WVTF - Site Search

Underground Cities And 'Ghost' Miners: What Some People Do For Gold

South Africa's Mponeng gold mine is a 2.5-mile-deep network of chutes and tunnels that employs about 4,000 miners. Of course, that number doesn't include the miners who wander its tunnels clandestinely, stealing and refining ore. In a new book, journalist Matthew Hart investigates why gold and crime sometimes go hand in hand.

Gold medals for the Rio Olympic Games are displayed at a coin factory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 18.

How The Olympic Medal Tables Explain The World

They are a concise lesson in world history, reflecting wars won and lost, economic growth and decline and a country's overall standing in the world.

How Chocolate Might Save The Planet

Honey is nature's gift. It's natural. Made by bees. Chocolate is the opposite, a great engineering creation that could, just possibly, just maybe, help save our planet.

While much of the world gorges on pancakes for Fat Tuesday, the semla is the go-to delicacy of the North, traditionally devoured just before Lent. It takes various forms (and names) throughout Scandinavia.

'Semla Man': The Pastry-Eating Superhero Sweden Needs On Fat Tuesday

The Swedes are fiercely devoted to almond paste- and whipped cream-filled semla. (One king died after gorging on them.) And the day before Lent is game time for feasting before the fast.

Tucker Jones, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, counts sturgeon in the Columbia River. He says only 1 percent of sturgeon survive the 15 to 25 years it takes for them to start reproducing.

As Caviar Prices Skyrocket, Sturgeon Poachers Invade Pacific Northwest

Global sturgeon populations are collapsing — most notably in Russia, where caviar is known as black gold. That's fueling a market for illegal caviar and driving poachers to the Columbia River.

Graphic novelist O'Connor turns ancient gods and goddesses into modern superheroes

George O'Connor has turned the legends of Greek gods into best-selling graphic novels for kids. The Olympians series is faithful to the ancient myths where gender and sex fluidity was embraced.

Oleh Pokrovsky helps man a small checkpoint on a bumpy road leading to his village. "The privilege that we have of sitting here at this checkpoint is thanks directly to those who are enlisted in the military and are defending Ukraine's borders," he says. "If it weren't for them, then this would be under Russian occupation right now."

Far from the front lines, Ukrainians guard checkpoints and wait for the war to come

Checkpoints have sprung up across Ukraine since Russia's invasion. Men at a checkpoint near Lviv have Molotov cocktails ready. Even hundreds of miles from the battles, the war hangs over everything.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, right, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Sunday, June 18, 2023.

Antony Blinken has started meetings in Beijing, aiming to cool US-China tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing early Sunday on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to try to cool exploding U.S.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge.

What's Next In The FBI's Anthrax Investigation?

The FBI this week may release some of the evidence against Bruce Ivins, a U.S. government researcher who was under investigation for the anthrax attacks of 2001. He killed himself last week. Investigators have told NPR they were still several major legal steps away from an indictment.

Surgeon general nominee Means questioned about vaccines, birth control and financial conflicts

During a confirmation hearing, senators asked Dr. Casey Means about her current positions and her past statements on a range of public health issues.

Search results for