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 2025-07-02 13:46
The political lines that divide us
Can states change a system controlled by the people in power meant to keep them in power?
Global warming threatens nutrition levels in staple crops
Climate disruption can be tough on agriculture, and now there appears to be another danger to staple crops as carbon dioxide levels rise: nutrient loss.
The science behind 'baby talk'
We’ve all heard adults cooing to babies in “baby talk.” Now, researchers are learning more about why we do it.
Why practice rarely makes perfect
Dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s is one thing. But mathematician Eugenia Cheng says obsessing over perfection leads to a lot of wasted effort.
Neanderthals went extinct, but many of us still carry around fragments of their DNA
“Everybody whose genetic roots are outside Africa are partly descended from Neanderthals,” one geneticist says.
As global carbon dioxide levels climb, plants are becoming better at photosynthesis
Plants are responding to rising levels of carbon dioxide by performing more photosynthesis and using water more efficiently.
The family that helped start the opioid crisis
The Sacklers have made billions of dollars off of opioids.
New airport security measures add the human element back into screenings
The TSA is requiring airlines to interview passengers heading to the US at check-in and boarding gates all over the world.
In hurricane-prone Miami, one meteorologist is forecasting the future
John Morales was one of the first TV meteorologists to start talking about how climate change will impact his audience. Intense weather hit close to home this fall, as Hurricane Maria struck his home island of Puerto Rico.
New Orleans and Haiti are linked by culture, food and history
When you walk around New Orleans, you can see the Haitian influence everywhere, from the creole cottages to the jambalaya. And thousands of New Orleanians trace their ancestry back to the island. This connection had one journalist asking, is the feeling mutual?
After 40 years, 'Never Mind the Bollocks'
Forty years ago, the Sex Pistols wasn’t just releasing an album — it was also defining a moment in the culture that lives on in punk and its progeny today.
Tree species are leap-frogging up mountains in reaction to climate change
Researchers studied two species of pine that live at the tree line and found them moving up rather rapidly — with one species leapfrogging another in the competition for new real estate.
Fashion, faith and culture come together through the global art of head wrapping
Head wrapping goes beyond style for one Detroit anthropologist. It’s also a way to bridge cultures.
Catalonia's lawmakers vote for independence from Spain
The Catalan Parliament approved the region becoming a republic, but the Spanish government is moving to take back control.
Meet the women who escorted Jane Doe to her abortion
A small clinic in McAllen, Texas, is the only abortion provider for hundreds of miles. Earlier this week when Jane Doe, an undocumented teenager held in detention, was allowed to have an abortion, this is where she came.
In the shadow of a racist past, Portland still struggles to be welcoming to all its residents
A murder on a Portland light rail train brought back a lot of memories of painful times in the city's history.
British volunteers in Syria took on ISIS. Now they face possible arrest back home.
Macer Gifford gave up a career in London as a currency trader to fight ISIS with Kurdish troops in Syria. He's uncertain what will happen if he heads back to Britain.
At this elite Chinese kindergarten, 'We don't pick children. We pick parents.'
Chinese American writer Lenora Chu was delighted when she secured a coveted spot a Shanghai kindergarten for her son. Then came the stress, anxiety and confusion. Chu's new book about China's education system is called "Little Soldiers."
Fly her to the moon
How drive-in movies helped Twyla Tharp become a world-class choreographer.
Aha moment: Bono and belly dancing
She gave up ballet, but Yillah Natalie discovered her life’s work in U2’s “Mysterious Ways”: belly dancing.
My parents' extreme tango makeover
From History Channel to Dancing with the Stars, Yowei Shaws' parents do the tango.
Tendues and torque
Ken Laws was in his 40s when he decided to shift his center of gravity.
'An American in Paris' dances its way to the stage
“An American in Paris” was one of Hollywood’s most famous Golden Age musicals. And then it became an equally impressive Broadway musical.
Why the opioid crisis is an American problem
America leads the world in drug overdose deaths and opioid consumption. And it has a lot to do with the ways prescription painkillers are advertised and regulated in the US compared to other countries.
‘Symbolic rubble’ from crumbling adobe homes preserves the past and eases trauma after Mexico earthquake
Oaxaca is moving along with rebuilding after Mexico's worst earthquake of the century. But some are hoping to slow down the process.
Renewable energy and resilient microgrids could help rebuild Puerto Rico
Many experts believe renewable energy and distributed microgrids can save costs and be a better solution to extreme weather. Rebuilding Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure could present an opportunity to make this a reality.
EU institutions face scrutiny for how they deal with sexual assault
The European Union is also reeling from the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Vladimir Putin's grudge with Hillary Clinton
When Vladimir Putin first took control of Russia, Bill Clinton was the US president. Frontline filmmaker Mike Kirk tells how Putin came to consider the United States an existential threat, how he consolidated his power to confront the US, and why launching a campaign to disrupt the 2016 US presidential election would not have been out of character.
The complicated reasons why some people overstay their US visas
For some people, overstaying their visa was never the plan. Rather, it is the result of one, or several, extenuating circumstances that convince immigrants they cannot or do not want to return to their countries.
This 18-year-old from New York is suing the Trump administration over climate change
When it comes to setting climate change policy in the US, kids don't have much of a voice because they can't vote. But they can go to court. So a group of 21 young people are suing the Trump Administration for failing to adequately tackle the climate crisis.
This is a story about the origins of Antifa
Antifa became the buzzword of the summer after racially motivated protests in Charlottesville. But where did this word come from and how did Antifa become a movement in the US? Find out.
Commentary: Americans should demand reforms that ensure government serves the people
Sarah Chayes, a senior associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says politicians from both sides of the aisle are not taking seriously enough their duty to ensure they're not turning their government role into an opportunity to make a buck.
One of the most powerful men on Earth just got more powerful
The Chinese Communist Party just wrapped up its big once-every-five-years political meeting in Beijing. President Xi Jinping was the man of the hour.
The trouble with managing America’s wild horses
“We never have really figured out how to make the idea of the horse as a symbol of freedom, and the practical biology of protecting and yet limiting this horse, work,” says author David Philipps.
Tiny Montana firm hired to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid
“You have a small, untested power company going in to help a desperate, bankrupt utility.”
Could Pickens, South Carolina, join China, India and Sri Lanka among the world’s great tea-growing regions?
When you think of the world’s great tea-growing regions, you might think of parts of India, Sri Lanka, China or Kenya. Odds are, though, you don’t think of Pickens, South Carolina, a small, economically-depressed town in Appalachia. But one man in Pickens is on a mission to change that.
In New York, a whale of a comeback story
When you think of New York wildlife, whales probably aren’t the first animals that come to mind — but they’re native to the waters around the city, and they're back.
Russian trolls tried to recruit a prominent US activist. He didn’t take the bait, but others did.
Evidence is mounting that Russian trolls working for the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency stoked divisions in the US during the last election, going as far as to contact US-based activists to promote and organize rallies and other actions.
The White House suggests no one should question its chief of staff
A historian, who lost a son in Iraq, says the White House is putting military officers on a sort of pedestal that doesn't serve democracy.
Russians look at the Harvey Weinstein scandal and say, 'What's the big deal?'
The reaction to the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Russia has been the opposite of the reaction in Europe and the US.
Meet the firefighters from American Samoa who sing to stay motivated on the job
It's part of fa'asamoa — the Samoan way of life.
A heavy metal band from Virginia went viral in Catalonia
Lead singer Nina Osegueda inspires A Sound of Thunder to record a version of the region's anthem.
Wild swings in the weather mean that some farm crops will flourish, while others struggle
Farmers in Pennsylvania say the changing climate is changing the future of farming, in ways both good and bad.
What you need to know about modern nuclear war
Science Friday host Ira Flatow spoke to three nuclear experts to learn more about what modern nuclear war might look like.
US interior secretary recommends altering some national monuments for commercial use
A leaked report says Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke wants to shrink or alter some national monuments in order to allow greater commercial use of the land.
Sexual harassment at work is a global problem. Now, the world is finally talking about it.
The sexual harassment allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein have sparked a global conversation about the issue of harassment in the workplace. We devoted all of Friday's program to this issue.
The roots of Catalonia’s differences with the rest of Spain
With Catalonia threatening to declare independence from Spain, we look into the origins of the dispute between Barcelona and Madrid.
Guilty pleasure: Hari Kondabolu loves ‘Untamed Heart’
The standup comedian reveals his gateway guilty pleasure.
Arden Reed on ‘slow art’
How much time do you spend looking — really looking — at a work of art? Not enough, says Arden Reed.
Are jump scares a hack cliché?
A deep dive into the most ubiquitous horror movie technique.
...159160161162163164165166167168...