All Things Considered for December 22, 2015 Hear the All Things Considered program for December 22, 2015

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Author Joan Morgan says Beurré Superfin is one of her favorite pears. It's "truly delicious: very buttery, juicy, cream to pale yellow flesh, intensely rich with plenty of sugar lemony acidity," she writes in The Book of Pears. Courtesy of Joan Morgan hide caption

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Courtesy of Joan Morgan

The Salt

'The Book Of Pears': A Love Letter To A Once Pre-Eminent Fruit

A British fruit historian convincingly argues in a new book that the pear is "the most exciting of the tree fruits." And she says it's time to revive pear culture and explore the fruit's diversity.

A school bus drop off students in Nashville, Tenn., where the city's school district has experienced one of the worst shortages of drivers in the country. Blake Farmer/WLPN hide caption

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Blake Farmer/WLPN

Amid Economic Recovery, School Districts Desperate For Bus Drivers

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Rhys Hall and Karie Cheung are both seniors in college. They spoke with NPR about their experiences at The University of Maryland. Kwame Abrah for NPR hide caption

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Kwame Abrah for NPR

What's Next For 2 Seniors Wrapping Up At A Big State University?

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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed Syrian refugees arriving from Beirut at the Toronto airport last week. Mark Blinch/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Mark Blinch/Reuters /Landov

As Syrian Refugees Reach Canada, Many Are Pitching In

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Author Joan Morgan says Beurré Superfin is one of her favorite pears. It's "truly delicious: very buttery, juicy, cream to pale yellow flesh, intensely rich with plenty of sugar lemony acidity," she writes in The Book of Pears. Courtesy of Joan Morgan hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Joan Morgan

'The Book Of Pears': A Love Letter To A Once Pre-Eminent Fruit

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Leonard DiCaprio stares down a treacherous winter wasteland in the new film The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu. Kimberley French/20th Century Fox hide caption

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Kimberley French/20th Century Fox

A Return From Death's Door — Onscreen And Off

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