51% Show # 1093

Albany, NY – The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has crippled the economy up and down the coast. In Alabama's seafood capital, Bayou La Batre, a third of the town is from Asia -- most of them from Vietnam. As Anna Boiko-Weyrauch reports, they face a unique set of challenges - not only economic fears, but a language barrier.

Vietnamese Oil Spill

The Hmong people are an Asian ethnic group primarily from the mountains of Vietnam, Laos and Vietnam. Their traditions are strong - and young Hmong find themselves boxed in between tradition, family and Western civilization. Kao Choua Vue (COW CHOO-ah VOO) of St. Paul faced intense pressure from her family, but one role model encouraged her to continue her education.
6:10 Good Hmong Daughter

Kao Choua Vue is a film student at the University of Minnesota. Her story is part of the Youth Radio Series on MPR News.

Tradition is a powerful thing and for many of us, our parents' financial advice is still the gold standard. But personal finance expert Manisha Thakor points out that times have changed and some of those old chestnuts need to be rethought.

5:05 Financial Rules Thakor

For more from author and personal finance expert Manisha Thakor, visit her website at manishathakor.com.

And finally, correspondent Nancy Greenlease offers us a glimpse inside Meryl Streep's world. On a recent publicity tour to Rome, the award winning actor sat down and talked about how she works, and why it appears she's never been bitten by the star' bug.

4:17 Streep - Greenlease