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Theater
5:44 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

A Broadway Mystery Worthy Of 'Rebecca'

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The original Vienna production of a new musical based on the novel Rebecca didn't fall prey to the woes plaguing a planned New York staging.
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The Vienna production opened in 2006.
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Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 7:39 pm

There's a new mystery on Broadway — one about the musical Rebecca, based on the Daphne du Maurier novel.

You can't see it yet on the New York stage. In fact, it hasn't even started rehearsals. That's because the production is short $4.5 million after one of its investors died before he could hand over the money.

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A Blog Supreme
5:35 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

'Treme,' Ep. 22: 'Dem Songs Is Gonna Stand, Son'

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Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce) plays in a tribute to tuba player Kerwin James.
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Originally published on Wed September 26, 2012 6:42 pm

If you've been watching the HBO series Treme with us, welcome back.

If you're new here, welcome in the first place. WBGO's Josh Jackson, a New Orleans native, and I have been watching the music-saturated program set in post-Katrina New Orleans for two years now. After every episode, we try to establish some context for the many musical references and live performances the show features.

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The Two-Way
5:19 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Drinking (Coffee) On The Job: Restaurant Workers, Women Lead The Way

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For many who work in the food service industry, coffee can make or break their day, according to a new survey. Many scientists and sales reps also said their day suffers if they don't have a cup.
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Cooks and servers, scientists and sales reps — those are some of the workers who say they do better after drinking coffee, according to a new study. Nurses, journalists, teachers, and business executives also said they're more effective at work if they have coffee, in a survey commissioned by Dunkin Donuts and CareerBuilder.

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Religion
5:08 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

For Hasidic Jews, A Slow, Steady Rebirth In Russia

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Dovid Karpov has been the rabbi at the Darkei Shalom synagogue since it was built 15 years ago. Like many people in his congregation, Karpov grew up in a Soviet-era family that was not religious. He says he had to learn his faith for himself.
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Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 4:24 pm

About a dozen men prayed recently at Darkei Shalom, a Hasidic Jewish synagogue in the working-class neighborhood of Otradnoye in north Moscow.

Except for the Star of David on its squat tower, the building is as plain and utilitarian as the linoleum on the floor. It sits — along with a Russian Orthodox church and a mosque — on a leafy stretch of land surrounded by towering apartment blocks.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:43 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Mini-Counseling Sessions Can Curb Problem Drinking

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Just 10 to 15 minutes of counseling from primary care doctors can reduce the risk of "risky" drinking, a federal task force says.
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Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 10:10 pm

Brief counseling from primary care doctors reduces "risky" drinking, defined as having more than four drinks a day for men, three for women, a federal task force says.

About one in three Americans misuse alcohol, the panel says, with the vast majority falling in the "risky" category.

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PG-13: Risky Reads
4:39 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Personal Reflections On Gone With The Wind

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Originally published on Mon October 1, 2012 8:14 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.

The novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell is an American classic. As with any great book, it inspires wildly different responses from readers. It's also the subject of our latest PG-13, where we hear from authors about the books that introduced them to the world of adult ideas.

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All Songs Considered Blog
4:38 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Frank Ocean And Bon Iver Surprise Lucky NYC Fans

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Frank Ocean performs at Angel Orensanz Church. The special show was announced that day and a few hundred lucky fans were able to RSVP for free tickets.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Ocean also performed his beautiful reinterpretation of Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing," concluding it by recreating his hook from Watch The Throne's "Made In America."
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Frank Ocean performs at Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts. The special show was announced that day and a few hundred lucky fans were able to RSVP for free tickets.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Ocean closed his set with the nine-minute-long "Pyramids."
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Ocean's set was a mix of the strongest songs from 2011's nostalgia, ULTRA -- "Novacane" and "Swim Good" — and new tracks from channel ORANGE.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Audience members on the second-floor-balcony of the synagogue.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
The show was filmed by The Fader, so we hope to see and hear some of the performance again.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
The Angel Orensanz Foundation is located in a former synagogue in the heart of New York City's Lower East Side. Built in 1849, the building's design is meant to evoke the Sistine Chapel and the temple of Solomon.
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The audience filled three levels in the intimate, 300-person capacity venue.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Bon Iver's staging was a stripped-down version of his recent tour set up, but he still managed to fit about a dozen band members on stage, including two drummers.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Bon Iver closed the set with "The Wolves, Act I and II," leading the audience in a singalong of the refrain "What might have been lost" that continued well after he left the stage.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
Colin Stetson played baritone saxophone, alto saxophone and clarinet for Bon Iver.
Credit Ryan Muir for NPR
This was the last live show in the U.S. from Bon Iver for a while. Vernon announced recently that the band will take some time off after their upcoming European tour.
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Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.
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Bon Iver said it was an "honor to play on the same stage" as Frank Ocean.
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Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 10:54 am

Last night, two of today's most recognizable voices lifted the rafters of a glorious synagogue on New York's Lower East Side. The surprise show was announced with just about 12 hours notice, and lucky fans who answered an RSVP quickly filled the venue's few hundred spots.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:37 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Branding Health Care Exchanges To Make The Sale

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Peter Lee, executive director of the California Health Benefit Exchange, discusses California's health care plans in Sacramento in July.
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Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 7:39 pm

As states work to comply with the federal health care law, many are designing their insurance exchanges, where people will be able to shop for coverage.

But just the word "exchange" sounds to many like off-putting government-speak, and some states are eager to come up with a more appealing name for these new marketplaces.

Peter Lee directs California's Health Benefit Exchange. It's up for a new name, and Lee says they want it to sound fresh, dynamic and innovative.

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The Salt
4:24 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Greek Olive Oil Woes Echoes Country's Broader Economic Challenges

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A Greek farmer drives home with his fresh pressed olive oil in barrels near Alyki, Greece. The country's pure olive oil is hard to find, expensive and poorly marketed, businessmen say.
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Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 7:39 pm

Greece is in the fifth year of a painful recession, and it doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon. One big problem the country faces is a shortage of strong companies that know how to compete on the world market. And nowhere is this more painfully apparent than in the challenges faced by the country's olive oil business.

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Latin America
4:23 pm
Tue September 25, 2012

Bolivia's Cerro Rico: The Mountain That Eats Men

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Cerro Rico, or Rich Mountain, rises like a monument in Potosi, Bolivia. It has produced silver, and hardship, for centuries. Now it may be in danger of collapse.
Credit Carlos villalon / Carlos Villalon for NPR
Saturnino Soncko is 58, but the fine deadly dust he inhaled while working in the silver mines of Cerro Rico has left him an invalid, gasping for breath in the pulmonary wing of a public hospital in Potosi, Bolivia.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
A 17-year-old miner's hand, already battered from back-breaking work in Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia, on Aug. 17.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
A family celebrates a religious festival in the Calvary neighborhood of Potosi, at the foot of Cerro Rico, on Aug. 18.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
Miners' families celebrating in Potosi, a break from the hardships of work in the silver mines.
Credit Carlos villalon / Carlos Villalon for NPR
Elogio Tola, 45, a miner since he was a boy, takes a break with coca leaves, chewing bagfuls to ward off hunger and exhaustion in the Cerro Rico silver mines in Potosi on Aug. 17.
Credit Carlos villalon / Carlos Villalon for NPR
Cerro Rico: Rising like a monument in Potosi, Bolivia, the 'Rich Mountain' provided silver that bankrolled the Spanish Empire.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
Miners' families celebrate a religious festival in the Calvary neighborhood of Potosi, Bolivia, a break from the hardships in Cerro Rico.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
Saturnino Soncko, 58, has been inhaling the fine dust at the silver mines of Cerro Rico for years. He is now extremely ill, gasping for breath in the pulmonary wing of a public hospital in Potosi, Bolivia.
Credit Carlos Villalon for NPR
Elogio Tola, 45, a miner since he was a boy, takes a break with coca leaves, chewing bagfuls to ward off hunger and exhaustion in the Cerro Rico silver mines in Potosi last month.
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Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 7:39 pm

Near the mountain city of Potosi in the southern highlands of Bolivia, the cone-shaped peak of Cerro Rico stands as a 15,800-foot monument to the tragedies of Spanish conquest. For centuries, Indian slaves mined the mountain's silver in brutal conditions to bankroll the Spanish empire.

Today, the descendants of those slaves run the mines. But hundreds of years of mining have left the mountain porous and unstable, and experts say it is in danger of collapsing.

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