KUOW Presents

Different periods in history have different swear words. How people throw them around says something about our who we are as a culture. Because we reserve the harshest epithets for the kind of person we most fear becoming.

Hear NPR’s linguist Geoffrey Nunberg get bleeped on the radio, today on KUOW Presents.
 

Full list of stories from KUOW Presents, Thursday, February 21:

Brian Banks spent five years in prison after being falsely accused of rape. After his release, he tried to return to the football career that had looked so promising before his conviction. But the electronic monitor on his ankle and the stigma of his crime proved insurmountable barriers.

Then, his former accuser suddenly tried to friend him on Facebook. She admitted she’d made the whole thing up and suggested they let bygones be bygones. Now, Brian only had to get her to admit the truth to a judge.

Other stories on KUOW Presents, Wednesday, February 20:

The "wild west" may have an undeserved reputation. If you believe what you see in old movies, you'd think gunslingers routinely shot each over for the slightest offenses. But according to historians, shoot-outs like the famous one at the O.K. Corral were rare, and towns like Tombstone, Ariz., and Dodge City, Kan., had some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation.

Other stories on KUOW Presents, Tuesday, February 19:

Two-year-old Budhia Singh was sold into slavery in India, then purchased by a philanthropist who routinely rescues slave children from a life of beggary. Soon, Budhia exhibited a gift for running. He seemed destined to become India's greatest runner.  But when he became a kind of folk hero, the pressure became difficult to bear. His story today on KUOW, adapted from the documentary, “Marathon Boy.”

Other stories on KUOW Presents, Monday, February 18:

Lyana Strelkoff made a list of what she wanted in a man. And that list certainly didn't describe Dean. Then, she fell out of a tree and instantly became paralyzed from the waist down. You won't be surprised by what happens, especially since this is Valentine's day. But the way this story is told - well, hearing it is like falling out of a tree. WHOMP!


Other stories from KUOW Presents, Thursday, February 14:

In 1977, Cornish College of the Arts faculty member Jovino Santos Neto was coming back home to Brazil after university studies in Canada. Jovino was planning to do graduate work in biology in the Amazon rain forest. But on a whim, Jovino decided to first knock on the door of the famous Brazilian composer, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal.

Marry an American, get residency in the US: It's a myth many Americans still believe, promulgated by sitcoms and romantic comedies. But the true story is much more complicated. And it has left thousands of families trying to remain united as borders divides them. Hear the story of one family that commutes everyday from Tijuana to San Diego. They leave at 3:30 in the morning, their kids asleep in the back seat. Clearly this is not the romantic comedy they expected. 

Other stories heard on KUOW Presents, Wednesday, February 13: 

Mourning begins in a kind of thick non-seeing,
only later clarified, gradually lightening,
until we recognize what our lives must carry.

So begins "The Planet Closest To Us," Alice Derry's frank and moving poem about grieving the loss of someone who it was not always easy to love -- her mother. Derry reads her poem, and talks about the unexpected gift in her mother's passing.

Back in the 1960s, it was urban radicals who fought for the right to bear arms, and it was largely white conservatives who fought for tighter gun control. How times have changed.

The forgotten history of the gun rights debate, today on KUOW.

Other stories heard on KUOW Presents, Tuesday, February 12:

Karen Armstrong came to religion through the back door. She had tried coming through the front, joining a convent as a teenager. But the spiritual experiences her mentors expected her to have just fell flat. She gave up the church and found her mind grew more open. But lately, she’s been revisiting her spiritual side and looking for balance.

Other stories heard on KUOW Presents, Monday, February 11: