Kristen Meinzer

In recent articles that have been getting a lot of buzz, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal took on the topic of unpaid internships...and suggested that many unpaid internships may, in fact, be illegal.

We wanted to find out more. And so we're talking with our work contributor Beth Kobliner about what kinds of internships are legal, which aren't, and whether they're even worth doing.

In this week's podcast, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer are in a rare agreeable mood: on 'Kick Ass,' on the dearth of good female superheroes and whether or not one should watch movie trailers before seeing a film.

A Tennessee woman who returned her adopted child to Russia is causing a diplomatic crisis. We talk about how it feels to be rejected as an adopted child with Orlando Modeno, a man who lived through the experience when he was only a boy. We also talk with Lisa Belkin, Motherlod blogger for our partner the New York Times. 

We started the conversation early on this, and want to know what you think: Should a parent be allowed to return a child?

We talk with John Romita, Jr., co-creator of the "Kick-Ass" comic book series, and regular illustrator on "Daredevil," "Iron Man," "Wolverine," and "Spider Man." Romita tells us how it feels to see his characters make the transition from print to screen; what it was like producing "Kick-Ass" and directing its animated flashback scene; and why fans seem to identify so strongly with the self-made superheroes Hit-Girl, Red Mist, Big Daddy, and, of course, Kick-Ass.

And we want to know, If you could be any super hero, who would it be?

For this week's tech segment, we talk with esteemed graphic novelist James Sturm about his attempts to live without Web access.

For this week’s food segment, we sit down with our friend Kim Severson, food writer for our partner The New York Times, and star of such past Takeaway cooking segments as “The Girl Scout Cookie Smackdown” and “Food Writers Compete to Feed Six for Fifty Dollars.”

Each week, Newsday film critic Rafer Guzman and Takeaway producer Kristen Meinzer get in a heated, but friendly debate about the movies. This week, Rafer and Kristen discuss the similarities between 'Date Night,' 'Hot Tub Time Machine,' and other movies that might appeal to married people, or those as shockingly old as 30 or 40. 

School bullying has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, but what about bullying at the workplace? According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, almost half of all American workers have either suffered workplace bullying themselves or been vicariously distressed by witnessing it. 17 states (Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut) have tried to make it easier for employees to sue over workplace bullying, but there are still no federal laws in place.

Last week, we were struck by the shocking story of a six-year-old girl in Oregon whose death has been labeled a suicide. We wondered: Is it really possible for a first-grader to suffer from suicidal tendencies? And to deliberately take her own life?

Most people know Cherie Currie as the lead singer of the '70s all-girl rock band The Runaways, but it turns out that she's had at least a half a dozen other strange and dazzling careers since then, including writer, retail clerk and chainsaw artist.

For this week’s movie segment, we discuss the international film phenomenon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Already the top grossing film in Scandinavian history, the cold case murder mystery has opened in a handful of theaters across the U.S. over the past several weeks to enthusiastic audiences, stellar reviews, and rumors of a Hollywood adaptation.

This month, the Hubble Telescope celebrates twenty years in space. Why should we care? And does an orbiting telescope matter to those of us who aren't scientists?

Caroline Moore became the youngest person to discover a supernova on November 7, 2008 (at the age of 14).  She explains why, yes, the Hubble matters.

And Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, shares discoveries that the Hubble has revealed about the universe, which will blow your mind.

Caroline's eleven facts about the Hubble, as well as a Nova-sponsored video profile on her own work, are below. To learn more about the Hubble, tune in to Nova's mini-series "Hunting the Edge of Space."

The first Pillsbury Bakeoff took place in 1949 with amateur cooks from around the country competing for top honors and $50,000 (the equivalent of roughly $400,000 in today's dollars - not bad!).

In the decades since, the take-home for the winner has gotten bigger and bigger. This year’s grand prize winner, who will be crowned on Monday, April 12, will receive one million dollars, as well as kitchen appliances and a shout-out from Oprah Winfrey.

As the recession rages on, many experienced workers who’ve lost their jobs are looking at job listings and wondering: Am I overqualified for this? And if I apply anyway, how can I convince myself (or someone else) that I'm right for the job?

When we talk about bullying at school, we usually hear about it from the victim's perspective. But what is the role played by the parents of the bullying children? In the aftermath of the Phoebe Prince suicide in South Haldey, Mass., we find out how much parents can be responsible for their children's aggressive behavior. 

Earlier, we asked you to start the conversation on this topic. Read those comments here.

Tyler Perry’s latest film, “Why Did I Get Married Too?”, hits theatres nationwide today. And, as with all of his films, it’s expected to open at number one or number two at the box office and rake in tens of millions of dollars over the coming weeks.

In a mere 48 hours, Apple will release its widely anticipated and newest product: the iPad. As with every other Apple product launch — including that of the iPod and iPhone — crowds are expected to line up around the block on Saturday, hours before the stores open, to buy iPad on opening day. But some might wonder: what’s the point? Won’t these early adopters just be wasting half a day, paying too much money, and buying a glitch-filled experiment?

Today, we take our inspiration from the Girl Scouts. Across much of the country, Girl Scout cookie selling (and for some, eating) season is winding down. And if you’re like us, that means you’ve stockpiled boxes and boxes of Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, and Samoas.

Watch a video of the girl scout cookie smackdown!

As is often the case during an economic recession, employment litigation claims are going up. But new statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate that, more than ever, sexual harassment claims are being filed by men.