Here & Now

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd opens up about the tension between covering the story as a journalist and experiencing the story as a parent of an elementary school child. And, her author and filmmaker Jennifer Lin discusses her book "Beethoven in Beijing," about how musical worlds opened when the orchestra went to China at a time when western music was banned there.

"Stranger Things" season 4 debuts Friday — and each episode is over an hour. It's the latest example of TV shows getting longer and longer. BoxOffice Pro's Daniel Loría joins us. And, only 6% of professional American pilots are women. Dolena Fox recently became one of them. Olivia Ebertz of KYUK has this profile.

Nicole Hockley lost her 6-year-old son Dylan to a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut almost 10 years ago. In the wake of the Uvalde shooting in Texas, Hockley discusses her ongoing grief and her activism to prevent gun violence. And, gun rights activist Rob Pincus shares his criticism of the National Rifle Association and why he's against most restrictions on gun rights.

The new documentary "We Feed People" showcases the work of World Central Kitchen, which gets meals to people in crisis situations around the world. Chef José Andrés and "We Feed People" director Ron Howard join us. And, Nalleli Cobo grew up just 30 feet from an oil well in Los Angeles. Her health complications pushed her to become an anti-drilling activist.

An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, killing at least 19 children and two adults. Sergio Martinez-Beltran, Texas Capital reporter for NPR's the Texas Newsroom, joins us from Austin. And, Julien Vincent sought to defund coal in Australia by directly going after banks that fund coal. The Goldman Prize winner joins us.

Two years ago, a video of officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck sparked a protest movement across the country. But what tangible police reforms have we seen since Floyd's death? Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins joins us. And, school shootings are difficult to process— both for kids and adults. Dr. Laurel Williams explains how caregivers can talk to kids about violent events.

What do Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffet have in common with former Defense Secretary James Mattis and politician Cory Booker? Turns out they're all part of the modern Stoic movement, which is having a renaissance. And, a retired doctor and his son make chairs that force people to use their muscles while sitting. They're even giving away a kid's chair blueprint for free.

Singer-songwriter Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young fame goes back half a century. His new album revisits his old solo albums from the 1970s. And, the Department of Health and Human Services is ringing the alarm bell over a projected massive worker shortage in medicine. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy discusses the implications.

Mother and daughter Galina and Yelena Lembersky's new memoir "Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour" is a portrait of their lives behind the Soviet Union's Iron Curtain. They emigrated to the U.S. with 500 paintings by Galina's father Felix Lembersky, a noted Jewish Ukrainian artist. And, Chef Emiliano Marentes is a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef. He talks about ELEMI, his restaurant in El Paso, Texas, and the art of handmade corn tortillas.

Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G, would have turned 50 over the weekend. Justin Tinsley, author of "It Was All a Dream," recalls Biggie's friendship-turned-rivalry with Tupac and his mark on the world of hip-hop. And, New Yorker writer Ben McGrath talks about his book "Riverman: An American Odyssey." The book explores the life of Dick Conant, who continually canoed rivers across America before mysteriously disappearing in 2014.

The leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade includes some references to adoption. Some conservatives argue that adoption means abortion isn't necessary. An adoptee tells us why she believes that's wrong. And, Svitlana Pokliatska and her family fled to the U.S. shortly after the Russian invasion. We look at how one of the few Ukrainian families that have managed to enter America is doing.

It's been a hard two years for teenagers and their families. Two high schoolers on how making music carries them through difficult times. And, "This Is Us" is coming to an end. So are other favorites, like "Black-ish," "Grace and Frankie," and "Better Caul Saul." What's next for TV? NPR TV critic Eric Deggans has a few thoughts.

The shooter who killed 10 in a Buffalo grocery store broadcast his rampage on Twitch, a live streaming site popular among gamers. It's just one example of how extremists use gaming platforms and gaming-adjacent social media to recruit and promote violence. And, parents around the country continue to search for baby formula during a national shortage. One mom shares her story, and an expert advises parents on what to do if they end up in a tricky situation.

NPR announced Alisa Amador as the winner of the Tiny Desk contest. We revisit a conversation from last year with the singer and her mother. And, South Central Los Angeles is considered a food desert. Feed Our Soul tries to fix that by building hydroponic farms in schools across the city.

Kwame Onwuachi is a 32-year-old cooking sensation. He has just published his first cookbook, "My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef." And, after a years-long battle for pay equity with the men's squad, American women's soccer has closed a deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation that puts their salaries and bonuses on par. Business Insider's Meredith Cash joins us.

At 27, Tom Daley is Britain's most decorated diver of all time. He talks about his new memoir, "Coming Up for Air." And, the U.S. Supreme Court could be on the verge of reversing its landmark ruling that legalized abortion across the country back in 1973. But abroad, even in some historically conservative countries, courts have been moving in a different direction.

Right-wing politics is creating divisions inside the evangelical church. The Atlantic's Tim Alberta writes that he's spent his life "watching evangelicalism morph from a spiritual disposition into a political identity. It's heartbreaking." He joins us. And, the new film "Emergency" is about three men of color whose night out becomes complicated when they find an unconscious white woman in their apartment. Director Carey Williams and screenwriter KD Davila talk about the movie, which opens in theaters Friday.

Actor Simu Liu plays Marvel's first Asian superhero, Shang-Chi. In his new memoir, "We Were Dreamers," he details what it took to get to that role. And, survivors of Native American boarding schools are talking publicly about the physical and sexual abuse that was rampant in those institutions. One of them talks about her experience.

The suspected gunman in the Buffalo grocery store mass shooting allegedly cited a racist theory that the white population has been systematically reduced and "replaced." We break down the origins of replacement theory, and how it's gained traction in right-wing media. And, buy now, pay later loans are increasingly popular. They can be convenient, but read the fine print and watch out for debt, says one business analyst.

Chef Kathy Gunst visited ancient trees in Italy to demystify the process of making olive oil. Now she has three new recipes for you. And, "Invisible Child" chronicles the life of one girl dealing with homelessness. New York Times writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott tells us about the decade she spent with Dasani.

Author Vanessa Hua talks about her new novel, "Forbidden City," about a teenage girl from a small village who is selected to serve the Communist Party and Chairman Mao Zedong at the start of the Cultural Revolution in China. And, the draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade cites a tradition of laws criminalizing abortion. But that's not the whole history, history professor Leslie Reagan explains.

The continental United States and all of South America will have the chance to see a total lunar eclipse Sunday night. Sky & Telescope's Kelly Beatty tells us how to catch a glimpse. And, "The Stacks" host Traci Thomas shares a list of books that can help illuminate the history of the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, and LGBTQ rights.

Medical and legal experts say the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade could have implications for other reproductive rights such as contraception and IVF. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports. And, Illinois law bans schools from fining students as discipline, but a new investigation from the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica finds police have been doing it for them. Reporter Jennifer Smith Richards joins us.

Electric vehicles and other new technologies that may help alleviate climate change sometimes rely on rare metals and minerals found at the bottom of the ocean. Professor Douglas McCauley is against deep-sea mining. He joins us. And, Dr. Brian Englum talks about how the pandemic-caused delays in routine cancer screenings are leading to more advanced cancers that are harder to treat.

Author and naturalist Sy Montgomery talks about her new book "The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty" in which she writes about working with hawks as they hunt. And, Craig McNamara talks about "Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, from Vietnam to Today." The new book looks at his relationship with his late father, Robert McNamara, who was defense secretary under former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

We revisit a conversation with professor Nicole Eustace about her book "Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America." The book is a co-winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in History. And, The Atlantic's Derek Thompson explains why he thinks U.S. trade policies and the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of baby formula have made the country much more vulnerable to supply chain issues.

States are set to restrict abortion rights once the Supreme Court gives the go-ahead. Dr. Jamilla Perrit, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Washington, D.C., discusses how those restrictions will have an adverse impact on Black women. And, author A.J. Verdelle used to call Toni Morrison Miss Chloe during their longtime friendship. She writes about that relationship in her new book, "Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison."

In the 19th century, officials thought cholera spread through smelly air, until one maverick doctor insisted that contaminated water was the culprit. Host Scott Tong looks at how the health establishment had false assumptions about cholera and the parallels with the COVID pandemic, where experts made a similar wrong assumption about how the virus spread. And, changing technology is revolutionizing diabetes care. One journalist with Type 1 diabetes details what's new.

The Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, won a historic victory. What does that mean for the party, which supports a united Ireland, and the country? And, neurologist David J. Linden is dying but still learning. He explains what he's learned about how the human mind works in the face of impending death.

Sheryl Crow became one of the few women in music able to completely control her own career. The new Showtime documentary "Sheryl" looks at her life and music. And, the American Medical Association has urged the Food and Drug Administration to allow gay men to donate blood without restrictions. State officials are joining in the push.

In January 2015, police and FBI agents showed up at the Brooklyn apartment of Bobby and Cheryl Love. It turns out that Bobby Love — a devoted husband and father — was also an escapee from a North Carolina prison. The couple joins us. And, in Kentucky, coal remains an important economic and energy generator and the reality of climate change is not one some lawmakers are willing to act on. WFPL's Ryan Van Velzer reports.

Trombone Shorty's new album "Lifted" comes on the heels of the artist's first Grammy win. He joins us. And, Abraham Bolden was the first Black man in the country to serve on a presidential detail, for former President John F. Kennedy. Bolden discusses his recent pardon by President Biden.

A draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked and published this week without a key part of the record: the dissenting opinion. Kathryn Kolbert, a women's rights attorney who argued the Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey in the '90s that reaffirmed Roe, joins us. And, author Steve Almond about his novel "All the Secrets of the World." Set during the Reagan era, the book tells the story of how the pairing of two girls for a class project leads to a disappearance and an accusation of murder.

If the water level at the country's second-largest reservoir, Lake Powell, drops about another 30 feet, the Glen Canyon Dam will be unable to create hydroelectric power. Host Peter O'Dowd visited Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border and saw just how far the water has fallen. And, in the Civil Rights era, McDonald's worked with the federal government to encourage Black citizens to own franchises in their communities. Historian Marcia Chatelain joins us.

Dominque Jean-Louis, co-curator of "Black Dolls" at the New York Historical Society in New York City, talks about the exhibit. And, 14 countries in Africa get at least half their wheat from Russia or Ukraine. Brookings Institution fellow Danielle Resnick talks about the nations dependent on grain imports from Eastern Europe.

FX's new series "Under the Banner of Heaven" dramatizes the very real murder of a young woman and her child in a Mormon community. Columnist Jana Riess discusses discuss what the show gets right — and wrong — about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And, thousands of Chicago residents are applying for the city's guaranteed income pilot. WBEZ's Esther Yoon-Ji Kang reports.

With food costs rising, resident chef Kathy Gunst has been getting requests for lower-cost dinner options. She shares three new recipes that won't break the bank. And, Theresa Brown talks about her new book "Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient," which intertwines stories of her work as an oncology and cancer nurse with her own treatment following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Danielle Dreilinger talks about her book "The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live." The book is out in paperback Tuesday. And, water levels are so low in Lake Mead that the intakes for the city of Las Vegas are visible from the surface for the first time ever. The general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority talks about how the state is managing the shortage.

Reports of glowing wounds on injured Civil War soldiers led to a science fair project decades later that may have solved the mystery. "Endless Thread" podcast hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson tell us more. And, "Slow Burn" host Joel Anderson talks about the latest season of the podcast, which looks at the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

LaToya Ruby Frazier spent five years photographing people and places in Flint, Michigan. Karen Michel reports. And, Occidental College professor Peter Dreier talks about the "Right to Organize" ordinance in San Francisco that forces landlords to bargain with tenant associations. It is considered the first of its kind in the U.S.

War has upended the lives of millions of Ukrainians, including the country's musicians. But many continue to make art. Radio host and music producer Dan Rosenberg joins us. And, Minneapolis resident Resmaa Menakem talks about a report on an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.

This weekend, Jupiter and Venus will be in conjunction, creating an exceptionally bright object in the predawn sky. Find out how to see it from Sky & Telescope's Diana Hannikainen. And, in the new documentary "The Will To See," filmmaker Bernard-Henri Levy goes to places around the world where war and human suffering go on, even when the rest of the world doesn't notice. He joins us.

As a wildfire swept through Flagstaff, Arizona, one woman saved nearly two dozen horses in her care. But they have no home to go back to. Kathy Oliver, who runs the Sacred Peaks Equine Sanctuary, joins us. And, in 2020, firearms were the leading cause of death for children, surpassing car crashes for the first time in 60 years. Lisa Vitale of Children's Hospital of Michigan explains how children often find guns that aren't well-hidden at home.

Indigenous people are often viewed as research subjects. But they have critical expertise that could be used to protect land against climate change, says author and researcher Jessica Hernandez. She talks about her new book. And, comedian Kevin "KevOnStage" Fredericks is part of a generation of comedians who gained fame online. Over the last 12 years, he's built an audience of more than 3 million followers. He joins us.

Martha Diaz and Kashema Hutchinson talk about the all-too-often forgotten legacy of women in hip hop such as Salt-N-Pepa and Missy Elliott. And, Harvard University has released an extensive report by a committee of faculty members, about its historical ties to slavery. Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, discusses the report's findings and the creation of a $100 million fund to address inequities.

Artist Frank Morrison discusses his new children's book "Kick Push" about a young skateboarder who has difficulty adjusting to his new neighborhood. And, the Barre Museum in Massachusetts voted this month to return some items that once belonged to Indigenous people. Nancy Cohen of New England Public Media reports.

In the new AMC show "61st Street," Courtney B. Vance plays a Chicago attorney who takes on the case of a young Black man accused of killing a police officer. Vance and co-executive producer Marta Cunningham join us. And, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1972. With the landmark legislation turning 50 later this year, we discuss the good, bad, and ugly with Eric Shaeffer, executive director at the Environmental Integrity Project.

Ukrainian photographer and artist Maxim Dondyuk explains how he started collecting tens of thousands of family photographs left behind at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which exploded and melted down 36 years ago today. And, the federal trial of ISIS operative El Shafee Elsheikh ended in a guilty verdict. He was charged in the abduction, torture and deaths of hostages in Syria between 2012 and 2014. Among those killed was journalist James Foley. His mother, Diane Foley, joins us.

In the new novel "Probably Ruby," a young Canadian woman gets pregnant in the 1970s but is forced to give up the child for adoption, partly because the father is a young Indigenous man. Author Lisa Bird-Wilson talks about the book and Canada's centuries of anti-Indigenous policy. And, Los Angeles recently opened more than 40,000 bank accounts for every first-grader in the Los Angeles Unified School District and deposited $50 in each. Professor William Elliott joins us.

Musicians Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will soon embark on their first tour together in 13 years supporting their album "Raise the Roof." They join us. And, in the last year, food prices have risen nearly 9%. An analysis from the news organization The 19th finds that women are paying the steepest cost. Reporter Chabeli Carrazana tells us more.

Songwriter and singer John Prine died April 7, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. His death from COVID-19 was a shock to his fans. Musicians Amos Lee, Alison Krauss and Sturgill Simpson reflect on Prine's legacy. And, Wolodymyr Mirko Pylyshenko, a Ukrainian-American in Rochester, New York, gathered Ukrainian poems, books, pamphlets and family histories that told of Ukrainian persecution and identity. His daughter talks about the archive.