A few years ago, the Houston native left his job in corporate America to pursue his musical dreams. This year, Brian Courtney Wilson's sophomore album, So Proud, debuted at number one on Billboard's Gospel Albums chart. He tells host Michel Martin that he prays that God continues to reveal the music his listeners can lean on.
This election season, presidential candidates have been putting the word "Muslim" back into the national consciousness. So Tell Me More wanted to ask, "What does it mean to be Muslim in America?" Guest host Jacki Lyden puts this question to a prominent Muslim American and a scholar on Muslim assimilation.
Jasmin Darznik left Iran as a child, knowing very little about her family's past. Years later, she found a photograph of her mother as a child-bride with a groom who was not Darznik's father. That starts a long journey of discovery that she chronicles in her book The Good Daughter. Darznik discusses her book with guest host Jacki Lyden.
This week's summit is the first in Iraq in more than twenty years, and the first since the Arab Spring uprisings began. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks about what the summit means for the host nation, and discusses recent developments in the Arab world with Adeed Dawisha of Miami University and Ned Parker, with the Council on Foreign Relations.
Consumers pay an estimated $30 - $60 billion a year in 401(k) management fees. But the average American has no idea how much they pay or that they pay any fees at all, according to the AARP. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Ian Salisbury of SmartMoney Magazine about the fees and the call by consumer advocates for more transparency.
It's no small feat to tell the beautiful and even messy stories of women's lives. Brenda Dixon Gottschild chronicled the life of a dance legend in her book, Joan Myers Brown and the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina. As part of the program's "In Your Ear" series, Dixon Gottschild shares some of the songs that continue to inspire her.
There's new information in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Florida boy who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman last month. Zimmerman told police that Martin assaulted him, and a family spokesman confirms Martin was suspended from school at the time of his death. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Miami Herald reporter Frances Robles.
Pope Benedict continues his Latin American trip by visiting Cuba. He'll celebrate the 400th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin of Charity and meet with President Raul Castro. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with Washington Post reporter Nick Miroff, who is in Cuba, about the Pope's efforts to improve relations in the communist country.
Family relationships are becoming more complicated as they expand to include surrogate parents, donor siblings, or birth parents. Guest host Jacki Lyden is joined by three parents who all have non-traditional families: Carrie Goldman, mom of three girls, Jay Rapp, dad of two, and Tina Testa, mom of twin boys.
The Trayvon Martin case is bringing conversations about race to the front pages, the airwaves, and dinner tables. Even the president weighed in on the shooting last week. But freelance journalist Reniqua Allen writes in The Washington Post that having a black president is making those conversations harder to have, not easier.
Senegal and Mali have experienced recent upheaval. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with NPR's West Africa correspondent, Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about the rebellion and coup d'etat in Mali, as well as the recent news that the Senegalese president conceded a very controversial election.
As the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on the Affordable Care Act, Tell Me More continues the conversation about state reactions to the law. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, about opposition to the Affordable Care Act in his state.
Spring has sprung and thousands of tourists are flocking to the nation's capital for the annual Cherry Blossom festival. But there is a rich story behind the famous tree that connects the United States to Japan. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with Adrian Higgins about his feature article "Hidden Zen" in this week's Washington Post Magazine.
The novel Half Blood Blues explores an often overlooked slice of history: black jazz musicians in Germany on the eve of World War II. The book moves from 1992 to 1939, from Baltimore to Berlin to Paris. It's told by an elderly black jazz musician and his friend who survived the war. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with author Esi Edugyan.
The Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments about the Affordable Care Act today. Guest host Jacki Lyden takes a look at how Mississippi is implementing part of the federal law, despite strong opposition to the overall plan.