Family

National

After growing up in the 1950s, a father comes to terms with his own dad

7:57am July 07, 2023

by Jey Born

When Tom Badgett sat down for an interview with his daughter Jordan Perelle, he remembered growing up in small-town Tennessee and his complicated relationship with his dad.

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Louie Villasana, who just turned 1, with dad, Luis Fernando Villasana, and mom, Samantha Casiano.

In post-Roe Texas, 2 mothers with traumatic pregnancies walk very different paths

4:00am July 04, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The state's abortion bans make no exceptions for fatal fetal anomalies. Two women had devastating pregnancy diagnoses — one could leave the state for an abortion, and the other could not.

Bud Light sales fell earlier this year after a promotion featuring a transgender social-media influencer led to boycott calls from conservative groups.

How the Bud Light boycott shows brands at a crossroads: Use their voice, or shut up?

9:17am June 28, 2023

by Pallavi Gogoi

Large companies have played the role of activists and been one of the biggest countervailing forces against social and religious conservatives on LGBTQ measures. All that is at stake now.

L holds her baby at Casa Mía in San Antonio, which provides housing and support for pregnant people and new mothers struggling with addiction. Her son, who's now 2 months old, was born healthy despite L's history of substance abuse. NPR is not using L's full name out of concern for her safety; L says she was in an abusive relationship when she became pregnant.

In Texas, a rare program offers hope for some of the most vulnerable women and babies

5:00am June 28, 2023

by Katia Riddle

Many pregnant people struggling with substance abuse don't want to get help for fear of losing their children to the state. Casa Mía offers safe harbor.

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Teacher Karli Myers poses with her husband, Jordan Myers, and their seven-month-old, Luke. Karli spent years stockpiling sick leave in order to have time at home with Luke after he was born.

Without paid family leave, teachers stockpile sick days and aim for summer babies

4:38pm June 26, 2023

by Beth Wallis

Less than one-fifth the largest school districts offer paid parental leave for teachers, and only a handful of states guarantee it. That leaves few options for educators who want to start a family.

Abortion rights activists protest after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, overturning the right to abortion, in Portland, Ore., on June 24, 2022.

A year since Dobbs, these are the many ways states are protecting abortion

1:57pm June 23, 2023

Abortion access has declined dramatically nationwide, but many states have further protected abortion by enacting "shield laws," allocating funding, stockpiling medication and repealing old laws.

National

Lessons learned from a favorite aunt, who decades ago woke up on fire

7:49am June 23, 2023

by Halle Hewitt

Jarie Bradley sat down in a mobile StoryCorps booth in Dallas with her aunt Menaja Obinali, who recounted her survival story. When she was 17, a fire started her bedroom, and she was badly burned.

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Anna drove 40 minutes from her home to pick up free diapers from Tere Haring at Allied Women's Center in San Antonio. Anna, who is pregnant with her seventh child, says she did consider abortion: "All I could think about — like, I need an abortion because there's no way I can deal with everything going on right now and taking care of all the boys by myself and having another baby."

They tried and failed to get an abortion. Texas family grapples with what it'll mean

4:48pm June 22, 2023

by Katia Riddle

Anna and Tony have six kids and are expecting a seventh. They couldn't afford to travel to where abortion is legal. With few places to turn to for help, they're worried about their family's future.

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Ida and Isidor Straus died after she gave up her spot in a lifeboat to stay with him on the sinking Titanic. Their great-great-granddaughter Wendy Rush is married to Stockton Rush, the founder of OceanGate and pilot of its missing submersible.

National

The wife of OceanGate's CEO is descended from a famous couple who died on the Titanic

1:38pm June 22, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Stockton Rush, OceanGate's CEO and the pilot on its missing sub, is married to the great-great-granddaughter of Ida and Isidor Straus. Their story inspired an iconic scene in James Cameron's movie.

Kelsey Poll and Tyler West had a connection long before getting married

6:12am June 21, 2023

When the couple was looking at Kelsey's baby photos, Tyler noticed his mother. A 2001 photo shows Kelsey as an infant in the care of a nurse. Tyler's mother had helped deliver her now daughter-in-law.