All Things Considered on KAZU

For Black Americans, Finding Work An Uphill Battle

editor — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:39:00 +0000

In the classic American story, opportunity is always in front of you. You finish school, find a job, buy a home and start a family; it's a rosy dreamscape.

But that world is one-dimensional. Income inequality is just about as American as baseball and apple pie. And though the economy has improved in the past few years, the unemployment rate for black Americans, now 13.2 percent, is about double that for white Americans.

Persistent unemployment and difficulty getting a job cumulatively impact the so-called wealth gap.

A Lost And Found 'Wonder': Pearl S. Buck's Final Novel

NPR Staff — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:39:00 +0000

Pearl S. Buck emerged into literary stardom in 1931 when she published a book called The Good Earth. That story of family life in a Chinese village won the novelist international acclaim, the Pulitzer and, eventually, a Nobel Prize.

A Literary Tale of Chechnya, The Horror and Whimsy

editor — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:39:00 +0000

In his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra transports readers to Chechnya, a war-torn Russian republic that has long sought independence.

The lyrical and heart-breaking novel begins in 2004 when a doctor watches as Russian soldiers abduct his neighbor, who has been accused of aiding Chechen rebels.

Week In News: Obama's Foreign Policy Pitch

editor — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

This past week, President Obama laid out the foreign policy objectives for the remainder of his time in office, a speech that included his wish to end not just the war in Afghanistan but the "war on terror." Weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent with The Atlantic.

Is the Espionage Act Outdated?

editor — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

Weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden speaks with Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution about the Espionage Act. This Word War I-era legislation has been used more frequently in recent times to prosecute government employees who leak information to the press, but the limits set by the act are poorly defined for our modern age.