Entire program – June 8, 2010

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Today on The World: Hero or villain? A former financial trader in France stands trial after his unauthorized trades cost a major bank billions in losses. Also, South Africa’s NEW street names and OLD maps may cause confusion for visiting World Cup soccer fans. Plus, a missing Iranian scientist shows up on YouTube.

Former Societe Generale trader on trial

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The alleged “rogue trader” blamed by French bank Societe Generale for billions in losses has gone on trial in Paris. Jerome Kerviel (left) is accused of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use. The former trader has always maintained the bank knew about the risky deals. In a book published last month, Kerviel claimed that his superiors turned a blind eye to his trading while he was earning money for the bank, but intervened when he began to lose. Anita Elash reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage

Wine in a box

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The wine industry has taken a hit during the economic downturn. But one Pennsylvania-based seller of imported wines has seen its sales double from last year. The name of the company is “Yellow and Blue Wines.” Of course, yellow plus blue equals green, and Yellow and Blue wines are certified organic. But it’s their packaging that makes them environmental superstars as Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3

• Y+B Wines
• Global Economy podcast

Iran’s nuclear defiance

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Iran’s tough stance on its nuclear program got a little tougher today. Iran’s President Ahmadinejad said today his country will not agree to talks on the issue if the UN Security Council imposes new sanctions. Stephen Kinzer is the author of “Reset: Iran, Turkey and America’s Future.” Marco Werman talks with him. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Stephen Kinzer on Iran, Turkey and the U.S. (Feb)
• book info

Updating signs of South Africa’s troubled past

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Hundreds of thousands of soccer fans are heading to South Africa for the World Cup. Once there, they’ll have to find their way to stadiums in the nation’s nine host cities. There could be problems with many streets getting new names, as apartheid era symbols are replaced. Kyle G. Brown reports. Download MP3

• World Cup coverage on The World
• Life in Southern Africa

Pierre de Gaillande sings George Brassens

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French singer-songwriter George Brassens was a cultural icon in his homeland. Brassens died almost 30 years ago but his songs are still going strong. Recently a musician undertook the painstaking work of translating Brassens’s songs into English in the US. It took two whole years for Pierre de Gaillande to put an album of Brassens’ songs together. Download MP3

• Pierre de Gaillande homepage
• Pierre de Gaillande and Keren Ann perform “To Die For your Ideas”
• Georges Brassens – “Mourir pour des idees”

Europe’s social contract

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Christopher Dickey, Paris Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine, about the effects of Europe’s economic woes on some of the public perks Europeans have come to expect, like five week vacations and affordable health care.

World Cup notes

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Soccer fans the world over are counting down the days to Friday’s opening of The World Cup international soccer tournament. Anchor Marco Werman has more.

Missing Iranian scientist found on YouTube

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The World’s Katy Clark tells us about the mystery surrounding an Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared last fall. This week, he turned up on YouTube in two separate videos. In one, he claims to have been kidnapped by the CIA. In the other, he says he defected.

• Video 1: Shahram Amiri “kidnapped”
• Video 2: Shahram Amiri “defected”

Geo Quiz

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Our daily geography quiz.

Colombian guerrilla hails from Netherlands

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A new documentary and book are telling the story of an unlikely member of Colombia’s FARC guerrilla force, a female university professor from the Netherlands. She sought out and joined the FARC rebels about 8 years ago. Reporter John Otis has the story.

Geo Answer

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Today’s Geo Quiz asks: What do New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, Austria and Norway have in common? It turns out they rank as the most peaceful places to live in the world according to the 2010 Global Peace Index. Anchor Marco Werman explains.

• Global Peace Index
• Vision of Humanity
• Geo Quiz archive

Music Heard on Air for June 8, 2010

Tunes Spun On The World Between Our Reports For June 8, 2010. Artists featured are, Ali Farka Toure, Ry Cooder, Kerekes Band, Lamine Konte.

Tech Podcast: Solar internet cafe…in a cargo container

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It looks like an ordinary cargo container. You know the kind they use for shipping. However, this one’s got a fully functioning, solar-powered Internet cafe inside of it. Computer Aid International will be field testing these cafes over the next few months. You can hear more about that story, and many others, in this week’s Technology Podcast. (Photo: Computer Aid International)

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In every word, a microhistory

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, Anamika Veeramani won the National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word “stromuhr”. It’s one of many English words in the contest that sound decidedly unEnglish. After a report on that, we speak with David Wolman, whose book “Righting the Mother Tongue” traces the anarchic evolution of English spelling. English is barely policed: foreign words, often with foreign spelling intact, migrate unhindered into the language. Download MP3