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Danny Hajek
Danny Hajek at NPR West in Culver City, California, September 25, 2018. (photo by Allison Shelley)
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Danny Hajek

Story Archive

Thursday

What is AI and how will it change our lives? NPR Explains.

AI is a multi-billion dollar industry. Friends are using apps to morph their photos into realistic avatars. TV scripts, school essays and resumes are written by bots that sound a lot like a human. Yuichiro Chino hide caption

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Yuichiro Chino

Technology

What is AI and how will it change our lives? NPR Explains.

AI is changing our lives – from education and politics to art and healthcare. But what is AI? Should we be optimistic or worried about our future with this rapidly developing technology?

Saturday

How Russia's war galvanized Ukraine and still threatens the world order

Nadia (center) prays at the grave of her son Oleg Kunynets, a Ukrainian military serviceman who was killed in the east of the country, during his funeral in Lviv, Ukraine, on Feb. 7. Emilio Morenatti/AP hide caption

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Emilio Morenatti/AP

Ukraine invasion — explained

How Russia's war galvanized Ukraine and still threatens the world order

It's been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Host Leila Fadel takes stock of the war and where it stands. We'll also look back at NPR's reporting from Ukraine over the past year.

How Russia's war galvanized Ukraine and still threatens the world order

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Saturday

Television

Betty White's big break was being the golden girl from the golden days of television

Actress Betty White, who died Friday at the age of 99, reflects on how she broke into showbiz in this 2014 interview. (This piece originally aired Nov. 2, 2014, on All Things Considered.)

Betty White's big break was being the golden girl from the golden days of television

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Friday

Lady Gaga responds to criticism of her performance in 'House of Gucci'

Lady Gaga stars as Patrizia Reggiani with Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci. Fabio Lovino/MGM hide caption

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Fabio Lovino/MGM

Culture

Lady Gaga responds to criticism of her performance in 'House of Gucci'

She stars in the film as the woman at the center of a scandal in the fashion world. But the actors' Italian accents have been panned, and the Gucci family has criticized the way it was depicted.

Lady Gaga responds to criticism of her performance in 'House of Gucci'

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Sunday

A Black family got their beach back — and inspired others to fight against land theft

Chief Duane Yellow Feather Shepard is an extended member of the Bruce family of Bruce Beach and currently acts as a representative for their interests. Bethany Mollenkof for NPR hide caption

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Bethany Mollenkof for NPR

Race

A Black family got their beach back — and inspired others to fight against land theft

The beachfront land — known as Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach, Calif. — is being returned to the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce 97 years after it was taken from them.

A Black family got their beach back — and inspired others to fight against land theft

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Tuesday

A Family's Escape From The Taliban Came Down To A Code Phrase: 'Tom Brady'

Said Noor, a former U.S. Army soldier and interpreter in Afghanistan, had moved to Houston after getting a special immigrant visa in 2014. Go Nakamura for NPR hide caption

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Go Nakamura for NPR

World

A Family's Escape From The Taliban Came Down To A Code Phrase: 'Tom Brady'

Said Noor was 11 in 2001, growing up in an Afghan village. He later served as a U.S. Army interpreter, moved to Texas and became a U.S. citizen. Then he had to help rescue his family from the Taliban.

A Family's Escape From The Taliban Came Down To A Code Phrase: 'Tom Brady'

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Saturday

Afghan Interpreters Who Await Visas After Helping The U.S. Now Fear For Their Lives
Lore Mondragón for NPR

World

Afghan Interpreters Who Await Visas After Helping The U.S. Now Fear For Their Lives

"Every day, you can see an increase in the Taliban's presence," an Afghan who worked with the U.S. tells NPR. "What am I going to do after September? ... Am I going to even be alive by December?"

Afghan Interpreters Who Await Visas After Helping The U.S. Now Fear For Their Lives

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Friday

'I Feel Like I'm An Olympian': Youn Yuh-jung On Her Historic Oscar Nomination

Youn Yuh-jung plays a grandmother in the Oscar-nominated film Minari. She's the first Korean actor to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Courtesy of A24 hide caption

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Courtesy of A24

Movie Interviews

'I Feel Like I'm An Olympian': Youn Yuh-jung On Her Historic Oscar Nomination

The celebrated Korean actor plays a loving, mischievous grandma in Minari — a role that has earned her newfound fame in the U.S. She says the character brought back memories of her great-grandmother.

'I Feel Like I'm An Olympian': Youn Yuh-jung On Her Historic Oscar Nomination

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Thursday

ER Doctor Who Diagnosed First Confirmed NYC COVID-19 Case Reflects 1 Year Later

Dr. Angela Chen, an emergency physician at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, diagnosed the city's first confirmed COVID-19 case last March. Dr. Angela Chen hide caption

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Dr. Angela Chen

Coronavirus Updates

ER Doctor Who Diagnosed First Confirmed NYC COVID-19 Case Reflects 1 Year Later

For four months last year, Dr. Angela Chen only saw her child through a window. A year into the global pandemic, the view is a different, but it's impossible to forget the memories of last spring.

ER Doctor Who Diagnosed First Confirmed NYC COVID-19 Case Reflects 1 Year Later

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Friday

Obituaries

67-Year-Old Arkansas Woman, Who Died Of COVID-19, Remembered By Her Daughter

This month, 67 year old Alicia Ugartechea of Hot Springs, Ark. died of COVID-19. She is one of the more than 400,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

67-Year-Old Arkansas Woman, Who Died Of COVID-19, Remembered By Her Daughter

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Friday

A Day Laborer Who Dreamed Of Returning Home To Mexico Dies Of COVID-19

Workers at the CARECEN Day Labor Center in Los Angeles constructed a makeshift memorial for fellow worker Paulino Ramos, who died of COVID-19 in September. Danny Hajek/NPR hide caption

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Danny Hajek/NPR

The Coronavirus Crisis

A Day Laborer Who Dreamed Of Returning Home To Mexico Dies Of COVID-19

Paulino Ramos spent more than a decade working demolition jobs in California to support his family in Mexico. The day laborers he worked with fear they, too, may be more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

A Day Laborer Who Dreamed Of Returning Home To Mexico Dies Of COVID-19

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Friday

Guggenheim's Audio Guide Brings The Art Museum To Listeners' 'Mind's Eye'

Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City on April 16, 2016. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images hide caption

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Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

Guggenheim's Audio Guide Brings The Art Museum To Listeners' 'Mind's Eye'

The "Mind's Eye" audio experience is an aural escape during the pandemic, but it's actually designed for the blind community. The idea is to immerse listeners in a space that can be vividly imagined.

Guggenheim's Audio Guide Brings The Art Museum To Listeners' 'Mind's Eye'

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Wednesday

It's Been A Hard Year. 5 Families On How 2020 Will Shape Their Vote For President

Dr. Chris Hoover (left) and Dr. Connie Liu (right) walk through their home with their children Taro, 3, and Hiro, 4 months, in Gallup, N.M. On a short reporting trip across the Southwest, NPR met very different families and asked them the same simple question: What's been keeping you up at night? Adria Malcolm for NPR hide caption

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Adria Malcolm for NPR

Politics

It's Been A Hard Year. 5 Families On How 2020 Will Shape Their Vote For President

The spread of COVID-19, the ensuing economic crisis and the reckoning around social injustice has made 2020 a year like none other. NPR wanted to know how these events might shape political choices.

It's Been A Hard Year. 5 Families On How 2020 Will Shape Their Vote For President

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Tuesday

'I Remember Him With That Smile': Beloved Phoenix Doctor Dies Of COVID-19 At 99

Dr. José Gabriel López-Plascencia spent over 60 years providing health care for low-income families in Phoenix. Courtesy of Valle del Sol Community Health hide caption

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Courtesy of Valle del Sol Community Health

The Coronavirus Crisis

'I Remember Him With That Smile': Beloved Phoenix Doctor Dies Of COVID-19 At 99

Patients knew José Gabriel López-Plascencia as "the doctor that served the poor." He spent over 60 years caring for low-income families left out of the healthcare system in Phoenix.

'I Remember Him With That Smile': Beloved Phoenix Doctor Dies Of COVID-19 At 99

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Wednesday

Law

Health Care Workers Await Supreme Court DACA Decision

Javier Quiroz Castro and Estefania Betancourt Macias are nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic. They're also DACA recipients, awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on the fate of the DACA program.

Health Care Workers Await Supreme Court DACA Decision

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Monday

To Reach The Homeless, An Alabama Church Brings 'The Steeple To The Streets'

Patrick Aitken, missions coordinator at the River City Church in Montgomery, Ala., is concerned that the city's already vulnerable homeless population will be forgotten during the coronavirus pandemic. Mary Joyce McLain hide caption

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Mary Joyce McLain

Coronavirus Updates

To Reach The Homeless, An Alabama Church Brings 'The Steeple To The Streets'

Montgomery County has emerged as a COVID-19 hot spot. At River City Church, where half the congregation is or once was homeless, outreach programs work to protect their most vulnerable.

To Reach The Homeless, An Alabama Church Brings 'The Steeple To The Streets'

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Tuesday

In Homes Left Empty By COVID-19, This Georgia Woman Packs Up The Memories

Cathy Cody is owner/operator of No Ifs Ands Or Butts About It Janitorial Services & More, LLC in Albany, Ga. Jason Cabatit/JCabatit Photography hide caption

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Jason Cabatit/JCabatit Photography

The Coronavirus Crisis

In Homes Left Empty By COVID-19, This Georgia Woman Packs Up The Memories

Cathy Cody was born and raised in Albany, Ga., a close-knit community pushed to the edge by the outbreak. Albany has seen one of the nation's highest rates of infection, and she's found a way to help.

In Homes Left Empty By COVID-19, This Georgia Woman Packs Up The Memories

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Friday

Books

COVID-19 Pandemic Could Be The Last Chapter For N.J. Bookstore

The bookstore called Source of Knowledge in Newark was a vibrant part of the community before the coronavirus outbreak. It's one of two African American-owned bookstores left in the state.

COVID-19 Pandemic Could Be The Last Chapter For N.J. Bookstore

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Thursday

National

Georgia Community Is Pushed To The Edge By Coronavirus Outbreak

Andrea Owens-White is a florist in Albany, Ga., in one of the hardest hardest hit areas of the coronavirus pandemic. Owens-White, who tested positive for COVID-19, was forced to file for unemployment.

Georgia Community Is Pushed To The Edge By Coronavirus Outbreak

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Wednesday

National

Louisiana Hotelier Offers Free Rooms To Medical Workers

In Baton Rouge, Raj Patel is offering free rooms to medical workers and first responders during the coronavirus outbreak.

Louisiana Hotelier Offers Free Rooms To Medical Workers

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Monday

Business

Coronavirus Social Distancing Orders Put Barbers Out Of Work

John Brown owns Joe Black Barber Shop in Pearland, Texas. Since the coronavirus outbreak, his barbers are out of a job. But he's lost much more in this pandemic: His mother died of COVID-19.

Coronavirus Social Distancing Orders Put Barbers Out Of Work

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Thursday

Obituaries

Ronald Lewis, Preserver Of New Orleans' Black Culture, Dies At 68

Ronald Lewis, who was known as a preserver of black culture, has died of the coronavirus. Lewis operated a museum called The House of Dance and Feathers in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward.

Ronald Lewis, Preserver Of New Orleans' Black Culture, Dies At 68

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Tuesday

National

Farmworkers, Deemed Essential, Don't Feel Protected From Pandemic

Nearly half of the 850,000 farmworkers in California are undocumented, and labor unions say sometimes they are denied sick leave. Undocumented workers are excluded from the coronavirus relief package.

Farmworkers, Deemed Essential, Don't Feel Protected From Pandemic

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Friday

In 'Downhill,' Julia Louis-Dreyfus And Will Ferrell Are 'Not Here To Play It Safe'

Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star in the new dark comedy Downhill. Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Fox Searchlight Pictures

Movie Interviews

In 'Downhill,' Julia Louis-Dreyfus And Will Ferrell Are 'Not Here To Play It Safe'

In the film Downhill starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a married couple barely escapes an avalanche during a family ski vacation and are forced to reevaluate their lives.

In 'Downhill,' Julia Louis-Dreyfus And Will Ferrell Are 'Not Here To Play It Safe'

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