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Shots - Health Blog
2:43 am
Mon June 4, 2012

What's Different About The Brains Of People With Autism?

Credit Rebecca Droke / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jeff Hudale, who is autistic, demonstrates a face recognition test at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. Researchers use eye tracking devices to monitor and record what he is looking at.

Originally published on Wed June 6, 2012 1:21 pm

Like a lot of people with autism, Jeff Hudale has a brain that's really good at some things.

"I have an unusual aptitude for numbers, namely math computations," he says.

Hudale can do triple-digit multiplication in his head. That sort of ability helped him get a degree in engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. But he says his brain struggles with other subjects like literature and philosophy.

"I like working with things that are rather concrete and structured," he says. "Yeah, I like things with some logic and some rules to it."

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The Two-Way
12:54 pm
Sun June 3, 2012

Queen's Diamond Jubilee A Celebration For All

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 4:56 pm

Thousands are crowding the banks of the Thames today to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth leading a flotilla of a thousand boats to mark her 60-year reign.

Her gilded barge is the centerpiece of what organizers are calling the biggest pageant on the river in 350 years. As NPR's Philip Reeves reports from London, a 41-gun salute echoed over the city this morning, launching what will be several days of festivities.

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Monkey See
8:54 am
Sun June 3, 2012

What The MTV Movie Awards Get Right That The Oscars Don't

Credit Christopher Polk / Getty Images
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart accept the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (really!) at the 2010 ceremony.

I admit it's a bold statement, suggesting that the most glamorous and prestigious awards ceremony Americans watch all year could learn something from an event that once had a category called "Biggest Badass Star." Certainly, I wouldn't want to see the Oscars replaced with the MTV Movie Awards, given that the first Twilight movie won five of them.

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Economy
8:03 am
Sun June 3, 2012

The Economy From The People's Perspective

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 10:37 am

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

Disappointing. Dismal. Bleak. These are just a few of the words used to describe the latest employment report. It showed that the U.S. economy added just 69,000 jobs in May. That's less than half of what economists had expected. And this was the third consecutive month of weak results, which raises new concerns about the sputtering economic recovery.

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Economy
8:03 am
Sun June 3, 2012

How Homes Structure The American Dream

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 10:37 am

Home ownership has long been considered a key part of the American Dream. The dream has taken a beating in recent years, but polls show the desire to own remains extremely high. NPR's Chris Arnold discusses the state of home ownership and reviews the latest housing news with host Rachel Martin.

Politics
8:03 am
Sun June 3, 2012

Enthusiasm To Recall Wis. Governor May Be Waning

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 10:37 am

On Tuesday, Wisconsin voters will decide whether Republican Scott Walker becomes just the third governor recalled from office in U.S. history. But as NPR's David Schaper reports, some now wonder whether the intensity of the left has been eclipsed by the resolve of the right.

Around the Nation
8:03 am
Sun June 3, 2012

After Deadly Plane Crash, Atlanta Rallied For The Arts

Credit AP
The crash of a chartered Air France flight near Paris on June 3, 1962, took the lives of 122 members of Atlanta's art community.

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 8:09 am

Sunday marks 50 years since what was then the world's deadliest airplane accident: a crash that claimed 130 lives outside Paris. The most devastated community was not in France, but in the United States.

It was the worst thing that ever happened to Milton Bevington. He witnessed the crash of the Boeing 707 at Orly Airport, with his wife and mother-in-law onboard.

"The plane went up about 6 feet and came back down and bounced around, zigzagged and finally broke in half," he said.

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Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
7:42 am
Sun June 3, 2012

A Parasite Pie Fit For A Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Credit Louisa Chu / Flickr/Creative Commons
A Lamprey Pie from Pleasant House Bakery in Chicago.

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 12:02 pm

From our "How To Do Everything" podcast:

Among the many gifts Queen Elizabeth II will receive for her Diamond Jubilee is a special lamprey pie from the town of Gloucester. It's a tradition dating back centuries. Lampreys may seem like an odd gift for a monarch, but one person's eel-like parasite which sucks the blood of fish is another person's delicacy.

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Art & Design
6:17 am
Sun June 3, 2012

Blacksmiths Forge A New Kind Of Artisanal Future

Originally published on Sun June 3, 2012 7:37 pm

Adam's Forge is a dark, high-ceilinged warehouse space in Los Angeles. It's set up with anvils, medieval-looking tools and black ovens that breathe fire.

Recently, about a dozen people gathered for an advanced class taught by master blacksmith Mark Aspery.

Blacksmithing is an ancient trade that, like other crafts, saw a downturn during the Industrial Revolution, when machines took over jobs that humans once did. Now, blacksmithing is having a small revival as smiths build new ways of connecting with customers.

'This Is My Craft'

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