Kristen Meinzer

We frequently hear the term “values” discussed with regard to American politics, culture and life. But what are "American values?" All week, we’re delving into this question. Yesterday we discussed home ownership. Today we wrap up our series with a look at freedom. How did freedom come to be an American Value? If we value freedom so much, why have we spent so much of our nation’s history enslaving our own people, or oppressing those in other nations? And what does Freedom mean to Americans today?

Disney saw fit to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at "Tron: Legacy," despite the world having neither become bathed in black light nor overrun by light-trailing motorcycles since 1982's "Tron" ... and both Rafer and Kristen think the money might have been better spent elsewhere.

The United States, by some reckoning, is among the most consistently religious countries on earth. More of us go to a house of worship on a regular basis than in most countries. The majority of us believe in a higher power. And we have both more religions and a higher level of religious tolerance than anywhere else on the planet. But is religion really an American value? And if so, why has the separation of church and state been held so fundamental since the days of Thomas Jefferson?

We’re going to take a bit of a risk today, and try to explain the science of something extremely visual in a primarily auditory medium. We’re going to talk about magic, why sleight-of-hand works, and what it says about how our brains function. Warning: magic spoilers ahead!

Long-time actress Leslie Caron has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has danced on stage with the likes of Gene Kelly, Fred Astair and Mikhail Baryshnikov. In her new memoir, "Thank Heaven," she retells the stories of her many acting roles and of her dramatic life living in New York and Paris. Caron, who turns 80 years old next year, was born in Paris and known then as the "little French girl."

Ben Franklin once said “a penny saved is a penny earned.” In this era of advertising and prominently-placed product logos, though, can we say that thrift is still a fundamental American Value? Or is conspicuous consumption more in keeping with what it means to be an American?

Today, we continue our week-long series on American values with an examination of land and home ownership. The desire to own land — dating back to the notion of “Manifest Destiny,” as newly-minted Americans spread west across the continent — has always been considered a fundamental American value. How has our government and culture reinforced this value? And is it still as important to our identity as Americans as it was in the days when our motto was “Go West, Young Man”?

Let’s make one thing clear. I’m not completely upset with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association about the 2011 Golden Globe nominations. Not completely.

Many actors I believe deserved nods received them: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Annette Benning, Melissa Leo, Michelle Williams, and Ryan Gosling, to name just a few in the film categories; Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Laura Linney, and Jane Lynch, among others in the television categories.

Nominations for the Golden Globes were announced this morning. "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," and "The Fighter" all lead in the number of nominations for film, while "Glee" had the largest number of nominations for television. But there are other apparent favorites as well among the full list of of nominations, including "Black Swan." Producer Kristen Meinzer gives us her reactions, and takes umbrage at the snub of her 2010 favorite, "True Grit."

We frequently hear the term “values” discussed with regard to American politics, culture and life. But what are "American values," exactly? All week, we’re delving into this question. Yesterday, we discussed reinvention. And today, we’re looking at family: how we came to use the terms “family values” and “American values” interchangeably, and the moving target of what Americans actually consider a family.

Many sounds, sights and traditions have long been hallmarks of December…from decorating a Christmas tree to the singing of carols. And at least one seasonal tradition is specific to the workplace: the holiday bonus. But where did this tradition come from? And in our current economy, will it disappear?

Carrie Fisher, perhaps best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, is also something of a real-world Hollywood princess. As the daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and the late Eddie Fisher, Fisher's entire career and family life have been well documented by the media. In her one-woman show, "Wishful Drinking," Fisher re-tells the stories of her life. A cut-down version of the show premiered Sunday night on HBO. We talk with Carrie Fisher about growing up in a Hollywood family, and whether she's ever outlived the Princess Leia legend.

We frequently hear the term “values” discussed with regard to American politics, culture and life. But what are "American values?"

This whole week, we’ll be delving into that question. We're talking with experts and real people, both, and we’d love to hear from you as well: What do you consider to be "American values?"

We’re kicking off the series today with Toby Miller, a British-Australian-US interdisciplinary social scientist and author of “Makeover Nation: The United States of Reinvention.”

"The Fighter" is the latest movie from director David O. Russell and stars Mark Wahlberg as boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his coach, (played by Christian Bale). Rafer and Kristen discover each other's true feelings about the movie (hint, they don't agree.) 

Even if you’re not a sports fan, chances are you know the name Meadowlark Lemon. For 24 years, he played with the Harlem Globetrotters. Over the past five decades, his audiences have included popes, kings, and every U.S. president since Eisenhower. In total, he’s played over 16,000 career games — more than any other player in basketball history.

The holiday movie season is officially in full swing. Today, nine movies hit the big screen, and the Takeaway Movie Date podcast co-hosts give us their opinions on three of them: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," "The Fighter," and "The Tourist."

A soon-to-be-released film about marital drama just won a rare victory. “Blue Valentine,” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, was initially given an NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. The stated reason? Because the film contains “a scene of explicit sexual content.” Many people familiar with the scene described it as a fairly tame sex scene in which William's character receives oral sex. The studio and film's cast and crew appealed the rating, which was changed yesterday by the MPAA. The film is now rated R.

It may seem like just yesterday that you first heard The Sugar Hill Gang or Run DMC, but the hip hop business is pushing forty. For many of the years that hip hop has been around, Dan Charnas has been working in the business - as a scout, a promoter, and a journalist. Dan is the author of a new book called “The Big Payback: the History of the Business of Hip Hop.” Charnas walks us through some pivotal moments in the hip hop business, and how those moments have informed our culture and the entertainment industry.

During the early 1800s, when the word “scientist” had yet to be coined, a fever for novel animals and plants swept Europe and led dozens of crazed amateurs to the most alien places on earth in search of specimens. You know the names of some of these adventurers; one would become a president of the United States. But even those whose names have been forgotten by most of us lived lives of great adventure, and sometimes great foolishness.

We frequently hear the term “values” discussed as regards American politics, culture and life. But what are "American values?" Are they about family? If so, what kind of family? Are they about religion? If so, is it religion as a separate entity from the government, or religion as an ideology that informs government?

During the week of December 13th, we’ll be delving into the values we frequently equate with being an American. We’ll talk with experts and real people, both, and we’d love to hear from you as well: What do you consider to be "American values?"