now posting regularly

Happy Wednesday, ya'll!  For some reason, and I blame blogger of course, my scheduled NPR post from last week never published, so the majority of these links are over a week old, but they're still pretty good stories!

• "Gay Actors, Straight Roles: A Lesson In Making Sure Your Argument Is Logical"-- Honestly, for all the talk that has ensued since that ridiculous piece was written about gay actors and straight parts, this is a freaking brilliant response on the Monkey See portion of the NPR website.

• "Home Movies"-- This repeated episode of This American Life caught my ear last weekend, and although I only heard the first segment, I'd venture to bet that the whole hour's show is as fantastic as usual.

• "Racial wealth gap worse today?"-- Another interesting story from Marketplace, that explores the divide in wealth levels between blacks and whites.  I found it especially interesting since we live in the county with the highest income level among African Americans in the entire nation, but there is certainly a broad spectrum of income levels across the area, among blacks and whites.  

• "War On Tap: America's Obsession With Bottled Water"-- The book excerpted in this Fresh Air story comes highly recommended by a good friend of ours who most definitely has the professional and educational knowledge to be trusted!

• "How Day Care Affects Children"-- I only got to hear a portion of this segment of The Kojo Nnamdi Show, but it's certainly a topic that I'm greatly interested in.  As usual, a respected panel is present to discuss the day's topic.

• "Facebook's Privacy Policies Under Fire"-- When even NPR (via All Things Considered) reports on Facebook, you gotta realize just how much this website has taken over our lives!  The debate about "personal information" in today's put-it-all-out-there online world is interesting, especially for this blogger!

• "How Are Fans Coping With The End Of 'Lost'?"-- I've never seen even a minute of this show, so I can't weigh in on the intense discussions that are happening all over since the finale, but I do find it fun to listen to everyone kvetch about years of watching a show and being left with confusion.  Thank goodness I didn't get wrapped up, because I know I'd be cranky this week.  This All Things Considered piece talks about some different reactions to the ending.

• "Mental Health Apps: Like A 'Therapist In Your Pocket'"-- This Morning Edition story intrigued me-- if nothing else, I could see that having an app like this could help some people stay aware of their moods and behavior, and sometimes that reminder to be reflective helps more than one could imagine.

• "Sports Fan's Dilemma: Trusting An Athlete Today"-- Frank Deford often cracks me up and makes me think when his essays are featured on NPR, and this one doesn't disappoint.  The declaration of "I'm not a role model" by professional athletes happens to bug me personally, and cheating and lying is just one of the areas for them to let down their fans.

Alrighty, a double dose of NPR thanks to blogger's inability to post when I ask it to.  Ta-da!

Keeping the radio tuned to NPR,