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Regulating AIG: Who Fell Asleep On The Job? The Office of Thrift Supervision oversaw institutions that turned into some of the biggest failures of the economic crisis, from Washington Mutual to AIG. Like other regulators, the OTS courts its eventual clients, who pay the agency for making sure it follows the law.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rural Layoffs: Losing A Grip On RetirementAs manufacturing plants leave rural towns, many workers close to retirement are left with diminished retirement savings and few options for new work. Randy Badman, 60, of DeWitt, Neb., was laid off three times in four years — and isn't sure how he'll fund his eventual retirement.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Buying The Farm: A Good Bet For Rural RetireesPeople who have invested in Midwest farmland in this recession, instead of 401(k)s, may have made a wise choice, according to one economist. Dan and Lorna Wilson of Paullina, Iowa, are counting on their 640 acres to fund their retirement.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Recession Offers Hard Lessons In Paying For CollegeLast year, Marlo Johnson and Emmanuel Garcia graduated from high school with big dreams and no money. Emmanuel scraped together enough funds to pay for college. Marlo wasn't so lucky, but a year of earning minimum wage has reinforced why that college degree is so important.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | President Obama Outlines Mideast VisionPresident Obama leaves Tuesday for a weeklong overseas trip that takes him to the Middle East, France and Germany. In Cairo, Obama will give his much-anticipated speech on relations between the United States and the Muslim world. Obama outlines his vision for the Middle East.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All Aren't Happy With Health Insurance For AllRequiring all Americans to have health insurance is one of the proposals now being considered in Washington, D.C. Massachusetts already requires its residents to be insured, but people aren't always able to afford a policy, even when the state helps out.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Undercover At An Evangelical UniversityBrown University student Kevin Roose passed himself off as an evangelical Christian to blend in with students at Liberty University — the school founded by the late Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | DC Youth Orchestra: Success On A ShoestringThey rehearse in a ramshackle Washington, D.C., high school. But the young musicians in the DC Youth Orchestra say they're inspired by their teachers and the music they play. Hear how the cash-strapped music program inspires kids from all around the nation's capital.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Roxana Saberi On Her Imprisonment In IranIn her first in-depth interview, Roxana Saberi, who spent four months in an Iranian prison, talks about the events leading to her arrest, why she gave a false confession to the Iranian authorities that she was a spy, and what ultimately kept her going.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | How Benny Goodman Won Over AmericaBy 1926, at age 16, Goodman was already a jazz virtuoso. But when he finally hit the big time, ushering in the swing era in the mid-1930s, his arrival converged with a burst of modernity throughout the U.S.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 'Shanghai Girls' Details A Chinese-American OdysseyLisa See describes the lives of Chinese girls who move to Los Angeles during the World War II era in her new novel, Shanghai Girls. As Chinese immigrants, See's characters endure a shifting political climate once they make it to California.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Residents Pitch In To Keep Calif. Town AfloatSmall towns all over the country are feeling the recession's pinch and Gilroy, Calif., is no different. The town faces a cut of at least $2 million in tax revenues and a deficit of $4.7 million. But residents are volunteering to help with police patrols and staff the city's museum. Mayor Al Pinheiro says residents have taken it upon themselves to organize the town's Memorial Day parade.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | In Civil War, Woman Fought Like A Man For FreedomDisguised as a man, Jennie Hodgers marched thousands of miles and fought dozens of battles as a Union soldier during the Civil War. Living in drag gave Hodgers access to a life — with better pay and the right to vote — unavailable to women of her era.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Real Men Wear Pink BoxersArmy Spc. Zachary Boyd needn't worry about being photographed out of uniform during a firefight in Afghanistan. "Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Can Positive Thoughts Help Heal Another Person?The idea that positive thoughts and prayer can affect your health has been taught at medical schools for years. But can your thoughts affect another person physically? A few renegade scientists are conducting studies between loved ones to find that out — and they say it's possible.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sex Offenders Forced To Live Under Miami BridgeSex offenders with few resources who want to stay in Miami have just one option: an encampment of tents and shacks under a causeway. What began as a stopgap solution to a city ordinance limiting where offenders can live has become de facto public policy.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Are Spiritual Encounters All In Your Head?Scientists suspect Moses and other religious figures were epileptic. But that doesn't mean they didn't really hear God. One researcher has created the "God helmet," which uses sensors to reproduce mystical experience by manipulating brain chemistry.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Secret Advantage Of Being ShortImagine if someone touches your toe and your nose at the same time. You feel those touches simultaneously; but really the signal from your nose reaches your brain before the signal from your toe. This is part of the reason why one neuroscientist thinks short people might experience things faster than tall people.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Restaurant Of The Future: A Living LabIn the Netherlands, the Restaurant of the Future, co-owned by Wageningen University, uses video cameras and scales to keep close tabs on diners' behavior. To eat there, you have to sign a research waiver.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Recession Diary: The Long And Winding Road HomeBack in March, Caitlin Shetterly and her husband, Daniel Davis, had a 2-month-old son, an empty bank account and an apartment in Los Angeles they could no longer afford. The couple decided to pack up and head home to Maine to move in with Shetterly's mother.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Reporter's Life Inside The Mortgage MeltdownSeveral books have been published about the subprime crackup, the housing bubble and the financial meltdown, but Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown by reporter Edmund Andrews is special. That's because as he was writing about the issue, he himself was sinking as fast as anyone.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Donors Turn To Giving Circles As Economy DropsCharitable donations have been declining, along with the economy. But one type of giving appears to be on the rise: giving circles. Many people are forming these groups to pool their funds so they can have a greater impact on a charitable cause.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Moms Become Breadwinners As Job Losses Hit MenLegions of women will have little time to mark Mother's Day this year. They will be busy working weekend jobs as they step up to being their families' primary wage earners.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Solved: The Mystery Of The Missing ArtistSeventy-five years ago, a young explorer named Everett Ruess rode off alone into the Utah wilderness, never to return. Now, a team of geneticists and forensic anthropologists has finally uncovered his fate.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stimulus Funds To Make Kansas City Safer, GreenerMissouri Rep. Emanuel Clever envisions channeling at least $50 million from the federal government into the "Green Impact Zone," a particularly violent and blighted part of the city's urban core. His plan includes weatherizing houses, buying new buses and possibly installing a new power grid.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Elizabeth Edwards On 'Facing Life's Adversities'Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has survived campaigns, cancer, the death of a child and her husband's infidelity. In her new book, Resilience, Edwards discusses the adversities she has faced — and her efforts to move on.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Record High Army Suicides Prompt ActionA U.S. soldier is now more likely than a civilian to take his own life, and the situation is getting worse, not better. To combat suicides, the Army is taking new steps, such as using an interactive video game in which soldiers role play with an imaginary buddy in crisis.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Game Not Over Yet For Housewares ChainRetailer Mark Giarrusso wants to reorganize his family-owned chain. But the landlord is trying to get him to liquidate. Just six months ago, Giarrusso couldn't fathom closing even a single store. Now, there are days he can't imagine staying open another minute.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Military Psychologist Says Harsh Tactics JustifiedThe military's role is to look out for the best interest of the United States, says former military psychologist Bruce Lefever — even when that means using controversial techniques to obtain information. Military psychologists' true ethical obligations lie in protecting America, he says, and harsh interrogation techniques can crack anyone, eventually.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Portraits Capture Life In Dissecting ClassVisual explorations of how the human body works have had us riveted since before Leonardo da Vinci sketched the famous Vitruvian man sometime around 1487. That fascination is the focus of what may be one of the most gruesome coffee table books ever.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Grid May Be Needed, But So Is Smarter UsePlans are under way to beef up the nation's electricity transmission grid. At the same time, conservationists are trying to reduce the vast amount of power wasted in homes and offices. If we used energy more efficiently, would we need to spend billions of dollars on a new grid?Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Parrots Join Humans On The Dance FloorSo you think you can dance? Maybe. But Snowball, a Backstreet Boys-loving cockatoo, certainly can, scientists say. Parrots are perhaps one of only three kinds of animal species that can truly move to a beat.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Grid May Be Smart, But Will It Also Be Green?The push is on to make the nation's aging electricity grid smarter, so it can handle our growing demand for electricity. Many assume that a smart grid will also be a green grid — delivering clean electricity and helping to address climate change. But that's not necessarily so.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smart Meter Saves Big Bucks For Pa. FamilyBy installing a smart meter on her Pennsylvania home, Tammy Yeakel and her family are able to save nearly 20 percent on their electric bill each month. They can track their energy consumption in real time on a Web site provided by her power company, PPL.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama Seeks Delicate Balance Between Two WarsPresident Obama ordered strategy reviews to help chart the way forward in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But changeable military and political conditions in the countries threaten Obama's strategy to shift emphasis from the war in Iraq and instead "finish the job" in Afghanistan.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Congress Tackles Credit Card DebtThis week, Congress will vote on a Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights — and last week, President Obama met with the heads of card companies, signaling his support for the bill. Host Jacki Lyden checks in with some of these credit card holders — including one woman who froze her cards in a block of ice — and talks with U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who co-wrote the bill that the House will consider this week.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Animal Researchers Unite After Extremists' AttacksOver the last few years, UCLA researchers have received death threats, had their cars firebombed and had their homes vandalized by activists seeking to stop animal testing. This week, one UCLA professor said enough is enough.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | How Now, Wench? Talking Like ShakespeareChicago Mayor Richard Daley declareth Thursday "Talk Like Shakespeare" day in honor of the 445th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. And folks in the Windy City are learning to speaketh the Shakespearean lingo.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Smog Deaths In 1948 Led To Clean Air LawsOn Oct. 27, 1948, the people of Donora, Pa., awoke to a thick yellow blanket of smog. They soon learned that 20 people were dead and half the town was sick. A museum has opened to commemorate an event that many say was the genesis of clean air laws.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Historic St. Louis Schools Face Uncertain FutureAs the St. Louis school district cuts back, it is putting for sale landmark school buildings designed by architect William Ittner. His emphasis on open spaces, big windows and high ceilings influenced school designers around the country.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What If Marijuana Were Legal? Possible OutcomesNPR came up with a hypothetical scenario and asked experts to respond: Marijuana has been legal in the U.S. for two years. Legally, it is treated similar to alcohol: It is taxed and regulated, and users must be 21 or older. Under these parameters, what are some possible outcomes?Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Test May Determine Smokers' Lung Cancer RiskA new urine test appears to determine which smokers are most likely to get lung cancer. It looks for a chemical created as the body metabolizes tobacco. Those with higher levels of the chemical have a higher risk of lung cancer.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Five Days In The Clutches Of PiratesAs the captain of the Maersk Alabama returns to the United States for a hero's welcome, we look back on five days he was held captive by pirates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Chaucer's Cheek Returns To BritainModern Britain is no less diverse than in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and sometimes even bawdier. The walk along the modern-day route from London to Canterbury reveals characters who embrace the earthy sexuality from Chaucer's day, along with more staid British traditions like foxhunting.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tax Day Tea PartiesIn a CNBC meltdown about the stimulus bill, Rick Santelli proposed a modern-day tea party to protest unjust taxes. Santelli and his network have since disavowed the idea, but Fox News has taken up the cause. Hundreds of protests are going on Wednesday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Trees May Dry Up With Global WarmingWarming global temperatures could cause massive tree die-offs. That's the gloomy conclusion of a new study by scientists at the University of Arizona. They've discovered that trees exposed to temperatures warmer than those in their native environment were less capable of tolerating drought.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Catherine's Choice: To Plan A Death With DignityNPR Health Correspondent Dick Knox tells of the story of his friend and neighbor, Catherine Royce, who died recently — by choice. Catherine suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, and as she became sicker, she decided to plan a deliberate death. It wasn't easy — some around her felt it was wrong. But Catherine wanted to die on her own terms.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Matzo Ball Matriarch of American Jewish FoodThe Settlement Cook Book is largely forgotten today. But in its time, Lizzie Black Kander's book exposed Jewish homemakers transplanted from Eastern Europe to the American way of cooking — and living.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stained Glass Artist Lets The Light Through At LastRowan LeCompte's wit and wonder have been on display in the stained glass windows of the Washington National Cathedral for more than half a century. Now, he's working on a final design — one that will bring light to one of the darkest works of his career, the cathedral's so-called Black Window.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | |