Analysis
1:00 pm
Sat December 24, 2011

2011: The Year In Stories

Originally published on Sat December 24, 2011 3:15 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

From NPR News, it's weekends on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Guy Raz.

Thanks for joining us this Christmas Eve. Today and tomorrow, instead of our usual cover story, we'll hear updates from some of the folks who appeared on this program this past year.

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Television
12:28 pm
Sat December 24, 2011

The Good Old Yule Log Spreads To HDTV

Credit WPIX
A screencap of the iconic WPIX Yule Log. The original video was filmed in 1966; this version was redone in 1970.
Sports
12:23 pm
Sat December 24, 2011

An Epic (And Mythic) 2011 NBA Preview

The NBA season opens Christmas Day, and every sports writer worth his tinseled tropes has made a reference to basketball fans being able to unwrap a slate of games under the tree.

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Fresh Air Weekend
10:34 am
Sat December 24, 2011

Fresh Air Weekend: Trent Reznor, Elmo

Credit Richard Termine / Sesame Workshop
Elmo and Clash, on the Sesame Street set in 2006.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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Music
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

'White Wine In The Sun' On A Hot Christmas Day

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

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The Record
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

K-Pop Blows Up: Korean Music Finds Fans Worldwide

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
Korean pop group Girls' Generation pose on the red carpet to attend the MNET Asian Music Awards ceremony in Singapore in November.

Korean pop music groups turned a corner in 2011, expanding their audience worldwide, despite the language barrier. Two of the most popular bands are 2NE1, whose music projects ideas of self-worth, and Girls' Generation, which has nine members.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

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Movies
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

Comparing Favorite Holiday Flicks With A Pro

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Christmas falls on a weekend this year; a chance for many families to curl up with a good film that's stood the test of holidays past. But what if you've already seen "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Bad Santa?" What's left? Cameron Crowe joins us now from Los Angeles. Mr. Crowe is the esteemed screenwriter and director whose films include "Say Anything," "Almost Famous," "Jerry Maguire," the documentary "Pearl Jam Twenty," and the just-released, "We Bought A Zoo," starring Ben Affleck's best friend. Thanks for being with us, Mr. Crowe.

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Sports
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

Sports To Look Forward To: NBA, NFL Pick Up

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Coming up: A couch potato's holiday. It's time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: This weekend, the NBA gets going. The NFL gets extra thrilling. And the Boise State Broncos got to clean out their lockers. The boys in blue demolished Arizona State, 56 to 24 in the MAACO-Las Vegas Bowl. Now they got ahead home while lower ranked teams compete in the official bowl championship series games.

NPR's Tom Goldman joins us from Portland. Tom, thanks for being with us.

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World
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

Cape Race: 'Still A Place For A Lighthouse'

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Off the northeastern tip of North America on Newfoundland lies a stretch of the coast known as the graveyard of the Atlantic. The rocky shoreline has sunk hundreds of ships. Reporter Emma Jacobs traveled to the red and white lighthouse on the tip of Cape Race that still warns ships away from the coast.

EMMA JACOBS, BYLINE: The day I visited in late fall was the kind of day the Cape Race lighthouse was built for. Twenty-foot swells rolled in towards the point through a thick fog.

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Politics
6:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

GOP Walks Away From Payroll Tax Debacle Bruised

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. President Obama is in Hawaii with his family today. Yesterday, just before leaving Washington, D.C., he signed a bill to extend the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits for two months. It was a political victory for the president and for Democrats who had made extending the tax break a priority.

For Republicans in the House of Representatives though, it may have marked a political defeat. NPR's congressional correspondent reporter, Tamara Keith, has more.

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