Tell Me More

The National Hockey League wants to broaden its reach, particularly to African American students. So the NHL is joining forces with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to offer scholarships to students in hockey programs to attend public historic black colleges and universities. Host Michel Martin talks with Johnny C. Taylor Jr., head of the fund.

Nearly 10 years ago Ruben Studdard won American Idol. Since then he has released gold and platinum albums, but he's also had some personal ups and downs. Now he's putting the finishing touches on a new album, Letters from Birmingham. Host Michel Martin talks with Studdard.

People in countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania rely on crucial undersea cables to keep them connected to the internet. A ship's anchor recently sliced one of those cables, so now web traffic is being re-routed to the company Seacom. Host Michel Martin talks with Seacom founder Brian Herlihy.

Omarosa Manigault made feisty appearances on The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice, but now she is serving as a Baptist reverend. She talks about her career change with host Michel Martin.

The National Review's Kevin Williamson caused an uproar last week when making comments about Rihanna and Chris Brown. Host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar comb through the angry listener feedback and check back with Williamson, who states his case.

The Barbershop guys preview Super Tuesday and weigh in on Judge Richard Cebull's email that included a joke about President Obama's heritage. Host Michel Martin checks in with freelance journalist Jimi Izrael, columnists Ruben Navarrette and Mario Loyola, and Colorlines.com Editorial Director Kai Wright. Advisory: This segment may not be comfortable for some listeners.

The New York Police Department has been monitoring Muslim students in cities as far as Philadelphia, Buffalo and Syracuse, according to the Associated Press. Americans question whether this is a privacy breach or a necessary safety measure. Host Michel Martin speaks with the an AP investigate reporter and a member of the national Muslim Students Association.

Women's History Month starts on Thursday. All through March, Tell Me More will dig into inspiring, bold and sometimes disturbing stories of notable women — from Cleopatra to Coco Channel. To launch the biography series, host Michel Martin talks with two essayists about why it's important to tell women's stories, and how that storytelling has evolved.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, if you have elementary school or even preschool types in your house, then you might have heard his voice as Tyrone on the Nickelodeon show "The Backyardigans." But now Jordan Coleman is a teenager, and as he became aware that some teens were experiencing violence in their dating lives, he decided to make a film about it, and he's going to tell us more about it in a few minutes.

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Coleman was a voice on the hit TV show The Backyardigans. Then he decided to write and direct his own films — the latest of which is Payin' the Price. He's showing it in multiple cities, and encouraging teens to "speak up and get out" if they are in abusive relationships. Coleman talks with host Michel Martin.