It's All Politics
11:44 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Can Bad Campaigners Make Good Presidents?

Originally published on Mon September 24, 2012 11:59 am

John F. Kennedy once said there was no experience that could have adequately prepared him for the presidency.

That presumably included a hard-fought campaign for the job against sitting Vice President Richard Nixon — one of the closest-ever contests.

So, why should we assume that presiding over a well-oiled campaign has anything to do with running the White House?

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Shots - Health Blog
11:38 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Pediatricians: Bounce Trampolines From Homes To Protect Kids

Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Eric Wiltz cavorts on a trampoline in New Orleans in 2010. Everything is fun and games on the backyard attractions until someone gets hurt, a leading group of pediatricians says.

Parents, have you somehow missed the YouTube videos of trampoline accidents?

There's the one of the kid who knocks his front teeth out trying a trampoline-assisted slam dunk. A whole bunch that show knuckleheads jumping from roofs then bouncing every which way and hitting the ground. And then there are the videos of a big kid bouncing a small kid into oblivion.

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History
11:24 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Op-Ed: Emancipation Proclamation A 'Huge' Risk

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan, in Washington.

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Politics
11:16 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Redistricting: A Story Of Divisive Politics, Funny Shapes

Credit Dena Andre
Robert Draper is the author of Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the House of Representatives and Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush.

Originally published on Mon September 24, 2012 11:47 am

Journalist Robert Draper says the 27th Congressional District in South Texas looks like a Glock pistol. It's just one of several "funny shapes" you will see in states across the U.S. as a result of the redrawing of congressional boundaries — otherwise known as redistricting.

"These maps can be very, very fanciful — they're these kinds of impressionistic representations of the yearnings and deviousness of politics today," Draper tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies.

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Opinion
11:13 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Op-Ed: Emmys Play It Too Safe With Comedies

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

And now the opinion page. The big winners at last night's Emmy Awards included Showtime's drama "Homeland," the HBO movie "Game Change," and, if you follow the Emmys in recent years, a very familiar title.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE 64TH ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS")

MICHAEL J. FOX: And the Emmy goes to "Modern Family."

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The Two-Way
11:11 am
Mon September 24, 2012

2012 SAT Reading Scores Lowest Since 1972

NPR's Claudio Sanchez brings us this bit of bad academic news: The class of 2012 scored the lowest average SAT reading score since 1972. A bit of good news is that math scores were up.

Claudio filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"Writing, too, is down nine points since the SAT introduced a writing section in 2006. The average score in math was 514 out of 800, five points higher than it was 40 years ago.

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Around the Nation
11:10 am
Mon September 24, 2012

U.S. Pensions In Crisis, But Not In Rhode Island

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Here are two really ugly words: unfunded liability. Across the country, states and cities are struggling to put enough money aside to pay for the pensions they've promised to past, present and future workers: cops, firefighters, teachers and all the rest.

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Humans
11:02 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Many Of Us Are Small-Stakes Cheaters, But Why?

Originally published on Mon September 24, 2012 11:20 am

Kick a golf ball back onto the green. Sneak a peek at an opponent's cards in a friendly poker game. Grab a few hundred extra dollars in Monopoly. Duke University professor Dan Ariely studies cheating, and has figured out what drives us to to do it, and how we justify our actions.

The Two-Way
10:12 am
Mon September 24, 2012

'Flo' Makes List Of 'Top 10 Female Ad Icons;' Who's Missing?

Credit Flo, the Progressive Girl's Facebook page
Flo's an icon, the folks at Ad Age say.

Originally published on Mon September 24, 2012 12:01 pm

Ad Age just unveiled its "top 10 female ad icons of all time" list:

-- Morton Salt's 'umbrella girl"

-- Betty Crocker

-- Miss Chiquita

-- Rosie the Riveter

-- Josephine the Plumber (Comet cleanser)

-- Mrs. Olson (for Folgers coffee)

-- Madge the manicurist (Palmolive soap)

-- Rosie the waitress (Bounty paper towels)

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The Two-Way
9:57 am
Mon September 24, 2012

More Than 5 Million New iPhones Sold In Debut Weekend, Apple Says

Credit Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images
Hazem Sayed exits the Apple store on Fifth Avenue after purchasing his new iPhone 5.

Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 12:50 pm

Apple sold more than 5 million iPhones this weekend, the company said in a press release. That surpasses the initial sales of the previous version.

As Bloomberg news reports, demand for the new phone quickly exceeded the initial supply, but some analysts expected bigger sales.

They report:

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