Entire program – December 25, 2009

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Today on The World: How soldiers in Afghanistan are spending the holiday; Also, global outcry after a Chinese dissident is sentenced to eleven years in prison; Plus, controversy over whether a beauty pageant should take place in the West Bank.

Video of captured soldier released

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The Taliban released a video today showing captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Marco Werman has more.

The holiday for soldiers in Afghanistan

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Ben Gilbert was embedded with US troops in southern Afghanistan. He reports on the soldiers who are there for Christmas — and the lucky few who get to go home for the holiday.

Reflecting on the year in Afghanistan

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Marco Werman speaks with Sultana Parvanta, a former official with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Ms. Parvanta lives in Kabul… and she says this is a special time of the year to be in the Afghan capital.

Is time crunch a global phenomenon?

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Eva Hoffman, author of a new book called Time. She says the faster tempo of modern life isn’t just a western phenomenon: the feeling of a “time crunch” is increasingly a global experience.

Ghetto art show

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Richard Fleming reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on a unique art event which recently took place there.

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• Richard Fleming’s website

Chinese dissident sentenced

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The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing on today’s sentencing of a leading Chinese dissident. Liu Xiaobo will spend 11 years in prison for what the government calls subversion, after he drafted a manifesto calling for political change in China.

Miss Palestine pageant

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Linda Gradstein reports from Ramallah on a controversy over whether a beauty pageant should take place in the West Bank.

A soldier named jihad

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks to Jihad Sakhnini. He’s a Palestinian-Christian who enlisted in the US military right after the September 11th attacks.

A Special Podcast on Music and its Origins

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It’s hard to imagine life without music. We turn to music for comfort. We celebrate and mourn with music. But how did music come to be such an important part of our lives? This week, you’ll learn how music evolved since pre-historic times, and how it is wired in our brains. You can also bring your own question about the evolution of music and its effect on our brains to The World Science Forum. Download MP3