now posting regularly

It's that time of the week again, when I share with the two of you out there who might be interested the NPR stories that piqued my interest, either via my local station, the fabulous WAMU, or from the NPR Facebook feed. A whopping seven stories made the round-up this week:

• "Rachel Lloyd: "Girls Like Us"" -- I was immediately intrigued by this segment on The Diane Rehm Show last week, without having any prior information about the book or the author. She was so articulate, well-spoken and passionate about the cause of assisting girls in surviving a history of sexual exploitation. Her personal story is heartbreaking and makes it clear how much she has invested in this work. The day after I heard this piece, I was thrilled to read Elizabeth's insightful review of her book Girls Like Us on 5 Minutes for Books, on which even the author herself commented!

• "Couple Plans To Walk 2,000 Miles To Their Wedding" -- Who needs premarital counseling when you and your spouse-to-be plan to walk a couple thousand miles just before tying the knot? This All Things Considered piece tells the story of a Michigan couple who is planning to walk to Las Vegas to get married. The things some folks will do in the of love. 

• "150 Years Later, America's Civil War Still Divides" -- Another All Things Considered piece, but this one much more serious. I have a hard time understanding the need to "commemorate" anything about the South's succession and subsequent war on their former country, with a motivation of wanting to retain the ability to own human beings as property. Nothing about that seems worthy of commemoration to me. Teaching history is different than celebrating it to me, and this story delves into differing perspectives on this with the 150 anniversary upon us.

• "In N.C. Town, Whistling's No Idle Pastime" --A third All Things Considered story (must have spent a lot of time in my kitchen during these afternoon/evenings!). This one's pure fluff and definitely worthy of a listen versus a read. Some of those folks' whistling is incredible!

• "Planned Parenthood: A Thorn In Abortion Foes' Sides" -- Back to the political side of the news with this Morning Edition story on the recent congressional attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. Lots of rhetoric abounds on this topic, and I just wish that politicians could find a way to articulate their stances without trying to play with numbers or make ridiculously untrue statements. (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Sen. John Kyl (R) of Arizona. You can't throw out numbers and then later say that it wasn't meant to be a factual statement. Outrageous!) I know that I am personally hugely grateful for the years of Planned Parenthood services that I received during my college years, which were local and affordable for this out-of-stater. Without them, I doubt my 19 year old self would have sought out a private gynecologist, leading to several years without check-ups which would have resulted in those pre-cancerous cells on my cervix possibly not getting caught while they were still in the 'pre' stage.

• "Women's Health and the Budget" -- For more on the same topic as the last link, today's The Diane Rehm Show hosted a panel of guests talking about it with varying perspectives. Rehm herself was not moderating, but her replacement, Katty Kay of the BBC, does a great job keeping the conversation flowing.

• "Tina Fey Reveals All (And Then Some) In 'Bossypants'" -- Okay, okay, I know I mentioned Tina Fey last week, too, but she's on Fresh Air today and I can't help but include that in the round-up because honestly, she's the face of comedy today. I can't help but love and admire her. And it gives me a much lighter note to end on!

NPR goodies on a rainy day in my world,