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Analysis

Thursday

Women are still missing in the music industry, especially behind the scenes

According to a new report, Nicki Minaj is one of the few top female songwriters in an industry where 57% of songs have no female writers. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images hide caption

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Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Music News

Women are still missing in the music industry, especially behind the scenes

According to a new study, fewer than 4% of producers making songs on the Billboard Top 100 last year were women — a number that hasn't changed much over the past decade.

Wednesday

Getting more oil from Saudi Arabia or the UAE could require U.S. concessions

CNBC's anchor and session moderator Hadley Gamble, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Premier Masrour Barzani, and the United Arab Emirates' Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei attend a session titled "Is the World Ready for A Future Beyond Oil?" at the World Government Summit in Dubai on March 29. Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images

World

Getting more oil from Saudi Arabia or the UAE could require U.S. concessions

With fuel prices high in the U.S. and across the globe, experts say the two Gulf countries believe they can get the U.S. to address their grievances.

Getting more oil from Saudi Arabia or the UAE could require U.S. concessions

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Tuesday

The long history of Black hair in America took center stage at the Oscars

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images) Mike Coppola/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images

National

The long history of Black hair in America took center stage at the Oscars

Will Smith smacked Chris Rock over an insensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. Many in Black hair care saw it as an unfortunate but important moment.

Monday

Should Will Smith have been allowed to collect an Oscar after he slapped Chris Rock?

Will Smith holds his Oscar for best actor in a leading role for King Richard at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Should Will Smith have been allowed to collect an Oscar after he slapped Chris Rock?

When the moment came for the Oscar show's producers to step up and say that someone who commits violence on live television doesn't get their moment in the winners' circle, the producers blinked.

Should Will Smith have been allowed to collect an Oscar after he slapped Chris Rock?

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Sunday

That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake

Some of the likely AI-generated faces from fake LinkedIn profiles identified by Stanford University researchers. The central positioning of the eyes is a telltale sign of a computer-created face. onnie Hanzhang Jin//NPR hide caption

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onnie Hanzhang Jin//NPR

Technology

That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake

Stanford researchers uncovered more than 1,000 of these LinkedIn profiles. A technology that has been used to promote misinformation online has now entered the corporate world.

That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake

Listen · 7:39
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Thursday

Russia's invasion of Ukraine transforms Europe's political and military landscape

Demonstrators stand around a peace sign during a vigil for Ukraine near the European Union headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday. Activists are calling on EU leaders to impose a full ban on Russian fuel. Valeria Mongelli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Valeria Mongelli/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine invasion — explained

Russia's invasion of Ukraine transforms Europe's political and military landscape

As Russia's war in Ukraine grinds through its fourth week, President Vladimir Putin's greatest accomplishment so far may be one he never intended: a unified Europe.

Wednesday

Wherefore art thou, N-word?
LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

Wherefore art thou, N-word?

It is probably the most radioactive word in the English language. At the same time, the N-word is kind of everywhere: books, movies, music, comedy (not to mention the mouths of people who use it frequently, whether as a slur or a term of endearment.) So on this episode, we're talking about what makes the word unique — and how the rules about its use line up with other words.

Wherefore art thou, N-word?

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Tuesday

With war on its doorstep, Germany plans a major military buildup

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks as he arrives for a visit of the Joint Operations Command of the German armed forces in Schwielowsee near Berlin, March 4. Michael Sohn/AP hide caption

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Michael Sohn/AP

Ukraine invasion — explained

With war on its doorstep, Germany plans a major military buildup

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's plan to boost defense spending could remake Germany's beleaguered military into the strongest armed forces in Europe — an idea that has met resistance in the past.

With war on its doorstep, Germany plans a major military buildup

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Friday

Wednesday

Screams and Silence, Revisited

Anti Asian-American hate has been on the rise, but is nothing new to the people who experience it. Hokyoung Kim for NPR hide caption

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Hokyoung Kim for NPR

Code Switch

Screams and Silence, Revisited

This week marks the one year anniversary of a deadly shooting spree in Atlanta, where eight people were killed. Six of those people were Asian American. That violence came after Asian American organizers had been trying, for months, to sound the alarm over a dramatic spike in reports of anti-Asian racism.

Screams and Silence, Revisited

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Tuesday

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

Spain's government said this week it impounded this superyacht called "Valerie," moored in Barcelona, saying it belonged to a Russian oligarch. Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine invasion — explained

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

Many of the sanctions the U.S. and EU have imposed on Russia are meant to target some of the country's wealthiest. But what's the difference between a "normal" billionaire and an "oligarch"?

Monday

Why your student loan payments may be delayed (again)
Fernando Cobelo for NPR

Education

Why your student loan payments may be delayed (again)

Payments on federal student loans have been paused for two years, and the Biden administration appears to be considering extending the pause beyond May.

Why your student loan payments may be delayed (again)

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Sunday

Friday

Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Annotations by NPR.

Ukraine invasion — explained

Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster

An NPR analysis of security footage and photos following the attack on Europe's largest nuclear power plant shows that many of the plant's critical safety systems were in the field of Russian fire.

Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster

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Thursday

Ukraine's Dangerous Independence

KYIV, UKRAINE - MARCH 05: A member of a Territorial Defence unit guards a barricade next to writing saying " Glory To Ukraine" close to the eastern frontline on March 05, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia continues assault on Ukraine's major cities, including the capital Kyiv, more than a week after launching a large-scale invasion of the country. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) Chris McGrath/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Throughline

Ukraine's Dangerous Independence

Months before Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, he published an essay on the Kremlin website called "On The Historical Unity of Russia and Ukraine." In it, he suggested that Ukrainians don't really have their own identity — and that they never have. Historian Serhii Plokhii says that couldn't be further from the truth. The histories of the two countries are deeply intertwined, but Ukrainian identity is unique. Today, we explore that identity: how it formed, its relationship to Russia, and how it helps us understand what's happening now.

Ukraine's Dangerous Independence

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