Melissa Block

Melissa Block appears in the following:

Colombian Speedskater Gets A Last-Minute Chance To Compete In Olympics

Monday, February 05, 2018

The best athletes in the world are arriving in South Korea this week for the start of the Winter Olympics. Some have trained for years to get there. But one just learned she'd get to compete.

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Face-Down, Head-First, 90 Miles An Hour On The Ice

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Olympic skeleton racers' chins rest an inch or two above the ice. "Obviously, you don't want your face scraping across the ice 'cause it does slow you down," says one. "But it also doesn't feel good."

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A Kind Of Chaos: The Science And Sport Of Bobsledding

Thursday, December 14, 2017

U.S. Olympic bobsledders explain their craft as they prepare for Pyeongchang in 2018. Success depends on immense precision. One false step or a miscalculated lean can spell disaster.

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Tom Petty's Songs Served As Anthems For Many Generations

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

American rocker Tom Petty has died at age 66. Petty is known for hits like "American Girl" and "Refugee" — hard driving paeans to everyday folks.

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'They're Scared': Immigration Fears Exacerbate Migrant Farmworker Shortage

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Some growers say that President Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric has made a chronic worker shortage even worse.

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Houston Officials Consider How To Prevent Future Floods After Harvey

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

More than 100,000 homes in the Houston area were damaged or destroyed by Harvey's floodwaters. Now the city is trying to figure out what steps should be taken to prevent or reduce future floods, if people should be allowed to rebuild in the flood zones, and if authorities will put a brake on development and agree to restore wetlands.

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In Texas, An Army Of Volunteers Sprang Into Action After Harvey

Thursday, September 07, 2017

After Harvey flooded out Houston, people sprang into action to help with rescues, medical care and food. The key was social media. People who came to do minor tasks wound up taking on leadership roles.

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Writing Mississippi: Jesmyn Ward Salvages Stories Of The Silenced

Thursday, August 31, 2017

The author's books are set in the poor, black Mississippi community where she grew up, a place where, she says, "the past bears very heavily on the present."

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Young Astronaut Hopeful Gets NASA Tour Of His (Space) Dreams

Monday, August 14, 2017

Murad Rahimov got to see the inner workings of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center after an NPR listener learned of his passion for space.

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Meyers Chuck, AK, 99903

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Meyers Chuck is off the grid, with no roads or cars; just a sprinkling of houses on the water, and a post office that's the social hub of town.

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On Her Quiet Folk Debut, Bedouine Wanders And Wonders

Saturday, June 24, 2017

On her eponymous debut album as Bedouine, folk musician Azniv Korkejian explores her itinerant, transnational upbringing and the war in Syria, where she was born.

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Unconscious Prejudice Meets Real-World Horror In 'The Exception'

Saturday, June 24, 2017

David Leveaux's new film follows exiled German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II as he realizes that the new Germany of National Socialism has nothing at all in common with the Germany of his memories.

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Imagining Daniel Day-Lewis In A Life Without Acting

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Daniel Day-Lewis says he is no longer going to act. Weekend Edition guest host Melissa Block remembers an interview she had with him that might shed some light on what he'll do next.

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A Native Village In Alaska Where The Past Is Key To The Future

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Klukwan is home to about 100 people, most of them from the Tlingit tribe. Once their land reached to the mountains. Today, the village is struggling to retain its land and its culture.

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'Gracious Address' By Queen Elizabeth II Won't Have All The Ceremonial Dress

Saturday, June 17, 2017

All the pomp and circumstance of Elizabeth II's speech to Parliament won't be all the pomp and circumstance it usually is. That's a bummer for NPR's Melissa Block as she writes in this commentary.

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When Planning A Gubernatorial Campaign, First Check The Requirements

Saturday, June 17, 2017

A businessman named Kris Hart had big plans to run for the governor of Pennsylvania. But the would-be Republican politician ran into a roadblock before the campaign even got started.

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Meet The Nanotechnologist Behind The Timpani At The Met

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Jason Haaheim was a senior scientist at a nanotech company before deciding he wanted to play in a professional orchestra. He's now principal timpanist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

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In 'Memory's Last Breath' An Academic Confronts Dementia

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Gerda Saunders was a university professor when she learned she had early-onset dementia. Now, she's struggling to define herself anew as her defining characteristic — her intellect — begins to fail.

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In This Alaska Family, Life Lessons Are Passed Down On The Water

Saturday, June 17, 2017

In southeast Alaska, the commercial king salmon fishing season has been shut down a month early, because the number of wild salmon returning to rivers to spawn is at an all-time low.

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In Southeast Alaska, The Ferry System Is A Lifeline

Tuesday, June 06, 2017

In most of the Inside Passage, there are no roads connecting the communities, so Alaskans depend heavily on ferries: the Alaska Marine Highway System.

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