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In 2008, the state of Tennessee adopted new, tougher standards for its schools. And for the last two years, the Department of Education and area school districts have been trying to spread the word that those higher standards will result in lower TCAP scores. Today, Knox County Schools will send those score reports home with students. And teachers and administrators are bracing themselves for the fall-out. WUOT's Leslie Snow reports...
In 2003, Roxana Saberi went to Iran for the first time to work as a journalist. In 2009, Saberi was writing a book about Iranian society when she was arrested on charges of espionage, imprisoned, and eventually put on trial. Her book about these experiences is called Between Two Worlds. Chrissy Keuper had the chance to speak with Saberi about her time in Iran...
(This is an extended version of the broadcast interview.)
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 75th season this evening with a re-telling of Peter Shaffer's award-winning play "Amadeus". WUOT's Matt Shafer Powell says this collaboration between the KSO and the Clarence Brown Theatre uses the relationship between two 18th century composers to teach us about the dangerous potential of our own insecurities...
Several hundred former patients from Cornerstone of Recovery will be in Louisville this weekend for what's become an annual reunion. Cornerstone provides recovery services for people suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Cornerstone's Webster Bailey tells WUOT's Matt Shafer Powell the reunion is an emotional event...
The Environmental Protection Agency recently began holding public hearings around the country, which focus on whether to classify coal ash as a toxic substance. The move would make coal ash subject to strict regulation. None of these hearings are being held in Tennessee, which many find surprising after the 2008 coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. In response, several organizations are hosting a public forum at Roane State Community College September 2nd. Chrissy Keuper speaks with Cathie Bird, chair of the Stripmine Issues Committee for Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment*, one of the organizations hosting the forum...
*formerly Save Our Cumberland Mountains
If the controversies surrounding mosques in New York City and Murfreesboro have taught us anything, it's this--- as a nation, we still don't have a grip on what Islam is-- and what it's not. And maybe that's an unrealistic expectation. After all, most religious traditions are diverse, complex and for the non-believers, more than a bit confusing.
But we're going to take a shot here today at demystifying Islam a little bit. Let's call it Islam 101. What's the history of Islam? What are the fundamental beliefs? And what about the connection between radical Islam and terrorism? On this episode of Dialogue, host Matt Shafer Powell speaks with Nadeem Saddiqi, a Shura Board Member for the Muslim Community of Knoxville...
Tennessee is one of only two states* in the country that have a statewide system of elected public defenders. The Knox County Public Defender's office celebrated its 20th anniversary September 1st, 2010... and Mark Stephens has been Knox County's Public Defender since the office's inception. In the last decade, the Defender's Office has evolved into what's now called the Community Law Office. Chrissy Keuper spoke with Stephens about the CLO's holistic approach to defending the accused...
*the other is Florida.