NPR Staff

Kermit Travers, 78, one of the last African-American skipjack captains, reflects on his nearly 60 years harvesting oysters on the Chesapeake Bay.

Octavius Humphries' and Seth Smiley's story began on Christmas Eve 2010. They'd met online and agreed to a first date on Christmas Eve. Three Christmases later, Octavius proposed to Seth.

The film centers on Lili Elbe, one of the first people known to have had gender reassignment surgery. Redmayne says it's "about love not being defined by gender ... but really being about souls."

The Food Network host and celebrity chef has a vendetta against single-use kitchen gadgets. This year, he takes aim at meat claws, the egg cuber and the Rollie Eggmaster.

The film centers on the man who linked a brain disease to football player deaths. Smith says, "This is probably the farthest role away from me that I've ever played, but it was exhilarating."

Kliph Nesteroff's book digs into the origins of modern comedy, from the segregated Chitlin' Circuit to the vaudeville refugees who found a new home in the Catskills, to the very first female comics.

The holidays are about nurturing our best selves: the altruistic, compassionate and generous side. We're told the true joy comes in giving, not receiving.

And it's true, sometimes giving makes you feel good; you do it enthusiastically and out of the goodness of your heart. Other times, when asked to ...

Last year, our tech reporters looked ahead to developments dealing with anticipatory computing, data breaches and Apple. Now as 2015 ends, they consider what has changed.

It doesn't usually feature figs, and it isn't what Americans think of as a pudding. Want to try it for yourself? Be prepared for 30 minutes of prep, eight hours of cooking — and four weeks of aging.

The a capella group tells NPR they wanted a challenge from their holiday album. Then, they show how they did it, with a few songs in-studio — including one Web exclusive that didn't make it to air.

Gray discusses her holiday song "All I Want For Christmas," in which, instead of toys and games, she hopes Santa will deliver some progressive policy changes.

These days, every character counts — nowhere more than at the end of your text messages. Researchers have found that punctuating a text with a period can make it seem as if you're being insincere.

During a sensitive time of global scrutiny surrounding Islam and Muslims, one unexpected image relating to the religion drew a more positive light.

Ali Kadri, a Muslim man living in Brisbane, Australia, posted a picture to his Facebook page last weekend that got the attention of tens of thousands of ...

Kenny Rogers may have become an international superstar because of the 1978 hit song "The Gambler," but over many decades, his fans have developed an even closer relationship with him because of his holiday music. Rogers has been performing his "Christmas and Hits" tour for 34 years, and he's just ...

Interviewing a sitting president is no small deal. There are the physical logistics of it — getting together the interviewer, editors, producer, engineer, and a five-person video crew, plus all that audio and video equipment. And then, importantly, the preparation that goes into asking timely, tough and interesting questions.

Morning ...

Live telecasts of other musicals have gotten attention mostly for the hatred they inspired. But The Wiz Live! — back for an encore Saturday night — seems to have broken that spell.

In municipal council races in Saudi Arabia a week ago, 21 female candidates were elected to office. In the country's third-ever elections, the monarchy gave women the right to vote, as well as to seek election to office.

Nearly 1,000 women ran throughout the country, but while there ...

Election campaigns are scripted. Every TV ad, every email, every stump speech, every meet-and-greet: It's all planned down to the most minute detail.

And then, there are the debates. The debate stage can create breakout moments that go down in political history — but even the most well-practiced one-liners can ...

One of the hottest gifts of the season is a little too hot — hot enough to catch fire.

Hoverboards have been burning up because of problems with their lithium-ion batteries.

From smartphones and laptops, to Teslas and Boeing 787s, lithium-ion batteries are in a lot of our everyday ...

When Henry Jimenez left his family in Mexico for the U.S., he knew he'd miss them. He didn't know he'd meet a best friend: Akiva Johnson. Nowadays they stick together — "like magnets," Johnson says.