Opinion

Sports

You Asked For It: Frank Deford's Top 12 List

12:35pm October 16, 2013

by Frank Deford

Commentator Frank Deford responds to suggestions of things he should comment on. Here, he takes on the Washington Redskins' name; high school football games on national TV; hockey fights; Pete Rose and the Baseball Hall of Fame; and the tradition of pouring Gatorade on winning coaches.

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Religion

Heaven Is Waiting; Hell Is A Different Question, Nun Says

6:38pm October 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Catholic Church has long held that saints are in communion with God after death, says Mary Catherine Hilkert, a Catholic theologian and Dominican Sister of Peace. But, she says, "never has there been a statement about anyone definitively being in hell."

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Detail of the central compartment of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432 by Jan van Eyck, where pilgrims gather to pay homage to the lamb of God. Many art historians interpret the painting's fountain as a symbol of eternal life.

Religion

To Pastor, Afterlife Is Where We 'Learn To Live Together'

4:39pm October 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Humans have debated the concept of an afterlife for millennia. But ultimately, each individual's view on life after death is a personal one. For his part, the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, sees eternity as a place where people cast aside the differences that divided them on earth.

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Barbara Handelsman, 80, and her grandson Aaron Handelsman, 20 — birds of a feather.

A Grandmother, Her Grandson And Fitting In — Together

11:52am October 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Growing up, Barbara Handelsman often felt out of step with her family. She says she has always been shy and isolated, but with her grandson, Aaron, she says she's free to be herself. "I think we bring out the best in each other," Aaron says.

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Stones placed on a Jewish grave to show respect for the deceased. Orthodox Rabbi Joseph Telushkin says Jewish tradition holds that there is an afterlife but doesn't encourage speculation on what it might be like.

Religion

For Rabbi, A Just God Without An Afterlife Is 'Inconceivable'

8:33pm October 10, 2013

by NPR Staff

Orthodox Rabbi Joseph Telushkin says his belief in some form of life after death flows from the persistence of injustice on earth. If there were no afterlife, he says, "it would mean that Adolf Hitler and Anne Frank had the same fate."

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A St. Louis-area imam spoke with NPR about what Muslims believe about life after death.

Religion

Imam: 'We Can't Imagine' The Beauty Of Paradise After Death

7:26am October 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

This week, All Things Considered is talking with leaders from different faiths about their perspectives on an afterlife. Mufti Asif Umar says Muslims believe that a person who enters paradise will find whatever he or she desires waiting there.

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Dawn and Don Burke opened a rat sanctuary, The Rat Retreat, in their home in Boise, Idaho. Most people don't realize what affectionate pets rats can be, Dawn says.

Science

Out Of The Rat Race: Lucky Rodents Find Their Own 'Taj Mahal'

11:12am October 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dawn and Don Burke never intended to turn their home into a rat sanctuary. But after Dawn brought home a rat from a pet store, it wasn't long until the couple began taking in abandoned rats. The rodents' cage doors stay wide open, giving them plenty of space to run around.

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The Straight Dope: The use of steroids and blood doping traces back at least into the 1970s.

Sports

Love Of Victory In The Time Of Steroids

12:18pm October 02, 2013

by Frank Deford

On Sept. 27, 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his 100-meter gold medal when tests showed a performance-enhancing drug in his system. As Alex Rodriguez appeals his illegal doping ban from Major League Baseball, Frank Deford reflects on a historical moment of drug use among athletes.

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Books
Arts

A Predictably Pynchonian Take On The Internet And Sept. 11

7:07pm September 19, 2013

by Meg Wolitzer

Elusive and iconic, author Thomas Pynchon may intimidate some readers, but he has a devoted following. Bleeding Edge, his new new novel, is about a spunky, Upper West Side mother and fraud investigator in the era between the dot-com boom and Sept. 11.

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More Than Average: Dow Jones Adds The 'Swoosh'

4:01pm September 18, 2013

by Frank Deford

Nike made the leap onto the stock averages index when Hewlett-Packard, Bank of America and Alcoa were dropped because of their low stock prices. Yes, says, commentator Frank Deford, a mere sporting goods company has joined the wealthy elite.

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