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All Things Considered

Weekdays, 4:00- 6:00pm
Susan Kalkhuis-Beam, Scott Allen, Jeff Williams, Otto Bost and Don Miles
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News/Talk
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5187f0e0e1c8d55108c78f3d|5187f0d9e1c8d55108c78f0e

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Book Reviews
4:22 pm
Wed October 24, 2012

'Middlesteins' Digs Into The Dark Side Of Food

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Credit Michael Sharkey
Jami Attenberg is the author of The Middlesteins.
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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 5:53 pm

Food appears so often and takes on so much importance in Jami Attenberg's novel The Middlesteins, that while reading it I sometimes felt like I was on a kind of literary cruise ship. But excess isn't presented here wantonly; instead, it's laid out and explored with sympathy, thought and depth. Early on, the parents of the main character think, "Food was made of love, and was what made love, and they could never deny themselves a bite of anything they desired." And so the novel takes off from the evocative starting point known as appetite.

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Shots - Health News
2:05 pm
Wed October 24, 2012

Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generations

Credit Courtesty of Oregon Health & Science University
An image of researchers at Oregon Health & Science University removing the nucleus from the mother's cell before it's inserted into the donor's egg cell.
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Originally published on Thu October 25, 2012 2:21 pm

Geneticist reported Wednesday that they had crossed a threshold long considered off-limits: They have made changes in human DNA that can be passed down from one generation to the next.

The researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland say they took the step to try to prevent women from giving birth to babies with genetic diseases. But the research is raising a host of ethical, social and moral questions.

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Middle East
4:18 am
Wed October 24, 2012

Artists Disturbed And Inspired By Syria's Violence

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The news out of Syria these days is a barrage of images: destroyed buildings, gruesome casualties, weeping mothers. It's both disturbing and inspiring to a thriving movement of Syrian songwriters, rappers, poets, writers, graffiti artists and actors trying to cope with what's happening around them.

NPR's Kelly McEvers recently attended a performance by Syrian artists in Beirut and sent this report.

KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: It starts in a theater...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Foreign language spoken)

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Middle East
6:19 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Qatari Emir First World Leader To Visit Gaza In Years

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Originally published on Sun October 28, 2012 9:48 am

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

The Emir of Qatar visited the Gaza Strip today. He's the first world leader to do so since 2007, when the Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory and Israel responded with a blockade. The emir called on Hamas to reconcile with the rival Fatah movement. He also promised some $400 million in reconstruction projects, as NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Gaza.

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Politics
5:46 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Charming, Cold: Does Presidential Personality Matter?

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With the advent of radio and television, presidential charisma became a more important personality characteristic. Above, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who is rated one of the most charismatic presidents; John F. Kennedy; Bill Clinton.
Credit Getty Images
Charisma wasn't an early requirement for presidents, since many decisions were made behind closed doors, says psychology professor Dean Simonton. His analysis of the charisma of these three commanders in chief: John Adams: "Average." Thomas Jefferson: "Average." Andrew Jackson: "Well above average."
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Originally published on Thu October 25, 2012 9:59 am

As part of NPR's coverage of this year's presidential election, All Things Considered asked three science reporters to weigh in on the race. The result is a three-part series on the science of leadership. In Part 2, Jon Hamilton examined leadership in the animal kingdom.

Charming or cold. Flexible or rigid. Paranoid or impulsive or calculating.

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NPR Story
5:21 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Dow Falls 243 Points On Worst Day In Months

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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 4:18 am

The stock market fell sharply Tuesday morning. Disappointing earnings from DuPont and 3M led the rest of the Dow lower.

NPR Story
5:21 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Obama Hits Battleground States In Final Blitz

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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 4:18 am

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

I'm Audie Cornish, and we begin this hour with a sprint. The 2012 presidential debates are now history and today, President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney begin the two-week race to Election Day. Mr. Obama is widely considered the winner of last night's foreign policy debate, but he didn't spend much time crowing today.

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NPR Story
5:21 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Former CIA Agent Pleads Guilty To Leaking Info

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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 4:18 am

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

A big development today in the Justice Department's crackdown on national security leaks. A former CIA agent pleaded guilty to revealing the name of a covert operative to a reporter. John Kiriakou agreed to spend two and a half years in prison.

NPR's Carrie Johnson was in the courtroom in Virginia for the plea hearing and joins us now to talk about the case. Welcome, Carrie.

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Middle East
4:55 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Life And Death And Puppets In Syria

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Credit YouTube
This episode of Top Goon featured the Syrian president on the left, a member of the security forces on the right, and a photo of the former president, Hafez Assad, who is the father of the current leader.
Credit YouTube
Syrians opposed to President Bashar Assad have been posting YouTube videos mocking him. The episodes are called Top Goon, and the Syrian president goes by the name Beeshu. The work is done anonymously because those behind it fear they could face retribution from the Syrian government.
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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 10:07 am

"I'm not crazy," the figure says, standing alone in a dark room, as if trying to convince himself.

"I'm not crazy?" almost a question this time.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy!" he yells, finally making up his mind.

And, of course, he sounds crazy.

Meet Beeshu, an avatar of the embattled president of Syria, Bashar Assad, rendered in papier-mache and mounted on someone's finger. He's the star of the show Top Goon and the inspiration for its title.

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Asia
1:57 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Cambodia Vs. Sotheby's In A Battle Over Antiquities

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Credit Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office
The United States and Cambodia are locked in a legal battle with the auction house Sotheby's over this 1,000-year-old statue of the Hindu warrior Duryodhana that may have been looted from the Cambodian temple complex at Koh Ker.
Credit Anthony Kuhn / NPR
King Jayavarman IV built this pyramid-shaped monument at the center of his capital at Koh Ker in northern Cambodia in the 10th century. The ruler of the Khmer empire died two decades later, and the capital was abandoned and swallowed by the jungle.
Credit Anthony Kuhn / NPR
Archaeologist Phin Samnang, 29, surveys the ruins of Prasat Chen temple at Koh Ker. He says that unlike in earlier periods, Cambodia now has the means and duty to reclaim its priceless lost antiquities.
Credit Anthony Kuhn / NPR
Cambodian officials say a kneeling figure now in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art once sat on this pedestal. The statue was one of a group of nine depicting a scene from the Hindu epic the Mahabarata.
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Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 4:18 am

The governments of Cambodia and the United States are locked in a legal battle with the auction house Sotheby's over a thousand-year-old statue. The two governments say the statue was looted from a temple of the ancient Khmer empire. Sotheby's says this can't be proved, and a court in New York will decide on the matter soon.

The case could affect how collectors and museums acquire artifacts, and how governments recover lost national treasures.

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