http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/ en-us ℗ & © 2009 Minnesota Public Radio Fresh Eye on the Radio Bob Collins Fresh Eye on the Radio is a look at the daily headlines from a different perspective. A little bit insightful. A little bit irreverent. A little bit different. Bob Collins, the author of Minnesota Public Radio's News Cut, and Mary Lucia, the host of The Current consider today's stories. Look for our Podcast in the iTunes Store Bob Collins bcollins@mpr.org no Bob Collins and Mary Lucia The amazing diversity of news on a given day, eh? State shutdown threats, teachers who steal lunch money from autistic students, and the people for whom we'd drink poison. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/05/fresh_eye_07.mp3 Fri, 07 May 2010 20:56:00 GMT 00:05:49 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A handbag vendor gets a call from the president for noticing something in a city where people specializing in not giving a rip. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/05/fresh_eye_03.mp3 Mon, 03 May 2010 21:41:00 GMT 00:05:19 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia An also-ran isn't running, keeping drunks off the road, losing confidence in the Dems, and the four habits that will take 12 years off your life. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/04/26_fresh_eye.mp3 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:41:00 GMT 00:05:07 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Today in the news, as heard on the daily news discussion with The Current's Mary Lucia: Petters sentenced, smoking on subs, and smoking on airplanes. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/04/08_fresh_eye.mp3 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:41:00 GMT 00:05:07 Bob Collins and Cathy Wurzer During a discussion on Morning Edition, Cathy Wurzer asked me whether people will rebel against fees like the one that Spirit Airlines is threatening to charge for carry-on luggage. 'No,' I said. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/04/07_newscut.mp3 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:54:00 GMT 00:05:05 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Today's topics on the daily news conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia: Hecker in handcuffs, heckling Rove, college kids and their student loans, and what's going on with the weather in the northeast? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_30.mp3 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:04:00 GMT 00:06:07 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A man sues a preacher who picketed his son's funeral, and pays a stiff price for it. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_29.mp3 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:02:00 GMT 00:06:01 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia If Congress repeals the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military, where will they bunk? The commander of the Marines says they'll get their own room. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_26.mp3 Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:02:00 GMT 00:03:41 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia The Vatican and its pedophile priests, Obama challenges Republicans, and the best way to prevent breast cancer. The Vatican and its pedophile priests, Obama challenges Republicans, and the best way to prevent breast cancer. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_25.mp3 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:12:00 GMT 00:06:07 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia This has not been a good week for the conventional wisdom of medicine. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_10.mp3 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:52:00 GMT 00:06:15 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Lindsey Lohan sued E*Trade because a commercial used the name Lindsey in it. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_09.mp3 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:16:00 GMT 00:05:06 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A new study shows people who have meaningful conversations are happier than those who make small talk. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_08.mp3 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:55:00 GMT 00:06:15 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A Justice Department report today says bulling is declining in the nation's schools. But the percentages seem low to at least one person who remembers high school. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_03.mp3 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:43:00 GMT 00:06:42 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia The earthquake in Chile had an effect on the earth's rotation. But so did you driving your car today. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_02.mp3 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:02:00 GMT 00:06:44 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Big snowstorms, earthquakes everywhere. This is the beginning of the end, isn't it? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/03/fresh_eye_mar_01.mp3 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:38:00 GMT 00:05:33 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Officials say no foul play is obvious in the death of trainer by a whale at SeaWorld. How would they know? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_24.mp3 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:02:00 GMT 00:06:03 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia One of the worst jobs, apparently, is being a doctor. Just ask doctors. One of the worst jobs, apparently, is being a doctor. Just ask doctors. A study today says doctors are dropping the number of hours they work -- the equivalent of losing 36,000 doctors in a decade. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_23.mp3 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:02:00 GMT 00:07:41 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Let's not spoil the news by telling you what happened in the news today. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_17.mp3 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:09:00 GMT 00:05:09 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Should news organizations give the results of the Olympics if they're tape-delayed for broadcast on evening TV? Should news organizations give the results of the Olympics if they're tape-delayed for broadcast on evening TV? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_16.mp3 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:45:00 GMT 00:06:32 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Complaints about practice time in Vancouver were overshadowed by comedy. More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training for luge, and some questioned whether athletes from smaller nations had enough time to prepare for what is apparently a dangerous track in a dangerous sport. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_12.mp3 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:23:00 GMT 00:08:10 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia No waiting for President Clinton, rescuing the stranded motorists of Maryland, the State of the State, and the pressing question of the day: Is 'clear' a color? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_11.mp3 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:53:00 GMT 00:06:58 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia There's actually very little about Lindsey Vonn on today's show. But if there were, we'd be asking whether one can be overexposed before one is exposed? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_10a.mp3 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:59:00 GMT 00:06:11 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A post I made this week about a billboard went viral and has became a national hit. So why do I feel like sticking an ice pick in my eye? A post I made this week about a billboard went viral and has became a national hit. So why do I feel like sticking an ice pick in my eye? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_10.mp3 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:54:00 GMT 00:06:28 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Researchers have developed a brain scan that allows them to communicate with people in a vegetative state. Researchers have developed a brain scan that allows them to communicate with people in a vegetative state. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_3.mp3 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:46:00 GMT 00:06:03 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Men who are told they have prostate cancer, have a greater risk of dying from a heart attack or suicide. Men who are told they have prostate cancer, have a greater risk of dying from a heart attack or suicide. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/02/fresh_eye_feb_2.mp3 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:49:00 GMT 00:07:09 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia What would it be like if debate among American political leaders was more like that in Britain? What would it be like if debate among American political leaders was more like that in Britain? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_29.mp3 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:51:00 GMT 00:05:54 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia What do J.D. Salinger, the Who Dat Nation, and my mother have in common? They all came up in conversation during today's chat with the Current's Mary Lucia. What do J.D. Salinger, the Who Dat Nation, and my mother have in common? They all came up in conversation during today's chat with the Current's Mary Lucia. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_28.mp3 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:11:00 GMT 00:07:17 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Just think of all the great rock concerts you could've gone to, Baby Boomers, if you hadn't listened to your parents when they told you too much rock will ruin your ears. A University of Wisconsin Madison researcher analyzed hearing tests given to about 5,300 Beaver Dam, Wis. residents who were at least 45 years old and born between 1902 and 1962. The tests were done between 1993 and 2008, and many participants were tested at five-year intervals. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_26.mp3 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:51:00 GMT 00:08:57 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Erich Segal's passing forces us to confront one of those worst lines about love ever written. There were many things about the '70s that testify to its comparative weakness. Disco, obviously, but also guys trying to pretend to be sensitive and mushy to women who dressed like Ali McGraw in Love Story, and uttered gibberish like 'Love means never having to say you're sorry.' http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_19.mp3 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:11:00 GMT 00:07:12 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia New research suggests airport screeners would find more weapons if we all were required to pack them. There's been another case of a person with a gun getting by airport security undetected, only now we have a better idea why this is happening -- not enough travelers with guns. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_14.mp3 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:51:00 GMT 00:05:26 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia We try to have a good time on The Current newscasts. But somehow this week, funny doesn't seem appropriate. So here's the news straight up. We try to have a good time on The Current newscasts. But somehow this week, funny doesn't seem appropriate. So here's the news straight up. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_15.mp3 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:56:00 GMT 00:03:51 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia It is either intensely comforting or profoundly disturbing that the American workplace is consumed with a TV debate. Today, Conan O'Brien issued a public statement on the controversy following NBC's decision to put Jay Leno back in the late-night time slot. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_12.mp3 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:36:00 GMT 00:07:39 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia The country is in freefall, but at least fans of Lost won't be put out by a State of the Union speech. The country is in freefall, but at least fans of Lost won't be put out by a State of the Union speech. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_08.mp3 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:11:00 GMT 00:06:16 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Much of what we're told about terrorism in the U.S., appears to be wrong http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_06.mp3 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:35:00 GMT 00:03:16 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Does God speak to us through our vegetables? There are two separate stories today of sliced-open potatoes that appear to resemble a cross. If so, what is the message: "Sell me on E-Bay!"? Trivial questions considered after serious news is uttered on today's edition of Fresh Eye on the Radio with Mary Lucia of The Current. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2010/01/fresh_eye_jan_05.mp3 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:21:00 GMT 00:06:50 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A serious warning to snowblower owners to take precautions against the theft of their prized possession probably shouldn't make us snicker. But, truth be told, it does. A serious warning to snowblower owners to take precautions against the theft of their prized possession probably shouldn't make us snicker. But, truth be told, it does. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_31.mp3 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:59:00 GMT 00:06:16 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia This week we'll find out more about high-speed rail service to Chicago. But what about the slow-speed service we've got now? Why do we never see reporters doing their stand-up reports from outside what passes for a train station in St. Paul during snowstorms, or at any other time for that matter? "It's horrible; there's a million stops, that's the problem," the Current's Mary Lucia said during today's broadcast. "I absolutely hated it. You take it as a leisurely thing to do. It was a little bit grim. There are a thousand stops." http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_29.mp3 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:01:00 GMT 00:06:14 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Should the president have said something sooner about the attack on a U.S. airliner? President Barack Obama abruptly ended his golf outing on Monday and sped in his motorcade to his compound Monday after he learned a child of a friend was injured while playing on the beach. Earlier in the day, the president spoke for the first time about an attempt to blow up an American Airliner. That took more than 48 hours. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_28.mp3 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:39:00 GMT 00:03:48 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia No matter how many ways cities try to alert residents about snow emergencies, hundreds of people get caught and get towed. There are fewer guaranteed locks in this world than this one: When the snow ends later this week and the snow emergencies are declared, hundreds of people will show up at the impound lots, shocked that their cars were towed. Why? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_22.mp3 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:09:00 GMT 00:06:45 Bob Collins and Mark Wheat Some unlikely alliances conspire to kill health care reform. Up until the last week, Republicans were trying to kill the health care reform bill, then Democrats joined in. Now the liberal MoveOn.org has picked up the cause. All have turned against the bill for different reasons, but the effect is the same. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_18.mp3 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:21:00 GMT 00:03:50 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia A new study shows many other states are full of happier people than Minnesota. Apparently, Minnesota, you'd be happier in Florida, or Louisiana, or Hawaii. That's the conclusion of researchers who studied happiness, as reported in this week's issue of Science Magazine. Minnesota comes in 26th in the survey, just behind North Dakota. Even Mississippi and Louisiana outscore us... by a lot. We are, however, happier than Wisconsin. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/resh_eye_dec_17.mp3 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:07:00 GMT 00:05:07 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Wearing a coat is a big deal for politicians. For normal people, the wearing of a coat is simple. It's cold, you put one on. It's warm, you take it off. But politicians aren't necessarily normal. What coat they wear matters. Dick Cheney wore a parka once, and got grief because it wasn't formal enough. It was at a ceremony to honor the liberation of Auschwitz, and Cheney looked like he was making a beer run at deer camp. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_16.mp3 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:07:00 GMT 00:09:39 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia What field has advanced the most in the last 100 years? Which field of endeavor has advanced the most in the last 100 years? Medicine. Aviation? Communications? The news 787 flew for the first time today and got plenty of coverage. But advancements in medicine don't get people jazzed up much. A new cellphone with tons of gadgets, on the other hand, will cause people to sleep outside a store in freezing weather. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_15.mp3 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:01:00 GMT 00:07:45 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Why do people involved in scandals get involved in scandals? The scandal du jour is Sen. Max Baucus, who -- it was revealed by Politico on Friday -- gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her. His spokesman's defense was scandalous in its own way. He suggested the raise was about what others in the senator's office got. This was about the time the economy was collapsing and few people in the real working world were getting big pay raises. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_11.mp3 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:39:00 GMT 00:06:53 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Testing the limits of fairness. A judge in Florida is ordering the state to pay $150 for a cosmetologist to cover up the tattoos of a neo-Nazi during his trial. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_10.mp3 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:30:00 GMT 00:06:13 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Minnesota drivers laugh at the first snowfall. We admit we were fully prepared to laugh at Twin Cities drivers for the massive traffic jam on the commute home this evening. But Twin Cities drivers handle it like the champs they are. That's our story on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio and we're sticking with it, because we're glass-half-full kind of people. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_08.mp3 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:54:00 GMT 00:04:07 Bob Collins and Mark Wheat The news of 12/2/09 Mary Lucia was off today so Mark Wheat did the commiserating about scores on the News Cut Quiz on Afghanistan. Oh, and Petters is guilty and the state is broke. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_02.mp3 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:02:00 GMT 00:04:47 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia If not for Facebook, what would the Secret Service do? The head of the Secret Service told a congressional hearing that a security breach that allowed an uninvited couple into last week's state dinner was a mistake and an aberration, and that three uniformed officers have been put on administrative leave. But it was this exchange between Mark Sullivan and DC congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton that was the eye-opener. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_03.mp3 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:16:00 GMT 00:07:31 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia What stake do we have in Afghanistan? Most people don't have any personal stake in the war in Afghanistan unless they've got a loved one in the military. As President Obama announces an escalation of the war, might Americans have a different reaction if there were a tax to pay for it, or a draft to provide the people to fight it? http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/12/fresh_eye_dec_01.mp3 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:23:00 GMT 00:05:58 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Come on. Pick a side. In the daily News Cut discussion on the Current, we consider why some people have been waiting for a chance to shove Tiger Woods off his pedestal. Oh, and there's some mention of real news, too. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/11/fresh_eye/fresh_eye_nov_30.mp3 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:59:00 GMT 00:07:08 Bob Collins and Mary Lucia Why are we so afraid? A lot of the damage to our psyche in the wake of 9/11, we've done to ourselves. Oh, and there's a waffle shortage. http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/news/features/2009/11/fresh_eye/fresh_eye_nov_18.mp3 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:39:00 GMT 00:10:39