Showing results by author "NPR" in All Categories

Are birds monogamous? Why do kookaburras laugh? Is the ivory-billed woodpecker really extinct? These fascinating stories feature the delightful and exotic sounds of birds, plus astute and informative commentary from bird lovers, bird experts, and sometimes birds themselves. Learn how naturalist F. Schuyler Matthews translated bird song into musical notes. Discover how the city of Chicago has drawn purple martins back to Lake Michigan, their historic habitat.

NPR was created in 1970, three years after Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act and established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Signing the act into law, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, "We in America have an appetite for excellence...we want most of all to enrich man's spirit." Today, NPR produces and distributes programming that reaches more than 26 million listeners weekly. More than 900 stations nationwide broadcast NPR programming.

Stories so compelling you'll stay in your car to hear them through - even if you're sitting in your own driveway. Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! host Peter Sagal captures your attention with colorful tales for and about moms. Heard on All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, News & Notes, and other NPR programs, these stories and more are for moms, moms-to-be, and anyone who has ever known or had a mother.

Dog lovers will delight in this audio celebration of the canine character. From our earliest encounters with Lassie, to the magical moments we share with our own imperfect but thoroughly lovable companions, dogs have become an integral part of our culture and beloved members of our family. NPR proudly presents these tales of unforgettable animals and their devoted human friends.

What’s a "driveway moment"? It’s when you’re so captivated by a story you’re hearing on NPR that you stay in your car to hear it to the end - even if you’re sitting in your driveway with the motor running. For years, listeners have written to NPR to describe such moments. Now animal lovers especially will want to make sure their tanks are full. Heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, and Wait Wait - Don’t Tell Me!, these stories will make you laugh out loud and shed a tear or two.

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week on the radio listeners test their knowledge against a panel of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world: Adam Felber; Roy Blount, Jr.; Paula Poundstone; Mo Rocca; Roxanne Roberts; Charlie Pierce; and others. This set features highlights from the popular "Not My Job" segment of the show, during which celebrity guest contestants answer questions on topics unrelated to their particular area of expertise.

Experience a refreshing adrenaline rush on this NPR guided tour of the ultimate in outdoor fun: Whether whitewater rafting on the Hudson River, mountain climbing in the Himalayas, kayaking in Alaska, airboarding in Oregon's Cascade mountains, or bungee jumping in Australia, each story is an amazing sound adventure - and a great escape. The NPR Sound Treks series brings the outdoors to life with outstanding audio documentaries, stories, and commentary from the NPR archives.

With generous splashes of popular culture and human interest, the NPR Road Trips series introduces you not only to far-off locations and unusual destinations, but to the people who inhabit them - and seek them out. Each story focuses on real locations, real people, and real history in the thought-provoking, imaginative and entertaining way you’ve come to expect from NPR. Grand Canyon National Park is one of the planet’s Seven Natural Wonders, with 4.4 million visitors each year. Who keeps them safe, fed, and happy?

With generous splashes of popular culture and human interest, the NPR Road Trips series introduces you not only to far-off locations and unusual destinations, but to the people who inhabit them - and seek them out. Each story focuses on real locations, real people, and real history in the thought-provoking, imaginative and entertaining way you've come to expect from NPR. We all have memories of family vacations - some successful, some less so, and some gone terribly awry. When it comes to reporting colorful, compelling tales of family vacations, no one does it better than National Public Radio.

This collection features Shortz and NPR host Liane Hansen in stimulating conversation, guiding listeners through puzzles filled with creative wordplay. Programs include the one before Shortz’s appearance on The Simpsons (with prizes announced by Mr. Burns and Smithers, voiced by Harry Shearer), Hansen’s birthday show (her children read the list of prizes), and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks as a mystery guest who sticks around to help the delighted contestant.

What's a "driveway moment"? It's when you're so captivated by a story on NPR that you stay in your car to hear it to the end - even if you're sitting in your own driveway. For years, listeners have written to NPR to describe such moments. Some are serious, some are touching, and some, like the stories included here, are very, very funny.

The first Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! collection focused on the best of the Not My Job segment of the program. This second collection skims the cream off the entire archive of the show, with selections from Who's Carl This Time?, Lightning Fill in the Blank, The Listener Limerick Challenge, Not My Job! and more.

Like an overstuffed stocking on Christmas morning, NPR Holiday Favorites is full of unexpected pleasures and evergreen delights from David Sedaris, Susan Stamberg, Baxter Black, and others.

In the mid-1970s, the Republican Party looked on the verge of self-destruction. Until 1976. A political earthquake: A cutthroat, razor-close, deeply personal battle for the Republican nomination, and the party's identity. It resurrected the GOP, remade it as a conservative party, and pulled the country sharply to the right. Landslide is the story of the closest presidential primary race in American history, what followed, and how it reshaped the political parties — opening the partisan rifts that divide us today. Hosted by award-winning public radio journalist Ben Bradford.

Host Scott Carter, an award-winning executive producer and writer, known for his work on Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, explores codes of religious, cultural and secular conduct. Among Carter's diverse celebrity guests are Martin Short, Bob Costas, Ken Burns, Patricia Heaton, Killer Mike, Sam Harris, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Larry Wilmore, Moon Zappa, Rainn Wilson, Yvonne Orji, Rabbi Steve Leder and Tim Gunn.

When it comes to immigration in the U.S., the news is constant and can be hard to process. Under President Trump, the rules and norms around immigration are rapidly changing. On Status Pending, a podcast from WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR, we provide context for how immigration has shaped Wisconsin and the nation. And we explore how people are navigating this changing immigration landscape.

In June, MLB will host a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. In its 114-year history, the field has seen everything from segregated baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally and the first integrated sports team in Alabama. Host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, former Negro Leaguers and more to explore how Birmingham's civil rights story played out at America's oldest ballpark.

Life’s too short for small talk. Rachel gets right to the questions that matter most. Once a week, famous guests pull questions from a deck of cards and open up about the kind of stuff we all think about but rarely say out loud. Actors, authors, and thinkers are prompted to talk about everything from their insecurities and dreams to grief and God. Named one of the 10 best podcasts of 2024 by The New York Times, Wild Card stands out among celebrity interview podcasts. When modern life feels chaotic or overwhelming, listen to Wild Card for a joyful, grounding reminder of our shared humanity....

Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. In each episode, NPR's Emily Kwong sits down with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations between their loved ones, exploring how their most personal, private moments are an integral part of history. Through these stories, we show how the past is personal and how to live with the legacies we're constantly inheriting. Learn more ...

As four men are held in a Virginia jail, they record an album to chronicle their efforts to break free from an oppressive cycle of addiction and incarceration. In each music-infused episode of this documentary series, host and trailblazing hip-hop artist Speech Thomas meets a musician at a crossroads in their uphill struggle for freedom, learns what brought them to this inflection point, and helps them record a song that captures this critical moment in their life. From soulful country to fiery hip-hop and haunting R&B, this music affirms the lives of people who are written off by society. And...