Digital Life

National

Mispronunciations Aside, Computer Speech Has Come A Long Way

7:35pm October 05, 2015

We go back in the NPR archives to find a 30-year-old progress report on the development of computer speech from NPR correspondent Ira Flatow. Things have come along quite a bit since then.

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Books
Arts

Making The Case For Face To Face In An Era Of Digital Conversation

7:03pm October 05, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Sherry Turkle is concerned that we are outsourcing too many of our conversations to screens and robots. "Face to face conversation is the most human and humanizing thing that we do," she says.

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#MemeOfTheWeek: That Article From The Onion About Mass Shootings

9:50am October 05, 2015

by Sam Sanders

The article reveals what the writers really feel about mass shootings in America, something mainstream media couldn't do.

Study: Social Media Play Key Role In Maintaining Teen Romances

8:48am October 02, 2015

by Brakkton Booker

Nearly two-thirds of teens say social media makes them feel more connected to what's happening in their significant other's life, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

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Politics & Government

Twitter Has A 136-Page Handbook For Politicians And It's Hilarious

12:54pm September 30, 2015

by Sam Sanders

Page 25 of "The Twitter Government And Elections Handbook" begins, "What Is Twitter?"

India's Prime Minister Urges Indians To Stay In Their Country

10:23pm September 28, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

During his trip to Silicon Valley, Narendra Modi spoke about the "brain drain" that's led many educated Indians to settle in the US. He would like to reverse it, as would many Indians in the U.S.

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Holiday Travel Outlook: Cheaper Fares And Scarier Drones

6:11pm September 28, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

At an aviation conference, analysts predicted lower prices are coming for air travel — and for drones — this holiday season. Cheap fares will be welcome news. Cheap drones may be a different story.

Science

The Cost Of Interruptions: They Waste More Time Than You Think

4:53pm September 28, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

Interruptions are annoying. Studies indicate that getting interrupted is also costly — it can take a long time to settle back into tasks after a distraction. New research explores a cure.

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Tech Leaders From U.S., China Meet In Seattle, Can't Quite Connect

2:05pm September 25, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

In meetings on Microsoft's campus, the disagreements were many, from America's desired access to Chinese markets to China's desire to control Web content. On digital life, there's a cultural divide.

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U.S., China Talks On Cybersecurity To Be A 'Very Complicated Negotiation'

7:36pm September 24, 2015

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution about why reaching any kind of detailed agreement will be a serious challenge.

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