The Torch
1:25 pm
Tue July 31, 2012

London 2012 Lives Up To 'Social Games' Title, In Unwelcome Ways

Credit NPR
The London Games have lived up to their hype as the first truly "social" Olympics. But social media like Twitter have also brought embarrassments, and even an arrest.

The London 2012 Games have been touted as the first Olympics to live fully in the age of social media. After all, the organization's Twitter feed has nearly 1.4 million followers, as it lists on its special portal for Facebook and other social sites. But a rash of scandals and news related to Twitter has put a new mark on the face of these games. And, as they say, it ain't pretty.

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Fresh Air Interviews
1:14 pm
Tue July 31, 2012

Facing The Fiscal Cliff: Congress' Next Showdown

Originally published on Wed August 1, 2012 12:35 am

In December, Congress is poised for another showdown on the deficit and taxes. If Congress doesn't act, 2013 will mark the end to Bush-era tax cuts that have been in place for a dozen years, and the beginning of automatic cuts to domestic and defense programs that would total $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office says the combination of higher taxes and deep spending cuts could create a 4 percent reduction in economic output, a number big enough to throw the country into another recession.

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Music
1:14 pm
Tue July 31, 2012

Boban i Marko Markovic: Irresistible Party Music

A dozen years ago, if someone told me that one of the liveliest, most inventive party albums of the year would come from a band originally associated with wedding celebrations and beer festivals, I would have been all, "Yeah, sure, you bet." If it was further explained that the band's roots were much closer to polka than rock, funk or hip-hop, I would have responded, "Don't push it." But nowadays, I'm familiar with the Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar, whose retrospective Golden Horns will lighten the heart and lift the feet as surely as anything you'll hear in 2012.

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This American Life

This American Life True stories of regular people and the extraordinary circumstances we can find ourselves in.

The Vinyl Cafe

The Vinyl Cafe stories are about Dave, owner of the second hand record store, and Dave's wife, Morley, their two children, Sam and Stephanie, and assorted friends and neighbors.

Gospel Flight

Join WBOI's own Dee McKinley for inspiring spirituals and songs of the church.

Acoustic Spoken Word Cafe

WBOI's only spoken-word poetry program, with selections from a trio of local spoken word artists and enthusiasts.

Side Tracks

Weekly multi-genre music program.

A Prairie Home Companion

Recorded live every Saturday, A Prairie Home Companion features comedy sketches, music, and Garrison Keillor's signature monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon."

Credit L. Barry Hetherington

Bill Littlefield, nationally known author and veteran sports commentator, hosts NPR's Only A Game, produced by NPR Member station WBUR in Boston.

Since 1993 Littlefield has provided audiences with a weekly tour through the world of sports. The show covers a wide range of sports topics, from the basics like wins and loses to issues such as racism, sexism, and sports opportunities for the disabled. Only A Game is as likely to feature a tale about a day at the race track with the residents of a retirement home as it is a story about the World Series or the World Cup.

Littlefield has been a commentator for WBUR and NPR since 1984. He is the writer-in-residence at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, where he has been a professor in the Humanities Division since 1976. He taught writing courses at the Harvard University Summer School and in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government Summer Program for Masters Candidates from 1981 until 1987.

The author of two novels, Littlefield wrote Prospect (for which he also wrote a screenplay) and The Circus in the Woods. He published two collections of his radio and magazine work, Keepers and Only A Game. He collaborated with photographer Henry Horenstein on Baseball Days and wrote Champions, a collection of profiles of remarkable athletes for young readers. He was the guest editor of Houghton Mifflin's The Best American Sports Writing, 1998, and his column reviewing sports-related books appears every other month in The Boston Globe.

Only A Game and Littlefield's commentaries have won numerous Associated Press Awards, and he has been celebrated by the associates of the Boston Public Library as one of Boston's "Literary Lights." He is a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard University School of Education.

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