NPR Staff

Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution from The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad, explores what the author Brett Martin describes as the "Third Golden Age of TV," based on a new kind of television character.

Subscription cable channels don't have sensitive sponsors, ...

When pro basketball player Jason Collins announced earlier this year that he was gay, Anthony Nicodemo was listening.

Nicodemo is the head basketball coach at Saunders High School in Yonkers, N.Y. At great risk to his cherished career, he recently decided to come out to his team.

"I said, 'You ...

In the first half of the 20th century, aerial performers — not elephants or tigers — were the big draw at circuses. And nobody was a bigger star than Lillian Leitzel, a tiny woman from Eastern Europe who ruled the Ringling Brothers circus.

"She was a child of another trapeze ...

Henry D'Arthenay grew up in Caracas, Venezuela — a country currently rife with political conflict. As lead singer of the Venezuelan alt-rock band La Vida Bohème, D'Arthenay used that chaos for fuel in constructing the band's latest album, Será, which was released in April.

La Vida Bohème draws ...

Daredevil Nik Wallenda of the famous "Flying Wallendas" family successfully walked on a 2-inch-thick cable across a 1,500-foot gorge near the Grand Canyon last week — without a net.

Back on solid ground, Wallenda says of course he has butterflies, but he doesn't get dizzy and there's no fear. He ...

This was a week in which the country was reminded of our continuing struggle with race — and how we're still not quite sure how to talk about it.

The conversation started with the actions of the Supreme Court: A key provision of the Voting Rights Act was dismantled, ...

The Fourth of July is just around the corner, and on the big day, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture will be heard from coast to coast, complete with fireworks and cannons. But how did a Russian composition, depicting the rout of Napoleon's Army, end up as the unofficial soundtrack for ...

Smith Dobson was one of the most sought-after pianists of the Bay Area when he died in a car crash in 2001. He was part of a musical family — his wife, Gail, a jazz singer; his son a drummer. His daughter, Sasha Dobson, was a scat singer who followed ...

Richard Russo, the writer who won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for his book Empire Falls, published a new novel six months ago. If you're wondering how you missed it, it might be because Russo chose not to publish with a traditional publisher. There are no hardcover or paperback copies ...

When the 911 phone system was established, it gave citizens a fast, easy way to reach police in an emergency.

But it also created a logistical challenge for law enforcement: Police departments get so many calls, 911 can be as much a burden as a boon. Many calls are non-emergencies, ...

Fifty years ago today, the No. 1 song in America was an import from Japan: a song about young love called "Sukiyaki," sung by Kyu Sakomoto.

Ian Condry, who teaches Japanese culture at MIT, says "Sukiyaki" transcended language because it hit an emotional nerve. The song spent three weeks at ...

When Connie Casey learned her adolescent son was gay, she blamed herself and sent him to conversion therapy for several years. But when Samuel, now 22, went away to college, Connie sa...

British singer Omar was a child musician back in the '70s and '80s, but he's done a lot of growing up since then. Now married with two daughters, Omar has a new album, The Man, which marks a turning point in his life.

"It's about changing," he says. "Since I've ...

When blueberries are in season, you don't need to turn on the oven to make a delicious dessert. Valerie Erwin says it takes just 15 minutes to make one of her favorite summer dishes, Blueberry Dumplings. She shared the recipe for All Things Considered's Found Recipes series.

Erwin ...

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 will dip into those six-word stories to explore issues surrounding race and cultural identity ...

The U.S. Supreme Court issued opinions on four major cases this week that dealt with same-sex marriage, affirmative action in college admissions and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In an NPR special, journalists and guests discussed the court's decisions and the implications of the rulings going forward.

Host: Linda Wertheimer

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From small country churches to the stages of the civil rights movement to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mavis Staples' career has spanned more than 60 years.

The gospel legend has shown no interest in retirement. Her new album, One True Vine, is her second collaboration with ...

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on two cases dealing with gay marriage, here's a look at how the debate has touched American life over the past four decades:

1972

In Baker v. Nelson, the U.S. Supreme Court dismisses a challenge of a ruling ...

Sometimes when there's a daily drumbeat of news — war, protest, unrest — it's good to find those moments to pause, dig deeper, and find layers of the story that are easy to miss.

Tina Brown, the editor of The Daily Beast, joins NPR's David Greene to help us do ...

Ella Fitzgerald was known as the First Lady of Song, but Carla Bruni is the singer-songwriter of first ladies.

The Italian-born, globe-trotting fashion model recorded an international hit in 2002, "Quelqu'un M'a Dit" (in English, "Someone Told Me"). In 2008, she married Nicolas Sarkozy, then president ...