Ongoing Coverage:
World Cafe
4:12 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Sense Of Place: Of Bards and Balladeers

Credit WXPN / John Bartol
Glen Hansard sits in with a group of traditional Irish musicians at the Dublin pub O'Donoghues.

Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 12:35 pm

Throughout the week, World Cafe travels to Dublin, Ireland — the first stop in a quarterly series called Sense of Place. We hope to give you an idea of the past and present of the city's local music scene and provide tips from musicians and music lovers for those hoping to visit this culturally rich town.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:00 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Foster Kids, Even Infants, More Likely To Be Given Psychotropic Drugs

Children in foster care are significantly more likely than other kids to be given mind-altering drugs, according to a study of five states released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office.

The report, which focused on children in the Medicaid program, also found that foster kids were more likely to be prescribed five or more psychotropic drugs at an age and at doses that exceed the maximum FDA-approved levels — both of which carry serious health risks.

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The Salt
3:25 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

The Case For Peeking Inside The Slaughterhouse

Credit Nati Harnik / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, right, follows the work of USDA inspectors at a Cargill meat packing plant in Schuyler, Neb., in 2008.

This is just a guess, but the single part of America's food system that inspires the most horrified fascination is probably the slaughterhouse. One reason may be that these factories that turn cattle, hogs and chickens into packaged meat are generally off-limits to the public and photographers.

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Music Interviews
3:25 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Shakira And Collective Soul's Hits, With A Burmese Twist

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Burmese pop singer Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein.

Originally published on Thu December 1, 2011 6:02 pm

Under the Microscope
3:21 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Getting stuck in a food desert

Credit Sylvia Maria Gross / Harvest Public Media
Onega's business district was left without a grocery store when its old market burned down in December 2010.

Rural America is losing its grocery stores. Many parts of the United States, and large swaths of rural Missouri, are now classified as ‘food deserts’, areas where residents lack access to affordable food.

But as Harvest Public Media's Sylvia Maria Gross reports, some small towns are finding creative ways deal with the problem.

Plus: Nancy Sutley is President Obama’s principal environmental advisor and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

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Election 2012
3:17 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

GOP Candidates Step Up Attacks On Each Other

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
From left, GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney participate in the Fox News/Google GOP debate at the Orange County Convention Center in September. Since then, the candidates have gotten tougher on each other.

Originally published on Thu December 1, 2011 6:02 pm

The Two-Way
3:10 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

A 'Comedy Of Errors': Italians Appoint Wrong Minister

Credit YouTube
University of Guelph professor Francesco Braga.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera called it a "comedy of errors."

Indeed.

Imagine you're a professor in Canada, 28-years removed from Italy and one day you get a call: While forming its new government, Italy wants you to be its junior agriculture minister.

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Economy
2:35 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

In U.S. And Europe, Pensions At Risk

Despite boasting one of the highest per-capita incomes in the country, San Jose, Calif., is running large and growing deficits. And next Tuesday, the city council is expected to declare a state of "fiscal emergency." The main reason is pensions and other benefits for retired city workers, such as health insurance.

San Jose's problems are severe, but hardly unique. In recent years, pension costs have become a central concern both in the U.S. and in Europe.

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Music
2:30 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Winter Songs: Dreaming Of 'California' From Far Away

Credit Les Lee / Getty Images
The Mamas and the Papas in England, 1967.

Originally published on Tue February 14, 2012 2:24 pm

The songs we turn to during winter months are as distinct from the light, joyous anthems of summer as tank tops and shorts are from the mittens and scarves we pull out of the closet when a chill creeps into the air. This season, we'll ask musicians, writers and listeners to tell us about a song that evokes winter for them, along with a memory or story that goes with it.

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The Two-Way
2:27 pm
Thu December 1, 2011

Photo Of Clinton, Suu Kyi, Says It All

Sometimes a picture does indeed tell the story.

In this case, a photo taken today when Hillary Rodham Clinton had a private dinner in Myanmar with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi speaks volumes about the purpose and meaning of the first visit to the country by an American secretary of state in more than five decades.

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