Day to Day

Olympic All-Around

Friday, Aug. 20, 2004Damned Spot: Swift Boat “Truth” Ads
Jacob Weisberg and William Saletan critique of television advertisement from a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that challenges Sen. John Kerry’s Vietnam war record. They also analyze another campaign commercial responding to that ad. Listen to the segment.

Summary Judgment: Mean Creek, Without a Paddle, Exorcist: The Beginning
Ben Williams presents a roundup of what film critics are saying about this weekend’s new releases, including Mean Creek, Without a Paddle and Exorcist: The Beginning. Listen to the segment.

Five Ring Circus: The Hamm Gymnast Twins
NPR’s Alex Chadwick speaks with Josh Levin about whether American Olympic gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm are identical or fraternal twins. Listen to the segment.

Kausfiles: Unfair To Be Both Athletic and Attractive
NPR’s Alex Chadwick and Mickey Kaus about whether athletically gifted Olympians who are also extremely attractive undermine the ideals of fairness and social equity. Listen to the segment.

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004

Press Box: Newspaper Circulation Scams
Officials from several newspapers have recently confessed to fudging their circulation numbers. Jack Shafer talks to NPR’s Noah Adams about why media officials would do such a thing, and what it could mean for public trust of the press. Listen to the segment.

A Fine Whine: Real-Estate Agents Useless?
NPR’s Noah Adams talks to Douglas Gantenbein, who in a recent article slams real-estate agents as a waste of money. Gantenbein says people don’t need real-estate agents when they can find so much information about buying or selling a house on the Internet. Listen to the segment.

Explainer: Google’s Dutch Auction
Andy Bowers explains what the “Dutch” means in “Dutch auction.” The term is all over the news, thanks to Google’s initial public offering of stock. Listen to the segment.

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004

Chatterbox: Get Rid of the Electoral College
Timothy Noah believes the United States should do away with the Electoral College, and that U.S. voters would be well served by electing the president by popular vote. Listen to the segment.

Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2004

Explainer: Puerto Rico’s Basketball Olympians
Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth—yet it competes (and in the case of basketball, wins) against the United States in the Olympic Games. Andy Bowers explains how this puzzling system came about. Listen to the segment.

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004

Swingers: Florida, the Sunshine State
Seth Stevenson visited Florida as part of our series profiling likely so-called “swing states” in the upcoming presidential election. He talks with NPR’s Alex Chadwick about which candidate Floridians may favor in November. Listen to the segment.

Ballot Box: Gay Governor and Hurricane Politics
NPR’s Alex Chadwick reviews recent political developments with William Saletan, including the resignation of New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and the politics of Hurricane Charley. Listen to the segment.