Accessibility links
NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts NPR delivers breaking national and world news. Also top stories from business, politics, health, science, technology, music, arts and culture. Subscribe to podcasts and RSS feeds.
Partisan Divide Grows Over Opioid Settlement Plan

Cheryl Juaire (center) of Marlborough, Mass., leads protesters near the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University in April 2019. Parents who lost children to opioid overdose campaigned for the removal of the Sackler family name from the building at Harvard. Josh Reynolds/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Josh Reynolds/AP

National

Partisan Divide Grows Over Opioid Settlement Plan

 NCPR
'The Blob,' A Smart Yet Brainless Organism Fit For Sci-Fi, Gets Its Own Exhibit

The Paris Zoological Park is home to the physarum polycephalum, better known as "the blob," a unicellular organism capable of learning despite its lack of neurons. Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Science

'The Blob,' A Smart Yet Brainless Organism Fit For Sci-Fi, Gets Its Own Exhibit

Is it an animal? A type of fungi? No, it's "the blob." The amorphous "slime mold" may not have a nervous system, but it's the star of a new exhibit at the Paris zoo.

'The Blob,' A Smart Yet Brainless Organism Fit For Sci-Fi, Gets Its Own Exhibit

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771285312/771640155" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Justin Trudeau Battles For His Political Survival As Canada Gets Ready To Vote

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to a room of supporters at a campaign rally in Vaughan, Canada, on Friday. Cole Burston/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Cole Burston/Getty Images

World

Justin Trudeau Battles For His Political Survival As Canada Gets Ready To Vote

Stung by a series of recent scandals, the prime minister is locked in a virtual tie with Andrew Scheer of the opposition Conservative Party ahead of Monday's election.

Justin Trudeau Battles For His Political Survival As Canada Gets Ready To Vote

Audio will be available later today.
Kurdish General Slams U.S.-Syria Policy; Gen. Petraeus Calls Withdrawal 'A Betrayal'

In this photo taken Thursday, flames and smoke billow from a fire on a target in Ras al-Ayn, Syria. This is the result of shelling by Turkish forces, the same day Turkey and the U.S. were negotiating a cease-fire agreement. Cavit Ozgul/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Cavit Ozgul/AP

Middle East

Kurdish General Slams U.S.-Syria Policy; Gen. Petraeus Calls Withdrawal 'A Betrayal'

Two days into a cease-fire, clashes continue along Syria's northern border. Petraeus, who once commanded U.S. forces in the region, told NPR that withdrawing U.S. troops is unfair to Kurdish allies.
When Snakes Slither Into Bangkok Homes, This Is The Wrangler Who Gets Rid Of Them

Firefighter Pinyo Pukpinyo holds a Burmese python. In 16 years of snake wrangling, he says he has been bitten more than 20 times but helping people desperate to get rid of snakes in their homes "makes me happy." Michael Sullivan for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Sullivan for NPR

World

When Snakes Slither Into Bangkok Homes, This Is The Wrangler Who Gets Rid Of Them

When pythons, cobras and pit vipers show up, Pinyo Pukpinyo, a sergeant in Bangkok's fire department, is the expert who catches them. He's been bitten 20 times but says his work "makes me happy."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Bernie Sanders' Heart Attack Was A 'Gut Check' Moment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. speaks during a rally for presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders in Queens, N.Y. on Saturday. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP

Elections

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Bernie Sanders' Heart Attack Was A 'Gut Check' Moment

In an interview with NPR, Ocasio-Cortez said her decision to endorse Sanders is part of a movement that is "far larger than a presidential campaign."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Bernie Sanders' Heart Attack Was A 'Gut Check' Moment

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771596733/771618652" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Protests Rock Spain's Catalonia Region But Residents Are Divided Over Independence

Protesters wave Catalan independence flags in the street in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, following a week of demonstrations over the prison sentences given to separatist politicians by Spain's Supreme Court. Clara Margais/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Clara Margais/Getty Images

World

Protests Rock Spain's Catalonia Region But Residents Are Divided Over Independence

While many Catalans are outraged at the central government's crackdown on the independence movement, the huge demonstrations have obscured deep divisions in Catalan society.
PHOTOS: Why Lynsey Addario Has Spent 10 Years Covering Maternal Mortality

Addario's coverage of maternal mortality took her to a remote village in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan in 2009, where she photographed a midwife giving a prenatal check in a private home. "In these areas someone will announce that a doctor and a midwife are coming, and any pregnant and lactating women within a certain radius come if they want prenatal or postnatal care," she says. Lynsey Addario hide caption

toggle caption
Lynsey Addario

Goats and Soda

PHOTOS: Why Lynsey Addario Has Spent 10 Years Covering Maternal Mortality

The Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, known for her work in war zones, turns to a topic that is often shied away from: the risks women face when giving birth.
Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch 2 Years Before Deadly Crash

All Boeing 737 Max aircraft are grounded while the manufacturer fixes a deadly defect in their flight control system. These Southwest Airlines planes were parked in Victorville, Calif., in March. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Business

Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch 2 Years Before Deadly Crash

One pilot messaged that the problem was "egregious" and he had "basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly)" when he had told the FAA that the flight control system was safe.
George R.R. Martin Really Does Know You Want Him To Write Faster

George R.R. Martin at the afterparty for the premiere of HBO's Game Of Thrones in 2013. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Books

George R.R. Martin Really Does Know You Want Him To Write Faster

Martin, who's working on the long-awaited sixth volume of his series A Song of Ice and Fire, rarely gives interviews — but NPR's Scott Simon recently caught up with him onstage at an awards ceremony.

George R.R. Martin Really Does Know You Want Him To Write Faster

Listen · 6:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771377681/771518885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Opinion: For Washington's Nats, A Long And Winding Road To The World Series

The Washington Nationals are headed to the World Series for the first time since the franchise moved to Washington, D.C. Patrick Smith/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Opinion

Simon Says

For Washington's Nats, A Long And Winding Road To The World Series

The complicated history of baseball in Washington, D.C., makes it difficult to pin down the most recent example of a hometown team making it to the World Series.

Opinion: For Washington's Nats, A Long And Winding Road To The World Series

Listen · 2:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771420361/771518873" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'We Didn't Believe We Would See The Sun Rise': Refugees From Syria Arrive In Iraq

Syrians fleeing the Turkish incursion in northeastern Syria receive bedding materials as they arrive at a camp on Thursday in Dohuk, Iraq. Byron Smith/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Byron Smith/Getty Images

World

'We Didn't Believe We Would See The Sun Rise': Refugees From Syria Arrive In Iraq

More than 2,000 refugees have crossed into Iraq since Turkey began its assault on northeastern Syria last week. Aid groups are bracing for as many as 50,000 refugee arrivals.

'We Didn't Believe We Would See The Sun Rise': Refugees From Syria Arrive In Iraq

Listen · 4:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771253640/771363456" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
John Le Carré Fears For The Future In 'Agent Running In The Field'

Novelist John le Carré says he is "haunted" by current affairs. "If we can make people feel that the social contract is back in place and they're part of it, then possibly we have a future," he says. Le Carré is shown above in his London home in 2008. His new novel is called Agent Running in the Field. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Author Interviews

John Le Carré Fears For The Future In 'Agent Running In The Field'

Decades ago, Le Carré worked for British intelligence services MI5 and MI6. He has channeled that experience into more than 50 years of espionage thrillers.

John Le Carré Fears For The Future In 'Agent Running In The Field'

Listen · 7:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/771089425/771518897" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Forget About The Tap: A City Of 2 Million Has Virtually No Running Water

Pascal Bitasimwa, 12, of Goma (in the red shirt) goes to Lake Kivu to fill up jerrycans with water. "This takes me much of my time," he says. "Instead of going to study, I come first to take water." Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Samantha Reinders for NPR

Goats and Soda

Forget About The Tap: A City Of 2 Million Has Virtually No Running Water

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the scene of the world's second deadliest Ebola outbreak. But in the city of Goma, some 250 miles from the hot zone, residents have other concerns.

Forget About The Tap: A City Of 2 Million Has Virtually No Running Water

Listen · 3:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/770963345/771060527" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

WATCH

MORE VIDEOS

Maddie About Science

The show, hosted by Maddie Sofia, takes viewers behind the scenes with scientists, revealing their motivations and sharing their research—from insect mimics to space probes headed for the sun.
more from