Rice was focused on the country's long term economic health and emphasized that unemployment was at record lows u.s. Lawmakers are scrambling to gather enough votes in Congress to pass a sweeping spending deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars they're trying to overcome last minute objections the proposed compromise will be voted on 1st in the Senate where party leaders agreed a bipartisan measure to prevent another government shutdown but the Republican senator Rand Paul is objecting to the vote saying the bill violates Pownce pledges to rein in federal spending we are in a terrible state as a country 20 trillion dollars in debt is bigger than Aren't our economy you wonder why the stock market is jittery Well one of the reasons is we do not have the capacity to continue to fund a government like this anybody remember what interest rate for $51015.00 they'll be a catastrophe in this country world news from the b.b.c. The United Nations Security Council has permitted North Korean official under international sanctions to travel to the Winter Olympics in South Korea he will be attending with his sister of the North Korean reelect him Jungen South Korea requested approval in a letter to the un Committee saying the visit to tel produced tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The Reuters News Agency has revealed details of an investigation into a mass killing of range of Muslims by soldiers and villagers in Myanmar which it says lies behind the imprisonment of 2 of its journalists the news agency says the journalists were alone and just so you uncovered evidence of the unlawful killing of 10 revenge of men in the Rakhine State last year. The court in this been has sentenced a form of Portuguese intelligence agent to 7 years in prison for spying for Russia and taking bribes His lawyer says he'll appeal Alison Roberts' reports for that he could kind of jail a senior officer in Portugal's secret intelligence service was arrested in Italy in 2016 on suspicion of attempting to sell classified documents to a Russian spy including details of NATO defense systems according to put prosecutors he had for some time been suspected of being a mole and was followed to Italy he was later extradited to Portugal but his suspected handler was not and eventually returned to Russia according to prosecutors more than 15 schools in Costa Rica have been padlocked shut by parents opposed to a sex education program the country's education minister has Sonia Matamoras says the protest is a wrong to think the scheme promotes homosexuality saying it focuses on sexual health and is not compulsory biologists say they've identified a new form of stereoscopic vision in the praying mantis the mechanism by which the in 6 c in 3 dimensions was found to operate in a fundamentally different way from humans b.b.c. News. Like to nuclear weapons white nationalism and bears have in common you'll find them all I think the governor of New podcast from p.r.i. And exotic media about the names outs and what have you what keeps us safe download wherever you get your podcasts today. Support for the world comes from Babble a language up that teaches real life conversations in a new language like Spanish French and German Babble's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available in the app store or online at Babble. Dot com. I'm Marco Werman And you're with the world good to have you with us today here is a reminder that the United States is still very much involved in the conflict in Syria late yesterday American military advisors in Syria came under attack according to the u.s. Military Central Command the purpose. Raters were not from ISIS but were in fact forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Assad the u.s. Led coalition responded with devastating power Here's Pentagon spokesperson Dana White our forces have the inherent right to self-defense we are not looking for conflict with the regime any action that takes away from our ongoing operations to defeat ISIS is a distraction Suzanne of George's Baghdad bureau chief for The Associated Press and was just in Syria yesterday why did these u.s. Advisors come under fire. What we're hearing from both the Syrian government and from coalition officials is this was a clash that was likely sparked over a struggle for control of oil and gas fields in this part of Syria this is where u.s. Backed Kurdish led forces are fighting for control of territory with Russian backed Syrian forces and militia supported by Iran the control of this area is pretty much split by the Euphrates River u.s. Backed forces army east of the river that's where most of the oil and gas fields are and Syrian government aligned forces are on the West coolish officials are telling us they noticed a build up of government forces in the area they spoke to their Russian counterparts and were sure that there would not be an attack but the coalition says that they observed what they described as hostilities This included the maneuvering of tanks and pieces of artillery and that preceded the strike Syrian state t.v. Is calling this a new massacre and the Russian defense ministry says it shows that the u.s. Is not interested in and fighting extremist Islamic state group fighters in Syria but rather is interested in controlling Syria's economic assets the Pentagon is suggesting that the u.s. Was attacked but who really fired 1st what the coalition is saying is that the the action was launched in defense of u.s. Backed forces in the area so meantime you were in Syria yesterday on a visit with the u.s. General what was that all about. This is a visit with Lieutenant General Paul Funk he's the top u.s. General in the coalition against I asked him both Iraq and Syria and his message traveling out to this a small remote outpost them Amanda Jhon in northern Syria was really a message of support for the American troops there the outpost is very sparse it's really just a handful of tents been a few prefab trailers a dozen or so armored vehicles and it's really isolated and what Funk said is that the biggest issue for him these days is that people back home in the u.s. They think that the military campaign against I asked is over and he says that it's certainly not the still pockets of fighters in eastern Syria and Iraq is riddled with insurgent networks connected to the group so American commanders like func are saying that bases like this one and bandage need to stay where they are to maintain stability even though combat operations in the area are no longer ongoing but instead what we're seeing is that this has become a new flashpoint the you know possibility of an indefinite presence of u.s. Troops right up near the border with Turkey is really rattled on Korea and Turkey has called on the u.s. To withdraw but u.s. Commanders and men bij they said that they have no intention of doing so well secretary of defense matters has suggested that the u.s. Presence there is open ended I mean how many American advisors slash troops are there in Syria right now do we have a number. American commanders are being really cagey with numbers in total I believe the latest numbers from the Pentagon are around 2000 American soldiers in Syria all together and one of the American commanders who I spoke to said there's no way of telling how long u.s. Troops will need to be in Syria just because the situation in the country that has followed these victories against the Islamic state group is in more ways even more complicated than the initial fight against extremists. The a.p. Says Anna George there we're joined now by a guest in Damascus we've heard from before on the show now Marta she'd like us to use only her 1st name she lives and works in the Syrian capital we caught up with her and what she calls a typical day I was at the gym actually and I finished my work I went to the gym just like like it's my everyday routine that was very crowded many people wear their life is quite normal in Damascus except for the mortar shelling sometimes specially in the last 2 weeks other than that actually it's much much better than last year even when it comes to the power you know the extra city it's always there last year we did not have enough in the know this year things are much much but that life is improving even the dollar exchange rate in comparison with the city and town it's much much better so I mean the war has been going on for almost 8 years what do Western media still not get about it actually the western media still insist on the idea that all of the stadium people are against that idea again Assad goes to the studio and out of me what to do you to but there are a lot of people who don't support Assad and I think the proof of that is that there's a lot of fighting going on all over the country yes let's be honest in Damascus for example there are people who are against but they are against the violence as well but they don't want also to bring down body Jean they want certain that for now it's not the fight between the Sunni and themselves it's not a fight between regional powers and international powers but I shine u.s. You don and 30 Saudi all well so where do your loyalties lie now mouth well on the course again the violence I don't like to see people getting killed I'm of course I guess having gotten intervention in my country I don't like to see for example u.s. Military many people roaming around in my country numbered Have you read reports of civilian deaths to Syrian civilian deaths that occurred to him. Of your own government of course there will be a lot of people or something else like this but who can bet if I with out of these are true or not and nobody can confirm that the source is all reliable but what about the Western media why they are not getting that the course of all the people are getting killed by the mortar shell for example in the past 2 years is too weak dozens of people got killed been injured due to loss or shelling by that there was a group a lot and we all thought what about the Russian troops that are roaming your country I mean we do know factually about them but that is an agreement with the Sudan government cut into the Sudan government is that is just in a government it's a present and that you and the us. It's a sense of the United Nations local and according to the quest of the cd other system of government there are central states to Syria so you support the Russian presence but you don't support the American presence the Sudan government says I'm a government spoke with Russia and Russia and that Russia send their troops but the Americans they just came in with out of the blue without any permission from the United Nations they sneaked through the borders and got into Syria when you go into a house without having the permission of the owner of the how you want to be but when you when you look at the bill and we say welcome then you are a guest you know we heard from civilians in it live yesterday who had been watching bombs fall and continue to fall what would be your message to them the end of the day they are just human beings and they are just victims so when it comes to civilians they are c.-m. People just like me just like my brother just like my friend it just happens that they are living in that's part of the country maybe they were not able to see maybe they were forced to say I have a lot of information about India civilians who are stuck in it live and are you as human shields by a look at that and other terrorist groups would you say you support the regime of Bashar al Assad Well I don't support that idiom itself I have a lot of voters a vacation I don't like everything that they are doing there is a lot of corruption here and there I was like I'll just be much better than this we deserve but mostly them we deserve to have a proper democratic regime but that's nothing this is not the way the story in the country is joining the army which was funded by a water tax money so if I can just clarify you're critical of the Assad government but you support the Syrian army corps this is not the way how we get democracy we don't destroy a lot of army bringing in terrorist from all around the world like Oh cried the look at all I said that that's right this is not the way our democracy so for me yes if the Sudan army is preventing both barbarian ISIS and a look saw from getting into my country then of course I will support them. Now what is your greatest fear when you think about how this war is likely to end and what might happen before we get to the end I'm afraid that the solution might not be a solution but if this is going to come from the outside I don't want this to be divided I don't want to get to be divided into small pieces I don't want the people in studio to live divided according to 6 there yes or no issues this is my greatest fear. Nama it's very good to have you on the show again thank you for being with us well well well thank you. Is a resident of Damascus for security reasons we use only her 1st name one final note on Syria before we take a short break it concerns a video that's been making the rounds in jihad as media it was released by ISIS or as some call them and it features women not only are they showing women but they're showing women running around charging in the battlefront firing from their rifles on the battlefront in Syria so it is a big shift and both ISIS position on women as well as its position on showing women in videos that's my b.b.c. Colleague Mina allow me she monitors jihad as media and she says that until recently I as declared the presence of women on the battlefront unacceptable but then things changed so the shift happened in October 2017 and that was when I swore under intense pressure and Rocca it made a u. Turn and said Actually women have the same duty as men to fight in the battle front during times of intense threat so it did seem kind of an act of desperation because I had already deployed disabled men wounded men children to the battlefront and it seemed like the last measure is that they put out women and I think this will have a big backlash against the group by other jihadists more traditional jihadist if you like Lonnie says the video may be an i.a.s. Recruitment tool but it does realize that maybe for a lot of the young women who travel to its territory maybe it was actually a big frustration for a lot of them who found out that I us only wanted them to stay locked inside locked at home and bring up what they said the next generation of fighters and serving there which I had husbands if you go throughout the video the imagery of these women with their rifles it's kind of this very glamorous image of females on the battlefront and their role so it's very different and part of the tactic is to appeal to a younger generation She also says I Yes maybe trying to shame. More men into signing up to fight for their cause in any event Lami says for her watching these kinds of videos day in and day out can take a toll it's never easy and you never become used to it which is good that you never become used to violence in these videos of course you can go through various techniques and strategies to to reduce the impact but it is difficult and you have to be also aware of what you're about to see but also I think it's really good to be mindful of the purpose of the messages and what these groups are trying to do through these videos in order to again minimize the impact they could have on you that's Mina from b.b.c. Monitoring. Music there we've been loving from a jazzy little group from Melbourne Australia this is the cactus just ahead the violinist who wants to use music to unite the 2 Koreas here with the world. Good evening this is the world. Public radio 91. I'm Marco Werman And you're with the world tomorrow at the Winter Olympics the athletes will be marching in the opening ceremonies in Pyongyang South Korea some advance are getting an early start figure skating for one it's one of em that always grab attention often the skaters become lasting celebrities Kristi Yamaguchi a good example she became America's sweetheart after winning gold at the 1902 Winter Olympics she also became the 1st Asian American woman to win a gold medal in figure skating and that's what we're going to dive in with Kristie tomorrow on the show you have a go she is a 4th generation Japanese from California and having the global spotlight fall on her made her even more aware of her heritage her mother born in a Japanese internment camp in Colorado in 1905 after receiving such support from the Asian American community and you know hearing why they were so proud and that's when I start looking back at my own family history and knowing that I was just one generation away from my family who lost everything and had to rebuild their tire lights improve their loyalty right to this country that's when I realized oh yes I'm able to live out the American dream because of the work in the sacrifices of the generations before me and now Yamaguchi is inspiring a whole other generation also joining Christi and me tomorrow writer and journalist Nicole Chung she recently wrote about how for her Yamaguchi was that rare Asian American sports icon at a time when there were hardly any around I was a Korean it up to you know white family so I literally did not know anyone who looked like me an i Phone Kristie on t.v. Like winning the gold medal and I saw her on magazine covers and I thought I had dreams too and suddenly I think all those dreams just felt like a little more real and more possible sports meets identity more of my conversation with Kristi Yamaguchi and Nicole Chung on tomorrow's show I mentioned the opening ceremony tomorrow athletes from North and South Korea will March to go. Other n.p.r. Under one Korean flag and instead of their separate national anthems they'll be hearing a folk tune called are wrong these days it may be the only song that's loved on both sides of the Korean border next step toward unity would be a pan Korean orchestra that could perform it that is actually a dream for South Korean violinist one young June creating such an ensemble and if he can pull that off all wrong is sure to be one of their standards Jason Strother has that story from Saul. I'm getting a live performance of the song by violinist one helm June it's a traditional Korean folk song that dates back long before the peninsula's 1905 division and subsequent war today in both the south and north has considered the anthem for reunified Korea nation. It just touches our soul. So for June the song is an obvious selection for an intercom Rian orchestra. Why does this song strike such an emotional chord with Koreans. It's very sorrowful and it's so if you're psychic pain you know it's like you know a family who live in North Korea but you can go there you can if you have that kind of feelings and emotions you know you almost like cry and I hope painful it is you know I have my family there but I can go there it's our tragedy and this is what a perfect song. You know yes this is our tries it it is our situation to live in the Korean Peninsula his own family was divided I heard my grandfather for example he was longing his mother. Because my grandfather came to South Korea during the Korean War and his mother couldn't be here with him so he and his father separated that's how I got raised. To hear from my grandfather that I have a crown grandmother right in North Korea he says his grandfather kept a pair of his own mother's shoes tucked away in a drawer to remember her but he never got to meet her and even her to get home which is the city of North Korea and just across the writer from South Korea but I can be there I can even visit to meet my ancestor for years younger dreamed of bringing North and South Korean musicians together and eventually he got permission from the Seoul government to reach out to North Korean officials he says the North was receptive to his plan but several attempts to perform fell through so he got the idea to hold a peace concert in a truce village in the middle of the de-militarized zone the d.m.z. That's the. Symbolic place of our division. Of 2 Koreas So let's play it versus 49th at the border across the line by standing to each other but we can still play together. Through contacts in Europe set a date with a North Korean choir to meet at the border for the peace concert the musicians will perform several meters apart from each other separated by a fence on that day in 2015 he and his group of musicians rode on a bus from Seoul to the border but even though they had permission to play at the d.m.z. They were stopped at the unification bridge and we were waiting almost like 12 hours later the military cars South Korean Yes. At the bridge at the gate they came into our boss and they apologized to Piers Cossar has been cancelled just days earlier a land mine explosion in the d.m.z. Had maimed 2 South Korean soldiers so tensions were especially high do you remember what the mood was like on the bus at that time yeah I mean there was. Really. It was really set it was really sad because I really really the live it was going to happen honestly I felt maybe it's our destiny it's. It's Korean d.n.a. That we it's it's our fault that we can make this unification happen. But hell you didn't give up last August he took around 80 musicians and singers back to the d.m.z. And this time they were able to perform though without North Korean accompaniments and Ali round was on their set list. Also be played in your defense dollars or wish that North Korea and they could hear our it on its way out. And perhaps North Koreans were listening on the other side. June is not deterred by the setbacks he says he hopes the combined North and South Korean entrance at the. Unified women's hockey team can help lead to musical unification I hurt my grandfather's longing for you know his mother. And yeah I think that's one of the last important reasons that I'm not giving up even this process. Says he owes it to his grandfather. For the world Jason Strother. News headlines are coming up next the world. You're listening to the world on Aspen Public Radio this evening. It's coming up on $630.00. I'm Marco Werman and China hip hop has been pretty good lately but the country's top media regulator wants it off Chinese t.v. This rapper in Shanghai says the ban isn't really about hip hop itself it's more about not letting China be influenced too much by the West that story still ahead right here on the world. B.b.c. News with Arnie McHugh u.s. Officials say Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured 2 British members of an atory Islamic state cell linked to the beheading of Western hostages the pair from London were reportedly captured in January u.s. And British special forces were given access and determine their identities using biometrics shares in Tokyo have dropped by more than 3 percent in early trading this follows big corrections in u.s. Stock markets on Thursday u.s. Investors fear a rise in interest rates u.s. Lawmakers are scrambling to gather enough congressional votes to pass a sweeping spending deal with hundreds of billions of dollars it's unclear whether Congress will be able to pass the funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown by midnight local time. A North Korean official under international sanctions has been allowed by the United Nations Security Council to travel to the Winter Olympics starting in South Korea on Friday to a wheelie will be attending with the sister of North Korea's ruler Kim Jong un South Korea said the delegations attendance would help reduce tensions on the peninsula. The Reuters News Agency has revealed details of an investigation into a mass killing of revenge of Muslims by Burmese soldiers in villages which it says lies behind the imprisonment of 2 of its journalists it says 2 ranges were hacked to death by the Buddhists villagers the rush shot by the army but he said the Canadian city of Toronto have found the remains of at least 6 people in the crimes of a home where suspected serial killer worked as a landscaper Investigators say they're searching for more human remains and researchers that had more University have grown human eggs to maturity in the laboratory for the 1st time x. Can develop fully only after puberty and the Scottish teams say their approach may help preserve the fair to Lety of young cancer patients b.b.c. News what would make you instantly happier would winning the lottery make you happier What about your post getting hundreds of likes your real stories and discover the latest research on the science of happens Subscribe now an apple pockets or wherever you listen to your pocket. Support for the world comes from Babble a language app that teaches real life conversations in a new language like Spanish French and German Babble's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available in the app store or online at Babel b a b b e l dot com. I'm Marco Werman And you're with the world where co-production of the b.b.c. World Service p.r.i. And w g.b.h. Here in Boston Pope Francis seems eager to make a deal with China and that is significant the Vatican has formal relations with pretty much every country on earth but the People's Republic of China is a major exception it was back in 1051 when Beijing and the Vatican cut diplomatic ties that was soon after the communist took over mainland China the truth is life for Catholics in China has always been complicated but according to several news reports the Vatican and the Chinese government might be moving towards some kind of breakthrough from the world's religion desk Here's Matthew Bell in China millions of Catholics go to church every week and about half of them are breaking the law that's because many Catholic churches there operate in a legal gray area they're not registered with the government neither are the priests and bishops that preside over them so they're known as underground churches and here's where the Vatican and the Chinese government have a common goal they both want to bring these underground Catholics out of the shadows so to speak but for very different reasons for the Communist Party normalizing relations with the Vatican after decades of animosity would be a public diplomacy when I think Beijing you know they care a bit about their image but much more they care about control Ian Johnson is the author of Souls of China a book about the country's modern religious revival They just issued new regulations on religion that calls for even tighter control of religion so this is not really a socially research did it ministre. And that's willing to open up or take a gamble I think if a deal presents itself Yes that's right they'll do it but if not then they'll probably quite happy to walk away and I think in any negotiation that gives you a lot of leverage if you don't really need deal legally China does recognize Catholicism as one of the country's 5 official religions the authorities in Beijing even help appoint some Catholic bishops in China this has long been a sticky issue with the Vatican but in recent weeks the pope has shown that he's willing to be flexible papal authorities asked to underground Chinese bishops to resign and make way for government approved candidates why because Francis wants to heal the divide running through the Catholic Church of China again Here's Ian Johnson many Catholics don't feel comfortable going to the officially recognized Catholic Church because many of those bishops and the priests under them they appointed were not approved by Rome and so some people think you know I'm not I'm not being loyal maybe a good Catholic I'm not being loyal to the Pope I go into these above ground churches and so they go to the underground churches and about half of Catholics in trying to go to underground churches so it is a difficult situation and its lows the growth of the religion as an example the high estimate for Catholics in China is about 12000000 people Protestants on the other hand and this is a low estimate number around 60000000 it makes perfect sense for the Vatican to try to find a way to grow the church in China by making a deal with Beijing says Bob Fu but he worries that Pope Francis might be forgetting this lesson from Jesus himself I think the church should be the church sitter should be if you don't do this either if you want to figure food is with a Texas based group called China Aid It advocates for Christian human rights inside of China he's been following the news about this possible deal. Deal between the Vatican and Beijing and food is skeptical I mean Jesus Christ is the real and only the church not the tiny homes party not the related affair so any policy that contradicted that I thinks it be invalid one prominent Chinese Catholic leader who shares food skepticism is the former Bishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph exam in a recent Facebook post that went viral Zen describes conditions for Catholics in mainland China as slavery and humiliation and he says finding mutual ground with a totalitarian regime like the one in Beijing is just not possible Massimo fi Jolie is a Vatican historian at Villanova University he says he understands cardinal Zen's point of view but finally says he's got faith in Pope Francis and his diplomatic corps to find the best possible arrangement with Beijing because research has the awareness of a very long history so they don't think just in terms of end their companies but they think in terms of church and empire because this is the big thing for actually says the Vatican has been making deals with earthly empires going back many centuries Pope Francis also has his Eye on the long game in China and that's why he's willing to compromise pragmatism is always been a very poor thing factor and as a Catholic historian I always say if you want to bet your money on the long run bet on the Catholic Church on some issues not all on ideological terms of these or that they because they think in centuries that's a very Chinese way of thinking too which makes this particular diplomatic dance all the more interesting for the world I'm Matthew Bell The Chinese government. It doesn't just have issues with the Catholic Church here in the world you've heard stories about Beijing censoring everything from messaging platforms like Whatsapp to cuddly cartoon characters like Winnie the Pooh and now China's government has turned its attention to hip hop like censorship itself hip hop isn't new to China but it's a men's popularity is thanks to this online reality show what you should do for you if you think you've been told usually it's called the wrap of China think x. Factor The Voice but for yeah we get it the show from aired last summer and it was big like 2500000000 views day. The rap of China launched hip hop into the mainstream there and several of the show's contestants went on to stardom but it seems the Chinese government hasn't been thrilled about those developments and last month the country's top media regulator said national t.v. Programs can no longer feature any hip hop content or artist also people with tattoos are now banned from making appearances presumably because so many rappers are inked but it's the way this ban is being discussed in some Chinese media that caught our attention Take for example the Global Times they state back communist newspaper Here's part of their editorial on why hip hop just doesn't make sense in China quote every cultural phenomenon is at all times related to the social environment where it develops breaking away from its original surrounding can mean possible deformation or worse no chance to survive so China is arguing cultural appropriation I think. It would be. An American culture put out That's reporter Amy Hawkins in Beijing. With 8 English language state run. And so many people waiting for an. Thank you I think you find that if you want. And so. Much for that culture of appropriation and the idea that oh maybe they were doing the right kind of things. When really it's just like typeset well people. Do a lot of Chinese artist see the relationship it is their discussion of cultural appropriation among Chinese artists hip hop artists no one. Here. Who are not proper inside has really had washed up culture appropriation I think it's. Hard I think you're just like the famous prophet on t.v. By the time you so will I think. Are inappropriate. As much privacy. As cracking down though isn't new either is it I mean the government has been trying to rein in hip hop and rap for a while it just sounds like this is a formalized crackdown Yeah so because it becomes a mainstream the government kind of formal nights where it's not new for the Chinese to try and regulate Well kind of culture especially foreign culture and Chinese mainstream media it's just that we thought maybe the government had to tread Hippocrates it's something that shouldn't be hard to mainstream or I think it was kind of foreign and like child he shouldn't be looking so the West for that culture a place that they should be looking for a culture reporter any Hawkins' they're speaking with us from Beijing she told us that even though this is bad news for rappers banking on mainstream exposure through national television many smaller artists like the one we're about to hear from have different concerns the people in my circle we never even wanted to be on national t.v. Anyway so it doesn't really affect us in-depth respected but you know in China in order to perform in festivals you have to submit your lyrics you have to submit translations of your lyrics m p 3 several Erik's and then they had to go through approval by the government so that would be. Be harder rapper Bohan Phoenix is Chinese American born in China but he grew up here in the u.s. But one Phoenix recently decided to move back to China to immerse himself in rap and hip hop there we caught up with him in Shanghai and I began by asking him how he 1st got into hip hop he told us it was just after his family moved to the u.s. He was about 11 really didn't speak a word of English and it was kind of tough transition him and I guess subconsciously indebted to Asian I was looking for something to like identify with and you know watch an American television was part of the learning process of English and I haven't came across a mile Yeah the story of Eminem and growing up in Detroit what kind of struck you write that movie at this point it was just purely Oh this music made someone who wasn't accepted except it so I became a huge Eminem fan and then through him and them I started being you know open minded to listening to other artists as well. So these days how would you describe your musical style and what do you write about. It yes so I definitely read in both Chinese and English. Folk a lot of my experiences in these 2 cultures I know in France. So . It's true. And I haven't moved states when I was 11 but all my family still being in China I actually came back to China every year. I mean last so I kind of wanted to come back and kind of discover my roots in China and a way of doing that was getting closer to my family in 10 do. As well as making music in the motherland in this new environment I mean it's an interesting time for you specifically to go back to China and work on this project because as you know there's been this government crackdown on hip hop that's been going on for years and it's just increasing now how much did you know about that and how did you factor that into your decision to go back to Yes Oh definitely I had that in mind and I knew there are certain things that I could say certain things that I couldn't say and to be honest my my thought on this whole thing it's less about hip hop it's really about the Chinese government look at hip hop as a part of Western culture and it's more about not letting China be influenced too much by the West Well I want to ask about that because there is kind of a debate over cultural appropriation of hip hop I know that some people have gone as far to argue that the Chinese government crackdown is actually good because it curbs appropriation of African-American culture what do you think about. Definitely seeing people make comments on lines like you guys should not be doing this music you know and I just I totally I totally understand where they're coming from because that's something that I was questioning when I got here when I seen all the dreads you know the rappers you know running around doing gang bang all that stuff I was like man don't they know about the context and you know about the culture should they be accountable for this and I really don't know they should because at the end of the day hip hop music you know if they like this music in this way of expressing themselves I think that should be everything they need to do that. So one Phoenix Eminem as I recall from a mile he's ultimately respected by the other rappers even though the other crew in the final battle. What would be a respect for you and your art so for me I haven't been able to perform at Apollo Theater where Michael Jackson James Brown Lauryn Hill did what they you know did back in 2 days and I'm on the same stage and I'm coming off the stays so people you know. Appreciating what I'm doing up there that was you right there you know after that it was more about finding respect for myself as an artist to continue to do it is whether people like it or not because that's part of hip part of hip hop is doing it whether people like it or not rap or Bohan Phoenix speaking with us from Shanghai thanks so much for your time thank you thank you Jay. Z. . Z. . Z. . A quick look ahead now at another story we're getting ready for you it's about a campaign to ban a practice that the United Nations calls a violation of the human rights of girls and women female genital mutilation or f.d.m. But this is a story about progress we'll hear from activists in Somaliland an autonomous region within Somalia she persuaded her region's president to ban f g m I basically told him full 15 minutes and I remember him saying I could have you finished and I said yes and he said it takes a lot of guts to come and sit in front of me and talk about such an issue but I'm glad that you have more of my conversation with n t f g m activist nemmco Ali from Somaliland on an upcoming edition of the show. Coming up d.n.a. Testing and archival evidence reveal a forgotten chapter of New Mexico's past year with the world support for the world comes from Babble a language at the teaches real life conversations in a new language like Spanish French and German Babble's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available in the app store or online at Babble a b b e l dot com and from Legal Zoom dot com providing public radio listeners with legal advice and guidance on business matters and estate plans through its network of independent attorneys more information available at Legal Zoom dot com slash world . Thanks for tuning into the world on ask in public radio up next at 7 o'clock is Fresh Air. Support comes from the Aspen 5 Sports Medicine Institute announcing in a media opening for a qualified clinic manager in their physical therapy about practical clinics in multi-disciplinary private practice. Dot com by searching for Aspen club clinic. It's. I'm Marco Werman and you're tuned to the world I've been immersed in a fascinating history of slavery in the us the American Slave Coast by Ned and constant Subud it's focused on the East Coast where slavery thrived but on the other side of the country as far back as a 16 hundreds Spanish colonists were also enslaving people Native Americans in the Southwest it is a history that's not very well known but these days thanks to d.n.a. Testing and archival data many New Mexico residents are discovering that past what they're finding is that they are descended from people known as heavyset it was during colonial times and these were essentially captive Native Americans who were bought and sold by Hispanic colonists in colonial New Mexico that's New York Times correspondent Simone Romero who is based in Albuquerque he says the revelations are especially jarring to Latinos who have long identified their roots as Spanish so this is been a startling revelation for some people of course many people knew that they did have some Native American ancestry but it's been fascinating for people to find out exactly how that came to be and even for some people they're finding out that they had these Native American slaves in their family tree and also slave owners so it's been it's been a startling thing for some people to discover so just give us kind of a thumbnail sketch of what was going on historically we're talking early colonial period going back even the 16th century Right that's correct New Mexico at that time was really at the farthest northern reaches of the Spanish Empire Spain had sent explorers to what is now the American Southwest way back in the 16th century and they created these outposts here and missionary forays into the region and one of the ways that they began settling it was through colonists who came up from from central Mexico. Also including some people from Spain and they created these buffer communities they started to trade with the Indians they also from very early on started to enslave some of the Indians and that generated a lot of tension in the region there was a massive revolt here in New Mexico in $1680.00 and an uprising and then that slave trade evolved to include other native peoples largely the Comanches and the Utes who would take claims Indians captive and sell them to Hispanic settlers they would often label these these had he said it was as servants or as laborers many were purchased as children many were women who were purchased to work in people's homes it's just an incredibly complex history that took place and you know it endured for a very long time there were Native American slaves in what is now New Mexico you know into the 860 s. And seventy's so after the prohibition of slavery elsewhere in the United States Congress actually had to pass the peonage Act in 1967 which was targeted specifically at New Mexico to try to end this trade so while Spaniards were actors and slaving Africans and taking them to the east coast of the Americas on the west side of the continent they were doing the same with natives and they also needed help I mean you write about how the Comanche and the ute Warriors got on their horses and raided the Apache and the Pawnee and others and took captives of youth they often children and then what would they do sell them at auction. That's right there would occasionally be these kind of trade fairs in some of the Indian problems in places like Taos and piccolos where the captives would be transported and sold to settlers and the Comanches were extremely successful in this trade it's often forgotten now but there was actually what is now called a Comanche empire in parts of Texas and Oklahoma and the eastern plains of New Mexico where the Comanches exerted a great amount of influence and sway and they became very skilled horse mounted warriors so there was a there was a lot of trade taking place of course not just in captives but in other types of goods and really that was how this frontier society often soaked in blood of violence you know really came to coalesce. So Simone you're right about Lenny Trujillo a 66 year old retired postal worker who lives in Los Angeles what was his starting point when he said recently to explore that history you know like many of us he was interested in his own genealogy and his family tree and he began doing historical research his family came from a small community here in New Mexico called advocate you up in northern New Mexico which was one of those he said Oh settlements and so he began looking into it and looking into it and he did d.n.a. Testing as well to corroborate what he was finding in in the historical record and he was just astounded to find that one of his ancestors was one of these heavy set it was a couple of centuries ago and not only that but that same ancestor was owned by another person but he was able to lift himself up out of that status and went on to actually owns 3 other people the way that Lenny explained it to me just like this was he was astounded by this discovery and you explained this is like a level of complexity that he was not expecting but that he was really fascinated to learn about so that now that more and more people in the Southwest are finding out about their kind of past this and he said Oh past what are they doing with this knowledge Well it's generating a great amount of discussion about identity and it's sort of a reflection about how ethnic identities can shift in evolve over time here in New Mexico of course you know people with old family connections to this land have often prioritize their Iberian or Spanish heritage you know so there's a reckoning of sorts taking place where people are really finding out the truth behind what made their families and how they came to be so it's very interesting if there's a group in Colorado and of course you know Colorado shares many cultural characteristics and history with New Mexico where people are really more actively identifying with their Native American heritage their you know calling themselves when you said it was for example. And there's also discussion here in New Mexico over whether you know it's correct to call him he said Oh slaves or not you know some people take a more nuanced approach to the issue and say that well listen you know they may have been held captive and been held in bondage for certain amount of time but they were also allowed to to rise up out of that status and also marry into the same families that and you're back in New Mexico after several years in South America New Mexico where you were born and raised how much of this is also a personal story for you well I just I was born and raised in New Mexico of course and I went away and I recorded from month the Andes in. South America and then I was in Brazil for 6 years so and I always dreamed of coming back it's also a challenge to report on a place that I thought I knew so much about but I'm discovering so much more now that I'm back you feel like your foreign correspondents I is getting retrained on your home state almost as if it is a foreign country it most definitely is and it's fascinating you know I mean history doesn't stand still is one thing that I'm learning right now it's always shifting always evolving and these old conflicts this old tension from the past tends to rise up in fascinating ways in the present Simone Romero with the New York Times joining us from Albuquerque New Mexico thanks very much thanks for having me . And that's the world on this Thursday from the Nana Bill Harris studios at w g.b.h. Here in Boston I'm Marco Werman thanks for being here with back with you tomorrow. The world is a co-production of the b.b.c. World Service p.r.i. And w g.b.h. 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Why in Philadelphia I'm Terry Gross with fresh air today you are being watched we talk with journalist Robert Draper about who's watching you his new article in National Geographic is about State of the art surveillance from the use of closed circuit t.v. To drones and even farther up in the heavens there are something like 1700 satellites that monitor our activity Well I also talk with Draper about another subject he's reported on gerrymandering the practice of partisan redistricting to favor the party in power that redrew the map it is I believe you know really the number one threat to participatory democracy today and now basically has overrun the principle of one person one vote we'll soon see if the Supreme Court rules that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional that's coming up on fresh air. First news live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Jack Speer on Capitol Hill Congress risk causing another partial government shutdown at midnight a big tensions over a bipartisan spending bill N.P.R.'s cosies now reports the legislation has angered both Republican budget hawks and Democrats who want votes on immigration the fate of the agreement is in limbo the Senate is expected to easily approve the legislation but that vote has been delayed by a protest staged by Kentucky Republican Rand Paul over the deal's $300000000000.00 price tag so the reason I'm here tonight is to put people on the spot I want people to feel uncomfortable.