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Theater
10:03 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Dementia Takes The Stage In 'The Other Place'

In the Broadway play The Other Place actress Laurie Metcalf ("Jackie" on the TV show "Roseanne") plays a scientist suffering from the dementia she studies. Playwright Sharr White discusses the play and the challenge of presenting complicated science on a theater stage.

Technology
10:03 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Inventors Design Lamp Powered Entirely By Gravity

Transcript

FLORA LICHTMAN, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Flora Lichtman, filling in for Ira Flatow today. Solar wind, geothermal - now there's a new renewable energy source to add to that list. It's free, completely reliable and totally unlimited: the force of gravity. Two British designers have invented a lamp that runs on gravity alone. Their GravityLight - yes, that's its name, aptly named - uses, you guessed it, the pull of gravity on a weight to generate up to 30 minutes of light.

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Brain Candy
10:03 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Edward Tufte Wants You to See Better

Data scientist Edward Tufte (dubbed the "Galileo of graphics" by BusinessWeek) pioneered the field of data visualization. Tufte discusses what he calls "forever knowledge," and his latest projects: sculpting Richard Feynman's diagrams, and helping people "see without words."

It's All Politics
9:59 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Inauguration Mashup: The Speech In 11 Easy Steps

Credit NPR
An 11-step guide to the perfect inauguration speech

Originally published on Sat January 19, 2013 3:29 am

May the eagles of democracy soar above the covenant that binds our great nation in an era of new beginning ... or something.

Have you ever watched an inaugural address and wondered: How DO those guys (because they're always guys) do it? Well, we've prepared this handy guide so you, too, can give a speech like the chief executive.

Our instructions are based on a century of recorded footage. William McKinley's address was the first to be recorded by a "motion picture camera" (in 1897). Calvin Coolidge was the first to be broadcast over the radio (in 1925).

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Movies
9:32 am
Fri January 18, 2013

'Mama': A Good Old-Fashioned Horror Movie

I was weaned on horror movies and love them inordinately, but the genre has gone to the dogs — and to the muscle-bound werewolves, hormonal vampires, flesh-eating zombies, machete-wielding psychos, etc. It's also depressing how most modern horror pictures have unhappy nihilist endings in which everyone dies and the demons pop back up, unvanquished — partly because studios think happy endings are too soft, but mostly because they need their monsters for so-called franchises.

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NPR Story
9:15 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Was Armstrong's Apology Sincere?

Originally published on Fri January 18, 2013 12:00 pm

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, ahead of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and inauguration date both being observed on Monday, we will hear about some of the less well known speeches made by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.. And some of the less well known bits of history around presidential inaugurations. That will all be later in the program.

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NPR Story
9:15 am
Fri January 18, 2013

What Manti Te'o And A Former Mormon Leader Have In Common?

Originally published on Fri January 18, 2013 12:00 pm

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And now it's time for Faith Matters. That's the part of the program where we talk about matters of faith and spirituality, and as you just heard, the Barber Shop guys were talking about the very strange story involving Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o. He's in the news because the story of his girlfriend's tragic death and the girlfriend herself turned out to be a hoax.

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NPR Story
9:15 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.

Originally published on Fri January 18, 2013 12:00 pm

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We are heading into inauguration weekend and in a moment we will hear about some of the great and not-so-great moments of inaugurations past.

Along with the public ceremonies that are a part of the presidential inauguration, many people, including the president, will also be honoring the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. this weekend, and on Monday, when his birthday is observed as a national holiday.

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The Two-Way
8:36 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Body Exhumed Of Lottery Winner Who Suffered Cyanide-Related Death

Credit / AP
Urooj Khan, with his winning lottery ticket. Not long after this photo was taken, he was dead.

The remains of Urooj Khan, the Chicago man who last July died one day after his $425,000 check from the Illinois lottery was cut, were exhumed today, the Chicago Tribune reports.

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Author Interviews
7:49 am
Fri January 18, 2013

The Inquisition: A Model For Modern Interrogators

Originally published on Fri January 18, 2013 9:32 am

This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 20, 2012.

The individuals who participated in the first Inquisition 800 years ago kept detailed records of their activities. Vast archival collections at the Vatican, in France and in Spain contain accounts of torture victims' cries, descriptions of funeral pyres and even meticulous financial records about the price of torture equipment.

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