The Big Stories

U.S. Aid Effort Criticized in New Orleans

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. Reuters

People stranded at the New Orleans Convention Center are in dire straights, lacking basic essentials and avoiding waste on the streets. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff oversees the biggest recovery operation in U.S. history.

 

Church Mourns Pope's Death, Celebrates Legacy

Pope John Paul II. United Nations

Pope John Paul II, whose 26-year papacy was one of the longest and most activist in history, died at 84. The pope had suffered from Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

 

Sri Lankan Fishermen Warily Return to Sea

Sri Lankan fisherman Warasenna Mendis. Anne Hawke.

Along Sri Lanka's tsunami-ravaged coast people are clearing up debris and putting their lives back together. Elsewhere, Sri Lanakans who rely on the sea for their livelihood begin to confront the element that unleashed the catastrophe.

 
The Big Questions

How Is It Possible to Believe in God?

William F. Buckley. Credit: Nubar Alexanian

In considering the glories of the world around him, writer and conservative commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. finds it easier to believe in a divine creator than in the vagaries of nature.

 

There Is No God

Nubar Alexanian

As half of the magic act Penn and Teller, Penn Jillette enjoys challenging his audiences with the unconventional. In stating his personal credo, Jillette finds liberation in believing there is no God.

 

Former President Carter: 'Endangered Values'

Jimmy Carter. Simon and Schuster

Blurring the line between church and state threatens civil liberties and privacy, says former President Jimmy Carter. That's the case he makes in his new book, which draws on Carter's experiences as a president and a Christian.

 
First Person

'My Lobotomy': Howard Dully's Journey

Howard Dully. Credit: George Washington University Gelman Library

Over the past two years, Howard Dully, 56, has embarked on a quest to discover the story behind the procedure he received as a 12-year-old boy: a transorbital or "ice-pick" lobotomy.

 

Return to New Orleans: Pontchartrain Park

Gwen Thompkins.

Weekend Edition Saturday editor Gwendolyn Thompkins grew up in the New Orleans neighborhood Pontchartrain Park. When the levees failed after Hurricane Katrina, Lake Pontchartrain reclaimed every house within sight.

 

Dan Savage on 'The Commitment'

Dan Savage, sex advice columnist, is the author of The Commitment, a book about gay marriage. Savage describes his own decision to marry his partner, and how his young son has brought a kid's perspective to the debate.

 
Interpreting the News

Judith Miller Defends Her Reporting at the 'Times'

Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller says she disagrees with criticism of her reporting on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. She maintains that her sources got their facts wrong, and denies that her stories were improperly vetted.

 

Political Satirist Bill Maher's 'New Rules'

Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time, has a new book that compiles the show's satiric segments. In them, Maher takes aim at everything from cell phones to fast food and politics.

 

A Fake Newsman's Fake Newsman: Stephen Colbert

Comic and journalist Stephen Colbert is the fake senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We talk with Colbert about his reports, from "Rathergate" to "This Week in God."

 
Iraq and the Homefront

Concern Grows over Iraqi 'Honor Killings'

Women's rights in Iraq are a subject of growing alarm for activists and some secular groups. Widely accepted "honor killings" -- in which family members may kill women who have had extramarital sex -- are of particular concern.

 

A Wounded Soldier Struggles to Adapt

After suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, Steve Cobb attempts to grasp his new limitations and return to his wife and family in West Virginia. Many of the men and women who return from Iraq with such injuries may never fully recover.

 
National Treasures

Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks

Rosa Lee Parks, the woman known as the "mother of the civil rights movement," turned the course of American history by refusing in 1955 to give up her seat on a bus for a white man.

 

Civil War Historian Shelby Foote

Novelist and historian Shelby Foote died at age 88. The native Mississippian became a celebrity when he lent his gravelly voice to Ken Burns' PBS documentary series The Civil War.

 
Music Old and New

Detroit Rockers The White Stripes

Hear the rock duo recorded live in concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. The full performance originally webcast live on NPR.org September 27, with opening acts M. Ward and The Shins.

 

Unknown Bach Aria Discovered in Germany

A previously unknown composition by Johann Sebastian Bach has been discovered by a classical music scholar in Germany. The two-page, handwritten aria was composed in 1713 for soprano, strings and basso continuo.

 

Springsteen Goes Soul Searching with 'Devils'

On Devils & Dust, rocker Bruce Springsteen strips down, musically and spiritually, singing on spare acoustic songs that explore themes of moral uncertainty and loss. In a two-part interview, the singer talks about his life and songwriting.

 
The Essentials

'Hungry Planet: What the World Eats'

The authors of Hungry Planet set out to see how families in 24 countries feed themselves each week. The results show how globalization, migration and other factors affect the diets of people around the world.

 

A Rural Struggle to Keep the Family Fed

Some residents of Smyth County, Va., are struggling to pay the bills and feed their families. Robbie Hankins works full-time, and his wife, Wreatha, works part-time. Yet the couple must resort to extraordinary measures to keep food on the table.

 



   
   
   
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Hidden Treasures

Mrs. Parmeter's Klan Quilt

Quilt detail

A quilt includes cloth from discarded Ku Klux Klan masks.

 

Gruesome Medical History

George Foreman

The Museum of Health and Medicine is not for the squeamish.

 
 
 

TOP 5 MOST E-MAILED

There Is No God

Penn Jillette. Credit: Nubar Alexanian

Penn Jillette finds liberation in believing there is no God.

 

Music-Loving Dogs?

Credit: Skip Haynes

Skip Haynes wants to give dogs a reason to prick up their ears.

 

Meditation and the Brain

Credit: Krzysztof Chrystowski

Neuroscientists investigate whether meditation alters the brain.

 

Connect via Giving

Credit: Peter Breslow, NPR

Novelist Isabel Allende is inspired by her late daughter's life.

 

A Hippo and Tortoise Tale

Owen (a hippo) and Mzee (a tortoise) are survivors -- and friends.

 
 
 

Rockin' on the Web

Of 'A Million Ways' to Be Popular, OK Go Finds One

Ok Go.

OK Go's dance video for the song "A Million Ways" has become a sensation.

 

Matisyahu Keeps It Kosher

Matisyahu.

The world's first Hasidic Jewish reggae star sports his rap skills.

 

To Generate Buzz, Clap Your Hands on the 'Net!

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! makes music without the help a record label.

 
 
 

THIS I BELIEVE

Always Go to the Funeral

Deirdre Sullivan. Credit: Nubar Alexanian

Simple acts of kindness are as important as grand heroic gestures.

 

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude

Sarah Adams. Credit: Nubar Alexanian

Four essential principles guide one woman's "pizza dude" philosophy.

 
 
 

RADIO EXPEDITIONS

Cambodia's Fish Fixation

Deirdre Sullivan. Credit: Nubar Alexanian

The world's most productive fishery on the Mekong Delta may be on the decline.

 

Sacred Corn Beer

Credit: Peter Breslow, NPR

In the Sierra Madres, Easter is an expression of cultural solidarity.

 
 
 

Gone, Not Forgotten

Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis. Credit: Howard University

The dignified stage and screen actor died on location for a film in Miami.

 

Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson. Credit: Reuters

The Tonight Show host left millions of fans laughing in 1992.

 

Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson

The counter-culture author pioneered a new form of journalism.

 
 
 

STORYCORPS

Grandmother's Advice

StoryCorps

With her marriage upcoming, Cinema Wood sought advice from an expert.

 

Ralph and Donald

Donald Weiss. Credit: StoryCorps

After 40 years apart, two childhood friends had plenty to discuss.

 

Beloved Children

Patrick Volf. Credit: StoryCorps

Eighth-graders relay the stories of parents and grandparents of teens killed by guns.

 
 
 

New Impressions

Rainbows of Color in Music

Laura Rosser .

A pianist's great fear is that she will lose the ability to hear color.

 

Mexican Wrestling as Art

wrestling mask

An exhibit features larger-than-life photos of masked Mexican wrestlers.

 
 
 

Race and Rights

A 'Mirror to America'

John Hope Franklin.

John Hope Franklin investigates the legacy of racism in America.

 

The Club From Nowhere

Georgia Gilmore

In the '50s, a group of Alabama women baked to help fund bus boycotts.

 
 
 

Music and Sports Collide

The Mystery of 'Sweet Caroline' and the Red Sox

Susan Orlean.

Susan Orlean unlocks the secret of the Boston Red Sox and Neil Diamond's 1969 hit.

 

Steroid Scandal Plagues Top Musicians

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Rumors spread that classical musicians are using performance-enhancing drugs.

 
 

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