Europe
11:58 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Running With The Bulls, But The Fear Is Financial

Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 4:07 pm

As a journalist, I came to Pamplona to see if Spain's dismal economy would dampen the spirit of the country's biggest summertime festival, the running of the bulls. Spaniards take their partying very seriously, and if there were even a hint of melancholy in their chants of "Viva San Fermin!" it might mean the economy devils had won.

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Sunday Puzzle
11:03 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Following The Trail

Credit NPR Graphic

Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 10:11 am

On-Air Challenge: For each category, name something in the category starting with each of the letters in the word "trail." For example, if the category were "books of the Bible," you might say Timothy, Ruth, Amos, Isaiah and Leviticus.

Any answer that works is correct. And you can give the answers in any order.

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Monkey See
11:03 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

The Id, The Ego And The Superhero: What Makes Batman Tick?

Credit Ron Phillips / Warner Brothers Pictures
Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight Rises.

Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 10:11 am

When you look at Batman with a coldly analytical eye — and he's hard to avoid these days, with The Dark Knight Rises set to come out Friday — a few things stand out as potential red flags: the secrecy, the lair, the attraction to danger, the blithe self-sacrifice, the ... cape.

It's unusual, all of it, you have to admit. Sure, he's handy to have around in an emergency, and you can't beat a fella who can be summoned with a giant light in the sky in the event you've got no cellphone reception.

But is he entirely ... well?

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The Picture Show
6:07 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Rare Photos: One Of Woody Guthrie's Last Shows

Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 8:25 am

After the dust of the Dust Bowl settled down, American folksinger Woody Guthrie moved to New York City and played more for the leftist East Coast intelligentsia than for migrant workers. Among these performances, one of the better documented was an informal concert in a remarkable carriage house in Lenox, Mass.

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Economy
5:12 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

A Tale Of Two Cities: Too Many Jobs, Or Not Enough

Maria Arvizu continues to fill out job applications even though she has yet to deposit her last paycheck.

Arvizu, 53, relocated to Yuma, Ariz., to become a bus driver for the local school district last year. After school closed for summer break, she was caught off guard when she was laid off. She had expected to get another driving assignment and was denied collecting unemployment because she was still considered a school employee.

"I just keep looking for a job," Arvizu says.

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Energy
4:29 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Miners Weather The Slow Burn Of Coal's Demise

Originally published on Sat July 14, 2012 7:21 pm

At some point today, you will probably flip on a light switch. That simple action connects you to the oldest and most plentiful source of American electricity: coal.

Since the early 1880s — when Edison and Tesla pioneered the distribution of electrical power into our homes — most of that power has come from the process of burning coal.

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Analysis
4:12 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Week In News: The 'Swiftboating' Of Mitt Romney

Originally published on Sat July 14, 2012 6:21 pm

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

MITT ROMNEY: I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after February of 1999.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I think most Americans figure if you're the chairman, CEO and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does.

ROMNEY: That's ridiculous and disturbing to come from their campaign and beneath the dignity of the president.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:12 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

Pennsylvania Cuts Medicaid Coverage For Dental Care

Credit Erika Beras
Marcia Esters hopes charity will pay for dental work that Medicaid used to cover.

Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 6:41 am

Marcia Esters needs crowns fused to six of her bottom teeth and new dentures. But because of changes made to Medicaid in Pennsylvania, she now has to pay for it all herself.

"It's thousands of dollars' worth of work that I cannot afford," she says.

Esters also uses a wheelchair. Because she couldn't get get her teeth fixed, she has spent the last few months eating pureed food and avoiding people.

"I don't go anywhere unless I have to," she says. "If you could look or feel halfway decent, it just helps, it really does."

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Author Interviews
3:31 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

'Sunny Chernobyl': Beauty In A Haze Of Pollution

Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 3:04 am

In some of the dirtiest places on Earth, author and environmentalist Andrew Blackwell found some beauty. His book, Visit Sunny Chernobyl, tours the deforestation of the Amazon, the oil sand mines in Canada and the world's most polluted city, located in China.

Blackwell says his ode to polluted locales is a bid for re-engagement with places people have shrunk away from in disgust.

Radioactive To Its Core

His first stop was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, Chernobyl.

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The Two-Way
1:18 pm
Sat July 14, 2012

U.N. Enters Syrian Town To Investigate Assault

Originally published on Sat July 14, 2012 2:39 pm

United Nations observers have entered the Syrian town of Tremseh to investigate an attack reported to be the bloodiest so far since the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The details of the incident are unclear, as The Associated Press reports:

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