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The Salt
12:59 pm
Tue December 25, 2012

Computers May Someday Beat Chefs At Creating Flavors We Crave

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Credit Ryan Smith / NPR
Does bell pepper and black tea sound appetizing? A computer may think so.
Credit Ryan Smith / NPR
How about some chocolate drizzled over blue cheese?
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Originally published on Thu December 27, 2012 7:06 am

Mario Batali, watch your back.

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Energy
11:25 am
Tue December 25, 2012

Texas Man Takes Last Stand Against Keystone XL Pipeline

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Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
David Daniel, an east Texas landowner, was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Daniel started building the tree village back in March and says that his background as a circus performer helped in creating the elaborate web of platforms and tension lines. This was Daniel's last stand in a long battle with TransCanada, the company that's building the lower portion of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Ron Seifert, a spokeperson for the Tar Sands Blockade, sneaks through the woods in an attempt to avoid being spotted by TransCanada security. For 80 days two dozen protesters with the Tar Sands Blockade took turns living up in the trees.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
The Keystone XL pipeline now cuts through Daniel's property and the crystal-clear stream, which Daniel used to drink from, is cloudy and murky.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
The tree-sit didn't stop the pipeline but it did cause TransCanada to move the pipeline 100 feet away from the proposed easement.
Credit Laura Borealis/Tar Sands Blockade / Flickr
The Tar Sands Blockade protesters hang banners from a 100-foot-long catwalk. There are a total of seven structures suspended in the canopy of the trees with more than 500 feet of wire connecting them.
Credit Laura Borealis/Tar Sands Blockade / Flickr
The protesters spent most of their time in the trees sleeping and reading.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Grace Cagle, a 22-year-old protester, rappels down from the tree village. She spent a total of 17 days in the trees and was arrested once, and spent the night in jail.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Jimmy Wooley, a private security guard hired by TransCanada, watches over the construction.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
TransCanada's flood lights run throughout the night.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
David Daniel, an east Texas landowner, was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he took to his trees and built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Grace Cagle, a protester with the Tar Sands Blockade, has spent a total of 17 days up in the trees.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
David Daniel, an east Texas landowner, built an elaborate network of treehouses in an attempt to stop the Keystone XL pipeline form coming through his property.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
The stream that runs through Daniel's property is now cloudy and murky.
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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 1:20 pm

An east Texas landowner was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he took to his trees and built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.

"It popped into my head a long time ago, actually," says 45-year-old David Daniel. "If I had to climb my butt on top of a tree and sit there, I would. It started with that."

It turned out to be Daniel's last stand in a long battle against the Keystone XL, a pipeline project that would bring oil from Canada all the way to refineries in the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Around the Nation
10:39 am
Tue December 25, 2012

The Power of Reunions After Long Separations

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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:22 am

Rita Betush and Judy Bottomley grew up with a sense that something was missing. As a child, Betush's mother told her she had a sister who'd been put up for adoption. This year, after decades apart, Betush and her long-lost sister, Bottomley, connected by phone, and in February, they'll finally meet.

NPR Story
10:29 am
Tue December 25, 2012

How To Handle Santa-Heavy TV In A Jewish Home

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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 10:46 am

The Christmas season is a peculiar time for Jewish children, many of whom are drawn to Christmas specials like A Christmas Story. What should Jewish parents do? Guest host John Donvan talks to Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick about her Jewish parent's guide to Christmas specials.

NPR Story
10:29 am
Tue December 25, 2012

Letters: Tragic Events, Adoption And Filling Time

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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 10:50 am

Guest host John Donvan reads listener comments from past shows about witnessing tragic events, adoption in the Internet age and how to fill time while you wait.

World Cafe
9:03 am
Tue December 25, 2012

Latin Roots: The Christmas Music Of Latin America

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Ranchera star Lila Downs.
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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 3:46 pm

In this edition of World Cafe, Beat Latino host Catalina Maria Johnson sits down with host David Dye to discuss the Christmas music traditions of Latin America. One thing that sets Central America's music apart from that of North America, she says, is the fact that a lot of it is made for dancing.

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World Cafe
9:03 am
Tue December 25, 2012

The Polyphonic Spree On World Cafe

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The Polyphonic Spree.
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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 3:46 pm

Every Christmas season is accompanied by an abundance of holiday album releases, but few of the artists who make them bother to take the Christmas show on the road. The Polyphonic Spree, however, is not your average band. Formed in Texas by bandleader Tim DeLaughter in 2000, this massive group — the number of members often nudges toward 20 or more — is well-suited to re-imagine popular Christmas music, combining the instrumentation of a rock band with the layered harmonies of a choir.

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Arts & Life
7:41 am
Tue December 25, 2012

No Sugar Plums Here: The Dark, Romantic Roots Of 'The Nutcracker'

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E.T.A. Hoffmann's original story, "Nutcracker and Mouse King," is darker and spookier than the ballet version most people know.
Credit Courtesy of Crown
Maurice Sendak worked on a version of The Nutcracker for the Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1983, and put out a book in 1984. He described Hoffmann's story as having "bite and muscle, the way the Grimm fairy tales do."
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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 1:20 pm

This is the time of year when one man's work is widely — if indirectly — celebrated. His name used to be hugely famous, but nowadays, it draws blank stares, even from people who know that work. We're speaking about E.T.A. Hoffmann, original author of The Nutcracker.

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Asia
4:41 am
Tue December 25, 2012

In India, All Religions Join In 'The Big Day'

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Credit Julie McCarthy / NPR
Carolers from St. Columba's School in New Delhi stage their annual Christmas program, where the student body is Catholic, Sikh and Hindu.
Credit Julie McCarthy / NPR
Christmas cakes filled the window at Wenger's, the fabled 86-year-old bakery in Delhi.
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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 2:43 pm

India, the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, marks the birth of Jesus with a national holiday.

Indians call Christmas bara din, or the Big Day.

Chef Bhakshish Dean, a Punjabi Christian, traces the roots of Christianity in India through food.

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Around the Nation
4:27 am
Tue December 25, 2012

Is Santa's Sleigh Powered By Caribou?

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Originally published on Tue December 25, 2012 6:42 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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