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Humans have been speaking thousands of years longer than they have been writing. Yet many assume the written word is superior to the way we speak. In What Language Is: And What It Isn't And What It Could Be, John McWhorter argues that most of our assumptions about language are wrong.

In an era when some classical musicians are struggling, New York-based flutist Claire Chase, the founder of the International Contemporary Ensemble, is keeping very busy.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Baghdad tells a pair of Senate committees that a troop surge in Iraq has been successful, but that the success is fragile. Ambassador Ryan Crocker echoes Petraeus' concerns.

American consumers still talk a lot on their smart phones, but one key function consistently falls short — voice quality. Recent studies by Consumer Reports and others find that it hasn't kept pace with advances in screen display, Web browsing and battery life.

American consumers still talk a lot on their smart phones, but one key function consistently falls short — voice quality. Recent studies by Consumer Reports and others find that it hasn't kept pace with advances in screen display, Web browsing and battery life.

Populated with forest creatures and barnyard animals, Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen tells a bittersweet tale of the relationship between humans and the environment. The story inspired some of the composer's most lyrical music.

Heidi Durrow's debut novel, The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, explores biracial identity in young adulthood. The book has received critical acclaim as well as the Bellwether Prize for fiction that addresses issues of social justice.

South Africa's top prosecutor says he has enough evidence for corruption charges against new African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, which could derail his election as the country's next president. Zuma beat President Thabo Mbeki in a bitter ANC leadership contest Tuesday.

When the severity of patient sickness and special local expenses are taken into account, some areas marked by big Medicare outlays flip from profligate to average or even frugal, according to the calculations from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

NPR listeners cast tens of thousands of ballots, but in the end, only a handful of votes separated some of the bands. See and hear what NPR listeners picked as the best albums of 2008.

Some self-employed people are discovering a helpful little loophole in insurance plans. By bringing their spouse or another person on board as an employee, insurers may have to issue them health coverage.

Tax returns released by Sen. Hillary Clinton on Friday show just how far the Clintons have moved up since they left the White House: Their gross income for eight years exceeds $109 million. The move aims to silence one theme of criticism as she battles for the Democratic presidential nomination.