8:00am

Wed March 14, 2012
The Two-Way

Obama Picks North Carolina To Win Men's Basketball Championship

Credit Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

After two years of going with the wrong team to win it all, President Obama is counting on North Carolina — the team he correctly picked to win the 2009 NCAA men's basketball championship — to end up No. 1 this year.

As he has each year since taking office, the president spent time with ESPN going over his bracket for the tournament.

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7:50am

Wed March 14, 2012
Book Reviews

Two Books That Delight In New York City's Dirt

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 7:50 am

Some years ago I was visiting Disneyland and had a culture-clash encounter there with my one of fellow Americans. I was standing with my daughter on the miles-long meandering line for "It's a Small World After All" and I fell into a conversation with another mom; when this woman found out I was a native New Yorker, she treated me to her verdict on the city: "It's so dirty there!"

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7:46am

Wed March 14, 2012
Television

Traveling To The Corners Of Our 'Frozen Planet'

Credit Jeff Wilson / Discovery Channel/BBC

I don't want to complain about Frozen Planet, however, until I dish out a little praise.

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7:44am

Wed March 14, 2012
Arts & Culture

Today on Your Call: What makes a great children’s book?

On the next Your Call, we’ll mark the 75th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book by talking about classic kids books, and the remarkable children’s literature being written right now.  Why are the bonds we make with those special children’s books so powerful?  And when stories like The Lorax head to the big screen – or the iPad -- how does the magic of a grown-up reading to a kid change? 

Guests:

Carla Kozak, children’s librarian at San Francisco Public Library. 

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7:40am

Wed March 14, 2012
Book Reviews

'Coral Glynn': The Art Of Repression

I was in my local independent bookstore last week, enjoying the endangered pleasure of wandering around and snuffling through interesting-looking books when I overheard two women talking in front of the new releases section. "I need a new British novelist," one of them said. Ladies, I should have spoken up, but the moment passed and, besides, it was too awkward to explain that the one of the best British novelists writing today was born in New Jersey.

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7:29am

Wed March 14, 2012
Arts & Culture

Meklit Hadero on Africa Mix

 Tune in this Thursday to Africa Mix, when Emmanuel Nado's guest will be Ethiopian-born, San Francisco-based singer songwriter Meklit Hadero.

Meklit erupted to national notice with the 2010 release of her CD "On a Day Like This" bringing her music to a whole new audience.  She performs next Friday, March 23rd at the Herbst Theater for SFJazz.  Hear her on KALW this Thursday at 9pm.

 

6:50am

Wed March 14, 2012
The Two-Way

Editor's Obituary Takes Tawdry Twist

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 6:51 am

After Oregonian editorial page editor Bob Caldwell died Saturday, the report from the newspaper on Sunday said he had suffered a heart attack.

That does appear to be the 63-year-old journalist's cause of death. But the circumstances surrounding his last moments were considerably more complicated.

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6:45am

Wed March 14, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Fatty Foods Bad For Sperm

Credit Robert Byron / iStockphoto.com

Men who eat a lot of fatty foods have lower quality sperm than men who avoid them, a new study found.

Saturated fat, the stuff in meat and dairy foods, was associated with lower sperm counts. The men eating the most saturated fat had 35 percent fewer sperm than men eating the least.

On the bright side, the men who ate more omega-3 fats — the kind found in fish and some plants — had slightly more sperm that were correctly formed than their brethren who ate less.

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6:37am

Wed March 14, 2012
The Challenges Of A Nuclear Iran

The Debate Over Bombing Nuclear Facilities In Iran

Iran said Tuesday that it was unwilling to allow international nuclear inspectors to have complete access to a restricted military complex, called Parchin, which is near the capital Tehran. There are concerns that the complex may contain a facility designed to test explosives meant to trigger a nuclear chain reaction.

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6:01am

Wed March 14, 2012
It's All Politics

Santorum Gains Momentum, And The GOP Slog Continues

Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Rick Santorum won two Southern state GOP presidential primaries Tuesday, embarassing Mitt Romney who had predicted he'd take one.

Second-place finisher Newt Gingrich vowed to fight on to Tampa, tag teaming Romney along with Santorum. The "three-way dynamic," as he put it, is a winner for Gingrich and, perhaps, his dream of deal-making at the convention, and for Romney, too, whose Southern result could have been much worse if he'd been posting up against Santorum alone.

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