There's an upside to cold, snowless New England days — great skating
Maine Public reporter Ari Snider heads out on a couple of Maine's lakes to explore the burgeoning sport of "wild ice skating." (Story aired on All Things Considered on Jan. 16, 2025.)
Pitch-Drop Worse Than Watching Paint Dry
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have some long awaited test results: After 69 years, they have captured on video a drop of pitch, also known as bitumen or asphalt. The experiment proves pitch is a liquid.
Canadian Woman Picks Marriage Proposal Over Jail Time
Marcia Belyea was on a drive with her boyfriend when she heard a police siren. She was pulled over and told she owed $2,000 in parking tickets and faced 30 days in jail. As she wept in the police car, Belyea was offered a deal. Charges would be dropped if she took her boyfriend's hand in marriage. Believe it or not, she said "yes."
In Dubai, Weight Loss Is Worth Gold
If you want people to slim down, why not reward them with gold? That's the tack being taken in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For every kilogram lost, the government will pay out a gram of gold.
40 Years Later, A Black-And-White Photo Gets New Life
The Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case and the issues of race surrounding it got photographer Joseph Crachiola thinking about a picture he took almost 40 years ago of a group of black and white children playing happily together in the streets of a Detroit suburb. Renee Montagne talks to Crachiola about the photo, which has gone viral since he posted it on Facebook after the Zimmerman verdict.
Tour De France Racers Want To Leave Shadow Of Doping Behind
The Tour de France reaches its conclusion on Sunday. This year, angry competitors said they were sick of riding under the cloud of dopers from the 1990s and 2000s. The current race appears to be dope-free, but one can't be sure about that yet.
Federal Judge Green Lights Suit Against Private Equity Firms
The investor lawsuit claims the companies, including Blackstone, Carlyle and Bain Capital, colluded to drive down prices on hundreds of billions of dollars in takeovers.
A Year After Colo. Shooting, Trial Still Far Off
One year ago Saturday, James Holmes allegedly opened fire on a crowded theater in Aurora, Colo. Within minutes, 12 people were dead and dozens more injured. The Holmes trial is many months away. How have the city and state responded to the killings over the past year?
Costume-Clad Comic-Con Fans Descend On San Diego
Renee Montagne talks to Gina McIntyre of the Los Angeles Times about the San Diego Comic-Con, the annual pop culture convention that draws 130,000 fans to the beach-side city, many in costumes. The convention runs through Sunday.
Russian Opposition Leader Convicted Amid Controversy
A Russian court has convicted one of the country's most prominent opposition leaders of embezzlement. Alexei Navalny faces a sentence of five years in prison in a controversial case that he says was trumped up to derail his political career. Navalny was instrumental in organizing mass protests against the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tourists At Kruger National Park Witness High-Speed Chase
In the South African park, two cheetahs were chasing a herd of impala. Seconds from becoming dinner, one of the impala decided to make a tourist's SUV its get-away car. The animal jumped into an open window of the vehicle, which stopped the cheetahs in their tracks.