Now Playing

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

All ContentRSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds
Movie Interviews
4:26 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

'Beasts' Finds Its Heart In A 6-Year-Old Heroine

Next imagePrevious image
Enlarge image
Credit Jess Pinkham / Fox Searchlight
Hatching A Star: The tenacious Hushpuppy, of Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild, is played by the equally fearless Quvenzhane Wallis, who was plucked for the role from a Louisiana elementary school. "It was an absolute miracle that we found her," Zeitlin says.
Enlarge image
Credit Jess Pinkham / Fox Searchlight
Much as playwright Lucy Alibar's father once did, Hushpuppy's father, played by Dwight Henry (right), encourages his daughter (Wallis) to be tough and strong by saying things like, "Show me your guns."
Enlarge image
Credit Jess Pinkham / Fox Searchlight
Director Benh Zeitlin says Beasts of the Southern Wild was a collaborative effort, with then-6-year-old actress Quvenzhane Wallis contributing lines like, "When you're small, you gotta fix what you can."
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 11:51 am

The most captivating narrator in a movie right now has to be the fierce, brave 6-year-old girl at the center of director Benh Zeitlin's new film, Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Her name is Hushpuppy, and she lives with her father in the Bathtub, a ramshackle, isolated community that clings to the Louisiana coast — and is perched on the edge of extinction. The Bathtub is cut off by a levee built to protect the other side, but one day, Hushpuppy explains, a storm will blow in and breach that levee.

Read more
Thistle and Shamrock
4:20 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Thistle And Shamrock: Solas

Enlarge image
Credit Courtesy of the artist
Solas
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

The music of Solas is always exciting perhaps because it's constantly evolving. Meet Seamus Egan and Win Horan who chat about their roles in shaping Irish-America's most influential band and share loads of their music with us.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Architecture
4:13 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Still Unimplemented, Ariz. Law Has Chilling Effect

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 5:49 pm

It will be weeks — maybe longer — before the one part of Arizona's immigration law the Supreme Court left standing goes into effect. A lower court has to remove its injunction before local police are required to ask about immigration status. But as NPR's Ted Robbins reports, there's already been a backlash.

Europe
4:13 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

European Union Tradeoff: Sovereignty For Stability

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 5:50 pm

In order to salvage its common currency, Europe is working toward a tighter fiscal union. That will require a tradeoff — sovereignty for economic stability. Over the next two days European Union leaders will try to come to an agreement to boost growth.

Shots - Health Blog
3:56 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Medicaid Expansion Goes Overlooked In Supreme Court Anticipation

Enlarge image
Credit Adam Cole / NPR
When the U.S. Supreme Court rules Thursday on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, it will also rule on whether the expansion of Medicaid is an unconstitutional infringement of states' rights.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 5:20 pm

When the Supreme Court announces its long-anticipated decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, all eyes will be on the so-called individual mandate. That's the section of the law that requires most Americans to either have health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.

Read more
Election 2012
3:28 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Influx Of Puerto Ricans Changes Fla.'s Voter Calculus

Next imagePrevious image
Enlarge image
Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
A sign lets voters know they can cast early ballots for the Florida primary election in January at the South Creek Branch Library in Orlando.
Enlarge image
Credit Art Silverman / NPR
The Florida Democratic Party's head of Hispanic outreach, Betsy Franceschini, and Scott Randolph, the chairman of the Orange County Democrats, are working to help President Obama carry the state.
Enlarge image
Credit Art Silverman / NPR
Barbie Snavely works at the Republicans' phone bank in Orange County, Fla.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By NPR Staff

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 8:51 pm

Florida is a perennial battleground state in presidential elections. And within Florida, the area around Orlando is a battlefield where the terrain has changed radically.

It used to be a tossup. But four years ago, Barack Obama won in Orlando — or technically in Orange County — with 59 percent of the vote, a margin of almost 80,000 votes.

What happened in Orlando?

There were several things: The Democrats registered a lot of black voters. Obama ran well among independents. But the biggest difference was the number of new arrivals to the area.

Read more
Around the Nation
3:27 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

The State Of Affairs For Veterans Seeking Jobs

Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 5:20 pm

Unemployment rates among veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are higher that their non-veteran counterparts, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki speaks with host Melissa Block about the challenges for veterans in today's job market.

Mom And Dad's Record Collection
3:21 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Chris Thile's First Musical Memory

Enlarge image
Credit Danny Clinch
Chris Thile says he was only a year old when he first heard "The Girl from Ipanema."
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 8:54 pm

It's clear Chris Thile has an ear for music: The 31-year-old mandolinist, best known for his bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, has been playing music his entire life.

Read more
The Two-Way
3:10 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Chicago City Council OKs Fines Instead Of Arrests For Pot Possession

Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

The Chicago City Council voted overwhelmingly to approve a new policy on marijuana possession.

The policy gives police the option of giving a fine to those caught with less than 15 grams. The fine could range between $250 and $500 and doesn't apply to minors or those carrying pot on a park or school grounds, reports The Chicago Tribune.

Previously, law required police to arrest the person and charge them with a misdemeanor.

Read more
Presidential Race
3:09 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Translating The Veepstakes

Next imagePrevious image
Enlarge image
Credit David McNew / Getty Images
Enlarge image
Credit Korotayev Artyom / ITAR-TASS/Landov
Enlarge image
Credit Kim D. Johnson / AP
Enlarge image
Credit / AP
Enlarge image
Credit Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Running for president means spending a lot of time convincing the public that you really want the job. Not so if you're seeking the No. 2 spot.

The road to the vice presidency, history shows, is paved with feigned disinterest.

"If you're going to be vice president, you're going to be in the president's shadow," says Jody Baumgartner, a political science professor at East Carolina University. "If you appear to be seeking the vice presidency, drawing attention to yourself, that's not really a quality that a presidential candidate is looking for."

Read more

Pages