All Things Considered from NPR

Mon-Fri 4PM – 6PM
Robert Siegel, Michelle Norris, Melissa Block

Each show consists of the biggest stories of the day, thoughtful commentaries, insightful features on the quirky and the mainstream in arts and life, music and entertainment, all brought alive through sound.

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Opinion
12:35 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

The Wisdom Of Faith: What Religion Can Teach Us

Alain de Botton is the author of Religion for Atheists.

A survey published in the U.K. in January predicted that within 20 years, the majority of the British population will define themselves as having no religion. In the British isles, religion has become something of a sideshow, even a joke. Remember that this is the land that gave us The Life of Brian. Even the BBC has caught on with a satirical series called Rev., about a hapless comedic clergyman who has no faith but has a strong inclination to be good.

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Africa
3:00 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

Thousands Of Workers Strike In South Africa

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. In South Africa last week, tens of thousands of people took to the streets. It was a one-day workers' strike, one of the largest protests since the end of Apartheid. The strike, organized by South African unions, included 32 cities that caused large sectors of the economy to shut down.

As Anders Kelto reports, protesters were demanding the government do more to help South Africa's poor and working class.

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Economy
5:54 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Federal Reserve Releases Bank 'Stress Test'

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The Federal Reserve has released the results of its much-anticipated stress test of the nation's biggest banks. The Fed says most of the nation's 19 biggest financial institutions passed the tests, although four did not. To find out what this means, we turn to NPR's Jim Zarroli. Jim, first, why is the Fed running stress tests? What are they supposed to show about the banks?

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Music Interviews
5:19 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

New Film Takes An Intimate Look At School Bullying

Originally published on Thu March 15, 2012 1:44 pm

The documentary Bully follows several middle- and high-school students who are different, awkward or for some other reason the targets of bullying. One of the kids at the center of the film is Alex, from Sioux City, Iowa.

In the film, Alex, a small boy, says people think he's not normal, and most kids don't want to be around him. And some kids at his school, or on the school bus especially, make his life miserable.

Director Lee Hirsch says Alex immediately struck him as someone who was having a hard time — and no one seemed to notice or really care.

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Election 2012
5:18 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Tea Party Spawns New Effort Against Voter Fraud

As part of a new campaign, dozens of citizen groups around the country are searching voter registration lists, looking for problems.

They're also training poll watchers to monitor this fall's elections.

Leaders of the effort — spawned by the Tea Party movement — say they want to make sure that elections are free from voter fraud. But critics say it's part of a campaign to suppress the votes of minorities, students and others who tend to vote Democratic.

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The Record
2:00 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Cotton Mather's 'Kontiki,' The Album That Won't Go Gently

Credit Todd Wolfson / Courtesy of Fanatic Promotion
Cotton Mather (from left): Dana Myzer, Josh Gravelin, Whit Williams and Robert Harrison.

More than a decade ago, an album came out recorded mostly on cassette in a house, never released on a major label — and until last month it had been out of print for almost that long. When Noel Gallagher of Oasis heard it, he declared it "amazing," and The Guardian called it "the best album The Beatles never recorded."

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NPR Story
9:54 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Shooter Latest

Originally published on Tue March 13, 2012 10:24 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to learn more now about the alleged shooter and what the incident might mean for U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. I'm joined by NPR's Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. And, Tom, the sergeant has not yet been named, but you have been finding out some more details about him. What have you learned?

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Music Reviews
5:16 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Review: Two New Perspectives On Jazz, Gospel

Critic Tom Moon reviews two contrasting perspectives on the intersection of jazz and gospel music. Multi-instrumentalist Don Byron has just released "Love, Peace and Soul" featuring his New Gospel Quintet. Also out is a set of duets between the late pianist Hank Jones and bassist Charlie Haden, titled "Come Sunday." Moon says the two projects reimagine old-time religious tunes in surprisingly different ways.

The Salt
5:15 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Death By Bacon? Study Finds Eating Meat Is Risky

Credit iStockphoto.com
This would be considered a "once in a while" food.

Originally published on Mon March 12, 2012 11:14 pm

Bacon has been called the gateway meat, luring vegetarians back to meat. And hot dogs are a staple at many a backyard BBQ.

But a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that daily consumption of red meat — particularly processed meat — may be riskier than carnivores realize.

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Middle East
3:00 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Government Crackdown Leaves More Dead In Syria

Melissa Block speaks with Al Jazeera correspondent Anita McNaught about Syria's governmental crackdown on Idlib. She was there over the weekend, and is now in Antakya, Turkey, on the border with Syria.

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