Crosscurrents

At Maritime National Historical Park, the golden age of shantey-ing comes alive again as sailors and sea music enthusiasts gather around an ancient vessel, the "Balclutha.” Peter Kasin’s job is to preserve these ancient shanties, and in turn to preserve San Francisco’s dangerous Barbary Coast past. But not everyone likes their shanties; some say they’re more bouncy than they were in the past, and should capture the sweat of the sailors who sang these songs way back in the 1800s to help make their rough shipboard jobs a bit more rhythmic.

A local filmmaker documents the story of an Iraqi women's basketball team and the challenges they face; San Francisco fights to keep the ocean at bay; and an in-depth profile of local jazz great Bobby Hutcherson.

The great jazzman Milt Jackson had an easy way of telling people he met what instrument he played. He pointed to his lapel where he wore a gold pin in the shape of his instrument. It saved him from explaining what his instrument was to nearly every stranger he met.

Most would call it a xylophone, but with electronic accessories it can produce a vibrato. That instrument’s called the vibraphone.

Women’s basketball got its start back in 1892 when the women of Smith College started their team, playing in floor-length dresses and corsets. Playing in a conservative society can be rough on women. And that brings us to our next story, which takes us on a trip, a long trip, to Northern Iraq.

Back in 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to life without parole for any crimes besides murder is cruel and unusual punishment.This week the high court took another look at life in prison, except this time for juveniles under the age of 14 convicted of homicide.

NPR reports that currently 79 people are serving life terms for crimes committed when they were 14 or younger. Justice Anthony Kennedy is expected to be the deciding vote on a decision expected by early summer.