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Terror in Lahore - Again
Tuesday, October 20 2009
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TERROR IN LAHORE - AGAIN
Faizaan Peerzada
More than 25 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in the Pakistan city of Lahore last week. Faizaan Peerzada runs an art center in Lahore. On the evening of the day when the attacks took place, Faizaan drove through the city to the BBC studios to speak with Dick Gordon. Faizaan says he was willing to take the risk because his arts organization depends on international support.
In fact, on the day of the bombing Faizaan was in his office, putting the final touches on a children’s festival, an international celebration of peace that was to have taken place the next day. He had coordinated 600 children on both sides of the Pakistan/India border to work on a mural together. That project has now been postponed, and the future is uncertain for a larger event scheduled for next month, The World Performing Arts Festival. Faizaan Peerzada joins Dick to discuss the state of the arts in his country, and what that could mean for the future there.Â
- Listen to Faizaan's first interview with Dick Gordon
AHMED’S DIARY - Building a home in baghdad
Ahmed's self portrait
Ahmed Abdullah files another in his ongoing audio diaries. Ahmed is now back in Iraq, and he says Baghdad has changed dramatically. It's so dangerous he's considering schooling his two children at home. Ahmed also has some big personal news: his wife is expecting a baby.
- Listen to more from Ahmed's Diary
An Original Roller Derby Girl
Judy Sowinski
The sport of roller derby is getting a lot of attention this fall with the new movie, Whip It. Roller derby has a proud history as an American sport that's been played since the 1920s. It's one of the few high-powered contacts sports that put women in the spotlight. Judy Sowinski, also known as the Polish Ace, coaches the Penn-Jersey She-Devils in Philadelphia. But Judy had her own storied career in roller derby in the 60's when she was known as the Polish Ace. She joins Dick to talk about the sport then and now.
- See pictures of Judy in action
- See Judy with her current team, the Penn-Jersey She-Devils.
- Judy and arch-rival Judy Arnold then and now
Some Good News
Monday, October 19 2009
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Some Good News
Lisa Snell
Lisa Snell was laid off from her graphic design and layout job at a small newspaper last year. Lisa thought the owners would call her begging her to come back, but instead they called her with an offer: to buy the paper.
After a lot of deliberation, Lisa took the plunge and bought the small Native American Times. As the paper's only employee, she has been writer, photographer, graphic artist, advertising salesperson, and even newspaper delivery person on occasion. And she did all that during the worst recession and most dismal times for newspapers in memory. Lisa talks with Dick Gordon about how she kept the paper going and even watched it grow - and how she's found a deeper connection to Native American culture in the process.
- Read the Native American Times
- Learn more about Lisa
Joe and JT
Joe Sullivan
Joe Sullivan has been building houses since he got out of high school. He poured everything he had into his company and proudly gave it his own name: JT Sullivan Custom Builders. Like so many other builders, Joe took a hard hit in the housing crisis. He's now facing the loss of his business. And that's what prompted Joe to write in. After he heard Dick talk with Eric Gaskins, who has lost his fashion design company Eric Gaskins Design, Joe realized that part of why this hurt so much is that his name and his business are so closely intertwined.
Through the Fire
Friday, October 16 2009
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Through the Fire
Shannon and Manoj >> larger
Manoj Rana came to the U.S. from India in 2004 to study computer engineering. But one month from graduation, Manoj was caught in a devastating apartment fire that burned 90 percent of his body.
Manoj awoke in a Chicago hospital, immobile and completely dependent on others. At first he despaired and thought of suicide. But when he met Shannon Hendricks, an occupational therapist, both Manoj’s and Shannon’s lives changed. Manoj went from being barely able to stand to running a mini-marathon more than two years later. Manoj and Shannon talk with Dick Gordon about the ups and downs in Manoj’s journey toward independence – and how their friendship inspires them both. This story originally aired on February 13, 2009.
Building a Dream House
Cassandra and Dan Brush >>More
In the midst of a national housing crisis, Cassandra Brush recognizes what a privilege it is to live in her dream home. Cassandra and her husband, Dan, were determined to be homeowners without a mortgage. So the couple set out to build a house from scratch. They lived for years in a one-room cellar hole that would eventually become the basement of their new house. But when neighbors and friends started showing up to help, Cassandra realized she was getting a house and a community. Cassandra speaks with Dick about building a home and why it was worth the wait. A longer version of this story originally aired on February 27, 2009.
Deep Undercover
Thursday, October 15 2009
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DEEP UNDERCOVER
Most police departments have people who work undercover. Often that means little more than coming to work in civilian clothes. Not in Memphis. There's a well-known school there that trains officers to go deep undercover. Many graduates go on to work for the Memphis Police Department. The officers take on a completely new identity and go undercover for months or years gathering intelligence on drug dealers and other criminals. Detective April Leatherwood went undercover as a drug addict for nearly a year. April says she severed all ties with family. She was so deeply undercover as "Summer Smith," she began to question her real identity. April talks with Dick Gordon about the high price of catching the bad guys.
- Read more about April
COUNTER CULTURE
Sammi DeAngelis has been a waitress for over 40 years. These days you'll find Sammi at the Omega Diner in North Brunswick, New Jersey. It is a classic Jersey diner, about 45 minutes from New York City. Sammi is one of the waitresses featured in a new book called Counter Culture that celebrates the work of America's coffee shop waitresses. She joins Dick to discuss the economy (tips are still down) - and what she loves about working in a diner.Â
- Music in this story: Cheeseburger in Paradise performed by Pickin' On for the album Pickin' On Jimmy Buffet: A Bluegrass Tribute
From Ships to Windmills
Wednesday, October 14 2009
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FROM SHIPS TO WINDMILLS
Mike Cianchette
There's a lot of money in green energy these days, and a lot of public interest in getting away from fossil fuels. Many states are looking at generating power through wind. In a remote part of Maine, a wind power company has already set up 38 turbines. Stetson Mountain is now New England's largest wind farm.
Mike Cianchette is the project operations manager there. Mike's professional career started in the shipping industry. He was an engineer aboard ships for Texaco. Mike says he is incredibly proud of the chance he has now to work for a company that provides energy, without polluting. He joins Dick to talk about what it's like to climb to the top of the 300 foot towers, and the bright future he sees for wind power in his home state of Maine.
- Learn about the company Mike works for, First Wind
- See an AP photo gallery of Mike on top of the wind turbines
- See Mike's favorite picture of the windmills on Stetson Mountain
BARBECUE FOR U2
Debbie Holt
Debbie Holt and her husband Randy just bought a Raleigh, N.C. restaurant icon last year. Cooper's Barbecue has been around since 1938, and locals and celebrities alike sing its praises. Nonetheless, Debbie still screamed with excitement when she got a call to deliver $300 worth of barbecue to one of the most famous bands on the planet: U2. Debbie says that she prepped the food, went home and prepped herself, and then she got on the road. Debbie says the jet was amazing. She also had a chance to meet one of the band members.Â
Nuclear Ambitions
Tuesday, October 13 2009
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Nuclear Ambitions
Ehsan Samei, Ph.D
Iran will allow international inspectors to visit Tehran later this month. They will visit the country's newly exposed nuclear facility. But who are the people behind Iran's nuclear fuel program?
Today Dick Gordon talks with Ehsan Samei. Ehsan is a U.S. citizen, a professor at Duke University. But during his college days, he attended university in Tehran with some of Iran's brightest scientists. While he chose nuclear medicine, some of his classmates were recruited by the Iranian military to build a rocket. Ehsan talks with Dick about his home country's nuclear ambitions.
- Learn more about Ehsan's work and music
- Music in this story: Petrushka: First Tableau: The Mountebank (Flute solo) performed by Philharmonia Orchestra & Robert Craft for the album Stravinsky: The Firebird
The Breadwinner
Beth Finke and Mike Knezovich, larger >>
Beth Finke wrote in to say that due to this recession, for the first time, she is the main breadwinner in her family. Beth has had lots of different jobs, but none were on the fast track. She went blind in her twenties and since then she has had to rely, more than she ever expected to, on her husband, Mike. For years, Beth could only get hired for odd jobs. Gradually, Beth regained confidence and became an accomplished writer. And it was just in time: this summer, Mike lost his job. Beth joins Dick to talk about her pride in finally being the breadwinner.
- Learn more about Beth on her website
More Troops for Afghanistan
Monday, October 12 2009
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More Troops for Afghanistan
Cpt. James Kingfisher - see him with the Afghan troops
As violence increases in Afghanistan, both American and Afghan leaders are deciding how many troops to dedicate to the fight. Army Captain James Kingfisher has just returned from almost a year in Afghanistan. He is a veteran of the Gulf War who was on the inactive reserve list and never thought he'd be called back up to duty. But at age 41, he got his orders.
James' job was to help train the Afghan Army. From reining in distracted young Afghan recruits, to finding himself in firefights with too few troops, James had a tough time accomplishing his missions. But James found refuge in his conversations with an Afghan officer, who shared his humor, as well as his frustrations. James talks with Dick Gordon about the challenges of friendship and fighting in the battle for Afghanistan.
- Read more about James
Becoming a Computer GuruÂ
Cheryl Thompson
Cheryl Thompson set out to be a medical doctor and she worked hard in high school to pursue that dream. But in her freshman year at Yale, the Tulsa, Okla. teenager was having a hard time fitting in. That's when an article in the student newspaper caught her eye. Not only did that article help her survive her years in college, it ultimately changed her life.
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