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Monday November 30, 2015

Love It Or Hate It, #GivingTuesday Has Become 'A Thing'

#GivingTuesday pulled in $46 million in charitable donations in 2014. Lee Woodgate/Ikon Images/Corbis hide caption

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Lee Woodgate/Ikon Images/Corbis

Love It Or Hate It, #GivingTuesday Has Become 'A Thing'

November 30, 2015 • Ho ho ho, you've shopped till you've dropped a bundle. Now along comes #GivingTuesday. Is this the best way to encourage charity in the holiday season?

What Pope Francis Did — And Didn't — Say On His First Trip To Africa

Pope Francis arrives at Lubaga Cathedral in Kampala during the Ugandan stage of his trip. Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images

What Pope Francis Did — And Didn't — Say On His First Trip To Africa

November 30, 2015 • He spoke about bribery, war, water and peace between Muslims and Christians — but stayed silent on gay rights.

Sunday November 29, 2015

Treating The Poor In India Made Him A Better Cancer Doc In The U.S.

Dr. Raju Rao, in glasses, during his volunteer stint in India. Rohit Pansare hide caption

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Rohit Pansare

Treating The Poor In India Made Him A Better Cancer Doc In The U.S.

November 29, 2015 • Journalist Ankita Rao asked her father, a doctor, to spend time with her in India, volunteering at a medical clinic. Then she interviewed him about the experience.

Saturday November 28, 2015

You'll Never Guess The Most Charitable Nation In The World

On the road to Buddhist monkhood, young novices chant mantras and collect alms on a street in Yangon, Myanmar. NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

You'll Never Guess The Most Charitable Nation In The World

November 28, 2015 • Hint: It's not the United States. (We're number 2). And it's definitely not a country from the Western world.

Friday November 27, 2015

Dear Pope Francis, As You Visit Uganda, Here's What You Should Know

A vendor arranges portraits of Pope Francis outside the Lubaga Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda, in preparation for the papal visit. Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images

Dear Pope Francis, As You Visit Uganda, Here's What You Should Know

November 27, 2015 • The pope arrives in the country on Friday. Commentators James Kassaga Arinaitwe and Viviane Rutabingwa give him a crash course in the country's issues.

Thursday November 26, 2015

Peace Corps Volunteer To Have Turkey-Free But Thankful Thanksgiving

The author and members of her host family. Courtesy of Kiley Shields hide caption

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Courtesy of Kiley Shields

Peace Corps Volunteer To Have Turkey-Free But Thankful Thanksgiving

November 26, 2015 • This year, in Ghana, I understand what it means to be truly thankful. Even if there isn't any stuffing.

Wednesday November 25, 2015

Despite Similarities, Pocahontas Gets Love, Malinche Gets Hate. Why?

An artist's depiction of the meeting of Hernan Cortes and La Malinche with the Aztec emperor Montezuma II. Unknown Tlaxcalan artists via Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Unknown Tlaxcalan artists via Wikimedia Commons

Despite Similarities, Pocahontas Gets Love, Malinche Gets Hate. Why?

November 25, 2015 • La Malinche was an Indian woman who served as an interpreter for Cortes — at a cost to her reputation. Even 500 years later, she's reviled in Mexico.

MSF Director Unsatisfied With Pentagon's 'Admission Of Gross Negligence'

Members of Doctors Without Borders demonstrated in Geneva, after U.S. forces bombed the organization's hospital in the northern Afghanistan city of Kunduz. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

MSF Director Unsatisfied With Pentagon's 'Admission Of Gross Negligence'

November 25, 2015 • The Pentagon's report says the Doctors Without Borders hospital attack in Afghanistan was an accident. The group's executive director, Jason Cone, says it raises more questions than it answers.

Tuesday November 24, 2015

Puzzling Ebola Death Shows How Little We Know About The Virus

Some health workers in Liberia had stopped using the protective gear that was part of the Ebola routine. The photo above is from 2014, when the epidemic was at its peak. David P. Gilkey/NPR hide caption

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David P. Gilkey/NPR

Goats and Soda

Puzzling Ebola Death Shows How Little We Know About The Virus

November 24, 2015 • Researchers need to figure out how Ebola can — and can't — be spread by survivors. And health workers need to don protective equipment once again.

Puzzling Ebola Death Shows How Little We Know About The Virus

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A Pope's Visit May Bring Hope, But Does It Also Bring Change?

A poster in the Nairobi slum of Kangemi welcomes Pope Francis to Kenya. Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

A Pope's Visit May Bring Hope, But Does It Also Bring Change?

November 24, 2015 • During a papal visit, the media swarm and security is intense. He speaks of issues that face the country. After he goes, is there any lasting legacy?

Monday November 23, 2015

How Do You Keep Vaccines Cool? Try Spacecraft Insulation

A camel gives a lift to the Arktek cooler, designed to give vaccines the cold comfort they need to remain effective. Courtesy of Gates Foundation hide caption

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Courtesy of Gates Foundation

Goats and Soda

How Do You Keep Vaccines Cool? Try Spacecraft Insulation

November 23, 2015 • Typically, if a vaccine is not kept cold, it doesn't work. And that's a big problem in hot spots. A new cooler seems to do the trick — without electricity!

Sunday November 22, 2015

Refugees: That Time Everyone Said 'No' And Bolivia Said 'Yes'

South America has a tradition of offering a haven to refugees, including my grandfather, Miguel Garsd, pictured here in Argentina, where he began practicing medicine in the 1930s. His family had fled pogroms in the Ukraine in the late 1800s. Courtesy of Jasmine Garsd hide caption

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Courtesy of Jasmine Garsd

Goats and Soda

Refugees: That Time Everyone Said 'No' And Bolivia Said 'Yes'

November 22, 2015 • Observers draw a parallel between anti-refugee sentiments now and during WWII. Back then, many doors where closed to those fleeing Nazism. Bolivia was a notable exception.

Saturday November 21, 2015

Eye On The Invisible: A Photographer's Quest To Spotlight The Stateless

This 11-year-old boy lives with his family in a Roma settlement in Belgrade. "He and his brothers and sisters are without documents, but he had this amazing confidence," Constantine says. Greg Constantine hide caption

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Greg Constantine