Search results for

Today marks 100 years since the birth of Louis Leakey, the patriarch of the first family of human fossils. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports for National Geographic Radio Expeditions.

In May, President Bush signed an executive order that declared "null and void" any legal decisions that would claim Iraqi oil money. The administration says it just wants to guarantee money for Iraqi reconstruction. But critics say the words in the executive order could allow oil companies to act with impunity. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

His new feature film, The Magdalene Sisters, is based on the real-life laundries run by the Sisters of the Magdalene Order in Ireland near the end of the 19th century. Girls considered wayward or unruly were sent there as punishment for their sins and forced to do labor under sweat-shop conditions. The last of the laundries was shut down in 1996. Mullan's film follows the lives of four young women and takes place from 1964 to 1969. Before writing and directing, Mullan was best known for his acting and starred in The Big Man, Riff-Raff, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. He won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Ken Loach's film My Name is Joe.

The first 400 recruits for the new Iraqi army begin basic training under U.S. supervision at a base east of Baghdad. The recruits are under heavy guard for fear that Iraqi resistance fighters might attack. U.S. officials say they hope to have a division of 12,000 troops within a year. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini are the team behind American Splendor, which is a hybrid of fiction and documentary. Their previous documentaries are Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's and The Young and the Dead.

The Rare Book School at the University of Virginia is the only one if its kind in the United States. NPR's Jacki Lyden took a tour of the school's collection, and talked with elite scholars attending week-long sessions to learn more about the preservation and art of rare books.

NPR's Susan Stamberg continues a series on contemporary ethics in a talk with Walter Pavlo, a former finance manager at MCI, who recently got out of jail. Pavlo served two years for money laundering, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. He says in the early, heady days of the telecom industry, he felt "bulletproof."

Guest host Steve Inskeep interviews Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of the group Steely Dan. They discuss the group's tour in New York and their music.

Wall Street Journal reporters Rebecca Smith and John Emshwiller tell how they tracked the collapse of energy giant Enron in their new book 24 Days. The reporters helped unravel one of the biggest white-collar crime stories ever. Hear Smith, Emshwiller and NPR's Renee Montagne.

The U.N. Security Council approves a U.S.-backed resolution that recognizes the creation of an interim governing council in postwar Iraq and mandates a formal U.N. mission to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people. Syria, the only Arab member of the council, abstains from the vote. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara.