Opinion : NPR

Detached admiration for sporting achievement? Not on your life. It's all about allegiance and, even, love. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

How To Be A Fan

January 31, 2014 • Can you choose to be a fan? Not really. Not if you're honest with yourself. As the philosopher David Papineau notes, choosing a team isn't like choosing a washing machine. With the Super Bowl looming, and his family taking sides, commentator Alva Noë tries to define what it means to be support a team.

cartoonistgroup.com Mike Lester hide caption

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Mike Lester

Double Take 'Toons: Wages Of Fear?

January 31, 2014 • In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that "it's time to give America a raise." He's now taking that message on the road, urging Congress to increase the federal minimum wage. Mike Lester assails the president's logic on "income inequality," while Mike Smith predicts a grim future if Obama doesn't succeed.

When Jeremiah Couldn't Take More Bullying, He Took His Life

Jeremiah Lasater committed suicide in high school after years of bullying. He played for the Vasquez High football team in Acton, Calif. Courtesy of Vasquez High School hide caption

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Courtesy of Vasquez High School

When Jeremiah Couldn't Take More Bullying, He Took His Life

January 31, 2014 • He was 14 when he killed himself in 2008. A big kid with a learning disability, he had faced years of bullying by his classmates. Just about a month into his first year of high school, Jeremiah had had enough. His father remembers him as a loyal friend, saying, "I'm very proud that he was my son."

When Jeremiah Couldn't Take More Bullying, He Took His Life

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That Cute Cheerios Ad With The Interracial Family Is Back

January 30, 2014 • The first TV spot featured an adorable, curly-haired moppet named Gracie who had a black father and a white mother. The ad for Cheerios prompted a storm of protest and counter-protest last summer. Now, the cereal-maker is back with a sequel.

iStockphoto

Defining Success Beyond The Dollar Sign

January 30, 2014 • Earning power, leadership in corporate America and fame are primary measures of American success, according to an op-ed just published by Amy Chua and Jeb Rubenfeld. Contesting this definition, commentator Barbara J. King suggests some other criteria we should consider.

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Rick McKee

Double Take 'Toons: Weatherized Enough?

January 30, 2014 • Extreme weather events are hitting the U.S. again. Rick McKee sees the winter storms pummeling Southern states as an apocalyptic event, while Daryl Cagle dryly notes that California and other Western states would welcome precipitation in any form.

An illustration of what the Philae lander will look like at work on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. AOES Medialab/ESA hide caption

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AOES Medialab/ESA

When Science Beats Fiction

January 29, 2014 • The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is on track to rendezvous with a far-away comet and land a probe, a first. It will be a major turning point in our history and one that promises to address key questions such as the origin of water and life on Earth.

Laura B. Weiss for NPR

Get Extra Points For Super Bowls Of Dips And Spreads

January 29, 2014 • Cooking for a crowd for the big game? Put away the pots and pans, and turn to these party-friendly dishes. Then you can settle onto the couch in front of the TV instead of getting stuck in the kitchen.

Double Take 'Toons: SOTU-ational Ethics?

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Dave Granlund

Double Take 'Toons: SOTU-ational Ethics?

January 29, 2014 • In his State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to make 2014 a "year of action" and said that if they didn't, he would. Dave Granlund thinks using the White House's bully pulpit and executive orders could be a winning game plan, while John Deering is worried that the president might be branching out way too far in terms of his authority.

A Human-Driven Mass Extinction: Good Or Bad?

Will the distant future give rise to exhibits of a human past long gone, much as we gawk today at representations of a dinosaur age we can only imagine? Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

A Human-Driven Mass Extinction: Good Or Bad?

January 28, 2014 • The real dilemma we face from climate change is keeping this machine we call civilization working in a rapidly changing natural world. Nature, life, will survive and thrive, regardless of what happens to humanity, says commentator Adam Frank.

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Pat Bagley

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Outcome Equality?

January 28, 2014 • President Obama is expected to emphasize income inequality in his State of the Union Address tonight. Gary Varvel looks at the first lady's star-studded 50th birthday party and questions the president's commitment to struggling Americans, while Pat Bagley doubts only the GOP's wisdom.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Must Science Murder Its Darlings?

January 27, 2014 • Dozens of thinkers have been asked to identify cherished scientific ideas that are ripe for retirement. Commentator Tania Lombrozo considers their answers and ends up questioning the wisdom of discarding worn-out scientific ideas.

Double Take 'Toons: Obama's Joint Agreement?

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Dave Granlund

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Obama's Joint Agreement?

January 27, 2014 • The President told the New Yorker that smoking marijuana is "a bad idea, a waste of time, not very healthy" but that he didn't think it was "more dangerous than alcohol." Dave Granlund thinks the President's statement has been misinterpreted as supporting the drug, while Pat Bagley argues that some of the unintended consequences of legalization could be to the good.

Cartoonist Group/Creators Syndicate Mike Luckovich hide caption

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Mike Luckovich

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Beleaguered Bieber?

January 26, 2014 • Justin Bieber started off 2014 with legal troubles in California and Florida. Dave Granlund found a search of the pop star's California home eggcessive, while Mike Luckovich thinks Bieber's arrest in Florida could increase his fan base.

Violence Abroad Threatens Students, As Do Guns At U.S. Schools

This handout provided by the Santa Monica Police Department shows ammunition, magazines and guns believed to have been dropped by a suspected gunman during a mass shooting at Santa Monica College in June 2013. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Violence Abroad Threatens Students, As Do Guns At U.S. Schools

January 25, 2014 • Suicide bombings like the one that killed two university colleagues in Kabul prompt many Americans to tell themselves they're safe from targeted violence in the U.S. We know that isn't true, says NPR's Jacki Lyden.

Violence Abroad Threatens Students, As Do Guns At U.S. Schools

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Opinion

Friday January 31, 2014

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

How To Be A Fan

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Wages Of Fear?

StoryCorps

When Jeremiah Couldn't Take More Bullying, He Took His Life

When Jeremiah Couldn't Take More Bullying, He Took His Life

Thursday January 30, 2014

Code Switch

That Cute Cheerios Ad With The Interracial Family Is Back

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Defining Success Beyond The Dollar Sign

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Weatherized Enough?

Wednesday January 29, 2014

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

When Science Beats Fiction

Kitchen Window

Get Extra Points For Super Bowls Of Dips And Spreads

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: SOTU-ational Ethics?

Tuesday January 28, 2014

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

A Human-Driven Mass Extinction: Good Or Bad?

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Outcome Equality?

Monday January 27, 2014

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Must Science Murder Its Darlings?

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Obama's Joint Agreement?

Sunday January 26, 2014

NPR Double Take

Double Take 'Toons: Beleaguered Bieber?

Saturday January 25, 2014

Violence Abroad Threatens Students, As Do Guns At U.S. Schools

Violence Abroad Threatens Students, As Do Guns At U.S. Schools