NPR News

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The Ever-Changing Pace Of Obsolescence
This week, an Apple fan blog leaked word that the company will declare its first-generation iPhone "obsolete," just six years after it was introduced. Host Scott Simon contrasts that with the world's longest known ongoing experiment in a bell jar in an Australian lab.
An Unexpected Festival Paints A Different Version Of Kabul
In a land where music was once banned, the Sound Central alternative arts and music festival is in its third year of showcasing the growing cultural scene in Afghanistan. Several thousand Afghans are attending this year's festival featuring live music, poetry, short films, painting and skateboarding.
U.S.-Mexico Relations Complicated, Conditioned By Drug War
Host Scott Simon speaks with David Shirk about U.S.-Mexico cooperation in the drug war. Shirk is an associate professor of political science at the University of San Diego and recently finished his tenure as director of the Trans-Border Institute at USD. He is also the author of The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat.
Fewer Jobs, Persistent Racial Disparity
Scott Simon talks with New School Economics Professor Darrick Hamilton about the long-standing racial disparities in the unemployment figures.
More Jobs, But Wait: They May Not Pay Much
While the economy added 165,000 jobs in April, a closer look shows that the biggest gains were in lower-paying fields like hospitality and temp agencies. And there's some question as to whether there will be enough jobs for students once the school year ends.
Places Transformed: Syrian Refugees Overwhelm Camps, Towns
The fighting in Syria has created tens of thousands of refugees seeking shelter in neighboring Jordan. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Deborah Amos about a refugee camp in northern Jordan that has quickly become the second largest such camp in the world. Then we hear voices from a small town in southern Lebanon, where recently arrived Syrian refugees now outnumber the Lebanese residents.