Search results for

It used to be that only the Tom Clancys and the Danielle Steeles could land million-dollar book deals. Now previously unknown authors are being offered astronomical sums for their first novels. NPR's Melissa Block looks at the publishing industry's efforts to snap up new voices.

Vicky Que (QUAY) of member station WHYY reports on programs across the country that deal with the teen pregnancy rate, from vows of "Secondary Virginity" to peer discussion groups.

Jennifer Ludden of member station WBUR in Boston reports on attempts by Massachusetts governor William Weld to limit the number of children eligible for a special education. Under the current system, nearly one in five of all school age children in Massachusetts qualify for such programs.

2: Entomologist and professor MAY BERENBAUM, who was afraid of bugs until she took a course on insects in college. Her new book is "Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs" (Addison-Wesley), which tries to show insects in a new light. BERENBAUM demonstrates the importance of insects in everyday life and throughout history, and explores the lifestyles of some of the more than ten quintillion insects that inhabit the earth at any given moment. BERENBAUM is also hosts the annual Insect Fear Film Festival, which will be held this weekend, February 25 & 26, at the University of Illinois.

SCOTT SIMON AND NPR'S LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT NINA TOTENBERG TALK ABOUT HOW AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS PLAYING ON THE HILL, ESPECIALLY AS THE 1996 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION LOOMS.

NPR's Isabel Alegria reports on a growth industry in Southern California... the proliferation of fake citizenship documents. Illegal immigrants are finding that for a fee, they can have someone make a fake Social Security card or birth certificate that says they are a legal U.S. citizen.

NPR's Martha Guild reports on a rather sad story. Last September Ann Barrett overdosed on antidepressants. When the police found her they also discovered a 400-page diary which they took for a suicide note. They confiscated it and to the despair of the family .. lost it.

Jacki talks with Rolling Stone magazine music critic Anthony DeCurtis about the value of Greatest Hits albums. Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits suceeded Garth Brooks greatest hits on the Album charts and DeCurtis talks of the merits of buying such collections.

NPR'S MICHAEL SKOLER REPORTS THAT THE ETHNIC FEARS THAT HAVE LEFT RWANDA VIRTUALLY DESTROYED BY WAR AND GENOCIDE ARE NOW BEGINNING TO PARALYZE ITS SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR...BURUNDI.

lassical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of a major Tchaikovsky opera that''s virtually unknown in the United States. It''s called "Mazeppa" (Deutsche Gramm