play

Arts

New play explores the life and work of Maya Angelou

3:20pm February 24, 2023

The new play performed by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company chronicles the poet, author, entertainer, and activist’s entire life from rural Arkansas, to world traveler, to Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Queue Listen Now

In an experiment conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, bees could make their way through an unobstructed path to a feeding area or opt for a detour into a chamber with wooden balls (toys). Many took the detour.

Science

If bumblebees can play, does it mean they have feelings? This study suggests yes

6:00am November 05, 2022

by Vanessa Romo

Scientists wanted to learn whether bees, like humans and other mammals, had any interest in playing for fun's sake. They say they have evidence that bees do, and that could change how we view insects.

Laura Randall, pictured at Mill Pond Park in Portland, gives her son, Matthew Randall, 7, a lot of freedom to explore on his own.

To Raise Confident, Independent Kids, Some Parents Are Trying To 'Let Grow'

8:26am September 03, 2018

by Deena Prichep

Research suggests kids who have more freedom and independence grow up to be less anxious and depressed. But in the age of helicopter parenting, giving kids freedom to roam can be difficult.

Queue Listen Now

Barbara J. King considers risk on playgrounds from an evolutionary perspective.

Is It Time To Bring Risk Back Into Our Kids' Playgrounds?

3:26pm March 15, 2018

by Barbara J. King

Are playgrounds in the U.S. too sterile and risk-averse to help our kids thrive? Anthropologist Barbara J. King considers play and child development in evolutionary perspective.

Angel Desai and Ranjit Chowdhry in Hammaad Chaudry's "An Ordinary Muslim"

Staging Muslims: Identity Angst In American Theater

6:00am March 15, 2018

by Bilal Qureshi

Hammaad Chaudry's new play An Ordinary Muslim pushes against limited perceptions of Muslim-Americans, but it may be pushing against too much all at once.

According to the researchers, there are 10 to the power of 170 possible board configurations in Go — more than the number of atoms in the known universe.

Science

Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'

4:49pm October 18, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Researchers say they have constructed an AI program that can teach itself to play the ancient strategy game at a level far beyond humans.

Bernard Pomerance, playwright of "The Elephant Man," in New York in 1979, the year the play debuted.

Bernard Pomerance, Playwright Of 'The Elephant Man,' Has Died

5:58pm August 29, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Pomerance wrote the Tony Award-winning play about the life of a very deformed man in Victorian England. It has been played hundreds of times, attracting top actors for the central role.

Children on the side of a road in Solo in Indonesia's Central Java province ask passing bus drivers to honk their horns on Friday. Videos of children with signs like these have recently gone viral.

World News

Honk If You Love Memes: The 'Om Telolet Om' Phenomenon, Explained

3:03pm December 23, 2016

by Maggie Penman

Kids in Indonesia are asking bus drivers to "om telolet om!" — which loosely translates to "sir, honk your horn, sir!" The melodious sounds of Indonesian bus horns are now all over the Internet.