Black Market Value: Three Criminally Good Reads

A longtime acquaintance of mine happens to be a drug dealer; in some ways our careers have progressed on parallel planes. As I went from writing for the college paper to seeing my byline in the national glossies, he went from being the hardscrabble local guy to the top of a criminal network. While of [...]

A ‘Christmas Story’ Musical? Sing Out, Ralphie!

Every year at this time, families in search of child-friendly holiday entertainment buy their tickets for productions of A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker. It’s a lucrative market, and commercial producers are always looking for the next big Broadway-style holiday show that might join that small group of classic favorites. (The Grinch musical, anyone?) This [...]

With The Flick Of A Switch, It’s Crystal Clear To Hear

For the more than 10 percent of Americans who have some form of hearing loss, mass transit can be very frustrating, especially on a busy travel weekend like this one. Even if you wear a hearing aid, trying to hear in places like airports, theaters and places of worship can be tough. But a group [...]

Black Friday Madness Sweeps Across The Country

By the time it opened at 9 p.m. Thursday night for Black Friday, the Toys “R” Us in New York City’s Times Square had a line snaking around the corner from its entrance on 44th Street. It went on for two blocks. Angela Jenkins was there with two of her girlfriends and no kids. “I [...]

Jay-Z ‘Decoded:’ The Fresh Air Interview

This interview was originally broadcast on November 16, 2010. Decoded is now available in paperback. Long before he sold 50 million records worldwide — and before he appeared alongside Warren Buffett on the cover of Fortune magazine, accumulated 10 Grammy Awards and became the CEO of his own record label — Jay-Z was living with [...]

Have The Crackdowns On Immigration Gone Too Far?

The architect of Arizona’s controversial immigration law has been voted out of office. That law and similar statutes are undergoing difficult court challenges. And the strictest law, in Alabama, has ignited a withering backlash expected to force major changes. Have the crackdowns on illegal immigration finally gone too far? “If you asked me this question [...]

After Ohio State Clobbers Michigan, Cuddle Up With Professor Feynman

It’s Thanksgiving weekend, so when you’re footballed up, (or is it footballed out? Or maybe you’re football indifferent?) whatever you are, here’s a nice way to spend five minutes: Cuddle up with the great physicist Richard Feynman and hear him talk about beauty, curiosity and — most important of all — about doubt. Doubt is [...]

Relax, Folks. It Really Is Honey After All

Maybe we’re too inclined to believe the worst about supermarket food. How else to explain the reaction to a recent report about honey on the web site Food Safety News? Food Safety News is published by a lawyer who represents plaintiffs in lawsuits against food manufacturers and processors. The post, by journalist Andrew Schneider, claimed [...]

Beer Or Sugar Water? For Flies, The Choice Is Pale Ale

Scientists in California think they’ve figure out why flies like beer. That may sound a bit trivial, but in fact it could lead to new ways of combating plant and animal pests. That flies like beer is well known. “The attraction of flies to beer was first reported in the early 1920s,” says Anupama Dahanukar. [...]

A Holiday Guide For The Politically Inclined

At NPR, we know a thing or two about promotional merchandise. After all, we invented the Nina Totin’ Bag and the Carl Kasell Autograph Pillow. So, on this Black Friday, White House correspondent Scott Horsley presents the NPR guide to campaign swag. Not long ago, President Obama’s re-election campaign sent out an email, advertising its [...]