Madoff Scandal
Listen
Federal prosecutors say they have notified a court in New York that they want the assets of Bernard Madoff’s wife, including a penthouse in Manhattan, a Steinway piano, and millions of dollars.
10 Big Ideas
Listen
Time Magazine has published its annual report on the ten big ideas that are changing the world. Some are physical manifestations of our shifting values, like a reverse-exodus from the far out suburbs to more densely populated outlying city neighborhoods. Others are more conceptual, like jobs being the hot new assets… hotter than home ownership or stock portfolios. We speak to Lev Grossman, editor of the series.
Stability In Pakistan?
Listen
Supporters of the ousted chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court are celebrating today, after the government decided to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudury. He was the focus of opposition to the military rule of General Pervez Musharraf — opposition that eventually led to his resignation. But when Asif Ali Zardari took over as a civilian leader, Chaudury was still out of a job. The opposition threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad, but today’s announcement prevented that. We speak to Khashif Qamar of the BBC’s Urdu section.
A nearly 300-pound hog gets a drink of water, center, as it and others ready for slaughter at a farm outside Milford, Utah in October, 1997. (AP)
Death on a Factory Farm
A conversation with a man who does undercover investigations into allegations of animal cruelty on farms. One case he worked on is the subject of a new HBO film that premieres tonight. It’s called “Death on a Factory Farm” and it focuses on the Wiles Farm in Creston, Ohio. The farm owner, his son and another worker were charged with animal cruelty as a result of his investigation.
Rihanna and Chris Brown: Kids React
Listen
As more details come out from pop-singer Chris Brown’s alleged violent beating of his girlfriend, pop singer Rihanna, kids are saying some surprising things. A recent survey conducted by the Boston Public Health Commission found that nearly half of young people surveyed in Boston say Rihanna was responsible for the incident. We speak with teacher Nick Shiggs-Quiroga, a third grade teacher at Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, Massachusetts about the reaction of his students. We also hear from students at the Match public charter high school in Boston, and Deborah Weaver, founder and director of the non-profit “Girls Leap” violence prevention program.
Music from the Show
- The Benevento, “Sunny’s Song”
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- Tito Puente, “Royal T”
- The Lickets, “Serial East”
- Thelonius Monk, “Caravan”
- Radiohead, “How to Disapear Completely”
- Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
- Chris Brown, “Kiss Kiss”
- Rihanna, “Umbrella”
- Badly Drawn Boy, “I love N.Y.E”
Thank you so much for the segment you had on a few minutes ago on factory farming.
Posted by Cindy Haigh, on March 16th, 2009 at 11:55 amShow topic: 10 Big Ideas
Comment:
I liked your guest’s big idea about a store where basic items needed for survival are sold in a casual sales setting. Your guest mentioned many items needed for our emerging modern lifestyles. People need canning jars, rain barrels, sewing notions and generators to cover for the short comings of a stretched infrastructure.
I suggest that such a store exists right now and is close by all of your listeners: It’s called a hardware store. A Hardware store is a place where you go to buy stuff to fix things.
Some rediscovered characteristics of the emerging modern lifestyle is that old is not bad, patched is good, fixed is better, knowing how to do it is great and that deferring or avoiding a purchase is fantastic.
Up here in New England, the old Yankees said “Use it up, wear it out, make it do…. or do without!”
These people are for the most part gone. They have been replaced by generations of “consumers” who happily purchase merchandise that contain “no user serviceable parts” with internal operations they can not understand.
The simple operation of a wall light switch has become a high tech challenge requiring professional attention.
I have worked in a hardware store my entire life. I have daily encounters with people who can not fix or repair anything, but who can no longer afford the professional electrician, plumber or carpenter.
In my bleaker moments, I revisit my vision of America as a science fiction apocalypse where survivors roast rats over open camp fires… surrounded by technology they can’t understand, use or repair.
In my brighter moments, I am encouraged by people who have paused to consider the implications of consumption on a massive scale. They come into the hardware store for the things they need in quantities appropriate for the project. The Hardware Store operates on a scale suited to the community. It alters inventory and services to accommodate the surrounding area. As an organization, the Hardware Store makes makes more sense for our times.
Regards,
Posted by William Round, on March 16th, 2009 at 12:07 pmWilliam Round
Round’s Hardware
Stoneham, Massachusetts 02180
bill@roundshardware.com
[...] on Here and Now, the mid-day news program on the Boston-based NPR affiliate WBUR, reporters spoke with Boston-area [...]
Posted by On Rihanna and Chris Brown. « Beginning to See the Light, on March 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pmThanks for doing the segment on factory farming today!
Posted by Betty R., on March 16th, 2009 at 4:07 pmThat’s a tough topic for lunchtime.
I’m a vegetarian because I’m convinced the way we produce meat in this country is harmful to the environment and unecessarily cruel. It’s good to see that kind of information brought to a discussion like that. I love it when people think about what they’re eating.