Accessibility links
Eric Weiner Eric Weiner is a national correspondent for NPR.org.
Stories By

Eric Weiner

Story Archive

Gastronomy Of Genius: History's Great Minds And The Foods That Fueled Them

Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Isaac Newton, Gandhi, Pythagoras, Balzac, Marie Curie — scanning history's greatest minds, we find many were inspired by certain food or drink, repulsed by others, or had some very peculiar dining habits. Katherine Du/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Katherine Du/NPR

The Salt

Gastronomy Of Genius: History's Great Minds And The Foods That Fueled Them

From Pythagoras to Balzac, Darwin to Marie Curie, many a genius was inspired by certain edibles, repulsed by others — or had some very peculiar dining habits.

History

DNA Testing Provides Shortcut To Trace Family History

Think of family trees and you probably think of dusty letters and black-and-white photos of great-grandparents. The latest trend, though, is using DNA testing to explore your ancestry.

DNA Testing Provides Shortcut To Trace Family History

Listen · 7:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/462114359/462114360" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

History

Big History Challenges Conventional History, Critics Raise Questions

While most history courses start with the beginning of human civilization, roughly 10,000 years ago, Big History starts with the Big Bang. Humans don't get mentioned until halfway into the course.

Big History Challenges Conventional History, Critics Raise Questions

Listen · 7:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/461997753/461997754" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

History

Will Future Historians Consider These Days The Digital Dark Ages?

We are awash in a sea of information, but how to historians sift through the mountain of data? In the future, computer programs will be unreadable, and therefore worthless, to historians.

Will Future Historians Consider These Days The Digital Dark Ages?

Listen · 7:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/461878724/461878725" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging In There

Capitol Hill Books owner Jim Toole runs the front register of his used bookstore several days a week. He has banned several words from his store, including "awesome," "perfect" and "Amazon." Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ariel Zambelich/NPR

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging In There

The debate over whether digital books are better continues. Yet in the age of Amazon, the number of independent booksellers is up. The revival is fueled, at least in part, by digital natives.

Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging In There

Listen · 7:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/408787099/410205031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever

Paper can make the abstract tangible in a way that digital devices don't. Alejandro Escamilla/Unsplash hide caption

toggle caption
Alejandro Escamilla/Unsplash

Business

In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever

Is paper just a curiosity of the nostalgic? It turns out that digital natives think paper works in tandem with our devices. Research agrees that old-school note taking offers benefits a screen can't.

In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever

Listen · 5:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/408794237/409939259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Don't Write Off Paper Just Yet

The paper industry struggled in the past decade, but some sectors have fared better than others. Christopher Groskopf/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Christopher Groskopf/NPR

Business

Don't Write Off Paper Just Yet

In today's digital age it's easy to forget about paper, but as one paper pusher says, "a paperless society is about as plausible as a paperless bathroom."

Don't Write Off Paper Just Yet

Listen · 7:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/408794149/409672044" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

In Character

'Portnoy's Complaint'? Self-Love and Self-Loathing

Nearly 40 years ago, funny, smart, neurotic Alexander Portnoy burst onto the public stage. Philip Roth's fictional hero was racked by guilt — promoted by an over-protective, self-sacrificing mother and by an obsession with, er, loving himself too much.

'Portnoy's Complaint'? Self-Love and Self-Loathing

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88787165/89441537" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Research News

Study: Spending Money on Others Makes Us Happy

A new study, published in the journal Science, suggests that what matters most is not how much money we have but, rather, what we do with it. Spending money on others, it shows, can boost our own happiness.

Study: Spending Money on Others Makes Us Happy

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88682320/88689975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Law

The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act

Federal prosecutors might charge Eliot Spitzer under a relatively obscure 1910 law that was originally intended to combat forced prostitution. It has been used against such celebrities as Charlie Chaplin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Chuck Berry and Jack Johnson.

The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88104308/88115505" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org