NPR Staff

Once a kid with polio from Tel Aviv who hated practicing his instrument, the master violinist says he's still learning, even as he prepares to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Walker, the young son of actors Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, inspired his father to write a book about a day in the life of a mixed-race child.

Seeking sanctuary in a church is an ancient tradition. But it's been making modern headlines — some immigrants enter churches to find refuge from deportation.

Rosa Robles Loreto was among them. She migrated from her hometown in northern Mexico to Tucson 16 years ago, and stayed illegally after her ...

Days of speculation and anxiety followed the Paris attacks. Then, last week, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that two of the suicide bombers did pass through Greece last month as part of the wave of refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

In the U.S., the ...

If you're not a Spanish speaker, you won't know precisely what Carla Morrison is saying when she sings --but you can feel it. The Mexican alt-pop singer and songwriter has built a reputation over the past half-decade as a master of songs about love and longing, and her ...

In a run-down stretch of Chicago's South Michigan Avenue, miles from the museums and skyscrapers, an army of foot-high paving stones stand on shelves along the street. It's a handmade memorial to honor the young people who have died at the hands of the city's street violence. A name is ...

It's common wisdom that families should avoid talking about politics around the Thanksgiving table.

But if you're reading this, you might be in an NPR family. And coming up on election year — with polls and gaffes every day — won't it be hard to talk about Car Talk the ...

It was a secret rescue operation in Aleppo, Syria — a mission to save a family who, to protect their identity, are being called the Halabis.

They were reportedly the last Jews living in Syria's largest city. Miriam Halabi's son, in Brooklyn, asked a businessman to help get them out.

...

When the idea to write a Nordic cookbook landed on Magnus Nilsson's desk, he was against it. He says it was offensive that someone would think all of Nordic cuisine could fit, let alone belong, in one book.

"The Nordic is a geographical region, not really a cultural region," says ...

Carly Simon was born into what looks, from a distance, like a charmed life: Her father Richard was the co-founder of Simon & Schuster, the family moved in glamorous circles, and she eventually came to record some of the most personal, poetic and popular songs of our time. ...

The creators of The Bitten Word food blog publish an annual survey of Thanksgiving recipes suggested by food magazines. This year, there were lots of ancient grains and citrus-flavored desserts.

In this week's edition of StoryCorps, Kara Masteller spoke with her grandfather, James Kennicott, in a car in Waterloo, Iowa. His advice to her? "Let's give 'em hell, kiddo."

In 1977, Peter "Stoney" Emshwiller filmed himself asking questions meant for his future self; 38 years later, he sat down to answer them. The resulting film looks like one seamless interview.

Roughly 133 billion pounds of food go uneaten each year — much of it still edible. So for a half-year, the two filmmakers behind Just Eat It vowed to eat nothing but food entering the waste stream.

The Ohio governor and 2016 GOP presidential hopeful outlined his foreign policy agenda in an interview with NPR, saying, "I think it is absolutely critical to invite our moderate Muslim friends."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican candidate for president, also called for a "timeout" on America's Syrian refugee program "until we can ensure we have proper vetting."

A few months ago, Shankar Vedantam hosted an event in Washington, D.C., with the comedian Aziz Ansari. You might know him as Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation, or you might currently be binge-watching his new show on Netflix, Master of None.

What you might not know about ...

A word you may hear a lot this week: "streamable." Adele is about to release one of the most anticipated albums of the year, but she hasn't confirmed whether Spotify will be part of the picture.

Dear Prudence, also known as Emily Yoffe, has answered questions about everything: deathbed confessions, mysterious boxes in the attic, cheating spouses of course and, once, incestuous twins.

But after nearly a decade as Slate's advice columnist, Yoffe is stepping down. She wrote her last advice column on Thursday.

And ...

In the aftermath of Friday's terror attacks in Paris, many French Muslims find themselves suffering two kinds of anxiety. There's the trauma of the event itself — and also fear of a possible backlash against the country's Muslim community.

Rokhaya Diallo, a French social activist and writer, tells NPR's Rachel ...