In 2014, WBEZ Chicago reporter Linda Lutton followed a class of fourth-graders at William Penn Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side. She wanted to explore a big idea that’s at the heart of the American dream: Can public schools be the great equalizer in society, giving everyone a chance to succeed, no matter where they come from or how much money their families have?

Lutton told the story in a Peabody Award-nominated show, “The View from Room 205.” This week, Reveal presents a condensed version of that documentary.

Don’t miss the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

An accused man faces an impossible choice in New Orleans. Plus, a new district attorney in Philadelphia sets out to undo the work of those who came before him.

From reporters Eve Abrams and Laura Starecheski, and editor Catherine Winter.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A group of environmentally aware and concerned students at the University of Michigan formed the group ENACT during a rather heady time on campus in 1969. Through activity and organization, it led to the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. In Part 1 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair caught up with David Allan to look back at the five decades since that event. Allan was a founding member and co-chair of ENACT and an organizer for the first Earth Day.

Today marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States, which traces its origins to Ann Arbor. Normally, there would have been a huge celebration, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to that. For Part 2 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair spoke with Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. They discuss an online celebration of Earth Day and look ahead to what the future may hold.

It's been forecast that this spring will be quite wet. That could bring flooding to portions of Washtenaw County. Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner Evan Pratt joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss planning for such issues and the proactive nature of work already underway on this week's "Issues of the Environment."

It’s hard to recall a newly elected freshman representative to Congress who has made a bigger impact than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her primary victory for New York’s Fourteenth District seat—as a young woman of color beating out a long-established white male incumbent—was big news, and Ocasio-Cortez has been generating headlines almost daily ever since. Practically the day she took her seat in Congress, Ocasio-Cortez became the hero of the left wing of the Democrats and a favored villain of Fox News and the right. She battled Nancy Pelosi to make the Green New Deal a priority, and has been involved with a movement to launch primary challenges against centrist or right-leaning Democrats. Like Bernie Sanders, she embraces the label of democratic socialism and supports free college education for all Americans. She has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She joined David Remnick in the New Yorker Radio Hour studio on July 5th, just after her trip to the border to examine migrant-detention facilities. Remnick and Ocasio-Cortez spoke about why she courted controversy by referring to some facilities as “concentration camps”; why she thinks the Department of Homeland Security is irredeemable; and whether Joe Biden is qualified to be President, given his comments about colleagues who supported forms of segregation. “Issues of race and gender are not extra-credit points in being a good Democrat,” she says. “They are a core part of the ... competencies that a President needs. . . . Where are you on understanding the people that live in this country?”

The last time a Democrat won the White House, he had enormous support from black voters; lower support from black voters was one of many reasons Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Marcus Ferrell, a political organizer from Atlanta, tells Radio Hour about the importance of turning out “unlikely voters” in order to win an election, which, for him, means black men. Jelani Cobb, a New Yorker staff writer and historian, points out that the four Democratic front-runners, all of whom are white, may struggle to get the turnout they need. Cobb tells David Remnick that Joe Biden’s strong lead may begin to fall after his weak showing among largely white voters in Iowa; Pete Buttigieg has very low support among South Carolina voters, and even faces opposition from black constituents in his home town, South Bend. But Bernie Sanders, Cobb says, seems to have made inroads with at least younger black voters since 2016.

Since the coronavirus became a public-health emergency in the United States, coverage of the 2020 Presidential election has been scarce. With little media attention and public events an impossibility, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have taken their campaigns online. Meanwhile, state election officials across the country are struggling to find the best time and means to hold their primaries. Eric Lach joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss electoral reforms, such as voting by mail, and how the Democratic Party is trying to exploit President Trump’s bungling response to the pandemic.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29

MeFite odinsdream recently came across some old abandoned police sketch software for Macintosh systems from the 1980s, then wrapped it up in a web-based emulator, and now you can play with it in your browser! Make your own face sketches. [via mefi projects]

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A group of environmentally aware and concerned students at the University of Michigan formed the group ENACT during a rather heady time on campus in 1969. Through activity and organization, it led to the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. In Part 1 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair caught up with David Allan to look back at the five decades since that event. Allan was a founding member and co-chair of ENACT and an organizer for the first Earth Day.

Today marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States, which traces its origins to Ann Arbor. Normally, there would have been a huge celebration, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to that. For Part 2 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair spoke with Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. They discuss an online celebration of Earth Day and look ahead to what the future may hold.

It's been forecast that this spring will be quite wet. That could bring flooding to portions of Washtenaw County. Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner Evan Pratt joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss planning for such issues and the proactive nature of work already underway on this week's "Issues of the Environment."

Updated at 9:44 a.m. ET As a young woman growing up in a poor farming community in Virginia in the 1940 and '50s, with little information about sex or contraception, sexuality was a frightening thing for Carole Cato and her female friends. "We lived in constant fear, I mean all of us," she said. "It was like a tightrope. always wondering, is this going to be the time [I get pregnant]?" Cato, 78, now lives in Columbia, S.C. She grew up in the years before the birth control pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on May 9, 1960. She said teenage girls in her community were told very little about how their bodies worked. "I was very fortunate; I did not get pregnant, but a lot of my friends did. And of course, they just got married and went into their little farmhouses," she said. "But I just felt I just had to get out." At 23, Cato married a widower who already had seven children. They decided seven was enough. By that time, Cato said, the pill allowed the couple to

Current Listens is a listening diary of sorts. It’s an answer to the frequent question: “What have you been listening to lately?” This is what’s on heavy rotation at home and … well, of late, pretty much just at home. It’s annotated, albeit lightly, because I don’t like re-posting material without providing some context. And […]

This is a short one, and a change of approach. It’s a test run, really. (Every entry is an experiment of some sort.) Samples extracted from three different loops of the first-generation Buddha Machine, which dates from 2005, were recorded on the Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O! and then run as a series of patterns, the […]

Each Thursday in the Disquiet Junto group, a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have just over four days to upload a track in response to the assignment. Membership in the Junto is open: just join and participate. (A SoundCloud account is helpful but not required.) There’s no pressure to […]

If you're designing metal parts, you'll need to do things differently than you would for other materials and processes. This course shows how to use Autodesk Fusion 360—the affordable cloud-powered CAD and CAM tool that works like more expensive, industry-focused tools—to build effective designs specifically for subtractive manufacturing in metal. Thom Tremblay shows how to build solid designs, simulate how the model will hold up to the stress of production and use, render the design for presentation, and finalize it for manufacturing. The workflows showcased in this course are tailored to help the nonprofessional CAD user, and the maker, to be more effective and quickly have access to the tools that a few years ago were only available to the few and at an astronomical price.

Confident in your understanding of the Microsoft cybersecurity stack? Taking and passing the Microsoft Azure Security Technologies (AZ-500) exam can help you validate your skills—and, in turn, give your IT career a boost. In this course, instructor Pete Zerger lays out what you need to know to tackle the fourth domain of the AZ-500 exam: Securing Data and Applications. Pete takes a deep dive into the concepts covered in the second half of domain four, including how to configure encryption for data at rest, configure security features to protect web apps, and manage access to Key Vault. When coupled with Azure Security Technologies: Policy and Data Infrastructure—which covers the first half of the Securing Data and Applications domain—this course can help ensure that you walk into the test center feeling prepared to tackle this key portion of the exam.

Plastic has unique properties not shared by other materials. If you're designing something that will eventually be created in plastic, considering the complexities of manufacturing in your design process is critical. In this course, learn how to design parts for additive manufacturing in plastic using Autodesk Fusion 360—the affordable cloud-powered CAD and CAM tool that works like more expensive, industry-focused tools. Instructor Thom Tremblay explains how to create a form, complete and visualize your design, and set it up for 3D printing, all while designing a ready-to-manufacture part. Plus, learn a more complex alternative modeling processes for creating a solid from surfaces and subdividing a solid model.

Prepare for the LPI Linux Essentials (010-160) certification exam. This course covers the five domains of this popular Linux exam, so that you can earn your certification and expand your career options as a Linux professional. Learn the fundamentals of the operating system, get introduced to numerous Linux distributions, and gain experience in the configuration, management, and usage of common open-source software applications. Instructor Jason Dion also reviews commands and scripting, process management, networking, user management, and permissions. In addition to theory, you get step-by-step demonstrations in practical labs and really learn how to use and configure key features and functionality. By the end of the course, you should start to feel like a true Linux professional.

This course was created by Jason Dion. We are pleased to offer this training in our library.

Tableau is a widely used data analytics and visualization tool that many consider indispensable for data-science-related work. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to sort, compare, and analyze data from multiple sources, including Excel, SQL Server, and cloud-based data repositories. In this course, learn what you need to know to analyze and display data using Tableau 2020—and make better, more data-driven decisions for your company. Discover how to install Tableau, connect to data sources, and sort and filter your data. Instructor Curt Frye also demonstrates how to create and manipulate data visualizations—including highlight tables, charts, scatter plots, histograms, maps, and dashboards—and shows how to share your visualizations. Along the way, he highlights the new features packed into this edition of the software, including Viz Animations, which allows you to visually follow the movement of marks in a data visualization to see and understand your changing data.

Implementing Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies v1.0 (ENCOR 350-401) is a 120-minute professional-level exam associated with the CCNP and CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certifications. The exam tests a candidate's knowledge of implementing core enterprise network technologies. This course helps candidates to prepare for the first three domains of this exam: Architecture, Virtualization, and Infrastructure. Instructors Kevin Wallace and Charles Judd show how to design enterprise architecture, including planning for all the necessary services and capacity. They also cover the various types of virtualization, from virtual machines and switches to entire virtual networks, and review the infrastructure technologies you typically see in enterprise networks, such as MSTP and RSTP, IPv4 and IPV6 routing, WLANs, Dynamic NAT, and more.

This course was created by Kevin Wallace Training. We are pleased to offer this training in our library.

Implementing Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies v1.0 (ENCOR 350-401) is a 120-minute professional-level exam associated with the CCNP and CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certifications. The exam tests a candidate's knowledge of implementing core enterprise network technologies. This course helps candidates to prepare for the last three domains of this exam—Network Management, Security, and Automation—as well as general exam preparation. Instructors Kevin Wallace and Charles Judd show how to configure connectivity, monitoring, messaging, and authentication tools such as SNMP, syslog, NetFlow, and more. They also show how to secure a network from internal, unauthorized access as well as external threats, and automate networking. The course includes study strategies and exam prep tips to ensure you're ready for the real test.

This course was created by Kevin Wallace Training. We are pleased to offer this training in our library.

CompTIA recognizes that cloud-based infrastructure services is an increasingly important piece of an organization’s IT systems. The CompTIA Cloud+ certification validates that you have the skills necessary to plan, implement, maintain, and deliver cloud technologies and infrastructure—it's a credential that can boost your career and your visibility to employers. This course helps you prepare for the first domain of the exam, Cloud Concepts and Models. Learn about the different types of clouds and the basics of a robust cloud architecture. Then review the system requirements for cloud deployments, and discover how to successfully create and execute a cloud deployment plan. Instructor Tom Carpenter also explains how to test your deployment and resolve common issues.

This course was created by Total Seminars. We are pleased to offer this training in our library.

Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, The Matrix, and more.

Pollinators are in decline, but the right selection of plants can draw bees, butterflies, and humming birds to your yard in search of food and shelter

From upright and airy to short and mounding, these grasses form the backbone of a prairie garden

These tough, fuss-free perennials and grasses have adapted to North American climates and lend to the rustic prairie charm

Die Bundesligen können wieder spielen. Doch die Dritte Liga sowie der gesamte Amateurfußball kämpfen mit einer Vielzahl von Problemen. Die unterschiedlichen Bestimmungen in den Bundesländern machen das Chaos perfekt.

The nearly four-minute campaign ad begins with scenery of a small town sheriff's race in the South. A camouflage fishing boat winds down a picturesque waterway. The talk from a front porch rocking chair is of hunting, Christian values and guns. Then, more than halfway through the video, Craig Stivender, a Republican candidate for sheriff in Colleton County, S.C., reveals a picture of himself in blackface with his arm around an African American woman. "To those of you who may be upset, I understand your disappointment," he says in the video. Stivender, who is currently a fireman in the rural community just west of Charleston, goes on to explain the photograph was taken at a Halloween party for law enforcement nearly a decade ago. He says he released the picture to begin his campaign with full transparency. The election is in November 2020. "Basically if I'm going to run on honesty and integrity, I'm willing to put out things bad about me," he said in a telephone interview. Stivender

Indian police have the unenviable task of enforcing the world's biggest coronavirus lockdown . But last weekend, they handed down a punishment more common in a middle-school classroom than a police station. Ten foreign tourists caught flouting India's coronavirus restrictions Saturday were made to write the phrase "I did not follow the rules of lockdown. I am very sorry" 500 times and submit the paper to police. The incident happened at a sandy beach along the Ganges River near Rishikesh, a tourist hub in northern India famous for yoga retreats and hippie hangouts. It's where the Beatles made a spiritual pilgrimage in 1968. An officer who answered the phone Monday at the Muni Ki Reti police station near Rishikesh confirmed details to NPR, but declined an interview. The tourists were reportedly from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria, and were walking along the river when Indian police intervened. Under India's lockdown, all nonessential outings are banned. Video shared online by

Die Krise hat viele Anleger in Panik versetzt. Jetzt suchen sie nach neuen Anlagemöglichkeiten. Das zeigt sich auch beim WELT-Finanzchat, wo viele Teilnehmer Rat für ihre Finanzen suchten. Viele der Fragen und Antworten betreffen auch Millionen andere Sparer.

Viele Anleger wähnen sich und ihre Börseninvestments bereits in einem neuen Aufschwung. Doch einige der bekanntesten Investoren mahnen zur Vorsicht. Ihre Szenarien sind deutlich negativer. Dabei haben sie die Historie der vergangenen Crashs auf ihrer Seite.

i guess you would call this my quarantine album - i call it solskifte, which means sun division - and in a lot of ways, not just seasonal, that's what seems to be going on - much more inside on march 31, i got an email announcing that there was going to be an rpm challenge for april, in addition to the one in feb they have every year and i do albums for every year on march 24, i had to leave work early because after lunch i felt like i was going to drop - i had been feeling some slightly annoying sinus trouble that i had thought was allergies, but i realized i had something worse i didn't know if i was running a fever or not - i made a quick trip to the med center - i called first - and after a brief exam, i was told i had a low grade fever and was instructed to quarantine for 14 days - this was also something my company's new covid-19 policy demands, so there's no problem here and i even get partial compensation so i spent the next few days trying to feel better - it wasn't until sunday that i was starting to feel that maybe i didn't have this bad thing - or that maybe in spite of being 62 with a few medical problems i was going to make it meanwhile, my poor kid's stuck with me in the apartment and not real happy well, this is long - but on april 1st, i decided to try coming up with new music and ended up writing some songs that are about how i felt about being in my apartment, sick, and wondering what would happen next sometimes it's been warm enough to open up my window for a bit - and this is what i felt about that calling on the wind to give me back my name remembering an old world that used to seem tame clouds outside my window never give us rain i used to go out there but i won't do that again in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside staring at the glass and wondering what i am sense the blood within my body - still wondering what i am my thoughts are like birds, but they never rise above my feet are nailed onto the earth and i do not know love in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside

in the northern part of the world, the sun takes a while to be given a bigger share of our sky - which also can stand for a metaphor for a lot of things these days circle round the river, make a place for sun hold your hand out to the field when day is done night chills still in spring, night looks back days still hint at weakness, the trees stay black this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow circle round the ashes that fall from the sky heartless and invisible to our careless eye circle round the hearts that drive the grasping hand say a prayer for those who are married to this land this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow

my daughter has a treefull of crows outside her window and she's convinced they're as interested in her as she is in them she's sure they are her friends i've tried to tell her that i'm not sure they're really all that interested in her, but i don't really think that's getting through to her - and i don't know whether she really understands the current situation - why she has to stay home, why her dad had to stay in quarantine for 14 days just because he was a little sick, why her dad was worried about what was going to happen i guess this song is about all that i can't tell you if the crows like you even though you believe they talk to you they were created for another world but maybe we pretend that it's not our world too fly around and looking for a meal fly around and looking for a summer deal but it's april and where we live everything takes so long to happen well, it's not much fun, wondering if i'll be gone i can't even go for a walk on the lawn the days all count to the last fade away but then again, it's always really been that way do you think the crows don't think about all that? somehow i think they do - the way they gather at their friend lying there, complaining everything more or less has to happen but with any luck, it will warm up a little and i think my hourglass isn't ready to settle we can go out and watch the crows once again and you can tell me that they are your friends one day we'll get to walk out and feel free and not think about the things that could be we can be like crows and bluff our way through all the things, good and bad, that happen and the secret to life, so i've been told is you keep lucking out and then you find yourself old and you wonder, what the hell did i do with all that time? and it didn't make much sense, and it didn't even rhyme and if i gave you a ring for surety some crow would go and grab it and hide it in a tree and forget about it - that crow and you and me just more of those things that happen

this is about just sitting at home, waiting to see if i got better or not - spoiler - i did get better i have been keeping warm i have been keeping warm the sun has not been keeping warm i have been keeping warm outside the world goes gray outside the children play not everyone follows the soul of the day outside the world goes gray the wheels of the carts are turning but not today for me the stars are coldly burning but not today for me i wake up with nothing resolved nothing done and nothing resolved the world wears a mask of glass for me i look out there and there's nothing's resolved i'm getting soft on memory i do not want what could be time drips seconds carelessly too slow and too fast to please me and i understand the revelation is here and no one wanted to look at it, no one wanted fear and i understand i can claim another day and i have no ideas but to let it slip away

this guy - well, he always gets his way, eventually i've got it, you know i've really got it everything you could really want all the music you listened to all the booze you drank all the friends you slept with all the friends you didn't they're just shadows, so are you but you know what you're going to do come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside don't you cry about murder don't you cry about the carelessness of man your problem is, you just don't see there was never any other plan but take this glass of rum from my bony hand give me a toast, let me tip my top hat come on baby, come on into my house i'll give you this and i'll give you that come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside say hello to president kennedy say hello to fu manchu say hello to the 36 wise men yes, they've been staying with me, too the bishop said god could sort them out well, i've been waiting for many years here's that party pal you've been dreaming of now let's not see any tears come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside

A bit of a collab that happened via an ill-formed idea for a twitch stream. User Carrot Adventure is in the mix. Can you guess where.

the thing is that all that is offered is futility ... i could make you run to the sky says the great keeper of the lie i am the reason why you medicate i am the reason why you hate turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind i could give you vast kingdoms i could give you the song of the sea i could give you the heart of the crane i could give you eternity turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind there's no sense in standing on that rock there's no sense in praying to the clock there's no sense in counting all the stripes there's no sense believing all the hypes turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind

hoping that some of the things we like, which seem to be shallow comforts until we're deprived of them, will manage to come back sometime soon time to go walking - time to go singing time to go loving - that's what i want to just wander supermarkets of desire and see what's mine there - that's what i want there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved maybe be wiser - maybe be foolish maybe there is room where we can be both maybe live a little sweeter knowing we can win or lose maybe there is room where we can do both there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved

lofi relyricization of harnick/bock song from fiddler on the roof for the sars-cov-2 era. another quarantune! hmm. apparently this idea has also been done, a few days ago, quite well and somewhat more thoroughly. guess i should review the literature for the state of the art before undertaking such things. but i didn't, and this one is mine. lyrics: maskmaker maskmaker make me a mask two plys of cotton that's all i ask maskmaker maskmaker sit at your singer and make me a perfect mask maskmaker maskmaker i'll bring my bandanas if you've nothing to do if you're going bananas cover my face up so i can buy food and a break from this solitude for earloops you can use hairbands to hold it as i sniffle and cough a noseclip might keep it from snagging my stubble and sliding right off maskmaker maskmaker executive orders have kept me all cooped up alone in my quarters the pantry is empty the larders are bare so please make a mask i can wear for papa the family tartan for mama something flowery and bright for me well i'd just be heartened if i could buy groceries tonight maskmaker maskmaker make me a mask stitch me a stitch of cotton not bask maskmaker maskmaker if you're up to the task oh make me a perfect mask

This is an West African kora tune recorded by Toumani Diabate, but this arrangement for guitar by Derek Gripper makes it feel like a tango. I recorded it on my porch in New Orleans. I didn't mean to record the covid ambulance sirens in the background, but I imagine that I'll listen to this later and remember what now was like.

I've been working on a musical collaboration with a fellow musician friend of mine during these crazy coronavirus times, in hopes of generating something fun and creative while we have all this spare time not working or gigging. Here's the second song from that collaboration.

This iOS Music Apps Roundup features five innovative iPad apps from Air Craft, KORG, Reactable Systems, ClubROOM, and Klevgrand.

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The post iOS Music Apps Roundup: January 2017 appeared first on Dubspot Blog.

MIDI Lifestyle's Scott Shpak offers ten workflow tips to increase your productivity as a music producer.

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The post 10 Tips to Increase Your Productivity as a Producer appeared first on Dubspot Blog.

Synth guru Ross Kelly investigates the history of Roland's legendary TB-303 Bass Line Synth in this spotlight series exploring classic vintage gear.

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The post Classic Gear Spotlight: Roland TB-303 Bass Line appeared first on Dubspot Blog.

Loop Academy and Dubspot are visiting South-East Asia throughout March to host a series of extensive music production and DJing workshops.

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The post Loop Academy and Dubspot Asia Tour 2017 appeared first on Dubspot Blog.