural cornerstone for the Mediterranean region and the rest of us.

Curtis Cord, publisher of the Olive Oil Times, we'll be reading it. Thanks so much, Mr.  Cord.

turn 2 : Olive oil is an important and healthy food with cultural significance

Answer: Food


And this week on Africa update, we have more on the political crisis in Kenya. President Bush has pledged aid to Africa, but is it enough?And France extends an olive branch to Rwanda.

For more on all of this, we've got Bill Fletcher. He is a senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and former president of TransAfrica Forum. Hi, Bill.

Hey.

So we just heard Ofeibea Quist-Arcton's report, very vivid report on the violence in Kenya's Rift Valley area. Can you tell us a bit more about that area?Give us some background on the ethnic groups that live there.

turn 3 : Although the question is asking for background information on the ethnic groups that live in Kenya's Rift Valley area, the implied meaning behind this turn is that Bill Fletcher is being asked to provide context and further information on the political crisis and violence in Kenya,

How is Bill Fletcher being asked to contribute to the discussion on the political crisis in Kenya?

Answer: Context


I think that some of the red lines for the Europeans relate to what Iran has threatened to do in its next phase of so-called noncompliance with this nuclear deal. And that relates to increasing the percentage threshold currently in place for enriching uranium. This is going to be a critical aspect of how Iran can expand its nuclear program. And that's where we might see the Europeans escalating this issue at the U. N.  Security Council.

But we're definitely seeing the rhetoric and the sounds from Tehran escalate as the U. S.  pressure campaign mounts on.

That's Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Thank you for joining us.

Pleasure.

turn 0 : Iran has threatened to increase uranium enrichment, which may result in European escalation at the U.N. Security Council

How might the Europeans escalate the issue at the U.N. Security Council?

Answer: Rhetoric


Well, I know that my name is on the cover, but the Library of America was at least an equal partner, if not more. Reggie Hui there went into the archives, and he found every single short story she'd ever published in the most esoteric, small, little magazines. And John Kulka and Reggie and I had multiple really long debates and conversations about which stories to include. There were many passionate speeches on all sides, particularly mine. And we ended up with. . .

(Laughter) Battles to the death, I'm gathering. Yeah.

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

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

turn 2 : She is agreeing that they debated and making it humorous.

Which turn in the dialogue reveals that Nancy Hale's life story is important to know when reading her stories?

Answer: Turn3


Yeah. So you know, scientists know how to read the genetic code. What they want to do now is what they call write the genetic code, write DNA. And what that means is they essentially want to assemble or manufacture genomes from the chemical building blocks it's made of for all kinds of living organisms, including, as you said, people. And they want to be able do it in their labs quickly, efficiently and cheaply so it becomes something really practical and easy to do.

Well, I guess the question is - why do they want to do this?But also, it sounds like almost acting like creators themselves. I mean, are they acting as - can they create something completely new?

Yeah, well that's it. They actually - that's what they want to do. They basically want to harness the power of biology to solve some of the biggest problems that faces humanity right now. It's a field of science known as synthetic biology. And basically, what they want to do is they want to be able to build genetic codes, sort of like the way computer programs program computers. They want to be able to write DNA, rewrite it - to be able to make organisms, living things, do whatever they want it to do.

OK. This does sound controversial. Tell us why.

turn 3 : The use of synthetic biology is likely to be controversial as it involves scientists manipulating and creating living organisms.

What is likely to be controversial in synthetic biology?

Answer: Problem


This may sound naive, but do you think it works?Do you think what you are doing makes a difference?

Actually, yeah. I had to say so, most of the time. A child just needs some attention, little bit of guidance, you know. And just needs to know that they are not alone in this world. You know, with all these things going on around them, despite the environment that they are living in. Just to know that somebody is there and somebody is willing to listen. And willing to, you know, say wait, you know, whatever situation you maybe in. There is - you always have a choice, you know?

Mario, thank you.

OK.

turn 1 : Children need attention, guidance, and someone to listen to them, despite their environment.

Which word best describes the kind of support children need?

Answer: Supportive


Yes. So, given the fact that I had been able to, you know, prove myself under harsh circumstances, prove my judgment, my composure, my, you know, warrior spirit, if you will, despite all this and despite the medals that came and the valor devices and everything - you know, there's a position called a combat controller. And the officer version of that is a special tactics officer. It would have been right up my alley. Despite everything that I had just proven, I was barred from even applying for that job.

Major Hegar, I got to ask you a couple of questions. I want it understood they in no way question your valor, your physical, mental or emotional capabilities. But, you know, the U. S.  Marine Corps, for example, has a 12-week course for officers that's a prerequisite for leaving infantry units. And the first two women who tried to make it through that course last year didn't.

Right.

Do you think standards should in any way be changed so that you get more equal numbers of men and women?

turn 1 :  This statement implies that the interviewer has doubts about Major Hegar's capabilities, but is not directly expressing them.

What is the interviewer's opinion of Major Hegar's abilities?

Answer: Doubts


Confrontation between the two sides is always a risk. And there has been military confrontation between the United States and the Islamic Republic since the conception of the Islamic Republic, whether it was takeover of the American embassy, whether it was the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon and, most recently, of course in terms of targeting American military personnel in Iraq. So that's the reality of the situation - that United States and Iran have always coexisted in a measure of a low-intensity conflict. However, both sides have always walked back from the brink in terms of total war, and I suspect it will be that way in this case as well.

So who blinks to get the two sides to the negotiating table, given that the rhetoric has been increasing; the violence has increased over the last month?How do they get out of this cycle?

Well, they were both heading toward the negotiations, and I think for the Iranians, a certain narrative of success was being established that could have served as a prelude to negotiations. Now comes again a series of American sanctions and Iranian responses.

Both sides at some point will get to their narrative of success. Iranians will suggest that they have withstood the American pressure and, therefore, they're prepared to talk. And the president has always been willing to talk without any conditions at any time. Then the Trump administration will also suggest that their policy of maximum pressure works. So at one point, when both sides declare victory, that's usually a prelude to the talks.

turn 3 : "declare victory" is an idiom that means to claim success, even if it is not a complete victory. It does not mean to officially declare victory in a war.

Answer: Claim-success


So Beijing has basically made an offer to the people of Hong Kong that if they're willing to give up on dreams of greater democracy, they can be part of China's amazing economic rise, and they have offered them more integration with the kind of boom cities on the other side of the border in the mainland. The problem is that again and again and very dramatically over this extradition bill, the people of Hong Kong have said, no. They do not want that trade off. They actually are willing to protest and fight hard to maintain those freedoms that they still have.

So it's not even as though these protesters in Hong Kong are fighting for additional freedom. They're just saying we want to keep things the way they are. We don't want to see an erosion of the freedoms we do have.

That's right. I think it's important to be realistic. I mean, this has been an absolutely extraordinary - at times, very moving - protest by over a million people - overwhelmingly peaceful, very civic-minded, lots of different generations coming together. That's a fantastic thing and utterly unthinkable where I'm sitting in Beijing on the mainland - could never happen. But they are not about to get more democracy. They're not even about to get more freedoms. This is a defensive set of protests to keep what they have.

Interesting that you point out this would be very, very unlikely to happen in China. It makes me wonder, do the protests in Hong Kong pose any threat to China's leadership, to President Xi Jinping, to the Chinese Communist Party?Are they worried about this?

turn 2 : The protests in Hong Kong are not about gaining more democracy or freedom, but rather to protect what they currently have.

Which freedoms are the people of Hong Kong trying to protect?

Answer: current


I'm well. I'm going to read a bit from the editorial. You're answering attacks on Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings and on his district, which includes Baltimore. And you wrote, (reading) it's not hard to see what's going on here. The congressman has been a thorn in this president's side, and Mr.  Trump sees attacking African American members of Congress as good politics, as it both warms the cockles of the white supremacists who love him and causes so many of the thoughtful people who don't to scream.

So it seems that you think this is all very much premeditated, and it's not just, as some have said, the president responding to Fox News.

Yes. Well, I think it clearly is - both things are going on at the same time. I think Fox News gives him the ammunition he needed, and he gave it probably about, you know, two seconds of thought to find an opportunity to slam Representative Cummings who, of course, has been critical of his border policy, and so he took it. And so 750,000 people woke up in the 7th District yesterday being told that they were the worst place in the country by the president of the United States.

When you first read those tweets, what was your thought?

turn 3 : When you read the social media post, what did you think?

What is the content of the social media post that the president wrote about Representative Elijah Cummings and his district?

Answer: Attacks


What did it sound like?

(Imitating plane noise) A lot of, you know, you got hundreds of planes, one right after the other. It was very moving and exciting. You know, you wonder what's going to happen. And 'course, then we fly over the channel. You can look out the window and see the silhouettes of the ships. We know it's going to happen now.

That is Les Cruise. He's 95 years old, and he's one of the last surviving veterans of that D-Day mission. These days, he lives outside of Philadelphia. I went to visit him earlier this week.

I'm Noel. It's nice to meet you.

turn 1 : Exciting experience of flying over the channel during the D-Day mission

Which mission did Les Cruise participate in?

Answer: D-Day


And now to Haiti, where things are settling down after three days of rioting in the capital, Port-au-Prince. A huge rise in food prices drove thousands of protesters and looters to riot earlier this week. U. N.  troops moved in to protect parts of the capital. Meanwhile, President Rene Preval has begged for calm. Haiti is considered to be the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the unrest over a crippled economy may not be easy to squelch. Mara Schiavocampo is in Port-au-Prince right now. She is a digital correspondent for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Mara, welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me, Tony.

You've been in the streets reporting on the story. What have you seen in terms of tension and unrest there?

Today, things are good. Public transportation is running. People are out doing their business, shopping. We went out, no roadblocks, no trouble at all. I can't say the same for the last few days. Yesterday was manageable. There were a few roadblocks, car fires, things like that, but it felt like the fire was dying down, so to speak. The last few days before that, things were very tense. Just coming in from the airport, we hit about a dozen roadblocks, burning tires, dumpsters, trash, with mobs of people that would come around the car.

turn 3 : The situation in Port-au-Prince has improved, but it was very tense and dangerous before.

How was the situation in Port-au-Prince before?

Answer: Tense


Earmarks and pork-barrel spending are as American as a bridge to nowhere. They're little, and sometimes not so little, holiday packages designed to win the votes of senators and representatives for national legislation with government money that's earmarked to directly benefit their states or districts. Many Democrats have groused about the latest examples that have been added, often in hand-written scrawls, into the new tax bill. Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and joins us now. Norm, thanks for being with us.

A pleasure, Scott.

What are some of the earmarks you've noticed in this tax bill?

Well, we have, of course, the most famous one, which is now being called with hashtags all over Twitter, the Corker kickback, named for Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee who had famously said quite early on I will not vote for any tax bill that adds a dime to the deficit and then turned around at the last minute and voted for this one with a provision added very, very late in the game to provide additional benefits to a particular set of real estate LLC's, as they're called, a particular kind of corporation. And Corker has significant investments in them, as does Donald J.  Trump and other members of the Trump family - something that would specifically give them millions in additional tax benefits.

turn 0 : Earmarks and pork-barrel spending are commonly accepted political tools used by legislators to curry favor with constituents.

How are earmarks and pork-barrel spending viewed in politics?

Answer: Accepted


I can do it either way.

There are two different puzzles. You know, they are the dominant forms of matter and energy in the universe. Roughly speaking, dark matter accounts for about 25 percent of the universe, and dark energy 70 percent with the stuff you and I are made of, weighing in at 4. 5 percent. And, you know, dark matter holds things together. Dark matter holds together our galaxy, and it's the dark energy that's causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. So they're doing very different things. But as you alluded to, they're both big mysteries and who knows?They might be related.

We think that in terms of the puzzles that were at different stages, as long as we're talking about the LHC, one of cosmology's big hopes is that the LHC stands for dark matter factory. Let's see, I guess those letters don't quite work. Maybe in some language they do. But we're hoping that the LHC, after it finds the Higgs, will actually find the dark matter particle so that this mystery that started some 70 years ago with Fritz Zwicky will be finished off and that we will have identified the dark matter. The dark energy is one of those puzzles where, who knows, it could get solved this decade, but my hunch is it will be another 30 years or maybe even longer.

Are you saying that the Large Hadron Collider can actually make dark matter?

turn 1 : In turn (2), the speaker is using the phrase "dark matter holds things together" and "dark energy that's causing the expansion of the universe to speed up" in a figurative sense, rather than a literal one. Dark matter and dark energy are not literally holding physical objects together, but rather their gravitational effects are causing certain phenomena in the universe.

How are dark matter and dark energy holding things together and causing the expansion of the universe?

Answer: Figurative


He says it's incumbent on the press and on the media not to make it easy for celebrities to have these terribly serious transgressions alleged and be able to skate by on their charm, on their fame, on their accomplishments outside the arena of these allegations. He said, you know, it is precisely the inconvenient moment where you have all these stars - and Woody Allen is in South of France because of the debut of his new film.

And you have stars like Blake Lively, Jesse Eisenberg and others who are there, Steve Carell. And he says we should be hearing them asked what it's like to work with an alleged child molester - and by the way, those are his words, not mine - rather than asked, you know, what costumes were you wearing?How did you like your outfits?What was it like to work with this great director?

That's his argument. He says it's uncomfortable but these questions need to be asked, otherwise powerful people can get away with terrible things.

How do you feel about that?

turn 0 : He says it's incumbent on the press and on the media not to make it easy for celebrities to have these terribly serious transgressions alleged and be able to skate by on their charm, on their fame, on their accomplishments outside the arena of these allegations."  Implicated meaning: The speaker is emphasizing the responsibility of the press and media to hold celebrities accountable for their serious wrongdoings, rather than allowing them to escape scrutiny based on their charisma, reputation, or achievements unrelated to the allegations.

Which individuals are mentioned as being in South of France during Woody Allen's new film debut?

Answer: BlakeLively,JesseEisenberg,SteveCarell


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

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

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

Thank you for having me.

turn 0 : The literal meaning of the first turn is that the speaker is asking the other person to explain what they mean by the phrase "muscle through an agenda". The implication, however, is that the speaker is suggesting that the people in their own party must use coercion (twisting arms) to get their agenda passed.

Which phrase did the speaker suggest that implied the use of coercion to get the agenda passed?

Answer: Muscle


Brazil is one of the leading producers of two very important crops: soy and corn. But lately, frozen credit has made it nearly impossible for farmers there to afford the basics that they need to grow those crops. Brian Willott farms 2,000 acres of soybeans just outside Bahia, Brazil. He joins us now by phone.

Welcome, Brian, and can you explain for us how the credit situation there in Brazil has affected you and other farmers?

Credit's a big problem right now. No farmer can survive today without credit, and since the credit crunch hit, everyone's credit has either been cut, delayed or more expensive. And it's got everyone here quite worried.

What do you use loans for?How important is it?What do you use it to buy?

turn 0 : The frozen credit in Brazil has made it difficult for farmers to afford the basics needed to grow soy and corn crops

How has the frozen credit affected Brazilian farmers' ability to grow crops? (Answer: difficult)

Answer: Crowding


But even artists like Bone Crusher, who's very theatrical. He was on "The Biggest Loser" or - no, the "Celebrity Fit Club," "Celebrity Fit Club. "He was on "Celebrity Fit Club" and has such a wonderful personality. You have so - these artists that are first songwriters and musicians are so creative. They are so well-rounded and many of them you will see in other mediums.

Now, you are listening to NPR's News & Notes. I am Farai Chideya. In case you are just tuning in, we are doing a special roundtable in entertainment in the ATL with Dee Dee Murray. She is president of Murray Media Music. The company provides publishing service for musicians, writers and producers. And Sonia Murray, music writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Now, Dee Dee, what about the issue of being a woman in this industry?You know, I have many friends in the industry and I am just going to be real here. You know, one of them says, well, if I don't go to the strip clubs with the guys, I don't get the deal. Do you ever had to figure out where you draw the line in terms of how you are willing to make deals and where you are willing to make deals?

All of the time. As a woman, you always are faced with the challenge of upholding your morality in a lot of instances. And for me, I have had to go to the strip club with some of my clients that are males from California that only dreamed of coming to Atlanta and striking deals in these clubs.

turn 3 : As a woman in the industry, upholding morality can be difficult and uncomfortable.

How does being a woman in the industry affect morality?

Answer: Morality


Happy birthday NASA. Fifty years old today. Wonder how that feels?A former NASA engineer thinks this now middle-aged agency should try something new. Solve the energy crisis by collecting solar power through a space-based energy system. He's Glenn Smith. He oversaw science and applications experiments for the international space station when he was at NASA. We spoke earlier about his proposal.

You have very large solar cells, solar rays in space, probably 22 thousand miles out, so it circles the earth at the same speed that the earth rotates. It stays above one spot on the earth, and you convert that electric power into microwaves, and you beam it down near cities where large amounts of power are used. Receives it, converts it back to electric energy and feeds it into the existing power grid.

And that wouldn't be dangerous to anyone who got in the way of that ray coming down, or airplanes flying by, or anything?

Well, I've got a lot of questions about that. But here's what we have. The highest power level of the beam is only about one-fifth of the energy density of summer sunlight at noon. One-fifth. Tests have been run on bees and birds twice that level and they haven't found any effects yet.

turn 3 : The space-based energy system proposed is not dangerous for humans and animals.

Which living beings are tested for the effects of the highest power level of the beam in the proposed space-based energy system?

Answer: Birds


Look. The president attaches himself personally to stories. In terms of numbers, he touts a lot of numbers there. We tend to forget that even under Obama, three American hostages were returned from North Korea. Hostages from Iran returned. There were a lot of them. Except that never before had the president personalized it.

That's Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement. He was kind enough to join us here in our studios in Washington, D. C.

Mr.  Bergman, thank you for joining us.

Thank you very much.

turn 0 : The President is taking credit for returning hostages, despite it not being solely his doing.

Which hostages were returned from North Korea and Iran during the Obama administration?

Answer: Hostages


Ms.  C.  VIVIAN STRINGER (Basketball Coach, Rutgers University; Author, "Standing Tall"): I'm fine, Farai. How are you?

I'm doing great. Now in this book, you only really address the Imus controversy at the end because you have had so many different life experiences: coal-miner's daughter, integrated a cheerleading squad. What did you learn from your childhood?

You know, I learned that you have to stand up. You don't make excuses for the things that you don't have. You have to work hard. I try to have shortcuts, but you have to be willing to pay the price. And at the end of the day, you know, whatever happens, you must learn to define yourself and use your own measuring stick rather than that of others. And I thought that my parents were tremendous leaders and taught me how to stand up, and that's what I attempt to do with the young people that I'm working with now.

You really spend a lot of loving moments talking about your father, who sacrificed a lot for your family. He was a musician and took a job so that he could support you guys. What did you learn from him?

turn 2 : Personal responsibility, hard work, and self-acceptance are essential for success.

Which qualities did the speaker learn are crucial for achieving success?

Answer: Personal


We got hit pretty hard with the recession. And when people aren't making money, they're not spending money.

And they're certainly not eating ice cream.

And they're not eating ice cream. So the more people make, the more they come down here and vacation from all over the world - general improving in the economy. I think there's a lot of confidence in the new administration that's in there. It seems like it's pro-small business, you know?There's a window manufacturer right next to where we're at, and they are swamped right now. And they say the same thing. It's, you know, people are confident. They're not holding onto their money. They're investing it in the economy.

May I ask you, did you vote for President Trump?

I didn't vote Democrat or Republican because I just - I'd had enough of the spatting back and forth. I'm prior military, so I support our president no matter who it is. But I didn't like the personalities of it, so I didn't vote for either one of those two.

Some of the owners that were surveyed were saying that there were some concerns - cost of health insurance, lack of qualified workers. Well, what are the things that you're concerned about right now that may hold back your business?

turn 1 : People aren't spending money due to the recession.

Which product are people not buying due to the recession?

Answer: Money


Sure.

Because there are already a number of candidates who think. . .

(Laughter).

. . . Who are from the West. . .

turn 3 : The Chinese government wanted to control the narrative portrayed by the foreign journalists.

What did the Chinese government want to control?

Answer: Narrative


Shanta, thanks for coming on.

Thank you for having me.

So we just heard Ward Connerly and he strongly disagrees with your position. He says that people shouldn't be treated differently in hiring and education because of race and that you've actually mischaracterized the deposition you did with him on October. How do you respond to that?

I think our characterization, my characterization of the deposition was completely accurate, and I think what Mr.  Connerly was saying was a complete non-sequitur. The truth of the matter is where affirmative action programs have been eliminated like in the University of California system. There's been a tremendous drop in black and Latino student enrollment in all the graduate law and medical programs and at U. C. Berkeley and UCLA and I think it's just disingenuous and dishonest to say that black and Latino students are now being matched with colleges that they're academically able to go to.

turn 3 : Literally, turn (4) is a response to the question posed by the interviewer. However, the implied meaning is that the speaker is defending affirmative action programs and arguing against Ward Connerly's stance on the issue. The speaker is also accusing Mr. Connerly of being disingenuous and dishonest in his arguments against affirmative action.

Answer: Affirmative


Is that more troubling to you than if he had a grand plan?

It is more troubling, yes. I mean, we might, in the end, be safer for it. You know, the narrative when this administration began is that he was a right-wing despot and thug who would bring terrible policies to the United States. And I think there's probably less of a chance of that because everything shifts from moment to moment, and he has no grand intentions here. Whatever irrational moment he has now might as well be reversed by another irrational moment to come.

Michael Wolff is the author of "Siege: Trump Under Fire. "Thanks so much.

Thank you.

turn 1 : A suggests that unpredictability may make the situation safer because there are no grand intentions.

How does PersonA feel about the chance of terrible policies being brought to the United States?

Answer: Less


And she - my wife went and found the chaplain at Northwestern - a Lutheran chaplain who'd never performed a wedding before. She came to our room and performed the ceremony, just the three of us. It was a lovely, personal, intimate ceremony. And immediately after the ceremony, I took some pain medication and peed in a cup.

Well, that's one way to say l'chaim, isn't it?I made a short list: addiction abuse, adultery, abandonment, imminent incest and just plain old hatred. So is every family is a little bit like the Westons of Osage County?

"Fiddler on the Roof" with the F word?

That's one way to look at it.

turn 2 : (3) A: "What we have seen by doing this play is that the story of this family is pretty universal. And the dinner scene alone, in the theater - I can tell you that some people are howling with laughter, and other people are in tears and crawling under their seats. They find it very upsetting to watch because it hits pretty close to home."

How do some people react to the dinner scene in the theater?

Answer: Laughter


So I always tell people, look at your many choices. Don't close any doors. But the fact is that, you know, take your passion, take it as far as you can, but understand you've got to make a living, and you've got to pay the loan back.

What about people like you, who are college presidents?What challenges are you facing in trying to make sure that you can get a broad variety of students from different backgrounds?

Farai, you know, what keeps me up at night is the young women who want to be admitted but don't have the dollars, the young women who are students who are continuing, who are saying, I need more financial aid, the young women whose parents can't take out another loan. That literally keeps me up at night. If you see me again and I'm gray, that's what did it.

I mean literally. I mean, I wake up in the - you know, I wake up in the middle of the night and say, how can I find money for these young people?It is a challenge.

turn 3 : Finding funding for the education of young people is a significant challenge that affects my sleep.

What specifically keeps the college president up at night?

Answer: funding


Thank you.

So boys are broken. What did you mean by that?

I want to clarify that I am not an expert in gender studies. I'm not an expert really in anything, other than maybe '80s music. And so my thoughts are reflective on my experiences and the experiences of people around me and my observations after living 46 years as a dude. What do I mean by boys are broken?I think it means that there is something going on with American men that is giving them the permission and space to commit violence. And one of the main things we focus on correctly is guns and mental health, but I think deeper than that is a problem, a crisis in masculinity.

You wrote in this that the last 50 years redefined womanhood. Women were taught that they can be anything. No commensurate movement for men, who are still generally locked to the same rigid, outdated model of masculinity. And it's killing us. When you say that there's this rigid masculinity, what do you mean by that - that men aren't able to express themselves?

Partially, yeah. I also think that masculinity doesn't have a language in the way that femininity has come to have a language. We understand that femininity can be much more broadly encompassing than masculinity now. When you think of a strong woman, that doesn't rob her of any of her femininity. But when you think of a fragile man, that has the effect culturally, I think, of neutering that guy. And so much of masculinity is rooted in sexuality.

turn 3 : Rigid masculinity implies that men are not able to express themselves and it's killing them.

Which aspect of masculinity is rooted in sexuality according to A?

Answer: strength


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

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

Oh, my pleasure.

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

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

Which newspaper published the article about the society maven?

Answer: York


Does the seriousness of this cast a shadow on the White House?Are they concerned about what, for instance, is going to be coming out today?

I think it casts a huge shadow over the White House. I think it's very serious. I want Congress to conduct full oversight on it. And I think we need to look at it. I think Congress and I think Republicans and Democrats have a duty, no matter who's in the White House, to ask tough questions, and the president can push back when they think they overreach.

Finally, with the president calling this a hoax and a scam, do you think that is wise?

Well, I - you know, I'm not going to comment on every description the president. . .

turn 1 : They think it does make the government look bad to the public.

How does the public perceive the government?

Answer: Bad


. . . dominated by one single country.

And this in the context of several deals to construct dams with the power going to China, constructed by Chinese companies and virtually Chinese sovereign states that were constructed to accommodate the workers for these facilities.

Yeah. And this is the way that Chinese work all over the region, and then that's why a lot of countries in the region are fearful to Chinese. They're very generous with their loans. Most of the loans don't require any payback. But they send in their own workers to construct the projects, and then obviously, most of the benefits go back to the Chinese. You see that all over in Southeast Asia.

We're talking with Michael Sullivan, the long-time Southeast Asia correspondent for NPR News, now, a freelance reporter based in Northern Thailand and recently returned from another trip to Myanmar, the country also known as Burma. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. And one of the changes, Michael, I have to ask you about censorship in Burma; tightly controlled media for many, many years or decades. Has that begun to loosen up?

turn 3 :  (4) suggests that the government of Myanmar has started to relax its restrictions on the media.

How has the media situation in Myanmar changed? (Answer: relaxed)

Answer: relaxed


I don't think they picked Deming necessarily. You know, we just happen to be a big border patrol station as well as our neighboring county. They're dropping off here as well - the Hidalgo County drops here as well.

How are these people - the asylum-seekers being housed in an airport hangar - how are they handling things?

You'd be surprised. I think they're - you know, they're a little - you know, I guess they're a little worried when they first show up. But then, I think, it's actually better than most places they've been, and that's what they tell us. So they have more room and more freedom than most places they've been, so they're actually really happy.

And how is the community of Deming handling this influx of new people?

turn 0 : 'They didn't specifically choose Deming' implies that Deming was not chosen deliberately.

Which county drops off asylum-seekers in the airport hangar?

Answer: Hidalgo


You know, it's not fair to put the blame on the entire system. You know, we countlessly says in sexual assaults it's not a fraternity problem. It's not an alcohol problem. But we also can't be naive enough not to point out that there seems to be a theme happening where people have this groupthink and are able to hide behind a larger organization.

Can you give us any more insight as to what the conversation on your editorial board's been like?

We were shocked and disgusted when this information came out. You know, one of our first editorials was just somewhat emotional - us explaining that we are very frustrated that this has happened. We are disgusted. These actions are vile, and we, as a student newspaper, are putting our foot down. We're not going to stand for it. As more information has unfolded, specifically the anonymous interview that came out in Philadelphia magazine - that was another topic of one of our editorials.

I don't know that story.

turn 2 : "putting our foot down" - This phrase means that they are taking a strong stance against something. Its actual meaning is figurative, not literal.

Which phrase is figurative, not literal, and means that they are taking a strong stance against something?

Answer: Putting