Story of the Day

With Health Exchanges Poised To Open, PR Push Draws Scrutiny

9:07pm June 21, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The nonprofit Enroll America wants to encourage uninsured Americans to sign up for the exchanges when the time comes. Though the group has support across industries and from the Health and Human Services secretary, it's still been hit by congressional controversy.

Queue Listen Now

An evening view of the Exxon Mobil oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Baton Rouge, La.

Baton Rouge's Corroded, Overpolluting Neighbor: Exxon Mobil

9:50am June 21, 2013

The Standard Heights neighborhood sits next to the nation's second-largest gasoline refinery. Recently, residents learned a new truth about the plumes of exhaust they see every day: Exxon Mobil's aging refinery and petrochemical facilities — like many others — are pumping out far more pollution than the law allows.

Queue Listen Now

Jim White of Pennsylvania pumps gas at a BP station in Ocala, Fla., in April. The price of gasoline remains stubbornly high, which may put a crimp on summer travel plans.

Economy

If Supplies Of Oil Are Up, Why Is Gas Still Pricey?

8:00pm June 20, 2013

Supplies of oil have been surging this year, and U.S. drivers, who have been switching to more fuel-efficient cars, are using less gasoline. That would seem to be the right economic combination to push down prices at the pump, but gasoline prices have remained stubbornly high this summer.

Queue Listen Now

Heather Liljengren, a field taxonomist with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, examines the seed pods of the Virginia spiderwort at Oakwood Beach, Staten Island. Liljengren collects seeds from across the region for a seed bank of native

To Rebuild NYC's Beaches, A Native Plant Savings And Loan

10:18pm June 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

Last fall, Heather Liljengren was collecting the seeds of New York's native dune grasses. Within days, Hurricane Sandy wiped out the Rockaways' dunes and all their flora. Now, those seeds are growing plants likely to be used to restore the dunes and other natural environments around New York City.

Queue Listen Now

Bobbie Hanvey as a child with his father, Johnny Hanvey. Johnny was a lumberjack who used to go everywhere with a camera. He gave one to his son, and set him off on a career as a photojournalist and documentarian.

Music & Culture

Like Father, Like Son: Creating Art In A Time Of Troubles

4:01pm June 19, 2013

by Coburn Dukehart

Bobbie Hanvey is a prolific photojournalist and radio interviewer from Northern Ireland. His son Steafán is a musician, currently on tour in America. In a video featuring their photos and music, father and son reflect on art, their relationship, and the period of turmoil in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.

Queue Listen Now

A 17-year-old Civil Rights demonstrator is attacked by a police dog in Birmingham, Ala., on May 3, 1963. This image led the front page of the next day's New York Times.

How The Civil Rights Movement Was Covered In Birmingham

1:47pm June 19, 2013

by Audie Cornish

There's a stark difference between how the national press covered the events of 1963 in Birmingham and how Birmingham's papers covered their own city. Audie Cornish talks with Alabama journalist Hank Klibanoff, co-author of The Race Beat, about the disparity.

Queue Listen Now

The Human Voice May Not Spark Pleasure In Children With Autism

11:31am June 18, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists and parents have long been baffled by the fact that children with autism often don't pay attention to human voices. Researchers say that may be because speech doesn't activate a reward system in the brain for those children the way it does for typical children.

Queue Listen Now

Maria Smolnitcaia, 52, is a singer living on a TB ward in Balti, Moldova. Smolnitcaia says "When we take the pills, we feel worse. I'm losing my hearing a little. I feel pain in my bones, in my whole body."

Faces Of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

11:25am June 12, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

New types of tuberculosis are emerging around the world that take years and thousands of dollars to cure. Patients fighting this disease are often isolated from their communities and suffer devastating drug side effects, such as permanent hearing loss and dizziness.

Queue Listen Now

Pushed Off The Job While Pregnant

8:20pm June 11, 2013

by Jennifer Ludden

At a time when most pregnant women work, there are new efforts to keep companies from unfairly targeting employees because of a pregnancy. Allegations of pregnancy discrimination persist and have even risen in recent years despite a decades-old law against it.

Queue Listen Now

National

50 Years After The Equal Pay Act, Gender Wage Gap Endures

8:18pm June 10, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963 in an effort to abolish wage discrimination based on gender. Half a century later, the Obama administration is pushing Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, designed to make wage differences more transparent.

Queue Listen Now