Fresh Air Weekend
11:50 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Fresh Air Weekend: Michael Fassbender, Mushrooms

Credit Fox Searchlight Pictures
Uncomfortably Numb: For Brandon (Michael Fassbender), the endless pursuit of sex doesn't involve any particular pleasure — only a driving obsession.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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It's All Politics
11:31 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Iowa GOP Officially Declares Santorum The Iowa Caucus Winner

Rick Santorum is officially the winner of the Jan. 3 Iowa Republican presidential caucus. The state Republican Party reversed itself from a previous assertion that it would not declare one, given problems at eight precincts, as The Des Moines Register reported.

In a news release late Friday, the party said it called the race "in order to clarify conflicting reports and to affirm the results released Jan. 18 by the Republican Party of Iowa."

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Music Interviews
6:00 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Jessie Baylin: Searching For A Certain 'Spark'

Credit Mike Hallock
Jessie Baylin says she wanted her new album, Little Spark, "to be nostalgic but still fresh and modern."

Originally published on Sat January 21, 2012 5:42 pm

The album Little Spark evokes a sound you might have heard 40 years ago, piercing through the static of your AM radio. The big string sections and angelic choruses are all there, echoing the hallmarks of classic orchestral pop. But Little Spark is the work of a modern singer-songwriter named Jessie Baylin.

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The Record
6:00 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Four Views On Megaupload

Credit David Rowland / EPA /Landov
Bram van der Kolk, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Kim Schmitz, also known as Kim Dotcom, (from left to right) are remanded in custody in New Zealand on Friday.

When the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI shut down the web site Megaupload yesterday, there were many responses, from outrage to confusion to applause, and nearly as many questions. One that stood out was simple: If Megaupload provides a service that can be used for legal pursuits, are they legally responsible for the users who use it to illegally share copyrighted material?

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Music News
5:51 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Artists React To Mexico's Drug War With Music And Poetry

Javier Sicilia is a novelist and a poet. In 2009, he was awarded Mexico's prestigious Aguascalientes National Poetry Prize. This September, he read a poem dedicated to his son, Juan Francisco, at a rally:

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Latin America
4:46 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Amid Scandal, Colombia Dismantles Spy Agency

Credit William Fernando Martinez / AP
A member of Colombia's secret police, or Administrative Department of Security, listens to intercepted telephone calls in 2009. Reports of illegal wiretapping by secret police contributed to President Juan Manuel Santos' 2011 decision to close the agency.

President Juan Manuel Santos announced late last year that he was liquidating Colombia's troubled intelligence agency, and the country, he said, knew exactly why.

The Administrative Department of Security, or DAS, had been mired in scandal by reports of agents illegally wiretapping government critics and selling classified information to drug lords.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:23 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Administration Stands Firm On Birth Control Coverage

Despite a furious lobbying effort by the Catholic Church, the Obama administration today said it won't weaken new rules that will require most health insurance plans to offer women prescription contraceptives at no additional out-of-pocket cost.

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Election 2012
4:03 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

How Does South Carolina Work Its GOP Crystal Ball?

Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary may be the last good chance for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's challengers to stop his march to the nomination. Every election year since 1980, the winner of South Carolina's Republican primary has gone on to win the nomination.

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The Salt
3:50 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Feeding The World Gets Short Shrift In Climate Change Debate

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
Families displaced by drought line up for food this week in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Food is getting elbowed out of the discussion on climate change, which could spell disaster for the 1 billion people who will be added to the world's population in the next 15 years. That's the word today from scientists wondering why food and sustainability get such short shrift when it comes to thinking about how humans will adapt to climate change.

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World Cafe
3:42 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

Snow Patrol On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist.
Snow Patrol's newest album is titled Fallen Empires.

Blending melodic, powerful, guitar-driven indie rock with hook-filled pop and Coldplay-style balladry, Scottish band Snow Patrol has become an international sensation with heavy touring, chart-topping albums and beautiful singles. In 2003, Final Straw vaulted the group onto the international music scene.

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