suicide

In Palo Alto's High-Pressure Schools, Suicides Lead To Soul-Searching

10:51am May 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The competitive California school district has seen four students take their own lives since October. One junior talks about reactions to the deaths, pressures students face and hopes for the future.

Queue Listen Now

An Indian National Congress party worker on Thursday pays tribute to Gajendra Singh, a farmer who committed suicide during a candlelight vigil in New Delhi the previous day.

World News

Indian Farmer's Apparent Suicide Sparks Political Backlash

4:05pm April 23, 2015

by Julie McCarthy

Gajendra Singh was found hanging from a tree at a political rally in New Delhi earlier this week. His presumed suicide has become a cause célèbre for the country's disaffected farmers.

Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich committed suicide following political attacks during his campaign for governor. His press secretary, Spence Jackson, committed suicide just one month later.

Suicides By Missouri Politicians Raise Questions About State Ethics

2:53pm April 09, 2015

by Frank Morris

Two of the state's prominent Republicans, Tom Schweich and Spence Jackson, committed suicide just a month apart. Both men were upset about political attacks early in the state's gubernatorial primary.

Queue Listen Now

No Easy, Reliable Way To Screen For Suicide

6:57pm April 01, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Clinicians correctly predict a suicide attempt about half the time — no better than a coin toss. Certain tests of involuntary responses, although still experimental, aim to improve the odds.

Queue Listen Now

A stone memorial, surrounded by flowers, has been placed near the site in the French Alps where a Germanwings passenger jet crashed on Tuesday (March 24, 2015). Investigators believe the jet's co-pilot brought it down deliberately.

World News

Germanwings Crash: 'Suicide' Doesn't Seem To Tell The Story

2:54pm March 28, 2015

by Mark Memmott

Though investigators say it looks like the co-pilot deliberately brought down the jet, killing himself and 149 others, there are reasons not to use that word.

Queue Listen Now

Flight crew in cockpit, rear view (zoom effect).

Is There Any Way To Screen The World's Pilots For Suicidal Tendencies?

3:45pm March 27, 2015

by Emily Sohn

There are questionnaires that aim to identify people at risk of killing themselves. But the tests are flawed — and it's not at all clear they'd be effective in assessing the mental state of pilots.

Health & Safety

Workplace Suicide Rates Rise Sharply

8:30am March 19, 2015

by Patti Neighmond

Overall, men were more likely to take their lives than women on the job. And workers between the ages of 65 and 74 were more likely to commit suicide at work than their younger counterparts.

After a post has been flagged for review, Facebook intervenes with a supportive message.

Facebook's Suicide Prevention Tools Connect Friends, Test Privacy

3:41pm March 17, 2015

by Emma Bowman

When online social networks open up spaces for suicide prevention with untrained peer support, they walk the fragile line between invasion of privacy and supporting those who need help.

For Young People In Rural Areas, Suicide Poses A Growing Threat

5:59pm March 09, 2015

by Maanvi Singh

Young men are twice as likely to die by suicide if they live in rural areas rather than cities, and that disparity is widening. Lack of mental health services is a factor; access to firearms is, too.

Philip Connors' first book Fire Season was about how he spent a few months every year for eight years as a fire lookout, living in a cabin and scanning the horizon with binoculars atop a 45-foot tower in a remote region of New Mexico.

Books
Arts

After His Brother's Suicide, Writer Seeks Comfort In 'All The Wrong Places'

8:35pm February 24, 2015

In his new memoir, Philip Connors writes about "living in the shadow of a suicide." Wracked by guilt and haunted by what-ifs, Connors investigated his brother's death and learned a terrible secret.

Queue Listen Now