Search results for

From the Hollywood sign to Monopoly to the printed T-shirt, NPR kicks off a year-long series looking at the roots of those and other American icons.

Host Lisa Simeone visits the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to learn about its breeding program and meet its newest arrivals. See the zoo babies at play in our web extra coverage.

In 1959, theater-goers who attended A Raisin in the Sun saw a serious drama about a black family written by a black woman. They had never seen anything like it, Cheryl Corley reports for Morning Edition. Her story is part of NPR's Present at the Creation series.

Fuel cell technology isn't new, but the notion of automobiles running on hydrogen powered fuel cells has always been more wishful thinking than reality. Now, several of the major car companies are spending serious money to develop fuel cell vehicles. NPR's John Ydstie reports in Part Four of All Things Considered's oil series.

On Sept. 11, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police force lost 37 officers at Ground Zero -- more than any police force in a single incident in U.S. history. Six months later, NPR's Chris Arnold reports for All Things Considered that some officers are still struggling -- both at home and on the job -- to put their lives back together.

Music is a crucial element of contemporary filmmaking -- who can forget, for example, the ominous theme to Jaws or the soaring melodies of Titanic? Movie music critic Andy Trudeau and Weekend Edition Sunday host Lynn Neary discuss the scores for two more Oscar-nominated films, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

Scott Simon talks with Iain Neil, who will receive an Academy Award tonight in Beverly Hills, where the scientific and technical awards will be handed out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Neil won for his invention, the Panavision Primo Macro Zoom Lens or for short, PMZ. This new lens is the first movie lens that allows very close-up photography while still being able to zoom out and capture a wide shot with clarity. Previously, two lenses would be needed to achieve the same effect without the aid of a cut or digital enhancement. (4:30)

Photographer Todd Hido specializes in creating evocative, moody images of lonely suburban homes. He has a new book, House Hunting, and recently he took commentator Louise Rafkin along on an outing to the suburbs. All Things Considered has the story. (4:15) House Hunting, is published by Nazraeli Press, 2001.

In the latest of a series of reports on New Yorkers keeping alive the legacy of jobs from a bygone era, Radio Diaries and All Things Considered profile Pasquale Spensieri, one of the last grinders still going door-to-door sharpening knives and scissors.

On Morning Edition: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and NPR's Juan Williams talk about the prospects for Middle East peace, the administration's plans for dealing with Iraq, and the growing global perception of U.S. unilateralism in the war on terror.