Robin Hood character gets tougher

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Anchor Marco Werman has some thoughts on how the character of Robin Hood is getting tougher… at least the movie version is.

Plastiki

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We join an ocean voyage for today’s Geo Quiz. We’re checking the progress of an unusual vessel called Plastiki. Download MP3

Music Heard on Air for May 12, 2010

Tunes Spun On The World Between Our Reports For May 12, 2010. Artists featured are Moriba Koita, Kerekes Band, Silvia Perez Cruz, Ravid Goldschmidt, Ensemble FizFuz, Kaki King.

Entire program – May 11, 2010

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Today on The World: What the Greek bailout means for the global economy; Also, executives from the companies involved in the Gulf oil spill are grilled in Congress; Plus, electronic music as Shanghai’s soundtrack.

Gordon Brown resigns as UK prime minister

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has resigned, and the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, has been appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth, five days after the inconclusive election. Brown’s departure brings to an end 13 years of government by the Labour Party. Laura Lynch in London describes the end of Brown’s tenure. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• The political career of Gordon Brown
• In pictures: Gordon Brown’s life in politics
• The new prime minister David Cameron

Markets remain nervous over debt crisis

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Stock markets have fallen back after shares across the world surged on Monday in the wake of a deal to tackle Europe’s debt crisis. In London, shares fell 1% after rising 5% on Monday, while in Paris, they lost 0.7% after soaring 9% the previous day. Stocks in the US and Germany saw small rises. Marco Werman talks to MIT economist Kristin Forbes about the European bailout and what it means for the global economy. Download MP3 (flickr image:Blatantworld)

• BBC coverage
• Market data
• Global Economy podcast

Senator Bond on personality disorder discharges

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On Friday we talked with investigative reporter Joshua Kors about allegations that US military doctors have been deliberately misdiagnosing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to deny them expensive medical benefits. On today’s show Marco Werman speaks with Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), who has been campaigning against personality disorder discharges. Download MP3

• Senator Bond’s Senate page
• Listen to Marco’s interview with Joshua Kors
• Joshua Kors articles on personality disorder discharges
• US Department of Veterans Affairs

Senate hearings on oil spill disaster

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The US Senate began hearings today on the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the first opportunity lawmakers have had to publicly question the companies involved. The World’s Katy Clark reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Underwater footage of oil spill
• Lessons learned from Gulf War oil spill

Tech Podcast: Hair & Hosiery vs. The Oil Spill

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Introducing a new warrior in the fight against the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Yep, hair. Human hair and animal hair. A San Francisco non-profit is collecting hair (not to mention used nylons to stuff the hair into) from across the globe to make natural fiber booms to help soak up the oil. We also take you inside Britain’s super-secret listening post, and hear about a woman who wants developing world thinkers to solve the developed world’s problems for a change. (Photo: Matter of Trust)

• Download this episode (35:18)
• Subscribe to the Tech Podcast via iTunes
• Subscribe to the Tech Podcast via RSS

How did Greece get here?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Greece owes lenders hundreds of billions of dollars, its deficit is over 13 percent and the economy is in recession. As Greeks come to terms with the the future they’re also reflecting on just how they got to this point. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports from Athens.

• Photo gallery
• Greece’s unofficial economy

Secret US prison in Afghanistan

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
The US airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan is the site of a major detention facility. But the Red Cross has confirmed the existence of a second jail at Bagram, one where former prisoners say they were subject to abuse. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Hilary Anderson, who’s leading an investigation into the allegations.

Diplomatic visits to DC

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Afghan president Hamid Karzai is in Washington DC for a four-day visit. Reporter Bruce Wallace tells us about the sort of mundane things foreign presidential entourages do while on a visit to Washington.

Geo Quiz

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Our daily geography quiz.

Geo answer

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
The Answer to today’s Geo Quiz is Tozeur, Tunisia, the starting point for four US and Canadian students who took 8 days to run across the Northern Sahara desert. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with one of the students, Jill Gilday.

Saharan Run

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We explore a corner of the world’s largest sandy desert for our Geo Quiz today. The Tunisian city we want you to name today is a good starting point for a trek into the Sahara Desert. Download MP3