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Scientists think an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. In today's extinction, humans are the culprit.

Mark Helprin's sweeping midcentury novel, In Sunlight and In Shadow, describes a postwar New York in limbo. Helprin borrowed from his own experiences to write this tale of love and familial obligations. "It's all based on what I know and what I knew," he says.

To some, Detroit may be a symbol of urban decay; but to journalist Charlie LeDuff, it's home. In Detroit: An American Autopsy, he says the city's heart beats on. "We're still here trying to reconstruct the great thing we once had," he tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies.

From food scientists who study the human palate to maximize consumer bliss, to marketing campaigns that target teens to hook them for life on a brand, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss' new book goes inside the world of processed, packaged goods.

Seventeen years ago Wednesday, a sniper almost killed Major Justin Constantine in Iraq. He survived and marked the day for years as his so-called "Alive Day."

When it comes to attacking Hamas, the U.S. says it supports Israel but has a lot of questions about how it's going about it.

The former FTX CEO was keen to convince jurors he did not intend to commit any crimes — but he stumbled frequently under withering questioning by the prosecution.

Seventy years ago Monday, Muslims on the Indian subcontinent got their own country: Pakistan. But in the decades since, the idea of who belongs there has changed.

David Greene talks to Aaron O'Connell, a veteran of the Afghan war, about what he expects to hear from Trump. O'Connell is an associate professor of history at the University of Texas in Austin.

NPR's podcast Invisibilia explores the stakes of your online identity. It's a question that comes up a lot in everyday life. And lately, in the courts.

As Sam Bankman-Fried prepares to go to prison for one of the largest financial frauds in history, the cryptocurrency industry is looking ahead to a future without its former "golden boy."

Florida is halfway through its Medicaid unwinding process, and thousands of children have lost coverage. The state doesn't know how those kids are receiving care, now.

After a six-week strike, the United Auto Workers union reached record contract deals with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. But as workers vote on the deals, some say it's not enough.

Can a cookie change your life? Well, according to award-winning chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

Two years after opening his award-winning Chicago restaurant Alinea, chef Grant Achatz was diagnosed with tongue cancer. He describes losing and regaining his taste in Life, on the Line. "My palate developed just as a newborn," Achatz says. "I don't recommend it, but I think it made me a better chef."

School vouchers and border security are the focus of a special legislative session beginning this week in the Texas Statehouse. Both are key issues for the state's Republican governor.

The Scottish-born actor's career included roles on stage and in movies, but the 1960s spy series made him a household name and his role as a quirky pathologist 40 years later brought him fame again.

It's commonly thought that the Catholic Church fought heroically against the fascists in Italy. But in The Pope and Mussolini, historian David Kertzer says the church actually lent organizational strength and moral legitimacy to Mussolini's regime.

Postwar marketing of convenience foods pushed our grandmothers to take many shortcuts in the kitchen that modern foodies might find unpalatable. Many involved Jell-O. Cookbook author Jeremy Jackson updated his grandma Mildred's famous strawberry cake recipe to remove this old-school secret ingredient.

As graphic images from Gaza flood social media platforms, many people are claiming those images are fake, in the latest iteration of a disturbing trope.

Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy comes to an end with Acceptance; reviewer Jason Sheehan says it's a maddening, fascinating read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

On her Hyperbole and a Half blog, Allie Brosh writes stories about her life illustrated with a "very precise crudeness." Most are lighthearted — about her dog or her favorite grammatical mistake ("a lot" vs. "alot) — but her most popular posts have also been the most upsetting, about her crippling depression.

Adrian Raine argues that violent behavior has biological roots just like depression or schizophrenia. This raises questions about treatment, accountability and punishment, including the death penalty.

In Little Failure, the novelist recounts his emigration from the USSR to the U.S. when he was 7. For the first few years, he says, he would sit alone in the school cafeteria, talking to himself in Russian "in this gigantic fur hat and fur coat." It wasn't long before a teacher advised, "Children won't play with you if you have that much fur on."

Montgomery writes about her work volunteering with a turtle rescue organization.