Weekend All Things Considered

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JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

Only one more week before we announce the winner of our Three-Minute Fiction contest, our contest where listeners send in original stories of under 600 words. Our judge, the novelist Brad Meltzer, asked for stories that revolve around a U.S. president who could be fictional or real. Brad will join us next weekend to reveal the winner of Round 9 of Three-Minute Fiction. Until then, take a listen to some excerpts of our favorite stories so far.

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Transcript

JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

And if you're just joining us, this is WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden.

Now to a story that comes to us from Chile, which has such a thriving economy that it's often heralded as the most developed country in Latin America. But Chile lags when it comes to equality and women's rights. Women couldn't vote for president until 1952, and less than half of the women who can work do. They also earn a quarter less than men.

In the late 1990s, Beth Orton set the music world buzzing with her singular sound: part folk, part electronica. But six years ago, she found herself at a life-changing juncture: pregnant with her first child — and dropped from her record label.

His story begins a decade ago in Brooklyn, where he grew up fighting in New York's public housing before discovering another kind of power. After three felony convictions and time served at Rikers Island, Lemon Andersen didn't have many places to turn except to his words. Now he's a Tony Award winner with a rave-reviewed one-man show called County of Kings.

He spoke with weekends on All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden about his life and the new independent documentary film about it, called simply, Lemon.