Memorable Moments: 2005

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, 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

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'

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

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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NPR: Memorable Moments of 2005
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