Susan Barnett

Back in May, long before anyone had heard of a storm named Sandy, Dr. Heidi Cullen talked about the impact of climate change. She’s the chief climatologist at Climate Central, a non-profit climate science organization in New Jersey. When we spoke, studies were showing that little public interest in taking action to slow climate change. A superstorm may have reversed that trend..but the question now is if we’ve waited too long.

This is the time of year when people all over the world aren’t just buying gifts and planning holiday menus – they’re trying to help their neighbors. But for one community in Manchester, New Hampshire, private acts of charity aren’t just a holiday tradition. They are a display of Libertarian -- even Anarchist -- principles.  Emily Corwin reports.

Here in the US, the political divide often seems as vast as the Grand Canyon. Commentator Chris Tucker finds himself wondering about the personal price we pay for our political opinions.

3:05  Tucker Conflicts PRX

The tensions in Gaza heated up in November, with attacks from both sides ending with nearly 150 dead in Palestine and six dead in Israel.  At the same time, Palestine’s effort to win further UN recognition was being discouraged by both Israel and the US, with those countries arguing only negotiations could create an independent Palestinian state.

51% Episode 1220
Nov 29, 2012

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Climate change was a topic notably absent from the recent presidential campaign – until a storm named Sandy hit the East Coast. Then New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo called extreme weather ‘the new normal” and called for action on climate change. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama for re-election, saying he was best equipped to handle the issue of climate change.

The topic has taken center stage.

51% Episode 1217
Nov 8, 2012

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Women like to connect. They are communicators. And nothing has opened up the world to women with a drive to write than the blog. In just a few minutes, you can set up a page and soon you’re talking with the rest of the world. Nora Ephron’s last project was a film based on  blogger Julie Powell’s book about her attempt to make every recipe in Julia Childs’ classic French cookbook. Now Luisa Weiss, better known to bloggers as The Wednesday Chef, has a book out called My Berlin Kitchen, the story of her attempt to integrate her childhood in Berlin and in New York, as well as her connections to Italy. It is, of course, a love story as well as a book with recipes.

51% Episode 1215
Oct 25, 2012