Culture

In search of refuge during the American Revolution, this enslaved black man joined the British army

February 27, 2019

The American Revolution was a war for independence, but many enslaved black people found liberty by joining the British. New research documents the story of one South Carolina teenager who became a hero in the British army.

Twitter and Cocoa Puffs: The surprising life of a student at North Korea’s top university

PRI's The World

February 26, 2019

Alek Sigley, 29, studies at Kim Il-sung University — the alma mater of Kim Jong-un. He opened a Twitter account just a few months ago and it's become a rare keyhole through which to view a fast-changing Pyongyang, North Korea.

Massachusetts gets its first hair salon that’s exclusively for women who wear hijab

WGBH News

February 26, 2019

In a neighborhood peppered with beauty shops, what makes Shamso Hair Studio and Spa unique is not the silver and black décor — or even the henna body art or the hammam steam spa — it is who is allowed in and who is not.

Global Satire

In new book, Lebanese Satirist Karl reMarks skewers Middle East pundits

PRI's The World

February 25, 2019

Karl reMarks talks about his upcoming book, "And Then God Created the Middle East and Said 'Let There Be Breaking News'" and tells us his views on Western media covering the Middle East.

Culture

This tour group takes you beyond the border to Nogales’ culinary scene

PRI's The World

February 25, 2019

The Border Community Alliance takes hundreds of Americans each year to see what’s really on the other side of the border. The Arizona-based nonprofit offers multiple travel itineraries, including overnight tours and day-trips, all of them meant to counteract fears about the border region.

Climate change: Obsession with plastic pollution distracts attention from bigger environmental challenges

The Conversation

February 22, 2019

Plastic pollution — or more accurately, the response of governments and industry to addressing plastic pollution — provides a “convenient truth” that distracts from addressing the real environmental threats such as climate change.

Arts, Culture & Media

'Free Solo’s’ directors climb their way to Oscar nomination

PRI's The World

February 22, 2019

Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, directors of the Oscar-nominated film "Free Solo" speak about how they look at personal risk for themselves and their film subjects.

Arts, Culture & Media

Radio waves connect Mexicans in remote Tlaxiaco with family in the US

PRI's The World

February 22, 2019

Tlaxiaco has been inundated with international attention in recent months because it’s the hometown of Yalitza Aparicio, the star of the movie Roma, who emerged from obscurity to become an Oscar nominee. But Tlaxiaco is already well known in Fresno, California, and other cities throughout the US because of decades of migration from this region of Mexico. Those ties are fortified by La Hora Mixteca, or The Mixtec Hour, a bi-national radio program.

The US adoption system discriminates against darker-skinned children

The Conversation

February 21, 2019

Darker-skinned children wait longer to be adopted and it costs more to adopt a white baby.

Culture

Behind the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ moves

Studio 360

February 21, 2019

The woman who helped Rami Malek embody Freddie Mercury.

Pages