Analysis

Washington Holidays Begin With An Air of Bipartisanship

8:00am December 23, 2013

President Obama and his family are vacationing in Hawaii and Congress is in recess until early next year. As members left town, it was in a less contentious mood than in the last several years. But next year brings challenges that are likely to test whatever good will is now in the air.

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Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele talk Ax vs. Ask with NPR's Shereen Marisol Meraji.

National

Why Chaucer Said 'Ax' Instead Of 'Ask,' And Why Some Still Do

6:39pm December 03, 2013

by Shereen Marisol Meraji

People often question why some pronounce the word "ask" as "ax." We axed several linguists, and it turns out that "ax" has long been an accepted form of the word, used by English speakers for more than a thousand years.

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A screen grab from NuclearEnergy.ir. The English-language website makes Iran's case for its controversial nuclear program.

World News

Amid Nuclear Talks, Iran Pushes Diplomacy Online

6:10pm November 17, 2013

by NPR Staff

Iran's leaders are active on Facebook and Twitter, and frequently reach out in English via social media. Both services remain officially banned in Iran. But journalist Robin Wright, an expert on Iran, calls their online overtures "the most ambitious public diplomacy campaign since Iran's 1979 revolution."

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Since Post-Vietnam Era, Fewer Veterans In Congress

6:35am November 11, 2013

The camaraderie that veterans talk about used to be true in Congress too — partly because many members had served in the military. But today's Congress has very few veterans in its ranks, about 20 percent, compared with more than three-quarters in the post-Vietnam era. What does that number mean politically.

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No Political Compromise Keeps Most Federal Offices Closed

6:28am October 07, 2013

This is Day 7 of the partial government shutdown, and there does not appear to be a resolution in sight. Why are the two sides so dug in?

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Politics & Government

House, Senate Disagree On How To Keep Government Open

7:44am September 30, 2013

A partial government shutdown is looming. To discuss the situation, David Greene and Steve Inskeep talk to contributor Cokie Roberts, NPR's Mara Liasson, All Things Considered host Audie Cornish and Robert Costa, who covers Congress for the National Review.

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Budget Debate To Hit High Drama This Week

10:35am September 23, 2013

President Obama heads to New York on Monday for the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. The international meeting comes as, back in Washington, the U.S. Congress is once again heading into a possible government shutdown over spending priorities.

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Census Bureau Survey Indicates How Americans Live

9:44am September 19, 2013

Steve Inskeep talks to demographer William Frey, of the Brookings Institution, about new trends in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. It's an annual snapshot into the lives of Americans. The data helps communities plan investments and services.

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World News

Feds Say NYC Building Is A Front For Iran

9:44am September 19, 2013

The U.S. government moved this week to seize a Manhattan skyscraper said to be secretly owned by Iran. To discuss how such targeting of Iran's financial assets fits into the broader strategy of ending its nuclear program, Renee Montagne talks to former White House and Treasury Department official Juan Zarate.

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World News

U.N. Report Doesn't Assign Blame To Syrian Chemical Attack

9:38am September 17, 2013

U.N. weapons inspectors have issued their report on last month's chemical weapons attack in Syria. Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells Steve Inskeep that the report bolsters U.S. and European charges that the Assad regime deployed the sarin gas.

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