Tell Me More on Xtra HD

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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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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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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:

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:

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.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to turn, now, to a current effort to address a decades-old tragedy. In 1948, a U.S. Immigration Service plane carrying undocumented immigrants from California to Mexico, crashed. All 32 people onboard were killed. But while news accounts listed the names of the four people in the flight crew, the 28 undocumented victims were just listed as Mexican deportees.

Hundreds rallied outside the Supreme Court this week as the justices heard arguments in two gay marriage cases. Host Michel Martin speaks to Bishop Harry Jackson, who opposes same-sex marriage and spoke at the Marriage March, a rally held in Washington, D.C.

In 2004, Jim McGreevey was the governor of New Jersey and a rising political star. That was until he admitted his homosexuality, and an improper relationship with a male staff member. What happened next is the subject of the new HBO documentary, Fall To Grace. Host Michel Martin speaks with McGreevy and filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi.

The Supreme Court is hearing two landmark gay marriage cases this week. But Robin Shahar's case never made it that far. She lost a job offer for planning a private wedding ceremony with her same-sex partner in 1991. Shahar speaks with host Michel Martin about the cultural shift that brought about these legal challenges.

The high school rape case in Steubenville, Ohio raised uncomfortable questions about how young people learn about their sexual rights and responsibilities. Host Michel Martin talks about the real sex education teens should be getting, with author Laura Sessions Stepp, attorney B.J. Bernstein, and youth mentor Malik Washington.

Taiye Selasi brings the African immigrant experience to readers in her debut novel, Ghana Must Go.

The novel begins with the Sai children preparing to travel from the United States to Ghana for the funeral of the family patriarch, Kweku Sai. Before they leave, Selasi gives readers a glimpse into the events that unfolded while they were growing up in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Mass.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

You've probably been hearing a lot about how America's racial and ethnic makeup is changing. Now it seems as though some of these population tipping points are happening sooner than expected. In a few minutes we will talk about the implications of this in areas like the economy and pop culture.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We want to continue our conversation about this country's changing population. We hope you just heard my conversation with demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution and the University of Michigan and he told us that in just five years the majority of Americans under 18 will be members of groups that are minorities now, which is to say not white. That's a lot sooner than demographers had expected that to happen.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, when regular jobs can't be found or don't pay all the bills, many Americans turn to the so-called shadow economy, which is bigger than you might think. We'll talk about that in our conversation about personal finance just ahead. But first, we want to turn, again, to how the government is paying its bills or not. We're talking about the sequestration.

In the past, the term 'women's health' generally meant reproductive health. Today, it's a much broader concept. Host Michel Martin discusses the changing field with Dr. Janine Austin Clayton, the National Institute of Health's Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health.

Today marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday, Passover. It's a time to think about the story of Exodus, when Moses led the slaves out of Egypt to freedom. But what does it mean for people in prison? Host Michel Martin discusses the issue with law professor Aviva Orenstein, and Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist and convict who observed Passover while in prison.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TMM from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in this hour we'll talk about why gender matters in matters of health and issues such as drug effectiveness and even how your eyes work. We'll speak with the head of Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health in just a minute. That's part of our coverage of Women's History Month.

The Very Reverend Gary Hall, the new dean of the National Cathedral, has been speaking out for stricter gun laws and greater acceptance of same-sex marriage. Host Michel Martin speaks to Dean Hall about those issues, and the evolving role of faith in progressive politics.

Two teens accused of rape in Steubenville, Ohio were convicted and sentenced this week. Host Michel Martin talks to the Barbershop guys about how the victim — and the perpetrators — were treated in the press. Writer Jimi Izrael, political science professor Lester Spence, civil rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar and Republican strategist R. Clarke Cooper discuss the week's news. ADVISORY: Please note, this conversation includes a discussion about rape and may not be suitable for all listeners.

Some people in the Grand Old Party think it's time for some new ideas, if Republicans want to win future elections. Host Michel Martin speaks with two GOP insiders - former presidential speechwriter Mary Kate Cary, and Ron Christie, a former assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush. They talk about the future of the Republican party, and reflect on the decade since the US invaded Iraq.

Sometimes, reporting on a war can be as difficult as being in one. Host Michel Martin speaks with former journalist, Abdulrazzaq al-Saiedi, about the moment during the Iraq War when he decided to leave journalism.

Kentucky farmer James Gash is one of millions of American gun owners who don't belong to the National Rifle Association - the powerful lobbying group. Gash talks with host Michel Martin about why the NRA doesn't speak for him.

Many parents and teachers in the nation's cities are disappointed by a long list of school closings. But when enrollment is low and costs are high, administrators face tough decisions. Host Michel Martin speaks to the Chancellor of Washington D.C.'s public schools, Kaya Henderson, about how school systems weigh these difficult choices.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

You can find our next guest on most Monday nights at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, where he is part of Comedy Bazaar and he offers his signature riffs on his particularly interesting cross-cultural dilemmas.

TEHRAN VON GHASRI: My name is Tehran. It's like the capital city of Iran. You're, like, wondering, what were my parents thinking, naming me Tehran, right? But I'm half black, half Iranian, which comes with a lot of advantages. I have a lot of fun at the airport. It's true. Homeland Security knows me on a first name basis.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR news. I'm Michel Martin. Today, we are going to spend some time across North Africa and the Middle East. It's the first day of spring, and that means it's the Persian New Year. We are going to celebrate Nowruz later in the program, with a comedian who's putting a new spin on the holiday. That's in just a few minutes.

A new public service announcement in New York City aimed at preventing teen pregnancy is raising eyebrows. Ads feature young children with captions such as, 'Got a good job? I cost thousands of dollars each year.' Host Michel Martin asks the beauty shop ladies if the ads are helpful or just a shame campaign.

Most people are aware of the positive effects of breast-feeding. But in many areas of the country, breast-feeding is not the cultural norm, and there's little support available for mothers. Host Michel Martin talks with Kimberly Seals Allers, the co-author of a new report on so-called "first food deserts," and a nursing mother, Areti Gourzis.