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11:53 am
Mon October 15, 2012

Chicano Activist Sees Dream Live On In Her Sons

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By editor

Rosie Castro was a Mexican-American civil rights activist during the 1970s. She passed down her passion for change to her children: Texas State Representative Joaquin Castro and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. For Hispanic Heritage Month, Rosie Castro speaks with host Michel Martin about the Chicano movement and raising her twin sons.

Election 2012
11:53 am
Mon October 15, 2012

Which Polls To Believe As Election Nears?

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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.

The Salt
9:59 am
Mon October 15, 2012

A Nose Tuned In To Bitter May Help Stave Off Sinus Infection

Credit iStockphoto.com
If you're a supertaster with a nose for bitter flavors, scientists say you might be good at fighting sinus infections.
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By Nancy Shute

Supertasters are the Olympic athletes of gastronomy, able to detect subtle differences in flavors that other people never register. That talent may make for more than a discriminating palate, though. It may also warn them about attacking germs, and help them defend themselves against sinus infection.

This notion isn't as bizarre as it may seem. Bitter tastes have long been considered a danger signal in foods, warning about potential toxins in potatoes and other vegetables. If the potato's bitter, don't eat it.

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It's All Politics
7:56 am
Mon October 15, 2012

A Fighter To The End, Arlen Specter Seemed To Thrive On Controversy

Credit Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images
Sen. Arlen Specter speaks to the media at the base of Air Force One in Maryland in 2010. Specter died Sunday at the age of 82.
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Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 8:39 am

Imagine a lawyer's lawyer, a fighter's fighter and a pol's pol. Now imagine one person as all three. That was Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who died Sunday at age 82.

Over the course of three decades in the U.S. Senate (1981-2011), Specter came to personify the pragmatic, independent operator who sized up the substance and politics of every issue for himself. His vote could be one of the hardest to get, and often the one that made the difference.

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History
7:50 am
Mon October 15, 2012

Is The Nobel Prize A Boys Mostly Club?

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Credit Donnelly Marks / Courtesy of Nobel Media
Tawakkol Karman, a 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is one of few women in the ranks of Nobel laureates.
Credit John McConnico / AP
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to win a Nobel in 2004.
Credit AJ Mast / AP
In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for economics.
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Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 12:04 pm

As the last of this year's Nobel Prize winners are announced and media focus shifts away from Sweden, two things are clear about the winners.

One: They have all done laudatory work in their respective fields.

Two: Aside from the European Union, which was awarded the Peace Prize, all of this year's Nobel laureates are men.

They join the ranks of hundreds of people who have received the awards over the past 111 years. But what is surprising about the list of Nobel laureates is just how few women are on it.

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Sports
3:26 am
Mon October 15, 2012

Head Injuries Rattle Even Devout Football Parents

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Credit Tom Goldman / NPR
The Angleton Wildcats pose for picture day. The team of 7- and 8-year-olds is from the south Texas town of Angleton.
Credit Tom Goldman / NPR
Bryce Rolan, 8, and his dad, Wesley, at a Wildcat game in Angleton, Texas. At 4 feet 2 inches and 65 pounds, Bryce is playing his first year of tackle football.
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Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 8:16 am

It's Monday after another football weekend in America. From the Friday night drama on high school fields to the multibillion-dollar juggernaut NFL, the game seems as popular as ever.

But in fact, amid the cheering, there's concern — a growing anxiety about head injuries in the sport, from the NFL all the way down to the pee-wee leagues. Some say kids shouldn't be playing until their teenage years. High-profile NFL players have gone on record saying they don't want their children playing at all because of the concussion risk.

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The Two-Way
7:22 pm
Sun October 14, 2012

Jumping From The 'Top Of The World,' Skydiver Breaks Sound Barrier

Credit Joerg Mitter / AP
Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria and technical project director Art Thompson celebrate after Baumgartner completed a skydive from the stratosphere Sunday.
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"I know the whole world is watching now, and I wish the world could see what I see."

Those were the words of Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner as he plummeted toward Earth faster than the speed of sound. He jumped 24 miles from the stratosphere and landed gracefully just more than nine minutes later in a desert in Roswell, N.M., Sunday.

His plunge was record-breaking on three fronts: the highest jump, the longest distance of a free fall and the fastest vertical velocity. Baumgartner's free fall was seconds shorter than the record set by Joe Kittinger in 1960.

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The Salt
5:46 pm
Sun October 14, 2012

At The Great American Beer Festival, Big Tastes Come In Small Packages

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Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Beer is sniffed and tasted in one-once portions, as the festival's breweries make their way through the 36,000 gallons of beer they brought to Denver.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR

Festival goers line up for cheese between beer tastings. Many people arrive at the festival wearing necklaces hung with pretzels to munch on.

Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
In the Food to Table section, Jester King Weasel Rodeo, an ale made with brewer Mikkeller, was paired with sticky chocolate cake, malt cremeux, chocolate bark, and candied bacon, by chef Kyle Mendenhall of The Kitchen.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
The Sun King Oktoberfest beer was paired with butternut squash mousse, sesame beer brittle, and toasted celery marshmallow, by chef Daniel Asher of Root Down/Linger.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
The Denver Beer Company's tasting table featured growlers of its pumpkin beer and graham cracker porter.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Served in one-ounce portions, beer is sniffed and tasted — and then replaced with another variety. Water and dump buckets help speed the process. Some 36,000 gallons of beer were brought to the festival.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Brewery T-shirts and other merchandise drew long lines.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
A group of Waldos at the Green Flash Brewing Company's booth.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Taking a break from beer, festival attendees dance at a "Silent Disco" put on each year by Colorado brewery Oskar Blues.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
The Blue Moon booth.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Some 49,000 people came to Denver for the 2012 Great American Beer Festival, which featured a record 2,700 beers in the festival hall.
Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
Before heading into the massive beer hall, festival attendees are greeted by a corps of bagpipes and drums.
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Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 10:09 am

The soaring drone of a full bagpipe and drum corps greeted thousands of people who marched into a Denver arena for the Great American Beer Festival this past weekend. The martial music seemed a fitting way to prepare the crowd to test their palates, and their fortitude, against 2,700 different beers made by some of the best breweries in the United States.

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Sports
5:02 pm
Sun October 14, 2012

Skydiver Successfully Leaps From Record Altitude

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Sunday, Austrian pilot Felix Baumgartner landed safely on Earth after jumping 24 miles for just over nine minutes from the stratosphere. He lept from the highest altitude ever for a skydiver.

Sports
5:02 pm
Sun October 14, 2012

Lady Arm Wrestlers Bring Their Brawn And Bawdy

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Credit Brad Horn for NPR
SuperCLAW is one part church bake-sale, one part roller derby, and one part striptease. The audience gives money to their favorite characters, which is then donated to women-centered charities.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Dyer begins her transformation into her alter-ego "Ze Dirty Butcher" — a burlesque dancer who couldn't make the cut and was forced to become a butcher instead.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Dyer — as "Ze Dirty Butcher" — strolls the streets of Charlottesville on her way to SuperCLAW, the "mother of all brawls."
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
"SuperCLAW" is a women's arm wrestling event that draws competitors from leagues around the county. Each woman dons an alter-ego for an evening of sport and theatrics.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
"Ze Dirty Butcher," (right) locks elbows with "Pain Fonda" in her first match of the night. Dyer lost the bout, but got her pride back in a dance-off rematch.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Dyer is greeted by her entourage of burlesque pigs after losing her match. Her husband Cliff, seen here with a pig nose on his forehead, was there to greet her.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Charlottesville is the home of the women's arm wrestling movement, which now has about a dozen chapters forming across the country.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Dyer's mother struggled with bipolar disorder; Dyer was removed from her home at age 16 after watching her mother try to commit suicide.
Credit Courtesy of Jessie Gladin-Kramer
Dyer holds hands with her mother during her wedding parade in June. Despite a rocky childhood that left scars, Dyer has repaired her relationship with her mom, earned a PhD in yeast genetics, and gained confidence through participation in women's arm wrestling.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Jayme Dyer is a member of a women's arm wrestling league based in Durham, N.C.. In June, she participated in a national armwrestling event in Charlottesville, Va., to raise money for charity. Her alter-ego is named "Ze Dirty Butcher."
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
"SuperCLAW" is a women's arm wrestling event that draws competitors from leagues around the county. Each woman dons an alter-ego for an evening of sport and theatrics.
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Jayme Dyer is a member of a women's arm wrestling league based in Durham, NC. In June, she participated in a national arm-wrestling event in Charlottesville, Va., to raise money for charity. Her alter-ego is named "Ze Dirty Butcher."
Credit Brad Horn for NPR
Jayme Dyer, aka "Ze Dirty Butcher," waits backstage before her match.
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Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 10:07 am

The universe of great theatrical sports is rather small. There's roller derby and wrestling, but that's about as far as it goes.

But there's a new addition to this little corner of the sports world: women's arm wrestling. Jayme Dyer didn't know what to expect when she signed up for her first event in Durham, N.C., two years ago.

The sport seems to combine all the right ingredients — promising empowering, women-centered bawdiness that raises money for good causes. Not to mention some suggestive outfits.

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