Search results for

The unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8 percent — that's the lowest rate in President Obama's presidency. Numbers like these are calculated and released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and highly anticipated by not only politicians but money managers and traders around the world. In the run up to the release, the government office does everything possible to keep these numbers locked up. (This piece initially aired Aug. 3, 2012 on Morning Edition.)

Actress Queen Latifah could watch Steel Magnolias a million times. "I was around 19 years old when it came out, and I was sort of into those emotional types of movies," she says.

Colin Meloy, best known as the Decemberists' front man, is also a novelist. His newest book is the second in a series for young readers, called Wildwood Chronicles. The book catches up with its precocious protagonist, Prue, who leaves the seventh grade to return to the magical world of Wildwood.

Born in Tel Aviv, Anat Cohen came to New York two decades ago to study the masters of jazz. In so doing, the clarinetist and saxophonist started a bit of a stampede: Today, Israel is exporting some of the most vital jazz out there.

Paul Katz bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his cello — on a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles. But the captain told him his cello had to fly as checked baggage. After an agonizing flight, Katz cried when the captain returned his cello, unharmed. Originally broadcast August 27, 2012.

The story of Adam and Eve is a primary belief for many Christians. Some scholars argue research on the human genome shows that modern humans did not descend from the Biblical couple, and that Christianity must reconcile modern science and religious beliefs. Originally broadcast September 22, 2011.

Authorities in Akron, Ohio, found a suspicious pipe labeled with the word "Kaboom" on it so they evacuated City Hall. It was accidentally left behind by Natural Hunka Kaboom. He tells the Akron Beacon Journal he meant no harm, and his name really is Kaboom.

The group plays fiddle, banjo, guitar and washboard, all gathered around a single microphone in an old-style tradition. The result is what Spirit Family Reunion's members call "open-door gospel" — gospel music that's not tied to any particular religious denomination.

The host of The Colbert Report returns to Fresh Air to talk about his new book, America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't.

In the latest Pew poll, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney leads President Obama 49-45.