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Stories and commentaries that inform, challenge and occasionally amuse

Aaron Hernandez, infamous ex-Patriots star, sounded upbeat in final prison calls before suicide

Attorneys suspect brain disease and illegal drugs could have been factors in the former NFL player's death. But experts warn that suicide is complicated and can rarely be distilled to...

Can a newly installed cell phone tower help preserve a language?

The Cherokee Nation reservation in Kenwood, Okla., has a new cell tower. Tribal leaders hope better connectivity will keep young people close to home and preserve their culture and language.

NPR

03:2111 hours ago

Search efforts resume in Rolling Fork, Miss., after a devastating tornado

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Yolanda Minor, the Mississippi state director for the humanitarian aid organization Save the Children, about clean-up efforts following Friday's deadly tornado.

NPR

04:2411 hours ago

As Israel's judicial overhaul legislation faces a final vote, protesters don't let up

Mass protests are taking place in Israel over the firing of defense minister Yoav Gallant, after he spoke out against plans to weaken the country's judicial system.

NPR

03:1811 hours ago

New Yorkers in need of a pickleball fix can soon head for Central Park

Fourteen giant courts for the fast-growing sport take over the Wollman ice skating rink this summer. The pickle pop-up comes at a price — court bookings start at $80 and...

NPR

00:2711 hours ago

Finland is the world's happiest country for the 6th straight year

Finland says happiness is a skill which can be taught in an in-person master class in June. An all-expenses-paid trip for 10 will teach wellbeing, lifestyle, health and balance.

NPR

00:2811 hours ago

There's drama brewing in the golf world over a new ball for the professionals

Booming drives are changing the character of some classic golf courses. Instead of making courses bigger, pro golf may change the rules for the official golf ball.(Story aired on ATC...

NPR

03:4211 hours ago

India's democracy is questioned when opposition leader is expelled from parliament

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the state of democracy in India.

NPR

03:5811 hours ago

'Throughline' examines artificial intelligence — and these days AI is everywhere

Robots. Androids. The Terminator. C3P0. We've given a lot of names to AI: artificial intelligence. Some believe it's the key to humanity's future, others the first step towards our downfall.

NPR

06:5711 hours ago

Federal officials are promising aid to storm-ravaged communities in Mississippi

Mississippi surveys the wreckage and cleans up after a devastating tornado that killed more than two dozen people

NPR

03:3711 hours ago

R&B singer Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr., better known as 6LACK, releases a new album

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to Grammy-nominated artist 6LACK about his newest album: Since I Have a Lover.

NPR

07:0911 hours ago

Colorado becomes the first state to open wheelchair repair for users

People who use powered wheelchairs have complained for years that manufacturers won't let them do minor repairs themselves. A new Colorado law gives them the right to repair.

NPR

03:4811 hours ago

Workers across Germany's transportation system are on a 1-day strike

Tens of thousands of German rail workers are on strike over wages and investment in the Deutsche Bahn rail company. Significant disruptions are expected for train, bus and air travel.

NPR

03:4911 hours ago

Mexican children's comic better known by his stage name Chabelo dies at 88

Xavier López's best-known work, the Sunday variety show En Familia con Chabelo, ran for an astonishing 48 years from 1967 to 2015.

NPR

01:5911 hours ago

4 teams are left in the men's NCAA basketball tournament

The men's and women's March Madness tournaments truly have been filled with madness — upsets have roiled many a bracket. The excitement is not done — the women's Final Four...

NPR

03:4111 hours ago

Morning news brief

There are mass protests in Israel after the defense minister is sacked, Mississippi cleans up after a deadly tornado and jury selection is to begin Monday in the trial of...

NPR

10:5611 hours ago

Former President Donald Trump gestures to supporters after speaking at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport on Saturday in Waco, Texas. (Nathan Howard/AP)

Don't call them 'witch hunts.' Most Americans say investigations into Trump are fair

The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that a majority of Americans do not want former President Donald Trump to hold that office again, as his campaign for 2024 is in...

NPR

03:4411 hours ago

Musician Pras Michel in a 2015 portrait taken in Los Angeles. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Pras Michel stands trial in Washington, D.C., for conspiracy and other charges

Hip-hop musician Pras Michel of Fugees faces criminal trial in Washington, D.C., for allegedly conspiring to violate election law and influence American policymakers on behalf of China.

NPR

04:4711 hours ago

'Live free and die?' The sad state of U.S. life expectancy

A decade after a landmark report on Americans' shorter lives, the problem has only gotten worse. Unlike other wealthy nations, U.S. life expectancy has not bounced back from the pandemic.

NPR

06:28Mar 25, 2023

Special education teacher Meredith Lee stands in front of an example of a "strength mapping" poster that she makes during IEP meetings at Plympton Elementary School in Waltham. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Special education planning form gets revamp in Mass. for first time in 20 years

Educators and special education advocates hope this will improve the special education planning process, leading to more high-quality individual education program documents for students.

'Morning Edition' welcomes Michel Martin to the host team

NPR's Michel Martin will start her new job on Monday. An NPR luminary, she was most recently Saturday and Sunday host of NPR's All Things Considered.

NPR

02:57Mar 24, 2023

Fed needed to raise rates because inflation is still too high, Bostic says

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, about the Fed's decision to raise interest rates again.

NPR

04:26Mar 24, 2023

A photo of tennis player Polina Makarenko bouncing a tennis ball on her racket. (Todd Bookman/NHPR)

Uprooted from Ukraine, promising tennis player finds her footing on the court in N.H.

For the past nine months, Polina Makarenko has lived in Hampton Falls with her mother, Nina. They are refugees from the Ukrainian war; a family divided and forced to flee...

Boston Lyric Opera's 'Bluebeard's Castle' immerses audiences in a fortress of horrors

Based on a French folktale, Bela Bartók’s 1918 one-act opera tells the story of a fictional duke who brings his hastily wed wife, Judith, to his foreboding fortress for the...

Mass.' 1st environmental justice undersecretary plans to focus on communities of color

María Belén Power is the state's first ever undersecretary of environmental justice and equity, a new role created by Gov. Maura Healey.

Silicon Valley Bank to customers: Come back!

As federal regulators continue to seek a buyer for Silicon Valley Bank, the failed financial institution is asking customers to come back. The message is resonating with some Massachusetts companies.

After Soldiers' Home tragedies, Gov. Healey appoints first cabinet-level veterans secretary

Jon Santiago started the position at the beginning of the month. He's an Army veteran, a doctor, and a former state lawmaker, and he joined WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa...

Uploading a resume is a barrier to employment for some job seekers, even during a labor shortage

Almost all businesses — including those paying minimum wage — require people to apply online. But not all job seekers have a computer, internet access or the digital know-how to...

Powerhouse storm brings heavy snow and damaging gusts

The winter storm that arrived as rain Monday night changes over to snow in most places, except Cape Cod, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Snow fall will be heaviest...

In mad dash, Mass. customers pull money out of failed Silicon Valley Bank

Mass. nonprofit charter schools and housing groups with accounts, loans or lines of credit at the failed Silicon Valley Bank scramble to take their next steps.

Mass. lawmakers to wade into fierce debate over court-mandated mental health care

Most mental health advocacy groups oppose a bill that would allow judges to compel people to get outpatient mental health care. But supporters say it could help in some cases....

The risks of problem gambling as online sports betting gets underway in Massachusetts

WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy speaks with Marlene Warner, CEO of the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, about problem gambling, and what safeguards the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has...

Local Coverage

04:28Mar 10, 2023

It's been 3 years since Mass. declared a COVID-19 emergency. Here's a look at where things stand

To look back, and talk about where we are now, Department of Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke joined WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy.

Health

04:15Mar 10, 2023

A worker passes logos at the DraftKings sports betting company headquarters in May in Boston. (Charles Krupa/AP)

Mobile sports betting starts in Massachusetts

Legalized mobile sports betting is expected to bring in big business for one Boston company, but it comes with risks.

Local Coverage

03:57Mar 10, 2023

Tia Pinney, lead naturalist at Drumlin Farm, shows a sugar maple is beginning to bud much earlier than usual, because of the lack of winter weather this season. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Yes, this winter has been warmer than usual — and we may have to get used to that

This winter is the fifth warmest on record for Boston. Experts say it's likely a sign of what future winters will look like in parts of New England.

Environment

05:33Mar 9, 2023

Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift in her barn with her hen, Ruth Bader Ginsbird.

Swift lives on a farm in Williamstown that she has converted into an education center. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do

I didn’t fit the profile of what a governor should look like, and I paid for it dearly, writes former Massachusetts acting Gov. Jane Swift. I’ve never forgotten that feeling.

Cognoscenti

05:38Mar 16, 2023

UMass police cars parked outside the Department of Public Safety at UMass Dartmouth. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

UMass Dartmouth hid sex assault allegations against former police officer, report finds

The report found former officer David Laudon sexually assaulted and harassed a UMass student and had an inappropriate relationship with another. But UMass allowed Laudon to quietly resign and eventually...

Local Coverage

03:36Mar 8, 2023

Artist Jace Clayton stands in the center of “40 Part Part,” an interactive installation that requires the visitor to connect their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. The artist’s complex processing algorithm alters the participant’s audio in unexpected ways and is heard through the forty speakers surrounding them. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

DJ Jace Clayton needs songs from your cellphone for his sound installation at MAAM

"Everyone has this world of sound at their fingertips," Clayton said. "And so what if we can turn something which is ordinarily private -- your own personal playlist -- into...

Arts & Culture

05:41Mar 7, 2023

Jim Metivier stands on extensions of his dock over Long Pond in Denmark, Maine, in Nov. 2022. Water levels on his property have gradually receded over a period of several years. "I haven't been able to get my canoe out since July," Metivier said. (Susan Sharon/Maine Public)

Residents in one western Maine town look to curb Poland Spring’s appetite for water

In a small town near the New Hampshire border, bottled water giant Poland Spring is allowed to extract over a million gallons of water a year from land it owns....

Environment

07:09Mar 6, 2023

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Aaron Hernandez, infamous ex-Patriots star, sounded upbeat in final prison calls before suicide

Can a newly installed cell phone tower help preserve a language?

NPR

Search efforts resume in Rolling Fork, Miss., after a devastating tornado

NPR

As Israel's judicial overhaul legislation faces a final vote, protesters don't let up

NPR

New Yorkers in need of a pickleball fix can soon head for Central Park

NPR

Finland is the world's happiest country for the 6th straight year

NPR

There's drama brewing in the golf world over a new ball for the professionals

NPR

India's democracy is questioned when opposition leader is expelled from parliament

NPR

'Throughline' examines artificial intelligence — and these days AI is everywhere

NPR

Federal officials are promising aid to storm-ravaged communities in Mississippi

NPR

R&B singer Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr., better known as 6LACK, releases a new album

NPR

Colorado becomes the first state to open wheelchair repair for users

NPR

Workers across Germany's transportation system are on a 1-day strike

NPR

Mexican children's comic better known by his stage name Chabelo dies at 88

NPR

4 teams are left in the men's NCAA basketball tournament

NPR

Morning news brief

NPR

Don't call them 'witch hunts.' Most Americans say investigations into Trump are fair

NPR

Pras Michel stands trial in Washington, D.C., for conspiracy and other charges

NPR

'Live free and die?' The sad state of U.S. life expectancy

NPR

Special education planning form gets revamp in Mass. for first time in 20 years

'Morning Edition' welcomes Michel Martin to the host team

NPR

Fed needed to raise rates because inflation is still too high, Bostic says

NPR

Uprooted from Ukraine, promising tennis player finds her footing on the court in N.H.

Boston Lyric Opera's 'Bluebeard's Castle' immerses audiences in a fortress of horrors

Mass.' 1st environmental justice undersecretary plans to focus on communities of color

Silicon Valley Bank to customers: Come back!

After Soldiers' Home tragedies, Gov. Healey appoints first cabinet-level veterans secretary

Uploading a resume is a barrier to employment for some job seekers, even during a labor shortage

Powerhouse storm brings heavy snow and damaging gusts

In mad dash, Mass. customers pull money out of failed Silicon Valley Bank

Mass. lawmakers to wade into fierce debate over court-mandated mental health care

The risks of problem gambling as online sports betting gets underway in Massachusetts

It's been 3 years since Mass. declared a COVID-19 emergency. Here's a look at where things stand

Mobile sports betting starts in Massachusetts

Yes, this winter has been warmer than usual — and we may have to get used to that

When I was governor, I wanted people to look beyond my hair and hemlines. I still do

UMass Dartmouth hid sex assault allegations against former police officer, report finds

DJ Jace Clayton needs songs from your cellphone for his sound installation at MAAM

Residents in one western Maine town look to curb Poland Spring’s appetite for water