An impression, that's an interesting question there. And certainly, you talked about that room I was in, it was certainly interesting for me to be standing in there quite literally in the middle of this room surrounded by all these heads of state from around Africa. But I quite literally - I mean, the journalist in you kicks in - I'm there certainly covering it, but it kicks in and I made a beeline, I absolutely did, when I laid eyes on him. I went right over to him and certainly was curious to get an impression of him. But as soon as he determined and as soon as he understood who I was and what I was probably going to be asking him, his whole demeanor kind of changed.

He was there - and certainly, the Leo Sullivan Foundation and the Sullivan Summit is something you - it's not supposed to necessarily be political. And a lot of these heads of state agree to participate because - they are, they're looking for the betterment of that particular country that they're in. And it's all really something we're all supposed to get together and celebrate and try to help, and not supposed to really be a political undertone to any of it. So, I wasn't trying to create that, but still the journalist in me wanted to ask him some questions about what has been happening in Sudan, and certainly the Darfur region. But I never got that opportunity.

Sounds like he shut it down a little bit.

He shut it down like you wouldn't believe.

turn 0 : "the journalist in you kicks in" - This is an idiom that means the person's journalistic instincts or tendencies took over, rather than a literal physical action of someone kicking.

Answer: Instincts


And Mr.  Cohen has had his brushes with the criminal justice system before, hasn't he?

Well, I don't think it's fair to say that he has. I think that there are many people around him who have, ranging from members of his family to myriad business associates - associates of his in the taxi business. When he first got out of law school and started working as a personal injury lawyer in, I think, 1992 or 1993, the first job he took was with a personal injury law firm where the named partner was arrested on bribery charges within a year or two of Michael having arrived there. Now, Michael was a junior associate. You know, I wouldn't want to imply that somehow that related to him, but that was the first known instance of many that followed of Mr.  Cohen being around or being involved with people that got into a lot of legal trouble - other lawyers, business associates and so forth.

In the 30 seconds we have left, is he - is Michael Cohen in a position to know a lot about Donald Trump and The Trump Organization that they might rather not have the public know?

I think that's right. But I think we have to make a distinction between knowing a lot that they might not want the public to know to having information that represents evidence that can be used in a criminal prosecution, whether it's of people at The Trump Organization, Mr.  Trump's family or Mr.  Trump himself, who likely wouldn't be indicted under any circumstances because he's the sitting president.

turn 1 : Michael Cohen has been associated with people who have gotten into legal trouble

What was the first job Michael Cohen took after law school?

Answer: personal


It was fabulous. One of our friends at News & Notes, one of our folks from the Reporter's Roundtable, John Yearwood of the Miami Herald, arranged for us to get a private interview with the president of Senegal. And that was wonderful, and we're going to run that next week. He's involved in essentially trying to do some negotiations with the president of Sudan over Darfur and also talks about a lot of the ecological issues that's affecting west Africa. But the best part about it was that the initial part was - were students, and you have these student journalists in this room full of diplomats and you know, a lot of security, big presidential suite, and it was - there was a certain heaviness to the air and certain gravitas. The president speaks English, but sometimes he speaks French and has a translator. And just to see the lights on these students' faces, the student from NABJ and the other ethnic journalism association, that was extraordinary.

It sounds like it was quite something. And we will look forward to hearing that interview. One really quick question before I let you go, and that's when you have a room full of journalist, does anybody get a chance to talk or does everybody talk at the same time.

Everybody dances.

Farai, thanks for checking in. We'll see you back here next week. Oh, one more thing, Farai?Oh, she's gone. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday. We'll have to do that when she comes back. All right, that was News & Notes host Farai Chideya checking in with us from Chicago, Illinois.

turn 1 : Journalists tend to talk over each other in a room full of journalists

Which turn mentions an interview with the president of Senegal?

Answer: 0


So one of the most famous stories about Julie takes place at a royal ball, at the Palais Royal. She attended in men's clothes. She often dressed in men's clothes, in the way that Katharine Hepburn dressed in men's clothes, not pretending to be a man, just, that was her style. And she saw a young woman on the dance floor, beautiful young woman, and she kissed her. Everyone gasped. And three men, one after another, three noblemen challenged her to a duel. So she said to them, one after another, yes, I'll meet you outside at midnight. Fought them, one after another, beat them all and then returned to the ball.

(Laughter) Just another night at the palace.

As you do, that's right. And, you know, that really sealed her reputation as a wild, uncontained woman who just did not care about any of the protocols.

Yeah. And how important was historical accuracy to you as a novelist?

turn 1 : In context, B's response "Just another night at the palace" is a sarcastic comment and doesn't actually mean that it was a typical night at the palace. Instead, it implies that the situation was unusual and scandalous, but B is making light of it with humor.

How did PersonB perceive the situation at the palace?

Answer: Scandalous


I think that with that time, you just need to map it out and make sure that you stay busy. Because if you don't, there's a lot of other elements, you know, inside, that could possibly corrupt you. And you might not only lose your freedom, you might end up losing your life. So you've got to be really careful while you're in there.

Now your song "It's Real" deals with a really heavy topic: AIDS.

Right.

Let's take a listen.

turn 1 : The song It's Real addresses a serious issue.

Which issue does the song "It's Real" address?

Answer: AIDS


All over. I was just meeting with a friend. I had served at the U. S.  Embassy in Mexico. She's here with a group of students and professors. I have just met recently a TV crew from Romania. Another one has come in from Serbia. And, of course, of special note, a number of journalists have come in from Kenya, where there's a very very big interest, obviously, for the roots of the candidate Senator Obama.

Well, tell us, what's drawing the other journalists?What is it that they're so fascinated by?

I think it goes back probably to the caucuses in Iowa in January, and it's just grown. Clearly, as the enthusiasm in the United States has grown, I think a lot of them are focusing on the young people so involved, but in general, the U. S.  public so involved in these elections and in these campaigns. And I think, in part, it is, the U. S.  does remain a certain kind of example in terms of democracy.

Well, I mean, is it fair to say that, were Barack Obama not in this race, there wouldn't be as much interest?

turn 1 : The other journalists are fascinated by the reason behind the interest in the candidate Senator Obama.

What is the reason for the interest of other journalists in Senator Obama?

Answer: Interest


Now, there's also the toll, you know, that this takes on judges. I mean, that's precisely what Judge Arrington said. He said, seeing the same black faces walk in and out of his courtroom year after year takes its toll.

When you first became a judge in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, did you feel like it was something that you brought home with you, that you felt a weight on yourself?

Oh, no doubt about it. I mean, I'm a control freak, and I'm goal oriented. I took recidivism personally. Every time I saw that same guy or that same woman come back in, it was a failure on my part.

And I did. And it hurt me. And I've cried. I've made defendants cry. I had the whole courtroom crying once because my sense of hurt was so real and so immediate.

turn 1 : THE WHOLE COURTROOM CRYING BECAUSE OF THE HURT WHICH IS REAL AND ITS HURT

Which emotion was so real and immediate that it caused the whole courtroom to cry?

Answer: Hurt


It will be - the repercussions will, you know, be far and wide. As I said, the law has more than a thousand pages. It touches every part of the health care system. So it's not just these marketplaces that we talk about most of the time.

The most immediate impact is Medicaid expansion. More than 10 million people have gotten health care because states have expanded Medicaid to a larger population. The law guarantees that people up to age 26 can get insurance through their parents. That's popular - that would go away. Again, the pre-existing condition protections - insurance companies have to give people coverage for their existing health problems.

But then, it also controls what Medicare pays doctors. It authorizes the Indian Health Service. It determines whether companies have to make accommodations for breastfeeding mothers. It makes chain restaurants put calorie counts on their menus. I mean, it's everywhere.

Yeah. Well, I mean, a lot of things have changed in American life.

turn 0 : touches every part of the health care system implies relates and concerns the health care system

What does the law mentioned in the dialogue relate to?

Answer: Health-care


. . . A different kind of catch and kill.

. . . Another chapter of the story, yeah. NPR's David Folkenflik.

Thanks, David.

You bet.

turn 3 :  The phrase "You bet" in (4) is a colloquial phrase which means "You're welcome" or "No problem".

How did PersonA respond to PersonB's thanks?

Answer: Youbet


Really, the link is, you know, if you strip away the neuroses, maybe. You know what I'm saying?I spend all day being other people - literally transforming. You know, for a book to function, it's not - I can tell the difference between realities. But it has to be a functioning reality. The character has to be real. And I imagine that's exactly what happens for a spy who was, you know, in deep cover.

I just think, yes, I wouldn't make it for a second if I had to do it in front of another person. So if you take the privacy of the room away, maybe that's the link. It's about inhabiting other realities in a convincing - beyond convincing. It has to be more than that. It has to be real for the person.

Nathan Englander, his book "Dinner At The Center Of The Earth. "Thanks so much for being with us.

Oh, truly, thank you.

turn 1 : In turn 2, the speaker is implying that the privacy of the room is important for them to be able to inhabit other realities and make them believable.

What is the link between privacy and inhabiting other realities according to the speaker in turn 1?

Answer: Believable


But you also said let me reassure you, I've seen the quality of that work. In other words, these plans are viable, credible, ready to go?

Yes, I have. I did say that. Part of my job in the Pentagon was the oversight - civilian oversight of military planning, and one of the things that we've, you know, we're charged with is to prepare options for the president no matter the contingency. And certainly, there are very viable plans with regard to contingencies involving Iran. But again, the judgment is at this point that's not where the focus should be.

And as you know, Israel has - well, has plans of its own - contingencies. And I know a large part of your speech was devoted to the idea that they should hold off and reassuring them the United States would take action if necessary and that Israeli action would be counterproductive. More counterproductive than an American strike?

Well, my point to them was we have a shared objective here - preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons and that, you know, any military action really only buys time. It's a delaying action for one to three years. It sets the program back, but it doesn't solve the fundamental problem of Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. To do that, you'll need a continued international campaign with sanctions, with negotiations to eventually change their calculus.

turn 0 : "In other words, these plans are viable, credible, ready to go?" - The actual meaning here is not about the meaning of the words used but rather about the speaker trying to confirm if the plans are indeed viable, credible, and ready to be implemented.

What was PersonB trying to confirm about the plans mentioned by A?

Answer: Viability


That's right. They said they would, and they're going to do it. Universal background checks for gun buyers is one of the bills they're going to vote on. These are measures with broad public support, many having arisen since the most horrific mass shootings we have seen in recent months and years.

Senator Bernie Sanders entered the 2020 race for president this week - I think $6 million he raised within 48 hours or something. But he touched off a recurrent question about if he's really a Democrat in all ways, maybe. This week, he refused to call Nicolas Maduro a dictator.

You know, terminology and labels are not ultimately where people live, but they can have meaning and effect when it comes to campaigns. We certainly saw that in 2016. Sanders only calls himself a Democrat when he's seeking to be the party nominee for president. The rest of the time and in Congress, he calls himself an independent. And that may be more accurate.

The phrase democratic socialist that Sanders uses a lot - that has quite a few fans, especially among younger voters, who seem to take this word socialist in stride. Older voters still remember the years when to be a socialist was to be on the wrong side of the Cold War in many people's minds. And voters of all ages will be taking part in those primaries and caucuses starting in less than a year.

Thanks so much. Ron Elving, thanks for being with us.

turn 3 : "The phrase democratic socialist that Sanders uses a lot - that has quite a few fans, especially among younger voters, who seem to take this word socialist in stride." - The literal meaning of this turn is that Sanders' use of the term "democratic socialist" has garnered support among young voters who are not put off by the term "socialist." The actual meaning is that the speaker is noting a generational divide in how voters perceive the term "socialist."

Which generational group seems to be more accepting of the term "socialist"?

Answer: Younger


How did she describe it?

It happened to be a beautiful day when she posted this picture, but you see rubble side by side with, you know, people doing their shopping, people just going about their business, school kids returning to school. It's surreal.

So there's the physical scars of this conflict, but what about the other one that you mentioned, which is justice?Will there be justice for anyone who committed atrocities?There's so much evidence of the chemical attacks, the murders, the torture, the disappearances. What happens to that?

There are some bright spots of hope - the fact that we saw - that we're starting to see indictments in European courts. You know, interestingly enough, a lot of people who were perpetrators of some of the worst crimes inside Syria, whether they did it in the name of the regime or in the name of an opposition, have found themselves in Europe and, therefore, sort of subject to European justice because other Syrians have recognized them. Other Syrians have identified them. And there might be hopes that there can be an accountability in that sense.

But I think inside Syria, you know, the actual architects of most of this - of this incredible disaster still remain at large. And not only at large or in power, but about to potentially be incredibly enriched by the reconstruction that, in theory, is coming to Syria.

So what do you think the road ahead looks like for Syria?

turn 4 : They did not actually build something physical, they created the situation of the disaster.

Answer: disaster


But also, at the moment, there is a decided sense of panic and loss of confidence in the financial system itself, which is actually exacerbating the situation. The scariest thing that's going on at the moment is, essentially, there's a run on the whole of the Western world's banking systems. It's a behind-the-scenes run, but it's a run nonetheless. And this is why you're seeing some extraordinary action by central banks, essentially because they are now the only people in the - around who are willing to fund or finance the banking sector.

If there's a loss of faith in leadership in the U. S.  and Europe, where do you look for world financial leadership now?

Well, I think the interesting thing is, the normal thing - place you would look would be to the finance ministers and the central bank governors of the world and seek to see whether they can come up with some sort of plan or some sort of coordinated action. Everyone is gathering together later this week in Washington on Friday and at the weekend.

And so this is a real test. I don't think they necessarily want it to be a test, but I'm sure it will be seen as a test to see whether the authorities can do more than look at how to stop this happening again in the long term, which is one of things, actually, they were intending the meeting to be about, but actually to try and stop the panic.

turn 0 : There is a sense of panic in the financial system and central banks are the only ones willing to finance the banking sector.

Which sector is being financed by central banks?

Answer: Banking


Why was it important for the Colorado Springs Police Department to investigate the Klan?

My job as an intelligence officer detective was to monitor any subversive activity which could negatively impact the city of Colorado Springs. And let's face it, the Ku Klux Klan historically is a subversive group. And when I saw the ad in the newspaper, obviously, I perked up to this fact and set about trying to address it to understand it.

You had to come up with a gambit for actually meeting him, and you couldn't meet him. You had to find a colleague to do it. So what was the gambit you came up with?

The gambit was I, obviously as a black man of African descent, could not meet Ken O'dell, the local organizer posing as a KKK member. So I had to take a - have a white officer introduced into the mix posing as Ron Stallworth. So I got a undercover narcotics detective friend of mine - in the book, he's identified as Chuck. That's not his real name, but I had Chuck pose as me. And for the initial meeting, I gave him any identification that I had minus a photograph so that if they should question him about being me, he could pull those out and, you know, convince them, and it worked. We did this for 7 1/2 months.

turn 1 : The Ku Klux Klan is a subversive group that can negatively impact Colorado Springs.

What was the job of the intelligence officer detective in Colorado Springs?

Answer: monitor


Right. Reckitt Benckiser made Suboxone Film. It was actually made by a division of the company called Indivior, which the parent company spun off five years ago. This is an opioid medication that's actually used to treat people recovering from addiction. You take it by dissolving it under your tongue rather than in tablet form. And back in April, Audie, the Justice Department filed criminal charges, claiming this drug was marketed using false claims that it's safer, less prone to abuse than cheaper alternative drugs. The feds said the company earned billions of dollars bilking healthcare providers and insurers, including Medicaid.

The $1. 4 billion - what is the U. S.  government going to do with that money?

Yeah. Well, most of this will go into the federal government's coffers. But interestingly here, $200 million will be divided up between any states that sign onto the settlement - the money going to reimburse their Medicaid budgets.

But if the company doesn't make this drug anymore and now you've got the spin-off company that makes it, why did they agree to this huge payout?

turn 3 : The company may be motivated to pay the settlement to avoid further legal complications.

What could be the company's reason for agreeing to the huge payout?

Answer: further


Well, he's a remarkable individual. He has transformed Indian politics. He has led his party from a very low level in parliament to an enormous majority. He has a party that is the largest single party in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. He is seen as a transformative figure. He's also seen as a divisive figure because of his past, but he has promised - and some of the early indications are - that he's not allowing that extreme element within his party a powerful say in government.

You have come out with a study at the Atlantic Council that demonstrates some of the economic costs of the arms race, which includes not just the cost of the arms and the cost of maintaining the vast military structures, but the deficits that have been created - lost opportunities for tourism and other industries. Try and sketch that out for us, if you could.

Yes, the current trade is only $2 billion. Economics 101 dictates that you trade with your neighbors. It makes no sense for them to have trade with distant countries. But, if they were to go back to the level of trade that they had at the time of independence in 1947, you could have between $40 and $100 billion worth of trade between the two countries. And more important - if they open their borders to each other, you would have tourism trade. You would have religious tourism from both sides and you would have trade with Central Asia through Afghanistan.

And if India is going to become the major power that it wants to be in the region and on the global stage, it will need every ounce of energy.

turn 3 : "it will need every ounce of energy" - The literal meaning is that India will need every unit of energy. The actual meaning is that India will need to put in a lot of effort to become a major power in the region and on the global stage.

What is the metaphorical meaning of "every ounce of energy" in turn 3?

Answer: Effort


Reptilian, exactly, and now we know that many species of dinosaurs had feathers or simple filaments that seem to be feather precursors in some cases.

Do your findings come from the relatively recent discovery that some dinosaurs had feathers?Is this sort of, like, the next step?

We are sort of taking the next. In the last 10 years, we've discovered that we can gain insight into the colors of dinosaurs and how they may have used visual signals in important contexts. And so what we wanted to ask is, can we gain insight into the vocal communication that extinct dinosaurs might have had?

Well, so what's next for you in your research?

turn 2 : The implied meaning of this turn is that the recent discoveries about feathers and filaments on certain species of dinosaurs have enabled us to gain a better understanding of their visual and vocal communication.

Which aspect of dinosaur communication did the researchers want to gain insight into?

Answer: communication


And we're hearing from you on your cell phone at the kiosk now, and we should note that where you are is not too far from Fort Bragg, which is home to the 82nd Airborne Division. And apparently, a lot of the soldiers have been coming home, and how has that affected your business?

Well, I mean, all the economy has been affected, but we're not as bad because luckily, we do do a lot of things for the military. Their wives are still here, so it's constantly them bringing in things that they need to be shipped overseas or just little minor things, things for the babies. It does keep a good flow in, though.

You mentioned the babies. I hear there's been an upsurge in the birth rate there, 50 percent more recently. That's a lot of babies.

Well, the troops came home at the first of the year, and now, everywhere you look, it's women pushing strollers, or they're pregnant.

And so, what kind of stuff are people bringing to you at your kiosk there for these expectant mothers?

turn 1 : Military families are a significant source of income.

How is the business affected by the soldiers returning home?

Answer: Good


Well, I was abused by a priest when I was a child. And it caused me a great deal of difficulty with my life afterwards. I had a lot of problems with anxiety and depression.

How old were you when it happened?

I had just turned 13. I was in a children's hospital. And the priest who assaulted me was the Catholic chaplain of the hospital. And he also took indecent photographs, which had a lasting effect on me.

You were one of two sexual abuse survivors on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Yet you resigned March 1. Can you tell us why?

I did because I accepted the appointment to the commission in the hope that the church was really beginning to show, you know, a sincere wish to change. And after three years, I resigned on some specific issues. But, basically, it was the resistance from some quarters in the Vatican to actually change.

Does it surprise you that someone as high up as Cardinal Pell has been accused?

turn 5 :  "as high up as Cardinal Pell" - This phrase refers to Cardinal Pell's rank and influence within the Catholic Church, rather than his physical height.

Which aspect of Cardinal Pell is being referred to in turn 5?

Answer: rank


From an economic perspective, they certainly don't seem to. All the evidence suggests that stadiums are not good economic drivers. But that being said, that doesn't mean that there is not value in a stadium. There are things like quality of life, things like civic pride. But ultimately, a lot of the economists I spoke to landed on the fact that what you need to do is have honest conversations among taxpayers and voters in terms of what you want to spend and why. Don't tell taxpayers that the stadium is going to make them rich because it's not going to. But it may enrich your life if you're a fan. And so take that into account and think about it the same way you would a golf course or an arts district. Is this something that you want to pay for?It's not an investment, but it's consumption.

You are awfully impressed by the art and craft of grounds crews.

Oh, I was.

A clever grounds crew can mean a difference in close games, can't it?

turn 0 : (1) implies that while stadiums are not good economic drivers, they still have value in terms of quality of life and civic pride. However, taxpayers and voters should be honest about what they want to spend and why, and not expect stadiums to make them rich.

Answer: Positive


Before summer slips away, North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann decided to take a day off from work for one last hot-weather canoe trip in upstate New York. With his wife Susan, Brian paddled and trekked through the Ausable Marshes in the Champlain Valley. He sent back this audio postcard.

We've just set out into the Ausable Marshes, this gorgeous delta of marshlands and ox-bows that form here between the Ausable River and Lake Champlain. Already, just a few paddle strokes from the road, it's green and humid.

B.  MANN: The forest along the river is lush with birds. A kingfisher loops from bank to bank. It feels sort of tropical and up in the bow of the canoe, Susan strips down to her swimsuit.

This paddling reminded me of the Louisiana bayou. Not quite as hot.

turn 1 : Brian and Susan were looking forward to having a peaceful and relaxing day.

Which emotion did Brian and Susan hope to feel during their canoe trip?

Answer: Peaceful


Ms.  LYNNE D.  JOHNSON (Blogger, fastcompany. com): Hi, how are you, Farai?

I'm great so, just quickly describe the video blog post for listeners who've not seen it.

Oh boy.

Well, it's basically something done as parody - described as parody in black face. Probably the most stereotypical depiction of a black person, an imagined black tech blogger with dreadlock wig, and speaking in a slang and talking about a website, called, you know about hos, or something like that. Hos and area codes. And so, a year ago, you know, people found this totally offensive, but it was in the - as you said in the insular web 2. 0 world, in the web community, people on Huffington Post, and PodTech heard some of the backlash and decided to not associate with Loren Feldman.

turn 3 : The video blog post was racist and offensive.

What was the response to the video blog post?

Answer: Offensive


When we had a transfer of presidencies in this country, when Barack Obama came in four years ago and George W.  Bush got aboard the helicopter and left town, well, George W.  Bush has pretty vanished from the American political leadership. He wrote a book, did pretty well with that. I gather he gives some speeches, but he plays no great part in the American political system. Bill Clinton has been playing a little bit more in this election.

But in the meantime, Mr.  Hu Jintao on his way out - really, on the way out?He will be a member of the Standing Committee. He's not going to be president. He's not going to be chairman of the party anymore, but?

He still may have a pretty strong role in the military. There's also the former president of China, who I covered back in the '90s, named Jiang Zemin who's from Shanghai. He has been front and center at the Party Congress. He's been out and about. He's in his mid-80s. He's playing role in terms of lining up who's going to take over. There's a lot of horse trading, but it's very, very opaque. And the average Chinese person really doesn't have any sense of where it's heading.

So you're getting this new generation of younger leaders, but the gerontocracy, the old leaders, behind the scenes, they're still playing a role.

turn 0 : George W. Bush has disappeared from American politics despite writing a book and giving speeches.

What did George W. Bush do after leaving the presidency?

Answer: book


Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked the queen to suspend Parliament - a very British coup, as many of his critics say, or a way to force Parliament to work out Brexit three years-plus after voters voted for him.

Or perhaps a device to get Parliament out of the way and allow Boris and the Brexiteers to finally leave the EU even without a deal. And the EU has said it is done negotiating. So this fall, Britain may leave the European Union and do it in the most disruptive and unpredictable way imaginable. So for the residents of Britain, this is rather like watching a hurricane bear down on them, feeling helpless to stop it and unable to escape.

The romance between the president and Fox News seemed to have everything going for it. What happened?

(Laughter) It does seem to have cooled. Weeks ago, the president started complaining about the opinion polls he saw on Fox News. They were showing his approval rating as low as most of the other media and academic polls. So he called that fake news.

turn 3 : The person thinks that the good feelings have lessened a bit.

What did the person say about the romance between the president and Fox News?

Answer: Fake


If you take that vial and set it down next to a trail of crazy ants, rather than fleeing from that plume of odor, they actually turn and head towards the vial. So they seem to be attracted to their alarm pheromones - their alarm pheromone. And so as a result, that's kind of snowballs. So you're getting an ant that's electrocuted, it releases alarm pheromones, more ants to pile on.

That seems odd that they would be attracted to the alarm.

There - it is a little odd, except for - a lot of ants do this. It's part of how ants organize the defensives nests, for example, so if there's an intruder you release alarm pheromones and nest mates know that there's a threat that they need to be defending against.

Hmm. Do they bite?

turn 0 : more ants pile on means that more ants are attracted to the sent.

Which turn describes the behavior of the crazy ants towards the vial?

Answer: attraction


They're using bank loans at a 15-year low. That is a response to tightening lender standards and so small business owners are increasingly turning to credit cards to finance their businesses which are obviously have much more high and volatile interest rates. It's one of the reason we've been advocating for credit card reform. Because of the acesss and restrictions to credit card capital, they're not expanding their businesses, hiring new employees, cutting back on business travel. You know, it runs the whole gamut.

So if these aren't expanding and they are having trouble getting loans to expand, what does that mean for their employees?

I'm not sure that it's come to the point yet that many are cutting back on employees, although some percentage is. But you know, I think a lot of small businesses are not hiring new employees at the moment, just sort of bunkering down and hoping to weather through this economic storm.

So, if I'm a small business and I need a loan.

turn 0 : Runs the whole gamut means that it covers all the options.

How does the speaker describe the interest rates for credit cards in the dialogue?

Answer: High


Why do cockroaches flip over on their backsides when they die?

But I understand now, when it comes to answering the question of the year, you're not going to go with that one. Why not?

This happens every year. Readers write in and point out that some of the questions on our list have been answered elsewhere on the Web. It turned out this year that our top three vote-getters have all been answered elsewhere. So we had to default to question number four.

And what is that question?

turn 2 : We had to settle for the fourth question because the top three questions have already been answered elsewhere.

How many questions were answered elsewhere, forcing them to default to question number four?

Answer: Three


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

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

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

What about the other half?

turn 1 : "Mars in Venus" is a reference to a book that asserted that men and women are very different. That's what it implies.

Which book is referenced by the term "Mars and Venus"?

Answer: Marsvenus


Well, when the storm stops, and they give the all-clear to leave, the first thing will be to see if we even have a car that we can get into because they're expecting flooding in this area. And then we'll go from there - one step at a time.

Well, thank you very much. Susie and Ben Black talking to us from the maternity ward at HealthPark Medical Center. . .

Thank you.

. . . In Fort Myers, Fla.

turn 0 : The situation is uncertain and they need to take it one step at a time

Answer: One


For many people in Hollywood, Weinstein's behavior did not come as a surprise. Rumors had circulated for years, and that gossip network helped warn some women away from him. Anne Helen Petersen is Buzzfeed's culture writer. She argues that gossip has a vital purpose, especially in Hollywood.

You know, I don't think that all gossip is progressive or feminist. You know, gossip is a major way of policing women's behavior. But at the same time, gossip about which men are dangerous, which men you shouldn't go on to lunch alone with - that sort of information is currency that women use to protect one another.

And in this last week, a document surfaced that was essentially a burn book for men in - who work in the media. The contributors are women who work in the industry, and the accusations are anonymous. They're unsubstantiated. The complaints range from rape to being unsupportive of female colleagues. It's a real range, and it puts illegal behavior, in a way, on the same level as dislikable and unfair behavior. So when does gossip become destructive and more about maligning people than really identifying serious abusers?

This is the - you know, with the thing about gossip networks, sometimes called whisper networks, is that the reason that they work is because you know the woman who is saying the thing to you. So I can - when someone says to me, this is what type of guy this is, I can decide what to do with that information based on that woman.

turn 2 :  "It puts illegal behavior, in a way, on the same level as dislikable and unfair behavior" - The actual meaning is not that illegal behavior and dislikable behavior are being equated, but rather that both types of behavior are being reported anonymously without any substantiation, making it difficult to differentiate between them.

How does turn 2 highlight the issue with the anonymous accusations in the document?

Answer: Equate


Absolutely. This is probably one of the most consequential elections in Israel in the last 10 years, since Netanyahu has been in power.

Daniel, thanks so much.

You're welcome.

That's NPR's Daniel Estrin.

turn 2 : None of the turns have implied meanings that are different from their literal meanings. They all convey their literal meanings without any hidden or implied messages.

Answer: Clearly


But you're right, the visual representations that she makes are stunning. She has beautiful people dressed very fashionably, speaking in this, you know, very outspoken, opinionated way. And I had just never seen this, and when I looked up some of the references about her, I could find much on her. So I made it my job to gather up all I could find, and ended up writing a book.

You have a picture in the book of her with Duke Ellington in the mid-'50s at a party. That shows - you know, and she's, you know, there on his arm. And so she must have had quite a standing in the community.

Well, she did. She was known for putting on fashion shows in South Side Chicago, where she lived. She was very well-dressed, and, in fact, later, some of her cartoon comic strips would have paper dolls with high fashion in them. So she was very keyed in to the fashion world and to fashionable people.

Her husband, Earl, managed upscale hotels in the South Side, because at this time, entertainers, travelers, businesspeople of color could not get a room in The Loop. So there were several elegant hotels on the South Side, and Earl managed one of those. They lived in the hotel. And I think from there, as well as from her own stature as a cartoonist whose work was read every week coast to coast, she did gain a lot of stature and a lot of friends.

turn 1 : (2) - The literal meaning of this turn is that there is a picture in the book of Jackie Ormes with Duke Ellington, and it suggests that Jackie Ormes had a high standing in the community. However, the implied meaning is that Jackie Ormes was a prominent figure in the community who was associated with famous and successful people like Duke Ellington, which further emphasizes her influence and importance.

How was Jackie Ormes associated with Duke Ellington?

Answer: Fashionably


I was listening back to some of the pieces that you've done in the past couple of months as we prepare for this broadcast. One of the things that China may have to change is the role of its banks. Banks like to take very few risks if possible, and that means investing in those big state-owned industries that have - well, they may not be spectacular returns anymore, but they are reliable.

Yeah. The banks do extremely well. You and I could sit back and run those banks and be very, very wealthy, though, communist.

The government sets the interest rates and so the banks can make a lot money. And if you're a Chinese person, you can't really get much of your capital out of the country. So where else are you going to put it?

One of the problems with the banks is that they tend to invest in state-owned enterprises. It's kind of part of their job, and it's less risky. But most of the jobs in China are really produced by private enterprise, as they are here in the United States. And it's much harder for them to get capital. So people are, in many ways, feelings that the economy is out of whack in a number ways and that there need to be some serious changes. The government knows this, but there are now very strong vested interests in state-owned enterprises and the banks. And so getting that done is not going to be easy politically.

turn 1 : The banks are profitable, but the speaker is critical of their communist policies

Which industry does the speaker say that Chinese state-owned banks invest in?

Answer: broke


I mean, your site gets something like seven million visitors a month?

Yeah.

Wow.

So that, that audience helps too, having those people, you know, kind of at bay, you know, willing to sort of jump in at, like, my command and help out when necessary. And like I said before, a lot of those people who read my site are also Tesla fans, so that's sort of a double reason for them to be willing to commit to a campaign like this.

turn 3 : The audience of the site is willing to support the campaign when needed

How does the audience react to the campaign?

Answer: Support


I don't know. I mean, you know, what two-state solution are we talking about?You know, with all these Israeli settlements, with the annexation, with the actions that Israel has taken on a daily basis in Jerusalem, I don't know if the two-state solution is still viable, to be honest with you.

What does this part of the West Bank mean to Palestinians?Can you just paint a portrait of this area for us?

Well, the Jordan Valley has many, many significant aspects. First, it's religious - the Mount of Temptation in my hometown of Jericho where Jesus fasted for 40 days against the temptation of the devil. And the Jordan Valley is the breadbasket of the West Bank and of what would be a future Palestinian state. It's also strategic. It's on the border with Jordan, and it's the only outlet for the Palestinians to the outside world other than Israeli airport and ports.

Right. You mentioned its strategic value. I mean, Israel has been saying all along that, eventually, they would get this strip as part of any peace deal anyway because they need a strategic buffer between Israel and the rest of the Middle East so, say, like, weapons can be passed through. Shouldn't Israel be concerned about securing a buffer?

turn 0 : paint a portrait means that they are asking for an explanation of the area in this context.

Answer: religious


I'm Farai Chideya, and this is News & Notes.

1. 5 million. That's the number of people reportedly incarcerated in the United States. Beginning in the 1980s, the nation saw an ever-expanding prison industry, designed to manage a steady stream of new felons and recidivists. Now some states are finding they can't afford the billions of tax dollars supporting the prison system. Rethinking the role of rehabilitation may be part of the answer. That's what Jennifer Gonnerman says. She's a journalist covering the prison beat, and her latest article kicks off a special edition of Mother Jones magazine that examines the prison system. Jennifer, great to have you on.

Thanks so much for having me, Farai.

So this is a whole special issue on the issue of prisons. Your article talks about the economic impact the prison system is having on the nation. So what kind of money are we talking about?

turn 1 : The prison industry has become too expensive for some states to handle and rehabilitation is a possible solution

How does Jennifer Gonnerman suggest addressing the economic burden of the prison system?

Answer: Rehabilitation


But you can actually trace the Denisovan material in some populations but not in others in Island Southeast Asia. It's very easy to see because it's very distinct from modern human DNA. It's kind of like a medical imaging dye, and you can actually see who carries them and who doesn't and what the gene flow and migration patterns were.

Fascinating, David Reich, thank you for taking time to be with us today.

Thank you.

And good luck to you. I know you're going to go out hunting for more fossils, more Denisovans.

turn 0 : Denisovan material is identifiable in some populations but not in others, and it's easy to distinguish it from modern human DNA

How can Denisovan material be identified?

Answer: Trace


That is Binyamin Appelbaum. He writes about economics for The New York Times, and he's written a new book, called, "The Economists' Hour" that traces what he calls a revolution in the way we think about economists.

This quiet but really important revolution that happens, really, beginning in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, where economists begin to gain tremendous influence over public policy in the United States.

In fact, that young economist who told his wife he had no future at the Fed, that was Paul Volcker. He became one of a small group of economists who made themselves indispensable to U. S.  presidents. Volcker rose to become the chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Carter and Reagan years.

So I asked Appelbaum, how did a bunch of economists go from nobodies to being important people?And he said it's pretty simple. In an era of real economic problems, they promised solutions.

turn 0 : Binyamin Appelbaum is a writer for The New York Times and has written a new book about economics.

Which newspaper employs Binyamin Appelbaum?

Answer: NewYorkTimes


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: Fight


You know, I'm not sure exactly where the cuts will take place. I know they've got several issues in mind. I think it's definitely a reflection upon the times right now, and how difficult the environment is for financial service firms.

You wrote in your piece today that the bonus pool is still the sixth largest on record. How much money was it overall?

Overall, it was 18. 4 billion, but it was down from about 33 billion last year. So it's a decline, but it's still, like you said, the sixth largest, so there's been thoughts that the past compensations have gotten a little excessive. So there's definitely an argument that that was the case.

And all of this in the wake of a bonus scandal at Merrill Lynch. What's been going on there?

turn 2 : The past compensations for financial firms have been excessive.

Which argument supports the past compensations being excessive?

Answer: Excessive


Yes, far more often. And I'm not sure we fully understand why. In this particular - the latest case, the president said he was not informed until 24 hours before Shanahan pulled out. That was just hard to believe. It's either that reflects gross incompetence on the part of his team in not telling him, or he's lying about it and/or some combination thereof. But we don't know the answer to that.

What we do know is there has been a pattern of withdrawals from nominations that were not fully vetted, or some things popped up at the last minute. You know, both the person nominated that the president wanted to be Army secretary and the person he wanted to be Navy secretary were both knocked out by disclosures that had not come up in the early vetting.

So who's supposed to find this stuff out in the early vetting?Whose responsibility is it?

There are two institutions that are responsible, take primary lead for it - nominees who require Senate confirmation. One first and foremost is the White House working in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, working as well with the FBI to do a thorough financial, legal and personal conduct - and that includes domestic violence - kind of search. While that is underway - and it can take a number of weeks - the Senate itself takes up a background check. And so it's almost shocking that the senators are saying they didn't know.

Every administration has some level of dysfunction. But in a White House that is running somewhat more smoothly than this one, how would this work when it's a well-oiled machine or something close to it?

turn 0 : The president may be lying about not being informed

How does the Senate conduct a background check?

Answer: White-House


Well, you know, performance is really one of making sure you understand and document what's expected of you in your given role. One of the mistakes I see many professionals make, minority or otherwise, is they don't document and understand really what's expected of them.

And so they go throughout the whole year performing at what they may thing is the optimum level, only to get to the end of the year and find out that they've missed a mark. They're not doing one-on-ones or meetings quarterly or monthly with their manager, and so it's really important that if, you're going to track your performance that you understand what's expected, but more importantly that you follow up to make sure that you're on course.

Now, you have these performance evaluations in some cases, and is that a 100 percent of your success?How much are we talking about?

Yeah, I'm a big believer that success in corporate America, that performance really accounts for 50 percent of that. And what I mean by that is if you go back to childhood, most of what we were taught as children was you are rewarded based on how well you performed.

turn 1 : "they go throughout the whole year performing at what they may think is the optimum level, only to get to the end of the year and find out that they've missed a mark" - The literal meaning is that they perform well all year but still don't meet expectations, but the actual meaning is that they don't understand what's expected of them and therefore can't perform well.

How do they perform throughout the year?

Answer: Poorly


Sure.

We are always so grateful when you come on this show. I got to tell you - we got a lot of noes from Republicans who didn't want to come on this show and talk about gun policy, except, you know, maybe they'll go on Fox News. If the Republicans are proud of their record on guns, why not be interviewed about it?

Well, I can't speak for all of my colleagues on this. I mean, we obviously have a very serious violence problem in the country and particularly a firearm violence issue. And that - you know, we must address it. That said, we also have to respect the rights of people who own. . .

OK.

turn 2 : The Republicans are not willing to discuss gun policy in an open and honest way.

How did the Republicans respond to the invitation to discuss gun policy?

Answer: comfortable


The truth is that there were many extremely brave people who decided to risk not only their own lives but also the lives of their families to rescue Jewish people. But the truth is also that there were many Poles who decided to betray their Jewish friends and their Jewish neighbors who were often living in hiding. And in addition to that, there were also those who didn't remain passive. But they were actively participating in a killing process. We cannot run away from this. We need to talk about this openly.

What I'm hearing you saying is that you're worried that the lessons of the Holocaust - that it wasn't just something that was done to people, but it was something that people also participated in either actively or passively - will be lost.

Yes. Well, in that sense, we are going back to this time in Polish history - and I'm talking specifically about the communist era - when the memory of the Holocaust was constantly distorted, twisted, politicized or just abused. And I'm just very concerned that we are now - we'll be following this path.

Are you concerned that if you say what you just told me in Poland, you could be prosecuted now?

turn 1 : The speaker is worried that the lessons of the Holocaust might be forgotten or ignored

What is the PersonA's concern regarding the Holocaust?

Answer: forgetting


It's a love letter to my mother. I love my mother very, very much. She gave me everything. She was a wonderful mother. She gave me the most magnificent childhood in Edinburgh, and she had no pattern for that. She was suffering so much as a child. She was kept very closeted. Nobody ever told her anything of love. She was very, very solitary, lonely and unhappy child. And yet she invented herself and became this wonderful mother to me.

And at the same time, I felt that her version of events, which was utter doom and terrible villainy, couldn't necessarily be completely true because everybody's version of their story is slightly different.

Of course.

And so I wanted to turn it and turn it like a kaleidoscope to see whether I could see what these people's motives really were. And was it so terrible?

turn 3 : The literal meaning is that the speaker wants to examine the motives behind the actions of the people involved in the events. The implied meaning is that the speaker is questioning whether their mother's version of events was accurate and whether the motives behind the actions were as terrible as their mother portrayed them to be.

How does the speaker want to examine the motives behind the actions of the people involved in the events?

Answer: Motives


Yeah, exactly. The case of China is interesting because China makes it a practice in its Africa policy to claim non-interference in a country's politics. And that makes it a favorite in places like Sudan and like Zimbabwe, which have some very basic problems. But these African countries also have natural resources that China desires. And so there's this quid pro quo, so to speak.

And Russia, of course, is, you know, perhaps arguably the world's largest supplier of illicit arms, and that's, you know, a connection, as well. And, of course, North Korea has trained some Zimbabwean soldiers and has a good relationship with Mugabe. So you can see there's a connection.

Absolutely. Professor Keller, thank you so much.

Thank you.

turn 1 : (2) In turn (2), the speaker implies that there is a connection between Russia's illicit arms trade, North Korea's relationship with Mugabe, and Zimbabwe's political situation.

What is the reason for the connection mentioned in turn (2)?

Answer: Arms


Now, when we look at this, what they're doing, there was a - you know, in some ways perhaps a minor incident, but a telling one where the British publication, the Telegraph, reported online that the G8 leaders enjoyed a six course lunch followed by an eight course dinner. African leaders were not invited and of course they're talking about the global hunger situation. There was a lot of static about that. Do you think that, that was symbolic in any way or just, you know, big time world business as usual?

Well, Farai now you're going to draw the cynical side out of me. This was an incredibly stupid, careless move, by the G8 leaders where they basically seemed to have thought off camera they could do whatever they wanted to. And they demonstrated, for all to see, the contempt actually that they have towards the rest of the world.

That they basically - they see themselves, as in effect, the rulers of this planet. So, when they're on camera there'll be the tears, there'll be the concern. Off camera you saw this hideous example of consumption.

What do you think the G8 leaders should be doing in terms of an Africa agenda?I'm going to get to a couple of specific things, specific national issues of Zimbabwe and Nigeria in a second.

turn 2 : The G8 leaders see themselves as rulers of the planet.

Answer: G8


First of all, there is a lag time of - it's several months before raw material costs work their way all the way through the system. And farmers will be quick to tell you that they only get 20 cents from every food dollar. The rest of it goes to processing and labor and transportation. So all of these other factors also effect what we're paying at the grocery store.

Essentially the department is assuming that the volatility in the prices for energy and commodities is going to be with us for a while, at least through the middle of next year. In other words, the recent trends of lower prices for oil and other commodities isn't going to last, and if you look at today's spike in the price of oil, that's a good case in point.

John, you mentioned how we'll be seeing this at the grocery store. What about at restaurants?

Well, that's interesting. USDA forecast compares prices of food at home with those away from home. And in 2005 and 06, restaurant price and inflation was much higher than in grocery stores, but that changed last year and this year and supposedly will continue next year. Restaurants are now raising prices more slowly than grocery stores. Basically, restaurants are trying to absorb some of their higher food costs to cushion the blow to their customers and to keep them coming in.

turn 0 : "farmers will be quick to tell you" - This is an idiomatic expression that means farmers are likely to agree or acknowledge this statement rather than being quick to say something.

What is the impact of volatility in energy and commodity prices on food prices according to the department's assumption?

Answer: Impact


I think they have put a scare into people enough that they'd approve almost anything, and that's unfortunate. But I think we rely on our leadership. Cal Rapson, who is our vice president, has been in General Motors his entire life. I worked with Cal when I was here as a president. I think he understands the needs of auto workers, understands what GM can do and what they can't do, and I think, if we follow his leadership along with Ron Getelfinger, we're not going to be in too bad a shape.

You worked at a GM plant for 32 years. What you're seeing right now, how does that compare to what you've seen in the past?There have been troubled times before.

Never have seen anything to this magnitude. Well, my local has gone from 14,000 members to 2,000. When I was here, we were worrying about what was our next product, not worrying about whether we were going to have a product.

And so, for some of the workers that are there now with you at this UAW hall currently employed, what are they talking about?Are they coming up with a plan B in case this doesn't happen and they don't have jobs?

turn 3 : The current workers of the UAW hall are preparing for the possibility that GM won't be saved and are coming up with plans for their future.

What are the current workers of the UAW hall doing?

Answer: Alternative


Who happens to be black.

You know.

And happens to be benched right now.

Happens to be benched. What do you make of this?I think Vince's issues I think are quite different from Tarvaris. I think there was a lot of pressure on Vince from the time he came out of Texas to kind of be the black Johnny Unitas, and he's going to - they'll both have an opportunity to sit and watch, and hopefully come back with a vengeance.

One really quick other black quarterback not in the league at the moment, in Atlanta, Michael Vick. Is Matt Ryan, the replacement, making Atlanta Falcon fans forget Michael Vick?

turn 0 : The person being black is relevant to the conversation

Which characteristic of the person is discussed in turn 3?

Answer: race


About the South, I think what's missing is an attention to the ways that we have progressed but the paradox of that progress here for many folks. We're not getting to those deep structures because the South is so glittery now. We have Starbucks, and we have Whole Foods. And there are cranes in the sky, as Solange Knowles would say, all across the South. We're in the newest New South. There are lots of stories about growth and progress. But, again, at what cost?On whose backs?

And so about Memphis, I think what we miss is that because we have seemingly healed in the form of a museum, in the form of commemoration, in the form of reckoning with this assassination that we're on the upswing, that we're moving forward. But as I mentioned earlier, I feel that time has stood still and gone backwards and circled around us in a lot of ways here and that what gets missed is that there are people in the middle of this play of politics, in the middle of this history who are crushed but that still are striving in ways that are remarkable and beautiful. There is joy. There is dancing. There is singing. Sometimes, I hop into a church just to hear the sounds of joy that come out. And I think that gets lost in the way that we talk about the city in the national media.

Zandria Robinson is a sociology professor at Rhodes College and a Memphis native. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

turn 0 : Despite the progress and growth in the South, there are still underlying issues that need to be addressed.

How does PersonA describe the current state of the South?

Answer: Underlying


I'm just - I'm 84, but - and I'm going to just keep going until suddenly I notice that somebody has approached with a hook, and the curtain is closing. But I continue to do basic research, as for example biogeography of ant faunas of the Pacific, and writing on the general subjects that we've been addressing today.

You talk in your book about having the summer off as a kid with lots of time to do what you want. Do kids need unstructured time?

They need a lot. They need a lot. I would say that generally speaking if you have a bright, inquisitive kid, and very few are not innately that way, and you were given a choice, two months of summer camp with advanced, more advanced preparation in various subjects with college on the horizon in mind, between that and cutting them loose in the woods or in a very interesting natural environment, and I say cutting them loose not entirely but if you know where they are, take the latter for heaven's sake. It's the latter where they will dream and beginning to form in their own mind those ideas, those conceptions, those misperceptions to be corrected that make up a strong mental ability and character.

Dr.  Wilson, thank you so much for taking time - it's always such a pleasure to have you on SCIENCE FRIDAY. Thank you for joining us.

turn 2 : The kids will begin to think of ideas as they explore on their own.

How will kids develop their mental ability and character?

Answer: Stimulus


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

So the yield curve represents interest rates at different maturities. So usually, it's the case that a longer-term interest rate has a higher rate than a short-term interest rate. So think of a certificate of deposit at your bank. If you lock your money up for five years, you expect to get a higher rate than, let's say, locking it up for six months.

But in certain rare situations, things get backwards, and it turns out that the long-term interest rate is lower than the short-term rate. And that's called an inverted yield curve. That's exactly the situation we've got right now. And it is a harbinger of bad news.

So unemployment is at a 50-year low. The GDP is growing. Does that have an effect on the yield curve?

turn 2 : The inverted yield curve is a bad sign for the economy.

Answer: backwards


So these are two guys who get along really well, who see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and who are already just starting to generate a lot of enthusiasm that was, frankly, kind of lacking in parts of the Republican Party.

Do you know how this decision was made, why Mr.  Romney was so silent for so long and then finally said, OK, it's Paul Ryan?

Well, that's the way it typically works. But we do know that he was, up to the last minute, vetting a few possible options. And interestingly, these options are sort of often divided into two categories: The safe which is Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Rob Portman of Ohio, and then the bold, which might be Marco Rubio of Florida, Chris Christie of New Jersey. And Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is sort of in that bold category.

But, you know, the opposite of safe is bold. The opposite of safe can also be risky. And as excited as parts of the Republican base are about Paul Ryan, parts of the Democratic base are also really excited about being (technical difficulties) Romney, through proposals that Paul Ryan is made in the House that have been very controversial.

So he may add a little pizzazz to this campaign on both sides.

turn 4 : To "add a little pizzazz to this campaign on both sides" means to make the campaign more interesting and engaging for both the Republican and Democratic parties.

How would you describe the effect of adding pizzazz to the campaign on both parties?

Answer: Pizzazz


Delbert Spurlock thinks the troops are paying for decisions made by political leaders. He helped rebuild the Army under President Reagan as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Today, he says the way troops are selected and prepared for service shows the U. S.  Army is broken.

Most importantly, it can no longer recruit and retain the caliber of young men and women who are necessary to carry out the functions which the Army is compelled by our policy-makers to deal with.

The Army itself really is not large enough to take care of the missions integral even to the War in Iraq. We have been forced in this conflict to rely on contract mercenaries, Blackwaters of the world. But our Army, for a century or more, has been, in whole, a moral force for good.

It's a deterrent force, and now it has lost the moral authority gained over a century.

turn 3 :  "It's a deterrent force, and now it has lost the moral authority gained over a century" implies that the U.S. Army has historically been seen as a moral force for good, but that recent actions or decisions have undermined this perception and led to a loss of moral authority.

How has the U.S. Army been perceived historically?

Answer: Good


Rubber-faced American was OK but, like, not all NPR executives are clowns.

That's true.

Exactly. So, what's happening, Murray?

turn 1 : ) We all think we're being so original, right? (Implied meaning: We all think we're really creative and original, don't we?)

How does PersonB feel about their originality?

Answer: Creative


Leading the tributes to President George H. W. Bush were several former presidents and the current president. President Trump said of Mr.  Bush, with sound judgment, common sense and unflappable leadership, he guided our nation and the world to a peaceful and victorious conclusion of the Cold War. President Bill Clinton, who defeated Mr.  Bush for the presidency in 1992, gave thanks for his great long life of service, love and friendship. Ron Elving, senior Washington correspondent, joins us. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.

Good to be with you, Scott.

He was the last of a different generation - sometimes called the greatest generation. He served in World War II, congressman, former U. S.  ambassador to China and the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice president and then after that finally president.

You know, when he first sought the Republican nomination in 1980, Scott, his TV ads called him, quote, "a president we won't have to train," unquote. And that was a nod to all that preparation and experience he had had even before he was vice president.

turn 3 : George H.W. Bush had a lot of preparation and experience for presidency

Answer: Diverse


In Larry Nassar's statement to the court last year just before he was sentenced, he said he'd been impacted to his inner-most core by the testimony of his victims, including yourself. But he did not apologize. He was, though, sentenced to life in prison. Did you feel resolution walking away from that day?

You know, I did in the sense that Larry will never be able to hurt another child. And I take great comfort in that. That being said, Larry was a symptom of the problem. And that's something, again, that I really wanted to dig into in the book. Larry didn't just magically appear as one of the most prolific predators in campus history, in sports history and in history in general. He didn't magically appear that way. He was enabled and sheltered by powerful organizations, by law enforcement agencies that mishandled or refused to investigate reports of sexual misconduct. And so while we were able to stop Larry, what really remains to be done and the work that has just begun is dealing with the institutions and the dynamics that left him in power.

Rachael Denhollander is an activist and former gymnast. Her book "What Is A Girl Worth?"and her children's book "How Much Is A Little Girl Worth?"are out now. Rachael, thank you so much.

Thank you.

turn 0 : Impacted to the "inner-most core" is not literally. It's not the core of his body, it just means that it affected him greatly.

Which part of Larry Nassar's statement impacted him greatly?

Answer: Inner


Yeah, South Korea, the Netherlands. We played, you know, the reigning champs, Serbia, and we also played Turkey. So yeah. Yeah, we had a good four games of full play.

I understand the French team looks strong.

They are strong. They're very good. There's a lot of good teams here. I mean, this is the highest level of 3x3 in the - 3 on 3 (ph) basketball there is around the world.

Do you feel you're kind of in on the ground floor of a sport that's going to become more popular around the world?

turn 2 : 3x3 basketball is highly competitive with many skilled teams

What is the highest level of basketball played in 3 on 3 format?

Answer: 3x3


You've got videos being produces on one. And you've got TI and Grand Hustle and Will Packer and people making movies and trying to bring them here to be shot, in addition to Tyler Perry. I mean, you got music being produced, but also these musicians, you know, taking advantage of each medium, you know, film, TV, writing songs for a commercial.

You know, Toni Braxton, here, in Las Vegas when she gets healthy again. These people are still staying here but doing things across the globe now. And you know, people were upset and concerned LaFace closed in - what was it?2000, now?Now, you look at the charts and I would bet you that ten of the top 25 R&B artists are either from - R&B, people on the R&B charts, are either from Atlanta or produced by an Atlantan.

Same for the rap charts and also pop. I mean, you said that this is a city that has an impact on black music. You know, Atlanta has made black music popular music. These are artists that are on the Hot 100, the biggest songs in the country. So, I am very hopeful.

Dee Dee, same thing.

turn 1 : Atlanta has contributed significantly to the music industry.

What city has made black music popular music?

Answer: Atlanta


So about a year ago, they were ousted by the Ethiopian invasion. And since then, there has been a gorilla war that's been going on that has left most of Somalia in constant turmoil.

Is it a forgotten crisis?

I'd say yes, for the most part, that it is. And it's forgotten at least in the United States because there is not the direct involvement of U. S.  troops. There is indirect U. S.  involvement, absolutely. But the — but when the, you notice very often in the U. S.  media that when no one from the United States is dying, a situation is not declared to be a crisis. And so in Somalia, it's the people of Somalia, as well as Ethiopian troops, that are dying, and therefore it's not on our screen.

One more thing about Somalia before we move on, talking about a split there, potential split. The Bush administration and some members of Congress are considering whether to recognize Somaliland. Tell us about that, and what concerns do you have?

turn 1 : The situation in Somalia is not receiving the attention it deserves.

What is the reason behind the lack of attention towards the situation in Somalia?

Answer: No


So is this new policy on Iran loud huffing and puffing or a strong and proportionate response?Well, for one view on it, we are joined by Suzanne Maloney. She was an adviser to the State Department on Iran issues during the George W.  Bush administration, and she is now with the Brookings Institution. Welcome.

Thank you.

So we heard the president say that these sanctions are going to deny access to key financial resources from the senior leaders of Iran. Do you have a sense of what exactly the sanctions are going to do?

I think that may be a bit of an overstatement about denying key economic resources to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is already heavily sanctioned. In fact, many of the organizations and institutions that are associated with the Office of the Supreme Leader that were highlighted in today's announcement have already been subject to American sanctions.

turn 3 : The sanctions may not be as effective as the president suggests.

Which word describes the effectiveness of the new sanctions on Iran?

Answer: Not


About 50% of my business was China 'cause I focused on that sector of the business.

And now what proportion of your business - what proportion of your lobsters go to China?

Zero. I can't sell a lobster to China. I can't compete with Canadians.

So you have lost half of your business.

turn 2 : Despite having a large market potential, the Chinese market is difficult to penetrate due to competition from Canadian suppliers.

Which market is difficult to penetrate for selling lobsters due to competition from Canadian suppliers?

Answer: Lobsters


Is there a danger of South Koreans becoming too complacent?

I think that they do talk about that. But there's also reality, which is when you have this incredibly materialistic society, it's literally a, you know, (speaking Korean) style (speaking Korean) land, then, you know, the reality of this war with this nation under Kim Jong Un kind of doesn't strike anyone as a realistic thing. And, yes, there is a danger to it. But at the same time, life does go on. And life is a very, very, very fast and active one in South Korea.

So we've been talking about war. What about peace?Do the South Koreans even think about the possibility of detente anymore, the possibility of the border reopening?

I mean, I think the issue of one Korea reunification is one of those politically manipulated one. You know, the left parties used it. The right has used it, certainly, in South Korea. So it's almost like this sort of symbol whenever they need to use sort of national security in order to unite people or get their agenda across. So it's almost become a tired one, where everyone - if you were to talk to them and you interview South Koreans, they'll all say, reunification is necessary. Do they want it?They would pause. Do they want to pay for 25 million North Koreans?Do they want refugees?They don't really want that.

turn 0 : The speaker is expressing concern about South Koreans becoming too comfortable and not taking the threat of war seriously.

Which threat is the speaker worried that South Koreans might not be taking seriously?

Answer: War


He was very cordial. He shook my hand. He gave me the Klan handshake. He didn't know that I knew it was the Klan handshake, but he did give it to me. If you shake a person's hand and you extend your index and middle finger along their wrist - and as you pumping their hand, you start pressing your fingers in their wrist area. It's the Klan handshake.

The question that you wind up wrestling with, I think at the end of the book, is - well, let me put it this way - that the Klan and David Duke specifically are hateful and jerks is beyond dispute. You don't wind up with a lot of regard for their intelligence, which raises the question, how dangerous are they?

Very. When I say they are not the brightest, they were not the brightest light bulbs in the socket. The people I was dealing with were not. David Duke, in spite of his having - at that time, he had a master's degree in political science from Louisiana State University. I merely had a high school education and about 12 hours of college credit. So the very fact that he was being conned by somebody with a lower degree of education than him, I'll admit, I got a particular thrill out of that. But let nobody who reads my book think that these people because they weren't the brightest light bulbs in the socket were not and are not dangerous. They were very serious.

What do you think you learned about the KKK and racism and bigotry during those months?

turn 2 : The KKK is dangerous despite not being intelligent.

Which group is considered dangerous despite not being intelligent?

Answer: KKK


How close is it?

It's about three parsecs away, about 12 light-years away, something like that.

So if there is intelligent life on that planet, and I'm just speculating here, it would be possible to communicate with them in real time almost, right, a lifetime, at least one person's lifetime if they could signal back and forth in 12 light-years?

Well, and that's the reason that studying these nearest stars is so interesting. If you have a chance of contacting any intelligent beings on these things, you could have a two-way conversation easily within a lifetime around these nearest stars.

turn 3 : Studying the nearest stars is interesting because it increases the chances of contacting intelligent beings

Which beings increase the interest in studying the nearest stars?

Answer: intelligent


Oh, I'm glad to be here.

So what's wrong with the research that said he had a special brain?

A couple of things. One is what we call confirmation bias, and that's basically saying what we all know - that if you really want to find something, if you look for it long enough, you will. So, for example, in the papers that claim the external shape of Einstein's brain was different. They start out with a fairly vague notion of what his cognitive specialties were and then go poking around in his brain until they find something - anything that sort of conforms to their previous expectations.

Was part of the problem that they knew it was Einstein's brain, and therefore they were predisposed to see things?

Exactly right, exactly right. It's rather like seeing faces or shapes in clouds. Those shapes really aren't in the clouds. They're in your mind.

Forgive me - what amounts to a philosophical question - why have we been fascinated by Einstein's brain matter over the years?

turn 2 : "Those shapes really aren't in the clouds. They're in your mind." - The literal meaning is that the shapes seen in clouds are not physically present in them but are perceived by the viewer's mind. The actual meaning is that people may project their own interpretations onto ambiguous stimuli, such as cloud formations, and see patterns or images that are not objectively there.

Which sense can people project onto ambiguous stimuli?

Answer: Interpretations


So what I did was incorporate the superhero, but have them have HIV in real life situations, if the person were to have it. So they would have the same illnesses, the same sicknesses, and even some of the characters may die from AIDS or something like that.

So, the book really shows you - I have in one scene where you see one of the characters is about to have sexual relations with a woman, and he - I show a condom. I talk about. . .

Robert, I'm sorry. We have to wrap it up here. There's so much to talk about. . .

I'm sorry for that.

turn 1 : Discussing the use of condoms during sexual relations in the book.

Which book discusses safe sex practices during sexual relations?

Answer: Book


Did you think twice?

I said - well, I didn't think - well, I said, sure, and I held it to the ground. And then I thought, this is not exactly what I signed up for, but, you know, you need to pitch in a little bit in these circumstances.

For a disease, a virus to spill over, is it just a matter of coming in contact with the right animal?Is it just chance, or does there have to be something special about the virus itself to be able to infect multiple species?

Well, some kinds of virus, yes, are better at this than others. And the scientists who watch the world for the next spillover are particularly vigilant about single-stranded RNA viruses, as distinct from DNA viruses that carry their genomes on the good old, stable double helix. RNA viruses, when they replicate, mutate more frequently. Therefore, there's more change. There's more genetic variation in the populations of those viruses. They replicate very abundantly, so their populations are large.

turn 1 : A agreed to do something but later realized it wasn't what they wanted

How did PersonA feel about what they agreed to do initially?

Answer: Not


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

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

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

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

turn 1 : The protesters in Hong Kong are fighting to maintain their current level of freedom, not to gain more freedom.

How are the protesters in Hong Kong fighting?

Answer: maintain


Credit's a basic input, just like fertilizer or fuel or labor. Farmers here need credit to be able to buy their fertilizer, number one, which is much more expensive than it used to be. Seeds, pesticides, everything - to have money to pay your employees every month. And so, when credit's delayed or not available, especially on fertilizer, it gets very complicated to be able to raise a crop. Nobody in modern agriculture can farm without credit.

And what's your credit situation like right now?

I have credit, but it was delayed. I've never had trouble getting credit here in Brazil. I've always paid my bills, and so credit's available for me. But this year, the credit promises were made, but then the credit wasn't going to arrive until it was too late to order the fertilizer and actually work out the logistics of receiving it. And so it's changed my plans a lot this year.

And timing is really essential for farmers. So, how is that going to play out there with your 2000 acres of soy?

turn 0 : Farmers need credit to buy expensive inputs like fertilizer.

What is one of the most expensive inputs that farmers need credit to buy?

Answer: fertilizer


What do you mean it knocked the - 'cause I always think of the bottled water market as being quite new.

Well, it's ironic. There was a big bottled water market in the U. S.  late 19th, early 20th century. It was basically seen as healthier, better for you. And this newfangled chlorination essentially made water really safe to drink for the first time, in some respects, ever. And as a result, tap water became a newfangled thing, which is very ironic, considering the reputation today of bottled water versus tap water.

Yeah. Why did bottled water become popular again?

So, it was popular to a certain extent throughout the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s. Bottled water in the sort of single serve and liter size that we think of really was a niche market in restaurants until the late 1970s. And Perrier really for the very first time put a lot of money into their marketing budget and they got very lucky with their timing, 'cause it coincided with the fitness craze. I mean, think about it. Jane Fonda and aerobics. And what happens to really push it long is that Nestle ends up getting in the act with Perrier; Coke launches Dasani; Pepsi launches Aquafina. And now all of the sudden what you have is mass distribution channels. Today - get this - per second on average, 1,500 bottles of water are being opened nationwide.

turn 3 : So, it was popular to a certain extent throughout the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s. Bottled water in the sort of single serve and liter size that we think of really was a niche market in restaurants until the late 1970s. And Perrier really for the very first time put a lot of money into their marketing budget and they got very lucky with their timing, 'cause it coincided with the fitness craze. I mean, think about it. Jane Fonda and aerobics. And what happens to really push it along is that Nestle ends up getting in the act with Perrier; Coke launches Dasani; Pepsi launches Aquafina. And now all of a sudden what you have is mass distribution channels. Today - get this - per second on average, 1,500 bottles of water are being opened nationwide.

What triggered the mass distribution of bottled water?

Answer: Marketing


Excuse me.

Present company excepted, of course.

All right, all right, OK, yeah.

But he constantly breaks his own maxim. It's huge fun.

turn 1 : The literal meaning of this turn is that the speaker is excluding the people currently present from the criticism they are about to make. However, the actual meaning is that the speaker is making a sarcastic remark and implying that the people present are also guilty of the behavior they are criticizing.

Which behavior is being criticized in the dialogue?

Answer: Behavior


OK, well, now there's criticism that these short-sellers may be contributing to the funny business in terms of, you know, driving prices down for these big investment banks.

You know, there's a ton of funds out there. There's a lot of cash out there. If the short-sellers are really driving prices to the point where stocks and companies are mispriced, there should be the countervailing, hey, this is a bargain, let's rush in and buy it. That hasn't happened, and in fact, if you look at the companies that have gone belly up in the past year, every one of them was either insolvent or had some major problem. Again, the short-sellers are the one who identified this.

Hm. Well, also, in some of those banks, you have traders, actually, you know - have what is the accusation out there that they contributed to the problem by short-selling these derivatives and by driving prices down across the board.

Well, there's two issues. One is short-selling in general, and then the other issue is naked short-selling, which - I'll give you the real short version of it. When you short-sell, you're doing the opposite of buying. You borrow stock and you sell it, and you hope to buy it cheaper and return it. Short-selling is legal. Naked short-selling has been illegal for many years. The only reason we have so much of it is the SEC has not enforced the rules against it, because there was a ton of money made by the biggest brokerage firms.

turn 0 : ton of funds implies a larger quantities or amount of fund s

What is the accusation against traders in some banks?

Answer: undervalue


(Reading) It should be pointed out that the Runyon Street homicides remain under active investigation. This office dismissed the case against Sanford because we were unable to retry the case. This dismissal is not the same as exoneration. It must be emphasized that Vincent Smothers has had several opportunities to testify under oath to exonerate Sanford but each time has refused.

So how do you respond to that?

It's hard to know what to make of that statement. My first response is that the attorney general - so the top prosecutor of the state of Michigan - has found that Davontae Sanford is innocent and has accepted that fact and agreed to award him over $400,000 in compensation. Vincent Smothers has declared that he is guilty and has said in a sworn affidavit that Davontae Sanford had nothing to do with it. My understanding is that none of the people to whom Smothers pointed have been prosecuted or indeed will be prosecuted by Kym Worthy.

Every now and then over the years, I've talked to prosecutors about exoneration cases. And they often say, look, they were legally convicted by a jury. The conviction was upheld on appeal. You can't make the legal system work if it's vulnerable to people showing up years after the fact sometimes, changing their testimony or even confessing - because that can be problematic.

turn 2 : Prosecutors sometimes prioritize finality over justice, even when faced with new evidence.

Answer: finality


How concerned are you, if at all, about the fact that the changes will now mean that the president, the head of the party, George Bush, will not be attending the convention, not be giving an address as he was scheduled to tonight, nor will Dick Cheney?

Well, I'm, you know, I was kind of halting between two opinions about that, whether the president would be there. I don't think that that would change very much. Of course, if you noticed, the president has not been very, very involved in the campaign of Senator McCain so far as public appearances. So that - and of course, that cemented my decision not to go, because when the president and the vice president was going to go, you know - and I feel that I have an obligation to the citizens that I serve as a committee person to be back home. The whole team didn't need to go.

Had the president and vice president gone, are you saying you would have gone then in that instance?

It would have been - in other words, the decision for me would have probably been harder for me to make the decision. But it was easy knowing that President Bush wasn't going to go.

turn 1 : The speaker did not want to go to the convention even if the president and the vice president were going to attend.

How did the PersonA's decision change if the president and vice president attended the convention?

Answer: Harder


Yeah.

That's unbelievable and 27 of them three-pointers.

Yeah.

That's fantastic. As you looked around, though, people might say, don't your teammates get a little jealous?Might they want to take a shot every once in a while?

turn 3 : Take a shot means have a try in this context, not actually shoot someone

Which word has a different meaning in this context?

Answer: Different


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

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

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

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

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

Which court ruled that the San Angelo judge didn't have enough evidence to hold all of the children in custody?

Answer: texas


Wow. So that must have even surprised the researchers, I imagine.

Yeah, well the big thing is nobody really has any even guess about how the brain is able to do this. They did some similar experiments where they weren't turning somebody's world upside-down, they were - they had goggles that reversed right and left. So everything that was on your right is suddenly on your left.

And again, the first few days were just madness from the point of view of somebody doing this. The whole world is reversed. But after a few days, the brain adjusted to it.

Amazing. And so when they took the goggles of him and he had to go back to the normal life, how long did that take?

turn 1 : The brain is capable of adjusting to unusual situations quickly.

How is the brain's adaptability to unusual situations?

Answer: Quick


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

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

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

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

turn 1 :  My experience with my level of confidence has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I started out quite shy and timid, but over time I have been able to gain more and more confidence. I have found that the more I put myself out there and take risks, the more confident I become. I have been involved in activities such as public speaking, volunteering, and even starting my own business, which has all helped to boost my confidence.

Which activity has helped to boost PersonA's confidence?

Answer: Volunteering


How long do you think it would take you to build, and get operating, a system of the kinds of satellites that could deliver a significant amount of electrical power down to earth?

It might be quite a few years, maybe in 10 years. It's an enormous job. In fact, it's comparable in size to another moon landing and place a base on the moon. But it has a very significant output if we are successful.

Former NASA engineer, Glenn Smith, on his plan for space-based satellite collectors to beam solar power down to earth. Glenn, thank you.

OK, Alex. Good day.

turn 2 : The literal meaning of (3) is for thanking the engineer for his plan, but the actual meaning is to show appreciation for the engineer's work.

What did PersonA say at the end of the conversation with B?

Answer: ok


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

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

Thanks for having me.

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

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

Which term describes the act of someone higher on the chain of command trying to influence the outcome of a military trial?

Answer: Influence


So I - you either roll your eyes or you laugh at what politicians will do in support of their most fundamental instincts, which as I said is to preserve their own political viability.

It strikes me as not being all that different from what the Chinese badminton team did to try to get a better opponents in the next round.

Well, except there's one difference, right?The badminton team got thrown out of the Olympics. And in this one, if it works, you get elected to the U. S.  Senate.

It's also interesting, Senator McCaskill has said previously she's going to be much too busy campaigning to go to the Democratic National Convention to be photographed, presumably, with President Obama. She doesn't want to do that. I would think, now, congressman Akin may find himself much too busy to go to Tampa.

turn 1 : Suddenly they started talking about Chinese Badminton teams

What did Senator McCaskill say she would be too busy to do?

Answer: Photographed