• Notes from a Belfast Snug
  
• Wearing Faith on Their Sleeves
  
• Somali-Americans Push For Change
  
• Global Hit: Super Split Single
  

Tunisia Camel Market

Pity the poor camel. Remember Lawrence of Arabia? The Bedouin Arabs rising from the desert to re-conquer their homeland. Carrying them up the Hijaz, across the Sun's Anvil, was that essential, noble beast. But, lately, camels have fallen on tough times. They've been replaced by jeeps and trucks across most of Arabia, and maligned in the West as stubborn, spitting creatures. They’ve even lost their name: they’re not "camels" anymore, but "dromedaries" to be precise. But never mind all that. There is a place where people will still come for miles to get their camels. It’s in North Africa, and our correspondent Diane Richard takes us there. Savvy Traveler, 2001.

Somali Family Planning

2 below zero’s Todd Melby reports on how a public health program in Minnesota adapted its family planning message to fit the cultural needs of the Somali population there. Straight talk about contraception is frowned upon in the Muslim community, so health workers have come up with a more subtle approach. The World, 2009.

Young Somalis Disappear

A number of young Somali men have disappeared from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Their families are concerned they’ve gone back to fight in the civil war that has plagued Somalia for nearly two decades. From Minneapolis, Todd Melby reports. The World, 2008.

Somalis Push for Change

Somalis in the U.S. are keeping close tabs on news back home. They follow news of violence in Mogadishu and they receive calls from relatives desperate for help. They wire money home. Now they’re beginning to do more. From Minneapolis — home to one of the largest Somali-American communities in the U.S. — Todd Melby reports on rising Somali activism. The World, 2008.

Muslim Cabbies Say ’No’ To Alcohol

Minneapolis is home to one of the largest concentrations of Somali immigrants in North America. For the past seven months, officials at the airport there have been struggling with how to accommodate the religious beliefs of Somali Muslim cab drivers without inconveniencing certain passengers. Many of the cabbies refuse rides to anyone carrying alcohol. The airport authority wanted those drivers to put special lights on the top of their taxis to identify them as alcohol-free. But that idea was scraped. Now there’s a new rule that could put some drivers out of business. The World, 2007.

Salah Hassan Galmo

The World, 2002.

Buying a Turkish Carpet

Travelers, like marauders from the Middle Ages, often return home with the spoils of conquered cities. While most of us enjoy buying souvenirs of our trips, it’s easier said than done in places where bargaining is a fact of commercial life. Todd Melby and Diane Richard visited Istanbul, Turkey, on their honeymoon, with thoughts of buying an authentic Turkish carpet. Savvy Traveler, 1999.

Honk for Tibet

Teinzin Dadon’s father escaped from Tibet three decades ago. After arriving in India, he made his way to the United States. On March 21, 2008, Teinzin, a high school senior, shouts from a bridge in Minneapolis, asking drivers to support her father and all Tibetans. MinnPost, 2008.

Notes From a Belfast Snug

Walls continue division. They shun neighbors. They block communication. The defining moment that signaled the end of the cold war was when the Berlin wall came down. It’s been said by poets and politicians alike: What if we could one day live in a world with no walls? Reporter Diane Richard went to a part of the world where walls are deeply ingrained in the history, Northern Ireland. They have become part and parcel of everyday life there as well. Savvy Traveler, 2001.

Global Hit: Super Split Single

Vinyl records are as much a thing of the past as the Titanic. At least that’s what most of us think. One man in Minnesota refuses to give up on vinyl, though. Reporter Todd Melby brings us today’s Global Hit. The World, 2007.

Global Hit: JoSH

A Pakistani fusion pop band with a big following in South Asia, JoSH has won an MTV India award and regularly performs to sellout crowds on the subcontinent. Now the group, which is based in Canada, is hoping to become popular in North America. The World, 2007.

Global Hit: Munni Begum

Ghazals are poems often set to music and sung with great emotion. The poetic form of couplets goes back to 7th century Arabia. Later the ghazal gained prominence in Persian verse, and spread to India and Pakistan. Poets writing in Urdu adopted the form. For the past 30 years, Munni Begum has set these Urdu poems to music. Today, she’s one of the top ghazal singers, loved by Pakistanis and Indians alike. Earlier this month she performed in Minneapolis. Independent producer Todd Melby was there. The World, 2007.

Singing Salvation Army Bellringer

A crack addict finds Jesus, stays off drugs and rings bells for the Salvation Army. Oh, and he sings too. NPR’s Day to Day, 2007.

Bouncing Girl

A quirky tradition at the St. Paul Winter Carnival is the Bouncing Team: Fourteen guys holding a round, canvas blanket rocket a young woman 30 feet into the air. She does an aerial gymnastic move. They catch her. The Winter Carnival started in 1886, so did the Bouncing Team; they’ve been tossing woman skyward ever since -- not one dropped yet. NPR’s Day to Day, 2008.

Two Jobs, Still Not Making It

After her stepfather died, Monique Williams’ mother went ‘out of control.‘ So the teenager from Hammond, Indiana rented her own apartment and worked two jobs. She graduated from high school, but didn’t have the money for college. Instead, she worked a pair of part-time jobs. Monique’s job at a grocery store deli paid $7.29 per hour and her job at Wendy's paid $5.90 per hour. ‘It wasn't that much ... that's why I had to keep working,‘ she says. This story is part of the Promise Commentary series, an intimate look at the promises candidates are making this election year. Commissioned by the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and available to member stations nationwide. PRX, 2008.

Wearing Faith on Their Sleeves

A few years ago, Twin Cities resident AbdulAziz Al-Salim was looking for a witty, Muslim-themed T-shirt. But all he could find were unimaginative creations. So the 23-year-old started his own company to design and sell t-shirts reflecting a distinctly Muslim wit. KFAI, 2009.

Enchanted Highway

How do you revitalize a lonely prairie town? One man thinks the answer is to build giant metal art sculptures on a two-lane highway leading to Regent, North Dakota. Marketplace, 2000.

Green Last Requests, Part 1

Memorial Day is coming up. Many people still visit the graves of family and friends, maybe bring flowers. When a loved one dies, grieving prevents most of us from thinking about the environmental consequences of conventional funerals and burial. But some people are beginning to weigh the environmental costs of caskets, burial vaults and grave markers. Todd Melby reports on the green death movement. The Environment Report, 2009.

Green Last Requests, Part 2

When businesses begin offering earth-friendly alternatives to traditional products, it often takes a while for those items to catch on. The funeral industry is no exception. Todd Melby reports on one undertaker’s attempt at greening death. The Environment Report, 2009.

Green Last Requests, Part 3

During the past couple of centuries, the typical graveyard hasn’t changed much. It’s central features still include tombstones, winding paths, trees and grass. Some critics want cemeteries to ban tombstones, stop fertilizing, and institute other green practices. Todd Melby reports that traditional burial practices die hard. The Environment Report, 2009.

The Fix for Drafty Houses

People who choose to live in historic houses tend to appreciate old-world charm. But that charm often comes at the expense of energy efficiency. Old windows and doors let in cold drafts and leak out warm air. So homeowners are often forced to balance their interests in historical integrity and aesthetics against their environmental principles. The Environmental Report, 2008.

Burning Trash Pollutes

Getting rid of your trash in the city is easy. Take it to the curb on pickup day and the city does the rest. In rural areas, many people don’t have garbage pickup. So they burn their trash. And that causes pollution. The Environment Report, 2009.

Cracking Down on the ELF

The Earth Liberation Front is an underground group that attacks institutions it condemns for harming the environment. ELF’s most notorious acts of destruction include torching a luxury ski resort, destroying the executive offices of a forest-product company, and setting fire to university labs involved in genetically modified crop research. For some time, environmentalists and others have debated whether this sort of activity was simply a public protest, or acts of terrorism. But since September 11th, that debate has escalated with increased efforts to label those involved in such attacks as terrorists. The Environment Report, 2002.

Endangered Mussel Rides to Renewal

Up and down the Mississippi River, people once collected tons of mussels for the pearl button industry. Factories stamped out pearl buttons from the shells, sometimes wiping out 50,000 tons of mussels annually in the early part of the last century. In recent years, the biggest threat to local mussel species has come from the zebra mussel. That invasive species came to North America in the ballast water of ships and has since disrupted many local ecosystems. Today, there’s a new effort underway to bring back local species like the Higgin’s Eye Pearly Mussel, and it’s in an unlikely place. The Environment Report, 2001.

Chronic Wasting Disease, Part 1

Chronic wasting disease attacks an animal’s brain, slowly eating away healthy tissue. Several captive elk herds in the western U.S. and Canada were infected with chronic wasting disease in 2001. Those herds were quarantined, but not before some of the animals were sold to farmers in 21 states nationwide, including several in the Midwest. The Environment Report, 2001.

Chronic Wasting Disease, Part 2

Several captive elk in Colorado have tested positive for chronic wasting disease in 2001. This fatal neurological ailment attacks an animal’s brain, slowly eating away healthy tissue. In this report, a Wisconsin veterinarian tests killed deer on the opening day of the hunting season. The Environment Report, 2001.