In this hour of BackStory, we're all about the boozin'. Along the way, we ask when and why consumption and production has ebbed and flowed. We look at why rum became the drink of choice among revolutionary troops, why American Indians were rejecting alcohol two centuries before the rest of the country, and follow the long march toward Prohibition.
Originally produced a few years ago, this episode has been revised to include new segments and reflect fresh insight into the subject.
Portland's Pink Martini released "Joy To The World" in November 2010. It's a collection of nondenominational holiday music from various countries. Among the traditional holiday tunes that we can all sing along to, the album features works in Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Spanish -- the list goes on. It's a joyful celebration of culture.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Word of Mouth asks the serious holiday questions like is "Die Hard" a classic Christmas film? Also, they explore the science of giving and uncover the shocking history of Monopoly.
The assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya shocked the American public. African extremist groups like Ansar Dine, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and Boko Haram threaten to further destabilize a fragile continent. America Abroad will take listeners to Mali, Nigeria, and Kenya's Swahili Coast to learn about these groups, the threat they present, and how African countries are — or aren't — combating them.
Jacksonville, Florida is a lot of things: a military town. A church town. A beach town. And it can be all those things because Jacksonville is the largest city in the whole country: 841 square miles of sprawl, highways and strip malls dotted with tiny, unique neighborhoods. How does a place this huge and diverse lurch forward to keep pace with the rest of the country? The quick answer: often, it doesn’t. But once in a while, in small surprising ways, this place can be an incubator for innovation. In host Al Letson’s hometown episode, State of the Re:Union asks: is Jacksonville is moving backward, stuck in neutral, or shifting towards progress?
Medical marijuana is available in 18 states, and the vote on November 6 legalized the possession of pot in Colorado and Washington. With the highest incarceration rate in the world, and more than $2 trillion dedicated to fighting the "war on drugs," we continue to fill our prisons with drug offenders. Is it worth it? From the series Intelligence Squared U.S., the motion is Legalize Drugs.
Panelists:
Paul Butler, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Tucson sits in the borderlands, the desert landscape where America and Mexico meet. This place is crisscrossed by boundaries, visible and invisible — from the US border wall that cuts the Sonoran desert in half, to live-wire political divides in Tucson itself. In this episode, we tell stories about what happens when people cross borders, risking their lives and their reputations to take a chance on the other side.
There is bipartisan consensus that unleashing America's entrepreneurial potential is vital to reviving the economy. Yet, there are many challenges facing today’s entrepreneur, from local regulatory and tax burdens to federal visa restrictions. Explore the topic in depth in the first part of a new America Abroad series: American Entrepreneurship in a Global Economy.
Chuey Cazares has lived all of his 21 years in Alviso, a tiny hamlet jutting into the salt ponds at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. Chuey works as a deck hand on a shrimp boat off Alviso's shores.
