Segment 1: Two men formed an unlikely friendship through a shared tragedy.
Tariq Khamisa was a 20-year-old college student delivering a pizza in 1995 when he was shot and killed by 14-year-old Tony Hicks. Azim Khamisa said he reached out to Ples Felix, the grandfather of his son's murderer, because he saw "victims at both ends of the gun." They became friends and work together in addressing gun violence through The Forgiveness Project.
- Azim Khamisa, father of Tariq Khamisa and founder, Tariq Khamisa Foundation
- Ples Felix, grandfather of Tony Hicks and trustee, Tariq Khamisa Foundation
Segment 2, beginning at 22:05: NPR's Aarti Shahani identifies the extremes of American culture in her new memoir.
NPR correspondent Aarti Shahani grew up in Queens where her parents settled after emigrating from India. Shahani described the dramatic turn the family's life took when her father was arrested for selling watches and calculators to the Cali drug cartel.
- Aarti Shahani, NPR business correspondent and author, Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares
Amiz Khamisa and Ples Felix will speak at the 6th annual Heartland Coalition Against Gun Violence Community Forum, 8:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14 at KU Edwards Campus BEST Conference Center, 12600 Quivira Rd., Overland Park, Kansas 66213. Register at moksgagv.org.
Aarti Shahani will discuss her memoir at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Missouri, 64105. RSVP at kclibrary.org.
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