In 1961 Malcolm X came to Brown University to publicly rebut an article published in the school newspaper that criticized the Nation of Islam. Fast-forward to 2011. A Brown University student was assigned to create a historical narrative using anything in the school library and stumbled across one of the oldest recordings of Malcolm X in existence, heard by virtually no one since its initial taping.

Whether or not you buy into the idea of American exceptionalism, the U.S. constitution is an exceptional document: the way in which it was crafted, how it secured the rights of citizens, and how 94 percent of nations have modeled their own charters after it. But if you ask Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the constitution is exactly that: historically exceptional, but now a tad out of date. In line with her comments, a new study has found that fewer and fewer nations are modeling their constitutions after ours.

Since its humble beginnings in the Bronx during the 1970s, hip hop has become a global musical phenomenon with attendant forms of style and protest. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of hip hop's recent impact is in the Arab world where formed the soundtrack to the revolution with rappers like Hamada Ben Amor from Tunisia, Cheikh Oumar Cyrille from Senegal, and Mohamed el Deeb from Egypt.

In a world where one team must face off against another not once, but twice, on the world stage tempers will flare, bodies will be pushed to the limit, and reveling fans will discover if the underdog can triumph over tragedy… or if the top dog will rise again. Cliched? Absolutely, but appropriate: just as they did in 2007, the New England Patriots will face off against the New York Giants in this year's Superbowl.

On Tuesday, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the largest breast cancer advocacy organization in America, pulled $650,000 in funding from Planned Parenthood. In the days afterward, the Komen foundation's move has pleased pro-life activists and organizations while outraging others at the seeming contradiction: Planned Parenthood screens 170,000 women a year for breast cancer. New York mayor Mike Bloomberg has vowed to give Planned Parenthood $250,000 and several top Komen staff and board members have quit in protest.

If you've got a copy of the Dictionary of Regional English, you know that "hotdish" is a casserole-style meal popular throughout Minnesota. A "quahog" is common word for "clam" in New England. And "Euchre" is a card game beloved by Midwesterners of all stripes. Next month the final volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English, or DARE, will be released by the Harvard University Press.

Don Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train," died Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He began his career as a journalist who wrote passionately about the civil rights movement.  After noticing the lack of African American music on popular television, he created the Chicago-based show "Soul Train" in 1970 to showcase the funky blending of gospel and R&B that is soul music. It quickly gained an audience and went into syndication nationally a year later. Celeste Headlee looks back on why "Soul Train" was groundbreaking and reflects on the may ways that Cornelius' legacy lives on. 

Jessica Ahlquist, a 16-year-old-junior at Cranston High School West, is an outspoken atheist who believes that prayer should not be on display in public schools. Last month she expressed her views at school board hearings and a federal judge ruled in her favor deeming prayer's presence at Cranston High School to be unconstitutional. In retaliation, residents have threatened Ahlquist and others like State Representative Peter G. Palumbo have called her "an evil little thing." 

What if all we had was time? What if our youth was everlasting, but the time we has was limited? In this futuristic sci-fi thriller everyone stops aging at the tender age of 25. The only problem is that the time you have left is a commodity. People trade minutes and hours instead of dollars, leaving a cup of coffee to cost you about 90 seconds, give or take. This is the world that Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried find themselves in as their characters navigate this post-apocalyptic experience. As always we hear from Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Kristen Meinzer, culture producer for the Takeaway.

Ten years ago this week, Wall Street Journal South Asia bureau chief Daniel Pearl was abducted and killed by Pakistani militants. His grisly murder shocked the world, heralding the end of innocence for many foreign correspondents. It also became a rallying cry for those supporting the war on terror as well as those in Afghanistan and Iraq. But for those who actually knew Pearl, it was something else entirely.

In 1961, Ezra Jack Keats wrote and illustrated his first children’s book. It was called "The Snowy Day" and it told the story of Peter, a young, African-American boy in Brooklyn, enjoying the season's first snowfall. The book was immediately popular. Prior to its publication, no other mainstream children’s book had featured a black hero in a non-caricatured way.

Like "Snakes on a Plane" before it "Man on a Ledge" tells you exactly what to expect out of this thriller. There's a man, of course, and he is on a ledge. But what he's doing there, how he will get off, and what happens in between? We won't spoil the plot for you but our Movie Date podcasters will put this movie in context of other "literal-title movies" and let you know if it is a good date or not. As always we hear from Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Kristen Meinzer, culture producer for the Takeaway.

Late January means as many action releases as June and July. Liam Neeson returns to the big screen this weekend with the icy survival flick "The Grey." This Friday also sees "Man on a Ledge," starring Sam Worthington as a police psychologist negotiating with a pack of diamond thieves, whilst on a ledge of course. Find out which flicks are worth seeing, and which ones should wait until DVD release.

Although his father was the first candidate to release their tax returns, the impetus for Massachussetts governor Mitt Romney making his financial life public — and the rallying cry of Gingrich-boosting Super PACs — is the assertion that Romney is too rich and therefore too out of touch to be president. Throughout the decades, Americans have elected very wealthy men to the White House without any fanfare. Yet with record rates of unemployment that many are experiencing over a period of years, the issue of class in the U.S. has gained a new significance.

The main focus of Tuesday’s State of the Union address was the economy and income inequality. Along with his ideas about taxation and protecting homeowners, president Obama also expressed a desire to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Since the 1980s, the U.S. economy has shifted away from manufacturing and towards intellectual property and services. This has been due in part to the perceived expenses involved in production based in the U.S., as well as labor laws. 

In the early 1980s, a 50-year-old radiator manufacturer who'd never made a gun before was given the opportunity to make some for the Austrian army. His name was Gaston Glock, and the gun that bears his name has gained a ubiquitous presence both on-screen and in real-life crimes over the past 25 years. Made mostly of plastic and consisting fewer parts, the glock is lighter and easier to handle than other handguns — making it "amateur-friendly."

A year ago President Obama announced his plans for high speed rail lines and other cutting edge transportation for the nation. But after many defeats in Congress, including the de-funding of high-speed rail, the President’s transportation initiative suddenly seems less futuristic and more focused on rebuilding the old highways of the past. 

Most college students don’t find much time in between classes, studying, and planning their own futures to solve major problems in their local communities. But when Harrisburg, Pennsylvania found itself on the brink of bankruptcy, a college student saved the day. The 23-year-old John Campbell is also the city’s treasurer. He was elected to the post on January 3 and has a step-by-step plan to save the state capital from financial collapse.

Wyatt Cenac is best known as "The Daily Show" correspondent behind popular segments like "Black to the Future" and "Rapper or Republican." When he is not working for "The Daily Show," Cenac’s is acting and performing as a stand-up comedian. His current project, hosting the fourth season of "AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange," is a documentary series profiling men and women from across the African Diaspora — including California punk band Fishbone, a 26-year-old solar energy entrepreneur in Mali, and a minister’s daughter who plays calypso music.

In Steven Soderbergh's latest movie, the "Ocean's Eleven" director recruits mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano to play the heroine in the action-packed "Haywire." Both the director and actor joined The Takeaway to talk about their unlikely pairing for Carano's first movie. Now we hear about the movie from Movie Date podcasters Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Kristen Meinzer, culture producer for the Takeaway.