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Looking for Leroy is a new book by Mark Anthony Neal that takes a look at how high profile black men like Jay-Z, Denzel Washington and Barack Obama shape our perceptions of black masculinity in America. He sat down with Tell Me More's Michel Martin.

Inspired by Fame

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Later in the program family members of both the suspects in the Cleveland kidnappings and the Boston Marathon bombings have denounced them. And that made us wonder about the family members of other people who have been accused of horrible acts. So we reached out to two of them - the daughter of a serial killer and the brother of the Unibomber will both be with us in just a few minutes.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Later in the program we will speak with writer and scholar Mark Anthony Neal about his new book, "Looking For Leroy." It's about how black men on stage, screen and on the radio shape and reshape how we think about black men in everyday life. That's in just a few minutes.

This year's Little League baseball and softball season is under way — and in the Northeast, some teams and players have taken the field again, despite losing vital equipment to Hurricane Sandy. Many donations were handled by Pitch In For Baseball, which gathered used and new gloves and helmets for the players.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, after a disaster, naturally, grown-ups are worried about things like food and shelter, but kids still need to have fun. We'll speak with a man who's trying to help kids in distress do just that by making sure they can still play baseball. We'll hear more about that in just a few minutes.

But, first, it's time for our Beauty Shop conversation. That's where we get a fresh cut on hot topics with a panel of women journalists, commentators, bloggers and activists.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Later in the program we'll talk about a story that another U.S. service member is being investigated for sexually abusing subordinates. This after a survey showed that service members reported tens of thousands of sexual assaults last year alone. We'll speak with three women in the Beauty Shop who know a lot about this subject to talk about why this problem persists and what can be done about it.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Next, our colleagues at the NPR program WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED have been asking some of their guests - particularly people in the film business - about the movies that they never get tired of watching.

Today, we hear from actress Regina King. Her credits include "Jerry Maguire" and "Ray." She currently stars on the TNT television show "Southland." The movie she could watch a million times is "The Sandlot."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FINGER POPPIN' TIME")

HANK BALLARD: (Singing) Finger poppin'...

The civil war in Syria feels far away for many Americans. But it hits close to home for one Chicago doctor and has pulled him, and many of his colleagues, to the front lines.

Tell Me More host Michel Martin spoke with Dr. Zaher Sahloul, a practicing critical care specialist in Chicago and president of the Syrian American Medical Society.

Sahloul says that for safety reasons, local physicians in Syria have established an underground health care system.

Chinese-American mom Amy Chua sparked a firestorm in the parenting world with her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. She credited her strict Asian-American parenting style with her kids' success. But what are the downsides? Host Michel Martin is joined by Asian-American parents to talk about how they're now bringing up their own kids.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently shot beyond 15,000 points for the first time ever. But to ordinary Americans, it might not seem relevant — given unemployment rates and stagnant wages. Host Michel Martin speaks with personal finance guru Alvin Hall about why the stock market matters.