Ari Shapiro

In the world of Blue Ticket, girls are issued either blue tickets or white ones on the day of their first periods. Blue tickets grant a career but no children; white tickets mean home and family.

Alabama extended its health orders in response to the jump in coronavirus infections. But State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris says officials have had trouble enforcing the orders already in place.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she agrees with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden that masks should be a federal mandate as the country grapples with a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases.

Ari Shapiro speaks with Blake about playing virtual concerts for thousands of fans, and finding his voice early on by studying the music of British producer Mala.

For years, the governor says, Democrats in the state didn't have the political or popular support to enact reforms. Now, lawmakers have passed sweeping police accountability and transparency measures.

Robert Harris, a director of Los Angles Police Protective League, fends off criticism that the union opposes change and slams LA Mayor Eric Garcetti's proposed cuts to the police department budget.

Ari Shapiro talks to jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin about her new album Pursuance: The Coltranes and an artist she is grateful for: James Blake.

White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo says that the status quo in the United States is racism, and for white people, that's comfortable. "We've got to start making it uncomfortable," she says.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to its knees, says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. He says the global body requires more enforcement mechanisms and more "appetite to bite."

Breonna Taylor's family and friends mourn her death — and process what it means for her to become a national symbol. Police in Louisville, Ky., shot and killed the 26-year-old EMT in March.

Sadiqa Reynolds, president of the Louisville Urban League, says the protests — which have been peaceful and diverse in her city — are "changing the way the criminal justice system has to respond."

Breonna Taylor's name is chanted every night across the country by demonstrators protesting police violence. Her family and friends are grateful her name is known, even as they grieve.

McAtee is remembered as a family man and the owner of Yaya's BBQ. He was shot and killed at his business Monday when police and National Guard were dispersing a crowd after curfew.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott about the protests that erupted in Louisville after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

NPR Music correspondents Ann Powers and Sidney Madden recommend a few favorite livestreaming performance series to check out while in-person concerts are on hold.

Even as the unprecedented rate of unemployment continues to climb, protections for renters are running out, as extra unemployment benefits and suspension of evictions expire.

NPR's Michel Martin and Ari Shapiro revisit the most common questions The National Conversation has received in the last two months. And the show says goodbye, for now.

As the country begins to lift stay-at-home orders, nowhere is the messy patchwork of timelines and rules more pronounced than in the Midwest. Businesses and customers are navigating a confusing maze.

In the fourth episode of Play It Forward, Ari Shapiro speaks with R&B polymath Georgia Anne Muldrow about how music has served her during the pandemic and the sprawling soul-jazz of Lakecia Benjamin.

In the third episode of Play It Forward, Ari Shapiro interviews Robin Dann of the Canadian band, Bernice. She talks about redefining success and how the freedom of jazz informs her music.