Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'practical'

CNN's Dr. Gupta May Be Next Surgeon General

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:00:00 EST

President-elect Barack Obama is looking for a surgeon general. And CNN says its chief medical correspondent is under consideration for the job. Should the offer come, CNN says Dr. Sanjay Gupta has indicated he's likely to take it. The 39-year-old Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon.

Obama Eyeing CNN's Gupta For Surgeon General...

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:17:00 EST

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, is reportedly in talks to become the Obama administration's surgeon general. Gupta worked on health policy as a White House fellow in the 1990s.

Study: Many Doctors Would Prefer Another Profession

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST

A recent survey asked primary care physicians what they do and don't like about practicing medicine. The answers were pretty negative; a large number of doctors said that if they could start over, they'd choose a different profession.

Farewell Opus; Hello Pete, The Perfectly Practical Pig

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:37:00 EDT

After 30 years, cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is bidding adieu to his charming, politically astute penguin of Bloom County and Opus. His new project is Pete & Pickles, a children's book about a very sad pig.

Palin, Biden Prepare To Face Off In St. Louis

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:38:00 EDT

The vice presidential candidates are intensely preparing to debate each other Thursday night. Republican Sarah Palin has been practicing at John McCain's retreat in Arizona. Democrat Joe Biden is prepping near his home in Delaware.

Why Intensive Care Leads To PTSD

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EDT

A new study shows about 20 percent of patients checking out of hospital intensive care units suffer post traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Sydney Spiesel — a practicing pediatrician and professor at Yale Medical School — talks to Madeleine Brand about why this happens and what hospitals can do.

Government Financial Rescues On The Rise

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT

The government stepped in to help Bear Stearns and recently orchestrated a takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. How far will the government go to rescue other firms like Lehman Brothers? Business journalist Joe Nocera talks with host Scott Simon about the moral and practical hazards.

Tulane Football Team Works Around Gustav

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:00:00 EDT

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Tulane University's football team ended up sleeping on the floor of a gym in Mississippi, with no power and 90-degree heat. Gustav forced the team to flee again, but its enjoying an upgrade: hotel rooms in Birmingham, Ala., with TV, DVDs and air conditioning. It's even practicing for its weekend game against Alabama.

China's Pingpong Stars Find New Home Teams

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

All four members of the U.S. Table Tennis team are Chinese. One of the players spends 11 months of the year practicing in China because she says pingpong in the U.S. "is really no good."

D.C. Band Determined Despite Money Woes

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

It's the middle of summer vacation. But Washington D.C.'s Eastern High School Marching Band is practicing like crazy. Band members hope to play at next week's Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival in Canton, Ohio. Sadly, the band still doesn't have enough money for bus fare.

Anglicans Boycott Meeting, Split Over Women, Gays

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Leaders of the world's Anglicans are meeting in London amid speculation that the church might split. Conservatives argue that there is no place for practicing homosexuals in the church.

'Inconvenient Truth' Opera in the Works

Fri, 30 May 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Al Gore has an Oscar, an Emmy and a Nobel prize, but can he hit the high notes? He better start practicing. An opera company in Milan has commissioned a full-length opera based on Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth.

Panel Shoots Down Wider Ballistics Database

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:36:00 EST

In recent years, some lawmakers and gun control groups have pushed for a national database that would record the ballistics signature of every gun sold in the United States. But a new report from the National Research Council says the database would return too many potential matches to be practical.

GM Official: Hydrogen-Powered Cars Impractical

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:28:00 EST

General Motors and Toyota officials are expressing doubts about how soon people will be driving hydrogen-powered cars. Speaking at an auto show in Geneva, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz indicated that fuel cells are still too expensive to be practical for most consumers.

Book Scrutinizes U.S. Ideas That Led to Iraq War

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:02:00 EST

Fred Kaplan, author of Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power, says the Bush administration's world view is based on several misconceptions. For one, he says, the administration thought of freedom as a gift from God, without understanding the practical requirements of developing democracies.

Study Boosts Switchgrass as New Alternative Fuel

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:01:00 EST

Ever since President George Bush's invocation in 2006 to turn prairie grass into ethanol fuel, scientists have been trying to figure out if the process is practical. A new study bodes well; it finds switchgrass is more efficient to grow for biofuel than corn.

Supreme Court Takes Up Lethal Injection

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:00:00 EST

The Supreme Court hears arguments in a lethal injection case from Kentucky. Two death-row inmates say that the way lethal injection is practiced by the state amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. This is the first time in more than a century that the court examines a method of execution.

'Toilet to Tap' Plan for Orange County Water

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:00:00 EST

Orange County's water purification plant will soon be turning waste water into drinkable water. Many residents say that no matter how practical, they find the idea onerous.

Romney Makes His Pitch

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:53:03 EST

Sure, there was some bait-and-switch in the speech Mitt Romney delivered on "Faith in America" this week, but those who'd expected the presidential candidate to grasp the nettle of his Mormon faith must blame their disappointment on themselves. Romney himself never said he would actually defend his familial faith against charges of cultism. That expectation was a product of our own imaginations: How, we asked, could the former governor of Massachusetts address the nation on religion without discussing his own? We should have known better. Despite the breathless build-up, this speech at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas was not going to be about the Latter-day Saints or any of the beliefs that set it apart from the classic Judeo-Christian tradition. In fact, it never made sense for Romney to talk theology, or get into any detailed aspect of his religion. What he needed instead was to assert his own devotion to his faith -- " the faith of my fathers." Devotion of this kind is of great value to people of faith in general, and those are the people the candidate wanted to reach with this speech. So, no surprise, the word "Mormon" appeared only once in a text of 2,500 words. And while Brigham Young did come up in a parade of religious dissenters (rubbing elbows with Roger Williams), Young was not identified as Mormon. Joseph Smith, the religion's founder, went unmentioned as did the Book of Mormon, which Smith's followers put alongside the Bible as divinely inspired. Romney did, however, mention Jesus Christ twice, and he leaned on the word "denomination." So it was easy to get the impression, once again, that Mormons are just like Lutherans (whom he mentioned admiringly) or Methodists or Baptists. The takeaway for an average listener would be that Mormonism resembles these other "denominations" in church doctrine just as it does in church architecture. In fact, it was widely observed that Romney's speech, save a sentence or two, might have been given by most any of the candidates for president, if not all of them. Except, of course, that none of the other candidates could have commanded 25 minutes of cable news coverage for what amounted to a long campaign commercial. Only Romney could do that, and he could do it only because Mormonism remains an object of curiosity in the culture and a goad to voyeurism in the media. Give the man his due. A world-class salesman in his career, Romney has not always been at his best in TV debates. But this occasion found him at the top of his game. Wrapping himself in reverence for religion-in-general, and repeatedly saluting the ideals of the founding fathers, Romney looked and sounded more presidential than he has to date. And let's remember, his practical goal here was not to change anybody's mind about Mormonism. It was rather to soothe the media beast and provide good material for his defenders in the evangelical Christian and Catholic communities. And he has some highly effective defenders: Just before the speech, he was getting a spirited boost on CNN from Ralph Reed. Remember him? He ran the Christian Coalition in its heyday a dozen years ago. So score this media event a success for the overall Romney effort. It will not win over the hardcore foes of the Latter Day Saints; nothing is likely to do so. But it will probably help the campaign with people of faith in general, a far larger category, and one Romney needs to win to keep the GOP nomination away from Rudy Giuliani. At the same time, there could be a price for whatever he gains. Romney made several remarks at College Station that will not sit well with some, including some religious voters and others of a more secular turn of mind. Early in the speech he linked religious freedom to political freedom, suggesting they were not just compatible but co-dependent. ("Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.") But haven't people pursued faith with great fervor even in countries and eras wherein political freedom was unknown? But the real thorn in this particular speech pricks those who care about church and state separation. Although Romney himself invoked the famous John F. Kennedy speech to Protestant pastors in 1960 in his own speech, the two texts were at odds on this point. Kennedy said he might have a different religion, but that it didn't need to matter in governing. Romney said he might have a different religion, but that his religion was good for governing because all religions are. Speaking specifically to the sealing off of church and state, Romney saluted the idea as expressed by the founding fathers ("no religious test for office"). But he eagerly added that the good idea had been taken too far in modern times. Banning religion from the public square was wrong, he said, drawing himself erect. And the audience of invited guests gave him a sustained ovation. Romney made it clear he believed that religion was an integral part of the movements that ended slavery and racial discrimination, not to mention the movement to ban abortion. So while the candidate insisted he would not "define my candidacy by my religion," he also insisted on defining good public policy largely by reference to religion. That may be a relatively safe place to stand in the Iowa caucuses, or in the rest of the Republican nominating process this winter and spring. But it raises questions that will be around for a good deal longer.

2003 Fire Victims Reach Out to Help Others

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:26:00 EDT

The massive Cedar fire in 2003 destroyed hundreds of homes in the San Diego area. Now, people who lost their homes in 2003 are providing both practical advice and inspiration to the victims of this week's devastating fires.

Panel Makes Recommendation on Cold Medicines

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:49:00 EDT

An advisory panel recommended to the Food and Drug Administration this week that cold medicines be banned for children under the age of six. Dr. Danny Benjamin, a research professor at Duke University, who is also a practicing pediatrician and has worked in the past as an advisor to the FDA, speaks with Liane Hansen.

Try, Try Again: A Guitarist's Second Time Around

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:52:00 EDT

As a young guitarist studying at the New England Conservatory, Glenn Kurtz dreamed of being a concert guitarist. But he eventually abandoned his instrument in frustration. Years later, he picked it up again and started practicing, a process that he found became its own reward. He shares his story in Practicing.

NYC Seeks to Unload Foreign Coins

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:00:00 EDT

New York City is selling 500 pounds of foreign coins found stuck in the city's parking meters. It's not practical to exchange the coins, so the city is offering them to the highest bidder.

Pediatrician-Dad Finds It Tough to Take Own Advice

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:31:00 EDT

Dr. David Hill is a pediatrician. He's also a father. And recently, he is finding that his recommendations to patients don't jell with what he allows his own kids to do. On one issue -- TV watching -- he definitely is not practicing what he preaches.

Scientists Seek New Ways to Generate Hydrogen

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:36:00 EDT

Scientists are conducting research that they hope will result in new ways of generating hydrogen. One researcher says that an aluminum alloy could be used to produce hydrogen from water. New discoveries in the field could potentially make fuel-cell vehicles more practical.