WAMU 88.5
: The Diane Rehm Show 
Yale Law School Professor Akhil Reed Amar argues the U.S. Constitution is just a sketch of basic rules for governing America. Join us to discuss the vast trove of values, precedents and practices outside the document that he argues complement and complete its terse text.
Read An Excerpt
Excerpted with permission from America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By, by Akhil Reed Amar. Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2012.
NPR
Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process
After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.NPR
How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great Famine
Although scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples.NPR
Oregon's Cash-Strapped Counties Reject Public Safety Levies
Two Oregon counties have reportedly rejected property tax increases that would have funded law enforcement and public safety services. The counties once received federal timber subsidies, but those days are over — and now they're scrambling to pay for essential services.NPR
How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started
You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.Leave a Comment
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