npr at Brave New Films

Origins of the Word 'Google' - Roy Blount, Jr.

2009-01-02T14:59:03Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Humorist author Roy Blount, Jr. examines the origins of the word "google" - originally spelled "googol" - and the history of its relationship with the world's most popular internet search engine.

-----

Roy Blount, Jr. talks about Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips.

After 40 years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, NPR panelist Blount still can't get over his ABCs. In this work he celebrates the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations - Book Passage

Roy Blount's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Playboy, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone, and National Geographic. His work has also been anthologized in such collections as The Best of Modern Humor, The Elvis Reader, The Ultimate Baseball Book, and The Sophisticated Cat.

He is the author of seventeen books, including Crackers (1982), About Three Bricks Shy of a Load (1986), Soupsongs & Webster's Ark (1988), Camels Are Easy, Comedy's Hard (1991), First Hubby (1991), Roy Blount's Book of Southern Humor (1994), which contains overs 150 short stories, sketches, essays, poems, memoirs, and lyrics, Be Sweet: A Memoir (1998), Robert E. Lee (2003), and several books cowritten with Valerie Shaff. Blount currently lives in western Massachusetts and New York City. For a more comprehensive biography see Blount's official Web site.

Watch the video

Cokie Roberts Smears Barack Obama AGAIN

2008-10-28T15:31:18Z

Apparently Cokie wasn't satisfied with smearing Barack Obama on ABC yesterday -- she decided to take her attacks to NPR, where she again went after his vacation in Hawaii as too "exotic." (Original audio here. h/t to the AMERICAblog reader who noticed Cokie's smear.)

Watch the video

Authors@Google: Peter Sagal

2008-10-31T09:31:39Z

Peter Sagal visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them)." This event took place on July 23, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series.

Somewhere, somebody is having more fun than you are. Or so everyone believes. Peter Sagal, a mild-mannered, Harvard-educated NPR host—the man who put the second "L" in "vanilla"—decided to find out if it's true. From strip clubs to gambling halls to swingers clubs to porn sets—and then back to the strip clubs, but only because he left his glasses there—Sagal explores exactly what the sinful folk do, how much they pay for the privilege, and exactly how they got those funny red marks. He hosts a dinner for three of the smartest porn stars in the world, asks the floor manager at the oldest casino in Vegas how to beat the house, and indulges in molecular cuisine at the finest restaurant in the country. Meet liars and rich people who don't think consumption is a disease, encounter the most spectacular view ever seen from a urinal, and say hello to Nina Hartley, the only porn star who can discuss Nietzsche while strangers smack her butt. With a sharp wit, a remarkable eye for detail, and the carefree insouciance that can only come from not having any idea what he's getting into, Sagal proves to be the perfect guide to sinful behavior. What happens in Vegas—and in less glamorous places—is all laid out in these pages, a modern version of Dante's Inferno, except with more jokes.

Peter Sagal (www.petersagal.com) is the host of Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!,™ the NPR ™ news quiz. He is also an award-winning playwright, occasional screenwriter, onetime extra in a Michael Jackson music video, former staff writer for a motorcycle magazine, and a regular contributor to "The Funny Pages" in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Sagal lives near Chicago with his wife and three daughters. This is his first book.

Watch the video

The Prince Of Darkness Runs Over A Pedestrian

2008-10-28T09:29:47Z

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

Also check out Cenk in his newest show: Meet the Bloggers.

Watch the video

McCain, Republicans Want Welfare for Anti-Evolutionists?

2008-10-26T09:29:36Z

When Republican governor and possible John McCain Vice Presidential running mate Bobby Jindal came out in favor of teaching "Intelligent Design" in Louisiana's science classrooms on CBS's "Face The Nation" last Sunday, it reminded me of John McCain's similar nonsensical position on teaching "Intelligent Design" which I criticize using clips from biologist Kenneth Miller appearing this last week with Stephen Colbert and on NPR.

You can see Gov. Bobby Jindal's full appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" from which I took a short clip for my video at www.cbsnews.com

You can see the entire May 3, 2007, GOP presidential candidate debate on MSNBC from which I took a short clip for my video at www.msnbc.msn.com

You can see the full June 16, 2008, episode of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" from which I took short clips of the Kenneth Miller interview for my video at www.comedycentral.com

You can hear the entire June 13, 2008, interview of Kenneth Miller on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" from which I took a short clip for my video at www.npr.org

And, you can see the expert witness statement that Kenneth Miller submitted in the ACLU's successful case against the teaching of "Intelligent Design" in Pennsylvania's public school science classes, Kitzmiller v Dover, at www.aclu.org

Watch the video

Meettheprez.net (Democratic Debate NPR)

2009-01-07T20:48:26Z

On Tuesday December 4th, I went to the NPR Democratic Debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

Watch the video

Kickin' it Gravel Style

2008-11-01T09:29:49Z

Senator Mike Gravel really gave us a day to remember...

Watch the video

Sunday Talk Show Line Up

2008-01-12T20:39:04Z

MTP: Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) on his recent Iraq trip; roundtable of CBN's David Brody, NBC's David Gregory, NPR's Michele Norris, and WaPo's Eugene Robinson discuss issues important to minority voters and the GOP debate .
FTN: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); David Axelrod (Obama08 strategist) and Howard Wolfson (Clinton08 comm dir)
This Week: Mike Huckabee (R-AR); roundtable of Peggy Noonan, Elisabeth Bumiller, Katrina vanden Heuvel and George Will; Steve Van Zandt of the E Street Band on bringing rock and roll to the classroom
FNS: Karl Rove v. DCCC Chair Rep. Chris Van Hollen on 08; FedEx CEO and founder Fred Smith
Late Edition: Pres. George W. Bush; Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX); Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT); Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno (a Cmdr. in Iraq); Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI); Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Also of note-

60 Minutes (CBS, Sun): Will Smith; one laptop per child; "The Purge" of Iraq's Christians

Via Newsie 8200

NPR Article On Keith Olbermann

2008-01-12T20:37:12Z

It's kinda snarky/mean, but it does have links to audio of Keith, so it's worth the link.

Counting Down on MSNBC's Keith Olbermann
Each night on MSNBC's Countdown, anchor Keith Olbermann presents the world's news as a series of bullet points.
As an experiment in form, we thought we'd profile Olbermann in the same fashion.
So here's a countdown of things you should know about one of cable's most talked-about talkers - and one of TV's most prominent critics of the Bush administration.

Please bear with today. It's a slow news day and I'm feeling a little under the weather.

We are having a fundraiser to literally keep Paddy from freezing this winter and help Gottalaff's family make it thru the WGA strike. If you are able, all good thoughts and donations are appreciated. PayPal button right under Cliff's gorgeous mug to the right.

Snap!!!

2008-11-19T12:56:31Z

NPR Turns Down Bush's Interview Offer
The Washington Post reports that National Public Radio turned down President Bush's offer to do an interview with analyst Juan Williams to mark yesterday's 50th anniversary of school desegregation in Little Rock.

NPR explained they felt the White House shouldn't be selecting the correspondent, implying they wouldn't have sent WIlliams, noting that "the only interview Bush has granted NPR during his tenure was also with Williams" and "that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox have all had their anchors interview Bush and that NPR has been requesting such a session for seven years."

The transcript and audio of the first interview is here.

No wonder Bush requested Williams- I kept on hearing kissy noises when I was listening.

Students At U. Of Wisconsin Protest Arrival Of War Profiteer Halliburton On Campus

2008-10-24T09:32:00Z

Good to see this, particularly in light of the recent activities by fellow war-profiteer Blackwater (who is told in this video in no uncertain terms by Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, a retired Iraq War vet--and potential Senate candidate in KY against the odious Mitch McConnell--that they "ought to leave" Iraq):

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A 1967 visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison by a recruiter from Dow Chemical Co., which made napalm, sparked a bloody clash between police and protesting students and galvanized anti-war sentiment on campus.
A new generation of student activists are summoning memories of the 40-year-old demonstration with their vows to demonstate Thursday against Halliburton, another company they see as profiteering from war.
Organizers expected anywhere from dozens to hundreds of students to turn out to protest the company's visit to an engineering career fair. They hope to discourage students from talking to Halliburton representatives.
Some planned to carry signs saying, "Curly, off campus!," a reference to the Dow Chemical representative who visited the school, William "Curly" Hendershot.
"We've decided that any war-profiteering recruiter stands in the tradition of Curly," said Chris Dols, a student and member of the Campus Antiwar Network, which is organizing the protest. "We're explicitly drawing the connection between the two."

And as all war profiteers do, they're pushing back by trying to trick the students, who aren't having any of their bullshit:

"We've come to expect this type of spectacle, just as we've come to expect that the allegations will yet again be misinformed and incorrect," Norcross said. "We continue to support individuals' right to voice their opinions, even when they have the facts completely wrong."
But the students say Halliburton's split with KBR does not absolve it of charges of unethical practices, which they say include overbilling the government, neglecting troops and bribing foreign officials.
Halliburton denies the allegations. KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, agreed last year to pay $8 million to settle six-year-old claims that it overcharged the Army for construction and other support services in the Balkans.

This comes on the heels of increasing press scrutiny of Blackwater, an example of which can be found in this excellent NPR report found by our friend Ohdave:

NPR witnessed a similar scenario two years ago. A State Department convoy, protected by Blackwater, raced out of a compound. Guards immediately shot at the car killing an old man, his son and his daughter-in-law. Blackwater said the car was driving erratically. A U.S. military investigation concluded Blackwater had used excessive force. No one was prosecuted.

Go to his site for more.

Watch the video

Just a quick FYI

2008-01-12T20:20:43Z

10:00 Senator Christopher Dodd
As the U.S. debates its treatment of enemy combatants in the War on Terror, Senator Dodd considers the legacy of the Nuremberg trials after World War II. He's just published a book titled "Letters From Nuremberg" (Crown).
Guests
Senator Christopher Dodd, Democratic presidential candidate, senior U.S. senator from Connecticut, and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Authors@Google: Frank Deford

2008-10-15T03:31:09Z

Author and NPR commentator Frank Deford discusses his new novel "The Entitled" as part of the Authors@Google series. Frank Deford is a six-time National Sportswriter of the Year, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, commentator on NPR's Morning Edition, correspondent for HBO's RealSports with Bryant Gumbel and the author of 14 books. He has been elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and has been awarded both an Emmy and a Peabody. This event took place June 26, 2007 at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA.

Watch the video

Davar Ardalan - Human Rights Reforms in Iran

2008-10-15T03:31:38Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Iranian-American journalist Davar Ardalan discusses the current state of human rights reform in Iran.

-----

Davar Ardalan tells her story of love, rejection, and revolution in "My Name is Iran," tracing her personal journey as well as Iran's struggle for a lawful society. A love affair with an Iranian physician took Davar's American grandmother from New York to Iran in 1931. Ardalan herself was born in America and named Iran, after her parents' homeland for which they longed. In 1964, she moved from San Francisco to Solomon's Mosque in a rural part of the country with her Iranian American parents, who barely spoke Farsi. Then her parent's sudden divorce and the cataclysmic events surrounding the 1979 Iranian revolution shattered everything Ardalan had come to hold dear. Once again in the states, she chose to move back to an Islamic Iran. When she arrived, she discovered a world she hardly recognized, and one which demands a near-complete renunciation of the freedoms she experienced in the West. "My Name is Iran" reveals a complicated journey - from a fragile American teenager, to a young bride in the Ayatollah's revolution, to a newscaster in the Islamic Republic, to single motherhood in the US, and finally to a successful NPR producer - and is a remarkable story of a search for self-identity and expression. -- Cody's Books

Davar Ardalan is an award-winning producer for NPR’s Morning Edition. In a three-part Morning Edition series produced with American RadioWorks that aired in February 2004, she traced her personal journey as well as Iran’s struggle for a lawful society, twenty-five years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Watch the video