A Harsh Tale Of War, But An Unforgettable Read

As an author of character-driven fiction, I can spend countless hours considering motive. The thinking goes like this: If character provides a story with architecture, then motive shores up the building, giving it substance, giving it style, supplying the walls and windows of conflict and resolution. The master planner in me wants to know, needs [...]

At 75, ‘Gone With The Wind’ Marks Yet ‘Another Day’

As a child growing up just south of Atlanta, Margaret Mitchell used to sit on the front porch, listening to adults tell stories about the Civil War as they passed still summer nights in Clayton County. Those stories went on to help inspire one of the most famous novels of all time — Gone with [...]

Drug Given To New Mothers Sparks Controversy

Health experts say the drug misoprostol is saving women’s lives around the world. It’s also controversial. Originally developed to prevent gastric ulcers, it’s also been shown to prevent excessive bleeding after childbirth. That’s the leading cause of maternal death in the developing world. It’s estimated that one woman dies from post-partum hemorrhage every seven minutes. [...]

Israel Vows To Block Flotilla From Reaching Gaza

Activists in a small flotilla of vessels are set to again challenge Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, just a year after a similar attempt led to a deadly confrontation in the Mediterranean. Eight ships and 300 activists — many of them from the U.S. — plan to set sail this week from Greece. [...]

Will Afghan Drawdown Spur U.S. Policy Rethink?

President Obama’s message to the nation last week was unequivocal: It was the beginning of the end for large-scale American military operations in Afghanistan. Obama announced that 10,000 U.S. forces would be out by the end of this year. The drawdown would then steadily continue until 2014, when the U.S. would hand over security to [...]

Extreme Heat Dangerous to Oklahomans

Heat illnesses can be prevented by checking on neighbors and family.

Full Transcript: Michele Bachmann Speaks To NPR

NPR’s Mara Liasson spoke with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann in New Hampshire on Tuesday. The full transcript of that interview is below. Read the edited version of the interview. MARA LIASSON: You’re now a top-tier candidate. How do you build on the momentum that you clearly have in Iowa so that you don’t end [...]

Matchmaker, Matchmaker … Run Your Algorithm

New Yorker staff writer Nick Paumgarten has never tried online dating. He married the second woman he ever went out with, almost 25 years ago. But he became interested in the multibillion-dollar Internet dating industry — which now accounts for one in every six new marriages — because of the way online dating has become [...]

‘Fire In Babylon’: Visit The Violent, Turbulent, Political World Of Cricket

Some documentaries get theatrical releases, some make it to HBO or PBS, and some eventually do well on Netflix. But there are other avenues, too, and it’s not always easy to know where to find the ones that are a little off the (American) radar. A great example of that problem is the cricket documentary [...]

U.S. Military Searches For A Device To Stop IEDs

Homemade remote-controlled bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs, have been one of the biggest killers of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. At their peak, bombs were wounding 1,000 U.S. service members a month. Insurgents used them because they could attack from a safe distance. The Pentagon has spent more than $17 [...]