Technology

A visitor uses his smartphone in front of an advertisement of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphone at a Samsung Electronics shop in Seoul, South Korea, in 2015.

National

Supreme Court To Hear Samsung's Appeal In Patent Dispute With Apple

4:22pm March 21, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Samsung says it paid too much in damages after Apple accused it of copying aspects of the iPhone's design, arguing, "The law of the smartphone cannot follow reflexively from the law of the spoon."

DraftKings and its rival FanDuel have agreed to suspend paid contests in New York temporarily.

DraftKings, FanDuel Will Shut Down Paid Contests In New York — For Now

2:44pm March 21, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The websites will stop accepting money bets ahead of an appellate hearing this fall. The deal comes as the companies are lobbying state lawmakers to pass legislation that would legalize the industry.

Across Continents: A Stolen Laptop, An Ominous Email, And A Big Risk

10:08am March 21, 2016

From a traveler's worst nightmare — beaten and robbed in a foreign city — comes a surprising story of education and discovery.

Blame It On The Algorithm: Defining The Word That's Giving Instagrammers Fits

5:20pm March 20, 2016

Instagram will start testing a new algorithm that will choose what content we see first. Tech journalist Kurt Wagner explains what an algorithm does, and why users might not be so happy about it.

National

Retired Boeing Employee Stays On In Fighter Jet Command Voice

8:18am March 19, 2016

NPR's Melissa Block talks with recently retired Boeing company employee Leslie Shook whose voice is used as part of the greeting and warning system of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet.

Virtual Reality Vs. Augmented Reality: Should We Believe The Hype?

4:24pm March 18, 2016

by Laura Sydell

At tech conferences and in media reports, word is that Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are coming. But many people don't know what they are or what the difference is — and why they should care. NPR explains the difference and the hype.

"Really tiny motions or really fast motions — these are things that we don't typically see with our eyes." — Abe Davis

Science
Arts

How Can Hidden Sounds Be Captured By Everyday Objects

9:51am March 18, 2016

by NPR/TED Staff

Computer scientist Abe Davis explains how you can turn a plant or a bag of chips into a microphone, and capturing the hidden sound vibrations on a high-speed camera.

Queue Listen Now

After the pigeons are fitted with pollution sensors, they are released into different parts of London. Londoners can then get live air quality readings via Twitter.

Pigeons Are London's Newest Pollution Fighters

7:57pm March 17, 2016

by Eleanor Beardsley

Pigeons have a bad reputation. But London's Pigeon Air Patrol is monitoring pollution levels. A flock of racing pigeons equipped with sensors launched this week. The results, naturally, are tweeted.

Queue Listen Now

An egg on the grounds of the National Arboretum now shows signs of a baby eaglet trying to emerge from.

National

The Eaglet Is Landing: The 'Pip Out' Continues On D.C. Web-Cam

3:31pm March 17, 2016

Pip pip, hooray! A hole in the eaglet's shell, called a "pip," appears to have gotten larger and the baby bird could emerge soon.

National

Automatic Braking Systems To Become Standard On Most U.S. Vehicles

11:31am March 17, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Automatic brakes are designed to stop a vehicle before it collides with a car or another object. Some 20 carmakers have agreed to make it a standard feature on nearly all new cars in the U.S. by 2022.