I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barbershop, where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds.
Sitting in the chairs for a shapeup this week are author Jimi Izrael, civil rights attorney and author Arsalan Iftikhar, NPR's own political editor, our political junkie, Ken Rudin, and from National Review magazine and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Mario Loyola.
Haiti's earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and ruined the nation's infrastructure. On the second anniversary of the disaster, The Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles says the biggest challenge to recovery is unemployment. Host Michel Martin speaks with Charles and Donald Steinberg of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
President Obama wants to regulate wages for nearly 2 million home care workers. Supporters of the regulation say home care workers are underpaid, but others say the changes could force health care agencies to cut jobs. Host Michel Martin hears from a home care agency director, a client, and a labor reporter.
There's no doubt that art can help us cope with troubled times. It's a way to process the inexplicable, express the unutterable.
But with tens of thousands of Haitians still displaced and living in tent cities, some might consider art a luxury few can afford. Diane Ford Dessables, though, founder of Ayitian Arts Project, says that in addition to the obvious emotional benefits, there are real economic reasons for supporting Haiti's arts.
"What we're doing here is focusing on art and using art as a means of spurring community development," she tells NPR's Michel Martin.
The Glock is rapped about in hip-hop songs and carried by heroes in action films. It was once touted as the gun of the future, but also derided as a terrorist's best friend. Host Michel Martin and Paul Barrett, author of Glock, discuss how an obscure Austrian manufacturer of door hinges and knives ended up making America's top-selling handgun.
Mitt Romney is building momentum with wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. But he still faces criticism from fellow Republican rivals as the candidates turn toward South Carolina's primary. Host Michel Martin discusses the latest political news with U.S. News and World Report Columnist Mary Kate Cary and journalism professor Cynthia Tucker.
Panelists discuss the Obama administration's latest immigration proposal that's meant to cut through bureaucracy — but critics call it 'back-door amnesty.' They also weigh in on a controversial new book about the Obamas, and Beyonce and Jay Z's baby. Host Michel Martin hears from ladies of 'The Wise Latina Club', TheGrio.com and ESSENCE.
Host Michel Martin discusses trends at this year's auto expo in the Motor City, and what U.S. automakers are doing to capture another year of double-digit profits. She speaks with NPR Business Reporter Sonari Glinton and Michelle Krebs of Edmonds.com, a car industry tracking site.
Tuesday's New Hampshire primary is unlikely to settle the question of who will be the GOP's consensus candidate. Conservative leaders plan to meet in Texas this weekend to try to identify a candidate to coalesce around, and experience will not be an essential factor. Host Michel Martin discusses the GOP hopefuls with Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative leader, author and lawyer.
