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A Look Ahead To The Future Of Afghanistan
Twelve years after the war began, Afghanistan's president announced Tuesday that Afghan forces officially assumed control of security for the country. U.S. and NATO troops will remain until the 2014 deadline, but the Afghan military is now expected to fight without NATO support.
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When A Language Dies, What Happens To Culture?
Nearly half of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world are expected to vanish in the next 100 years. One of them is Athabaskan, a language of the Siletz tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Bud Lane, vice chairman of Siletz tribal council, explains the importance of language diversity.
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Breaking Bad News To Kids: How Media Has Tweaked The Process
Parents have always had to break hard news to kids, from family hardships to national tragedies. Now there are more ways for children to learn about news faster — through 24 hour news and social media. So, what's changed in how parents broach these subjects? How can media help, or hurt?
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Obama's Former Legal Adviser Urges U.S. To 'Disciple Drones'
Harold Koh, who was a legal architect for President Barack Obama's drone policies, criticized the administration's lack of transparency on its use of drones. In a speech at Oxford University, the former legal adviser for the State Department suggested the U.S. "discipline drones."
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'Cows Save The Planet': Soil's Secrets For Saving The Earth
Journalist Judith Schwartz believes that the key to addressing carbon issues and climate change lies beneath our feet. In her book Cows Save The Planet, she argues that proper management of soil could solve a long list of environmental problems.
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After SCOTUS DNA Ruling, What Changes For Police?
The Supreme Court ruled in June that police can routinely take DNA samples from people who are arrested for comparison against a national database. The decision raises major questions about how law enforcement and criminal justice processes will change.
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Is Big Change Ahead In Iran? A Biography Of The President-Elect
Iranians elected Hasan Rowhani, a reformist-backed cleric, as president — a surprise to many who expected an ultraconservative candidate to win. Former NPR foreign correspondent Mike Shuster provides analysis, and responds to opinion pieces about what has changed after the election.
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Reflections On 30 Years Of NYC: A Look Ahead With Margot Adler
From the AIDS movement to the Sept. 11 attacks to Occupy Wall Street, NPR's Margot Adler has covered important issues facing New York City for more than three decades. As part of TOTN's "Looking Ahead" series, Adler reflects on her years in the business and the future of New York City.
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Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn Talks Climate and Carbon
Like any major city near a coast, Seattle likely won't be immune from rising sea levels and other effects of global warming. Mayor Mike McGinn discusses the city's plans for addressing climate change, including his push to divest Seattle's pension funds from fossil fuel investments, and the city council's plan to make Seattle carbon neutral by 2050.
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Decoding 'the Most Complex Object in the Universe'
The human brain contains some 100 billion neurons, which together form a network of Internet-like complexity. Christof Koch, chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, calls the brain "the most complex object in the known universe," and he's mapping its connections in hopes of discovering the origins of consciousness.
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