The Story

Mike Bettes, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, arrived in Joplin, Missouri minutes after a devastating tornado hit. Mike began to broadcast live, and in between breaks he checked overturned cars for survivors and surveyed the damage. 

Lorrain Taylor lives in Oakland, California. She lost her twin sons, Albade and Obadiah, to gun violence there. The murders were never solved. Now Lorrain speaks - and sings - to inmates at penitentiaries in an effort to prevent further gun violence. Also in this episode, Linda Powell wrote to us about a moment which she says changed her life. 

Alex Hanna is a University of Wisconsin Ph.D. student and teaching assistant right at the center of protests against the education cuts in occurring in the state - he’s even sleeping at the state capitol. While he doesn’t buy the argument that the action is similar to what’s sweeping across the Middle East, he does see a couple of parallels, and he’s a good one to judge: he was also a part of the protests in Egypt.Also in this episode: working at the very first Borders bookstore. And: and update with the owners of the Harry W. Schwartz bookshops.