NPR Staff

Pour yourself a cup of tea, turn your (right) ear toward your speakers and take a listen to the very first episode of the Hidden Brain podcast. We're talking a lot about feedback. First, we'll hear from author Sheila Heen about a common communication problem that pops up in many ...

Holter wants to write great characters, not just make pretty music. She discusses the genesis of "Lucette Stranded On The Island" and "Vasquez" with NPR's Ari Shapiro.

Everett praises Wyoming, where many of his new stories are set, for being "so sparsely populated." And he says the outdoors aren't dangerous — human voices in the wilderness are far scarier.

Thousands have tried to complete a rigorous obstacle course on American Ninja Warrior. All failed until last week. Busboy Isaac Caldiero describes how it feels to win the warrior title.

One of pop's great survivors, Love has been making music for 50 years — and it only took a few decades for people to learn her name.

Ten albums in, Patty Griffin isn't slowing down. Her new album tackles love and humanity with a sound straight out of the juke joint and a passion that surges from each song. It also marks a milestone in the artist's personal life: She began writing it just as ...

Do you keep up with international news?

This quiz will give you a chance to find out.

The Interschool Quiz made its debut in 1993. It's a project of the Western Cape Branch of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), designed to boost interest in global matters. ...

Empire — a drama about an African-American family, a rare thing on broadcast TV — has had stellar ratings. As Season 2 begins, Ilene Chaiken talks about entertainment value and cultural impact.

Harry Houdini famously tried to escape from being buried alive — and famously failed. Recently, escape artist Antony Britton tried to do what Houdini couldn't. He describes the view from down under.

Chinelo Okparanta's new novel follows a Nigerian girl as she grows up during a violent civil war and struggles to come to terms with her sexuality.

The master jazz pianist and renowned banjo player know they make an unlikely duo — but they embrace the unexpected on their new live album, Two.

Migrants and refugees from the Middle East — and the aid agencies trying to help them — have been relying on smartphones as guides on a trek marked by chaos and closed borders.

Mary McGrory became a columnist in a time when women in journalism were still called "doll." She wrote a nationally syndicated column for more than 50 years, first for The Washington Star and then for The Washington Post, and in 1975 she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer ...

You can hear a constant refrain in French train stations. It's a short series of notes played before the announcements from the national railway, and for frequent travelers it's enough to be irritating — but it turned out to be irresistible musical inspiration for David Gilmour. The famed Pink Floyd ...

You probably never will see most of Jason deCaires Taylor's public art projects firsthand — at least, not without goggles and fins.

Most of his sculptures stand at the bottom of the sea. His life-size statues — ghostly figures of men, women and children — seem to walk the ...

Blunt says Hollywood creates films with teenage boys in mind and wants that to change. She's now starring in Sicario as an FBI agent investigating a drug cartel along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In her 20s, Glenda Elliott fell in love with a woman, well before the modern gay rights movement. Now 75, Elliott looks back on a shared love that couldn't be — and that she's cherished all her life.

The 71-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist has a new solo album, a new documentary on his life, and a few thoughts to share on the topic of immortality.

A team of behavioral scientists has been studying low-cost, easy interventions — text message reminders, how an envelope looks — to improve efficiency and access to federal programs.

Author and screenwriter Richard Russo has selected our third book — a new novel by Lauren Groff. Fates and Furies chronicles a marriage over 24 years. Russo calls it "an incredibly ambitious work."