A Floating Hotel At The Edge Of New York City

In New York, on the distant end of the city from Manhattan, the Rockaways sit on a thin strip of land at the southern edge of Queens, bounded on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and on the other by Jamaica Bay. It has recently become a destination for young adults, and now there’s a [...]

When Does A Person Start To Boil?

It’s hot. I know, I know. But, have you ever wondered how much heat you can take? 232 years ago, three British gentlemen decided to find out. They designed a room, sealed it off, and heated it to 211 degrees, that’s one degree shy of water-boiling hot. What would happen, they wondered, if they stepped [...]

Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite ‘Broetry’

“Broetry is poetry for dudes,” Brian McGackin writes in the introduction to his new collection of poems. “It’s poetry for people who don’t like poetry.” The slim volume draws inspiration from non-broets, McGackin tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered. Even the cover poem mirrors the famous William Carlos Williams work “This [...]

Flow Of Somali Refugees Puts Strain On Kenyan Town

Thousands of refugees continue to flee drought, famine and conflict in Somalia, seeking shelter and food in neighboring Kenya. But Kenya too is suffering from drought in the arid and semi-arid north of the country. The northeastern Kenyan town of Dadaab is already home to more than 400,000 Somali refugees. Many younger Somalis have never [...]

A New Movie, Starring You

Director Kevin Macdonald, known for major Hollywood movies like The Last King of Scotland and State of Play, had an even bigger idea last year: to capture 24 hours of everyday life around the entire world. YouTube users from more than 192 countries uploaded more than 4,500 hours of video to his channel, all of [...]

‘Pure Politics’ in D.C.; A True Crisis In Europe

While the U.S. seems to be walking into a sovereign debt crisis, European countries are trying desperately to avoid one. “What we have is a bunch of really idiotic kabuki theater going on in Washington and a bunch of politicians playing around with a ridiculous debt ceiling which shouldn’t exist in the first place,” Reuters [...]

U.S. Strengthens Ties To Asian Regional Grouping

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is claiming some modest successes after several days of talks with Asian leaders in Bali, Indonesia. The issues that stood out included territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Myanmar and North Korea. After three days of talks, Clinton noted that tensions over the South China Sea issue have [...]

Iran: Scientist May Have Been Mistakenly Killed

Iran says the killing of a young scientist Saturday was a “U.S.-Zionist terrorist act.” Darioush Rezai-Nejad, 35, was gunned down in Tehran on Saturday by assailants who also wounded his wife, according to state-run Iranian media. A number of Iranian nuclear scientists have been attacked in recent years, but officials said in this case there [...]

EPA Seeks To Tighten Ozone Standards

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected any day now to tighten the standard for how much ozone is safe to breathe, but the level of ozone that scientists say is safe doesn’t sit well with industry. The agency decision is sitting at the White House, awaiting approval. The EPA is redoing the ozone standard set [...]

The Evolution Of Debt: From Mesopotamia To America

The political drama for raising the US debt ceiling continues in Washington D.C. The White House says the limit must be raised by August 2nd to prevent a US government default. Economists warn that if it happens…Americans will see an instant spike in interest rates on everything from mortgages to credit cards, and it could [...]