Audrey Nguyen

A cedar waxwing bird, photographed through binoculars. Audrey Nguyen/NPR hide caption

Sarah Comer demonstrates the game Beat Saber using a virtual reality headset in Washington, D.C. During the pandemic, Comer and her family had a competition from their respective homes across several states to see who could rack up the most points on some of the exercise games on their VR headsets, "as a motivator for us to exercise and stay connected," she says. Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

An illustration of a black women juggling several different tasks: exercising, talking on the phone, carrying packages and typing on a laptop. Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR hide caption

Harlan shares a collage of images from a family beach trip. She knew she wanted photos of a sandcastle, her family at the beach at dusk, downtime at the house and the cousins playing together in the pool. Creating a "shot list" in advance of images she hoped to capture helped her "leave her trip with no regrets," she says. Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

Some sexuality educators are pushing for comprehensive sex education, which would include topics relevant to queer students. Aleksandr Zubkov / Getty Images hide caption

Heritage language learners can sometimes feel like a failure for not being fluent before they've even given themselves a chance to try. Finding the right tools, setting realistic goals and acknowledging existing skill can make the process of learning your parents' language more fun and fulfilling. Cha Pornea for NPR hide caption

Researchers say there's growing evidence that nature has a powerful effect on us, improving both our physical and psychological health. Angela Hsieh/NPR hide caption

A cedar waxwing, photographed through binoculars. Audrey Nguyen/NPR hide caption

A dopamine hit brings about pleasure and is then quickly followed by pain, or a come-down, in order to keep us motivated, says psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke. Meredith Miotke for NPR hide caption

Short Wave host Emily Kwong (right) and her sister ran a marathon together in 2021. Emily shares some of what she learned about training for it. Beck Harlan/NPR hide caption