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Firearm-related injuries are among the 5 leading causes of death for people ages 1-64 in the United States, according to the CDC . In 2019, there were 39,707 firearm-related deaths in the United States. That's an average of 109 deaths per day. Firearm-related injuries are harder to quantify, but the Gun Violence Archive reports that there were over 40,000 last year. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walen...

User-generated content specific to TikTok has propelled songs old and new to viral success. Whether it's someone lip-syncing to a song, or participating in a dance or trend using that song, it's made music discovery more participatory. Success on the app can lead to success on the charts, and record labels are looking to TikTok for their next stars. In participating regions, you'll also hear a loc...

China has been detaining and arresting ethnic Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang en masse while their children are often sent to state boarding schools. China closely guards information about Xinjiang, including about these forced family separations. But NPR's Beijing correspondent Emily Feng managed to talk to two children who made it out of one such school and are sharing their story for the firs...

Masks and at-home COVID-19 test kits have become staples of pandemic life. The Biden Administration announced in January that it would distribute 400 million free N95 respirators to pharmacies and grocery stores around the country. The U.S. Postal Service has begun taking orders for free at-home test kits. Supply remains limited, so many are still purchasing masks and tests on their own, and the c...

The world is watching as Russia continues it's threat of invasion with troops at the border of Ukraine. But close to that border, in the Donbas region, people look at you a little funny if you ask whether they're worried about war with Russia, because they are already living through it. Areas of Eastern Ukraine have been at war since 2014 when Russia-backed separatists moved in and declared breaka...

Before he took office, President Joe Biden said stopping domestic extremism would be a priority for him. His administration has now created the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships to stop radicalization before it starts. But critics say it's a repackaging of failed strategies and inadequate. NPR correspondent Odette Yousef has been reporting on the efforts of this new program built on...

Minimalist lifestyles are in vogue. From books to blogs, to Instagram to YouTube, Marie Kondo and other influencers have popularized living with less. But many of the dominant voices ignore the ways history and culture influence how and why we consume. Enter Christine Platt, The Afrominimalist . Platt is a lifestyle strategist and author of The Afrominimalist's Guide To Living With Less. She exami...

Cases rates are dropping, but the number of people dying each day is not. Many hospitals are still overwhelmed. NPR's Will Stone reports. Deaths are a lagging indicator — meaning they, too, will soon fall as the omicron wave continues to recede. What does the next phase of the pandemic look like? NPR's Allison Aubrey explains why some public health experts think the coronavirus may not disappear —...

Tensions are not abating as the U.S. and NATO continue efforts to avoid armed conflict with Russia. This week President Biden said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would "change the world." State Department spokesperson Ned Price tells NPR what leverage the U.S. has to prevent that from happening. Mary Louise Kelly reports from Kyiv, where some people are preparing for an invasion, even as the Ukrain...

After 27 years on the Supreme Court, liberal justice Stephen Breyer is retiring. His departure won't change the balance of the court, but it will give President Biden a chance to put his stamp on it — and cement a new, younger justice in place for decades. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg explains who might replace Breyer, and NPR political editor Domenico Montanaro outlines how the...

Writer-Director Joss Whedon has responded to his former colleagues' accusations of bullying on set. NY Magazine reporter Lila Shapiro interviewed Whedon, and his accusers, for a profile in Vulture called " The Undoing of Joss Whedon ." Motherboard's Gita Jackson considers Whedon's influence on his fans and, more broadly, pop culture, and freelance tv critic Robyn Bahr talks about the reasons why s...

When we talk about the pandemic, we talk about stress. Burnout. Uncertainty. Isolation. We don't talk as much about trauma. But a growing number of mental health professionals say that's what people are experiencing as the pandemic drags on — and we may need a new way to talk about what they're going through. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports. Psychiatrist, neurologist and author Bessel van der Kolk expl...

A towering figure of the fashion world, André Leon Talley was impossible to ignore . His influence extended well beyond the runway — during his time at Vogue , he was a rare Black editor in a largely white industry, and also a major figure in the LGBTQ+ community. In this episode of It's Been A Minute , host Sam Sanders discusses Talley's influence and legacy with Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford . L...

In Florida and Virginia, Governors Ron DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin are bolstering the right of parents to defy school mask mandates. While some parents are celebrating, others are filing lawsuits opposing the policies that make mask-wearing in schools optional. There are a lot of opinions about how schools should be run during the pandemic, but some key voices are often missing from the conversati...

The pandemic has led to a huge rise in online shopping. And record spending from last year means record returns. But what happens to the items we send back is often a mystery. NPR correspondent Alina Selyukh reports on the like hood of an unwanted holiday gift making it into another customers hands. And Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi of NPR's Planet Money podcast visits a bargain bin store in North Carolina...

Today marks one year since President Joe Biden took office. His most immediate challenge was the pandemic, but he also promised action on climate, racial equity, and infrastructure. One year later, NPR correspondents Kelsey Snell and Tamara Keith take stock of Biden's accomplishments and shortfalls. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of wh...

Federal data released last week showed more than 101,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in a one-year period. This was partly due to the pandemic and disruptions to treatment, as well as a surge in methamphetamine and fentanyl use. But there is some positive news. A recent study on recovery success, co-authored by Dr. David Eddie , shows that three out of four people who experience addiction eve...

During his time in office, former President Donald Trump embraced a Christian nationalist stance; the idea that the U.S. is a Christian country and should enforce those beliefs. Now, despite being out of office for nearly a year, those beliefs continue to spread. NPR correspondent John Burnett reports on the growing movement of Christian nationalism, and the the other Christian congregations that...

More people are hospitalized with COVID than at any point in the pandemic. But the omicron variant is also causing more Americans to tune out the pandemic and turn away from public health measures right when they're needed most. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports. Even some vaccinated and boosted Americans are ready to move on from COVID, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic — a group he's dubbed 'vaxxed...

Americans' trust in both their government and in each other is declining. That's according to the Pew Research Center , who have been collecting this data for decades. Researchers Bradley Jones and Katerina Eva Matsa discuss how and why Americans are losing trust in two critical institutions: elections and news media. Then, Eric Liu , the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and Tony Marcano...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is planning "things that we have not done in the past" if Russia invades Ukraine. His comments follow days of diplomatic talks and a deadlock on resolving the crisis brewing along the Ukraine-Russia border, where Russia has massed 100,000 troops with tanks and artillery. Blinken speaks to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the current tensions and this we...

The men on death row in Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a maximum security prison in southeastern Texas, spend most of their time in solitary confinement, isolated from each other. Now, a prison radio station is giving them a sense of community and a way to be heard. Keri Blakinger talks about how it started and the impact it's had. Read her piece "The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That's Reaching Men on Dea...

Many public spaces across the country now require negative COVID-19 tests for entry. But the cost of testing can vary widely, and some say they have had to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase tests. Adam Tanner explains some of the reasons for the drastic difference in at-home test prices. Read his piece 'How Much Should It Cost to Get Tested for COVID-19' on Consumer Reports. In participating r...

As Democrats are making a push for voting rights legislation in Congress, more faith leaders want Americans to approach it as a moral – even spiritual – issue, including pastor and Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Warnock explains why he thinks ending the legislative filibuster in the Senate may be a necessary step, a move that President Joe Biden also endorsed while speaking in Warnock'...

A surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant has meant many school districts across the country have considered or committed to returning to remote learning for the time being. WBEZ reporter Sarah Karp spoke with parents in Chicago where a standoff between the teachers union and mayor has resulted in no teaching happening in person or virtually for the last few days. And we hear from th...