Kristen Meinzer

Actress Olivia Wilde talks about growing up with parents who worked as journalists in conflict zones and how that inspired her role in the new PBS series, "Half the Sky."

The dropout rate for at-risk students in American public high schools is staggeringly high, but that doesn't mean the situation is hopeless. The Takeaway looks at one school that's fo...

Kristen doesn't know much about baseball. Rafer knows even less. But they do know this: when it comes to baseball movies, even the most well-researched one won't hit a home run unless it also hits the heartstrings. Does Clint Eastwood's "Trouble With the Curve" hit those stings? Did Rafer cry when he watched it? And (most important to Kristen), dies Clint Eastwood talk to a chair in the movie?

Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer discuss "Trouble With The Curve," a film that revives the debate presented in last year’s hit “Moneyball,” with a professional baseball scout. Which m...

Reed Kroloff is no stranger to cities that are in need of a rebirth. As dean of architecture at Tulane University, he was responsible for bringing back 97 percent of the school's stud...

In Massachusetts, a controversial ballot measure has secular and religious communities alike taking sides. If passed, the measure would allow for physician-assisted suicide for the te...

At the age of 18, Damien Echols was wrongfully convicted of murder, along with two other teenagers, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. He was finally released, along with Baldwin...

Do you know the first president to write a memoir? Or the one to host the first White House Easter Egg Roll? And if we were to grade each president, would Reagan really come out on to...

In the midst of the upheaval at American embassies and consulates, average citizens might ask: “Why is this happening?” or “How can we stop it?” But for architects like Andre Houston,...

From "The Innocence of Muslims" to "The Master," it's a big week for religion and movies, with one inciting violence overseas and another inciting audiences to ask if L. Ron Hubbard and a character named Lancaster Dodd are the same man. Rafer and Kristen discuss both films, and along the way, ask a lot of questions, express a lot of confusion, and share their favorite Scientology memories. 

It may only be in a small smattering of theatres in New York and L.A. at this point, but “The Master” is already one of the most talked-about movies of the year. Directed and written ...

Early yesterday morning, the public school teachers of Chicago went on strike, and in the hours since, we’ve heard a lot about contracts, salaries, city government, and unions. And of...

Today, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of his first album, Bob Dylan is releasing a new album called “Tempest.” And The Takeaway is looking at the album, as well as who Bob Dylan...

We’re less than two months away from the day when we elect our next president of the United States and as things currently stand, President Obama holds a slight lead in the polls. In ...

Everything changed on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. And those changes were most drastic in the first year and a half following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

With help from our partner the BBC, we’ve compiled some memories of that day — all gleaned from original television broadcasts. It begins with the day's weather reports and ends with ...

It's been a mediocre movie summer, but Rafer and Kristen are trying to look on the bright side. Fall is officially here, and with it, some pretty leaves and promising entertainment. From the story of a big-hearted butter sculptor in Iowa to the real mission of a fake movie crew during the Iran hostage crisis to an a capella chick flick smackdown, there's something for everyone.   

Some of them are as young as 12-years-old. Many are from impoverished countries. Countless numbers are exploited. One, a 13-year-old Siberian named Nadya, is documented in the new fil...

The end of the summer music season came this week, and that may be for the best. Based on the number of movie tickets sold, this was the worst summer in 20 years. What’s behind the sl...

At only 37-years-old, San Antonio mayor Julian Castro is one of the youngest politicians to be granted the honor of keynote speaker in the Democratic National Convention's history. An...