STACEY VANEK SMITH, HOST: In the caste system of India, the family you're born into can determine a lot - where you live, who you marry, the jobs you'll have. Sujatha Gidla was born in untouchable - the lowest caste in Indian society. SUJATHA GIDLA:...
STACEY VANEK SMITH, HOST: We're going to turn now to comedy. (SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, GEORGE LOPEZ: IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU) GEORGE LOPEZ: Mitt Romney wants the Latino vote. He ain't going to get it. He ain't going to get it. And you know why? Bec...
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: In Madagascar, rice is often served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not only is it a staple of the local diet, it's also one of the primary crops grown across the island. But erratic rains are disrupting rice production on...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, NEW RULES) DUA LIPA: (Singing) One. LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: Heartbreak has been a source of musical inspiration pretty much since there's been music. This summer, singer-songwriter Dua Lipa takes her crack at the theme with her...
(SOUNDBITE OF LINK WRAY'S RUMBLE) LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: This is the riff that is known as rumble. Instantly recognizable, it was named rumble because of its use of distortion and bass to create a sound that, in 1958, seemed dangerous and transgr...
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: There is an election in Rwanda today but little ambiguity over who will win. Paul Kagame has ruled that country for the past 17 years, winning election after election. We're joined now by NPR's East Africa correspondent Eyder Per...
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: When a receptionist gives you a form to fill out in a doctor's office, the questions are usually about medical issues - family history of illness, allergies or the last time you got vaccines. Some doctors are now asking more gene...
SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The places in which sports fans watch their favorite teams often become as familiar to them as great churches, mosques or synagogues. Who are we kidding? Maybe even more familiar. Rafi Kohan has written a book about some of those h...
SCOTT SIMON, HOST: I saw a magazine in the rack of City Lights bookstore in San Francisco that showed a single sheet in a typewriter with a sentence that began, the plan suddenly made sense. Eight stories followed all beginning with those words. The...
SCOTT SIMON, HOST: New People is a novel where infatuation gnaws at what looks like happiness. Maria lives in Brooklyn with Khalil, her fiance. They met at Stanford. And they love each other, the light skin color they share and the life they begin in...
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Now a federal case over pierogi and who can lay claim to Pierogi Fest. (SOUNDBITE OF FESTIVAL MUSIC) UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: It's a Polish dumpling. And they're filled with either different meats, cheeses. A lot of them have fruits. Y...
SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Imagine going to the grocery store for dinner, not just to pick up a bag of corn chips and cheese dip for dinner and eat it at home, but actually eating in the supermarket. Many markets are adding sit-down restaurants. Kristofor Hu...
(SOUNDBITE OF BYRON JANIS PERFORMANCE OF CHOPIN'S WALTZ, OP. 70: NO. 1 IN G-FLAT MAJOR) SCOTT SIMON, HOST: This is the Waltz In G-Flat Major by Chopin. It was unknown to the world in this version until it was discovered at a chateau in France in 1967...
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: At the Justice Department today, authorities announced a crackdown on leaks of classified information. The attorney general and the director of national intelligence promised to stop the flow of national security secrets, and the...
DAVID GREENE, HOST: China has constructed the world's most sophisticated system of Internet content control. It's been dubbed not the Great Wall but the great firewall. Now, savvy Internet users can tunnel under that wall using tools known as virtual...
