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National

Parks celebrate famed designer Fredrick Law Olmsted's 200th birthday

8:29am July 03, 2022

by Emily Russell, NCPR

Parks across the country are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Fredrick Law Olmsted's birth. Olmsted designed a number of parks in the U.S., including New York's crown jewel, Central Park.

A march protesting the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 in Portland, Ore.

Post-Roe, a look at how old and new protest music reflects political moments

10:14am July 01, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with NPR music critic Ann Powers and music scholar Shana Redmond about how old and new protest music reflects political moments, following the Supreme Court overturning Roe.

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Police guard a closed road outside the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong on June 30, 2022, as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong to attend celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.

The Hong Kong handover turns 25. So does an entire generation.

5:44am July 01, 2022

by Jeongyoon Han

Two teenagers bonded over high school Model United Nations. A decade later, one is in self-exile. The other waits for her and their other friends to return to the Hong Kong they once knew.

Left-handed, Elizabeth Cotten turned the guitar so the bass strings were at the bottom, therefore "backwards." She used her thumb to play the melody and her fingers for the low notes.

How Elizabeth Cotten's music fueled the folk revival

6:35am June 29, 2022

by Allyson McCabe

Although inducted into the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, her contributions haven't always been properly acknowledged.

The strange underground economy of tree poaching

6:30am June 28, 2022

by Greg Rosalsky

A new book dives deep into the fascinating criminal world of tree theft and efforts to combat it.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is up for reelection this fall, speaks to abortion-rights protesters at a rally following the U.S Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade outside the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., Friday, June 24, 2022.

In Michigan, abortion could come down to voters in November

9:47am June 27, 2022

by Zoe Clark

Abortion is still legal in Michigan but it's the subject of litigation, is moving toward the ballot as a state constitutional amendment and will be a big issue in the competitive race for governor.

In 1993, the Lesbian Avengers organized the first Dyke March. Within a few years, its membership grew to more than 50 chapters nationwide.

Frustrated by society's erasure, the Lesbian Avengers fought back

6:08am June 24, 2022

by Allyson McCabe

They were secretaries, cab drivers, teachers and artists — brought together on a mission for lesbian visibility and political change.

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National

Clela Rorex, the clerk who issued some of the 1st same sex marriage licenses, dies

8:41pm June 23, 2022

by Noel Black

One of the first county clerks to issue same sex marriage licenses has died. Clela Rorex called herself an "accidental activist" but was an important figure in the fight for LGBTQ civil rights.

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An Aquinnah Wampanoag elder is restoring some land to what it was before colonists

4:47pm June 23, 2022

by Eve Zuckoff

On the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe are trying to restore land to the way it looked, smelled and sounded pre-colonialism.

Evangelicals didn't always play such a big role in the fight to limit abortion access

4:40pm June 22, 2022

by Rund Abdelfatah

For years, Evangelical Christian political groups have mobilized around limiting access to abortion. But Evangelicals were not always so involved in this fight.