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Analysis

Thursday

How Collapse Of Health-Care Law Could Help Democrats

Amy Brighton from Medina, Ohio, who opposes the new health care law, rallies in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Charles Dharapak/AP hide caption

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Charles Dharapak/AP

It's All Politics

How Collapse Of Health-Care Law Could Help Democrats

The law known as "Obamacare," now in the hands of the Supreme Court, might have become anathema to all Republicans, but the ideas at its heart were meant to be a moderate, practical answer to the pressure for more government involvement.

Monday

Blurring The Line Between Life And Death

Doctors perform a kidney transplant operation in Spain in 2010. Xurxo Lobato/Cover/Getty Images hide caption

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Xurxo Lobato/Cover/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Blurring The Line Between Life And Death

Fresh Air

Science writer Dick Teresi and transplant surgeon Richard Freeman discuss the ethics of transplant surgery and how doctors determine the point between life and death.

Blurring The Line Between Life And Death

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Friday

Drones Over America: What Can They See?

A Predator B unmanned aircraft lands after a mission at the Naval Air Station last November in Corpus Christi, Texas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

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Eric Gay/AP

National Security

Drones Over America: What Can They See?

Fresh Air

In February, President Obama signed an aviation bill requiring the FAA to make plans to integrate drones into American airspace. Brookings Institution senior fellow John Villasenor explains what these drones will be able to see — and how our privacy and national security may be affected.

Drones Over America: What Can They See?

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Monday

Habits: How They Form And How To Break Them

Routines are made up of a three-part "habit loop": a cue, a behavior and a reward. Understanding and interrupting that loop is key to breaking a habit, says journalist Charles Duhigg. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Author Interviews

Habits: How They Form And How To Break Them

Fresh Air

Every habit-forming activity follows the same behavioral and neurological patterns, says New York Times business writer Charles Duhigg. His new book The Power of Habit explores the science behind why we do what we do — and how companies are working to use our habits to market products to us.

Habits: How They Form And How To Break Them

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Friday

Does The Strengthening Economy Still Need Congress?

Employment has been rising in recent months, but most economists say Congress should keep trying to boost consumer spending. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

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Mark Lennihan/AP

Economy

Does The Strengthening Economy Still Need Congress?

Lawmakers approved legislation to continue a payroll tax holiday and extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. The goal is to make sure enough people have enough spending money to keep the still-fragile economy growing. But some analysts say the economy doesn't need more help.

Friday

Media

Talking Science With Arianna Huffington

The new year marks the creation of a science section at The Huffington Post. The Internet newspaper's editor-in-chief, Arianna Huffington discusses the story selection and vetting process. And why the launch coincides with what she calls the explosion of medieval thinking.

Talking Science With Arianna Huffington

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Thursday

Year In Review: Mega Tech Brands Raise Megabucks

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman watches as his company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May. Despite the global economic uncertainty, tech companies held steady on Wall Street. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

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Mark Lennihan/AP

Technology

Year In Review: Mega Tech Brands Raise Megabucks

This year was tumultuous for stocks. But that didn't scare off mega brands in technology. Twenty-eight tech companies went public and raised more than $6 billion — a whopping 85 percent increase over 2010. Winners included LinkedIn; busts included Groupon.

Year In Review: Mega Tech Brands Raise Megabucks

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Friday

Heroes Of The Taj Hotel: Why They Risked Their Lives

Indian firefighters attempt to put out a fire as smoke billows out of the historic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, which was stormed by armed gunmen in November 2008. Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images

Science

Heroes Of The Taj Hotel: Why They Risked Their Lives

When a Mumbai hotel was besieged by terrorists in 2008, something extraordinary happened: Workers didn't flee. They stayed behind to help save guests at the risk of their own lives. What could possibly explain it? A new study attempts to answer that question.

Heroes Of The Taj Hotel: Why They Risked Their Lives

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Tuesday

Wednesday

Keynes' Consuming Ideas On Economic Intervention

The ideas of John Maynard Keynes, seen here around 1940, had great influence over the economic policies that followed the Great Depression and World War II. Walter Stoneman/Getty Images hide caption

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Walter Stoneman/Getty Images

Politics

Keynes' Consuming Ideas On Economic Intervention

For British economist Sir John Maynard Keynes, consumption — economic or otherwise — was what made the world go 'round. His ideas about how to nurture national economies, and when to intervene, are still being debated, 65 years after his death.

Keynes' Consuming Ideas On Economic Intervention

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Tuesday

Thursday

7 Billion And Counting

Shanghai, China (left), has become an ultra-modern city of 23 million people. But at $6, tickets for its magnetic levitation train are deemed too expensive. And in South Sudan, people who live in the town of Akobo rely on a river and planes to travel — the main road is washed out for part of the year.

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Frank Langfitt/NPR

News

7 Billion And Counting

As Earth's human population hits 7 billion, there's little agreement on what its future growth will look like. And different countries all face their own challenges to maintain a stable, productive population.

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?

Animal Kings: Ants, like these workers carrying eggs to a plant's leaf after rain flooded their nest, have a combined biomass estimated in the billions of tons. Gurinder Osan/AP hide caption

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Gurinder Osan/AP

The Two-Way

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?

There are now 7 billion people, according to the U.N.'s population division. That prompts a question: Who else is in the 7 Billion Club? To learn which other animals had reached that plateau, we asked wildlife experts — who said it's a tough call.

Monday

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

Watch as global population explodes from 300 million to 7 billion.

Adam Cole, Maggie Starbard/NPR hide caption

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Adam Cole, Maggie Starbard/NPR

7 Billion And Counting

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

The U.N. says today symbolically marks the moment when the world's population reaches 7 billion. A little more than two centuries ago, the global population was 1 billion. How did it grow so big so fast? With the help of a sound montage and video, it gets a bit easier to see how the Earth can produce that kind of a crowd.

Visualizing How A Population Hits 7 Billion

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Sunday

Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost

Tents pitched at the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park in New York. The protests are part of a growing distrust in America of government and public institutions.

Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption

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Mary Altaffer/AP

National

Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost

A recent poll showed barely 10 percent of the public trusts our government. But trust in public institutions like corporations, banks, courts, the media and universities is at an all-time low. Can our trust in government and those institutions that serve us be regained?

Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost

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