NPR logo NPR

Art & Design
Fashion designer Natalie Chanin stands in front of in-progress garments at the Alabama Chanin Factory. Chanin and Billy Reid, internationally acclaimed designers, have teamed up to test the concept of organic, sustainable cotton farming and garment-making.

Fashion designer Natalie Chanin stands in front of in-progress garments at the Alabama Chanin Factory. Chanin and Billy Reid, internationally acclaimed designers, have teamed up to test the concept of organic, sustainable cotton farming and garment-making. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Debbie Elliott/NPR

American Made: The New Manufacturing Landscape

Reviving A Southern Industry, From Cotton Field To Clothing Rack

Garment-making once thrived in the South. Two acclaimed designers are trying to bring it back with a field-to-garment concept, creating a clothing line from their own organic cotton grown in Alabama.

Listen Loading… 7:11
The broadcast tower at Alexanderplatz looms over the city center. A crossing point of tourists, commuters, shoppers, lovers, artists and bums, Alexanderplatz was rebuilt by the communist authorities of former East Germany in the 1960s. Today, it's a popular gathering place in the reunified city.

The broadcast tower at Alexanderplatz looms over the city center. A crossing point of tourists, commuters, shoppers, lovers, artists and bums, Alexanderplatz was rebuilt by the communist authorities of former East Germany in the 1960s. Today, it's a popular gathering place in the reunified city. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Cities Project

In Berlin, Remaking The City Can Rekindle Old Frictions

City planners rushed to erase divisions between East and West Berlin after the wall came down in 1989. But the fate of communist-era buildings can still provoke friction a quarter-century later.

Listen Loading… 6:44
Raeanne Rubenstein first photographed Johnny Cash at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. "It was just the most amazing experience," she says.

Raeanne Rubenstein first photographed Johnny Cash at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. "It was just the most amazing experience," she says. Raeanne Rubenstein hide caption

itoggle caption Raeanne Rubenstein

Photography

Meeting Country Music's Superstars: Behind Each Portrait, A Story

Nashville-based photographer Raeanne Rubenstein recalls working with charismatic stars like Johnny Cash. Jerry Lee Lewis, on the other hand, dodged her (and his audience) by leaping out a window.

Listen Loading… 4:00
Plaster casts taken from soldiers' mutilated faces (top row), new sculpted faces (bottom row), and final masks (on the table) sit in the studio of Anna Coleman Ladd in 1918.

Plaster casts taken from soldiers' mutilated faces (top row), new sculpted faces (bottom row), and final masks (on the table) sit in the studio of Anna Coleman Ladd in 1918. American Red Cross/Anna Coleman Ladd papers/Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution hide caption

itoggle caption American Red Cross/Anna Coleman Ladd papers/Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution

Arts & Life

One Sculptor's Answer To WWI Wounds: Plaster, Copper And Paint

World War I left many soldiers with disfiguring scars. For those whose faces were no longer recognizable, an American artist, Anna Coleman Ladd, sculpted masks to cover their injuries.

Listen Loading… 4:05
These pastel boxes originally owned by Mary Cassatt were acquired recently by the National Gallery of Art. Click here for a closer look.

These pastel boxes originally owned by Mary Cassatt were acquired recently by the National Gallery of Art. Click here for a closer look. National Gallery of Art hide caption

itoggle caption National Gallery of Art

Fine Art

Now That's An Artifact: See Mary Cassatt's Pastels At The National Gallery

Cassatt gave the three well-loved, wooden boxes of pastels to a friend's 10-year-old granddaughter, who later recalled: "I wasted lots of them on playing and swapping them with my friends."

Listen Loading… 3:32
"It's one of those moments in your life where you're so conscious about what you're about to do, and what you're about to do will change your life." --€” Geena Rocero

"It's one of those moments in your life where you're so conscious about what you're about to do, and what you're about to do will change your life." --€” Geena Rocero James Duncan Davidson/TED hide caption

itoggle caption James Duncan Davidson/TED

TED Radio Hour

Geena Rocero: How Do You Reveal A Life-Changing Transformation?

For most of Geena Rocero's career modeling lingerie and swimsuits, no one knew she was born a boy. Rocero talks about her decision to risk her career and reveal her background.

Listen Loading… 10:48
This human-scale lab rat cage is parked near a skate park in Denver, Colo., to make a point about the lack of science on marijuana.

This human-scale lab rat cage is parked near a skate park in Denver, Colo., to make a point about the lack of science on marijuana. Richard Feldman Studio/Sukle Advertising and Design hide caption

itoggle caption Richard Feldman Studio/Sukle Advertising and Design

Shots - Health News

Colorado Tries Hard To Convince Teens That Pot Is Bad For You

Do you want to be a lab rat? That's what teenagers are doing when they smoke marijuana, the state of Colorado says. But since hard evidence of marijuana's harms is scanty, it may be a tough sell.

Tom Murphy, San Francisco, 1948 gelatin silver print

Tom Murphy, San Francisco, 1948 gelatin silver print The Minor White Archive, Princeton University Art Museum hide caption

itoggle caption The Minor White Archive, Princeton University Art Museum

Photography

Minor White, Who Lived A Life In Photographs, Saw Images As Mirrors

White was an outsider with a quirky sense of humor who used photography to look inward. He died in 1976, and now an exhibit at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles celebrates his work.

Listen Loading… 5:44
Neonta Williams (left) shares family letters dating back to 1901 with preservationist Kimberly Peach during the Smithsonian's Save our African American Treasures program at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Peach advises her to use archive-quality polyester sleeves to protect the fragile papers, rather than store them in a zip-lock bag.

Neonta Williams (left) shares family letters dating back to 1901 with preservationist Kimberly Peach during the Smithsonian's Save our African American Treasures program at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Peach advises her to use archive-quality polyester sleeves to protect the fragile papers, rather than store them in a zip-lock bag. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Debbie Elliott/NPR

Around the Nation

Preserving Black History, Americans Care For National Treasures At Home

The relics of African-American families help tell the story of America, the Smithsonian says. Museum experts are traveling the country to help identify and care for items of cultural significance.

Listen Loading… 4:35