Accessibility links
Jessica Deahl Jessica Deahl is an editor for NPR's award-winning program All Things Considered.
Stories By

Jessica Deahl

Monday

New York Funeral Director: Pandemic Has Been A Wave That 'Knocks You Over'

Fourth-generation funeral home director Patrick Kearns (left) and his business partner and brother-in-law Paul Kearns-Stanley stand in front of their funeral home in North Richmond Hill, Queens. Fiona Kearns hide caption

toggle caption
Fiona Kearns

Coronavirus Updates

New York Funeral Director: Pandemic Has Been A Wave That 'Knocks You Over'

Fourth-generation funeral director Patrick Kearns and his brother-in-law Paul Kearns-Stanley are partners in a 120-year-old family funeral business. They describe their unrelenting work and worries.

New York Funeral Director: Pandemic Has Been A Wave That 'Knocks You Over'

Listen · 6:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/888280295/890558137" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

From The Big Top Into The Big World: A Ringling Ringmaster's Final Bow

Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson enters the ring in Fairfax, Va., at one of the final performances of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Marian Carrasquero/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Marian Carrasquero/NPR

National

From The Big Top Into The Big World: A Ringling Ringmaster's Final Bow

Johnathan Lee Iverson, the first African-American ringmaster of "The Greatest Show on Earth," helms the famed Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for its last performance this Sunday.

From The Big Top Into The Big World: A Ringling Ringmaster's Final Bow

Listen · 7:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/528672217/529175825" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Tuesday

Child Care Scarcity Has Very Real Consequences For Working Families
Chelsea Beck/NPR

Shots - Health News

Child Care Scarcity Has Very Real Consequences For Working Families

In much of the U.S., demand for licensed infant care outstrips supply. Parents face lengthy waitlists, hefty waitlist fees, and few good options when returning to work after the birth of a baby.

Child Care Scarcity Has Very Real Consequences For Working Families

Listen · 8:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/506448993/508075339" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Stretched: Working Parents' Juggling Act

Working Parents Across The Country Share Their Experiences

Over the past two weeks, we have examined some of the challenges American working parents experience, and solutions proposed to alleviate those burdens. Now we hear from listeners who are working parents around in the country about the issues most pressing to them.

Working Parents Across The Country Share Their Experiences

Listen · 5:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/497991263/497991264" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Countries Around The World Beat The U.S. On Paid Parental Leave

(Left) Edith Einarsson, Kristina Ingemarsdotter Persson, Samuel Einarsson and Per Einarsson. (Center) Yao Zhang, Shanshan Zhang and Rachel Meng. (Right) Lama Dossary and her daughter Leila. Linda Johansson/Courtesy of Kristina Ingemarsdotter Persson; Courtesy of Rachel Meng; Bushra Al-Hinai/Courtesy of Lama Dossary hide caption

toggle caption
Linda Johansson/Courtesy of Kristina Ingemarsdotter Persson; Courtesy of Rachel Meng; Bushra Al-Hinai/Courtesy of Lama Dossary

Stretched: Working Parents' Juggling Act

Countries Around The World Beat The U.S. On Paid Parental Leave

Out of 193 countries in the United Nations, the U.S. is one of a small handful that do not have a national paid parental leave law. Most of the world reached a standard on this issue decades ago.

Countries Around The World Beat The U.S. On Paid Parental Leave

Listen · 8:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/495839588/496911666" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

On Your Mark, Give Birth, Go Back To Work

Tricia Olson takes a selfie of herself and her son Augustus, or Gus, who sits in his car seat. Olson took three weeks of unpaid leave from her job at a towing company in Rock Springs, Wyo., after giving birth. Courtesy of Tricia Olson hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Tricia Olson

Stretched: Working Parents' Juggling Act

On Your Mark, Give Birth, Go Back To Work

Tricia Olson gave birth to her son and was back on the job three weeks later. Like most Americans, she doesn't get paid family leave, and she's among the 40 percent who don't qualify for unpaid leave.

On Your Mark, Give Birth, Go Back To Work

Listen · 8:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/495839747/496592336" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Professors Differ On Ethics Of Using WikiLeaks Cables

As raw documents from contemporary diplomats, the classified dispatches released by WikiLeaks offer insight that no book or article could. But some professors worry that using the cables in the classroom could hurt their students' future careers. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP/Getty Images

Education

Professors Differ On Ethics Of Using WikiLeaks Cables

The WikiLeaks cable dump is almost universally considered an academic's treasure trove. But could asking students to read the State Department's classified documents hurt their future careers?

Professors Differ On Ethics Of Using WikiLeaks Cables

Listen · 4:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/133334302/133557355" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript