Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: The Senate is entering its third straight day of debate over health care. So far Republicans have failed to come up with a proposal that would fulfill their promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Today Republican leaders are hoping to pass a final measure senators are calling the skinny repeal. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis is on this story. She joins us now from the Capitol. And, Sue, I have to say we've got to stop meeting like this (LAUGHTER) MCEVERS: So tell us, what is skinny repeal? SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE: Skinny repeal - maybe think of it more like bare-boned repeal. What this proposal is, is essentially leaders are looking to find the bare minimum of the parts of undoing Obamacare that Republicans have long said they support - things like repealing the individual mandate that tells people they have to buy insurance, some of the taxes that were levied when the ACA passed, defunding
Senate Republicans Continue Effort To Pass Health Care Law
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On 'The Autobiography,' Vic Mensa Faces His Personal Demons And Emerges Stronger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJi9yg0VCQ Vic Mensa has many tattoos, but there's one that is particularly striking: the phrase "still alive," emblazoned on his stomach. One of the stories behind that tattoo comes from a time when, as a teenager, Mensa almost died trying to sneak into Lollapalooza. The rapper says his plan was to climb over a bridge near the grounds and down a structure that carried power for Chicago's Metra trains. But he touched a transformer that shocked him with 15,000 volts of electricity, and fell 30 feet onto the tracks. "Either one of things alone is enough to kill somebody," Mensa says. "I was blessed enough to not die from that." Years later, in 2016, Mensa would find himself headlining that same festival. He just turned 24 this year, and after years of rapping and collaborating with stars like Kanye West , Chance the Rapper and Skrillex , Mensa has released his soul-baring debut album, The Autobiography . "I had to tell these stories for me to be able to
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Amplified And Orbital: Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme On Living In The Moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNwNSU5NikU The past few years have been all over the map for Josh Homme. There has been cause for celebration: The frontman and founder of Queens of the Stone Age produced a record with and toured with his childhood idol, Iggy Pop . But there has also been tragedy. Homme's other band, the Eagles of Death Metal , was playing at the Bataclan during the horrific Paris attacks almost two years ago. Though Homme was not there that night, he still does not talk about it. The new Queens of the Stone Age album, Villains , shows few signs of that darkness. The upbeat, even dancey record was produced by Mark Ronson , who famously worked with Amy Winehouse , Adele and Lady Gaga before working on Villains . Homme talked to NPR's Kelly McEvers about the band's "orbital" approach to the music on Villains , working with Iggy Pop and why he won't discuss the 2015 attack at the Bataclan. Hear the conversation at the audio link or read an edited transcript of the
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'This Is Their Film': Angelina Jolie Tells A Story Of Khmer Rouge Survival
The film First They Killed My Father begins in 1975 Cambodia, during the rise of the Khmer Rouge. The hard-line communist regime aimed to deport an entire nation into the countryside and form an agrarian utopia — but their experiment failed. People were forced to work, and they were also tortured, starved and executed. In the end, around a quarter of the country's population — roughly 2 million people — died. First They Killed My Father was directed by Angelina Jolie, and it's based on a memoir by human rights activist Loung Ung. Ung was 5 years old and living with her family in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge arrived and essentially emptied the city. At first, her family managed to stay together, but then her older siblings were sent to a camp for teenagers. Not long after, they also came for her father. Ung's mother decided Ung and her siblings would be safer if they left and pretended to be orphans, so she sent them away. Ung survived the Khmer Rouge along with four of her siblings,
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How Politics Have Complicated Business For Kushner Companies
Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: When Donald Trump was elected president, there was a lot of concern that his position in office would enrich his businesses and the businesses of his closest advisers - for example, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, whose family owns Kushner Companies, a major real estate developer. KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: Two reporters with Bloomberg News have spent a lot of time looking at one building owned by Kushner Companies to see if that enrichment happened. I talked to them for the latest episode of my podcast Embedded. And the building they looked at is 666 5th Avenue. Buying it meant the Kushners could expand their business from New Jersey to Manhattan. It's fall of 2006. The Kushners want to make an offer on 666 Fifth Avenue. And Jared Kushner's father, Charlie Kushner, has his staff work the weekend after Thanksgiving to put the financial package together. Here is the first Bloomberg reporter you will hear, David Kocieniewski. DAVID
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Understanding How Trump Does Business And Who He Does It With
Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is reportedly looking beyond whether President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in last year's election. It's also looking at Trump's finances on projects like his Manhattan building Trump SoHo. One of the developers of Trump SoHo is a company called Bayrock, and one of the people at Bayrock was a man named Felix Sater. To know about him is to understand how Trump does business and who he does business with. For my podcast Embedded, NPR's Alina Selyukh, Jim Zarroli and I start with Felix Sater's background. JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: Sater was from the former Soviet Union, came here as a child living in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, which is home to a lot of Russian immigrants. MCEVERS: Felix Sater's father had a criminal history. He once pled guilty to extortion charges. DAVID BARRY: He wanted Felix to be an above-board businessman. ZARROLI: That's David Barry. He's a former AP
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For Country Music Industry And Artists, Gun Politics Presents A Minefield
The Country Music Association Awards ceremony was Wednesday, but people are still talking about the show because of what wasn't said that night. The CMA tried to create a politics-free zone for hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, and for reporters covering the event. A week before the awards ceremony, the CMA sent out media guidelines telling reporters not to focus on gun rights, political affiliations or the Las Vegas tragedy, where 58 people were killed at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Paisley and others spoke out about the restrictions and they were reversed, but it brought into focus the relationship between the country music industry and the debate about guns in the U.S. Music journalist Jonathan Bernstein has written about this and joined All Things Considered host Kelly McEvers to talk about how those in the industry view guns, and why the Country Music Association took the actions it did. On why the association tried to stay away from politics this year I think the
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3 Generations Of Actresses Reflect On Hollywood, Harassment — And Hitchcock
In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock had a huge amount of power in Hollywood. That's when he plucked actress Tippi Hedren from relative obscurity to star in his new movie, The Birds . It was a big break for Hedren. But she says that over the course of making that film — and another movie, Marnie — Hitchcock repeatedly harassed her. She writes in her memoir Tippi that he tormented her; he would drive by her house at all hours, stare at her, and send her baskets of food when he worried she was losing weight. He threatened to ruin her career, keeping her under contract and refusing to let her work. "Nobody had any real answer for how I was going to solve the problem," Hedren says. "Alma, his wife, she said 'I'm so sorry you have to have to go through this. I said, 'Well, can't you stop it?' I was angry, and I was hurt that I had nobody to say OK, we'll help you." In the weeks since sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein were first made public, the entertainment industry — along with
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Homeless In Los Angeles: A Growing Problem
Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: The number of homeless people in the U.S. has gone up for the first time since 2010, so says the federal government's annual report on homelessness. And a lot of that increase has been here on the West Coast, namely in Los Angeles. The economy here is booming, but that means the cost of housing is going up and a lot of people just can't afford a place to live. One place to see this crisis is LA's Skid Row. It's where thousands of people congregate because it's where all the services are - the shelters, the meals, the temporary housing and some permanent housing if you qualify. And now in that same part of downtown, there are also high-rises and fancy lofts and expensive restaurants, places most unhoused people can't afford. This week we went to the Downtown Women's Center. It's a place where women can use computers, grab clean socks and do crafts and have lunch. And we met Joryelle Marage. Hey, how's it going? How are you?
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Encore: Eddie Izzard Talks About Coming Out
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: And before I say goodbye to 2017, I want to talk one more time about jazz chickens. Comedian Eddie Izzard was here with me in the studio earlier this year to talk about his book "Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, And Jazz Chickens." And we talked about a lot of stuff. We couldn't get everything in, so I wanted to share it again and include the part about the tigers and some other things that didn't make it the first time around. So yes, there will be tigers. And first - jazz chickens. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) EDDIE IZZARD: Cows go roo (ph). Sheep go meh (ph). Ducks go quack. Pigs go oink, all of them. Chickens go cockle-doodle-do (ph) unless you wedge a trumpet on their face. MCEVERS: If you are a fan of Izzard's surreal standup comedy, you probably can tell where this is going. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) IZZARD: (Imitating trumpet). Farmer's wife going, what's that? That's jazz chicken. (LAUGHTER) IZZARD:
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'GLOW' Co-Creators Explain Why Wrestling Is Like Greek Theater
If you ask Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, wrestling was just better in the 1980s: They say it was less slick, less violent, more fun — even silly. There were easier entry points, too. "Liz and I will watch a wrestling match now, and we'll actually make it 15 minutes in and still have no idea who the good guy or the bad guy is," Mensch says. Mensch and Flahive are diving back into the world of '80s wrestling in their new Netflix series GLOW. The show stars Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder, a struggling actor who finds work with Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling league — a wrestling circuit which actually existed in the 1980s. Ruth takes on the persona of a Russian villain named "Zoya the Destroya." "Capitalist pig!" she yells at her nemesis Liberty Belle (Betty Gilpin). "I shall neuter all your dogs and fill your swimming pools with borscht!" Co-creators Flahive and Mensch say making a wrestling show meant dealing in a lot of offensive stereotypes — and figuring out how to address those tensions
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'You're Never Too Old To Screw Up': Keegan-Michael Key On 'Friends From College'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkAK9QRe4ds You might remember Keegan-Michael Key as the fast-talking, quick-moving comedian on the award-winning Comedy Central sketch show Key and Peele . The show aired for five seasons before Key and his former co-star, Jordan Peele, ended it (in its prime) to move on to other projects. But Key and Peele 's characters transcended beyond the show. Key went viral after he appeared as Luther, President Obama's anger translator, at the 2015 White House Correspondents Dinner, proving he had both comedic and acting chops. Now Key is starring in the upcoming Netflix dramedy Friends From College . It's about a group of Harvard grads (played by Key, Cobie Smulders, Fred Savage and others) who reunite in New York City more than 20 years after they've graduated. Key tells NPR that the show is about continuing to make mistakes even in your 40s, but not necessarily learning from them. "One of the mottos of our show is, 'You're never too old to screw up, and you
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This 10-Pound Keyboard From The 1980s Is Making A Comeback
Only a well-trained ear might be able to hear the difference between a generic keyboard and the IBM Model F keyboard that was popular in the 1980s. The Model F is considered by many people to be the best keyboard ever. IBM stopped making it in the '90s and the patent expired. But the keyboard is having another moment. Joe Strandberg of Garden City, N.Y. loves this keyboard so much that he has independently worked to re-manufacture it. With his project, he outlines all of the mechanics that go into creating "the best keyboard ever," and how he's striving to make "a perfect, working reproduction." In today's market, the original keyboards would have cost around $600, but Strandberg's models will cost about $300. In an interview with NPR's Kelly McEvers, Strandberg explains why people think the Model F is a big deal and how it differs from the keyboards of today. Interview Highlights On what makes the Model F special and why people love it Well, I think that it's the best keyboard ever
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Who's The True Boss Of Snopes? Legal Fight Puts Fact-Check Site At Risk
You may have read that Bigfoot was found dead on a lake shore in New Mexico this summer. He wasn't. You can learn about that hoax here from the myth-busting and fact-checking site Snopes. You may have heard NASA predicted the Earth will endure 15 straight days of darkness this fall. It didn't. Snopes has that covered too — debunking the claim when it first appeared in 2015 and again in May when it resurfaced. What isn't a hoax is that the future of Snopes, one of the nation's first digital fact-checking initiatives, is in doubt. Ownership of the site is the focus of a sharply contested legal battle between its founder, David Mikkelson, and a small digital outfit called Proper Media, which had an arrangement to manage advertising and some other elements of Snopes' site. (It has similar agreements with such digital publishers as Salon, Raw Story and the Daily Dot.) Mikkelson tells NPR that he's been cut off from all revenues and has launched online crowdfunding appeals; he says he's
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U.K. Bans Gas And Diesel Cars Starting 2040: Electric Cars Are The Future
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: Leaders in the U.K. want to make it illegal to drive a car with a gasoline or diesel engine. Britain's environmental secretary says the country will ban the sale of new gas or diesel vehicles by 2040. The plan is to phase out all cars with internal combustion engines by 2050. And this has become a movement in Europe. France and Norway have announced similar plans with pressure growing in Germany to do the same. To talk about the prospect of an all-electric, gas-free Europe is NPR's Sonari Glinton, who joins us from the studios of Youth Radio in Oakland, Calif. Hello there. SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: Hey. MCEVERS: So what's the reason for the ban on gasoline and diesel in the U.K.? Is it about more than climate change? GLINTON: Well, yes, it is in a real way about air quality. Air quality has become a really important political issue in England. As a matter of fact, electric cars and clean air was a part of the election, and it
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Sessions Has Long Shown Unwavering Support For Trump
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: The relationship between President Trump and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is not getting any better. In an interview with The New York Times, yesterday during a news conference in the Rose Garden and over and over this week on Twitter, the president has been openly criticizing Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and for, in Trump's view, going too easy on Hillary Clinton and government leakers. And all that criticism comes in stark contrast to what once appeared to be a close relationship. Jeff Sessions has been by Donald Trump's side almost since the beginning of his run for president. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JEFF SESSIONS: At this time in Americans' history, we need to make America great again. MCEVERS: It's February 2016. It's just a couple days ahead of Super Tuesday. The Republican primary is still wide open. And Jeff Sessions becomes one of the first members of Congress to
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Muslims In The U.S. Face Increased Discrimination, PEW Report Says
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: There are an estimated 3.3 million Muslims in the United States, and that number is growing. Today the Pew Research Center released a wide-ranging poll on Muslims in America. And while almost half the Muslims surveyed reported incidents of verbal or physical abuse in the past 12 months, many still say they are optimistic about their future and about this country. To talk about this, we're joined now by NPR's Leila Fadel. You might remember her from her time as NPR's Cairo correspondent. Now she has taken on a new job covering culture, race and diversity here in the U.S. She is with us from her new base in Las Vegas. Hi there. LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Hi. MCEVERS: So what were the most striking findings in this poll of Muslim-Americans? FADEL: Well, this is the third Pew poll on Muslims in America in 10 years. And I think the first thing that's so noticeable is the incredible diversity of Muslim communities in this country. Often
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Senate Republicans Continue Effort To Pass Health Care Law
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: The Senate is entering its third straight day of debate over health care. So far Republicans have failed to come up with a proposal that would fulfill their promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Today Republican leaders are hoping to pass a final measure senators are calling the skinny repeal. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis is on this story. She joins us now from the Capitol. And, Sue, I have to say we've got to stop meeting like this (LAUGHTER) MCEVERS: So tell us, what is skinny repeal? SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE: Skinny repeal - maybe think of it more like bare-boned repeal. What this proposal is, is essentially leaders are looking to find the bare minimum of the parts of undoing Obamacare that Republicans have long said they support - things like repealing the individual mandate that tells people they have to buy insurance, some of the taxes that were levied when the ACA passed, defunding
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On 'The Autobiography,' Vic Mensa Faces His Personal Demons And Emerges Stronger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJi9yg0VCQ Vic Mensa has many tattoos, but there's one that is particularly striking: the phrase "still alive," emblazoned on his stomach. One of the stories behind that tattoo comes from a time when, as a teenager, Mensa almost died trying to sneak into Lollapalooza. The rapper says his plan was to climb over a bridge near the grounds and down a structure that carried power for Chicago's Metra trains. But he touched a transformer that shocked him with 15,000 volts of electricity, and fell 30 feet onto the tracks. "Either one of things alone is enough to kill somebody," Mensa says. "I was blessed enough to not die from that." Years later, in 2016, Mensa would find himself headlining that same festival. He just turned 24 this year, and after years of rapping and collaborating with stars like Kanye West , Chance the Rapper and Skrillex , Mensa has released his soul-baring debut album, The Autobiography . "I had to tell these stories for me to be able to
↧
Amplified And Orbital: Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme On Living In The Moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNwNSU5NikU The past few years have been all over the map for Josh Homme. There has been cause for celebration: The frontman and founder of Queens of the Stone Age produced a record with and toured with his childhood idol, Iggy Pop . But there has also been tragedy. Homme's other band, the Eagles of Death Metal , was playing at the Bataclan during the horrific Paris attacks almost two years ago. Though Homme was not there that night, he still does not talk about it. The new Queens of the Stone Age album, Villains , shows few signs of that darkness. The upbeat, even dancey record was produced by Mark Ronson , who famously worked with Amy Winehouse , Adele and Lady Gaga before working on Villains . Homme talked to NPR's Kelly McEvers about the band's "orbital" approach to the music on Villains , working with Iggy Pop and why he won't discuss the 2015 attack at the Bataclan. Hear the conversation at the audio link or read an edited transcript of the
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