The Takeaway: Story of the Day
50 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 11 years ago - ★★★★ - 15 ratingsDaily highlights from The Takeaway, the national morning news program that delivers the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what's ahead. The Takeaway, along with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston, invites listeners every morning to learn more and be part of the American conversation on-air and online at thetakeaway.org.
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Episodes
MLK's Original 'I Have A Dream' Speech
June 21, 2013 04:00Click on the audio player above to hear this interview. We all know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech—it’s remembered nearly every January, when we celebrate the federal holiday dedicated to the civil rights activist. The speech, delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in August. It turns out August 1963 wasn't the first time that King delivered that speech. A few months earlier, on June 23, Dr. King led more than 100,000 people in...
Actor James Gandolfini Dead at 51
June 20, 2013 04:00HBO's "The Sopranos" changed television, it changed the entertainment industry and actor James Gandolfini himself changed the character of the Italian-American made guy. News broke late Wednesday that Gandolfini, who was in Italy for a film festival, died of a heart attack. He was 51. "We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family," a statement from HBO says. "[Gandolfini] was a special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle a...
Immigrant Families Torn Apart by Deportation
June 05, 2013 20:41In the small Mexican town of Malinalco Takeaway host John Hockenberry met Hermelinda Medina Millan. In April, 1997 when she and her husband first decided to migrate north, cross the border, and enter the United States illegally. Her husband Anselmo Vazquez Landeros worked in the fields for a cotton grower. He drove tractors, plowed the fields laid out irrigation tubing. Life was hard, and it became even harder for Anselmo after Hermelinda decided to take Nancy back to Mexico to rejoin their...
Was the I.R.S. Correct to Flag Certain Organizations for Additional Review?
May 29, 2013 18:04Was the I.R.S. correct to flag certain organizations applying for tax-exempt status for additional review? New analysis from The New York Times finds that in many cases groups singled out by the IRS may, in fact have been involved in “improper campaign activities.” A California group called the CVFC, for example, spent thousands of dollars on radio ads supporting Republican Congressional candidate. Another organization called the Ohio Liberty Coalition, which has complained about the scru...
The Mayor of Oklahoma City on How His City is Coping
May 22, 2013 17:52Yet again the mayor of Oklahoma City has been tested and challenged by tragic circumstances. The latest giant tornado to strike the Oklahoma City area and its suburbs on Monday destroyed entire neighborhoods, leaving at least two dozen dead, and hundreds injured. Mick Cornett, the mayor of Oklahoma City, gives an update on how his city is faring now, and what work is at the top of his to-do list.
Why We Stay When We Know We Should Leave
May 20, 2013 17:27We’ve all found ourselves in bad situations, and chosen not to get out. On a personal level, those situations might be a bad jobs or unfulfilling relationships. On a bigger level, they might be international conflicts or government cover-ups. But regardless of scope, one question persists: Why is it that we so often stay, and for so long? To quote Kenny Rogers: Why don’t we know when to walk away, or for that matter, know when to run? Turns out there’s a reason, and that reason has a name. ...
Star Trek: Past, Present and Future
May 17, 2013 16:00They vowed to go where no one has gone before. But can the crew of the Enterprise really go new places without paying tribute to the old? And what are those old places that brought us to where we are now? David Goodman is something of a “Star Trek” historian. He’s the author of “Star Trek Federation: the First 150 Years.” He’s even written for the Star Trek franchise, specifically for the TV series “Star Trek: Enterprise.” And he’s also the man who penned the famous “Futurama” episode “Wher...
Sexual Assault in the Military: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Proposals for Change
May 16, 2013 18:16A recent Pentagon report demonstrates the severity of the problem: based on anonymous surveys, the Defense Department estimates that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted in fiscal year 2012, up from 19,000 the year before. Of these 26,000 victims, only a small fraction, 3,374 in 2012, reported the crime. These grim statistics combined with recent sexual battery charges against the Air Force's sexual assault prevention chief and similar accusations against an Army coordinat...
Selling the Affordable Care Act
May 13, 2013 04:00The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services, which largely writes the regulations; oversees notifying hospitals and providers about what is changing; provides insurers with fair warning of new regulations and requirements; and heads up the national campaign to inform the public. In a controversial move, the federal government has turned to private sources to help with the marketing and information campaign for the ACA. W...
Isabella Rossellini's 'Mammas'
May 10, 2013 17:29This Sunday marks a year since last Mother’s Day, and while many of us say thanks in the form of a card, a text or a bunch of flowers, celebrated actress, model and environmental activist Isabella Rossellini says thanks through a short film series called “Mammas.” After writing and directing the Webby-award winning Sundance series “Green Porno” and “Green Porno Seduce Me," which celebrates the mating rituals and sex lives of animal. Rossellini turns her attention to exploring creatures’ rit...
The Evolution of Marijuana Culture
May 09, 2013 15:29Marijuana regulation has changed radically over the last few years. Voters in Washington State and Colorado legalized marijuana in the 2012 election, and, with a prescription, almost any Californian can walk into a dispensary and buy the substance. With changing policies come new challenges regarding the economics and culture of marijuana. First, a regulatory angle. Six months ago, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. While legaliza...
Judy Woodruff Once Thought She Could Do it All
May 07, 2013 16:54All this week we're talking to women and mothers who have harnessed smarts, spirit, and self-awareness to break into male-dominated careers and rise to the top. Judy Woodruff has covered news and politics as a broadcast journalist for more than three decades for PBS, CNN, and NBC. She served as an anchor and senior corresponded at CNN for 12 years and was the White House Correspondent for NBC News from 1977 to 1982. Woodruff is also a wife and mother of three, including a son with spina b...
The Medical Ethics of Force-Feeding Guantanamo Hunger Strikers
May 01, 2013 17:24This week a large team of “medical reinforcements” including Navy nurses, corpsmen, and specialists, were deployed to Guantanamo Bay as a response to the ongoing inmate hunger strike. With about 100 inmates refusing food in protest, the use of force-feeding tubes is now widespread, due to a military directive that aims to keep patients alive, regardless of if they want to be fed or not, or live or not. In a press conference Tuesday morning, President Obama responded to the force-feeding, a...
Gay Athletes, In and Out of the Closet
April 30, 2013 17:59A lot of people are talking about NBA player Jason Collins right now. Yesterday, he came out, becoming the first openly gay player in major American team sports. There have been those who’ve spoken out in support of Jason Collins, including Bill Clinton and Kobe Bryant, who tweeted, “Proud of jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.” Not everyone, however, has been supportive. On Monday, on the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,” sports analyst Chris Broussard...
A Growing Wealth Gap
April 29, 2013 15:59A new study from the Urban Institute offers strong evidence that the recession has exposed the United States as an economy without equality of opportunity. The study shows a growing disparity in wealth between non-Hispanic white Americans and most minority groups-- and argues that major policy reforms are necessary to level the playing field for all Americans. Darrick Hamilton, associate professor of urban policy and economics at the New School in New York breaks down the Urban Institute's...
Mira Nair on "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"
April 26, 2013 16:00The notions of terror and terrorism have occupied the headlines recently, in many ways, terror has been a large part of the American conversation since September 11, 2001. But one side of the conversation we don’t often see on film is that of the people living their lives in America, working alongside us, living alongside us as neighbors, only to be reframed as enemies or others because of how they look or worship. Mira Nair’s new film, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” boldly goes there. Bas...
Knowing Your Neighbors: Boston Bombers Lived 200 Yards Away
April 25, 2013 13:56After the bombings at the Boston Marathon last week, residents in the city have come together in a sign of resilience. On The Takeaway this week, we're talking about the importance of residents getting to know their neighbors, especially during times of crisis or tragedy. For Hassan Malik, little did he know that the Boston bombers lived just 200 yards from his home. Malik, a PhD candidate in international history at Harvard University, never met either of the Tsarnaev brothers, but he wal...
America's Relationship with Marijuana
April 22, 2013 18:44America has a love-hate relationship with marijuana. Millions of people use the drug but it remains mostly illegal. A journalist and self-professed marijuana enthusiast explores the country's dysfunctional relationship with cannabis and his own experience with the drug in a new book, "Marijuanamerica." Part travelogue, part analysis, author Alfred Ryan Nerz goes inside a medical marijuana dispensary and finds himself entrenched with a major West Coast dealer as he looks at the drug's effe...
How Security Video Helped Authorities Identify Possible Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect
April 18, 2013 16:20When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, social media networks lit up with cell phone pictures and videos. Investigators requested that anyone with footage of the attacks share them with authorities. While that information may have been helpful, the key technology used to identify the bombing suspect was Closed Circuit Television footage. There have been huge advancements in this technology over the past decade. John Cutter, former Commanding Officer for the NYPD's Criminal Intellige...
Security in the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Explosions
April 16, 2013 15:56The tragic bombing of Boston's marathons leaves many unanswered questions. Who orchestrated it, and for what purposes? Marathons are always equipped with security forces, but in this case, they were unable to stop this horrific attack. Here to talk about the security measures marathon organizers should pursue in the aftermath of this attack, and counterrorism around large events more generally is Nick Casale, New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority's first Deputy Director of Securi...
Can Companies Patent Human Genes?
April 15, 2013 17:37Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., a case that will determine whether companies have the right to patent human genes. The case centers on Myriad Genetics, a company that patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 1994. For women, the presence of either BRCA gene indicates increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad Genetics discovered the genes and developed the test to determine whether patients have them. Myriad cl...
Navigating Portland's Food Culture with Nine-Year-Olds
April 12, 2013 16:04We’re in Portland this week, and there’s a lot to love in this town when it comes to food: food trucks, farmers markets, artisanal cheese, artisanal everything. It's hard to know where to begin. After all, who's a food snob, and who's a food lover? Enter Leo and Soren Westrey. They consider themselves anti-food snobs. And they also happen to be only nine years old. Leo and Soren are the young twins who write the food blog, KIDCHOWPDX, which includes everything from restaurant reviews to re...
Gun Control and Immigration Reform Snake Through Congress
April 09, 2013 17:51The president went off to Newtown, Connecticut yesterday to try and get some momentum for some new gun legislation. Here's what he had to say: "Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done, in fact, I'm here to ask you to help me to show that we can get it done. We'r not forgetting." Senate passage is iffy, and there is still the House to consider, and yet lawmakers on both si...
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dead at 87
April 08, 2013 15:59According to her spokesman, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died of a stroke this morning at 87. She served at the head of the Conservative party from 1979 to 1990. She was the first female prime minster. Claire Berlinski is the author of "There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters."
A Priest Takes a Stand on Sexism, and is Expelled by the Church
April 05, 2013 14:21For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church’s policy has been to ordain men — and never women — as priests. Some call it tradition, but as Father Roy Bourgeois sees it, it’s plain and simple sexism. Father Bourgeois spoke out about his beliefs. And then, last November, after 40 years in the priesthood, the Roman Catholic church expelled him for his beliefs. Last month a new pope was installed in the Vatican. And Father Bourgeois hopes that Francis will consider changing the church’s policy....
Have Scientists Finally Found Dark Matter?
April 04, 2013 17:47Dark matter makes up more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe. But up until now, it’s eluded scientists. Yesterday, however, NASA announced a possible breakthrough. A particle detector mounted on the International Space Station may have detected dark matter. The detector is called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and it measures cosmic ray particles in space. These measurements appear to have uncovered dark matter. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and author of the New York ...
Even Those Closest to Newtown Are Unsure About Gun Control
April 03, 2013 16:09In the wake of the the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre three months ago, the Connecticut legislature announced an agreement on a package of what they consider to be the nation's strongest gun-legislation package. The package includes a provision mandating a new state-issued eligibility certificate for the purchase of rifles, shotguns or ammunition; expands the assault weapons ban; establishes universal background checks; and prohibits the sale of new high-capacity magazine...
Applying for Jobs? Try Inventing a Job Instead
April 02, 2013 04:00New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently wrote a piece highlighting the spirit of innovation that future generations will need to "find" jobs. In fact, finding jobs, he says, will be obsolete. He says the jobs of the future will be self-created and directed. But what will these jobs look like? And how can an average person create these jobs for themselves? Two people who’ve already invented their own jobs share their stories. And as they see it, you can do the same. Sasha Laund...
How an Anonymous Rider Functionally Deregulated GMOs
April 01, 2013 17:10Last week, Congress and the president managed to avoid a government shutdown with a continuing resolution that funds the federal government for the next six months. Unbeknownst to most lawmakers, a last-minute rider, nicknamed the "Monsanto Protection Act," found its way, anonymously, into the continuing resolution before President Obama signed it last Tuesday. Senator Jon Tester, Democrat from Montana, was outraged. "These provisions are giveaways worth millions of dollars to a handful ...
Tracking Arms and Armies in Syria
March 29, 2013 04:00Reporting on the ongoing conflict in Syria has been a challenge for traditional journalists for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of getting into the country and the safety concerns on the ground. Filmmaker Olly Lambert gained access to Syria last year and spent five weeks reporting on both sides of the war, from the perspective of both Syrian rebels and government soldiers. Eliot Higgins has never been to Syria, but he is considered something of an expert when it comes to the ...
Samsung Pushes Colossal Development in South Korea
March 28, 2013 14:45As the North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un continues to exercise his power, South Korea is pushing forward on another, business-related front. The country is home to the world's largest smartphone maker, and its influential economic leader, Lee Kun-Hee. Lee Kun Hee may not be a household name in the United States, at least in comparison to his former Apple contender Steve Jobs, however, his influence is felt at Apple, Sony and without a doubt, in the homes of many Americans. Over 75 years of ...
Where in the Solar System Is Voyager 1?
March 27, 2013 16:26There was a moment last week when the scientific community was on the edge of its seat after news that NASA's Voyager 1 had left the solar system. Voyager 1 is one of two spacecraft sent into the far reaches of the cosmos in the late 1970s to tour the solar system and collect data. Last week, a new study alleged that Voyager 1 had burst through the heliosphere into interstellar space. NASA quickly shot down that explanation. "Voyager 1 is about 18 billion kilometers, or 11 billion miles, fr...
Same-Sex Marriage Goes to the Supreme Court
March 26, 2013 18:40Today the Supreme Court hears the first of two cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage. The first case is Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved, state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage back in 2008. On Wednesday, the nation's highest court will hear United States v. Windsor, the case that will determine the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (also known as DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton in...
Growing Up with Gay Parents
March 25, 2013 04:00This week, the Supreme Court will hear two cases on same-sex marriage: Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case will determine the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, and United States v. Windsor, the case that will decide the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA. Over the last decade, in the midst of public legislative and court battles over same-sex marriage, many gay and lesbian couples have privately decided to start families. According to the 2010 c...
When Fathers Anchor The Home, They Don't Have It All Either
March 22, 2013 19:00Due in large part to the release of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg's new book "Lean In," for the first time in a long time there is a robust discussion about how to recruit and keep more women in leadership positions being had on a large scale. Underscoring these discussions is the issue of how children and work-life balance impede the advancement of women in the workplace. Mike Winerip writes and anchors the Booming blog for The New York Times. He says that his experience...
The Choices and Challenges of Feminist Stay-at-Home Moms
March 21, 2013 17:38Over the past week or so, we’ve been talking about the changing world of work in America — from older Americans who are working beyond traditional retirement age — to childcare workers who are trying to strike a work-life balance. Today, we continue with a look at educated, independent women who choose to leave the workforce to raise their children. Self-proclaimed feminist stay-at-home moms, these women face a whole new set of challenges — and judgments — as they make parenting their prima...
Cuban Dissident Yoani Sanchez Hopes for a Post-Castro Era
March 20, 2013 15:46The blogger/journalist Yoani Sanchez, a leading dissident voice in Cuba and one of the most influential people in the world, according to Time Magazine, is on her first worldwide tour. Sanchez finally received her passport in January, after the Cuban government rejected her application 20 times. At the age of 37, Sanchez is the voice of a younger generation in Cuba. Her blog, Generación Y, receives millions of hits a day. Takeaway host John Hockenberry spoke with Sanchez (through a translat...
Tracking Employees to Boost Productivity
March 18, 2013 17:09What goes into the average work day? A walk to lunch, a walk to the bathroom, a few clicks through your favorite blog, a conversation by the coffee maker. These behaviors are natural aspects of office culture in the United States and they are increasingly being monitored by employers. More companies are turning to tracking devices to learn about employee behavioral patterns in the hopes of boosting productivity. This kind of data collection is just one of many new attempts to predict our be...
Why Drones Are Our Modern Nuclear Bomb
March 15, 2013 17:57The use of the nuclear bomb in World War II fundamentally altered the nature of modern warfare. For the United States, it forever changed the role of the presidency, giving the executive branch the power to unilaterally detonate a stunningly destructive bomb. Today, drones have, arguably, become the modern version of the nuclear bomb, controlled from a computer, with the potential for no loss of American life, no boots on the ground, and a relatively small price tag. The use and deployment...
Unwilling Witness: The Terror of Reporting on Your Own Country
March 14, 2013 18:20This month marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq. Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi, who covered the war as a correspondent for The New York Times, has mixed feelings about the consequences of the occupation of his native country. Like many Iraqis, Al-Saiedi initially welcomed the war that brought an end to Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship. Especially since his brother had been executed in Abu Ghraib prison by Hussein's security forces. However, Al-Saiedi was not prepared for ...
North Korea Ups the Ante
March 13, 2013 19:47On Monday, North Korea declared the 1953 Korean War armistice nullified. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper emphasized the danger posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, calling them, for the first time, "a serious threat to the United States." "The rhetoric, while it is propaganda-laced, is also an indicator of their attitude and perhaps their intent," Clapper said. Is it time to start to take North Korea more seriously? Karin Lee, executive d...
Taiye Selasi Examines the World of the Afropolitan in 'Ghana Must Go'
March 12, 2013 16:00Author Taiye Selasi describes herself as an "Afropolitan," a member of a distinctly 21st century generation of African origin. The characters in her new novel, "Ghana Must Go," reflect this sentiment as well. Selasi's first book follows the Sai family: father Kweku from Ghana and mother Fola from Nigeria who meet as college students in Pennsylvania in the 1970s and raise their children in Brookline, Massachusetts. "Ghana Must Go" is, in part, a story of immigration. The Sai parents leave Gh...
The Young Iraqi Translator Who Gave His Life for the American Effort
March 11, 2013 13:00As America and the people of Iraq are challenged to make sense of the decade that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people who witnessed the violence and the cauldron of change that accompanied the fall of Saddam Hussein are not here to testify. In their eyes is a story of sacrifice, of lives wasted of children never permitted to grow up. Imagine telling the story of the war in Iraq from the perspective of one young Iraqi who cared deeply about his country and ...
Can a Math Museum Remedy 'Math Anxiety'?
March 07, 2013 05:00 - 11 minutes - 4.69 MBIt may not surprise you to learn that American students dread math. Or that that they feel that dread physically through stomachaches, headaches, fluttering heartbeats and sweaty palms. Many Takeaway listeners have been sharing their own tales of math-induced terror: Listener Aman writes, "I have failed every single math class I have ever taken. I am humiliated by this fact and it led to years of low self-esteem, but the only thing that kept me going is the fact that I am a bright, intelli...
Iran, Russia, and United States Join Forces
March 05, 2013 16:12Now here's something the United States, Russia, and Iran can all agree on: Wrestling should stay in the Olympics. After the International Olympic Committee announced last month that the sport will likely be dropped after 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both pledged to fight to keep wrestling in the Olympics. That cause is one Americans are sympathetic to as well — even on Wall Street. Mike Novogratz, president of Fortress Investment Group, w...
Wendell Pierce of 'The Wire' and 'Treme' Hopes Groceries Can Revitalize New Orleans
March 04, 2013 18:06Wendell Pierce is best-known for his role as Bunk in the HBO series "The Wire," and he currently plays a struggling trombonist in the series "Treme." But he's taking on a much different job these days in his hometown of New Orleans, where he is in the process of opening a chain of grocery stores meant to revitalize the city he loves. Inspired by first lady Michelle Obama's healthful food financing initiative in 2011, Pierce and his partners created Sterling Farms, a grocery chain dedicated ...
Diet Advice Abounds, But Are We Getting Healthier?
March 01, 2013 19:16Even if you're relatively secure about your health and waistline, it'd be impossible to completely miss the buzz around the major diet trends of recent years. We want to know what to eat and when to eat it, and we sometimes take it to extremes. In Japan, a fad called the "Morning Banana Diet" even set off a banana shortage — spiking banana prices by 20 percent in 2008. But as we careen from one diet to the next, we’ve been making substantive changes in our eating habits, too. Over the past ...
One More Sign that Washington Can't Handle Money
February 28, 2013 17:11The budget wars seem never ending in Washington D.C., with the sequester just one day away and no agreement between the White House and Republican leadership in sight. After sequestration goes into effect, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have months of budget negotiations ahead of them. In the weeks ahead, both parties will have to find a way to strike sort of compromise on spending levels, or face a government shut down come March 27 when the current authorization for spending runs out. T...
How the Voting Rights Act Came to Be
February 27, 2013 15:51Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, the case that will determine the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, the Voting Rights Act represented a significant achievement for the young activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Section 5 forces states and select counties with a history of racial discrimination to get Justice Department or federal court approval before changing their voting laws. When ena...
A Year Later, Community Awaits Justice in Travyon Martin Shooting
February 26, 2013 05:00One year ago on the evening of February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked out of a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida. A resident named George Zimmerman was sitting in his car at the time, and said that Martin looked suspicious, "looking at all the houses" as he walked "leisurely" into a gated community. He called 911 to report the suspicious behavior and then began following Martin on foot. Moments later, the two scuffled and Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest, killing him. Days ...