Tell Me More

Liberal arts colleges are trying hard to attract minority students and faculty. But what happens when they get on campus? Host Michel Martin talks to the dean and chief diversity officer of Middlebury College, Shirley Collado, and her former student Sheyenne Brown, about initiatives to make schools more inclusive for people of color.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now, we want to turn to a hot button issue in education, something that might be going on where you live. In a number of cities around the country, officials are debating closing dozens - in one case, more than 100 - schools. Officials cite low enrollment at many of these schools and the cost of maintaining buildings that aren't fully utilized, but in many places, these school closings have sparked furious protests by parents who've said that they are unfair and that they are ripping communities apart.

Hugo Chavez was a controversial but charismatic leader of Venezuela. Host Michel Martin speaks with Dan Hellinger, a professor of political science at Webster University, about Chavez's legacy.

Finally today, I read this sentence a couple of weeks ago and I've been thinking about it since: "When you can't change what's bothering you, a typical response is to convince yourself it's not really bothering you."

Let me try that again: "When you can't change what's bothering you, a typical response is to convince yourself it's not really bothering you."

Skipping $4 lattes will save you some money — but buying into bogus financial advice won't. Finance journalist, Helaine Olen says many of the so-called 'financial experts' are selling you advice to make themselves rich. She discusses her book, Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry with host Michel Martin.

Fewer Americans are having babies. Instead, many are putting their careers or savings accounts first. But experts say the country's low birthrate could be disastrous for the economy. Host Michel Martin examines the trend with her parenting roundtable.

If Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has his way, Detroit will become the sixth and largest city there to come under state control. But steering a city out of crisis can be a tricky task. Host Michel Martin speaks with Jerome Vaughn, of WDET, and Robert Bobb, a former emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, about the situation.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, it's been called a landmark in the American literary canon. Certainly it's one of the premier works of Chicano literature. Now it's finally made its way to the big screen. We are going to speak with its star, herself a well-loved pioneer among Latina actresses. Her name is Miriam Colon and she's with us in just a few minutes to tell us about "Bless Me, Ultima."

Lawmakers failed to avert across-the-board spending cuts to the federal government, and they officially kicked in last week. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR senior business editor Marilyn Geewax, and The Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy about what it all really means.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Now we'd like to tell you about a film that took an unusually long and winding path to the big screen. The film is called "Bless Me, Ultima." It's based on the best-selling novel by Rudolfo Anaya. It's both one of the most loved, most popular and most controversial novels in the modern American canon.