NPR

Liane Hansen is celebrating her 20th year as host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday. Over the past two decades, she's interviewed hundreds of newsmakers and performers and covered breaking news events from the release of Nelson Mandela to the capture of Saddam Hussein.

After a full day of rhetorical scuffles and contentious debate, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system Saturday night.

The gritty realism of the film Precious is even more intense in the novel Push, upon which the film is based. Author Sapphire discusses the inspiration for her work — and her initial reluctance to allow her work to become a film.

Jeff Gates was a fresh college graduate when he packed his bags for seven months in Europe. When he jumped at the chance to cross into East Germany, he learned that while life looked similar, the Berlin Wall separated more than just a plot of land.

In his new book, Al Gore argues that consumers have "all the tools we need" to solve climate change. But unless the United States takes a leadership role, "it would be impossible to resolve this crisis," he tells NPR.

"Patriot" or "wing nut?" Thanks to Twitter Lists, Internet users have a whole new way of defining how they see others, from Sarah Palin to even you, assuming you're on Twitter.

Four decades after its premiere, Sesame Street is the same happy neighborhood it always was. TV critic David Bianculli takes a look at the newest episode — which features special guest Michelle Obama — and assesses the show's enduring legacy.

A new study reveals that the melody of a newborn's cries seems to be influenced by the sound of the parents' native tongue. The findings suggest that crying infants may be imitating the patterns of the language they heard before they were born.

The Motorola Droid, which goes on sale today, is an exercise in functionality. But does it really give the iPhone a run for its money?

There's big news in the world of toys (and we could all use a break from the serious stories): The Ball has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.

Sam Reed loves his job so much that it almost seems like he was born to do it. He's a mortician who has always been fascinated by the way dead people are prepared to look peaceful at their funerals. But the real benefit, he says, is that it can ease a family's grief.

Thirteen people have died and 30 were injured in Thursday's shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, and the suspected shooter, an Army psychiatrist, survived despite being shot four times.

If Louis Daguerre could see Canon's Mark II, his head would explode. Cameras have come a long way since 1839, and Smithsonian's National Museum of American History currently has a display of 22 cameras to celebrate the camera's evolution.

Afghanistan experts in the United States, human-rights workers in Afghanistan, Afghan leaders and average Afghan citizens answer the question, "What would success look like in Afghanistan?"