Search results for

A man, a woman, a house and a pitchfork. Those four elements make Grant Wood's depression-era painting, American Gothic, instantly recognizable and easily mimicked. As part of the Present at the Creation series, NPR's Melissa Gray reports on the painting that launched a thousand parodies. Image at left courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

Mikel Jolet reviews the music of Sigur Ros. The group is from Iceland. They make instrumental music without lyrics... sort of. Jolet explores the language the band uses to sing its songs. He says the music is beautiful and dreamy. The CD by Sigur Ros is on MCA records.

Former senator, vice president, and presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper. In the two years since the presidential election they have been working on the new book, Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family. The book explores the changes that have taken place in families over the past few decades, using examples of families the Gores have met along the way. Tipper Gore is a former photojournalist and served as adviser to the president on mental health policy. Their other book is the collection of photographs The Spirit of Family.

Snigdha Prakash reports on the recipe behind the diet drug Metabolife's billion-dollar -- and possibly deadly -- success.

Al Gore has spent the last two years writing a book with his wife Tipper, and at times, learning lessons from his loss in the 2000 presidential election. Wednesday on Morning Edition, join host Bob Edwards for a conversation with the Gores about their plans for the future and their thoughts on the Bush presidency.

We hear more communications from the plane carrying newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson and the White House Situation Room as the plane returns to Washington, D.C., from Dallas.

On Morning Edition hear about the perfect accompaniment for preparing the holiday turkey. Music commentator Miles Hoffman joins the show to discuss pizzicato and the joys of plucking stringed instruments.

Every Thanksgiving season, Susan Stamberg shares her classic family recipe for cranberry relish. This year, some NPR fans share their own relish rituals, reviews and serving suggestions.

Beyond the glamour of Hollywood and the romance of the Golden Gate Bridge, there is another California -- and it's home to the greatest garden in the world. The 400-mile-long Central Valley supplies fully one-quarter of the food America eats. Now the region faces huge changes. In the second of a four-part series on the future of the valley, NPR's John McChesney reports on the benefits and pitfalls of pesticide use, and the pressure on farmers to "go organic."

In his new book, The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-First Century, Kupchan argues that the era of American dominance may be coming to an end. This demise will not be brought on by the Islamic world or China, but from an integrated Europe. He says that as Europe's political and strategic goals continue to diverge from those of the United States, Europe will rise as a new rival. Kupchan served on the National Security Council during the first Clinton administration. He is a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.