Kristen Meinzer

This week, the fate of Joss Whedon's 'The Avengers' hangs in the balance. Who will come to the rescue this awesome, hulking green monster of a film? And who will come down on the movie like a giant hammer? Listen to find out where Kristen and Rafer stand on this superhero saga.

There are several new releases today, including the long-awaited super-hero movie “The Avengers,” the all-star senior citizens’ ensemble “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” and the danc...

Every Friday, The Takeaway convenes a panel to look back at the week's big stories. This week, we'll hear more about Newt Gingrich pulling out of the Presidential race; Richard Grenel...

During the past several elections, we’ve heard a lot about Latino voters and how candidates are trying to win their support. But why do we hear so little about Asian-American voters? ...

Police in Saudi Arabia have announced that Shaima Jastaniah, the Saudi woman sentenced to ten lashes for driving last summer, has been offered a reprieve. Explaining the decision and ...

A new plan from Facebook encourages everyone on the social network to advertise their donor status on their pages, along with their birth dates and schools. Could the plan be a slippe...

In this week's Movie Date, Rafer bemoans what he considers the death of the romantic comedy. Kristen, as you'd expect, tell him to stop being a negative Nancy. It's all in honor of "T...

Entering a nursing home is a decision that many of us will make for ourselves and for the people we love. And when we make that decision, it’s with the hope that the highest level of ...

Presidential campaign slogans: we’ve come to know them, love them, loathe them, and in some cases, completely forget them. Some slogans, like Warren G. Harding’s "Cox and Cocktails," ...

It’s Friday, when we talk about movies at the Takeaway. And there are plenty of big ones today, from the romantic comedy "Five Year Engagement" to the claymation kids movie "Pirates: ...

"Girls," written by and starring Lena Dunham, was initially the subject of overwhelming praise for telling the story of twenty-something New York females in a new way. But in the two ...

And according to our partner the BBC, the contract for a project called "Solar Orbiter" is set to be signed today. A project of the European Space Agency, the Solar Orbiter will get c...

Today is the third day of the federal corruption trial of former Senator John Edwards, who is charged with violating campaign finance law. Edwards allegedly used money given to him by...

Today the Supreme Court will consider whether Arizona’s approach to illegal immigration clashes with federal law. If they decide it does, what else will states be able do to address t...

Many of us spend hours with our smartphones and computers, texting and emailing. We peruse social networking sites, updating our followers several times a day on our moods and thought...

Each year, more than 25,000 undocumented immigrants are apprehended as they attempt to cross the border from Mexico to the United States. In most cases, we hear very few details about...

He's got to be strong. He's got to be able to build a barn and get along with children. Being able to play a sultry, sexy musical instrument also helps. In case it wasn't apparent already, this week we're talking about Kristen's fantasy man. And also some movie called "The Lucky One," starring Zac Efron. Let Kristen and Rafer's sultry voices and razor-sharp smarts woo you in this week's podcast.

The open road: it’s part of the American dream. Or, at least, it used to be. A new study finds that 16- to 34-year-olds without driver’s licenses rose to 26 percent in 2010 from 21 pe...

Friday has come again, which means another movie weekend is upon us. Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer take to their critical perch as our intrepid Movie Date team. 

Latino and Hispanic: they're terms that a lot of Americans are asked to choose between when identifying themselves on the census, in official paperwork, and in everyday conversation. But according to a new poll by the Pew Hispanic Center, most adults of Latin American descent prefer not to use either. Instead, the respondents said they preferred to identify themselves by their country of origin.