Politics
5:42 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Reforming Congress: Taking It Back To Formula

Credit W. W. Norton
Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN's international affairs program GPS, and editor at large for Time magazine and a columnist for The Washington Post.

One late January night in 1966, President Johnson went to the Capitol to deliver the annual State of the Union address.

Johnson was at the peak of his power that night, and during the hourlong speech, he talked about his agenda for the year: Vietnam, social programs and expanding the war on poverty. But right in the middle, he offered up an idea that seemed to come out of nowhere when he proposed to change the term for a congressman from two years to four, concurrent with presidential terms.

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NPR Story
5:36 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Remembering Jerry Robinson, Creator Of The Joker

Originally published on Mon December 12, 2011 10:57 am

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: I do believe it's that arch-criminal the Joker.

GUY RAZ, HOST:

Flags are flying at half-staff in Gotham City right now. Jerry Robinson, widely considered to be the creator of Batman's iconic enemy the Joker died this past week.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BATMAN BEYOND")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (as the Joker) That's not funny.

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NPR Story
5:36 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Baylor's Griffin Wins Heisman

Originally published on Mon December 12, 2011 10:57 am

Transcript

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: And now, the moment we've been waiting for. It is my pleasure to announce that the 2011 winner of the Heisman Trophy is Robert Griffin III, RG3.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

GUY RAZ, HOST:

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Environment
3:00 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

In Pa., Drilling Comes Into Focus

The vast, untapped natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale are the subject of much debate. Scientists who are trying to shed light on the safety of drilling are facing a host of obstacles, including lack of funding and data. Susan Phillips Scientists who are trying to shed light on the safety of drilling are facing a host of obstacles.

Author Interviews
2:57 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Shimon Peres' Book Honors Israel's Founding Father

Shimon Peres, the Nobel Peace laureate and President of Israel, was just 23 years old when he became a trusted aid to his country's founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.

He's not sure why Ben-Gurion put so much faith in someone so young. "Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was a mistake," Peres tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.

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Credit Mito-Habe Evans

Tom Huizenga is a music producer, reporter and blogger for NPR Music. He hosts NPR's classical music blog Deceptive Cadence.

A regular contributor of stories about classical music on NPR's news programs, Huizenga regularly introduces intriguing new classical CDs to listeners on the weekend version of All Things Considered. He contributes to NPR Music's "Song of the Day."

During his time at NPR, Huizenga spent seven years as a producer, writer and editor for NPR's Peabody Award-winning daily classical music magazine Performance Today, and for the programs SymphonyCast and World of Opera. He produced the live broadcast of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess from Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, concerts from NPR's Studio 4A and performances on the road at Summerfest La Jolla, the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and New York's Le Poisson Rouge.

Huizenga's radio career began at the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1986. During his four year tenure, he regularly hosted several radio programs (opera, jazz, free-form, experimental radio) at Ann Arbor's WCBN. As a student in the Enthnomusicology department, Huizenga studied and performed traditional court music from Indonesia. He also studied English Literature and voice, while writing for the university's newspaper.

After college Huizenga took his love of music and broadcasting to New Mexico, where he served as music director for NPR member station KRWG, in Las Cruces, and taught radio production at New Mexico State University.

Huizenga lives in Takoma Park, MD, with his wife Valeska Hilbig, a public affairs director at the Smithsonian. In his spare time he writes about music for the Washington Post, overloads on concerts and movies and swings a tennis racket wildly on many local courts.

Deceptive Cadence
1:40 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Clouds, Concertos And A Trip To Fiji: New Classical Albums

Originally published on Fri February 10, 2012 3:07 pm

With all the chatter about the death of the compact disc, anxiety in the recording industry and the domination of downloads, the flood of CDs overflowing my mailbox never seems to recede. Need a new Bruckner 4th, an Adès anthology or piano music by Pärt? How about Azerbaijani concertos, Schubert sonatas or a new Midsummer Night's Dream?

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Presidential Race
12:20 pm
Sun December 11, 2011

Former Spokesman: 'Newt, If I Let You Down, I'm Sorry'

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul look on during the ABC News GOP presidential debate on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Judging by the attacks on Newt Gingrich at Saturday's GOP debate in Des Moines, Iowa, the former House speaker is the man to beat in the Republican presidential field.

The past few weeks have seen a remarkable turnaround for Gingrich's campaign. It wasn't long ago when his bid was all but left for dead. This summer, nearly his entire campaign staff resigned on a single day. One of those staffers was Gingrich's longtime communications aide Rick Tyler.

Tyler explains that he left because he lost perspective, but is now open to rejoining Gingrich's campaign.

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World
8:00 am
Sun December 11, 2011

Canada Escapes Recession's Grip

America's biggest trade partner, Canada, sailed through the economic downturn almost unscathed, with low unemployment, no mortgage crisis and not a single major bank failure. As part of WBEZ's Front and Center series, Brian Mann reports on how Canada emerged as one of the world's most stable and prosperous economies.

NPR Story
8:00 am
Sun December 11, 2011

Waves Of Russians Fill The Streets To Protest Putin

Originally published on Sun December 11, 2011 9:58 am

Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow Saturday, shouting "We exist!" against Vladimir Putin's inevitable return to the presidency. Host Audie Cornish speaks with Julia Ioffe, Foreign Policy's Moscow correspondent, about post-election protests in Russia.

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