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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, after a disaster, naturally, grown-ups are worried about things like food and shelter, but kids still need to have fun. We'll speak with a man who's trying to help kids in distress do just that by making sure they can still play baseball. We'll hear more about that in just a few minutes.

But, first, it's time for our Beauty Shop conversation. That's where we get a fresh cut on hot topics with a panel of women journalists, commentators, bloggers and activists.

The civil war in Syria feels far away for many Americans. But it hits close to home for one Chicago doctor and has pulled him, and many of his colleagues, to the front lines.

Tell Me More host Michel Martin spoke with Dr. Zaher Sahloul, a practicing critical care specialist in Chicago and president of the Syrian American Medical Society.

Sahloul says that for safety reasons, local physicians in Syria have established an underground health care system.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently shot beyond 15,000 points for the first time ever. But to ordinary Americans, it might not seem relevant — given unemployment rates and stagnant wages. Host Michel Martin speaks with personal finance guru Alvin Hall about why the stock market matters.

Chinese-American mom Amy Chua sparked a firestorm in the parenting world with her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. She credited her strict Asian-American parenting style with her kids' success. But what are the downsides? Host Michel Martin is joined by Asian-American parents to talk about how they're now bringing up their own kids.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, as we head into graduation season, we want to talk about a new report about changes and challenges at the nation's historically black colleges and universities. That's coming up. But first, it's also the beginning of what has been historically the spring home buying season.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're switching gears now. If you're like most people out there, at some point, you've probably found yourself pulling extra hours or extra shifts and you might have looked forward to getting a little extra something in your paycheck at the end of the week or month.

Millions of Americans rely on food stamps to keep from going hungry. They can also use them to buy sugary drinks. Some groups, including the National Center for Public Policy Research, say that's not right. Host Michel Martin discusses this with the Center's Justin Danhof, and University of Illinois Professor Craig Gundersen.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barbershop, where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds. Sitting in the chairs for a shape-up this week are writer and culture critic Jimi Izrael, with us in Washington, D.C.

Reading the Bible from cover to cover might seem like a heavy task. But what about writing it? Host Michel Martin speaks with Phillip Patterson, who is just two verses away from writing out the whole King James Bible. He talks about how he kept the faith in spite of loss and illness.

Host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar dip into Tell Me More listeners' letters to get their take on the week's top stories. This week, Canadian listeners take exception to a comment made on Thursday's show.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart spoke out earlier this week about lessons she hopes others will learn from her ordeal, including how to talk to young women about sex. We'll speak with a writer and blogger who shares Smart's Mormon faith about this in just a few minutes.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Later in the program, we will talk more about the story that's riveted the country, about those three women who were missing for a decade who were recently found alive. In a few minutes, we'll speak with a local columnist who stayed in touch with the mother of one of the missing women, who never gave up hope, but, sadly, did not live to see her daughter free. We'll hear more from columnist Regina Brett.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now we turn to a segment we call In Your Ear. Sometimes, after we've asked our guest about their work, we ask them about the music they listen to while they relax or play. Today, we hear from Ambassador Ron Kirk. He recently stepped down as United States Trade representative. But we caught up with him shortly before he left his post, and here's what he had to say about the music that kept him moving.

RON KIRK: Right now on now I'm enjoying "Once In A Lifetime" by Smokie Norful.

Today, I am thinking about how many times I have interviewed someone about some story or another, and that person has said to me, "I always heard about this or that thing on the news, but I never thought this would happen to me."

Well, three years ago tomorrow, the person saying that was me.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, we are going to talk about some controversies in hip hop recently that raise questions about just what crosses the line now between what's acceptable and what isn't and who decides that. That's coming up later in the program.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, as we approach Mother's Day this Sunday, we're checking out a new book. It's called "What My Mother Gave Me." It's about the special gift mothers give their daughters. That's just ahead.

The FBI recently made Joanne Chesimard the first woman on its list of most wanted terrorists. But the crimes she was convicted of happened 40 years ago. Host Michel Martin talks with sociology professor Alondra Nelson of Columbia University about Chesimard, aka, Assata Shakur, and why she's on the same list as Taliban and Hezbollah leaders.

Charles Ramsey helped save three missing women from a home in Cleveland, Ohio. But he said something interesting about why he answered their call for help. Host Michel Martin explores what Ramsey's comments may say about race in America.

Thousands of American students and their parents have survived college admission season. Host Michel Martin is joined by the regular moms contributors who dole out advice on how to how to prepare your children emotionally, academically and financially to succeed in college.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It turns out that the budget cuts that are affecting Head Start come at a time when spending on early childhood education is shrinking across the country. From 2011 to 2012, state funding for pre-kindergarten dropped by half a billion dollars - that according to her recent report from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

The director of the institute, Steve Barnett, is with us now. Welcome to you. Thank you so much for joining us.

STEVE BARNETT: Thank you, happy to be here.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.

Daytime television talk show host Wendy Williams is known for pushing the envelope and dishing the dirt on celebs. She got her start over 20 years ago, as a radio DJ and host. Williams quickly became known in New York as a "shock jockette" who never bit her tongue.

Her quick humor has made The Wendy Williams Show one of the most popular in daytime talk. But Wendy's road to stardom had its bumps.

On Drug Use

The latest employment figures are out and they show gains in hiring. The Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy joins host Michel Martin to talk about the report, and the millions of working Americans who still fall below the poverty line.

Thursday was the National Day of Prayer, and the president called on people of all faiths to remember the victims of recent national tragedies. But what about the growing number of Americans who don't pray? Host Michel Martin speaks with Greg Epstein, the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, about where people without faith turn for comfort.

A lot of people have called basketball player Jason Collins a hero for coming out as the first openly gay male athlete in a major American sport. But the Barbershop guys ask if it's heroism or hype.

In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, some critics said investigators should have used harsh interrogation techniques with the surviving suspect. Host Michel Martin speaks with counterterrorism expert and former FBI Agent Joe Navarro about how attitudes about torture have evolved, and what really are the most effective ways to interrogate.

Host Michel Martin talks to Loretta Tofani, who closed her furniture store after discovering poor working conditions at the Chinese factories that supplied her business. She talks about how she made her decision, and about the factory building collapse in Bangladesh.

You may not know much about the country of Cape Verde; it's a group of islands off the coast of West Africa. But you may be surprised that many Cape Verdeans have Jewish ancestry. Host Michel Martin speaks with Carol Castiel, founder of the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, about efforts to restore Jewish burial grounds in the country.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Now, we are going to head into the Beauty Shop. That's where we get a fresh cut on hot topics with our panel of women journalists, commentators, bloggers and activists.