PRI: Latest Stories

Starbucks consumers go through 6 billion to-go cups a year. Those cups basically can't be recycled. So Starbucks, along with McDonald's, are trying to engineer a better cup.

Turkey's lira pulled back from a record low of 7.24 to the dollar on Monday after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity and cut reserve requirements for Turkish banks, but its meltdown continued to rattle global markets.

Science has proven that breastmilk is far better for human health than infant formula. Nevertheless, the US tried to stop a WHO resolution which aimed to limit the marketing of infant formula in developing countries.

Yemenis mourned the deaths of about 30 children following a Thursday air strike on a busload of school boys.

Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo represents the city of Miami, where sea level rise is already a difficult reality. He has put forth a bold proposal to address greenhouse gas emissions, but his party is unlikely to support it.

Artificial lighting of all kinds can have adverse effects on wildlife and humans. As the use of LED lights increases, researchers are examining how best to limit their impact.

1968 was a year of political upheaval and the music reflected the restless times. The World's host Marco Werman went back and checked out the 1968 chart-toppers from the US, Japan, France and Brazil.

Haspel oversaw a CIA "black site" in Thailand in 2002.

People describe DakhaBrakha's music as "ethno chaos." It's a mix of Ukrainian traditional music with contemporary political and social messages.

If it's summer where you are right now, odds are you've become intimately familiar with your air conditioner as the US, Europe and other parts of the world hit near-record temperatures.

Berlin doesn't have many buildings with air-conditioning so people are looking for ways to cool off. One of the best is visiting an underground ruin from World War II.

James Asquith is the founder of the holiday home exchange, Holiday Swap. He's also the Guinness World Record holder for the youngest person to travel 196 countries and is always encouraging others to get out and travel.

Why do we still read a book about a cranky guy who lived in the woods?

When Gloria Gaynor recorded the B-side to her 1978 single, she knew it was a hidden hit.

How Leonard Bernstein introduced classical music to kids.

Molson Coors has teamed up with a marijuana producer to create non-alcoholic cannabis-infused beverages, which could be for sale in Canada as early as September 2019.

Some people believe technology will render Braille obsolete and that blind people will choose talking apps and audiobooks over embossed dots. But Braille has been written off many times before and each time, it has come back stronger.

The sunflower selfie has become so popular that Instagrammers have been trampling farmer's flowers to get the perfect pic. And that has farmers annoyed.

President Donald Trump said tariffs will reduce "large amounts" of the US's $21 trillion debt and reduce American taxes. Can tariffs do that?

Shigeaki Mori was 8 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He survived and committed himself to uncovering the names of all those who died — including 12 American POWs.

Rising ocean temperatures are causing massive coral reef die-offs, and since the death of a third of the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, a worldwide call to arms has led to creative solutions.

It is said that practice makes perfect. As the events surrounding Hurricane Maria showed, a lack of practice can make a tough situation even worse.

As sea level rises, scientists say storm surges combined with high tide will put more and more of downtown Boston at risk of flooding.

Speakers are asked to avoid controversial subjects like politics, religion and race, and so far Toastmasters Ramallah has followed the custom. But it's getting harder to do that, members say.

As the days get shorter, dusk is coming earlier and earlier. And it reminds me of a French expression that describes that ephemeral time of day.

Experimental vocal group Roomful of Teeth performs live in our studio.

Author Mira T. Lee reads from her debut novel, “Everything Here is Beautiful.”

Are we approaching the comedy singularity?

Once prohibited from active duty, Ukraine's female officers are done being a novelty and are hoping to change the public perception of the police force in Kiev.

Gun rights activist Cody Wilson’s harnessing of computer technology and his self-proclaimed radical ideology have added a new, unpredictable dimension to America’s struggle to reduce gun violence.

China is slapping retaliatory tariffs on American crops, like soy and corn, and prices have fallen sharply. President Donald Trump has called on farmers to be patient and patriotic. How far are farmers in Illinois, America's No. 1 soy state, willing to go?

Joy, whose name has been changed for this story, already tried leaving Nigeria once. It was 2005, when she was 22. A friend of the family offered her a job working as a nanny in Italy. Joy was thrilled to get the offer — she already had two children, and her young family needed the money.

Australian musician Tash Sultana's forthcoming LP, "Flow State," is the next musical step for the former busker. Sultana describes what it's like being in a flow state and why she's greedy when it comes to genres.

The San Diego school district worked with a Muslim organization after Muslim students said they were bullied. A group of parents sued, saying the school district singled out Muslim students as a special religious group.

Author Jean Guerrero crisscrosses the Mexican-American border, as she struggles to understand her father’s diagnosis of schizophrenia and his fascination with mysticism and his Mexican roots.

Boston Medical Center, a major trauma center and teaching hospital, is reimagining what it means to care for patients with a new rooftop agriculture project.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh has consistently ruled against the EPA's authority to regulate pollutants and toxic chemicals.

Watching the historic summit in June with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, North Korea expert Andrei Lankov says he was not very hopeful about Kim giving up his country's nuclear weapons. But he says there are still opportunities for success.

Women are barred from entering sumo rings because they're considered sacred spaces. A female mayor who can't open a sumo competition in her city is now working with other female mayors to change the practice.

Are kids with imaginary friends more creative?

How did a German streetwalker become the All-American Girl?

The Frisbee wasn’t invented by a toy company. It came from a baker in the 1870s.

The history — and future — of playgrounds.

Post-deportation, two parents now back in Mexico parent long-distance, checking in with their children daily on everything from what's for breakfast to schoolwork to paying the mortgage.

An Iraqi refugee tries to stay in Finland, but faces unexpected obstacles.

Many one-industry towns have shriveled up and died in recent decades. But not Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

As a teenager, Carina Hoang and her siblings were left on a desert island in Indonesia when they fled Vietnam. Dozens died and were buried in shallow graves marked with stones. She has helped more than 15 families find their loved ones — but this will be her last trip.

Men between 18 and 42 are forced to serve in Syria’s army. After years of living in exile, some are willing to return to be home again.

Sousou is from Sweden. Maher Cissoko, her husband, is from Senegal. It was the kora that brought them together. And now, 10 years and two kids later, they've released a new album called "Made of Music."