We are at the height of the Sun's activity in its eleven year cycle, known to astronomers as the solar maximum. This means that over the next several months there's going to be a lot of solar activity. It's got us thinking back to 1859. That's when astronomer Richard Carrington was studying the Sun when he witnessed the most intense geomagnetic storm recorded in history. The storm, triggered by a giant solar flare, sent brilliant auroral displays across the globe causing electrical sparking and fires in telegraph stations. This encore episode, Regina talks to solar physicist Dr. Samaiyah Farid about what's now known as the Carrington event and about what may happen the next time a massive solar storm hits Earth.
Want to hear us cover other parts of the solar system? Email the show at shortwave@npr.org to let us know!
The death of Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda days after Chile's 1973 military coup should be reinvestigated, an appeals court has ruled, saying new steps could help clarify what killed the poet.
Franke told the judge that she would not argue for a shorter sentence before she stood to thank local police officers, doctors and social workers for being the "angels" who saved her children.
Christopher Ward was taken to a hospital shortly after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters on Feb. 12. He was soon placed on life support and died Friday, Lakewood police said Tuesday.
The agency is accepting applicants for the second cohort of its Mars simulator mission. Participants will live and work from a 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot facility at NASA's Houston space center.
Federal prosecutors say that Alexander Smirnov admitted to authorities that "officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story" about President Biden's son, Hunter.
With a mass 17 billion times larger than our sun, this black hole is the fastest-growing black hole ever recorded, Australian National University said.
Jada Pinkett Smith is the kind of celebrity that makes headlines just by breathing. But looking at those headlines — mostly about her marriage to fellow actor, Will Smith — made host Brittany Luse think that most people have gotten Jada all wrong. A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Jada's best known for her acting, but she's also a producer, musician, and painter. After reading her memoir, Worthy, Brittany noticed the way Jada's artistic mind and process had been overlooked. So, she sat down with Jada to ask about it. They talked about what Jada's painting, what she got out of her time as a rock singer, why she looks at her relationship with Will as a masterpiece, and what she wants for her future.
With just days to go before South Carolina's crucial Republican primary, Nikki Haley is making the case for her continued candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.
Donald Trump owes legal penalties totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in two civil cases recently decided in New York, raising questions about how he'll pay the amount.
The state law has been interpreted as banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood argues the ban is vague and shouldn't apply until at least three weeks later in pregnancy.
Brian Mann covers the U-S opioid and fentanyl crisis for NPR. That means he talks to a lot of people struggling with addiction. Again and again, he's heard stories of people who have succumbed to their addiction — last year 112, 000 — more than ever in history.
But when Mann traveled to Portugal to report on that country's model for dealing with the opioid crisis, he heard a very different story. Overdose deaths in Portugal are extremely rare.
The country has taken a radically different approach to drugs – decriminalizing small amounts and publicly funding addiction services – including sites where people can use drugs like crack and heroin.
Portugal treats addiction as an illness rather than a crime. No one has to pay for addiction care, and no one scrambles to navigate a poorly regulated recovery system. Could Portugal's approach help the U-S fight its opioid epidemic?
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
NPR's A Martinez talks to Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, one of eight Democratic and Republican lawmakers who introduced a new foreign aid and border security bill in the House.
Law enforcement officials from 11 countries have joined forces to disrupt the activities of LockBit, which is considered one of the most dreaded and most prolific team of cybercriminals.
