Search results for

The diamond industry is facing hard times -- a looming recession, vaults full of gems, and media reports linking the diamond trade to African rebel armies and even Osama bin Laden. The industry is fighting back with ad campaigns touting the gem's priceless emotional value. NPR's Jacki Lyden reports.

An independent oversight committee tells Congress that NASA should scale back its plans for a full-scale International Space Station until the space agency can stop cost overruns that have nearly quadupled the price tag.

Poet Alan Dugan burst on the scene 40 years ago, winning the National Book Award for his very first collection of poems. In Nov., 2001, he won a second time. Dugan talks with host Linda Wertheimer about critics, time and what makes a good poem.

Author Jonathan Franzen joins Fresh Air to discuss his critically acclaimed and award-winning novel, The Corrections. It is a saga about two generations of an American family; the parents and their children.

Robert Siegel talks with David Spencer, mission manager for the Mars Odyssey, a spacecraft that's scheduled to begin orbiting Mars tomorrow.

A new 3-D database offers researchers unprecedented details of the human brain. NPRs Michelle Trudeau visits the laboratory of the human brain atlas project in California.

More than bombs are dropping on Afghanistan. Psychological warfare soldiers are dropping leaflets and broadcasting news and music, hoping to frighten the Taliban and foster civilian support. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports on the military's war of words.

Host Noah Adams talks to Eef Barzelay, singer and songwriter for the band Clem Snide. He and his colleagues were contacted by the producers of the NBC television show Ed to write a new theme song. Barzelay talks about three different songs he quickly wrote, plays them for us, and talks about how writing for a group of producers relies on so many unseen forces. He says it was hard to read people's minds, and sometimes what he thought was a perfect verse or chorus was outright rejected by the show.

Consumer confidence has been plummeting since Sept. 11. NPR's Juan Williams talks with some employees at an electronics retailer in Virginia to see how they feel about the economy.

Hundreds of artworks were destroyed in the attack on the World Trade Center. One man is trying to save what he can.