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Marie Kondo revealed she's 'kind of given up' on being so tidy. People freaked out
The creator of the KonMari method says there are other things that spark joy besides a totally tidy home.
Do you use these words when you apologize? It's time to stop, researchers say
A new book draws from a broad range of research to explain the power of apologies, why we don't always get good ones, and the best way to tell someone you're sorry.
Your kids are adorable germ vectors. Here's how often they get your household sick
After months of COVID, flu and RSV infections, parents of little kids are kinda losing it. But the data shows kids have always brought home waves of respiratory illness.
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Calendars are for managing your time. But planners are for dreaming without limits
I've become partial to Passion Planners, which contain calendars, reflection prompts and journal pages. It's got enough structure to get me in the right headspace, with blank space to make it my own.
Researchers say time is an illusion. So why are we all obsessed with it?
Even guardians of America's atomic clocks say time doesn't work the way we think it does.
«It's my belief that the forward passage of time is mostly a human construct," he says. "From a physics sense, it doesn't have that much value."»
I usually wake up just ahead of my alarm. What's up with that?
Call it "precision waking" — the alleged ability to decide when you want to wake up and then doing so, without an alarm. If you think you can do it, you're not alone, though how is still mysterious.
In the hunt for a male contraceptive, scientists look to stop sperm in their tracks
For decades birth control research focused on women. Now there's a new push to develop gels, pills or other products that could keep men from getting their partners pregnant.
Therapy by chatbot? The promise and challenges in using AI for mental health
Some companies and researchers think smart computers might eventually help with provider shortages in mental health, and some consumers are already turning to chatbots to build "emotional resilience."
NPR on Anger
How To Control (And Even Use) Your Anger — With Meditation
Anger can be a powerful teacher — if we know how to use it. In this episode, Lama Rod Owens, a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, explains how he learned to love his anger, and gives listeners a six-step…
«Anger is a complicated emotion that many of us try to suppress rather than examine — a desire often reinforced by societal narratives that dictate who is allowed to hold and process the sentiment.»
Got Anger? Try Naming It To Tame It
While many people believe that how we feel and express anger is hard-wired, some scientists suggest our experience and culture help shape it. One way to get a handle on it may be to personalize it.
NPR on Cannabis
California Says Its Cannabis Revenue Has Fallen Short Of Estimates, Despite Gains
The tepid results have prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to revise his office's estimates of how much money the state will net from its cannabis industry.
You Can Get A Master's In Medical Cannabis In Maryland
The University of Maryland, Baltimore, now has a master's program dedicated to the science and therapeutics of medical weed because of a growing number of students looking for expertise in the field.
NPR on Conspiracy Theories
She was a popular yoga guru. Then she embraced QAnon conspiracy theories
Themes like everything is connected, nothing happens without a purpose, and nothing is what it seems are central to both yoga philosophy and conspiratorial thinking.
How Damar Hamlin's collapse fueled anti-vaccine conspiracy theories
In the absence of information about why the Buffalo Bills player collapsed during a game, misleading claims about COVID vaccines quickly spread online.
NPR on Economy
The Behavioral Economics Manifesto Gets Revised
We speak with the Nobel Prize-winning founder of behavioral economics about the new — and last — version of his classic book, Nudge.
How life got pricier (and, yes, cheaper!) this year — in 7 charts
Boy, have we talked a lot about inflation. It affected every part of our lives (and the economy) in 2022. Here are some of its highest highs and lowest lows. (It wasn't all bad news!)
NPR on Facebook
People are talking about Web3. Is it the Internet of the future or just a buzzword?
In the Web3 vision of the internet's future, tech giants like Facebook and Google aren't as critical. The internet instead is a peer-to-peer experience built on what's known as the blockchain.
«"It's a promised future internet that fixes all the things people don't like about the current internet, even when it's contradictory."»
Are Conspiracy Theories Good For Facebook?
Viral conspiracy theories are dangerous, and maybe profitable.
NPR on Health
Just Move: Scientist Author Debunks Myths About Exercise And Sleep
Paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman says the concept of "getting exercise" is relatively new. His new book, Exercised, examines why we run, lift and walk for a workout, when our ancestors didn't.
Sitting too much drags down your mental health. Here's how to get moving
A lot of us have been sitting too much, and it's hard on us mentally as well as physically. Research shows breaking up that couch or desk time with short stints of movement can help lift your mood.
«Don't blame yourself if you're struggling to get started.»
NPR on Music
How The Brain Teases Apart A Song's Words And Music
Brain scans show that when people listen to songs, an area in the left hemisphere decodes speech-like sounds while one on the right processes musical information.
A Tale Of Two Ecosystems: On Bandcamp, Spotify And The Wide-Open Future
There's Bandcamp, beloved by artists. There's Spotify, very well-liked by listeners. And then there's that big question mark. The artist Damon Krukowski takes a look.
NPR on Parenting
How Inuit Parents Teach Kids To Control Their Anger
At the top of the world, the Inuit culture has developed a sophisticated way to sculpt kids' behavior without yelling or scolding. Could discipline actually be playful?
Yes, I'm a Disney Adult. Let me explain
Backlash against Disney Adults reveals a lot about the ever-morphing hierarchies of fandom within the cultural zeitgeist, and what's considered cool to obsess over and what's not.
NPR on Parkinsons
Art and music therapy seem to help with brain disorders. Scientists want to know why
Arts therapies appear to ease brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. Now, artists and scientists have launched an effort to understand how these treatments change the brain.
A brain circuit tied to emotion may lead to better treatments for Parkinson's disease
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can vanish briefly in the face of stress or a strong emotion. Now scientists are searching for a treatment based on this phenomenon, a form of the placebo effect.
«To Stauffer, this behavior is one more piece of evidence that people with Parkinson's still do have an intact movement circuit in the brain, a pathway that is only switched on in certain situations. "If you can somehow isolate the pathway that enables that and turn it on," Stauffer says, it might offer a new approach to treating Parkinson's.»
NPR on Recycling
How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.
Recycling plastic is practically impossible
A new report from Greenpeace found that people may be putting plastic into recycling bins — but almost none of it is actually being recycled. Meanwhile, plastic production is ramping up.
Popular
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The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.
Improv comedy is about more than making people laugh. It can help performers be more creative and self-assured — and combat anxiety, both on and off stage.
«"Mistakes can really overwhelm us with a sense of shame and embarrassment," says Drinko. But if we embrace them and realize that everyone makes mistakes, we're less likely to dwell on them or let them trip us up.»
How to stop stewing about something you've taken (a little too) personally
Being offended by something that someone did or said can be upsetting — but it doesn't have to eat away at us. Mental health experts share how to slow down and gain clarity when things get personal.
«stewed about the incident»
How to overcome FOMO
The fear of missing out isn't confined to our social lives; worrying about whether we're missing out on new experiences, content, trends and even investments can create an existential crisis.…
How To Say No, For The People Pleaser Who Always Says Yes
Constantly saying yes to everything and everyone drains us of time and energy. This episode helps explain the roots of people-pleasing behaviors and how you can say no more often.
«A hard no is clear, concise and brief — "No, thank you" or a "Thanks so much for asking. But I'm not able to this week." A soft no might be easier for a recovering people pleaser. That's when you give more of an explanation. For example: "Thank you so much for asking me to do this project. It sounds really exciting, but I don't have the bandwidth for it at this time." Simple.»
NPR's Favorite Books Of 2020
The Book Concierge is back with 350+ great reads, hand-picked by NPR staff and trusted critics.
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