NPR Staff

The man who painted the Mona Lisa, and was the first to sketch out the helicopter and the submarine, also dabbled in music. So here's the question: What musical instrument did Leonardo da Vinci design?

There isn't an easy answer. His 15th-century sketches indicate something between a harpsichord and a ...

Should the kitchen sink's built-in dispenser be filled with dish soap or hand soap?

Can you stop family members from using your childhood nickname?

Is a machine gun a robot?

These are the kinds of pressing decisions before the court on the podcast, Judge John Hodgman.

Now, Hodgman is ...

John Mayer has a lot to be thankful for this year, including his return to the stage. A Grammy winner and a multi-platinum seller, Mayer is one of the most successful musicians of the past decade-plus — but a few events in his life have left him uncharacteristically ...

NPR's Tell Me More is again using social media to reach out to a new community of leaders – this time, to recognize African-American innovators in technology who represent just 5% of America's scientists and engineers, according to a 2010 study by the National Science Foundation.

After receiving an overwhelming ...

NPR continues a series of conversations about The Race Card Project, where thousands of people have submitted their thoughts on race and cultural identity in six words. Every so often NPR Host/Special Correspondent Michele Norris dips into those stories to explore issues surrounding race and cultural identity ...

Squash is the ultimate Thanksgiving food, not turkey. So says Chris Kimball, host of the PBS show America's Test Kitchen.

"Of all the things they served in that first Thanksgiving, there might not have been turkey," Kimball says. Early revelers may have dined on small birds or venison. "The ...

NPR's Susan Stamberg has a booming laugh, a probing mind, and, of course, a cranberry relish recipe that's infamous in public radio land. But there's another dish that has graced her holiday table through the years — a dish that's been overshadowed by her mother-in-law's cranberry relish. It's Madhur Jaffrey's ...

The recent revelations about National Security Agency surveillance programs have renewed the debate over the balance between national security and civil liberties.

Some argue that mass electronic surveillance is vital to the fight against terrorism, even if it makes some people uneasy. But others say spying on vast numbers of ...

Think of the album Foreverly as a musical equation. You start with Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day. Then you add Norah Jones. Then, you get these two very different musicians thinking about doing duets of music from a totally unexpected source:

GQ Magazine correspondent Jeanne Marie Laskas calls him "Special Agent Charles Hunt," but that's not his real name. He's sometimes known as "Thrash" or "Hammer," Laskas says (also not his real name).

That's because Hunt is a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, specializing in ...

In Nevada, there is no income tax. And if you've ever been to Las Vegas then you know why — they don't need one.

More than 30 million tourists a year stumble down the Las Vegas Strip, and many of those tourists come to gamble, leaving behind a ridiculous amount ...

Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky is just about everywhere. You can find the distinctive square bottle in bars, liquor stores and supermarkets from Milwaukee to Mumbai.

According to the trade magazine Drinks International, Johnnie Walker is the ninth best-selling brand of distilled spirit in the world. And it's getting bigger.

When you hear the name "Disney," you might picture a few things — Ariel the mermaid perched on a rock, or Mrs. Potts observing the blossoming love between a beauty and a beast. But just as important is what begins playing in your head: The songs that accompany these moments ...

As you're thinking about this year's Thanksgiving menu, you might be feeling a bit bored. Green bean casserole? Been there. Turkey and stuffing? Meh. Pumpkin pie? Cliché.

We were looking for a little Thanksgiving inspiration, so we reached out to culinary legend Patricia Wells. The veteran restaurant critic and cookbook ...

Each week, Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin brings listeners an unexpected side of the news by talking with someone personally affected by the stories making headlines.

This week, mental health is in the spotlight after former Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds was stabbed by his son, who then killed ...

This week, JPMorgan Chase agreed to a $13 billion settlement with the Justice Department over the sale of faulty mortgage securities that led to the financial crisis. It's the largest settlement with a single company in U.S. history.

From that settlement, $4 billion must go to help the millions ...

Matthew Raiford's grandmother is known around their hometown of Brunswick, Ga., for her sweet potato pie. Raiford says growing up, he knew her sweet potato pie was the best. He was admittedly biased: This was his Nana's pie, so of course it's his favorite.

But Raiford says he's watched enough ...

On Tuesday night, finalists for the National Book Awards read from their nominated works at The New School in New York City. The National Book Foundation will announce the winners Wednesday night.

Get to know the books on the shortlist — for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature — ...

"Immigrant number 96153. That's how my great-grandmother was cataloged, that was the number on her immigration pass." says Gaiutra Bahadur, author of the new book Coolie Woman.

Bahadur set out to uncover her family's roots by following a paper trail of colonial archives and ship records that traced her great-grandmother's ...

In the classical music world right now, many eyes are focused on Jeremy Denk. The 43-year-old pianist was awarded a MacArthur "genius" grant in September, his new album of Bach's Goldberg Variations is pleasing critics and this week he played ...