Obama on the Economy
President Barack Obama is expected to convey both good and bad news about the economy in a speech today, as he nears the end of the symbolic first 100 days in office. He’s expected to say that several more months of job losses lie ahead, but some parts of the economy are stabilizing. We speak with Holly Bailey, White House correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
Independence or Marriage?
For most of this decade about 100,000 spouses a year, mostly wives, have come to the U.S. to be with their husbands, who are on an H-1B work visa. But the wives are given an H-4 visa, which does not allow them to work. We’ll speak with Meghna Damani, who’s film about her experience as a non-working spouse is “Hearts Suspended: Losing Who You Were, Losing Who You Could Become,” and Shivali Shah, a DC-based attorney and founding member of Kiran, an organization serving battered immigrant women in North Carolina.
Remembering Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych
We take a minute to note the passing of former All Star pitcher Mark “the Bird” Fidrych and hall of fame broadcaster Harry Kalas. We speak with veteran Boston Globe sports columnist, Bob Ryan.
Red Shirts vs. Yellow Shirts
Thai anti-government protesters show surrender gesture against through a line of soldiers outside the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 14, 2009. (AP)
Leaders of demonstrations that plunged Thailand’s capital into chaos called off their protests today, after riots left two people dead and more than 120 people injured. The Thai government issued arrest warrants for more than a dozen protest leaders and the ousted former prime minister. The BBC’s South Asia Correspondent Jonathan Head joins us from Bangkok.
Killer Whales
In our reporting last month on the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez accident we learned that many marine mammal species in Prince William Sound, Alaska are recovering from the effects of the spill, but one population of killer whales, the A-T-One Pod, is not. Many of the A-T-One Pod whales died after the spill. Today, there are only 7 left. We talk with Craig Matkin, director of the North Gulf Oceanic Society in Homer, Alaska who has been studying the region’s whales for 3 decades about this unique, but likely doomed, population of killer whales.
A Reel Find
For years there were rumors about a rare collection of live country music recordings. It turns out the rumors were true. The tapes turned up in a barn in Pennsylvania and now a Massachusetts audio engineer is restoring the old reel to reel tapes. They features a roster of country music greats, including George Jones and Dolly Parton. Audio engineer J. Franze joins us to listen to some of the tunes and talk about the man who recorded them.
Music from the show
- The Lickets, “Meat City”
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- The Doors, “Peace Frog”
- Lickets, “Serial East”
- Ashley MacIsaac, “Sleepy Maggie”
- Paul Winter, “Ocean Dream”
- Hank Williams Jr, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”
- John Hartford, “Good Old Electric Washing Machine,”
- Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls of Fire,”
- Lil’ Jimmy Dickens, “Life Turned Her That Way,”
- Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, “Holding onto Nothing,”
