Accessibility links
Marc Silver Marc Silver edits NPR's global health blog.
Marc Silver headshot
Stories By

Marc Silver

Tuesday

Here's why you should never say, 'You're as stupid as a goat'

Goats, are you paying attention to our tone of voice? A new study tries to answer that question. It involved 27 goats, a loudspeaker and recordings of the phrase "Hey, look over here!" Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Here's why you should never say, 'You're as stupid as a goat'

Dogs tune into the tone of human voices. What about goats? To find out, goatologists ran an experiment to see if goats could tell the difference between a happy-sounding human and an angry one.

Sunday

Thursday

From glacier babies to a Barbie debate: 7 great global stories you might have missed

Left to right: Barbies in India; Maya softball players in Mexico; walking on a frozen fountain in the mountains of Pakistan, where efforts are underway to revive the ancient art of glacier mating. Anushree Bhatter for NPR, Bénédicte Desrus; Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Anushree Bhatter for NPR, Bénédicte Desrus; Diaa Hadid/NPR

Goats and Soda

From glacier babies to a Barbie debate: 7 great global stories you might have missed

Here are our editors' picks for stories from 2023 that we wish more people would see: from an elephant safari for teens to mating glaciers in Pakistan to a debate about Barbie's skin tone in India.

Thursday

Sunday

Our top global posts might change how you think about hunters, AI and hellos

Images from some of our most popular global stories of 2023 (left to right): A woman from Brazil's Awa people holds her bow and arrow after a hunt; an artificial intelligence program made this fake photo to fulfill a request for "doctors help children in Africa" — AI added the giraffe; researchers are learning that a stranger's hello can do more than just brighten your day. Scott Wallace/Getty Images, Midjourney Bot Version 5.1. Annotation by NPR, David Rowland/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Wallace/Getty Images, Midjourney Bot Version 5.1. Annotation by NPR, David Rowland/AP

Goats and Soda

Our top global posts might change how you think about hunters, AI and hellos

Our most popular global stories of 2023 offer insights into the stereotypes of male hunters/female gatherers, the biases of AI, the best way to end poverty and the impact of a stranger's greeting.

Friday

Thursday

From a surprising long COVID theory to a new cow flu: Our 5 top 'viral' posts in 2023

The world may be out of the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, but humans still share the globe with countless pathogens. Here are some of the ways viruses shaped 2023. Olivia Taussig-Rees for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Olivia Taussig-Rees for NPR

Goats and Soda

From a surprising long COVID theory to a new cow flu: Our 5 top 'viral' posts in 2023

The pandemic state of emergency was lifted but there are still plenty of viruses to worry about. Here are some highlights of our viral coverage this year, including NPR's "Hidden Viruses" series.

Saturday

Tuesday

How NPR covered the missionary who ran a center for malnourished kids where 105 died

In 2019, NPR covered the story of Renee Bach, an American missionary who said she was called by God to serve the children of Uganda. Now HBO is presenting her story in the documentary series White Savior. Julia Rendleman for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Julia Rendleman for NPR

Goats and Soda

How NPR covered the missionary who ran a center for malnourished kids where 105 died

In 2019, NPR covered the story of Renee Bach, who said she was called by God to serve the children of Uganda. Now HBO is presenting her story in the documentary series 'Savior Complex.'

Friday

Whatever happened to the runaway goats of San Francisco?

Back in March, four or five goats scrambled along the streets of San Francisco and became instantly famous as videos of their runabout were posted on social media. What became of the runaway ruminants? screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit hide caption

toggle caption
screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit

Goats and Soda

Whatever happened to the runaway goats of San Francisco?

Hmm, it's still a bit of a mystery. Here's what is known about the small herd of goats who went running through the streets in March.

Friday

Friday

WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19

On Friday, World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "With great hope, I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency." Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19

The World Health Organization today lifted its Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19. That declaration went into effect three years ago on Jan. 30, 2020.

Sunday

Sunday

Thursday

Runaway goats in San Francisco were probably ... freaked out

Four or five goats scrambled across San Francisco last week, captured in videos posted on social media. So how do goats fare in urban settings? screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit hide caption

toggle caption
screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit

Goats and Soda

Runaway goats in San Francisco were probably ... freaked out

The video of goats dashing through the streets of San Francisco drew thousands of views on Twitter and was the subject of much joking. We asked a goat specialist to weigh in.