Opinion : NPR

Doing The Work: What '30 Rock' Meant For Women On Television

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon. Ali Goldstein/NBC hide caption

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Ali Goldstein/NBC

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Doing The Work: What '30 Rock' Meant For Women On Television

January 31, 2013 • 30 Rock has a tricky set of gender politics, but it turned out to be a profoundly feminist show, not because of what it said, but because of whose voice was speaking.

Stop Ignoring Head Trauma: Turn Off The Super Bowl

The brain of former NFL star Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year, showed signs of the kind of neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head trauma. Elsa/Getty Images hide caption

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Elsa/Getty Images

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Stop Ignoring Head Trauma: Turn Off The Super Bowl

January 31, 2013 • You're watching the Super Bowl, and on the screen flashes a number to text a $10 donation for brain research. This hasn't happened yet, but as the big event nears, commentator Barbara J. King asks how should we react to the Super Bowl in light of the link between repetitive brain injuries and degenerative brain disease.

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: High Capacity Testimony?

January 31, 2013 • NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre testified before the Senate yesterday. Adam Zyglis thinks the NRA is a part of the gun violence problem, while Bob Englehart agrees with one of the NRA's major points.

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NASA

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Big Science Paves The Way Forward

January 30, 2013 • In the wake of the Hubble Space Telescope and the discovery of the Higgs boson, should we continue to pursue big science projects, in spite of their costs? Commentator Marcelo Gleiser says it's a no brainer.

Coastal Snobbery, 'The Masses,' And Respecting The Lowest Common Denominator

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Coastal Snobbery, 'The Masses,' And Respecting The Lowest Common Denominator

January 30, 2013 • The "lowest common denominator" isn't really a bad thing. It's commonality; it's one of the parts of culture that are richest and most beneficial, provided we can define it properly.

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: More Fair, More Balanced?

January 30, 2013 • Fox News didn't renew Palin's contract but hired former Democratic congressman and presidential candidate Kucinich. Rob Tornoe hopes to consign the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential hopeful to obscurity. Jeff Darcy thinks obscurity might have been the better option for Kucinich.

T. Susan Chang for NPR

Kitchen Window

Understanding The Brussels Sprout

January 30, 2013 • This humble cabbage relative is undergoing a renaissance. Cookbooks are full of conversion stories and recipes. Food writer T. Susan Chang shares hers: The delectable versions she now enjoys bear no resemblance to the boiled, greenish-yellow sprouts of her youth.

History Joins The 49ers In Opposing Ray Lewis

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis speaks at a news conference in New Orleans on Monday. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday. It will be Lewis' last game. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Sweetness And Light

History Joins The 49ers In Opposing Ray Lewis

January 30, 2013 • It's rare in sport for someone to declare that this will be the finale and then go out a winner, says commentator Frank Deford. But, on Sunday, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hopes to do just that.

History Joins The 49ers In Opposing Ray Lewis

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From Our Listeners

Letters: Inauguration, Memory Loss, National Geographic

January 29, 2013 • NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics, including the challenges of memory loss, snapshots from around the country on Inauguration Day, and the 125th anniversary of the National Geographic Society.

Letters: Inauguration, Memory Loss, National Geographic

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NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Cross Paths

January 29, 2013 • President Obama is scheduled to unveil his proposal to overhaul U.S. immigration law a day after a bipartisan group of senators announced their plan. Randy Bish believes the president has been too welcoming to undocumented residents, while Nate Beeler thinks Republicans have not gone far enough.

Is There A Place For The Mind In Physics? Part I

Where does the mind fit within the cosmos? Are they separate, intertwined or one and the same? F. Comeron/ESO hide caption

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F. Comeron/ESO

January 28, 2013 • Nearly 13 million people head to work as temporary and contract employees each year, according to the American Staffing Association. In an opinion piece for The New York Times, sociologist Erin Hatton argues that it's time to get rid of the "anti-worker ideology that has come to accompany it."

A 'Permatemp' Economy: The Idea Of The Expendable Employee

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Be Like A Bat? Sound Can Show You The Way

Echolocation is second nature to animals such as bats and dolphins. Can humans also find their way using sound as a tool? Ian Waldie/Getty Images hide caption

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Ian Waldie/Getty Images

January 28, 2013 • Nathaniel, a young Berkeley biologist, met a beautiful yeast who promised opportunity and adventure, but once they got together, Nathaniel was clumsy, the yeast not what he'd hoped, and their romance? Well, it didn't work out. It's now a song. Sung by Nathaniel. The yeast, lacking vocal chords, is silent.

Opinion

Thursday January 31, 2013

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Doing The Work: What '30 Rock' Meant For Women On Television

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Stop Ignoring Head Trauma: Turn Off The Super Bowl

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: High Capacity Testimony?

Wednesday January 30, 2013

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Big Science Paves The Way Forward

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Coastal Snobbery, 'The Masses,' And Respecting The Lowest Common Denominator

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: More Fair, More Balanced?

Kitchen Window

Understanding The Brussels Sprout

Sweetness And Light

History Joins The 49ers In Opposing Ray Lewis

History Joins The 49ers In Opposing Ray Lewis

Tuesday January 29, 2013

From Our Listeners

Letters: Inauguration, Memory Loss, National Geographic

Letters: Inauguration, Memory Loss, National Geographic

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Cross Paths

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Is There A Place For The Mind In Physics? Part I

Monday January 28, 2013

The Salt

Sandwich Monday: The Reuben Egg Roll

The Opinion Page

A 'Permatemp' Economy: The Idea Of The Expendable Employee

A 'Permatemp' Economy: The Idea Of The Expendable Employee

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Be Like A Bat? Sound Can Show You The Way

Krulwich Wonders...

My Yeast Let Me Down: A Love Song