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The new George Clooney movie, The Men Who Stare at Goats, is filled with tough-to-believe notions. Here's one — the U.S. Army teaching one of its squads how to walk through walls. Or how about stopping the hearts of goats just by staring at them? Sounds crazy, but author Jon Ronson tells host Guy Raz that the Army really tried those techniques and others in the late '70s and early '80s. Ronson wrote the book that became the basis for the movie.

Former President Donald Trump enjoyed massive support during a recent gathering of conservative youth and young activists ahead of the 2024 election.

Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama debated the issues Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn. Did they stick to the facts? Steve Inskeep finds out from a team of reporters: NPR's Jim Zarroli, David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal and NPR's Julie Rovner, Richard Harris, Michele Kelemen and David Schaper.

Steve Inskeep talks to Susan Klein, a Missouri delegate who supports Ted Cruz, and to Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and one of the first evangelical leaders to endorse Trump.

Phil Wright of the Utah Republican Party backed Cruz; analysis from ex-Bush administration official Sara Fagen and NPR's Scott Detrow. Youth Radio's Phoebe Petrovic covers balloon drop preparations

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with author C.K. Chau about her new book, Good Fortune — a Pride and Prejudice retelling with some delicious twists set in Chinatown in New York City during the early 2000s.

William Dodd served for four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning — after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

In her four-part show, James Beard award-winning food writer and chef Samin Nosrat travels the globe, talking to home chefs to learn more about the four essentials of great food.

In his new book, The New Childhood, Jordan Shapiro argues that we're not spending enough screen time with our kids.

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee says genetics play a significant role in identity, temperament, sexual orientation and disease risk — but that environment also matters. His new book is The Gene.

Many elite colleges have committed to enrolling more low-income students. But, a new book argues, their efforts at inclusivity still fall short.

Beyond the juicy bits, journalist Susan Page paints a larger portrait of one of the more underappreciated, least understood figures of the last century — one with both insecurities and influence.

The Toraja people of Indonesia keep the preserved bodies of their deceased relatives at home for years. They're saving up for a big funeral. But there's a deeper reason for the custom.

The middle class has shrunk faster in Midland, Texas, than nearly anywhere else in the U.S. Overall, more people are getting rich than falling behind. But extreme booms and busts make life precarious.

Using everything from soda cans to matchboxes, the Congolese artist crafted utopian dioramas, now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The newly created monument preserves 1.3 million acres in Utah where natives have foraged for millennia. But critics who point to the land's energy extraction potential want the designation undone.

As winter settles in, the leader of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has asked many of the pipeline protesters to head home. Here are the stories and portraits of some of those who joined the protests.

"I know for sure that if it was still Robert Mugabe, I would never dare to do it," says Savanna Madamombe. "The Mugabe era is gone, and it's something that can't ever be allowed to come back."

Mitch McConnell may well wish to wash his hands of this year's blood-letting over the debt limit and all it entails. But he knows it will not be that easy. He may know that better than anyone.

Dr. Richard "Buz" Cooper doesn't mince words as he challenges highly-respected research that asserts hospitals and doctors waste up to $700 billion a year on unnecessary testing and treatment. He says the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care doesn't adequately account for the health care needs of poor people.

Drinking water for residents in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties is made up of aquifer, river and Gulf waters. And it goes through a lot before reaching your faucet.

For the first time, Medicare will negotiate the prices of 10 common medicines.

For the past 80 years, the Man of Steel has endured in books, movies, radio serials, comic books and cartoons. "Americans embrace Superman partly because he captured so many things that are part of our psyche and part of our sense of ourselves," says biographer Larry Tye.

William Dodd served for four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning — after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is open about how she benefited from affirmative action, how she came to terms with her diabetes and the "out-of-body experience" of being appointed to the high court. Sotomayor spoke with NPR just before the release of her new autobiography.