NPR News

Steve Jobs and Amy Winehouse were among the stars who died in 2011, but what about the first African-American milk delivery man in Gary, Ind., or the first black meter reader for Baltimore Gas and Electric? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson says these stories show how far the U.S. has come. She recently wrote about this in The New York Times Magazine, and speaks with host Michel Martin.

Regardless of what resolution you've made for 2012, life coach Gail Blanke says starting the year right begins with ridding the clutter in your life. She speaks with host Michel Martin about her book Throw Out Fifty Things.

The Pulitzer Prize winner is best known for sharing intimate chapters of her personal life, while shedding light on the black experience in America. She's the first African-American to serve as U.S. Poet Laureate. She speaks with host Michel Martin about her latest work and life, and offers wisdom to young poets.

In her weekly commentary, host Michel Martin shares that to her chagrin, her stepdaughters proposed to skip the china and use plastic plates for their holiday feast. The episode made Martin empathize with the deficit-cutters in Congress, and consider how tough it is to change the status quo until good-willed people choose to do so.

"Slain Ranger Was Living Her Dream."

That's the headline at the website of The Seattle Times, which profiles 34-year-old Margaret Anderson, who was shot to death Sunday in Mount Rainier National Park.