Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'isolation'

Inmate Nearly Released After 36 Years In Solitary

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:34:00 EST

After growing doubts about a 1973 murder case, a judge overturned an Angola inmate's conviction and granted him bail three weeks ago. Hours later, the Louisiana attorney general stepped in and halted the release. Now the inmate is back in the isolation cell, where he's spent more than three decades.

E-Greens: The Rise Of Media Environmentalism

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:36:00 EST

Americans are susceptible to a variety of sneaky maladies associated with the Media Age: information overload, couch potato-obesity, social isolation. The simple key to being a media environmentalist is proper use of the off button.

Darren Smith: 'Dogtown Mines'

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:19:00 EDT

Though he now lives in Seattle, folk musician Darren Smith grew up across Washington's eastern border in the small college town of Moscow, ID. With a secluded population of only 22,000, Moscow bills itself as the "Heart of the Arts." It might sound like an unlikely title, but Moscow, ID is also the home of singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. "Maybe it's the cold winters and isolation that brings out the artistic drive in people," Smith says.

Rice: Russia On A Path To Isolation

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:26:00 EDT

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the West must stand up to Moscow. In a major speech Thursday, Rice said Russia's policies have put it on a path to isolation and irrelevance. But while the U.S. is angry with Russia's actions in Georgia, it needs Moscow for other foreign policy challenges from North Korea to Iran. Citics say the Bush admin. is leaving the next president with little leverage when dealing with Russia.

Russia Under Pressure, Has Little World Support

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:53:00 EDT

Russia is facing international isolation over this month's attacks in Georgia, and the country failed to enlist the support it wanted from China and a group of former Soviet republics in central Asia. Moscow has accused NATO of "battleship diplomacy."

Robotic Baby Seal Coming to U.S. Shores

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:16:00 EDT

A company that makes a robotic baby seal from Japan named Paro plans to sell it in the U.S. to help comfort people with dementia, autism and other problems related to social isolation. But some doctors say real pets provide the best kind of therapy.

Isol / Zypce: 'Mi Formula Para Llorar'

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:38:00 EDT

Argentina probably isn't the first place you think of for groundbreaking electro-pop music, but for the past several years it's been turning out a number of stunning recordings from some of the genre's most inventive artists. The brother-sister duo Isol and Zypce (that's ee-SOLE and ZIP-see) is about to release one of the year's more curious CDs: a spectacular headphone album, with a richly layered world of blips and clicks, called Sima.

When Presidents Meet with the 'Bad Guys'

Fri, 23 May 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Sen. John McCain has been stepping up the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, criticizing the Democrat's willingness to open a dialogue with Iran, talk to Cuba's President Raul Castro, or meet with other hostile leaders. Obama's supporters have fought back, with video of a McCain supporter, former Secretary of State James Baker, saying that "talking to an enemy is not in my view appeasement." Recently Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) said, "The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on isolation and tension is an America ready, willing and able to engage."

Cyclone Highlights Myanmar's Isolation from World

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Diplomats around the world continue talks with Myanmar's military government about bringing relief aid to the country's cyclone victims. The Southeast Asian country, once called Burma, has been under military rule in one form or another since 1962. Co-host Renee Montagne speaks with David Steinberg, a professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, about Myanmar's history and politics.

Emerging from the Shadow of Polygamy

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:55:00 EDT

Authorities in Texas removed more than 400 youngsters from a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound last week. Now, the children who once lived in near isolation must transition to mainstream society.

U.S. May Ease Afghan Prisoners' Isolation

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

For years, the U.S. military has been criticized for its secret detention facility at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The Red Cross says that unlike other prisoners in Afghanistan, nearly 650 people held at Bagram are never allowed family visits. But a new video-call program appears to be easing their isolation.

Rhodesia's Ex-Prime Minister Ian Smith Dead at 88

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:00:00 EST

Ian Smith, Rhodesia's last white prime minister whose attempts to resist black rule dragged the country now known as Zimbabwe into isolation and civil war, died after suffering a stroke. He was 88. Smith died at a clinic near Cape Town, South Africa.

Israel Decreases Fuel Shipments to Gaza

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 06:00:00 EDT

Israel is cutting back on vital fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip due to near daily rocket fire from Palestinian militants into Israeli border towns. The U.N. has denounced the rocket attacks but it has also warned Israel against punishing ordinary Gazans who are slipping deeper into poverty and isolation.

Scholar Recalls Captivity in Iranian Prison

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:01:00 EDT

During more than 100 days in an Iranian prison, Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari spent the time in virtual isolation writing a book in her head about her grandmother. She says that she is "disappointed in Iran, [but] I'm not angry at it."

The Bright Side of the World's Annihilation

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:30:00 EDT

In the pre-apocalyptic love song "The Temptation of Adam," Josh Ritter demonstrates his considerable gift for subtle, warmly evocative turns of phrase. As the song unfolds, he revels in the simplicity of the end times, acknowledging that romance is easier when it unfolds in isolation.

Stuck and Suicidal in a Post-Katrina Trailer Park

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:48:00 EDT

Since Hurricane Katrina hit nearly two years ago, 100 families have been living in near isolation at Scenic Trails, a FEMA trailer park deep in the woods of Mississippi. The community is plagued by crime, drugs, and depression Â� and residents see no way out.

High Court's New Race Ruling Echoes in Schools

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:00:00 EDT

In a decision with profound implications for the nation's public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated two voluntary desegregation plans because they used race in some students' school assignments in an effort to end racial isolation or prevent re-segregation.

Syria Welcomes Pelosi, But Doubts Her Impact

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:43:00 EDT

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with a small delegation of other House members, paid a much-anticipated visit to Syrian president Bashad al-Assar today. But while Syrian officials embraced Pelosi's visit as a public signal that their current isolation may be diminishing, they do not think she can shape U.S. foreign policy.

Flu Studies Point to Isolation for Prevention

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 06:00:00 EDT

Scientists examining the deadly flu pandemic of 1918 say it offers a lesson for dealing with a potential outbreak today: keep people away from each other. The government supports the approach, but skeptics say it's impractical.

Padilla Is Unfit for Trial, Attorneys Say

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:41:00 EST

A federal judge in Miami is holding a hearing to determine if Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial. Padilla is a U.S. citizen arrested nearly 5 years ago and accused of being an al-Qaida operative. His attorneys say that Padilla, who was held in almost total isolation in a Navy brig, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bush Urges Isolation of Iran for Nuclear Aspirations

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:00:00 EST

President Bush calls for the world to isolate Iran until it quits developing its controversial nuclear program. The president's comments came today after discussing Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House.

Apartheid-Era South African President P.W. Botha Dies

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 06:00:00 EST

South Africa's last hard-line white president has died. P.W. Botha was 90. He oversaw South Africa's worst racial violence, and international isolation, in the years 1978 to 1989. But Nelson Mandela noted Botha also played a role in the end of the country's apartheid government. Renee Montagne talks to former South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha (no relation) about the former president's death.

A Beach Boys Classic Gets an R&B Makeover

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:18:00 EDT

Danish musicians Philip Owusu and Robin Hannibal give "Caroline No" an entrancing makeover, capturing Brian Wilson's doleful melody and a gentle acoustic-guitar accompaniment in a cavernous electronic whirlwind, with stargazing bleeps intensifying the song's sense of isolation and grief.

Moazzam Begg: From Pakistan to Guantanamo

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 06:00:00 EDT

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg has published a memoir called Enemy Combatant. Begg says he was arrested in Pakistan without ever being charged with a crime, beaten and psychologically tortured at prison camps in Afghanistan and kept in isolation for nearly two years at Guantanamo Bay.

Music for the Morning After, and Beyond

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:15:00 EDT

Musicians often chronicle the anguish, adjustments and small triumphs associated with a relationship's end. But few capture the emotional rawness and suffocating isolation quite as powerfully as Lisa Germano's "Too Much Space."