Feed pri-latest-stories The World: Latest Stories

The World: Latest Stories

Link https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world
Feed http://www.pri.org/feed/index.1.rss
Updated 2025-07-12 11:00
American coach of Afghan women's soccer team has one goal: Hope
The team practices all over Asia and the Middle East. "Our goal is to find safe places outside of Afghanistan," she says, "so everyone who comes to camp can feel safe and can train and feel good about the environment, and focus on football."
In autocratic China, leakers beware
"China's ultimate goal is to use democracy to undermine democracy," says one expert on Chinese dissent.
Where does language come from?
Humans are the only creatures on Earth that can choke on their own food. Yes, that’s right. Why would humans have evolved such potentially fatal architecture? Some experts say the reason is speech. This week on the podcast, we explore several theories about where language comes from.
Russian bots seize on Parkland shooting to amplify messages
These days, the online debates about gun control come with a steroid boost from Twitter bots seeking to divide Americans even further. Host Marco Werman speaks with Erin Griffith, a senior writer at Wired, who wrote about the surge in bot traffic.
Wrong beach? Two British towns may not actually be where Caesar landed in 55 B.C.
New research suggests Caesar's forces may have landed further north — and locals don't want to believe it.
I worked at the CDC and if it really wanted to, it could study gun violence
The tragic shooting death of 17 people at a Florida high school is renewing calls for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research the causes of gun violence. The CDC used to study what triggers mass shootings and how to end gun violence until Congress threatened to cut off funding if research continued. Is it time to revisit?
Rapper Ruby Ibarra says Waray and Tagalog are 'perfect for hip-hop'
"I’m not here to say that my experience ... is the definitive Filipino American experience," said Ruby Ibarra, who is out with her first album. "It’s just one lens, one glimpse of the story.”
A comic book hero offers a fresh vision of Africa
Marvel Comics reimagines the sub-Saharan.
More details but no answers in brain trauma cases of US diplomats in Cuba
Doctors call it “a concussion without concussion.” But what’s causing it? The medical mystery continues.
Hundreds of British KFC stores have to close — after they run out of chicken
Most of the chain's 900-some UK stores are closed after a new supplier couldn't deliver chicken to stores
They lived in limbo in Australian offshore camps for years. Now they call the US home.
The United States and Australia struck a deal back in 2016. The US agreed to accept about 1,200 refugees from Australia's offshore detention centers. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from Central America.
Seawater is infiltrating a nuclear waste dump on a remote Pacific atoll
The US military conducted nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands in the 1940s and '50s, leaving a legacy of radioactive waste that could be washed into rising seas.
Climate change will accelerate extreme weather events in the coming years
Hurricanes, floods, heat, drought, wildfires — climate change is creating the conditions for an increased risk of catastrophic weather events in the coming years, according to climate researchers.
You can help celebrate the Year of the Bird by finding ways, large and small, to protect them
2018 may be the National Audubon Society's Year of the Bird, but birds face a variety of threats from human activity. Novelist and avid birder Jonathan Franzen makes the case that birds matter greatly and deserve our respect and protection.
No immigration bill as feds ink contract to monitor license plates
A new contract could give the federal government a way to track license plates. But it’s with a private company that is collecting a lot of data, which concerns the mayor of Alameda, California.
Native playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle resurrects her past to tell a story in the present
Playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle's new play, "Sovereignty," at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, puts her Cherokee ancestors center stage along with American history to tell a bold tale of justice.
What can AI learn from non-Western philosophies?
Much of the work being done in the budding field of artificial intelligence ethics has been approached with Western ethical traditions in mind. One group of researchers is trying to change that, and recently released a report on what artificial intelligence developers — and the technologies themselves — can learn from Buddhism, Confucianism, Ubuntu and other non-Western ethical traditions.
Will the Year of the Dog mean more babies in South Korea?
South Korean media speculate that the country’s birthrate, one of the world’s lowest, could rise thanks to the perceived enhanced fortune during this year of the "golden dog."
How Chinese media covers US gun violence
COMMENTARY: Chinese state media often hypes American problems and foibles to redirect attention away from China’s poor human rights records. And yet, when it comes to American gun violence, it takes a measured tone.
Chloe Kim’s family’s immigrant success story is everywhere — but it’s a ‘double-edge sword’ for immigrants
She is just one out of 1.7 million Korean Americans living in the US. Do they all have to be exceptional to deserve to immigrate?
The 'most popular rifle in America' was used in the country's latest shooting
The National Rifle Association has called the AR-15 the "most popular rifle in America" and estimates Americans own more than 8 million of them. The NRA says the gun is popular because it's "customizable, adaptable, reliable and accurate." Those features may also explain why it's also become a weapon of choice for mass shootings.
The Oxfam scandal shows that reform is needed in the humanitarian aid sector
COMMENTARY: Reporter Amy Costello writes that speaking plainly about sexual abuse and harassment in the humanitarian aid sector is long overdue.
The UK's offshore wind boom is great for the climate. But what about the fish?
A big push into offshore wind power in the UK is pushing down the cost of the low-carbon energy source, but fishermen say it's also harming fish populations. Scientists say they're not so sure.
Instagramming a mentally ill mom
Understanding a mother’s mental illness through photography.
Guilty Pleasure: Christian rock, for a nonbeliever
Listener Sam Cook left the church — but he can’t leave Christian rock behind.
Making fun of the Kennedys
“The First Family” broke new ground for comedy by openly mocking — and impersonating — a sitting president.
Denise Gough finally breaks through
How actress Denise Gough gets into character for “Angels in America.”
What's good for democracy can be bad for stability
The Panama Papers revealed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's offshore accounts. Mass protests demanded his ouster... and then the military took matters into their own hands.
Europeans are embracing American craft beer. So, why are exports trailing off?
In recent years, more and more overseas beer drinkers were trying out the bold, often hoppy experiments coming from America's craft brewers. Exports of US craft beers boomed. But now, exports are cooling off. We visit the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, the nation’s fourth-largest craft brewer, to learn about the challenges becoming a global player.
'Black Panther' premiers in Lupita Nyong'o's hometown
Marvel's new superhero movie, "Black Panther," had a premier Tuesday night in Kisumu, Kenya, the hometown of Lupita Nyong'o, one of the film's stars.
Europe’s investment in offshore wind is paying off — for the US
Europe's investments in offshore wind have fueled better technology, more competition and cheaper capital for new projects. That's driven down the cost of offshore power and now the US is capitalizing on the savings.
An immigrant mother's plea: 'Send me back. But don't take my kids.'
A family holds its breath, wondering if a young son will be deported back to El Salvador — and the dangers of gang life.
Offshore wind projects breathe life into struggling UK ports
The UK's big push into offshore wind power is bringing down the cost of the low-carbon energy sources, and bringing new life to some down-on-their-luck English ports.
South Koreans have mixed feelings about North Korean presence at winter games
The joint hockey team was popular, but the North Korean cheer squad was called "a little robotic." Either way, it's unlikely to make a huge difference in North-South relations.
Activist ousted from French advisory council says race talk is still taboo
Discussing race, religion and gender in France has long been the third rail. And activists who thought things would be different under Emmanuel Macron are sorely disappointed.
What's fueling Britain's offshore wind revolution? Technology, subsidies and an old fishing hub.
Offshore wind has gotten way cheaper in the UK, thanks to technological innovations and government subsidies. That's always been the plan.
The correspondence of Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino is a bilingual love story
He wrote to her mainly in Swedish, and she replied in Finnish. A linguist in Texas says the letters are a goldmine for the study of code-switching.
Puerto Ricans who evacuated to Philadelphia worry help will soon run out
More than 800 Puerto Rican families have evacuated the island to Philadelphia. What happens when aid runs out?
Discussion: The flu outbreak — what you need to know
If someone in your family is sick with the flu, you already know this: the flu season this year is bad. Maybe even record-breaking bad, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Last Friday, the CDC said this could be the worst flu outbreak since the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Join The World for a discussion about the flu outbreak during an event at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Tuesday from noon-1 p.m. ET. We'll be live streaming the forum here.
Human rights activist lawyer Asma Jahangir inspired women to speak loudly
Leading Pakistani human rights activist lawyer Asma Jahangir died on Sunday in Lahore. But her influence continues.
Is it ethical to vacation in places devastated by disaster?
In December, three months after Puerto Rico was pummelled by Hurricane Maria, a spokesman for the island's tourism industry declared it was open for business. But much of Puerto Rico is still struggling to get back on its feet. So what's an island lover to do for spring break? Embrace the devastated destinations or give them space to breathe?
The quest for coffee from a war zone
Mokhtar Alkhanshali is sourcing some of the world’s best ranked beans from Yemen — and arguing that we should rethink just how much we pay for our daily brew.
Kristi Yamaguchi inspires a record number of Asian American skaters
More than 200 athletes representing Team USA are taking part in 15 sporting events during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. One competition that always gets attention is figure skating, and this year, it's notable for the record number of Asian American skaters.
Nature-based preschools, where children spend most of their day outside, are a growing trend in the United States
If you ever wondered why America is slow to protect the environment compared to Europe, you might consider how we educate our children.
New Interior ruling threatens to undo protections of migratory birds
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and related rules have helped safeguard many millions of birds since 1918, but now the Trump Administration has reinterpreted the act in a way that would loosen its protections and shield from prosecution companies that kill birds.
In Finland, a leak, a fire, and a massive expansion of government surveillance
When one Finnish journalist smashed her laptop with a hammer, causing it to catch fire, she didn't know that it would lead to one of the biggest debates about security and press freedom in Finnish history.
Wages for American workers are ticking upward, but the US remains one of the world’s most inequitable nations
The American economy is strong by most metrics. But income inequality remains a huge concern: In some cases, a CEO can make a workers' annual income in a single day.
Lakshmi Ramgopal is adding Indian classical music influences to her electronic-ambient projects
Lykanthea nestles comfortably in the electronic-ambient genre. But she's begun to add traces of her childhood training in Carnatic music.
I didn’t know how big a problem sexual harassment was in China — until #MeToo
COMMENTARY: Yajun Zhang, who has an English-language podcast in Beijing, talks about the dialogue around sexual harassment in China.
The Vatican seems to be keen for a deal with Beijing
Pope Francis appears to be eager to make a historic compromise with the Chinese government for the sake of Chinese Catholics. His critics worry that he’s making a huge mistake.
...149150151152153154155156157158...