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Correspondent Eliza Barclay reports from Nicaragua how two American brothers tried a technological fix to alleviate poverty in that Central American country, and our Science Forum invites you discuss aid projects online with environmental engineer Anu Ramaswami of the University of Colorado in Denver. Download MP3
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The World’s Europe Correspondent, Gerry Hadden, is in Berlin working on stories for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He spent last night in the Ostel hotel. It’s a hotel refurbished to resemble a guesthouse in 1970s communist East Germany. Gerry gives us a tour. Download MP3 (Photo: Gerry Hadden)
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As long as there have been cool themes and rhythms, musicians have been recycling them. The trick is how to pull that off without sounding derivative. Take the songs of British singer-songwriter Gemma Ray. They sound familiar, but when you stop and listen, you know you’ve never heard this before. Download MP3
Afghan President Hamed Kharzai has the last laugh in this week’s cartoons. He literally thumbs his nose at the rest of us. Meanwhile, President Obama tries to keep the embattled president on message. And, the H1N1 flu is living up to its pandemic image. It’s everywhere!
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The U.S. recession is over! (Technically speaking by one measure.) That’s because the nation’s gross domestic product is back in positive territory. But for the 10 percent of Americans who are out looking for work, it sure doesn’t feel like much of an economic recovery. Should GDP be the bar by which we judge economic health? And what about measuring a nation’s economic prowess by Big Mac sales? Many have argued that the mark of economic progress, or the triumph of American capitalism depending on your vantage, is when a nation serves up McDonald’s. By that argument, what does it say about a nation when its golden arches disappear?
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Tunes Spun On The Word Between our reports for November 6, 2009. Artists featured are Calamus, Bela Fleck, Moriba Koita, Justin Adams, Juldeh Camara, Jonthan Richman and The Modern Lovers, Mady Kouyate.
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We select our top five language-related stories from the past month. Among them: Some birds develop distinct dialects based on the decibel levels of their habitats; Companies doing business in Glasgow are offered interpreters to translate the local dialect; And Chinese expats do battle over which script U.S. schools should use to teach Chinese – traditional characters, favored in Taiwan and Hong Kong, or simplified characters, used in mainland China.