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All Things Considered

Weekdays 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Melissa Block, Michele Norris, Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish

Since its debut in 1971, this afternoon radio newsmagazine has delivered in-depth reporting and transformed the way listeners understand current events and view the world. Heard by more than 11 million people on over 600 radio stations each week, All Things Considered is one of the most popular programs in America. Every weekday, hosts Melissa Block, Michele Norris, and Robert Siegel present two hours of breaking news mixed with compelling analysis, insightful commentaries, interviews, and special - sometimes quirky - features. Andrea Seabrook hosts a one-hour edition of the program on Saturday and Sunday.

More information at All Things Considered.

Local Host(s): 
Matthew Jensen
Genre: 
News/Talk
Composer ID: 
5187cb7ee1c8a892ebf233e7|5187cb66e1c8a892ebf2339a

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Judging The Health Care Law
3:53 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Court's Recent Rulings Shake Up Partisan Narrative

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court justices — (first row, from left) Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (back row) Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan — pose at the Supreme Court in 2010.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

It's a bit less likely now than a week ago that you'll hear people accuse the Supreme Court of being politicized.

That's because this week, the court ended its session with two controversial decisions — neither one of which was decided on the usual and predictable split between the five justices appointed by Republican presidents and the four appointed by Democrats.

But that doesn't make the court any less of a political animal.

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Politics
3:34 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Tea Party Sees Ruling As New Rallying Cry

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Credit David Goldman / AP
The Supreme Court is reflected in the sunglasses of Susan Clark on Thursday as she demonstrates against President Obama's health care law.
Credit Kris Connor / Getty Images
Tea Party activists say the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act could re-energize their movement, just in time for this fall's election.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

Some of the earliest and most vocal opponents of President Obama's health care law were members of the Tea Party. In fact, health care quickly became the issue fueling the rise of the movement.

Anger over the Affordable Care Act drove the Tea Party and Republicans to big gains in the 2010 elections, but since then the movement has seen its prominence and influence wane.

Now, Tea Party activists say the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law will reignite that original passion in time for this fall's election.

Call For Repeal Continues

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NPR's Backseat Book Club
3:27 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Gross-Out Gags AND Life Lessons In 'Wimpy Kid'

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Credit Jeff Kinney / Abrams
Credit iStockphoto.com
NPR's Backseat Book Club is taking a break for the summer months, but we're already making a list of books to read in the fall. Do you have suggestions? Share Your Recommendations!
Credit Jeff Kinney / Abrams
"Let me just say for the record that I think middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented," laments Wimpy Kid protagonist Greg Heffley. "You got kids like me who haven't hit their growth spurt yet mixed in with gorillas who need to shave twice a day." Click Here To Read An Excerpt From Diary Of A Wimpy Kid
Credit Abrams
Jeff Kinney is an author, cartoonist and game designer. He lives in southern Massachusetts and has two sons.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

We've chosen some popular books for our monthly Backseat Book Club selections, but nothing quite like the boffo best-sellers in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

How popular are these books? Consider the numbers: There are six books, and a seventh is on the way. They've been translated into 40 languages and there are 75 million copies in print worldwide. And it was our 2009 interview with author Jeff Kinney that originally inspired us to start a book club just for kids.

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From Our Listeners
2:44 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Letters

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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

It's time now for your letters, and some of you wrote to us in memory of a popular tourist destination in Colorado Springs.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) Ropes and saddles and steers and steaks, cowboys, guitars, fiddle and bass, little wranglers love this place, Flying W Ranch.

BLOCK: The Flying W Ranch billed itself as a step back into the Old West and featured historic memorabilia and cowboy entertainment.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

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Sports
2:44 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

The Latest On Soccer's Euro Cup, Wimbledon

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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

Audie Cornish talks with sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the latest from Wimbledon and soccer's Euro Cup tournament.

Around the Nation
2:25 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Obama Visits Colorado In Wake Of Fires

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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

President Obama visited Colorado Springs on Friday to survey the damage caused by the Waldo Canyon fire, which burned more than 300 homes.

Health Care
2:17 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

How Health Law's Taxes, Penalties Will Be Enforced

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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to try to break down now just what those penalties will be for those who don't buy health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office projects in the year 2016 four million people will pay the penalty. I'm joined now by Timothy Jost. He's law professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and he's been looking into these numbers. We should say, Professor Jost, first off, you are also a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, right?

TIMOTHY JOST: That's correct, yes.

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Health
1:44 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Sole Abortion Clinic In Miss. Fights Law To Stay Open

Credit Rogelio V. Solis / AP
Abortion opponents demonstrate outside Mississippi's only abortion clinic in Jackson.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

A new Mississippi law requires doctors who perform abortions in the state to be board-certified OB-GYNs. They also must have privileges to admit patients at a local hospital.

The law is regulatory in nature, but at a bill-signing ceremony in April, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was clear about the intent.

"We have an opportunity today with the signing of this bill to end abortion in Mississippi," he said.

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World
10:52 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Will Reforms End Myanmar Monks' Spiritual Strike?

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Credit Ye Aung Thu / AFP/Getty Images
Buddhists donate food and other necessities to monks as a way of earning merit for future lives. Monks have refused donations of alms from the military as a political protest in 1990 and 2007, a boycott that some monks insist is still in effect.
Credit Anthony Kuhn / NPR
Nay Myo Zin is a former captain in the Myanmar army who now runs a charity and is a political activist. He says he quit the army because soldiers were "always made to do bad things," and thus preventing him from properly practicing his Buddhist religion.
Credit Reuters /Landov
A monk waves his alms bowl upside down in defiance of a threat to send troops to end anti-junta protests in Yangon on Sept. 25, 2007, during the country's monk-led Saffron Revolution.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

In response to political reforms in Myanmar — also known as Burma — the U.S. and other Western countries have eased some sanctions targeting the country's former military rulers.

But so far, one of the most powerful institutions inside the country has kept its sanctions in place. For some time, Myanmar's Buddhist clergy have effectively been on a spiritual strike by refusing to take donations from the military — a serious blow to the former regime's legitimacy.

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Movie Reviews
7:37 am
Fri June 29, 2012

A Boy And His Bear, At Large In A Man's World

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Credit Universal Pictures/Tippett Studio
Ted (voiced by writer-director Seth MacFarlane) and Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) share a laugh in Ted. The talking teddy bear got his powers when 8-year-old Johnny wished upon a falling star for Ted to speak.
Credit Universal Pictures
When Johnny's girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis), tires of Ted's constant presence around the house, Ted gets a job — which is when the comedy catches fire.
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Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

Seth MacFarlane is known mostly for creating, writing and directing the animated TV show Family Guy. In the show, he also voices Peter and Stewie Griffin, and their dog, Brian.

With his new movie, Ted, he has moved to the big screen for the first time, again creating, writing and directing. And though it's a live-action picture, he has again voiced one of the characters — the titular teddy bear, whom I tried to resist but couldn't.

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