The Two-Way
2:07 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Indian Parliament Adjourned After Row Over 'Coal-Gate'

India's parliament was adjourned briefly today as the opposition called for the resignation of the prime minister, saying he was complicit in what has become known as "coal-gate."

The uproar stems from an official audit issued last week accusing the government of selling coal mining rights for too low a price.

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World Cafe
1:40 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Sara Watkins On World Cafe

Credit Aaron Redfield
Sara Watkins.

Former Nickel Creek fiddler Sara Watkins is a musical protege, both as a vocalist and as a multi-instrumentalist who plays the guitar, mandolin and ukulele. Watkins enjoyed widespread success in Nickel Creek, which included her older brother Sean and childhood friend Chris Thile.

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Monkey See
1:12 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

'Persona 4 Arena' Digs Deep Into The Teenage Heart Of Battle

Persona 4 Arena
Atlus
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Reviewed on PlayStation 3

The quirky, the odd and the eerie. As a videogame publisher, Atlus has become the expert in making the strange into the popular. It released Demon's Souls, a horror-filled role playing game that was so unrepentantly unforgiving, even hard core gamers complained (even as they continued playing). Last year, Atlus' Catherine was a long meditation upon the nightmarish angst and fear that can emerge when trust fails a young relationship.

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Remembrances
1:10 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Fresh Air Remembers Comedian Phyllis Diller

Credit Central Press/Getty Images
Phyllis Diller plays peekaboo with the cameraman before the start of her television show Bonkers in 1979.

Originally published on Tue August 21, 2012 1:35 pm

Phyllis Diller, one of the first and one of the few female comic headliners of her generation, died Monday at the age of 95.

Diller performed in the persona of a crazed housewife. She usually dressed in outlandish, bad-fitting clothes with her hair teased into a disheveled mop. Then she'd fire off long strings of self-deprecating gags. She was so unattractive, she used to tell her audiences, that Peeping Toms asked her to pull her window shades down. Onstage, she called her husband Fang. Diller told Fang jokes like her male counterparts told wife jokes.

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Author Interviews
1:10 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Student 'Subversives' And The FBI's 'Dirty Tricks'

Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012 12:21 pm

In 1964, students at the University of California, Berkeley, formed a protest movement to repeal a campus rule banning students from engaging in political activities.

Then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover suspected the free speech movement to be evidence of a Communist plot to disrupt U.S. campuses. He "had long been concerned about alleged subversion within the education field," journalist Seth Rosenfeld tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

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All Songs Considered Blog
1:00 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Song Premiere: Jackson 5, 'If The Shoe Don't Fit'

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 7:36 pm

Michael Jackson and the word "undiscovered" don't generally fit together: He had his first hit with the Jackson 5 at age 10, after all, and spent the subsequent 40 years in various stages of superstardom and/or notoriety. But troves of rare and unreleased Jacksonalia are sure to keep flooding out in the years to come.

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Asia
12:58 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

China's Increased Investment Upsets Some Pakistanis

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 4:08 pm

With all its current troubles, Pakistan has not been attracting much foreign investment recently. In fact, China seems to be the only country that's prepared to pour money into Pakistan in a big way.

But a boost in Chinese investment has sparked resentment in southern Pakistan, where activists accuse China of trying to be a new colonial power. A bomb blast recently hit near the Chinese Consulate in Karachi — an ominous sign of the rising tensions.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:19 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Hospitals Gripe About Health Insurers, Too

Credit iStockphoto.com
When it comes to dealing with insurers, hospitals like some more than others.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that health insurance companies can be a pain for patients. What may be a surprise is that hospitals often complain, too. And the reasons aren't so different from those of consumers: Denied claims. Low reimbursement. Late reimbursement. Thickets of red tape.

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The Two-Way
12:08 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Roger Clemens Returns To Pro Baseball Saturday; Majors Next?

Credit David J. Phillip / AP
Roger Clemens in 2007, as he was throwing batting practice for the Houston Astros. Could he be back in an Astros' uniform next month?

The Rocket is going to be pitching again Saturday night.

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The Two-Way
12:02 pm
Tue August 21, 2012

Nike's New Frontier: LeBron X Sneakers Will Sell For $315

Credit Nike
Nike's new Lebron X. Fully loaded, they will retail for $315.

Despite tough economic times, Nike is about to go where it has never gone before: Its Lebron X sneakers are expected to retail for $315. That's the first time a pair of its kicks breaks the $300 barrier.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the price hike comes after the company saw some steep drops to its gross margins. But the company may be taking its customers too far. The Journal reports:

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