Dec 10th, 2009 · You would think that specialty businesses would prefer to have blocks or neighborhoods to themselves, but in many places the same kinds of businesses are clustered together. In New York, for example, diamond dealers, florists and even chess shops are clumped together on the same block. It all makes sense economically.
Oct 19th, 2009 · Robert F. Diggs is affectionately known to fans as The RZA of the popular hip-hop group The Wu-Tang Clan. But aside from his successful rap career, Diggs is also a songwriter (he was the lead composer for the film Kill Bill: Volume 1), actor, avid chess player and — with his latest endeavor — an author. The RZA sits with Host Michel Martin to talk about his new book The Tao of Wu, which explores seven pillars of wisdom. Diggs explains how pivotal moments in his life inspired him to write about the lessons he's learned. (5:) In Your Ear: Raven-Symone — Former child actress ("The Cosby Show" and "That's So Raven") and pop artist Raven-Symone opens her music file and tells listeners what music is playing in her ear (in addition to her own hits, of course). Simone's top picks include everyone from musician Karsh Kale, to music supercouple Jay-Z and Beyonce and soul singer Meshell Ndegeocello.
Dec 5th, 2008 · Cadillac Records takes its name from the way the record producers the Chess brothers would reportedly give their artists cars instead of royalties. It's just one of the facts that gets the Hollywood treatment in one of two new movies about Chess Records.
Jul 17th, 2008 · BPP producer Dan Pashman tries to sell the rest of the show on doing a segment about the hybrid sport that combines chess and boxing. Tomorrow, checker wrestling, perhaps?
Jun 9th, 2008 · Hip-hop fans who play chess can now head to a new online social network site called WuChess. Music and chess have a mathematical rhythm and flow that make them similar, says The RZA, a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan who also backs the new site.
Apr 6th, 2008 · The University of Maryland is hosting another kind of championship this weekend: the Final Four of chess. Rene Garcia, faculty adviser for the Miami Dade Community College Sharks, leads this year's Cinderella team. The Sharks have stomped powerhouses like Harvard, MIT and Stanford.
Jan 18th, 2008 · Bobby Fischer, the reclusive chess genius, has died of kidney failure at a hospital in Iceland. He was 64. Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov talks with Melissa Block about Fischer's influence on the chess world. While in recent years Fischer seemed to have slipped into madness, his impact on the game is still unquestioned.
Jan 18th, 2008 · Chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer was a full-on celebrity after defeating Boris Spassky in 1972. His disappearance from public view in 1975 made him all the more mysterious. Fischer inspired books and movies and, in the 1980s, a musical.