Tell Me More

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, Courtney Roxanne Pearson was just crowned homecoming queen at her university last weekend. We hope you'll stick around to hear why she feels this is about more than a tiara and a title.

But first, tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of what is known in financial circles as Black Monday. And if you were watching the news at the time, then you probably heard a report that sounded something like this.

(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Now it's time for our Wisdom Watch conversation. That's the part of the program where we speak with those who've made an impact through their work.

Today, we're speaking with someone who has some hard-won wisdom to share, even though he's only in his mid-30s. It's on the subject of violence - not exclusively, but particularly among and directed toward young black men.

After Tuesday night's presidential debate, the journalists and commentators in the Beauty Shop weigh in on whether the verbal punches and tough tone between the candidates might turn off female voters.

The stakes were high for both candidates as President Obama and Mitt Romney squared off in their second debate Tuesday night. Host Michel Martin speaks with two former speechwriters: Paul Orzulak, who helped Vice President Joe Biden prepare for his debate, and columnist Mary Kate Cary who worked with the George H.W. Bush administration.

Texas rockabilly singer Ruby Dee is the author of Ruby's Juke Joint Americana Cookbook. For the occasional Tell Me More series "In Your Ear," Ruby Dee talks about the music that inspires her inside the kitchen and on the stage.

America's student loan debt is more than one trillion dollars, according to government agencies. Now, a former professor says high schools and colleges need to do more to help students manage their debt load. Host Michel Martin speaks with writer Laura McKenna about her online op-ed for The Atlantic.

A Virginia teenager recently had a pilot fly a helicopter over his high school to ask a girl to a dance. Some say these spectacles are out of control but others ask, "why not?" Host Michel Martin leads a parenting panel on the costs of teen courtship with TV critic Eric Deggans, psychologist John Duffy, and blogger Carol Cain Alvarez.

The Tea Party may have took the 2010 midterm elections by storm, but many analysts are now asking if the party's influence has cooled off. Host Michel Martin looks at the Tea Party's prospects for this election with NPR's Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving and Shelby Blakely, journalist coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots.

A poll out from ABC News and The Washington Post on Monday, shows President Obama with a slight edge over GOP nominee Mitt Romney. As the candidates head into Tuesday night's debate, host Michel Martin gets the latest on election news from Republican strategist Ron Christie and Corey Ealons, a former Obama White House advisor.

More than 100,000 undocumented young people have applied for deferred action, hoping to get a reprieve from the threat of deportation. But after years of living under the radar, many are having trouble finding documents to prove their eligibility. Host Michel Martin talks with Chung-wha Hong of the New York Immigration Coalition.