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Elementary school students in North Carolina stand outside their school in November, during an event organized by teachers to protest changes in public education.

Pay Cuts, End Of Tenure Put North Carolina Teachers On Edge

No state has seen as steep a drop in teacher salaries over the past few years. Legislators also halted a salary bump for teachers with master's degrees and cut a cap on class size. "Teachers are really questioning why they want to teach," says the head of a state advocacy group.

Why does thunder rumble? Acoustic professor Trevor Cox explains that it has to do with the way lightning is a jagged line. "Each little kink is actually generating the sound, and the reason thunder rumbles is because the sound takes different time to come from different kinks because they're all slightly different distances from you," he says.

One Man's Quest To Find The 'Sonic Wonders Of The World'

Acoustic engineer Trevor Cox has traveled around the globe to hear whispering arches and singing sand dunes. Closer to home, he can also explain why your singing sounds better in the shower.

Social Media Detectives: Is That Viral Video For Real?

After the Boston Marathon bombing, Storyful helped journalists verify that a popular YouTube video was actually an eyewitness account. But it doesn't stop there — the company also hopes to change the "Wild West" model of news organizations using citizen journalists' uploaded content free.

Developers At Indie Game Festival Looking For Big Break

The IndieCade Festival going on this weekend outside Los Angeles is known as the Sundance of the video game world. For independent game developers, it's a chance to showcase their work and meet with scouts from the industry's biggest names with dreams of becoming the next Grand Theft Auto.

In 'Egghead,' A New Shel: Burnham Takes On Silverstein

Bo Burnham got his start in comedy on the Internet rather than in clubs. He found fame on YouTube and parlayed millions of views into a thriving career. Now, he's turned to the printed page with Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone, a collection of comedic poetry modeled on Shel Silverstein.

After serving almost 11 years in federal prison for bank robbery, Shon Hopwood is a law student at the University of Washington. He's landed a prestigious law clerk's position with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The Incredible Case Of The Bank Robber Who's Now A Law Clerk

Shon Hopwood was in prison for more than a decade. There, the bank robber became a jailhouse lawyer who got a fellow prisoner's case heard before the Supreme Court. Now a law student, he'll be a clerk at one of the nation's most prestigious courts. The judge who put him in prison is stunned.

In These 'Gardens,' The Tree Rings Of The Radical Left

Jonathan Lethem's Dissident Gardens sketches a history of the American left that is at once intimate and expansive. Out of the lives of a few conflicted characters, reviewer Mohsin Hamid explains, the book lends depth and emotion to events that affected millions.

<strong>Prehistoric Deer Stew?</strong> A fragment of pottery found in Neustadt, Germany, is coated in the microscopic remains of crushed mustard seeds and roasted fish and ruminant meat, possibly deer. This shard dates back to about 5,900 years ago.

Stone Age Chefs Spiced Up Food Even 6,000 Years Ago

Looks like our prehistoric ancestors were bigger foodies than we realized. Archaeologists have found evidence that hunter-gatherers added a hot, mustard spice to their fish and meat thousands of years ago. So meals weren't just about consuming calories. Taste and flavor were important, too.

Pregnant doctors are less likely than other women to deliver their babies via C-section, recent research suggests. Economists say that may be because the physician patients feel more empowered to question the obstetrician.

Money May Be Motivating Doctors To Do More C-Sections

Many obstetricians make more money for C-sections than for vaginal deliveries. In a recent study, these doctors were more likely to perform the costly procedure than doctors paid a flat salary. But when the pregnant women were also physicians, doctors seemed less swayed by financial incentives.

Contenders Battle In The U.S. Open

Without real a real American superstar in men's tennis, are U.S. fans losing interest in the game? Howard Bryant of ESPN talks with host Scott Simon about the week in sports.

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