Michel Martin

Tell Me More: Education Special and Twitter Forum

Michel Martin — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:52:00 +0000

For generations, education has been key to the American dream of advancement and opportunity. Today, NPR's Tell Me More with Michel Martin (@TellMeMoreNPR) is broadcasting from member station WLRN and hosting a Twitter education forum on where the nation's schools now stand.

We talk to Alberto Carvalho (@MiamiSup), superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools.

Does Access To Good Health Trickle Down?

Michel Martin — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:53:00 +0000

I got a chance to travel a little bit recently — and no I won't be showing slides, no matter how much you beg me. And call me a nerd but on our little car trip I found myself thinking about health care.

Certain provisions of last year's health care overhaul are going into effect today and they remain controversial...but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about something deeper, about our country's attitudes about health and wealth, which are in front of us even when we aren't looking for them.

I will start by telling you we forgot to pack a prescription.

Rodney King's Personal Struggle With Alcohol

Michel Martin — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:52:00 +0000

I still cannot stop thinking about Rodney King, whose drowning death in his swimming pool this weekend seemed like the kind of ending only the authors of a Greek tragedy would write. It's as if the Gods are sending some sort of message.

But what message? Was it really too much to ask that this man, who made mistakes in his life, but who knew what they were, who openly mourned the suffering of others, could end his life peacefully in his own bed?

Still, it's worth remembering just how that whole Greek tragedy got started.

Michel Martin: Asking The Uncomfortable Questions

Michel Martin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:19:00 +0000

All week, we've been celebrating our fifth anniversary on the air. We actually hit that milestone on Monday, and we've been trying to have some fun with it — talking with 5-year-olds about what's fun about being 5; about five-year financial plans; and we checked in with some of the guests who were with us at the very beginning.

At this point, I realize you might be saying to yourself: Five? Big whoop! Come back to me when you're in double digits at least.

I can hear that. But I think the decision to acknowledge something or not is a dilemma all of us have at some point.

Trayvon Martin Was Afraid, Too

Michel Martin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:50:00 +0000

Do you mind if I take a few minutes to tell you about my son? He has three beautiful sisters but right now I'll just tell you about him. He is 8 now and he loves anything that involves dirt, any ball, and running around. He still has deliciously long eyelashes and long musician's fingers; he is learning to play the guitar. He likes to act like he's older than he is — a couple days ago he asked me if I thought his Nerf basketball set was "old school" and if his next babysitter could be "hot"; whatever that means.

When Caregiving Leaves Nothing Left

Michel Martin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Writer Sandra Tsing Loh spoke last week on the NPR national call-in show Talk of the Nation about a provocative piece she had written for The Atlantic Magazine. It was about the heavy financial and emotional cost of caring for her elderly father and stepmother.

The Power Of Memoirs, Biographies

Michel Martin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

We hope you enjoyed digging into our Black History Month memoirs as much as we did.

And if you are hungry for more good, true stories about people you may not know much about ... for Women's History Month, which starts on Thursday, we will be doing much the same thing.

We will be checking out recent biographies of famous and not so famous women whose life stories have been explored by talented writers.

We will hear about women as varied as the Egyptian monarch Cleopatra, the famous designer Coco Chanel ...

What Enslaves Us That We Won't Give Up?

Michel Martin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:52:00 +0000

I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend of mine who teaches very low-income kids. He talks about his kids a lot, as teachers I know often do.

Your Problem, Not Mine — Until It Is

Michel Martin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Here's another one of my stories about how the personal gets political. You know how it sometimes happens that without planning it, you and your friends wind up doing the same thing around the same time? Well, it so happened that a number of my friends got married around roughly the same time I did, so as you might imagine, we started comparing notes.

One day I decided to check out the wares in the salon of a famous designer I had heard a lot about. Did I say "salon"?

Sparking a Better Political Discourse

Michel Martin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

It's here. It's really here. The presidential election, I mean. And if you like politics or love it as I do, then this is the best of times ... and the worst.

The best of times because this is, in part, what democracy is about. We get to see the candidates almost as often as we want to, or perhaps more than we want to if we live in Iowa or New Hampshire. And while the attack ads get old and the applause lines get stale, this is as good a time as any to remember that in parts of the world right now, people are dying for what we have.

In Michel Martin's House: Spirit Of Revolt

Michel Martin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

In her weekly commentary, host Michel Martin shares that to her chagrin, her stepdaughters proposed to skip the china and use plastic plates for their holiday feast. The episode made Martin empathize with the deficit-cutters in Congress, and consider how tough it is to change the status quo until good-willed people choose to do so.

The Continuing Lessons Of A Bad Break

Michel Martin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Finally, since so many people have been nice enough to ask me how I am doing with my arm since I broke it a month ago, I thought I would give an update.

First, it still hurts, a lot. I don't know what I expected since the last time I broke a bone. I think I was in fourth grade and all I remember about it was how wonderful it was to be able to get the cutest boys in my class to carry my books with little more than a crook of my finger and a toss of my pigtails. This time? Well, this is a little different.

Can I just tell you?

Wanted: Advice For Recent Grad In Tough Economy

Michel Martin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:06:00 +0000

I'd like to tell you about an email I've been carrying around for a month now. It is from a young man whom I know, a fairly recent college graduate. He was writing in response to a column I wrote a while back that argued that the discussions about who is rich and who isn't struck me as disingenuous, given just how it is that some people get to six figures these days — including a police officer married to a nurse.

Lessons From Michel Martin's Bad Break

Michel Martin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

In her weekly commentary, host Michel Martin discuses the courage of people who have endured physical and emotional pain without help or acknowledgement. Her reflection comes after an injury she had last week when ice skating.

Listeners Weigh In On 'Tanning Of America'

Michel Martin and Ammad Omar — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Host Michel Martin and Tell Me More Editor Ammad Omar comb through listener feedback on this week's segment about Steve Stoute's new book that explores hip-hop's influence on big business. They also discuss updates to the Cherokee Nation election, the elections in Liberia and a new development for 'Real Life Super Hero' Phoenix Jones.