NPR's Weekend Edition on KUER 1

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The Reflecting Pool on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall began as a glorious mirror for the Washington Monument, stretching out from the foot of the Lincoln Memorial stairs. Visitors could see the reflection, the obelisk itself, and over its shoulder the huge dome of the Capitol, the site everyone who comes to Washington wants to see. But over the years, the pool grew increasingly dank and slimy looking, leaking, smelly. Finally, the Park Service closed it for a complete do-over. Two years later, it's almost ready.

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Once the Republican convention gets underway, we can expect to hear a lot of talk about jobs and the economy. That is the ground where Mr. Romney wants this fight to happen. Just this past week, the Congressional Budget Office said the country would see a significant recession if Congress fails to resolve differences over a series of automatic tax increases and budget cuts, scheduled to happen in January. With so much at stake, just how constructive is the level of economic discourse in this presidential campaign?

NPR's Mike Pesca joins Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer to talk about two high-profile steroid suspensions in baseball.

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Keith Kenniff writes music for advertising.

KEITH KENNIFF: It was funny. When I first started doing this I, thought of commercials like jingles. Like the Roto Rooter, you know, jingle or something like that.

(SOUNDBITE OF A ROTO ROOTER AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Singing) Call Roto Rooter, that's the name.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) And away goes trouble down the drain.

WERTHEIMER: But Kenniff's music is different

(SOUNDBITE OF AN IPHONE AD)

On-air challenge: Every answer is a two-word phrase in which one of the words starts with W and the other word is the same with the W removed. For example, if you were given the clue "desires scurrying insects," the answer would be "wants ants."

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(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIFE IS A BALL GAME")

SISTER WINONA CARR: (Singing) Life is a ball game being played each day. Life is a ballgame...

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The Olympics are over and we're all readjusting our focus to sports closer to home. A jet-lagged Mike Pesca is doing the same and he joins us now.

Hi, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

WERTHEIMER: So, there's really only one major league sport in full swing in the middle of August, and that is baseball. I hear the Red Sox manager is raising some eyebrows?

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

Once again, taxes will be a major part of the battle for the 2012 election. Conservative ads out last week seek to savage what they call Obama's Tax Hike, a reference to letting the Bush tax cuts for wealthier families expire at the end of the year.

(SOUNDBITE OF A POLITICAL AD)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Liberals say raise taxes on the rich. But Reid's Senate passed Obama's tax hike, hurting so many small businesses.

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(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC, "TARA'S THEME")

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All this summer, we've been asking friends of the show - authors, musicians, actors, people passing by - what they're reading.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

USHER: Check one, two, mic check. Check, check it out, on and on and on, rock on to the break-a-break of dawn, it's on.

WERTHEIMER: When we interviewed singer Usher about his latest album, we asked what the soulful superstar was reading.

USHER: "The Narcissistic Family."

(LAUGHTER)

USHER: It's a book that someone gave me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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Russia's neighbor, Ukraine, is experiencing a linguistic rift. Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych, has signed a law making Russian one of the country's official regional languages. Russian is spoken primarily in the country's east and south; Ukrainian is spoken in the west and center. And Ukrainian speakers fear that Russian could crowd out Ukrainian, as it did in Soviet times. David Stern reports from Kiev.

DAVID STERN, BYLINE: Ukraine is country that is sometimes united by its two main languages.

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Cooking on hot summer days tends to be something we either do outside, or try not to do at all. But at the same time, we are in the season of wonderful food. And if you're lucky enough to live near farm stands in the country or farmers markets in the city, real tomatoes, fresh corn and new potatoes are all around. For inspiration, I get out a worn, stained paperback book written by an Englishwoman, Elizabeth David, in the 1950s. It's called "Summer Cooking."

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. The race for the White House is nearly in full swing. The presumptive Republican ticket is now set. Both parties are gearing up for their respective conventions, which are coming right up. Both President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are waging a tough battle over the future of Medicare. In Florida yesterday, Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, enlisted an important ally.

PAUL RYAN: I want to introduce you to my mom.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

Four years ago, American voters were presented with a unique choice and elected Barack Obama the first African-American president. Now, for different reasons, the choice is again unique. This year, for the first time since the founding of the republic, there is no white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant represented on either major presidential ticket. What might that mean? Is the face of the American ruling class changing?

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We talked to voters in Virginia this week in Henrico County, a tossup county in a swing state. On state maps, Henrico County seems to be draped over north Richmond like a shawl. It's a critical region for both parties. President Barack Obama was there in mid-July. He carried Virginia last time and wants to hold on. Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were in Henrico County in the last couple of weeks.

(SOUNDBITE OF CONVERSATIONS)

On-air challenge: This week's puzzle is called "Anagram K-pers." Every answer is a familiar word starting with the letter "K." You identify the words from their anagrams. For example, K + vane will make "knave."

Last week's challenge: Name two insects. Read the names one after the other. Insert an "H" somewhere in this string of letters, and you'll complete a familiar word that is the opposite of what either of these insects is. What word is it?

Answer: Behemoth (bee, moth)

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And now another gloomy financial message. Nouriel Roubini is a New York University professor and former economic advisor to the Clinton administration. And he has the nickname Dr. Doom. Roubini is next in our series of conversations with topnotch economists. But unlike some of his colleagues, he does not claim to have a crystal ball; he makes warnings, not predictions. Nouriel Roubini joins us from New York.

Welcome. So why do they call you Dr. Doom?

Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer speaks with NPR's Mara Liasson about the week in politics.

Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer reports on the relationship between likely Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, and his running mate Paul Ryan. Earlier this year, congressman Ryan played an April Fools' joke on Romney.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. The Romney campaign is calling it America's Comeback Team. Congressman Paul Ryan is officially Mitt Romney's choice for vice president. After a flashy rollout in Norfolk, Virginia, the two men campaigned together across the state. Today, they're holding rallies in North Carolina and Wisconsin. NPR's Ari Shapiro has the story of Ryan's first day on the ticket.

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Ari just mentioned a couple of the details the Romney campaign provided about their vice presidential selection process. There are many more twists to this real-life cloak and dagger story that have been kept under wraps for months. Ari joins us now to describe exactly how the Romney campaign maintained the secrecy of the vice presidential pick.

Ari, let's start with the day that Mitt Romney offered Paul Ryan the job. The campaign says this was August 5th. What happened?

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And now, a final check-in, alas, from the Olympics.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLD")

SPANDAU BALLET: (Singing) Gold. Always believe in your soul, you've got the power to know you're indispensible. Always believe in you are gold...

WERTHEIMER: Gold, and a handful of other precious metals are what the U.S. Olympic team has racked up. For more on the final tally, we're joined by NPR's Mike Pesca, who is in London. Mike, welcome.

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Norway is one of the richest country's per capita in the world, thanks to its vast oil and gas reserves. That oil money has created a high and comfortable standard of living for Norwegians, but the higher prices make it difficult for tourists hoping to visit Norway on a budget. Eleanor Beardsley visited the capital of Oslo and sends this report.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

In Norfolk, Va. on Saturday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced that his running mate is Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin. What does Ryan bring to the table, and will it be enough?