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January, February & March 2006

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March 2006

MP3 - Mysterious Creatures: Are Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster Real or False?
EXPLORATIONS: Many people believe in the existence of an animal that is half human and half ape and also a huge creature in a lake in Scotland.
MP3 - Increased Efforts Urged to Fight Tuberculosis
HEALTH REPORT: Almost two million people every year die from tuberculosis.
MP3 - Wild About Cherries
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Cherries are a popular fruit in many parts of the world, but they are also valued for their beautiful flowers
MP3 - Preparing for a Bird Flu Pandemic: Waiting, Worrying and Wondering
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: What can you do to help protect yourself and your family?
MP3 - Poor Nutrition in the Developing World
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: A new study from the World Bank says poor nutrition remains one of the world's most serious health problems. More than half of all child deaths around the world are linked to malnutrition.
MP3 - Library of Congress Sends Music, Poems and Movies on a National Trip to Share the 'Song of America'
THIS IS AMERICA: Classical singer Thomas Hampson is leading the first part of a program by the library to celebrate creativity.
MP3 - International Criminal Court Calls First Defendant, From D.R.C.
IN THE NEWS: Accused armed-group leader in Congo becomes the first suspect to appear before the world's first permanent war crimes court
MP3 - Duke Ellington: One of the Most Popular Musicians of the Twentieth Century
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Experts say the music Ellington created is truly a great gift to the world
MP3 - Teenage Bloggers / Public Domain / Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
AMERICAN MOSAIC
MP3 - Saving for Retirement, Part 2
ECONOMICS REPORT: Pension plans offer defined payments; other plans require savings and good investment returns
MP3 - Intel Science Talent Search Winners Announced
EDUCATION REPORT: Teenage scientists win money for college
MP3 - The United States Enters World War One
MAKING OF A NATION: President Woodrow Wilson worked to keep the country out of the war.
MP3 - Portable Music Players Linked to Hearing Loss
HEALTH REPORT: Reduce sound levels, limit listening time and use large earphones to cut the risk of hearing loss.
MP3 - The Castillo de San Marcos: A Story of Ships, Explorers, Disease, Raids and War
EXPLORATIONS: It took Spain 23 years to build the military base at the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States -- Saint Augustine, Florida.
MP3 - Why Farm Aid Has its Critics and Supporters
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Aid to farmers is not new, But it has become a big issue in international trade talks.
MP3 - With Podcasts, When Students Speak in Class, the World Can Listen
THIS IS AMERICA: Mountain View Alternative High
MP3 - Stress Early in Pregnancy / Antarctica Losing Ice / Hummingbirds
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
MP3 - The White Heron (A Story by Sarah Orne Jewett)
AMERICAN STORIES: A little girl's secret remains a secret.
MP3 - Honoring People Who Stick Their Necks Out for the Common Good
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: A U.S. group called the Giraffe Project has recognized more than 900 people around the world for taking risks.
MP3 - Duke Ellington and His Jazz Orchestra Were Famous Around the World
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: One of America's great jazz musicians.
MP3 - After Three Years, Iraq Is Still a Major Issue in American Politics
IN THE NEWS: Future goals in Iraq include forming effective government, ending terrorist attacks and violence among religious extremists
MP3 - Saving More for Retirement
ECONOMICS REPORT: Americans know they need to save more for retirement.
MP3 - World Baseball Classic / Roe v. Wade / Saint Patrick's Day Music
AMERICAN MOSAIC: 3 stories. March 17th is St. Patrick's Day
MP3 - When Jazz Lovers Get Together to Listen and Learn
EDUCATION REPORT: Music from the yearly conference of the International Association of Jazz Education
MP3 - Wilson Wins Re-election in 1916 on a Promise of 'He Kept Us Out of War!'
MAKING OF A NATION: Voters supported President Wilson because of his position on World War One.
MP3 - Parkinson's Disease: A Movement Disorder and a Medical Mystery
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: A report on recent developments in genetic research on a brain disease that mostly strikes older people
MP3 - More Nations Move to Vaccinate Farm Birds Against Deadly Flu
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Other measures are also important to control the spread of avian influenza
MP3 - Dana Reeve's Death Adds to Questions on Lung Cancer in Women
HEALTH REPORT: Experts say non-smoking women are more likely than non-smoking men to get the disease
MP3 - A Trip Along the Potomac River, One of America's Most Historic Waterways
EXPLORATIONS: Many places along the river are important in the life of the nation.
MP3 - World Bank to Open 'Artisan Market' in Washington
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Store will sell goods made by small businesses supported through the International Finance Corporation
MP3 - Six Months After the Storm, New Orleans Tries to Reclaim Its Famous Spirit
THIS IS AMERICA: A progress report on the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
MP3 - Susan Sontag: One of America's Most Influential 20th-Century Thinkers
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Sontag was famous for her serious studies about popular art forms
MP3 - United States Releases Yearly Report on Human Rights Around the World
IN THE NEWS: The State Department lists North Korea, Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, Cuba, China and Belarus as examples of the 'most systematic' violators.
MP3 - AT&T to Buy BellSouth in Big Telecom-Industry Deal
ECONOMICS REPORT: If approved, the merger could make the biggest telephone company in America even bigger
MP3 - PEN/Faulkner Award / Golden Gate Bridge / Matisyahu
AMERICAN MOSAIC: 3 stories
MP3 - A Full-Size Copy of Stonehenge, in a Search for Long-Lost Answers
EXPLORATIONS: Some of the latest discoveries about the ancient mysterious structure in Britain called Stonehenge.
MP3 - New Version of Test for Graduate School Is Delayed
EDUCATION REPORT: Teachers are telling students to take the GRE before it changes in the fall of 2007
MP3 - Wilson's Presidency Remembered Best for Its Foreign Policy
MAKING OF A NATION: Wilson's first international test involved a political crisis in Mexico. Then trouble began to surface in Europe.
MP3 - Rappaccini's Daughter, Part 1 (A story by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
AMERICAN STORIES: An Italian student falls in love with the daughter of a mad scientist
MP3 - Rappaccini's Daughter, Part 2 (A story by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
AMERICAN STORIES: An Italian student falls in love with the daughter of a mad scientist
MP3 - Tests Often Miss a Hidden Heart-Attack Risk in Women
HEALTH REPORT: Women treated for chest pain often go home from the hospital thinking their arteries are clear
MP3 - Visiting Seven of America's Natural Wonders
EXPLORATIONS: We take you to Niagara Falls, the Everglades, the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Alaska's glaciers and Hawaii's volcanoes
MP3 - Growing Vegetables in Shade
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Lots of vegetables grow well without much sun
MP3 - Greenland's Glaciers / Married People / Physical and Emotional Effects on Soldiers / Chronic Diseases
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
MP3 - How Do Vaccines Reach the Developing World?
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Vaccines are effective ways to prevent diseases. But, are they reaching the populations that need them most?
MP3 - Ballroom Appeal Gives Americans Dancing Feet, in Step With the Times
THIS IS AMERICA: Modern changes are giving new life to traditional ballroom dancing and so are popular TV competitions like 'Dancing With the Stars'
MP3 - Winslow Homer: America's Painter
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Winslow Homer painted the wide expanse of American life. In his pictures of people, he captured everyday life in a timeless way. In his pictures of nature, he seemed to capture important human issues.

February

MP3 - The Line of Least Resistance (A Short Story by Edith Wharton)
AMERICAN STORIES: Edith Wharton (1862-1937) won the Pulitzer prize for her novel, The Age of Innocence
MP3 - As New Orleans Marks Mardi Gras, a Dispute Freezes a Deal Tied to the City's Port and Five Others
IN THE NEWS: Democrats want Congress to have the right to disapprove the sale of some operations to a Dubai company. Republican leaders want to wait for the results of a 45-day security investigation.
MP3 - Travel to the United States / American and British English / Oscar Nominated Songs
AMERICAN MOSAIC: 3 topics
MP3 - Organizing a Business to Meet Different Needs
ECONOMICS REPORT: The simplest form of business is called an individual proprietorship. The most complex is the corporation, which is designed to have an unlimited lifetime.
MP3 - Summers Resigns After Five Years as Harvard President
EDUCATION REPORT: Lawrence Summers had the support of a majority of undergraduates, but many professors opposed his leadership
MP3 - America's Economic Life Changes Under President Woodrow Wilson
MAKING OF A NATION: His proposals led to a central bank in the United States, known today as the Federal Reserve System.
MP3 - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (Short Story by Mark Twain)
AMERICAN STORIES: A frog worth betting on
MP3 - W.H.O. Urges Action to Stop Counterfeit Medicines
HEALTH REPORT: Counterfeit medicines could represent ten percent of drug sales worldwide
MP3 - Women Around the World Continue to Struggle for Their Rights
EXPLORATIONS: How far have they come since 1979, when the United Nations approved a treaty protecting women's rights?
MP3 - Study of Women's Health Proves a Headache for Doctors, Patients
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: A report on the Women's Health Initiative, a 15-year U.S. project to learn more about how to prevent major causes of death and disability in older women. The findings surprised many people.
MP3 - Bird Flu: Composting the Remains of Farm Birds
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Composting uses the natural action of microorganisms to break down organic materials and create fertilizer
MP3 - 'Brokeback Mountain,' 'Crash': Hollywood Presents a Serious Side in Oscar Hopefuls
THIS IS AMERICA: The Academy Awards are next Sunday, and this year all five movies nominated for Best Picture deal with social or political issues
MP3 - An Olympic Winner Turns His Victory Into Child's Play
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: American speed skater Joey Cheek gives his prize money to Right to Play, a Toronto-based group that helps children in developing countries through sports
MP3 - Radio Pioneers Pulled Words, Music and World Events Out of Thin Air
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Lee De Forest, Edwin Armstrong, David Sarnoff, William S. Paley and Edward R. Murrow helped develop modern radio broadcasts
MP3 - Internet Business: Google Resists U.S. Demands, but Not So With China
IN THE NEWS: Google is praised for refusing to provide search records to the Justice Department, but criticized for honoring Chinese restrictions on the Web
MP3 - Gyrotonics / Ethnic Food in the USA / Rosanne Cash
AMERICAN MOSAIC
MP3 - Woodrow Wilson Wins 1912 Presidential Election
MAKING OF A NATION: The Democratic candidate campaigned for social change and progressive ideas.
MP3 - Praise for Advanced Placement Classes, but Also Criticism
EDUCATION REPORT: Some say the program may be expanding too fast
MP3 - Chronic Diseases: The World's Leading Killer
HEALTH REPORT: The World Health Organization says preventive action could save 36 million lives by 2015.
MP3 - Providing Health Care for Native Communities in Mexico Through Self-Help
The organization PROSA teaches natural medicine to the indigenous people of Oaxaca. PROSA means Promoters of Health in Defense of the Life of the Community. The group wants to help native people save traditional medical knowledge.
MP3 - Low-Fat Diets Alone Do Not Reduce Health Risks
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: No effect seen on rates of heart disease and colon cancer in a women's health study. Also, the importance of calcium. Plus, newly found creatures in Indonesia.
MP3 - Legumes: Good for People and Soil
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Many different kinds of plants are part of the leguminosae group.
MP3 - Mark Twain: One of America's Best Known and Best Loved Writers
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were characters in his famous books.
MP3 - Olympic Athletes / NASA /Grammy Winners
AMERICAN MOSAIC: 3 stories
MP3 - Tools of the Trade: The Federal Reserve and the Money Supply
ECONOMICS REPORT: Ben Bernanke, the new Fed chief, tells Congress that the U.S. economy is strong.
MP3 - President Taft Breaks From Teddy Roosevelt -- His Closest Friend
MAKING OF A NATION: The split developed because Progressives expected Taft to rule as Roosevelt had, with energy and emotion.
MP3 - Advanced Placement Programs Grow in U.S. High Schools
EDUCATION REPORT: New report says 60 percent of American high schools now offer college-level work
MP3 - Study Finds Risk of Lung Cancer Greatest in Black Smokers
HEALTH REPORT: New study does not explain differences, but genetics and environmental conditions are both seen as likely to play a part
MP3 - Big Risk in Taking Breaks from Drugs to Treat HIV / Premature Babies / Mother Love
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: 3 stories
MP3 - As Biotech Crops Spread, E.U. Is Found to Stand in the Way
AGRICULTURE REPORT: The World Trade Organization says the Europeans have made it too difficult for such crops to be approved
MP3 - The God of His Fathers (A Short Story by Jack London)
AMERICAN STORIES: Settlers in Alaska pay a heavy price for their belief in the white man's God.
MP3 - After Safest Year on Record, Coal Mining Deaths Raise Concerns
THIS IS AMERICA: A look at the history of mining safety and efforts to improve it.
MP3 - How Bad Will Malaria Season Be? New System Could Help Tell
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Scientists say better climate information will give health officials several months to prepare for outbreaks
MP3 - Shirley Horn: One of the Great Jazz Singers of the 1950s and 1960s
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: She won a Grammy Award in 1998.
MP3 - Cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed Have Led to Protests by Muslims in Recent Days
IN THE NEWS: The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have brought international protests and riots first appeared in a Danish newspaper last September
MP3 - Coretta Scott King / Uncle Tom's Cabin / Black History Museum
AMERICAN MOSAIC
MP3 - Company Says Legal Threat Will Not Stop BlackBerry E-mail Service
ECONOMICS REPORT: Research in Motion announces software workarounds for all its handsets should a court act on disputed patents
MP3 - William Howard Taft Replaces Teddy Roosevelt as President
MAING OF A NATION: During his presidency, Mister Taft worked hard to put into law many parts of Roosevelt's progressive programs.
MP3 - Winners of Children's Book Awards Announced
EDUCATION REPORT: Newbery and Caldecott medals from the American Library Association
MP3 - The Return of a Private (A Short Story by y Hamlin Garland)
AMERICAN STORIES: The soldiers cheered as the train crossed the border into the state of Wisconsin. It had been a long trip from the south back to their homes in the north.
MP3 - U.S., European Drug Officials Approve Inhaled Insulin
HEALTH REPORT: Diabetics who require insulin would still need a longer-lasting injection at least once a day
MP3 - Norway Plans to Store Seeds of All the World's Crops
AGRICULTURE REPORT: Report says aim is to protect 2 million seeds in a collection to be built inside a mountain near the North Pole
MP3 - U.S. Seeks to Cut Levels of Chemical Used for Teflon, Other Non-Stick Products
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS: Teflon is safe, its maker DuPont says. Also, Scientists claim the world's smallest fish, but not for long, and a search for the ancestors of modern cats leads back 11 million years to Asia
MP3 - Luck (A Short Story by Mark Twain)
AMERICAN STORIES: I was at a dinner in London given in honor of one of the most celebrated English military men of his time. I do not want to tell you his real name and titles. I will just call him Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby.
MP3 - Jamestown Gets Ready to Celebrate Its 400th Anniversary
THIS IS AMERICA: The story of the colonists who established England's first permanent settlement in America in 1607.
MP3 - Report Says Six Percent of Babies Are Born with Genetic Disorders
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: March of Dimes says most cases of serious birth disorders and deaths happen in developing countries
MP3 - Diane Arbus: Revolutionary Photographer of Unusual People
PEOPLE IN AMERICA: Diane Arbus took pictures of people in New York City in a new and different way
MP3 - The Story of an Eyewitness
AMERICAN STORIES: Jack London's reports about the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, California
MP3 - Keesh (A Short Story by Jack London)
AMERICAN STORIES: Keesh lived at the edge of the polar sea. He had seen thirteen suns in the Eskimo way of keeping time. Among the Eskimos, the sun each winter leaves the land in darkness. And the next year, a new sun returns, so it might be warm again.
MP3 - Ford Motor Company to Cut Jobs in North America
ECONOMICS REPORT: Six-year plan will close fourteen factories and cut up to thirty thousand jobs in U.S. and Canada.
MP3 - President Bush Gave His State of the Union Speech
IN THE NEWS: In his State of the Union speech, President Bush restates his goal to spread freedom and democracy.
MP3 - The Super Bowl, Haym Salomon and Wilson Pickett
AMERICAN MOSAIC: The Super Bowl is played every year between the champion teams of the two conferences of the National Football League. Haym Salomon was a financial hero of the American Revolution / Wilson Pickett died last month of a heart attack.
MP3 - American Educators Consider Changing Early High School Start Times
EDUCATION REPORT: American teens need more sleep than they are getting

January 2006

MP3 - Roosevelt's Policies Lead to Social Reform in America
MAKING OF A NATION: President Theodore Roosevelt led the United States during the early years of the twentieth century.
MP3 - Once-Daily Pill Could Simplify H.I.V. Treatment
HEALTH REPORT: Two drug companies jointly prepare to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval based on new research
MP3 - Let the Games Begin: Twentieth Winter Olympics Start February 10 in Turin, Italy
EXPLORATIONS: The Olympic Games are the world's most popular sports event.
MP3 - Scientist Says Restricting Fish in Pregnancy Diet May Do Harm
SIENCE IN THE NEWS: A U.S. government researcher questions dietary advice about the risk from mercury pollution in fish. Also, Greek scientists, trying to solve a medical mystery, blame typhoid fever for the fall of ancient Athens.
MP3 - Greater Use of Ethanol Fuel Could Drive New Markets for Corn
AGRICULTURE REPORT: U.S. farmers have been very successful in growing maize, but that success has led to oversupply and low prices
MP3 - WHO Warns Against Misuse of Malaria Drug
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: The health agency says artemisinin could lose its effectiveness; drug companies are asked to stop selling it by itself
MP3 - Cowboys and Cowgirls! Rodeo Season in the U.S.
THIS IS AMERICA: Modern-day riders and ropers get a chance to demonstrate their skills. 
AM = American Mosaic
AR = Agriculture Report
DR = Development Report
EC = Economics Report
ED = Education Report
EX = Explorations
HR = Health Report
IN = In the News
MN = Making of a Nation
PA = People in America
SN = Science in the News
TA = This is America
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