Search results for

Journalist Tom Vanderbilt discusses the nonhuman operatives — from pigeons to house cats — deployed by the United States government during the Cold War. He wrote about the program recently for the Smithsonian magazine.

Millions of American school children begin the day with the pledge of allegiance. But do they, or their teachers, really understand what it means? Host Michel Martin discusses the issue with journalist Mary Plummer, of KPCC, and Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani says he will seek a nuclear agreement and an end to crippling Western economic sanctions. This has raised hopes that better economic times may be ahead. But Rouhani's team, as well as economists, say Iran's problems are deep-rooted and won't be easily solved.

Glucosamine and chondroitin have been popular supplements for arthritis for years. But clinical trials in humans haven't shown that they're any better than sugar pills at reducing pain. Some doctors say that if placebos or supplements help people exercise and lose weight, then that's OK.

Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won the 2013 economics prize for their work on developing new methods to study trends in asset markets. Fama, 74, and Hansen, 60, are associated with the University of Chicago. Shiller, 67, is a professor at Yale University.

What's being called one of the worst storms in South Dakota's history has killed tens of thousands of cattle. Ranchers need to bury the piles of carcasses littering the fields. The disaster comes amid the government shutdown that closed USDA programs aimed at helping livestock producers recover.

The making of Columbus Day involved much glorification of the Italian explorer, including some historical inaccuracies. But Christopher Columbus also became the face of a celebration of Italian heritage, amid discrimination in the U.S.

Three economists won the Nobel for their work on the prices of stocks and other assets. Two of the winners have very different views about bubbles.

As a bilateral security agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan begins an approval process, the Taliban's leader urged Afghans to reject what he calls a "colonial" arrangement. The message came in an email Monday from Mullah Mohammad Omar, who told Afghans to keep fighting.

A new movie documents how an Indian entrepreneur created a cheap machine to make sanitary napkins for rural women on the subcontinent. Women whose self-help groups buy Arunachalam Muruganantham's machine can make more than a dollar a day — close to a global poverty line threshold — selling the pads.