U.S.
5:08 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Texas Seeks New Water Supplies Amid Drought

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 1:59 pm

The punishing seven-year drought of the 1950s in Texas brought about the modern era of water planning. But the drought of 2011 was the hottest, driest 12 months on record there.

Though only a handful of towns saw their water sources dry up last summer, it got so bad that cities, industries and farmers began to think the unthinkable: Would they run out of water?

Read more
Food
5:08 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Since When Does Summer Taste Like Doughnuts?

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 1:59 pm

I get saltwater taffy. You're at an ocean that is made of salt water. But doughnuts?

I'm clearly missing something, because many summer communities have doughnut shops, often open just for the season. Critical summer doughnut mass seems to be concentrated in the north and east — maybe because it's always summer in California, where they have their own different doughnut culture.

The summer shops usually are simple shacks with awnings and screen windows, no inside seating and a picnic table outside in the hot sun.

Read more
Author Interviews
5:08 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Jennifer Weiner: 'Best Thing' Would Be Equality

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 1:59 pm

Jennifer Weiner writes what is often referred to as women's fiction. But that term is imperfect for many reasons — so we'll just refer to her as the author of multiple best-sellers.

Weiner's written a bookshelf's worth of hits, like Good in Bed, and In Her Shoes, which became a hit movie starring Cameron Diaz. She also created and ran the ABC Family television series State of Georgia. And in her copious free time? She live tweets The Bachelorette.

Read more
Music Interviews
5:08 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Old Crow Medicine Show: Something Borrowed

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Old Crow Medicine Show's new album, Carry Me Back, comes out July 17.

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 1:59 pm

Old Crow Medicine Show didn't count on the runaway success of its 2004 song "Wagon Wheel." In fact, say members Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua, the Nashville band was just trying to finish a job Bob Dylan had started.

Read more
Presidential Race
5:07 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Urgency Reigns At Vote-Focused NAACP Convention

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 1:59 pm

The NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, holds its annual convention in Houston this week. As in any election season, the group is focused on voting rights and voter turnout. But this year, there's another issue that's front of mind: the dramatically high rate of unemployment rate among African-Americans.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will address the NAACP convention on Wednesday, and Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak the following day. NAACP members are ready to hear their plans.

The Race To Register

Read more
All Songs Considered Blog
5:07 am
Sun July 8, 2012

The Shredder Behind '100 Guitar Licks' Speaks

Credit YouTube
Alex Chadwick, an employee of the Chicago Music Exchange, recorded a 12-minute video that chronicles the history of rock in one take and 100 songs.

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 7:47 pm

Afghanistan
5:06 am
Sun July 8, 2012

Kabul, A City Stretched Beyond Its Limits

Originally published on Sun July 8, 2012 7:54 pm

Kabul was once a relatively lush haven for several hundred thousand residents. But decades of war, migration and chaotic sprawl have turned the Afghan capital into a barely functioning dust bowl.

The tired infrastructure is crumbling under the weight of nearly 5 million people. And 70 percent of Kabul is now a cramped, ad hoc development where water, sewers and electricity are in short supply.

Somehow, life goes on. But the city seems to be nearing its breaking point.

Read more
Krulwich Wonders...
11:13 pm
Sat July 7, 2012

Weekend Special: Guess What? Sweat Is Not Smelly! (So Why Do I Smell?)

Credit The Chemical Heritage Foundation via YouTube

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 12:28 pm

It's hot today. Really, really, hot; over a 100 degrees Fahrenheit hot, and so I'm sweating.

Read more
Sunday Puzzle
11:03 pm
Sat July 7, 2012

If You Want In The Mix, You've Got To Split The Six

Credit NPR Graphic

Originally published on Sat July 14, 2012 4:51 pm

On-Air Challenge: For each six-letter word given, rearrange the letters to make two three-letter words that rhyme. Example: For the word "tweets," the pair of rhyming three-letter words would be "wet" and "set."

Last Week's Challenge From Listener Fred Orelove Of Richmond, Va.: Think of a well-known retail store chain in two words. Remove one letter from its name. The remaining letters, in order, will spell three consecutive words that are synonyms of each other. What are they? Hint: The three words are all slang.

Read more
Your Money
3:44 pm
Sat July 7, 2012

What Does London's LIBOR Mean To The U.S.?

Credit Carl Court / AFP/Getty Images
British banking giant Barclays is at the center of an interbank loan rate scandal that caused several high-ranking executives to resign and forced the company to pay $455 million in fines.

Originally published on Sat July 7, 2012 4:24 pm

Many of us were introduced to the term LIBOR for the first time this week, when it was revealed that some banks might have been manipulating the dull but vital interest rates to gain an edge in the market.

Read more

Pages