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Renee Klahr Renee Klahr is a digital news and visuals producer for NPR.
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Renee Klahr

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Tuesday

Wednesday

How to improvise in the kitchen — With tips from Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway
LA Johnson and Clare Marie Schneider/NPR

Life Kit

How to improvise in the kitchen — With tips from Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway

Following a recipe is easy, but improvising in the kitchen takes confidence — and a well-stocked pantry.

How to improvise in the kitchen — With tips from Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway

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Monday

A Rap on Trial

Olutosin Oduwole at his home in New Jersey in 2016. Shankar Vedantam/NPR hide caption

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Shankar Vedantam/NPR

Hidden Brain

A Rap on Trial

In the past few weeks, the nation has been gripped by protests against police brutality toward black and brown Americans. The enormous number of demonstrators may be new, but the biases they're protesting are not. In 2017, we looked at research on an alleged form of bias in the justice system. This week, we revisit that story, and explore how public perceptions of rap music may have played a role in the prosecution of a man named Olutosin Oduwole.

A Rap on Trial

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Friday

The Air We Breathe
Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

The Air We Breathe

President Trump said this week that a few "bad apples" were to blame for police killings of black people. But research suggests that something more complicated is at play — a force that affects everyone in the culture, not just police officers. In this bonus episode, we revisit our 2017 look at implicit bias and how a culture of racism can infect us all.

The Air We Breathe

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Wednesday

Thursday

I, Robot: Our Changing Relationship With Technology

Taken in aggregate, the billions of online searches we make every day say a lot about our most private thoughts and biases. Lee Woodgate/Getty Images/Ikon Images hide caption

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Lee Woodgate/Getty Images/Ikon Images

Hidden Brain

I, Robot: Our Changing Relationship With Technology

Do you ever catch yourself yelling at your Alexa? Or typing questions into Google that you would never ask aloud? This week, we explore our changing relationship with technology.

I, Robot: Our Changing Relationship With Technology

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Monday

Debate May Be Last-Ditch Effort For Struggling Democrats To Stay Alive

(From left) Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Warren, Booker and O'Rourke have already qualified for the Democratic debate in September. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Politics

Debate May Be Last-Ditch Effort For Struggling Democrats To Stay Alive

Eight candidates meet the requirements to make the debate stage in September: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker and Andrew Yang.

Friday

Mechanical Sex: The Relationship Between Intercourse And Intimacy
Javier Pierini/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

Mechanical Sex: The Relationship Between Intercourse And Intimacy

As a society, we talk about sex more openly today than ever before. But so much still goes unsaid. This week on the Hidden Brain radio show, complicated stories of intimacy and attraction.

Mechanical Sex: The Relationship Between Intercourse And Intimacy

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Tuesday

Timeline: The Census Citizenship Question's Unusual Journey To The Supreme Court

Demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court Tuesday to protest the Trump administration's proposal to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

National

Timeline: The Census Citizenship Question's Unusual Journey To The Supreme Court

A trail of internal emails, memos and other court filings show how the Trump administration pushed to get a citizenship question on the 2020 census despite warnings of how it may undermine the count.

Thursday

Friday

Monday

The Edge of Gender
Renee Klahr/NPR

Hidden Brain

The Edge of Gender

Gender is one of the first things we notice about the people around us. But where do our ideas about gender come from? Can gender differences be explained by genes and chromosomes, or are they the result of upbringing, culture and the environment? In this encore episode from October 2017, we delve into debates over nature vs. nurture, and meet the first person in the United States to officially reject the labels of both male and female, and be recognized as "non-binary."

The Edge of Gender

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Thursday

Trump Is Reshaping The Judiciary. A Breakdown By Race, Gender And Qualification

The Senate has confirmed a number of judges nominated by President Trump to the federal bench, including two additions to the Supreme Court. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Law

Trump Is Reshaping The Judiciary. A Breakdown By Race, Gender And Qualification

President Trump, the GOP-controlled Senate and the Federalist Society are putting their stamp on the federal judiciary for a generation with a corps of conservative appointments.

Monday

Be The Change
Renee Klahr/NPR

Hidden Brain

Be The Change

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." It's a popular quote that's made its way onto coffee mugs and bumper stickers — but it's not the easiest principle to live. On this week's Hidden Brain, we meet Royce and Jessica James, a couple who decided to raise their daughter in a gender-neutral way. It was far harder than they ever could have imagined. For further reading on children and gender norms, visit us at https://n.pr/2AmmiW1.

Be The Change

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Thursday

Too Little, Too Much: How Poverty and Wealth Affect Our Minds
Andrea Cappelli/Picture Press/Getty Images/Picture Press RM

Hidden Brain

Too Little, Too Much: How Poverty and Wealth Affect Our Minds

We all know the downsides of being poor. But what about the downsides of being rich? This week, we explore the psychology of scarcity...and excess.

Too Little, Too Much: How Poverty and Wealth Affect Our Minds

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Monday

You 2.0: Check Yourself

On October 30, 1935, a Boeing plane known as the "flying fortress" crashed during a military demonstration in Ohio — shocking the aviation industry and prompting questions about the future of flight. National Archives hide caption

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National Archives

Hidden Brain

You 2.0: Check Yourself

The simple "to-do" list may be one of humanity's oldest tools for getting organized. But checklists are also proving essential in many modern-day workplaces, from operating rooms to the cockpits of jumbo jets. As part of our summer You 2.0 series, we explore the power of the humble checklist to help us stay on track and focus on what's important, particularly when pressure is intense and the stakes are high.

You 2.0: Check Yourself

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Friday

Friday

Why Now?

Jana Mestecky (left) poses for a cast photo during production of the play Des rats et des hommes, directed by Israel Horovitz (front, third from left). The photo appeared in the French magazine, L'Avant-Scène, in 1994. Courtesy of Jana Mestecky hide caption

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Courtesy of Jana Mestecky

Hidden Brain

Why Now?

Decades ago, a group of women accused a prominent playwright of sexual misconduct. For the most part, the complaints went nowhere. In 2017, more women came forward. This time, people listened.

Why Now?

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Monday

Summer Melt: Why Aren't Students Showing Up For College?

Rates of "summer melt" are highest for students from lower-income backgrounds, especially if their own parents didn't go through the college application process. Hill Street Studios/Getty Images/Blend Images hide caption

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Hill Street Studios/Getty Images/Blend Images

Hidden Brain

Summer Melt: Why Aren't Students Showing Up For College?

As many as 40 percent of students who intend to go to college don't show up in the fall. Education researchers call this phenomenon "summer melt," and it has long been a puzzling problem.

Summer Melt: Why Aren't Students Showing Up For College?

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Thursday

Don't Panic! What We Can Learn From Chaos

After a long history of civil war and corruption, many Liberians didn't trust their government's attempts to control Ebola. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

Don't Panic! What We Can Learn From Chaos

Chaos is a part of all of our lives. Sometimes we try to control it. And other times, we just have to live with it.

Don't Panic! What We Can Learn From Chaos

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Monday

Rap on Trial: How An Aspiring Musician's Words Led To Prison Time

Olutosin Oduwole at his home in New Jersey in 2016. Shankar Vedantam/NPR hide caption

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Shankar Vedantam/NPR

Hidden Brain

Rap on Trial: How An Aspiring Musician's Words Led To Prison Time

Olutosin Oduwole was a college student and aspiring rap star when he was charged with "attempting to make a terrorist threat." Did public perceptions of rap music play a role?

Rap on Trial: How An Aspiring Musician's Words Led To Prison Time

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Friday

The Weight of Our Words

Sometimes it can feel like there is a terrorist attack on the news every other week. But how much attention an attack receives has a lot to do with one factor: the religion of the perpetrator. David McNew /AFP/Getty Images David McNew/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/AFP/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

The Weight of Our Words

Violent crimes committed by Muslims are much more likely to be reported as "terrorism." And that has disturbing consequences for the way Muslims are perceived.

The Weight of Our Words

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Monday

The Psychological Forces Behind A Cultural Reckoning: Understanding #MeToo

Jana Mestecky (left) poses for a cast photo during production of the play 'Des rats et des hommes,' directed by Israel Horovitz (front, third from left). The photo appeared in the French magazine, L'Avant-Scene in 1994. Mestecky is one of many women who have come forward accusing Israel Horovitz of sexual harassment and assault. Courtesy of Jana Mestecky hide caption

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Courtesy of Jana Mestecky

Hidden Brain

The Psychological Forces Behind A Cultural Reckoning: Understanding #MeToo

What has changed in our minds and in our culture so that allegations of sexual harassment and assault are being taken so much more seriously than they were in prior decades?

The Psychological Forces Behind A Cultural Reckoning: Understanding #MeToo

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