Hopelessness and uncertainty.

Are people trying to leave, and is that something you've considered?

Many people have no choice. And they think - the only thing - I can leave the country. But how can they do that with the huge amount of limitations on Iranians' travelings (ph) and economical limits?They cannot do that. It is very, very difficult for them. And now we see a lot of Iranians who are abroad the country who are evacuating. They cannot do it anymore because of the higher dollar prices. They have to return to the country. It is very difficult situation for them.

Well, thank you so much for speaking with us and sharing your story.

turn 2 : Iranians are struggling to leave the country due to limitations and economic difficulties.

How are Iranians affected by the current situation in their country?

Answer: negatively


That's where I went to school.

You went to Fremont?

I went to Fremont High School, I did.

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

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

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

How is Fremont related to the PersonA's school experience?

Answer: School


Well, the first one was, of course, a really bad jolt that brought down all the buildings; things were swaying. The second one for some reason was - people panicked even more because I guess the memory of the first one was so fresh. Although it didn't kill as many people, and it was technically supposed to be an aftershock of the first one, still it sent people back to the shelters. People were sleeping out in the open again. And then just as things were starting to get back to some sort of normalcy, the panic level suddenly went up again.

Is the ground still shaking every now and then?

Oh, yeah, this is a roller coaster. I mean, it just - we haven't had any big aftershock today, but last night, yesterday morning - and we don't know if the aftershocks are just merging into one, you know, of the first one and the second one.

We're talking you on Skype. Has the world media left at this point?

turn 1 : very good His words implied a threat. War implies fighting and death.

Which word in the dialogue suggests that the speaker is describing a chaotic situation?

Answer: rollercoaster


Could you cite a single example of bias?

Sure. Andrew Weissman, the No. 2 member of the Mueller probe, attended the Hillary Clinton election night party. You would think with all the talented prosecutors to be asked throughout the federal system, we could likely assemble a team without having to pick the people who were engaged in the 2016 election to the extent that they would be at one of the candidates' election night parties.

Well, I mean - A, I don't know that; B, so he attended a party - I mean, public officials, like reporters - for example, I think in many ways, like representatives in Congress, who are supposed to be capable of independent and unbiased judgment when it comes to doing their jobs.

But members of Congress don't end up prosecuting people. And, you know, when you're dealing with a prosecution and potentially, you know, here, with the president the United States being investigated, I would think that you would want to avoid even the appearance of bias. And here, the bias seems to be significant. It's also laid out in the text messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

turn 3 : The implied meaning is that bias should be avoided when dealing with a prosecution, and that the text messages between Strzok and Page demonstrate bias.

Which topic is being discussed by PersonA and B, specifically in relation to avoiding bias?

Answer: Prosecution


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.

What is the reason for the Trump campaign receiving a boost?

Answer: emails


We're approaching the 16th anniversary of U. S.  troops serving in Afghanistan. It's been a little more than a month since President Trump announced a new strategy to send more U. S.  troops as advisers to the Afghan military as it tries to train its own soldiers. Our Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman has been in and out of Afghanistan for the past decade. He's there again with U. S.  Marines checking out how things seem to be going. He joins us now from the Helmand Province. Tom, thanks so much for being with us.

You're welcome, Scott.

What have you noticed in your time with the Afghan troops?

Well, Scott, I was here last year with the U. S.  Army, and they were advising the Afghan army at a higher level. And now with the Marines here, about 300 Marines, they saw the need to help the Afghans down at a lower level, closer to the front lines. And they're actually going out to Afghan bases, something you didn't see the army do. The American soldiers pretty much stayed on their larger base talking with Afghan generals.

turn 3 : "Well, Scott, I was here last year with the U.S. Army, and they were advising the Afghan army at a higher level. And now with the Marines here, about 300 Marines, they saw the need to help the Afghans down at a lower level, closer to the front lines. And they're actually going out to Afghan bases, something you didn't see the army do. The American soldiers pretty much stayed on their larger base talking with Afghan generals."  In this turn, the actual implied meaning is that the Marines are actively engaging with and providing assistance to the Afghan troops at a more localized and frontline level. This is in contrast to the U.S. Army, who mainly interacted with Afghan generals from their larger base. The implied meaning is not simply about physical proximity or location but about the level of engagement and support provided by the Marines.

What is the main difference in the level of engagement between the U.S. Army and the Marines with Afghan troops?

Answer: Level


I will walk down the red carpet, yes, yes.

Oh, man, that's exciting, huh?Tell us what it was like when you found out, and tell us you found that you had been nominated for Grammy Award, your first.

Well, it's a pretty funny story, because since I'm an indie artist and this is my first foray into the industry, let alone this part of it, I wasn't really expecting anything and I didn't even know when the Grammys were being announced. That's how far off I was. And I was sitting at home in my jammies, actually, watching "Top Chef. "I might have been watching even watching it on TV, I don't know, but the phone rang and it was my producer, who also co-writes my songs with me. And he said, um, I think you've been nominated for Grammy. I was like, shut up.

I was, like - I didn't even know I've been submitted. Like, nobody told me that I had been submitted. I just wasn't even thinking about it. So, it was really crazy. It took a couple of hours, actually, for me to believe him. Like, I actually hung up on him.

turn 1 : When this person says "shut up" they are expressing surprise and happiness, not hostility.

What was the person's initial reaction to hearing about their Grammy nomination?

Answer: Surprise


Yeah. Mr. Champagne, is it rough to be - well, look, we've done stories in Englewood. What's it like to be a young man in Englewood now, surrounded, as I don't have to tell you, by a lot of crime, a lot of drugs, sirens all night?

Yeah, correct.

People who are, you know, afraid to walk the street. What's it like growing up that way?

Well, it's tough 'cause you got to know when to come outside, when not to come out; when to go to the store, when not to go to the store. You know, cross the street, go left, go right, you know, either way it go, you get, like, A, shot at or, you know, get jumped, get robbed. It's tough.

Yeah. And a program like this, how does it help you see things differently and what you should do differently?

turn 2 :  People who are, you know, afraid to walk the street. Implied meaning: The speaker is not simply describing individuals who have fear while walking on the street, but is implying that there is a pervasive sense of fear and danger in the neighborhood.

What is the speaker implying about the neighborhood?

Answer: dangerous


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

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

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

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

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

Answer: Weary


What about the whole impact of race in this socioeconomic equation. There's many times when black Americans are viewed as the canary in the coal mine. And you see unemployment's number rising faster in the black community than you do in America at large. What is happening now and what is going to unfold, do you think, in African-American communities?

Well, we could see continued spikes on the black unemployment rate. African-Americans are the one who are more likely to exhaust unemployment benefits because we are more likely to have long-term unemployment. So this is a real strain coming up for the African-American community if we continue to see job cuts take place.

The unemployment rate for blacks tends to spike early on when job growth slows and then we tend to be the last hired. And then when jobs actually start being cut, we start to lose because we tend to also be the first ones fired.

Give me some examples of what might happen in a place like Washington, D. C.  You know, you're at Howard University, you're in the heart of Washington, D. C.  and it's a very, in some ways, very much a typical African-American community-based city, in other ways completely diverse both socioeconomically and racially. How do you see the poor African-American neighborhoods in the District being affected potentially by some of the trends in jobs and some of the trends in the economy?

turn 0 : "viewed as the canary in the coal mine" - This is a metaphorical expression that means black Americans are often the first to experience negative effects of societal problems or economic changes, similar to how a canary would die first in a coal mine if there were toxic gases present.

What is the metaphor used to describe how black Americans are often the first to experience negative effects of societal problems or economic changes?

Answer: Metaphor


But so. . . .

So I tried to do it. And, you know, I had like - I had some - added some, like, champagne yeast or something, this grape juice that I got. And it fermented, and it was alcoholic. But I - and I bottled it to carbonate. I'm looking at it, lightly shaking it, looking for, like, little bubbles. This was early and - in fermentation days. And I'm like, man, I think it's a dud; I don't think it worked, you know?And I go - I just literally went to go flip it. And as soon as I touched it, ba-ba-boom (ph). The whole thing, it turned into like - into sand. You know, it just, like, misted. There was red faux lambrusco on the ceiling, on the floor, a little microcut on my face from the glass. Chris was shellshocked - took him two days to talk.

It seriously turned to sand?That's what will happen?

Well, no. But, I mean, it just like - there was not - it, like, vaporized.

It vaporized.

turn 2 : B: "It seriously turned to sand? That's what will happen?" The literal meaning of B's question suggests that A's beverage actually transformed into sand. However, B is using a figurative expression to emphasize the unexpected and surprising outcome of A's experiment. B is not asking about the literal transformation into sand, but rather expressing disbelief or astonishment.

What is the figurative meaning of PersonB's question?

Answer: Figurative


So, there's a whole big huge chasm which some of us live in part of the time at least, where where's this music?Where is the new soul music?Where are the people that are writing the classics that are going to be around in 20 years, and 30 years, and 40 years?

Well, in addition to your own songs, you have sung other folks' work. And in 2004, you sang on a tribute album for Luther Vandross. Here's a little bit of "Forever, For Always, For Love. "

(Singing) Do you remember The love that we once had?Well, if I had the chance to love you again, I'd make your heart forget I was ever thereÉ

I still miss him.

turn 1 : You sang tribute songs instead of creating new ones.

What did PersonA do instead of creating new songs?

Answer: Sang


Everybody else in the theater did. I didn't.

Oh, yeah, right.

Every single person cried except for me.

Oh, yeah, because they were only slicing onions for you?

turn 3 : The speaker did not cry due to lack of emotional involvement, not because of onions.

Answer: Involvement


Well, a pretty disturbing picture has emerged of these two men online - some interest in, I guess, Nazism and Russian communist iconography. And beyond that, very little is known. I mean, they're a mystery to us. They are currently still on the run. Their families have spoken a little bit and have now sort of gone quiet.

And I think the whole country and beyond is just waiting to see where and when these two men might pop up or if indeed they will at all. There's a good chance, at this point, they might also be dead.

Well, police were zeroing in on a community that they thought might be their chance at finding them. And they called in drones and helicopters and boats and the military. But it sounds like they might be scaling back now. I mean, are they giving up?

Yeah, I mean, the problem is these young men had quite a head start. Initially, they were only believed to be missing and even thought to be potential victims after their vehicle was found burned out in B. C. So. . .

turn 0 : to be on the run in this context means you are avoiding authorities

What is the reason for the police calling in drones, helicopters, boats, and the military?

Answer: Finding


Well, let's talk about the forecasting because one of the amazing parts of sort of science of this story was that hours before, the National Weather Service locally issued a warning that there might be a tornado. And it was pretty spot-on, it sounded like.

Yeah. You know, even days before. I mean, with this region was under the gun, we had outlooks noting this particular area would be prone to these types of storms on that particular date. Even that day, as you noted, some of our high resolution models indicated the possibility of tornadic storms. I know the National Weather Service put out some public communications, even warning, I think, somewhere around 11, 11:30, noontime hour that there was a possibility of storms later that afternoon. And even special warnings for schools.

So I want to give out a shout out to the colleagues and members of AMS there working at the National Weather Service and in the broadcast community because they were on top of it from the beginning. And I want to also emphasize that the Weather Service put out warnings 16 minutes before the storm even touched down. The average warning time these days is around 13 to 15 minutes, and that's up from five minutes in 1990. So although to many in the public that doesn't sound like a lot, that's actually above average so - and even more time before the storm reached Moore.

Talking with Marshall Shepherd, president of the American Meteorological Society. I'm Flora Lichtman, and this is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. So what accounts for this change, this bettering of our prediction time?

turn 0 : The forecast for the tornado warning was exactly right for the place and time it issued it.

Which forecasting service was praised by PersonA for issuing a warning 16 minutes before the storm touched down?

Answer: National


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

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

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

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

turn 2 : There has been no discussion of safeguards for the return of the Rohingya after being forcefully relocated.

How has the discussion of safeguards been for the Rohingya?

Answer: lacking


And what's the story about how your parents met?

Well, they met in art school in Charlotte. . .

(Singing) In the '60s, black boots, mini skirt, blonde curls. Then when you went to art school. . .

And my mom would go and see him play. He was in a jazz funk band called Fungus Blues. And she would go. . .

turn 2 : A is trying to add some humor to the conversation

Which turn did PersonA make a reference to a specific era?

Answer: 2


Has the Catholic Church made enough progress in fighting abuse by its priests?That question has renewed urgency after George Pell became the highest-ranking member of the clergy to be formally charged. Cardinal Pell of Australia is a close adviser to the pope. He's been charged with sexual assault. He says he's innocent. Police in Melbourne aren't releasing the details of his accusers.

Joining us to talk about the case from Dublin and the broader questions it raises is Marie Collins. She was until recently on a papal commission dealing with the sexual abuse of children by clergy. Thanks for being with us.

Glad to be here.

So please remind us of your story. How did this come to be an issue in your life?

turn 3 : The turn that has a figurative meaning is turn (4), where the speaker uses the phrase "remind us of your story" to mean "tell us about your experience with this issue". The literal meaning of "remind us of your story" would be asking the person to recall a previous narrative they had shared.

What did the speaker mean by saying "remind us of your story"?

Answer: Experience


Correct. But writ large, this is not going to have the sort of change that the authors of the memo anticipate it will have because mandatory detention ability is useless without beds. All of the detention beds are already full. And the only way there would be new beds is if the Congress authorized new beds, and that was a massive fight in the last appropriations bill. There's no reason to think that that massive fight will move any further in this appropriations bill.

Right. Now, you're a member of an advisory council for the Department of Homeland Security that issues recommendations to the department on various issues. Last night, your group issued a set of emergency actions that DHS should take immediately to address the flow of migrants at the border. And this was one of the concerns you flagged - that there aren't enough asylum officers, judges or even buildings to process all the migrants.

Correct. That's exactly right. I think if you have two alternatives, one - on one side is a border wall of 2,000 miles and a massive deprivation of rights, which is sort of one way of solving this, and another extreme on the other end, which is do nothing and continue to allow the situation that's happening now to increase in numbers.

A compromise in the middle would be do not diminish the rights people have but expedite the consideration of what we're ultimately trying to consider. And I think that is right down the middle. You know, zero to a hundred, that's right there at 50 of what, maybe, can be a bipartisan compromise.

turn 0 : "writ large" - This phrase means "on a large scale" or "as a general principle," rather than referring to something that is physically written in large letters.

Which phrase means "on a large scale" or "as a general principle"?

Answer: Writ


I wrote nothing that of the slightest consequence before I met Sarah. I was a gag man for Fred Allen for five years. In his time, he was the greatest of the radio comedians. And jokes work for what they are but they're ephemeral. They just disappear. And that was the kind of thing I did up until the time that I met Sarah and we married. And I would say my literary career and my mature life both began with her.

And she would read everything that you did, and I gather she wouldn't be shy about telling you to change stuff.

Well, Scott, I used to read the books to her as I wrote them. And I have to tell you, she didn't like "Marjorie" at all at first. I'm not sure she ever got used to it because I couldn't quite conceal the fact that I was sort of falling in love with this imaginary young woman. But she would tell me what she thought. It was almost always right. And I would either get angry because I thought she was wrong and then have to get used to it, or I heard right away that she was right.

May I ask how you're doing without her?

turn 0 : He was a comedian for Fred Allen, not an actual gag man.

What was PersonA's profession before he met Sarah?

Answer: Gag


It is. And there's actually - turns out, there's a lot of responsibility with that because there are spectators everywhere. There are cameras everywhere. There's high winds, of course. They have to watch out for that. And anybody who doesn't stop when the yellow jersey stops, they're - they get in big trouble. And anybody who pees when there is too much wind or when they're in a group stuck somewhere, there are repercussions for people who sort of break these secret pee rules.

What other anecdotes do you have from other sports?

Well, the way I like to put this is there are nearly 3 billion gallons of urine evacuated on earth every day. And my reporting discovered that it seems like most of it ends up on an NFL field somewhere. Really, at any given moment, on an NFL sideline, there are probably a handful of players relieving themselves. They're sort of hiding in plain sight, whether they're going behind a towel or just going into their football pants or going behind an equipment case. You know, there are maybe 10 different techniques that football players relieve themselves during NFL games.

And wait, did you actually say that some of them just pee their pants?

turn 0 : "yellow jersey" - this refers to the leader of the Tour de France race and is not a literal yellow-colored shirt.

Which jersey color refers to the Tour de France race leader?

Answer: Yellow


Good to still be with you, Scott.

Got your Sharpie ready?

(Laughter).

Let me go on. Congress is coming back to a debate that has raged over firearms. There were a number of mass shootings, and it doesn't seem to have much impact on the debate, has it?

turn 1 : interviewer is asking if he is ready to start the interview again

What item did PersonB ask if PersonA had ready?

Answer: Sharpie


First of all, Ford says it doesn't need the money right now. It needs a line of credit in case. And they believe that they can make it, that they can make it through these hard times. So, there is one big difference. They don't have to go to the extremes that, say, GM does, who say they need money right now.

Jean, I'd like to go back to GM for a moment, and I know you mentioned Larry Burns is a friend. If you were to point out one thing that you think that they're not doing that they should be doing at General Motors, what would that be?

You know, they have been just slow, very slow. They have brought out many, many vehicles in the past - and he is absolutely correct when he says, you know, nine of the last 10 vehicles that have come out have been great vehicles. Two of the next 24 will be what Congress is asking them to do.

So, they're addressing the issues. They have the Chevy Cruise. They have the Malibu, which was an Automobile Magazine All-Star last year, its first year out. We called it better than a Camry. They have a Malibu hybrid. They have the Cadillac line, CTS, CTSV. They have Volt. They have very good vehicles coming out. They have been perhaps slow to ax the ones that are not so good.

Jean Jennings is the editor of Automobile magazine. Thanks, Jean.

turn 3 : THEIR VARITIES OF VEHICLES EXPLAINS THE CONDITION

What aspect of GM's business operations is discussed in turn 3?

Answer: Vehicles


Thanks for having me.

Does presenting Rabbit like this make your character into a kind of everywoman that spans all experience?

I was thinking of her not necessarily as an everywoman, but as Vietnam itself in certain kinds of ways. The book is very much about a character who can hear the voices of the dead. And I was very interested in trying to transform Vietnam from the perceptions that we have about it in the West. Typically, you know, when we think of Vietnam here in the United States, we think of it as a metaphor. You know, it's synonymous with the idea of a quagmire.

And we think of it as our problem.

turn 3 : We think of Vietnam as our problem” but not “Typically, when we think of Vietnam here in the United States, we think of it as a metaphor” which is the literal meaning of the turn.

How does the United States typically perceive Vietnam?

Answer: Quagmire


Two and four.

What happens when school comes along?

That is the million dollar question in so many cities. My wife is extremely active in the local schools and extremely supportive of our extremely local schools right next to our house, which are, as we speak, being shut down and consolidated and struggling. But that is why a lot of people are leaving the city because they see a better school system, even as D. C. 's improves. In many inner cities, schools improve, they see a better system just outside of town. So, we happen to be in with our two kids an excellent charter school. The downside there though, and this is a very interesting discussion, is that we not have a bit of a commute. My wife typically drives our kids to school. And she says, you know, I didn't move to the city to be a suburban commuter.

It strikes me. Towards the end of your book you have this beautiful section about a beautiful urban vision of - a lot of people remember - Mary Tyler Moore walking the streets of Minneapolis - and you're going to - and throwing her hat up in the air.

Yep. Mary Tyler Moore brings up a couple of really interesting things. The most interesting discussion is - I mean, what TV shows did I watch when I was a kid?"Gilligan's Island," "Partridge Family," "Brady Bunch". . .

Well, say what you will about "Gilligan's Island. "That was a walkable environment.

turn 5 : (6) Implies an appreciation and admiration of "Gilligan's Island" as a walkable environment.

What does PersonB say about "Gilligan's Island"?

Answer: Talks


They have. About 40-plus have gone, probably as we talk, a number of them have left.

He's not considered a good candidate to lead the party to victory in a general election, I gather.

No, no, he's not. The leadership's come to him very late in life. He's a poor communicator. And that makes it very difficult to win over votes. He excites a section of Britain young people who will turn out in their thousands for his rallies and his meet and. . .

They feel the Bern.

They feel the Bern. The comparisons, again, you can see parallels between what is happening in Britain with what is happening in America. And they're not false. They're not invented.

Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror who joined us on Skype, thanks very much for being with us.

turn 3 : The supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are very committed and enthusiastic about him.

How do Jeremy Corbyn's supporters feel about him?

Answer: enthusiastic


Can you give a practical example of that?

So companies like Starbucks. Starbucks was the place people went. It was the third place, not home and not the office. Can they rekindle that connection people have between Starbucks and their lives?

So how do you build an emotional connection with Starbucks, especially at a time where people are saying, 3. 75 for a latte?No thank you.

Yeah. The key word here is the experience. What are the experiences that you render to people as they go about their day?And those experiences can be online. Those experiences can be offline. They can be - how do you live and emote with a company like Starbucks or with a company like Microsoft or with a small company, with a product that you might buy -an ice cream that you might like.

turn 1 : This statement implies that people saw Starbucks as a place to go to that was distinct from their home or workplace but A was wondering whether Starbucks can recapture that emotional connection with consumers.

How was Starbucks seen as a distinct place from home and work?

Answer: Distinct


Well, the thing that's on the drawing board right now is the economic stimulus plan, and I think we do need a very large plan that would include increases in government spending and tax cuts.

To add to this troubled economy, we now have the latest unemployment figures out this morning from major metropolitan areas. Here's how they look. In November 2007, 18 areas reported jobless rates of at least seven percent. In November 2008, that number jumped to 121. Which areas have seen the highest unemployment rate?

Well, the most significant problems are in the industrial Midwest. As we all know, the auto industry is having a great deal of difficulty, and layoffs have been very severe. Also, in parts of the country where the housing market has been hit hard - California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada - there, too, employment has fallen, unemployment has risen.

And which areas are seeing the lowest unemployment numbers?

turn 1 : The unemployment rate has dramatically increased in various metropolitan areas.

How has unemployment changed in major metropolitan areas?

Answer: Increased


That's right, yeah. I mean, these - the owners of these brains in life, you know, they lived at this state hospital. Just looking at the condition of the brains now I can only imagine what they endured in life and now their brains were taken by questionable means. It's not entirely clear if it was legal for them to be taken by the doctor at the state hospital and then they were put in these jars. And it's upsetting to look at them, honestly, to see, you know, to imagine the circumstances of their life and then to see them there - it makes you consider your own brain, I suppose.

Well, a tough story to report. Thank you for doing it, Matt.

No problem.

Matt Largey, of member station KUT in Austin.

turn 1 : "Well, a tough story to report." - This turn is a figurative expression that means the story is emotionally difficult to report, rather than physically difficult.

Which expression is used by PersonB to describe the story?

Answer: Tough


So in your polling, in your research, do you find that it's going to come down to maybe a couple thousand votes from these unaffiliated voters and on what issues?Or will they vote?

It is likely at the moment to be a very narrow victory. President Bush won in 2004 with five percent. That was 100,000 votes. In other words, if it is one percent, that would be 20,000 votes, and right now, the polls are moving around in just single percentage points. So it could be that narrow.

Now, I have read that Colorado is going to be this year's Florida and Ohio, that this is going to be the state that decides the election.

I think it could be, and the interesting thing is that Obama and Palin were both in Jefferson County a couple of days ago, indicating that there may be actually even a county that could be looked at to be beyond an entire state.

turn 1 : The actual meaning of the turn is different from its literal meaning. The turn is using a hypothetical scenario to explain how a narrow victory in the upcoming election could be possible based on current polling data.

Which hypothetical scenario is being used to explain how a narrow victory in the upcoming election could be possible based on current polling data?

Answer: Narrow


Let's go back and talk about the suspended campaign for a moment. What is the practical effect of that on the race for the White House?

I suspect that the main affect it's had thus far is to get everyone talking about John McCain and how he has a tendency to shake things up again, which is a big part of John McCain's campaign persona, his narrative, if you will, that he is a fellow who is inclined to do the unexpected, to move between the parties, to move on his own, to be a maverick, to be unpredictable, to throw the long ball if you'd like, and sometimes that can really change things.

Now, I think that the McCain campaign maybe telling us in the hours to come that just the shift in emphasis over the last 24 hours since he's talked about suspending his campaign - it's been a little less than 24 hours since the mid-afternoon announcement that he wanted to do that on Wednesday - that just that alone changed the atmosphere in Washington, and even before he returned to Washington, the fruits of that were visible. That's obviously going to be a debatable proposition. I think a lot of people are going to relate to this as having been a kind of campaign device that had very little effect on the actual bailout negotiations. But those two sides will contend.

I have less than 30 seconds for your answer, and the question is, is it fair to ask whether or not Sarah Palin could have continued campaigning?

turn 3 : They are implying that they are short on time

What is the time constraint in the dialogue?

Answer: Time


I'm Farai Chideya, and this is News & Notes. The UNITY Convention, considered to be the largest annual meeting of journalists around the world, kicks off tomorrow in Chicago. The convention brings together the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian-American Journalist Association, and the Native American Journalist Association.

This year's theme is a new journalism for a changing world. Joining us to talk about the gathering is UNITY president Karen Lincoln Michel. So Karen, can you give us a diversity report card of how the industry is doing overall regarding journalists of color?

Yes. The Radio-Television News Directors Association just released a survey yesterday that showed that there were some slight gains that were made in television among women and minorities. And I'm not sure if that also showed if the work force is shrinking in broadcast, but there some gains made there. But it's still below the levels of people of color in the U. S.  population.

There's a recent employment survey of minorities in the newsroom done every year by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. And this year's showed a very slight increase in the number of people of color in supervisory positions. Now granted, the whole industry shrank by about 2,400 positions, and nearly 300 of them were people of color. But in this climate, I think you need to build on small gains like the slight increase in people of color in supervisory positions.

turn 2 : The representation of minorities in newsrooms is still inadequate.

How is the representation of minorities in newsrooms?

Answer: below


Right. You have this really shocking statistic in your article where you say that personal consumption amounts to 70 percent of the American economy.

Yeah, that's right. Basically, we are the engine of our own economy. And for far too long apparently, we've just been swiping our Visa cards willy nilly and pumping up this economy. The worry is that when we stop doing that, which is what's happening, our economy is going to sag.

So you went out to see if it was sagging. You went to the Mall of America. What did you find?

The most ambitious mall in the United States, the mall that is doing the most to put you in the fugue state that allows you to spend. They're up against it at the Mall of America. What I found was a lot of people who weren't shopping all that much and a lot of people that were counting their pennies in a way that they never had before.

turn 1 : We are the reason that there is an economy. We've been buying things with our Visa cards without a care. When we stop doing that the economy is going to go down.

Answer: 70


I think, given what we know about the internal divisions within Iran on some of these issues and the - their negotiating behavior in the past where they've made outrageous public statements and then in negotiations walk right - walked them right back, I wouldn't put too much credence in those statements at this point.

How much confidence do you have that the sanctions and the negotiations are going to be fruitful?

I think that this is going to create the best opportunity we've had in many, many years to test the seriousness of the Iranians and whether they're willing, you know, really, they're - they have a choice between either saving their economy and being part of - a viable part of the region or pursuing a nuclear weapons program that will make them a pariah, even more of a pariah than they are today. That's a pretty fundamental strategic choice. And I think we'll know in the coming weeks and months what choice they make.

Why won't deterrence and containment work with Iran?

turn 1 : going to be fruitful implies that it will be successful, the goals achieved and not referring to fruits from the trees

How does "fruitful" refer to the negotiations with Iran?

Answer: Success


Good to be here, Scott.

I tried. I tried, and she was insistent. She was in her first year at the great Georgia Tech studying aerospace engineering. She wants to be an astronaut. And she said, look, I've got to be fit. We have to do it. And I thought - past the age of 50, I just thought it was beyond me. I'd done it when I was young, but I didn't think I could anymore.

You are running six marathons in nine days, right?

turn 1 :  "So why didn't you just tell your daughter Ronnie let's train for a chili cook-off instead?" - The literal meaning of this turn is a question about why the person didn't suggest training for a chili cook-off instead of something else. However, the actual meaning is sarcastic and implies that the person is doing something very difficult or challenging.

Which event is being referred to in a sarcastic manner?

Answer: running


Does either party see political damage in permitting a shutdown?

Nobody wants a shutdown. I do believe that's true, although I do think that on this issue - more than a lot of issues - that passions are really high because it's not just talking about fiscal policy or some other thing. We're talking about human lives. And human lives are at stake, and families are at stake. So it's not going to be an easy puzzle to solve.

NPR's congressional correspondent Susan Davis, thanks so much.

You're welcome.

turn 1 : The issue being discussed involves human lives and families, making it emotionally charged and difficult to solve.

How does the issue being discussed in the dialogue make people feel?

Answer: True


Thank you for having me.

Let's begin with the top line of the report. We certainly know retail is suffering. We see stores all over America closing. Midtown Manhattan is having problems with retail space. We assume it's online shopping and delivery. But how many job losses do you fix specifically to the role of private equity?

Well, we found that over the last decade, 1. 3 million people lost their jobs at retailers that had been acquired by Wall Street private equity firms and hedge funds. During that same 10-year period, the retail sector had actually added an additional 1 million jobs. So what we find is that in key areas, Wall Street firms are destabilizing retailers. Toys R Us is a good example. Toys R Us was highly profitable when it filed for bankruptcy. Their private equity owners had loaded the company with debt and did not really invest in necessary technology upgrades to support e-commerce and to make it viable.

Well, let's peel back a phrase like Toys R Us was highly profitable when it filed for bankruptcy. That wouldn't seem to fit in the same sentence. But how do you explain that?

turn 3 : peel back means look at the many different contributing factors

How does PersonB suggest examining the reasons behind a statement?

Answer: Examine


It's perfect.

Yeah, bubbly jock. And an owl is a hoolet. And that, again, is based on the sound that it makes. And - but my favorite is a wood pigeon, is a cushie-doo.

That is an absolutely dead-on approximation of its sound.

Isn't it lovely?So a frog is a puddock and sparrow is a speug. So I've never used speug in a sentence, but when I was a boy, we used puddock. So I don't go around trying to convince everybody that my culture's better than theirs, but sometimes it suits my face better. It sits nicely in my mouth.

turn 3 : suits refers to make proper or fit in and not a set of clothes to be worn

Answer: Fit


Yes. In fact, he displays every symptom of chronic sleep deprivation as described by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine - difficulty processing information, paranoid tendencies, mood swings. The way he made statements that he actually had to retract, like banishing women who have abortion, shows that sleep deprivation is a slippery slope.

You tried to uphold an editorial policy early in the campaign about not covering Donald Trump as a political story but as an entertainment story. Then after, what, a couple - a few weeks or months, you found you couldn't do that.

Well, what happened is that we changed our policy the day that he proposed to ban 1. 6 billion Muslims from this country. The day he made this completely un-American pronouncement, we believe that covering him as a clear and present danger was legitimate.

turn 3 : In turn (4), the question "How many times have you been doing interviews for this book and somebody has pretended to fall asleep on you?" is not asking about literal instances where someone has actually fallen asleep during an interview. Instead, it is likely implying that the interviews may have been boring or uninteresting for the interviewee, and therefore they may have appeared to be falling asleep as a way to show disinterest or disapproval.

How is the question in turn 3 related to the topic of the dialogue?

Answer: Related


Well, like you were saying, these 737 Max jets - they had an automated system, and it was designed to keep the planes safe, to keep them in the air and avoid stalls, but it malfunctioned. And as many people know, that sent the planes into a nosedive, and two of them crashed, and 346 people were killed. There's, of course, been a lot of scrutiny, ongoing investigations, concerns that the Federal Aviation Administration maybe handed off too much responsibility to Boeing itself without doing proper government oversight.

This report doesn't deal with all of that, and the crash specifically. What this is is interesting. It's a small group of Boeing board members who've themselves been digging into this and looking for ways to improve safety at the company. And they're about to come out with recommendations about how this company could reshape itself in the wake of these devastating crashes.

What can you tell us about what these recommendations - what this report will say?

Well, there's a lot of stuff, but one big thing would be that - to change who the engineers who work on these airplanes actually work on them. Currently, they - many of them report to the business leader for each airplane model that this engineer or that engineer might happen to be working on.

What is one proposed change mentioned in the report for improving safety at Boeing?

Answer: Engineers.


What did you really face when it came to dealing with your colleagues?

The majority of the Secret Service agents were very acceptable of me coming in to the White House detail. There were only a few who were dead-set against any integration policies or equal-opportunity policies that were being enforced by President Kennedy, giving equal opportunity to all people, regardless of race, religion, color or ethnic background.

And I think that President Kennedy was serious, and he was doing these things not for a political purpose, but because he felt it in his heart that America could be a much better place if we didn't have all of these divisions and restrictions on people of ethnic backgrounds and minorities.

So now I foresaw that the weaknesses in the protection on President Kennedy would allow his assassination if any serious attempt would be made against his life, and I did everything in my power to stem that threat against our young president.

What threats did you hear against the president's life and when?

We had many threats. It was just like a thunderstorm of threats during the early part of 1963, going in to November. As a matter of fact, in Miami, Florida, we were told at a record meeting here in Chicago that a tape-recording had been made of some Cubans who were discussing how they were going to assassinate the president.

turn 3 : "I did everything in my power to stem that threat against our young president" - The actual meaning of this turn is not the literal meaning of "stemming a threat", which would involve stopping or slowing down the source of the threat like a river or tide. Here, it means that the speaker took actions to prevent harm to President Kennedy.

How did the speaker take action to prevent harm to President Kennedy?

Answer: Prevent


But the technical. . .

Let me just jump in. When you say GDP, that's the Gross Domestic Product?

Exactly. So when you see growth going down, you see yourself in a recession. And it's, you know, it's Standard English, frankly. It's not rocket science, but the fact is that the macro numbers, Farai, belie what the micro reality is for so many people.

We've been seeing lay off numbers for over two years. We've seen a 5. 2 percent unemployment rate. All of those things combine to speak to, at least, economic hard times. But the technical definition of a recession is that you have two quarters of GDP going down. Now let's look at the next quarter because right now we don't have that.

turn 3 : While the macroeconomic numbers don't indicate a recession, many people are experiencing economic hardship.

What is the definition of a recession according to the technical definition?

Answer: Two


So this will help the basketball players and then also the track events. But the good thing is obviously with these developments - the wheelchairs (unintelligible) through the people, you know, everyday people that use wheelchairs, and it will mean it's more lightweight for them to lift, say, in and out of vehicles.

And some of this stuff then filters in back to the general public.

Yeah, I mean, and that's a great thing, you know, the flow sort of from elite to high street, as we refer to it, is great. So you start seeing that, for example, with push bikes. We see a lot of that now available, helmet design from bikes, you say that. Swimwear is another thing that we see a lot of technology flowing into the high street.

Let's talk about swimwear because there was a kind of swimwear that was used and is now banned, and something new is taking its place.

turn 2 : Technological advancements from elite athletes eventually become available to the general public, such as with push bikes and swimwear.

What is an example of a product that has seen technological advancements flow from elite athletes to the general public?

Answer: Swimwear


The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi continues to oppose proceeding with impeachment, and there's no law that says she has to go forward if a majority of her caucus wants it. And something that you do hear in the nuance of these statements from members of the House is they're not putting a lot of pressure on the speaker. They're not vocally opposing her strategy, going after her. They're saying this is where they are personally, and, in fact, she's given them permission to do so. But they're not saying, you know, the leadership is wrong, and we've got to push this through. So there is some patience, I think, that allows the speaker to continue to move the process forward.

So she is still the engineer.

She is. I. . .

But not necessarily plotting the course. I told you this analogy would be hard to take.

(Laughter) Well, she has very firm control over the caucus of House Democrats. And, so far, they have deferred to her, even if they differ with her on where this train, as you put it, is likely to end up.

turn 4 : House Democrats have been deferring to Pelosi's leadership despite some disagreement

What have House Democrats been doing despite some disagreement?

Answer: Deferring


And so the lament is that it's not a beacon for environmentalism, it's not a beacon for greater labor standards or labor protections, but it's something else?

Yeah. I mean, it has turned into this dystopian vision of tech, where, you know, a few people prosper, and everyone else gets kind of poverty wages. Users of the service get pretty good service but kind of at the cost of all of these drivers getting very little from the service, getting very little equity. I think it is a betrayal of what Silicon Valley, you know, said that it stood for, which is creating new ideas that are good for the world at large, not just, you know, a few hundred people on the West Coast.

You know, many would herald Uber as a great American success story, a testament to what capitalism can create - right?- jobs for millions of people in the U. S.  and around the world. And its IPO will make a handful of people millionaires and even billionaires. Isn't that a good thing?

I mean, it's perhaps better than not having it, but I don't think it's fundamentally or sort of objectively a good thing. What would be better is if Uber was a smaller and less valuable company but that less value was sort of more equitably distributed.

turn 3 : It would be better if the wealth created by Uber was distributed more equitably.

What is the ultimate goal for Uber's wealth distribution according to speaker A?

Answer: equitable


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

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

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

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

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

How did the speaker describe the legal proceedings the foreign agents should face?

Answer: Justice


Yeah, so in the final bend, Maximum Security drifted wide into another horse's lane. That caused a domino effect, disrupting the progress of three other horses. Country House's jockey, Flavien Prat, was the one who filed the objection after the race. So three stewards, which are basically, like, referees, reviewed the footage and interviewed the affected jockeys. Eventually, steward Barbara Borden gave a brief statement saying that they unanimously decided to disqualify Maximum Security, then walked away without taking any questions.

Wow, it sounds like a political conference. All right. Has anything like this ever happened before?

So one other horse was stripped of his title after the fact. That was because he essentially failed a drug test back in 1968. But no, this - this was a first. And the outcome of this year's Derby was just so unpredictable. The original horse couldn't even compete. And the second favorite, Maximum Security, lost even though he crossed the finish line first.

All right, so give us the story with Country House briefly. His trainer is named Bill Mott. Did you hear from him?

turn 0 : It was not dominoes but horses that began to fall in the race.

How did the disruption affect the progress of three other horses?

Answer: Disrupting


The final thing is this. How has both - how have both the culture and the appearance of Harlem changed with this new money and these new properties, newly priced properties?

Well, the culture is even more vibrant, because we have people that have moved in who have the money to contribute to the children's art carnival or the Dance Theater of Harlem or the Harlem School of the Arts. I mean, it's not just myself, it's brokers, other people who have moved in are writing large checks to these organizations, like the Studio Museum in Harlem. They weren't thriving before. Some of the organizations didn't exist before. The culture is only going to continue to be as great as it is and continue.

What you notice, though, is the complexion of the people walking down the street. In the bad old days when I moved up to Harlem, if I wanted to go shopping, you had to get on the subway and go to 42nd Street. Now I just walk down to 125th Street, and everything I want is there. And while I'm walking down the street, I see people from around the world. We get tourists from around the world, in addition to the non-African-Americans who are now residents of Harlem. So the face of Harlem is changing, but the culture is not going anywhere. The non-blacks who moved to Harlem moved there because they want the nightlife that we can offer.

Willie, thank you so much for being with us today and sharing your points of view.

turn 1 : Harlem is now more diverse, attracting non-African Americans.

What is changing in Harlem's demographic?

Answer: complexion


It doesn't want to concede to American pressure because it fears that if it concedes under pressure, that's going to project weakness and invite even more pressure. And so for that reason, you've seen, rather than Iran capitulating or compromising, they've begun escalating. But I think the endgame for both sides is - there's really no alternative to coming back to the negotiating table.

And there has been a string of headlines from the region involving Iran in recent weeks. This incident with the British tanker, of course, comes right after the U. S.  says it brought down an Iranian drone. Of course, Iran disputes that version of events. How connected are these events?

They're all interconnected. And essentially, the Trump administration's policy toward Iran has been to subject Iran to significant economic pressure and sanctions in the hopes that either Iran will come to the negotiating table and capitulate over its nuclear program or - I think there's some folks in the Trump administration, like national security adviser John Bolton, who would like to see the implosion of the Iranian regime.

And what Iran has done in response - Iran's supreme leader has been ruling for 30 years, and he's become pretty adept at these escalatory cycles. And he's adept at waving both the white flag of diplomacy and the black flag of radicalism and escalation. So on one hand, he sent his chief diplomat - Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif - he was recently in New York City, and he met with a lot of Western journalists. And he was talking about Iran wanting to pursue dialogue and diplomacy.

turn 2 : There is no actual table, just the hope that Iran will negotiate with them.

Answer: B


And no problems for their ears?

Well, there sometimes are problems for their ears. I mean, whenever you hear a kid screaming their brains out behind you or in front of you on a plane, probably that kid is having air pressure problems. And what happens is that, if they can't pop their ears very well - that is, popping your ears is equalizing the pressure in the middle ear with that in the atmosphere around you, which we mostly do by making those funny little motions with our jaw and swallowing and things like that - little kids often don't know how to do that.

What can happen is that, as the pressure in the plane drops, the pressure in the middle ear remains at sea level, and so the ear drum gets stretched. And ear drums don't like to get stretched. Sometimes they get stretched badly enough so that they can even tear, although that's really quite rare. One of the things that it does lead to is terrible pain sometimes for kids. I always recommend that parents give kids something to drink and sometimes just sort of chewing on a candy increases saliva, so that you swallow, and it allows pressure to equalize.

OK, so for kids who are not healthy, what about them?

turn 1 : In turn (2), the speaker uses the phrase "screaming their brains out" to describe a child who is crying loudly. This is an idiomatic expression that means the child is crying very loudly and vigorously.

Which phrase is used to describe a child crying loudly in turn (2)?

Answer: Loudly


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

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

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

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

turn 2 : The implied meaning in turn (3) is that the author saw a lack of knowledge among young people in their community about their own cultural history and wanted to address this deficit by creating a book with images and information about that history.

Which deficit was the author trying to address through the book?

Answer: Knowledge


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

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

You're welcome.

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

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

What was the storm's category when it hit the Bahamas?

Answer: Category5


They are illiterate. We don't have an education system. We don't have a civic education campaign. And so, there's just like a perfect storm of just so many things that makes Haiti so hard to govern. And I think for outsiders, it's very hard for people to understand why it seems to be in a perpetual state of chaos and crisis. But, you know. . .

So, where's the hope?I mean, you know, you must have hope, some flicker of it?

I do have hope. The hope, I think, is that, you know - the hope comes from people like myself. We have 1. 5 million Haitians living outside of Haiti, and a million of them are in the U. S. , the rest are in Canada and France. And, you know, we love the country. We care about what happens there. We are pushing for better policy.

You know, there are a couple of people in Congress who are very good friends of Haiti. Kendrick Meek, for instance, in the U. S.  House, he's from Florida, and before that, his mother was also a congresswoman. So, you know, the Black Caucus is involved.

turn 0 : outsiders implies people who aren't a family or organization member and not people who stands outdoors

How does turn 0 define the term "outsiders"?

Answer: People


Well, it's not as if Senator Gregg didn't know that President Obama is a Democrat and this is a democratic administration.

So, I mean, what was it that changed his mind all of a sudden?

Well, that's an excellent point. I would just add to what you said in - you know, in a very direct fashion, that he clearly knew about the stimulus package. He had recused himself from voting in the Senate as a potential nominee for a commerce secretary position. I think that what really changed it for him had a lot to do with the census issue, Madeleine. And this is the case here that the census is run by the commerce secretary. It comes under his mandate.

And what you heard from black and Latino elected officials in the Congress was great concern that Judd Gregg, who had once voted to eliminate the Commerce Department, said, you know what?We're concerned that he is not going to be open to doing the kind of count that we think is necessary to get a full estimate of the presence of minorities in this country, which of course will influence congressional districts and how they're drawn, influence funding for - especially for social programs. And the argument has long come from minority communities that they have been undercounted.

turn 0 : Senator Gregg should have behaved as if aware that Obama and administration are Democrats

How did black and Latino elected officials in Congress feel about Judd Gregg's stance on the census issue?

Answer: Concern


It's good to be here, Tony.

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

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

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

turn 2 : The ex-convicts need to take an active role in the community and become more involved in order to get their civil rights back.

Which community members need to become more involved to get their civil rights back?

Answer: Ex-convicts


. . . Does her story intersect with KBR Halliburton's?

I mean, you know, there was a group of human rights lawyers here in the United States who heard about this case, who read my work more than a decade ago. And three very idealistic young human rights lawyers, one of them had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. And, you know, they took up this case. This was really the dawn of the era of modern-day slavery and international human trafficking. And the U. S.  government had fueled it with our own tax dollars.

What were these human rights lawyers trying to prove against KBR?

Well, they were trying to prove their culpability. First, they just needed to prove that these men were in KBR supply chain in order to get U. S.  government compensation for them, which took two years. And the key witness, you know, they needed the families. They represented the families, then, in a human trafficking civil action that they brought, hoping to end this practice in the U. S.  military and also hoping to get some justice for the - for Kamala and the other victims.

turn 1 : The lawyers took up the case against KBR to end human trafficking and get justice for the victims, not only for U.S. government compensation.

How did the lawyers aim to bring an end to human trafficking and get justice for the victims in the case against KBR?

Answer: b


So, you know, I like to dance, and I danced with several young ladies. And I said, your partner?I don't even know who your partner was. That's when it started. He just hauled off and hit me. And you know me. I swung back on him, and that was it. So it was a several gangs that were in the city at that time, and us being new, moving in from the county, it was just, you know, one of those territorial challenging things and because Vance was there, he's 18 months younger than me. We hung out together.

That's why we talked about it at family gatherings because we scrapped among each other because of closeness of age and being boys. But when it came to somebody bothering one of us, the other one had its back. So later on we learned that the guy I hit had his jaw wired, so it won us a lot of respect. We were going to Clifton Junior High School then, and one of the girls that had invited us, her father was an undertaker. He had a small place to march his funeral.

Very well respected.

Very well respected, yeah. They had a little rural house at that time on North Avenue. But we fought that day, and we were wearing little barracuda coats, that little trench coat that were something at that time. Like, I remember just being surrounded by guys, and you know, this is the way you want to be. My back was against the door. They pulled Vance out by his coat, and I just remember, you know, yelling to him, don't go down.

turn 0 : 1- The speaker got into a fight because someone hit him after he danced with someone else's partner. It was a territorial dispute between gangs. It was also a way to gain respect. 4- The speaker was surrounded by guys and warned his friend not to give up.

Answer: Clifton


It's very important to me. But also I had to try and understand how somebody so remarkable would think of herself and how would people see her. And what I realized, as a result of my research, was that there was this entire tradition of women warriors in France at that time - quite celebrated - and they had fought. They had worn men's clothes and they were celebrated, like Joan of Arc had been many years before, and perhaps that was the tradition that she fitted into.

It did occur to me reading the novel - and you want to be careful with this sort of thing - but if Julie a'Aubigny had been alive now, someone would've said, well, there's a support group you ought to join.

(Laughter) Oh, look, I think if she arrived now, we would still be amazed. She would still be larger than life. She's like an Olympic gold medalist combined with Lady Gaga. She's that remarkable. And she would probably still be a star today. There's not really anybody like her now.

And like a lot of great stars we could mention, she didn't last a long a course, did she?

turn 0 : Her life was a representation of the celebrated tradition of women warriors in France at that time.

What was the tradition Julie d'Aubigny fitted into?

Answer: Women


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

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

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

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

turn 1 : The turn that has an actual meaning different from its literal meaning is (2). The speaker is not talking about physically diving into something, but rather delving into the topic of a new class of online retailer that uses Shopify and AliExpress. The implied meaning is that the speaker has started researching and investigating this topic in depth

Which turn has an implied meaning different from its literal meaning?

Answer: Turn2


My pleasure.

And we will get to civilization being in danger, I assure you. But first question - you just heard our interview with our Justice Department correspondent. Is it a good or bad decision not to release the Democratic memo?

I think it's a mistake. I've read the memo. And, again, our entire society is based on, you know, counterpoints. You think this. I think that. And the Socratic process is that the truth falls out as you go through that back and forth. I think it's a mistake not to release.

I have to tell you, you're one of the first public officials I've heard quote the Socratic process. I will mark that - which raises the question that you raise, why does this budget deal put civilization in danger?

turn 1 : The interviewer is surprised by the guest's knowledge of the Socratic process and is implying that the guest's opinion is reliable.

How did the interviewer react to the guest's knowledge of the Socratic process?

Answer: impressed


If you like animals, you should check out this video.

And they have all these animals that are - they're flying. They're on - they have them on treadmills. They have - they try to get them off the cabinets inside the lab.

It doesn't necessarily want to be on there, although they do seem sort of OK with it.

turn 2 : "Yeah. I mean, you know, of course, if you're going to get a guinea fowl on the treadmill, it's not that like the guinea fowl is, like, yeah, I'm really looking for a workout. Thank you." The literal meaning of this turn is that the guinea fowl is not interested in working out on the treadmill. However, the actual meaning is that guinea fowls are not natural runners and would not run on treadmills in the wild.

How would you describe the behavior of guinea fowls on treadmills?

Answer: Not-interested


Well, there's a big argument in the United States about this. There's one group of folks who think that engagement policy failed. We engaged with China from 1979 until about 2013 when Xi Jinping came into power. And the idea of engagement was that coevolution was in the American interest as well as in China's interest. And you could bring China along to be a responsible player to some degree.

Many hardliners in the United States government - and outside and including in the expert community - now claim that engagement was a sucker's game and that we have raised up a tiger which could now devour us. But there are different schools of thought about this, and many of us think that we still need to engage with China, albeit more strategically.

That image of raising a tiger that will devour us is very dramatic. Is that what we're talking about here?I mean, like, one or the other will triumph?

I don't think so. I'm actually borrowing from a Chinese phrase - (speaking Chinese) - you don't want to raise up a baby tiger because it grows up. But again, there are people like Steve Bannon and the Committee for the Present Danger: China, which now claim that China is an existential threat to the United States. And they're also claiming that the United States cannot coexist with the Chinese Communist Party, despite the fact that we've been doing so at least since 1949.

turn 3 : There are some groups who see China as a threat, but not everyone agrees with this assessment.

Which phrase does PersonA borrow from the Chinese language to describe the danger of raising a baby tiger?

Answer: Baby


Of course. First of all, we created a group of specialized prosecutor and specialized law enforcement agencies, so we try to look at this unique phenomenon as a criminal network behind this. For this reason, we - first of all, we interview immediately the migrants when they arrive here in Palermo, in Sicily, Lampedusa and many of the towns that we are competent on - to get the material that we can use for the follow-up to our investigation - telephone numbers, identification, social network account - everything that we can use later.

And we build a trip, the route with the statements of the survivors of these terrible tragedies. But also, we had the corroboration of what we heard during our investigation directly from the traffickers operating in Africa - in Libya and Sudan - and also in Italy and in northern Europe.

Mr.  Ferrara, compared to La Cosa Nostra, are the smugglers well-organized?Are they - are they rich?

We are talking about a very structured criminal group. We are not talking about people that just put people in a boat and send them here. But we are talking really about criminal groups, very, very structured and very, very organized.

turn 1 :  implies that the investigators used information from the traffickers to further investigate the route of the people who survived the tragedies.

How did the investigators corroborate the information they received from the survivors?

Answer: Traffickers


Now, I understand South Dakota doesn't have an income tax. So is that why collecting sales tax is particularly important to your state?

That's right. The sales tax is about 63 percent of our state's general budget. So that's what we used to help on education and other important functions of government. We chose to use the sales tax rather than a state income tax.

So the better business has been for online retailers. The worst news, that's been for your state's budget.

That's exactly right. I mean, the United States Supreme Court has estimated that this is costing South Dakota between $48 and $58 million every year, which is a significant hit to our budget.

turn 1 : Sales tax is crucial to South Dakota's budget due to lack of income tax

How does South Dakota fund its education and other important functions of government?

Answer: Sales


And Border Patrol agents are making a lot of trips to the hospital with sick children up and down the Southwest border - nearly 70 kids a day since December, they say. But immigration officials say it's just hard to keep up with the sheer numbers here. It's putting a huge strain on resources, and they're asking Congress for billions of additional dollars to deal with it.

In the meantime, what more have you learned in your reporting about the death of Carlos Hernandez Vasquez?

Well, a couple of things. One thing that really stands out is that Carlos Hernandez Vasquez died in a Border Patrol station. The previous migrant children who died were taken to the hospital first; Hernandez Vasquez was not even though immigration authorities clearly knew that he was sick. He was diagnosed with the flu by a nurse practitioner.

On the same day, Customs and Border Protection moved him to a different Border Patrol station where they could separate him from the other migrants to stop the spread of the flu. Even Health and Human Services officials were concerned about how ill he was. This is the agency that's responsible for long-term care of unaccompanied children. And HHS decided that Hernandez Vasquez could not be flown to a shelter in Florida because of his illness. So in retrospect, critics say it's hard to see why they did not take him to the hospital.

turn 3 : There was a failure to provide appropriate medical care for Carlos Hernandez Vasquez.

What was Carlos Hernandez Vasquez diagnosed with?

Answer: Flu


How quickly would we see a border closing impact the U. S.  auto industry?

Well, really, we would start to see manufacturing facilities impacted almost immediately. Most of the industry follows a just-in-time inventory strategy, which means that the parts that are needed for the vehicle are shipped to the plant as they are needed and on a continual basis. They don't maintain inventory levels at the assembly plant. So we would see a number of factories start to shut down almost immediately because they wouldn't have inventory available to keep going.

Is it possible for you to paint a picture of this for us using a specific car part, for example?

You know, there's a couple interesting ones. One, wire harnesses - these are the wires that are - that go into a vehicle. There's probably miles of these copper wires in a vehicle, very labor-intensive to put these wire harnesses together. The vast majority are made in Mexico that are used in U. S.  manufacturing. And so that's something that would be very important for a vehicle because it goes on early in the process.

turn 1 : The U.S. auto industry heavily relies on just-in-time inventory strategy and factories would shut down quickly if the border is closed.

Which manufacturing strategy do most U.S. auto industry factories follow?

Answer: Just-in-time


Basically, they give you a lot of freedom. They don't get in your way. The editors encourage in-depth investigative work. They like to hold public officials accountable. They're also willing to go to bat if you need legal help, if you're trying to get records or things like that.

So would you advise young reporters to do what you have done and stick with a local news organization for a decent amount of time?

Yeah. I think at least a year. Sometimes two years is a good point to kind of reconsider your options. We thought that we were just going to be here for a year, but this paper has a history of crusading investigative reporting, strong local journalism. Our late publisher Ned Chilton coined this phrase called sustained outrage, and that's sort of hammering away at an injustice until it's righted.

People who can manage to stay mad for a long time.

turn 2 : Ned Chilton coined this phrase called 'sustained outrage', which means to keep pushing for justice until it is achieved.

Answer: sustainedoutrage


And after a couple of interviews, she got a job there making about the same salary she received at the bank.

Theresa advises everyone looking for work to, as she puts it, network backwards, reach out to former employers. You might get lucky.

Now, here's a guy after my own heart, Mike Parcialli(ph) of Portland, Oregon. He started a cheap, roundtrip shuttle service taking people from the city up to Mt. Hood for a day of skiing.

Now, listeners. Here's what Madeleine likes about this. Mike runs his shuttle van on waste vegetable oil.

turn 1 : She means to get in touch with people you have known before. The guy is a person that she can like.

Answer: Mike


No (laughter).

It tastes like the best parts of the sotol have just been elevated.

All right. I can get into that.

I don't know. I'm just making stuff up. It's really yum.

turn 3 : The actual meaning: The food/drink is delicious. Implied meaning: The speaker is indicating that they are uncertain about the accuracy of their statement. However, the use of the phrase "I'm just making stuff up" implies that the speaker may be exaggerating or not entirely serious about their comment. Despite that, they still express that the food/drink is very tasty by saying "it's really yum."

Which phrase implies uncertainty about the accuracy of the statement but still expresses the delicious taste of the food/drink?

Answer: I'm-just-making-stuff-up


I don't think it's new that they're supporting Assad at all. I mean, they have been pretty consistent from the beginning of the uprising, initially peaceful protest against the regime. And then as it descended into civil war, Russia has all along provided weapons, provided support, political and diplomatic efforts to shield Assad's government from action, for example, at the United Nations where Russia has a veto. I think what's new now is that they're looking at the situation in Syria as becoming more and more dire.

But you know, there's a difference between U. N.  vetoes and supplying - and military supplies and actually putting your own combat personnel or potential combat personnel on the ground.

I think that they're looking at the situation and understanding that right now there's a real danger that Assad's government can fall. And if that happens, what will replace that and how do you prepare for that when you're invested as heavily as they have been?Again, this is not new support. They've always had the naval base there. They've always had advisers on the ground. I've heard a lot over the summer about the increasing Russian concern about the imminent fall of Assad.

Well, the U. S.  had - at least as far as we can judge - had considered the potential fall of Bashar al-Assad to be good news and something that could lead to a better situation.

turn 3 : In (4), the speaker is implying that the U.S. is not necessarily looking forward to the fall of Assad, but rather is trying to prepare for it.

What is the U.S.'s stance on the potential fall of Bashar al-Assad according to turn 3?

Answer: Prepare


And you know, we still have, you know, we have horse farms. We have a couple of dairy farms left. In fact there's one dairy farm, the Ferris Acres Creamery, which people come from miles around it to have their ice cream. It's - they make it there. And you know, and we have hunters. And we have a couple of game, you know, hunting preserves around town. We still are in touch with that part of our tradition.

And does everybody's kids - do everybody's kids go to that particular elementary school?

No. We have, I believe, four elementary schools that feed into an intermediate school. So we have the Sandy Hook Elementary School. We have Hawley School, Middle Gate School, and the Head O'Meadow School. And my children went to the Head O'Meadow School, where I actually was in the graduating class when it first - when we first built that building in 1977. I still remember, I think, we buried some "Star Wars" paraphernalia in the front yard.

A time capsule.

turn 3 : The burying of Star Wars paraphernalia was a way of preserving their memories for future generations.

Which movie franchise was the Star Wars paraphernalia related to?

Answer: Star


And when you have spoken out publicly about it, you got a lot of backlash, very ugly stuff. Why do you think that hockey fans are so protective of this aspect back to the game when it seems like we should all be able to agree that if we can just be - keep players healthier and keep their brains safer, that should be a good thing?

Yeah. I think it's just - I think it's a resistance to change. That's really what it comes down to. But yeah, when I - I tweeted out about this in response to Don Cherry, who's a big pro-fighting guy here in Canada. And I got a lot of vitriol. It was ugly. I mean, it ranged from respectful disagreement to homophobia, sexism, misogyny. And that was kind of when I realized this truly is a cultural stigma, a cultural touchpoint and powder keg issue that needs to be investigated and discussed further.

The larger important issue here is the health of players. And the NFL and football have really dominated the conversation when it comes to concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, this this brain neurological illness. But hockey has this issue as well. Can you talk a bit about how injuries in hockey are factoring into this?

Yeah. I mean, I would argue that the NHL is probably lagging behind most of the other contact sports leagues as far as addressing this issue. There was a class-action lawsuit settled last year. But the players only got - who were involved - only got about $20,000 each and some promises for future medical testing and medical treatment.

Much less than the NFL football players got.

turn 0 : They got a lot of people complaining about what they spoke about.

Which response did PersonA give to Don Cherry that resulted in a lot of vitriol and backlash?

Answer: Tweet


Absolutely. They used to end up there in the French Riviera and big mansions in Europe. Now they tend to also end up in Europe but not in big mansions but in the criminal court - in The Hague.

And has that had the effect of making it more difficult sometimes to get rid of certain people?

Absolutely. They are - they don't trust now any promises that they will not be prosecuted or taken in front of a judge. And also, you know, the standards of human rights internationally have changed. And there is a very active community - globally - that chases after dictators and people that have violated human rights and have committed the crimes against humanity, which is the case for many of them.

Now, isn't the logic of that - the humanitarian logic of that - that knowing they might have to face criminal charges will discourage dictators from striking out at their own people?

turn 1 : It is being implied that the criminals are having a difficult time.

Answer: Damage


But I'm sure that there's something else that you want to share with us. You have your poems about California, poems about the blues.

I've got one. The once called "Who I Am in Twilight. "And it's a poem that is actually emblazoned on the sidewalk. And it's set in stone, as it were, on something called "Poetry Walk" in Berkeley, California. They put down on sidewalk, Addison Street, about a hundred poets', I think, work. So it's fun to go over there and see how posterity works, because always somebody has dropped some pizza on it, mashed out a cigarette on it, or something like that.

So don't live for posterity, live for now. But here it is. "Who I am in Twilight. "

Like John Lee Hooker, like Lightnin' Hopkins, like the blues himself. The Trickster Sonnet, hoedown, the tango, the cante jondo. Like blessed spirituals and ragas, custom-made. Like sagas. Like stories. Like slick, slow, sly, soliloquies sliding into dramas. Like crime and punishment. Like death and birth. Canal Street, New Orleans. Like the easy, erasable, troubled voices a whirling ceiling fan makes in deep summer nights in hot, un-heavenly hotels. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee. Like the Mississippi River so deep and wide, you couldn't get a letter to the other side. Like Grand Canyon. Like Yosemite National Park. Like beans and cornbread. Like rest and recreation. Like love and like. I know we last. I know our bleeding stops.

turn 3 : The speaker identifies with various forms of art and culture, and has a deep appreciation for life and love.

What is the name of the poem that is emblazoned on the sidewalk in Berkeley?

Answer: Who


North Korea is on the verge of a nuclear breakout. It has an arsenal estimated in the mid-teens. It's been assiduously testing ballistic missiles. It does have reach. It could target America's regional allies. The real inflection point here is that by 2020, they could have a hundred nuclear weapons instead of the mid-teens with long-range ballistic missiles that could reach the U. S.  homeland, which would make it a game-changer for the United States.

Well, how?

Well, it would allow them to directly target the United States. And that's a level of vulnerability we've never had from a state like North Korea. I mean, when I got into this business, I couldn't have conceived of a state like North Korea, essentially a failed state, having a nuclear arsenal approaching half the size of Great Britain's.

We're left with, really, three bad options - one - you know - bomb, negotiate or acquiesce. And the military option is so prohibitively costly it could lead to a catastrophic second Korean War. And when we can't - when we won't negotiate, we end up in that third box of acquiescing to the development of North Korean capabilities. And I believe there's a moment - a conjunction of factors that call for a pivot to serious diplomacy.

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

turn 2 : Implied meaning: This turn's use of humor or sarcasm may indicate a deeper subtext or intention, highlighting the potential for indirect communication to convey complex messages.

What type of communication may indicate a deeper subtext or intention in turn 2?

Answer: Humor


Captain, thanks for coming on the program.

You're welcome. Thank you for having me.

So as I understand, you began your transition in 2016. And I know a lot of this policy and whether it applies depends on where someone is in that process. Does this policy apply to you?

Well, so any policy that the DOD implements is going to apply to me as a member of the DOD. I think, specifically, I'll be part of the so-called grandfather clause here and be, quote-unquote, "OK" as we move forward. And so maybe not in the specific sense, but I think it applies in general that any time you put a policy in place that affects a specific group of people, i. e. transgender people in this case, it's going to affect me, whether directly or because of the implications and the intention behind it.

turn 1 : Implied meaning: The speaker's use of a particular tone or emphasis suggests that they may be implying something indirectly, without stating it explicitly.

Which word does the speaker use to describe their situation under the policy?

Answer: Grandfather


Yes.

What's your view of the impact of this money arms race on American democracy?

Well, nowadays, people don't - not several million dollars, but several hundred million dollars. And the Supreme Court's ruling on Citizens United is one of the stupid and most counterproductive decisions that the Supreme Court of the United States has ever made. And I think it has basically taken away a lot of the Democrat ideals of elections in the United States that we've enjoyed down through the previous generations. So I think it's completely distorted the democratic purity or legitimacy of our elections in the United States.

Legitimacy - that's strong words.

turn 1 : "money arms race" implies that the competitive spending of large amounts of money in political campaigns, particularly by wealthy individuals and corporations may have negative consequences for American democracy.

Which term implies that wealthy individuals and corporations spend large amounts of money in political campaigns?

Answer: Moneyarmsrace


In diapers, exactly. But the London police haven't quite given the final say-so on that yet. But, you know, there will be a lot of protests. That may upset the president. It's controversial, but the government insists, and the diplomats insist, that he's a vital part of nurturing a special relationship, which they insist is very good for the U. K.

Because he's not only going, he's getting literally the royal treatment.

Yeah. I mean, this is as good as it gets if you're a head of state coming to the U. K. It is bells and whistles. It's pomp and circumstance. It's a banquet at Buckingham Palace, although that seems to be being boycotted by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, also by Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the - of Her Majesty's Opposition, and Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

But I don't think that's going to take the gloss off it too much for Donald Trump. He's someone who has made it very clear this is what he wants, and we're expecting him to look like he's lapping it up.

turn 1 : Royal treatment means that he is being treated very kindly.

What treatment is Donald Trump receiving in the UK?

Answer: Royal


Well, speaking of that, sir, you're the only Democrat to support President Trump's nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel. Republican SEnator McCain won't support her. Why does she have your vote?

Gina Haspel has my vote. I sat on in intelligence, so I've been privileged as one of a hundred senators - there's only 15 of us to get to see the deep dive, if you will, into the intelligence. That gives me the comfort level I have. Forget about being a Democrat or a Republican. Here's a woman of impeccable career with the United States government, working in some of the most dangerous places in the world. She's done everything asked about. She didn't break any laws. No one said she's broken a law. They're asking her on her moral values. After 9/11, this was the rules of engagement of what they were doing for intelligence gathering. I have not found a reason for me not to vote for the most qualified person I've ever seen come before us in that agency. She was - she was not in charge. And everyone makes it look like she made these decisions. They were not her decisions to make.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, thank you so much for speaking with us.

Thank you, Lulu.

turn 1 : He worked on the intelligence committee and learned a great deal of things that most people don't know about the world.

How was PersonA able to gain a high level of comfort?

Answer: Comfort


Well, responses have ranged from one person who said Biden was a great pick to another who said Obama made a terrible decision. But it's interesting, Joe Biden was the top choice of our unscientific online poll. We asked who Obama should pick as his VP, and 40 percent of all respondents chose him. So despite how people feel about Biden, I think a lot of people assumed that Obama would pick him. And Hillary Clinton interestingly was the second choice.

Really?As we get close - well, not closer to the convention, we are at the convention now - have you noticed an increase in the online traffic?Because I know people have really been paying attention. But now that we're here, are they really into it?

They are really into it. And everyone has an opinion. And everyone wants to make their opinion known. And that's just what they're doing.

Now, what are some of the things that we're going to be looking forward to, that our bloggers can look forward to on our website this week as part of our convention coverage?

Well, through npr. org, we have complete convention schedule so people know when to set their TiVos. We also have profiles of all the key Democratic players and we're also going to pose photo feeds from the convention floor. This morning, Michelle Obama was getting ready to make her speech and she was testing out the mics. And so we have some photos of that.

turn 2 : There is a lot of opinion-sharing happening during the convention.

Which activity is prevalent during the convention?

Answer: Opinion-sharing