Family

Abortion-rights protesters shout into the Senate chamber in the Indiana Capitol on July 25, 2022, about a month after Roe was overturned, in Indianapolis.

Most Americans say overturning Roe was politically motivated, NPR/Ipsos poll finds

5:00am January 22, 2023

by Laura Benshoff

An NPR/Ipsos poll finds that most Americans say Supreme Court justices are guided more by their politics than the law, and that lawmakers aren't deciding abortion policy based on public sentiment.

Encore: In Appalachia, sex educators suspend their work after threats

5:19pm January 21, 2023

by Maria Godoy

A backlash against comprehensive approaches to sex education is taking root around the country. In Appalachia, one group of sex educators is halting its work after members were harassed.

National

A couple reflects on their decision to end a pregnancy

7:27am January 20, 2023

by Jey Born

In 1999 Tom Peters met JoAn Joseph at a party for his job. A couple of years into their relationship, they came to a crossroads and had to make a difficult decision.

Queue Listen Now

The State Department launches a new way for ordinary Americans to resettle refugees

1:17pm January 19, 2023

by Joel Rose

With refugee resettlement organizations stretched thin, the U.S. is trying a different approach. The new private sponsorship program will allow groups of regular people to sponsor refugees.

A rural road near Connelly Springs, N.C., where people who've come from the Marshall Islands — many to work in nearby poultry plants — have built a church community, the Marshallese New Beginnings Church.

National

In some states, an unpaid foster care bill could mean parents lose their kids forever

5:00am January 19, 2023

by Joseph Shapiro

Some states allow children to be removed from their parents if they fail to pay the cost of foster care. But that can be hundreds of dollars a month, and it's often the poorest families who must pay.

Queue Listen Now

A man pulls a child past a Lunar New Year decoration on display at the Qianmen pedestrian shopping street, a popular tourist spot in Beijing, on Tuesday.

Here's why China's population dropped for the first time in decades

4:03pm January 17, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

Low fertility rates in the wake of China's former one-child policy and lockdowns related to the COVID pandemic have contributed to the country's shrinking population.

A gravedigger prepares to bury the coffin of a baby who died of COVID-19, at a cemetery in Bandung, Indonesia. Rates of childhood mortality are notably high in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but it is a worldwide concern.

A child or youth died every 4.4 seconds in 2021. That number could get worse

2:46pm January 10, 2023

by Susan Brink

A new U.N. report shows that child mortality rates are declining, but the yearly improvements have slowed. And the drop-off in childhood vaccinations during the pandemic causes concern for the future.

A person at home in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, watches Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, being interviewed by ITV's Tom Bradby during "Harry: The Interview," two days before his controversial autobiography "Spare" is published, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.

Arts

In TV interview, Prince Harry says his book is a bid to 'own my story'

1:39am January 09, 2023

by The Associated Press

Prince Harry spoke to British and U.S. television to promote his book, "Spare," which has generated incendiary headlines with its details of private emotional turmoil and bitter family resentments.

Give the new year a clean start with these decluttering tactics

5:10pm January 07, 2023

by Andee Tagle

NPR's Life Kit has tips for getting rid of clutter for a fresh start to the new year.

Florida's only baby box launched at a fire station in Ocala on Dec. 18, 2020. For the first time, a newborn was surrendered there recently.

A newborn was surrendered to Florida's only safe haven baby box. Here's how they work

3:46pm January 06, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

A newborn was surrendered recently under a program that lets people give up an unwanted infant anonymously. There are dozens of baby boxes scattered across the U.S., but the practice is controversial.