In the 1880s, it took a German immigrant to change America's pastime forever. Chris Von der Ahe founded the St. Louis Browns and later helped form a new baseball league. Author Edward Achorn recalls baseball's early days in his new book.

Journalist Jason Probst says he doesn't recognize his own state. He wrote a faux obituary lamenting Kansas' lost battle with extremism. But Republican Gov. Sam Brownback sees a bright future. He wants to eliminate state income taxes, hoping to build a model for other red states.

Hyde is one-half of the English electronic dance duo Underworld. On his solo debut, Edgeland, the musician and composer takes a turn for the personal — even addressing a near-death experience from his own life.

Fewer Americans are buying cigarettes these days, but smokeless products like e-cigarettes are on the rise. They're not regulated like other tobacco products, but the FDA warns that day may yet come.

The Chapin Sisters were once a trio. When one member left to start a family, the remaining sisters looked to another sibling duo for inspiration.

Screenwriter, director and producer Chris Columbus has teamed up with young adult novelist Ned Vizzini to write a book about the adventures of Cordelia, Brendan and Eleanor Walker. In House of Secrets, the three siblings, ages 8 to 15, find themselves in a fantastic world after a family move.

The nominations for the 67th Tony Awards are due April 30, and Barbara Chai of The Wall Street Journal has seen pretty much every show on Broadway this season. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Chai about what she loved, what she hated and what's likely to make the Tony cut.

Blues, jazz and gospel; a civil rights movement that began with the Emmett Till case; modern glass and steel buildings that dared the sky. In Third Coast, Thomas Dyja writes that "the most profound aspects of American Modernity grew up out of the flat, prairie land next to Lake Michigan."

The Irish writer scandalized audiences with her 1960 novel, The Country Girls. Half a century later, she looks back on her childhood in a small village, her fame and its accessories and above all, her ceaseless drive to write.

President Obama on Friday defended Planned Parenthood at the group's annual meeting and attacked new laws in several states that severely restrict when a woman can have an abortion. "When you read about some of these laws ... you want to make sure you're still living in 2013."

After years of not understanding coffee, Jerry Seinfeld says he's finally discovered the delight of meeting someone over a cup. "You have coffee and for some reason it makes you talk a lot," he says.

Herman Blake and his six siblings struggled so much during the '40s that one brother decided to drop out of school and help support the family. A friend of the family stepped in and made sure that didn't happen, despite her own meager means. That sacrifice taught the Blake children the value of an education.

Montana restaurateur Jay Bentley likes his chicken juicy, not dry, and cooked with its bones. He says his cast iron skillet technique results in moist, flavorful chicken in half the usual cooking time.

Rocky Balboa's sprint up the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum is a scene that would have once been impossible to film. Camera innovator Garrett Brown made it possible when he invented the Steadicam. The jack of all trades will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May.

Read an exclusive excerpt of Anthony Marra's new novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.

In 1839, Great Britain and Russia were playing the world map like a chessboard — and for no reason other than geography, Afghanistan got caught in the middle. In Return of a King, historian William Dalrymple tells the story of Britain's calamitous invasion.

The Supreme Court began recording arguments nearly 60 years ago, but for much of that time, audio was difficult for the public to hear or available only after long delays. But now, the court's entire audio collection has been digitized for easy public access.

The New York rapper's political and layered rhymes have been pegged as "conscious rap," a label that has now become pejorative. His latest album challenges that image, paying homage to old-school hip-hop and working with the present.

Morning Edition's new project, Cook Your Cupboard, invites cooks to send in photos of food items they aren't sure how to use. In our first installment, NPR listener Marcy Misner has beans, vinegar and almond milk, and food writer Nigella Lawson gives her some guidance on where to go from there.

Is it naive to believe that improved Internet access can help open up truly autocratic regimes like North Korea? Google executives Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, authors of The New Digital Age, say the power of information is underrated.