NPR Staff

Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker made a life together gazing at the stars. So when Gene died, Carolyn could think of no better resting place for his ashes than one of his favorite places — the moon itself.

For some, "middle class" means never wanting for anything. For others, it means watching your budget. But economists agree that the middle class is shrinking, with more moving up than falling behind.

Author Hisham Matar's new book, The Return, is an account of his journey to his native Libya in search of his father, a dissident kidnapped off the streets of Cairo years before and imprisoned.

The R&B singer can work fast — he recorded two of the tracks on his new album totally off the cuff. So why did the album take so long to make? "Well, because you gotta live something," he says.

The politics team is back with a quick take following the conclusion of the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

What does it mean to be middle class in the U.S.? Over the past century, the idea of the "middle class" has gone through a number of drastic transformations.

The Lumineers are among many artists frustrated by people on their mobile devices during performances. Their singer explains why they're asking fans to lock up their phones with a new technology.

One of Hidden Brain's producers tries to quit smoking using three interventions drawn from social science research.

The characters in Here Comes the Sun are working-class women, struggling with money, sexuality and the pressures of tourism. It is a debut novel for Jamaican author Nicole Dennis-Benn.

We can't tell you what the song of the summer will be — but here are five new songs you should put on your barbecue playlist.

On July 4, 1776, church bells rang out over Philadelphia as the Continental Congress adopted Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence.

As the Olympic trials loom in women's gymnastics, an informal group of blogs and podcasts called the "gymternet" has been shaking up how the sport is covered — focusing on athleticism, not sparkles.

Conceived as a tribute to her late father, the song took on a new meaning for Rubinos when she considered its lyrics in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

All Vincent Desiderio knew when he agreed to fly to Los Angeles was that West was a fan of his work. Twenty-four hours later, he found out just how deep the rapper's appreciation went.

If summer's a time for bugs, the firefly is a classic. But all is not so light and happy with the light-up creature: "Femme fatales" from one species actually lure males of other species to eat them.

Jacqueline Susann's camp classic about three women seeking fame and love turns 50 this year; Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell calls it "a darn good read" and an influence on her own work.

Ibukun Owolabi's mom died when he was just 2 weeks old, so his then-teenage sister, Alice, helped raise him instead. Now a decade later, they recall what she left them: a name and a legacy of love.

Suki Kim wrote Without You, There Is No Us after working undercover as a teacher in North Korea. She says the response to her book is also a response to her identity as Korean and a woman.

The producer known as Blood Orange says his new album is for everyone who grows up feeling "underappreciated." To serve them, he has to be wholly himself.

NPR's Kelly McEvers interviews Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, about the fight against ISIS in the wake of the Istanbul airport attack.