Westboro Baptist Church members travel the country holding up signs saying God hates everything from homosexuals to America. Recently, nine-year-old Josef Miles made his own sign which read "God Hates No One," and the photo of him next to the Westboro protesters went viral. Miles and his mother Patty Akrouche talk with host Michel Martin.
And now it's time for the feature we call In Your Ear. That's where we talk with some of our guests about the music they love. Today we hear the personal playlist of British actor Dev Patel. He's best known for his role in "Slumdog Millionaire," of course, but more recently starred in, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."
Here's the music that inspires him on and off screen.
DEV PATEL: Hey, guys. My name is Dev Patel, and I play a character called Sonny in the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."
May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. All month, Tell Me More is talking to people who trace their heritage to that part of the world and have changed the game in various fields.
Just as bystanders have the power to keep motorists and pedestrians in check, Tell Me More host Michel Martin suggests they also have sway over contentious social issues like same-sex marriage and immigration.
On my route home, there are a couple of stretches I tend to hit where, more often than not, there are a lot of people trying to cross the street at points where there are crosswalks but no stoplights.
And kids being kids, sometimes there's no crosswalk, but they're trying to cross anyway. Increasingly now, because there are new apartments going up, I also see more young working people marching across the street, carrying their take-out dinners, ear buds in place.
In the 1970s, American Dwight Worker set out to smuggle cocaine from South America to the U.S. But his plan backfired and he wound up in one of Mexico's most notorious prisons. Worker tells host Michel Martin his story of imprisonment and escape.
Republicans have pounced on a comment by Newark, New Jersey mayor and Obama re-election surrogate Cory Booker. He called the Obama campaign's attacks on Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital "nauseating." Host Michel Martin discusses the art of messaging with former presidential speechwriter Mary Kate Cary, and journalism professor Cynthia Tucker.
The NAACP is officially supporting same-sex marriage. The group says marriage equality is a civil right and is encouraging black voters to support the issue if it shows up on state ballots. Host Michel Martin talks with Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the group.
Campaign fever is in the air in Cairo and around Egypt. Millions of voters go to the polls, Tuesday and Wednesday, for what many believe to be the country's first free election in its long history. Host Michel Martin discusses what's at stake in this election with Sherine Tadros, the Egypt correspondent for Al Jazeera English.
Stay-at-home mom Holly McCall says she manages her family's finances and has perfect credit. But due to a federal law, she was denied a credit card because she doesn't make an income. McCall wants the law changed, but Aracely Panameno with the Center for Responsible Lending says the law is necessary. Host Michel Martin speaks with both women.