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The human handshake is ancient — at least 7,000 years old, evolutionary biologist Ella al-Shamahi. She says human handshakes have come in various forms, including a penis handshake in Australia as recently as the 1950s. The World's Carol Hills spoke with Shamahi about the fascinating past and lasting future of handshakes despite the pandemic.

Mazu is revered as a Daoist goddess on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Devotees from around the world travel to Fujian Province to make offerings to her. The Chinese government supports Mazu worship as a way to strengthen cross-strait political and economic relations while at the same time it is putting military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid human rights activist, was laid to rest on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa. At the request of Desmond Tutu, who was also a Nobel laureate and an advocate for protecting the environment, his body underwent aquamation — considered to be a greener alternative to cremation. Host Carol Hills speaks with Samantha Seiber, vice president of research at Bio-Res...

Nearly half the workers at a remote Antarctic research base have tested positive with COVID-19 since mid-December. The International Polar Foundation, which runs the base, says symptoms were mild and all those who tested positive are now symptom-free. The World's Carolyn Beeler reports on the testing and quarantine procedure that didn't work as expected.

South Korea’s $5 billion K-Pop industry has suffered under COVID-19 restrictions. Concerts have been shut down, denying fans their fix. Despite an omicron surge, South Korean officials are meeting K-pop lovers halfway. A New Year’s Eve extravaganza featuring top girl and boy bands was allowed to commence — but only if fans promised to mask up and not to scream with joy or sing along. Only clapping...

Moderna is a small company just a stone’s throw from The World’s headquarters, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Until the pandemic, the company was pretty obscure. Now, it has brought the world one of the most powerful tools in this pandemic: a highly effective vaccine against the coronavirus. But Moderna has also been in the global hot seat over its handling of vaccine manufacturing and global access...

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has stepped down just weeks after he was reinstated by Sudan’s military. The move comes amid street protests responding to the armed forces coup in October. From Khartoum, Amjed Farid, a former assistant chief of staff to Hamdok talks with The World’s Carol Hills about Sudan's shaky transition to civilian rule.

Pakistani composer and musician Arooj Aftab has been writing songs about transition and loss from her home in the US.  Earlier this year, Aftab talked about her work with singer-composer Meklit Hadero as part of our series “Movement.”

The World's newsroom got involved in compiling our end-of-year playlist. Here's one recommendation from our social media editor Maria Elena Romero. It's from the Tuareg desert rock group Imarhan and their song "Achinkad."

A "trust the vaccine" song did not hit the top of US charts this year, but there was one in Brazil. The basis of the song, though, started four years ago. Marco Werman tells us about MC Fioti's track "Vacina Butantan."

Last summer, reporter Emma Jacobs went to a concert at a retirement community outside of Montreal and found that it was a win-win, for the seniors and for the artists.

Brazil's Rodrigo Amarante wrote the theme song to a hit show on Netflix and formed a super group with the drummer from the Strokes. But in 2021, people are still catching on to his music.

Throughout the year, people around the globe sought ways to connect with others, despite lockdowns and closed borders. One way was by tuning into different radio stations around the world. And it was all made possible by Radio Garden. The World's Bianca Hillier has the story.

Lizzie Bravo was a Beatles super-fan from Rio de Janeiro who was just 15 when she and a good friend convinced their parents to let them travel to London to try to meet the Beatles in person. Not quite a year later, Lizzie appeared in The Beatles song "Across the Universe." We remember Lizzie Bravo, who died in October at the age of 70.

We lost many beloved musicians in 2021. Today, we remember one person whose death was especially painful for the global LGBTQ community. Sophie, a transgender electronic music producer, died last January after an accidental fall. The World’s Bianca Hillier brought us her story.

Musician and activist Shungudzo fought for her rights, first while growing up in Zimbabwe, and then again when she moved to the US with her family. In her music and poetry, Shungudzo tackles the racist experiences she had while growing up in her 2021 release "It's a Good Day (...to Fight the System)."

News headlines seem to reinforce stereotypes about Haiti and overshadow other narratives. Earlier this year, we met Steeve Valcourt of the band Lakou Mizik. The band uses music to shine a light on the country's culture and history.

The Mariachi ensemble from New York, Flor de Toloache, has garnered acclaim for its fusing of traditional Mexican sounds with a modern sensibility. In the example that host Marco Werman offers, Flor de Toloache covers a classic by the Argentine rockers Soda Stereo.

This year has been filled with lots of big news, and photographers have been there to capture the most important moments. The World's Marco Werman spoke with Reuters photo editor Rickey Rogers about some of the photos that Reuters chose as its photos of the year.

Over the last month, Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops close to its border with Ukraine. The US has repeatedly warned that Russia could be planning another invasion into Ukraine. But over the past week or so, tensions seem to have simmered down — today Presidents Biden and Putin spoke via video conference. The US says it hopes to de-escalate tensions and look for a predictable diplom...

The pandemic hit Chinatowns in cities across the United States hard. Not only because of illness, but because of business losses and a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. In the episode “A Better Life?” from the podcast Feet in 2 Worlds, Quincy Surasmith reports that some of the tensions in LA's Chinatown go back much further than the pandemic. Residents, business owners and activists there have confl...

Since the pandemic, we've heard a lot about changes in work environments. With lower unemployment numbers, economists suggest workers are gaining the upper hand and can dictate their terms of employment. Tom Standage, deputy editor at The Economist and host of The World Ahead, a podcast from our partners at The Economist, has more.

Floods and dam failures have displaced tens of thousands of people in northeastern Brazil, with more rain expected next week. New weather patterns due to global warming have led to unprecedented rainfall. Michael Fox reports on some of the communities impacted by the floods, and what they're doing to support each other.

The Biden Administration this month withdrew from settlement talks that would have offered families financial compensation for being separated at the border under Trump-era policies. Lawyers representing the families say they're determined to get compensation and are taking this to court. The World's Daisy Contreras has the story.

COVID-19 infections hit a record high globally in the last week. Governments are now trying to strike a balance between imposing new restrictions and keeping businesses open. Testing positive for COVID-19 in the US means that a five-day isolation period is recommended. In Europe, it's a different story, as The World's Orla Barry reports.