May 18, 2012 — German Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has died — he was 86. Fischer-Dieskau began performing in the 1940s and had a career spanning five decades. He was perhaps best known for his interpretation of Franz Schubert's "Winterreise."
May 18, 2012 — Astrophysicist Adam Frank says that private rocket ships will launch a sure future for Americans.
May 18, 2012 — For decades, the Palestinians have urged foreign Muslims to boycott one of the holiest sites in Islam, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. But now, Palestinian religious figures are encouraging such visits, saying they could highlight Palestinian claims in their feud with Israel.
May 18, 2012 — Campaigns, political parties, interest groups — they're all ramping up to register millions of potential voters. The Pew Center on the States estimates there are 51 million unregistered Americans who are eligible to vote. The belief is that even a small number of them could swing the results.
May 18, 2012 — Feel like you're the last to see the new Hollywood blockbuster? You may be right — because studios have started premiering big films overseas before they come to the United States.
May 18, 2012 — An oil boom in the American heartland has created an oil glut in the middle of the country. Now, a pipeline that has been pumping crude oil from Texas to the Midwest will reverse its flow, reducing the bottleneck — and potentially creating winners and losers at the pump.
May 18, 2012 — Investors snapped up Facebook shares on a much hyped and tumultuous first day of trading. Mark Zuckerberg got it all started by ringing the opening bell for Nasdaq. Then a glitch delayed trading by half an hour. The IPO put Facebook's market value at over $100 billion — more than McDonald's or Amazon.
May 18, 2012 — Melissa Block and Robert Siegel read emails from listeners about Donna Summer and conservative donor Joe Ricketts.
May 18, 2012 — What's being called the first official protest of NATO kicked off Friday in downtown Chicago, where an estimated 1,000 nurses are expected to gather. They're calling for a "Robin Hood Tax" whereby Wall Street earnings are taxed to help relieve inadequacies in healthcare.
May 18, 2012 — With 7 billion people expected to live in urban centers by 2050, the stakes are enormous for building them right. There are many things to think about — traffic, trash, water, connectivity and more. Whether you're a new mega city being built in Saudi Arabia or old Liverpool trying to rejuvenate yourself, you face a lot of the same issues. Hundreds of mayors, private sector actors, think tanks and citizens groups...
May 18, 2012 — Robert Siegel speaks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss the race between President Obama and presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney, and the tension between capitalism and democracy.
May 18, 2012 — Melissa Block talks to Los Angeles Times journalist Steve Zeitchik about what's popular this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
May 18, 2012 — New French President Francois Hollande visited President Obama at this White House on Friday afternoon. The two leaders will also travel to Camp David for the G-8 economic summit.
May 18, 2012 — Robert Siegel talks to Monica Langley of the Wall Street Journal about her piece, "Inside J.P. Morgan's Blunder." She investigated what went on behind the scenes as the bank faced billions of dollars in losses through failed investments.
May 18, 2012 — Russia and the U.S. are trying hard to bridge their differences over the U.S. plan to build a missile defense system in Europe. Russia holds deep suspicions that the system is actually a plan to counter Russian nuclear missiles, not to protect Europe and the Middle East from Iranian missiles. The issue is an urgent one as NATO gets ready to hold a summit in Chicago and formalize its commitment to missile defense in...
May 18, 2012 — Robert Siegel talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the latest news in the MLB.
May 18, 2012 — The cyclists who participated in Friday's National Bike to Work Day likely planned their ride based on several criteria, from convenience to safety. Those same concerns help determine how "bikeable" a city is, according to a new study by the Walk Score website.
May 18, 2012 — Egypt had a revolution last year as the country united behind a call to oust Hosni Mubarak and sweep away his regime. Yet just days before the country's presidential election, the front-runner is Amr Moussa — one of the country's most prominent political figures during Mubarak's rule.
May 18, 2012 — Mark Zuckerberg will owe nearly $200 million in California state taxes after the IPO. Facebook shareholders will pay roughly 20 percent of personal income taxes in the state this year.
May 18, 2012 — A set of Buddy Holly recordings scratched an itch for McPherson, as a kid raised on a cattle ranch.
May 17, 2012 — Documents have been released in the investigation of George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, shot Martin, an unarmed teen. He's claiming self-defense. Robert Siegel talks to Greg Allen.
May 17, 2012 — A new law grants doctors access to information about trade-secret chemicals used in natural gas drilling. Doctors say they need the information to treat patients who may have been exposed to chemicals. But the law also says doctors can't tell anyone else — not even other doctors — about what's in the formulas.
May 17, 2012 — TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts became front-page news Thursday because of a report he was considering a $10 million ad campaign that would attack President Obama over his former pastor. But Ricketts has been quietly funding conservative political causes for the past few years.
May 17, 2012 — Back when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth, some hardy bacteria took up residence at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Eighty six million years later, they're still there. And a new study says they're living out the most Spartan lifestyle known on this planet.
May 17, 2012 — Summer, who died on Thursday at 63, created dozens of hits, including "Love To Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls." Over five decades, she combined a light touch, pop theatricality, innovative sounds and an attention to detail that made her into one of pop's best performers.
Weekday hosts Robert Siegel, Michele Norris and Melissa Block, and weekend host Guy Raz.
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