Commentary

Listen to recent stories

Playlist

browse by date
subscribe
share

cover detail hide caption

itoggle caption

After The California Downpour, 'The Drought' Offers Some Dry Reading

December 5, 2014 • It rained in California this week. That might not sound like news, but the state is experiencing a record-setting drought. Jason Heller turns to science fiction to reflect on the strange weather.

Week In Politics: Secretary Of Defense, Eric Garner

December 5, 2014 • Melissa Block speaks with political commentators, Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post and MSNBC and David Brooks of the New York Times.

Listen Loading… 7:45

Endurance runner and Purdue University anthropology professor Bryce Carlson is preparing to run 3,080 miles in 140 days. Courtesy of Bryce Carlson hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Bryce Carlson

Would You Run 3,080 Miles For Science?

December 4, 2014 • What are the limits of the human body and mind during extreme-endurance racing? Anthropologist Barbara J. King interviews the research director of an upcoming 3,080-mile run across the United States.

iStockphoto

A Quest For The Unattainable Unification Of Knowledge

December 3, 2014 • There is no reason to expect that we can get to the ultimate nature of reality, says physicist Marcelo Gleiser. We must learn to live with the mystery, with the fact that we cannot know everything.

The star Mira, commentator Adam Frank's love interest, leaves a trail of gas — light-years across — as it hurtles through space. NASA hide caption

itoggle caption NASA

Confessions Of An Astrophysicist: I'm In Love With A Star

December 2, 2014 • Commentator Adam Frank says the best part of being a scientist is falling deeply, intimately in love with what you study, on a very specific level. Here, he waxes poetic on his connection to Mira.

iStockphoto

Does It Matter Who Accepts Evolution?

December 1, 2014 • What does the American public really believe about human origins? And does it matter? Commentator Tania Lombrozo argues it does.

A young Joe DiMaggio was a hitter for hire, playing with whatever local ball club could pay him. Then his semi-pro successes brought him to the San Francisco Seals, and from there to the major leagues — and the rest is history. Bettmann/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Bettmann/Corbis

Sports

Happy Birthday To Joltin' Joe — Who Didn't Even Like Baseball

November 30, 2014 • Joe DiMaggio, who was born 100 years ago this week, played baseball because he needed money — not because he loved the game. After years of stunning success, though, he came to need the sport.

Retired 1st Sgt. Keith Melick (right) and retired Army Special Forces Command Sgt. Maj. Roy Wilkins met when Melick, a medic, treated Wilkins after an IED explosion. They were reunited nearly 10 years later. StoryCorps hide caption

itoggle caption StoryCorps

StoryCorps

A Decade After Battle, Medic And Wounded Soldier Reunite

November 29, 2014 • In 2004, Command Sgt. Maj. Roy Wilkins was wounded in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Medic Keith Melick pulled him from the rubble. This summer, a chance meeting brought the two together again.

Listen Loading… 2:55

Cricketer Phillip Hughes celebrates a score in 2011. Hughes was wearing a helmet this week when a ball struck him on the neck and killed him. Eranga Jayawardena/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Eranga Jayawardena/AP

Simon Says

Helmets Aren't Always Enough To Keep Players Safe

November 29, 2014 • Cricketer Phillip Hughes was wearing a helmet this week when a ball struck and killed him. NPR's Scott Simon wonders if some safety measures also encourage people to take on more risk.

Listen Loading… 2:33

cover crop hide caption

itoggle caption

This Week's Must Read

After The Ferguson Decision, A Poem That Gives Name To The Hurt

November 28, 2014 • This week, a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Michael Brown. Writer Syreeta McFadden turns to Audre Lorde's poetry to make sense of this decision.

Listen Loading… 1:59

iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

On This Thanksgiving, Celebrating The Wild Turkey

November 27, 2014 • Wild turkeys are smart, curious and sweet animals. But sometimes they bring attitude to encounters with humans, commentator Barbara J. King says.

San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan celebrates with his teammates after defeating the Miami Heat in game five of the NBA finals in June. Ashley Landis/EPA/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Ashley Landis/EPA/Landov

Sweetness And Light

Be Thankful This Year For The San Antonio Spurs

November 26, 2014 • Just in time for Thanksgiving, commentator Frank Deford describes his gratitude for everyone's favorite team in any American sport. The Spurs, he says, are gentlemen, do right and are beloved by all.

Listen Loading… 3:27

iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Something To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

November 25, 2014 • Commentator Adam Frank says that no matter what your year has been like — no matter what you may have lost — you can always be thankful for the miracle that is planet Earth.

iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Is The Blogosphere Self-Correcting?

November 24, 2014 • Some institutions, like science, seem to be self-correcting — we can harbor some hope that they'll converge on the truth. Commentator Tania Lombrozo isn't sure the blogosphere has similar virtues.

Alexander Burzik/iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Exploring The Religious Naturalist Option

November 23, 2014 • Religious naturalists understand humans to be emergent from and, hence, a part of, nature, says commentator Ursula Goodenough. They also consider the religious potential in these beliefs.

A truckload of chardonnay is ready to deliver to the winery for crushing in this 2006 photo from Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, Calif. George Rose/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption George Rose/Getty Images

Food

Lovers Of California Wine, Keep An Eye On Anderson Valley

November 22, 2014 • Anderson Valley doesn't typically make the shortlist when travelers are planning a California wine vacation, but commentator Christine Ciarmello says it's like visiting Napa — back in the '70s.

cover detail hide caption

itoggle caption

This Week's Must Read

These 'True Tales' Add Nuance To The Immigration Discussion

November 21, 2014 • President Obama announced an executive action on immigration this week. For an in-depth look at the issue, author Gustavo Arellano recommends two nonfiction collections about Mexican immigrants.

Listen Loading… 1:52

Week In Politics: Obama's Executive Action On Immigration

November 21, 2014 • Robert Siegel talks with E.J Dionne of The Washington Post and David Brooks of The New York Times about President Obama's immigration speech.

Listen Loading… 7:19

iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Artificial Intelligence, Really, Is Pseudo-Intelligence

November 21, 2014 • Commentator Alva Noë argues that we don't need to be alarmed that our machines are rapidly outstripping natural-born human cognitive power: We've got a millions-of-years head start.

iStockphoto

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can't Sleep? Maybe Thinking About Evolution Will Help

November 20, 2014 • Anthropologist Barbara J. King says the cross-cultural norm for sleep deviates significantly from the long, uninterrupted night of rest insomniacs may dream about — if they can sleep enough to dream.

This combination photo produced with different images shows Philae after landing on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. AP hide caption

itoggle caption AP

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Little Comet Probe That Could

November 19, 2014 • You may be carrying comet dust in your bones and blood. Probe Philae has shown that, now, we can go collect the original stuff. That's where science becomes magical, says commentator Marcelo Gleiser.

Under the #Gamergate hashtag, a debate has flared surrounding ethics in video game journalism and the role and treatment of women in the video game industry. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption LA Johnson/NPR

NPR Ed

One Gamer's Take On 'Gamergate'

November 19, 2014 • Amid the concerns about the way the video game culture treats players from different backgrounds, one player has found hope, and common ground.

The executive committee of FIFA — the international organization that regulates soccer — was so suspected of taking bribes that FIFA ordered its own internal investigation. It's no surprise, says Frank Deford, that it found no wrongdoing. Kirill Kudryavstev/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Kirill Kudryavstev/AFP/Getty Images