1A

Winifred Phillips is a video game music composer. She describes this history-making entry into the National Recording Registry as, "one of the, if not the most memorable game music melodies ever created."

The audio that's selected for the Registry is based on their historical, cultural or aesthetic importance to American society. The registry includes all kinds of audio: from music and radio broadcasts, to speeches, audiobooks, and comedy performances.

For this installment of Sounds of America, we profile music that was composed for a video game. The original Super Mario Brothers was released by Nintendo in 1985 on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

To help tell the story behind the Super Mario Brothers video game theme music, we speak to its composer Koji Kondo, Super Mario actor Charles Martinet, video game music composer Winifred Phillips, and author Jeff Ryan.

The Sounds of America is produced by Jennie Cataldo for Accompany Studios.

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On Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that the federal government could run out of money to pay its debts as soon as June 1 if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing surrounding Supreme Court ethics. Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly accepted more luxury gifts from a billionaire Republican donor that he failed to disclose.

On Thursday, Russia claimed that Ukraine tried to assassinate its president, Vladimir Putin, by attacking the Kremlin with a drone. According to Russian officials, no one was harmed. Ukraine has denied the allegations.

It will be a weekend of pomp and pageantry in the United Kingdom as Charles is officially crowned King on Saturday. The country has been gearing up all this week.

We discuss the week's biggest headlines during the News Roundup.

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Judy Blume's 1970's classic book, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." The novel wasn't initially well-received when it was published, being banned in libraries and schools, including the one Blume's children went to.

It follows an 11-year-old Margaret stepping into the world of adolescence (breasts, boys, and periods included) and exploring her religious identity along the way. Her father, Jewish, and her mother, Christian, kept religion out of Margaret's upbringing to allow her to decide her faith for herself.

Now, the story has the film treatment by writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig. For this edition of the 1A Movie Club, we discuss periods, adolescence, and grappling with your identity.

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Close to 600, 000 people in the U.S. don't have a home of their own, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of those in America experiencing homelessness, 40 percent of them are living outdoors or in buildings not meant for human habitation.

Often, this takes the form of homeless encampments. Equally often, cities cities spend time and money forcing people out of them.

One option cities are looking to are sanctioned encampments. These are places where unhoused folks can pitch a tent and live without the threat of law enforcement telling them to leave. They can have varying degrees of services, from basic sanitation like porta-potties, to on-site case management.

We discuss camping bans, homeless navigation centers, and housing-first approaches.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find out how to connect with us by visiting our website.

This show was part of 1A's Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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We are all – to some degree – stressed. And that can affect just how much we feel like saying hello to that person on the street or holding the elevator for the person we see around the corner.

We discuss whether small gestures of manners and etiquette matter anymore.

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On May 2, 1963, hundreds of school-age kids in Birmingham, Alabama, woke up with a plan. Through coded messages broadcast by local radio DJs, they were given the signal to leave the classroom and meet at the park for a peaceful protest against segregation in the city.

These actions by students brought national attention—and a new momentum—to the civil rights movement, support for which had been waning as more adults were jailed and reluctant to be arrested.

Civil rights leaders, including James Bevel, recruited young people to participate in a peaceful demonstration which became known as the Children's Crusade. Hundreds of kids were arrested by police for parading without a permit. Images of police dogs and firehoses being used on students in the city highlighted the injustices in Birmingham and prompted President John F. Kennedy to express support for federal civil rights legislation.

We discuss the Children's Crusade and it's impact 60 years later.

This conversation was recorded in April as part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country, including WBHM. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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The settlement of opioid lawsuits means that states are seeing an influx of money. Purdue, Walgreens, and Johnson & Johnson are just a few of the companies pumping over $50 billion into state and municipal budgets for addiction treatment and prevention.

But what that treatment and prevention looks like is up to interpretation.

Conversations about how to spend the money are turning contentious. In Pennsylvania, advocates are pushing back against some of that money going to law enforcement. In New York and San Francisco, groups pushing to fund safe injection sites are running into roadblocks.

And there's another issue. Many states aren't being transparent about how the funds are being spent.Aneri Pattani of Kaiser Health News shares her reporting on where those settlement funds are going.

We discuss how states are spending that money, and what goes into making those decisions.

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Every year, 25 audio recordings are added to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

The registry contains recordings of all types, from music and radio broadcasts to dramatic performances and speeches. This does not mean they necessarily originated in America or that they were created by Americans. But all have had some significant impact on American culture or history. Our series, "The Sounds of America" takes a closer look at some of these selections.

This edition profiles the British pop duo Eurythmics, best known for their 1983 hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).

Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart take us inside the story of the song, the part played by a U.S. disc jockey, being dirt poor, and the role of a cow.

The Sounds of America is produced by Jennie Cataldo for Accompany Studios.

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It was a big week at the White House. President Joe Biden announced his plans to run for reelection in 2024.

Washington became the 10th state to ban the sale of semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15.

Meanwhile, supply shortages are impacting the citizens of Sudan as the fighting in its capital Khartoum continues, despite the agreement of a three-day truce. Thousands of people are fleeing as foreign governments are working to get visitors and diplomats out of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since his country was invaded by Russia. However, during the phone call, Chinese officials reportedly never spoke the words "Russia" or "war."

We cover the most important stories during the News Roundup.

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On April 23, 2013, a group of garment factories collapsed in Rana Plaza near Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The accident killed more than 1,100 people and injured at least 2,500. It's considered the deadliest accident in the history of the modern garment industry.

It's been a decade, but the garment industry is still far from safe for workers.

Factories like the one in Rana Plaza aren't unique to Bangladesh. And safety for these workers is not just an issue overseas.

We discuss what's changed in the decade since the Rana Plaza collapse.

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