Tell Me More on Xtra HD

The Mountaintop is an award-winning play about the night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died. But some critics don't love playwright Katori Hall's portrayal of the civil rights icon as a regular guy. Hall tells host Michel Martin why she found it important to focus on the man, not the myth.

Senator Rand Paul is reaching out to African-American voters. He recently visited Howard University, one of the country's most prominent historically black universities. Senator Paul talks to host Michel Martin about why he's reaching out, and what his message is for minorities.

Tell Me More continues to celebrate National Poetry Month with the 'Muses and Metaphor' series. It's where listeners submit their own poems via Twitter. Today's tweet is about a bazaar and comes from listener Chris Johnston, who tweets under the name Boinkaz.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Today, we're going to be talking about something that preoccupies many Americans, no more so than since last December. That, of course, is when that awful shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., took place.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, can I tell you how great you look? No? Well, that's my Can I Just Tell You essay and it's coming up in a few minutes.

But first, we are focusing on the economic progress or lack thereof facing African-Americans. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a number of important dates in civil rights history, including the march on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program, we are going to talk about some provocative new research that sheds some light on how personal relationships play a role in getting a job and we'll talk about how that plays out differently or may play out differently for whites and minorities. That's coming up later in the program.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. If you're like most Americans, you probably have some debt, and that's a bummer, but how do you think you'd feel if you were in debt because of a guy who beat you? Later, we are going to talk about what might be the hidden cost of domestic abuse. That's financial abuse. We'll have that eye-opening conversation in just a few minutes.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, the Louisville Cardinals capped off a dramatic journey through March Madness to take the NCAA men's crown last night. We'll look back on the men's college basketball tournament. We'll look ahead to the women's final. That conversation is just ahead.

Tell Me More celebrates National Poetry Month with the 'Muses and Metaphor' series — where listeners submit their own poems via Twitter. Today's tweet comes from former Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, who not only has a fondness for crunching numbers, but is also a published poet.

Investigators are exploring a possible link between white supremacist prison gangs and the murders of law enforcement officers in Texas and Colorado. Host Michel Martin explores how these gangs operate in and outside of prison with NPR investigative correspondent Laura Sullivan.

Most colleges and universities recently let anxious students know who is getting in --and who is not-- for the next academic year. And many applicants are dealing with rejection from their dream school. Host Michel Martin talks with psychotherapist Diane Barth about what students are going through, and how parents can help them move on.

Chef John Besh wanted to help minorities in the New Orleans restaurant industry move up the ladder in the city's top kitchens. So he co-founded Chefs Move, which provides scholarships to students for culinary school and career opportunities.

Host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar crack open the listener inbox for backtalk. This week, listeners weigh in on whether toddlers should be using tablet computers and other digital gadgets.

Reverend Cecil Williams has been called crazy and radical. But during his 50 years of service as pastor of the Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, the Methodist congregation has gone from a mere 35 members to 10,000 people. Williams, and his wife, Janice Mirikitani, discuss their new book, Beyond the Possible.

Millions of Americans are still out of work, and they're getting hit even harder as unemployment benefits continue to dry up. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax about why benefits are being reduced. Mike Rivas has exhausted his unemployment benefits, and joins the conversation to talk about how he's getting by.

There's more to Angela Davis than her signature afro. A new documentary, Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, explores the events that turned the philosophy professor into a political icon in the 1960s. Jada Pinkett Smith tells host Michel Martin why she became executive producer of the film.

Tell Me More celebrates National Poetry Month with the 'Muses and Metaphor' series — where listeners submit their own poems via Twitter. Today's tweet comes from listener Yahia Lababidi.

You may think you know who is homeless and where they live, but think again. Some homeless families are finding shelter in a surprising place: hotels. Host Michel Martin talks with Monica Potts, who's covered this issue for The American Prospect magazine.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program, we will bring you a poetic tweet. That's a poem of 140 characters or less, sent by none other than the celebrated Nikki Giovanni. It's part of our celebration of National Poetry Month, and we'll hear it in a few minutes and you'll find out how you can contribute, too, if you'd like. That's later.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, the New York African Film Festival is getting under way. The festival is in its 20th year now, so we're going to talk about the stories being told by a new generation of African filmmakers. That's coming up.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And now the latest in our series, Muses and Metaphor. We are celebrating National Poetry Month by hearing your poetic tweets. You have already started sending us poems that are 140 characters or less. Yesterday, we kicked off this series with author, performer and our series curator, Holly Bass.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, it is April, which means, along with April showers, National Poetry Month and we will be asking you once again to contribute if you would like by tweeting us your original poems in 140 characters or less. We are going to kick it off with our curator Holly Bass in just a minute.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We know that a lot of students are still on spring break this week but what better time to take a step back and think about higher education? Today we meet the president of Simmons College, which is a college for women in the Boston area, and we'll hear about her thoughts about women leadership and education.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but maybe you just need a few moms in your corner. Every week, we check in with a diverse group of parents for their common sense and savvy advice.

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CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

And now we'll turn from New Jersey to Detroit, where tensions are really building around the public school system there. The U.S. Department of Education is looking into whether recent school closures have disproportionately hurt black and Latino students. Also, an emergency financial manager is shaking things up at Detroit Public Schools after getting some new authority from the state.

Here to explain is Jerome Vaughn, news director at member station WDET in Detroit. Welcome back, Jerome.

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CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, cable television has become a staple of our daily lives, of course, and if you live in parts of south central Los Angeles, you might have the Galloway brothers to thank for your daily dose of news, sports and entertainment. We'll talk with Clinton Galloway about how his fight to bring cable to underserved communities took him from city hall to the Supreme Court. That's in just a few minutes.

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CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, for Sampson Davis, ending the health care crisis in America's inner cities isn't just a professional goal. It's a personal mission. He'll talk about serving the Newark, New Jersey neighborhoods where he grew up and his new book, "Living and Dying in Brick City."

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CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

It's Good Friday, so let's stay with the theme of Easter celebrations. Today, we hear from a woman whose life changed when she volunteered to help plan a simple Easter program for her church in Memphis, Tenn. Earnestine Rodgers Robinson had no musical training, but perhaps by divine intervention, her decision to volunteer actually set her on the path to a career composing classical music.

The Supreme Court heard arguments over same-sex marriage this week, and the Barbershop guys have their own arguments to offer. Guest host Celeste Headlee checks in with culture critic Jimi Izrael, sports writer Pablo Torre, Kai Wright of Colorlines.com, and Republican strategist R. Clarke Cooper.

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CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, Passover is in full swing and Easter is just days away. And Pati Jinich joins us. She'll tell you how to put a Mexican touch on your holiday feast. But first we turn to Syria. Reports out of the Middle East say rebels have captured a key strategic town near the Jordanian border, but while the fighting continues into its third year, more and more Syrians are trying to flee the country.