NPR News

Even extreme stress doesn't have to get you down.

That's the message from brain scientists studying the relationship between stress and problems such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Researchers at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans presented studies showing how stress caused by everything from battlefield trauma to bullying can alter brain circuitry in ways that have long-term effects on mental health.

This week at Monkey See, we're looking at friendship in pop culture. We begin with a consideration of how half-hour comedies shifted away from being almost exclusively family- or work-focused.

Oakland-based chef and activist Bryant Terry released his latest cookbook The Inspired Vegan earlier this year. In the book, he creates soulful playlists for each of his elaborate vegan menus. For Tell Me More's occasional series, "In Your Ear," Terry talks about the music that inspires him — in and out of the kitchen.

More than 100,000 undocumented young people have applied for deferred action, hoping to get a reprieve from the threat of deportation. But after years of living under the radar, many are having trouble finding documents to prove their eligibility. Host Michel Martin talks with Chung-wha Hong of the New York Immigration Coalition.

Rosie Castro was a Mexican-American civil rights activist during the 1970s. She passed down her passion for change to her children: Texas State Representative Joaquin Castro and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. For Hispanic Heritage Month, Rosie Castro speaks with host Michel Martin about the Chicano movement and raising her twin sons.