National

West Point Women: A Natural Pattern Or A Camouflage Ceiling?

11:53am October 22, 2013

by Larry Abramson

Since 1980, the percentage of women at the U.S. Military Academy has stayed largely the same, leading some to conclude that the school has set an artificial cap on the number of female cadets it accepts. Now, West Point has been told it must raise those numbers to meet the demand for more female leaders.

Queue Listen Now

National

Gay Couples Tie Knot In New Jersey As Christie Backs Down

10:10am October 22, 2013

by Joel Rose

New Jersey became the 14th state to allow same-sex marriage Monday when gay couples began marrying just after midnight. A state judge forced the state to recognize same-sex marriages. Initially, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appealed that ruling. But he dropped that appeal Monday, saying the New Jersey Supreme Court had already made clear how it would rule.

Queue Listen Now

Volkswagen's car plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., is the company's only one in the U.S. It's also the only VW plant around the world without a workers union.

Volkswagen Union Opposed By Tennessee Republican Officials

10:10am October 22, 2013

by Blake Farmer

At auto plants, the tension is typically between the workers and the management. But not at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, where it's Republican officials who are trying to stand in the way. One of them is the Tennessee governor, who says a unionized plant might discourage other companies from coming to his state.

Queue Listen Now

If A Tech Company Had Built The Federal Health Care Website

5:25pm October 21, 2013

by Steve Henn

The rollout of the health care exchange has been plagued by a host of technical problems. Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley likely would have approached the website differently from the beginning — one former startup employee says that has to do with how projects are funded.

Queue Listen Now

The Essex Base Ball Organization, a vintage baseball league, holds its games on a farm in Newburyport, Mass.

Pitching Like It's 1860, Teams Play Ball With Vintage Flair

3:54am October 20, 2013

by Edgar B. Herwick III

In this curious base ball league, the umpire wears a top hat and the players drink water out of pewter mugs. The rules and equipment follow 19th-century protocol. A history-lover's dream, the games take place on a farm, evoking the sport's pastoral early years.

Queue Listen Now

National

For Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, A Mixed Midterm Report Card

6:41pm October 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

Not only are Chicago's schools troubled, the city's homicide rate spiked last year to its highest point in 10 years. Unemployment is 9 percent. And the city's deficit is looming near the $1 billion mark. That's just the short list of urgent problems facing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Queue Listen Now

Calculating The Worth Of The Redskins Brand

7:40am October 19, 2013

The name of Washington's football team has been hotly debated: criticized for being a racial slur but defended but the team's owner as actually being a kind of tribute to Native Americans. Host Scott Simon talks to Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen about the economics of the Washington Redskins brand.

Queue Listen Now

National

Bookless Library In Texas Aims To 'Break Down The Barriers To Reading'

7:40am October 19, 2013

San Antonio's newest library doesn't look very bookish. In fact, the BiblioTech is completely digital. Host Scott Simon speaks with Judge Nelson Wolff of Bexar County, who spearheaded the initiative, about the modern take on the traditional library.

Queue Listen Now

National

Do-It-Yourself Library Brings Neighborhood Together

7:40am October 19, 2013

Dina Moreno of Seattle describes how her family built a "Little Free Library," one of thousands of miniature lending spots popping up around the country. The library, the size of a doll house, has helped bring the neighborhood together.

Queue Listen Now

Pastor Jamie Coots holds a snake at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church of Middlesboro, Ky.

National

Serpent Experts Try To Demystify Pentecostal Snake Handling

10:09pm October 18, 2013

by John Burnett

Earlier this month, NPR reported on a small group of Pentecostal Christians who handle snakes to prove their faith in God. We wondered why the handlers are bitten so rarely, and why so few of those snakebites are lethal. Herpetologists who have studied the snake-handling phenomenon have some theories.

Queue Listen Now