2011 July | Here & Now

From Ashley MacIsaac to the Rolling Stones.

Hair is a loaded topic for African American women who have to decide between using chemical straighteners and “going natural.” Now there are online video tutorials for how to manage natural hair.

As head of News Corp. Rupert Murdoch tries to stem the damage from the British hacking scandal, reporter Tim Dickinson takes a closer look at Murdoch’s relationship with his holding Fox News, specifically its chairman Roger Ailes.

The people of rebel-held Misrata Libya had hoped for a quick overthrow of the Gadhafi regime, but that hasn’t happened.

A recent sting operation has provided an unprecedented look at how drugs get from Mexico onto the streets of the U.S.

Pres. Barack Obama today told Congress that we’re “almost out of time” to pass an increase for the debt ceiling. The President said the two parties aren’t far apart on the principles of the deal, but the country needs a “triple-A political system” to maintain its triple-A credit rating.

From Bonobo to The Wee Trio.

Neil Gaiman’s novel “American Gods” has drawn a huge following since its publication in 2001 and will be made into an HBO series. Fan Alissa Greenberg joined Robin Young to interview the author.

Jean MacKenzie was eager to return from her work in Afghanistan training Afghan journalists and writing for GlobalPost. But now that she’s home, she misses the war-torn country.

Mom and blogger Gina Knudson wanted to prepare herself for anything while traveling with her children. Her “adventure box” includes everything from Frisbees to marshmallows.

Confessed Norway attacker Anders Breivik may have been influenced by the British nationalist group, the English Defence League, whose members are against immigration and believe Muslims are culturally incompatible with westerners.

House Republicans pushed toward a vote Thursday on a newly modified plan to stave off an unprecedented government default next week.

From Steve Earle to Broken Social Scene.

You probably haven’t heard of Ryan Tedder, but the songwriter’s work should ring a bell– from Beyonce’s “Halo” and Adele’s “Rumor Has It” to Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.”

Catholics in Ireland are waiting to see just how deep the rift with the Vatican will get after Irish Prime Minister Edna Kenny condemned the Vatican for not reporting abuse allegations as recently as three years ago.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wants to know why stimulus spending isn’t on the table in the Washington budget debate. He and other liberal economists think the budget-cutting debt deals being considered will only hurt the economy.

Financial institutions and states are watching the debt debate in Washington– a community bank in Massachusetts plans to waive overdraft fees for customers if they don’t get Social Security checks, and California is seeking a bridge loan if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

From Radiohead to Paul Simon.

Author Dennis Lehane says in his latest book he decided to continue the story of two detectives from “Gone Baby Gone” because, “I can only write about characters when they knock on the door and talk to me… and they just came knocking on my door again.”

Congressional stalemate isn’t just the stuff of debt debates–disagreement between Republicans and Democrats forced a partial shutdown of the FAA, furloughing thousands of federal workers and stalling construction projects at dozens of airports.