What does it actually take for women to win elections?

Jessie Beck, a biologist with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, is our captain on today ’ s inflatable boat commute to A ñ o Nuevo Island.

Second Fridays at the Legionnaire Saloon in downtown Oakland are not just any bar night. It feels more like a backyard party or a family reunion.

It’s Friday night on the corner of 16th and Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission District. Shops are closing up and folks that live out here are settling into vacant doorways. The traffic on the street sounds frustrated; revving, waiting, and beeping as the last of the commuters surface from the BART station and breeze by. Most of them don’t even notice a man in a poofy red and white mushroom hat, sorting through a tangled web of colored wires and extension cords.

A slickly produced 26-minute video called Plandemic has exploded on social media in recent days, claiming to present a view of COVID-19 that differs from the "official" narrative. The video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube via links that are replaced as quickly as the video-sharing service can remove them for violating its policy against "COVID-19 misinformation." In it, filmmaker Mikki Willis conducts an uncritical interview with Judy Mikovits, who he says has been called "one of the most accomplished scientists of her generation." Never heard of her? You're not alone. Two prominent scientists with backgrounds in AIDS research and infectious diseases, who asked not to be identified over concerns of facing a backlash on social media, told NPR that they did not know who she was. If you were aware of Mikovits before this week, it is probably for two books she published with co-author Kent Heckenlively, one in 2017 and another last month. Heckenlively has also written a book

The Census Bureau says it is continuing the gradual relaunch of limited field operations for the 2020 census next week in nine states where the coronavirus pandemic forced the hand-delivery of paper forms in rural areas to be suspended in mid-March. On May 13, some local census offices in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington are scheduled to restart that fieldwork, according to an updated schedule the bureau published on its website Friday. All workers are expected to be trained in CDC guidance in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and besides a new reusable face mask for every 10 days worked and a pair of gloves for each work day, the bureau has ordered 2 ounces of hand sanitizer for each census worker conducting field operations, the bureau tells NPR in an email. The announcement means more households that receive their mail at post office boxes or drop points are expected to find paper questionnaires left outside their

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

A meat-packing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, where a coronavirus outbreak exploded a few weeks ago, resumed operations on Thursday after a two-week closure. The reopening of Tyson Foods' largest U.S. pork plant came the same day that health officials in Black Hawk County, where the plant is located, announced that 1,031 of the plant's estimated 2,800 employees have tested positive for the virus. That's higher than previous estimates by state officials. Tony Thompson, sheriff of Black Hawk County, was among the public officials who called for the Waterloo facility to shut down temporarily. His call to close the plant came after he first toured the facility on April 10. Thompson says that when he toured the plant then, he "fully expected" to see barriers, masks and other personal protective equipment in place. That wasn't the case. "What I saw when we went into that plant was an absolute free-for-all," he says. "Some people were wearing bandannas. Some people were wearing surgical masks. ....

Magician and animal trainer Roy Horn, of the legendary Las Vegas duo Siegfied and Roy, died Friday from complications related to COVID-19. Horn tested positive last week. He was 75. "The world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Siegfried Fischbacher said of his partner in a statement. "Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life." Roy Horn was born in Germany in 1944. He and Siegfried began their act in Las Vegas in 1967. In 1989 they began a 14-year run at the Mirage Resort performing illusions with exotic animals, making tigers, lions, even elephants vanish and reappear. In October of 2003, Roy Horn was performing with a 400-pound white tiger named Mantecore when the great cat grabbed him by the throat before a stunned audience and dragged him

Protests over stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19 have become more common around the country. In California, a surprising group is behind some of them: those who oppose mandatory vaccinations. On Thursday, a mash-up of people mingled on the sidewalk in front of California's state Capitol in Sacramento. There were Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags. There were Christians, singing along to religious rock songs and raising their hands in prayer. The event's MC. urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to tune into their event. "Everybody up at the Capitol, tell Gavin Newsom [to tune in to] 107.9 FM, if he wants to hear what we have to say," the MC told the crowd over loudspeakers. "It could be kind of good for him!" There were also mothers with their children at the rally. Many people were not wearing face masks or observing social distancing protocols. They'd all come out to protest California's stay-at-home order, put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week's

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to pick up in Alaska, Dr. Anne Zink, the state's chief medical officer, faced a difficult choice. Should she continue in-person meetings and nightly briefings with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy? Or should she opt for a more socially distant form of engagement? Zink chose the latter, saying she wanted to model the behavior that she has been appealing to residents to follow. She now appears at Dunleavy's briefings by video. And over the past two months, she has become a trusted voice as she urges Alaskans to follow the strict social distancing and other public health guidelines adopted by the state administration — which doctors groups have credited with keeping the state's COVID-19 numbers among the lowest in the country. Zink, who has a Facebook fan club and a #ThinkLikeZink hashtag , isn't the only public health official to acquire a cultlike following during the pandemic: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal infectious disease expert, has inspired a Saturday

President Trump wants states to begin relaxing stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses after the spread of the coronavirus pummeled the global economy and killed millions of jobs. The White House coronavirus task force released guidelines on April 16 to encourage state governors to adopt a phased approach to lifting restrictions across the country. Some states have moved ahead without meeting the criteria . The task force rejected a set of additional detailed draft recommendations for schools, restaurants, churches and mass transit systems from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it considered " overly prescriptive ." A number of states have already begun to lift restrictions, allowing for businesses including hair salons, diners and tattoo parlors to once again begin accepting customers. Health experts have warned that reopening too quickly could result in a potential rebound in cases. States are supposed to wait to begin lifting any restrictions until they have a 14

For the first time in its 231-year history, the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments remotely by phone and made the audio available live. The new setup went off largely without difficulties, but produced some memorable moments, including one justice forgetting to unmute and an ill-timed bathroom break. Here are the top five can't-miss moments from this week's history-making oral arguments. A second week of arguments begin on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Here's a rundown of the cases and how to listen. 1. Justice Clarence Thomas speaks ... a lot Supreme Court oral arguments are verbal jousting matches. The justices pepper the lawyers with questions, interrupting counsel repeatedly and sometimes even interrupting each other. Justice Clarence Thomas, who has sat on the bench for nearly 30 years, has made his dislike of the chaotic process well known, at one point not asking a question for a full decade. But with no line of sight, the telephone arguments have to be rigidly organized, and

Very briefly, at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020, there were slightly more women on American nonfarm payrolls than men. That's no longer true. The historically disastrous April jobs report shows that the brunt of job losses fell on women. Women now account for around just under half — 49% — of American workers, and they accounted for 55% of the increase in job losses last month. One way of looking at why that matters that is to look at the gap that opened up between women's and men's unemployment last month. The below chart shows women's unemployment rate minus men's unemployment rate since 2007. Usually, the line bumps around near or just below zero — meaning men's unemployment is usually near or slightly higher than women's. But that spike on the far right shows how women's unemployment leapt to be 2.7 points higher than men's in April. Women had an unemployment rate of 16.2% to men's 13.5% last month. That's uncommon for a recession. The below chart is a longer view, and the

Updated at 9:44 a.m. ET As a young woman growing up in a poor farming community in Virginia in the 1940 and '50s, with little information about sex or contraception, sexuality was a frightening thing for Carole Cato and her female friends. "We lived in constant fear, I mean all of us," she said. "It was like a tightrope. always wondering, is this going to be the time [I get pregnant]?" Cato, 78, now lives in Columbia, S.C. She grew up in the years before the birth control pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on May 9, 1960. She said teenage girls in her community were told very little about how their bodies worked. "I was very fortunate; I did not get pregnant, but a lot of my friends did. And of course, they just got married and went into their little farmhouses," she said. "But I just felt I just had to get out." At 23, Cato married a widower who already had seven children. They decided seven was enough. By that time, Cato said, the pill allowed the couple to

Airlines and airport operators in the United Kingdom are not waiting for the British government to publicly confirm their fears. Already, the groups representing major players in the U.K.'s air travel industry are pushing back on a proposal that would require travelers to quarantine after arriving from outside the country. A spokesperson for Airlines UK — a trade body with British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair as members — says the group understands from government officials that plans for a quarantine are in the works, but that details remain scarce at the moment. "We need to see the detail of what they are proposing. Public health must of course be the priority and we will continue to be guided by Sage advice," the group said in a statement emailed to NPR, noting that support measures will be necessary to ensure "that we still have a UK aviation sector once the quarantine period is lifted." "We will be asking for assurances that this decision has been led by the science and that

Governors on the East and West Coasts say they’ll work together to reopen businesses. But President Trump says he’s the one calling the shots.

Social distancing and self-isolation are the new normal under the COVID-19 pandemic, and this reality is changing every fiber of society, including the way substance abuse support is handled and administered.

After two weeks of hospitalization, Larry Potter became the first Iowan diagnosed with COVID-19 to be released from Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids after spending time on a ventilator.

Dr. Stanley Perlman has studied corona viruses for more than 40 years. Now, his research is part of the global race to better understand COVID-19.

Under normal circumstances, a cancer diagnosis can be life altering. But with cases of COVID-19 straining medical systems across the state and with new expectations for social distancing in place, the way in which cancer treatment is received and supported is creating new challenges for some Iowans.

*This program originally aired on March 6, 2018. The human brain has substantially different dietary needs than other organs, and new research suggests that diet may play a large role in the development of dementia, obesity, and even ability to sleep. On this edition of River to River , Ben Kieffer talks with neuroscientist and nutritionist Lisa Mosconi, whose new book, Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power , explains how diet affects brain power and health. Mosconi says that if she had to pick one food that’s best for brain health, she would say caviar. “I understand it’s expensive and I understand it’s not practical, but from a scientific perspective, the nutritional composition of caviar is a fantastic complement to whatever nutrients your brain needs for health and cognitive fitness.” In lieu of caviar, she says that some fish are rich in a certain type of fat that the brain needs. Those fish include salmon, trout, herring, and anchovies. And for those

On this episode of River to River , guest host Katelyn Harrop speaks with several guests about some of the latest and ongoing coronavirus stories in Iowa, including Gvernor Kim Reynolds' decision to partially reopen businesses in 77 of Iowa's 99 counties, and how survivors of domestic violence can access resources during this national crisis.

Some nursing homes in the state are facing a rash of COVID-19 cases within their facilities, and they’ve closed their doors to visitors. This includes visits by family members. On this edition of River to River , host Ben Kieffer and his guests discuss how nursing home residents are missing the extra care usually provided by someone in their family, why the virus thrives in these facilities, and what might be done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Guests: Cherie Mortice , retired school teacher Dr. Glenn Hurst , rural primary care physician, senior health policy advocate

Many childcare centers across the state have been forced to shut their doors because of COVID-19. For those who are still open, declining enrollment numbers, staff layoffs and difficulties in acquiring and affording necessary supplies has left providers facing tough decisions about the future of their childcare businesses, just as some Iowans begin returning to work.

In this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with political analysts Chris Larimer of University of Northern Iowa and Sara Mitchell of University of Iowa about Gov. Kim Reynolds' trip to meet with White House officials about Iowa's response to COVID-19. They also discuss Vice President Mike Pence's upcoming trip to meet with Iowa religious leaders, and get a snapshot of Iowa congressional and senate races heading into the June 2 primary. Guests: Chis Larimer, professor of political science at University of Northern Iowa Sara Mitchell, F. Wendell Miller professor of political science at University of Iowa

People squirming in a world where everything is rated and reviewed.

We all know TV viewing is up these days, but data from Hub Entertainment and Wurl show just how much, and which services are seeing the biggest upticks.

Viewing in the U.S. is up almost 27%, and daytime viewing is up most of all?a massive 39% rise since the first week of March.

Continuum targets regulated industries like banking, healthcare, and government, while Engage is designed for HR and other managers to keep employees engaged wherever they are

As business professionals, educators, and others around the globe rely on web conferencing solutions like Zoom to communicate under current conditions, post houses, broadcasters, and video rights holders are either acquainting themselves with cloud video editing solutions like the popular Blackbird platform, or moving once-peripheral distributed production workflows to the center of their operations.

Today, video streaming solutions provider LiveU unveiled a new "State of Live" report, documenting increased "demand for live streaming, mobile apps, and live IP video sharing solutions" during the last five weeks of pandemic mitigation measures.

StreamingPix offers $6,499 capture-to-delivery integrated solution for worship, education, meetings, events, and more.

How does a church with no in-house streaming gear or on-staff expertise deliver live-switched, streamed services to hundreds of socially distanced parishioners on four days' notice? Legacy Church's Jeff Leach and Apache Rental Group's Zak Holley explain how they did it in this interview with Streaming Media's Steve Nathans-Kelly.

Christ Episcopal School Director of Technology Bob Krieger discusses distance learning measures for early childhood to high school students implemented since the school shut down in mid-March in response to the spread of COVID-19.

Output Syndication makes it easy to publish directly to social media platforms, while Content Control simplifies the creation of live linear channels and Smartplay Prebid improves the ad bidding process

Communications agency Brand Definition was ready to go live with their brand-new production studio when COVID-19 shut everything down. Here's how they pivoted to remote production to meet their clients' shifting needs.

With no NAB to bring customers to them this year, a group of streaming industry vendors have come together to create a virtual event and bring the trade show to their customers and partners.

New survey data from Hub Entertainment Research reveals the impact of COVID-19 on OTT services and pay TV

A Chinese push to include support for the World Health Organization in a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a global ceasefire is  putting the entire text in limbo – after strong U.S. opposition to the Beijing effort. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thinks the Democratic National Convention should be moved to a much bigger stadium so party faithful have space to social distance for Joe Biden's nomination. 

Canada is set to reward the sacrifices that essential workers have made during the pandemic.

Although nearly two weeks have passed since Georgia Governor Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to reopen dining room seating, owners are reticent to resume business as usual. 

Fox NFL Sunday co-host Terry Bradshaw predicted on Saturday that despite the coronavirus outbreak, the NFL would continue to hold games.

Recording audio or video podcasts at an event can present many challenges. Here's the onsite podcasting equipment I recommend to make your production great!

Attending events relevant or beneficial to your podcast can hold exciting opportunities—unless you make these mistakes.

A podcast failure doesn't mean you should quit podcasting. Here are 9 steps to help you recover and keep moving forward!

Ready for a podcasting conference like no other? ShePodcasts Live focuses on serving, featuring, and celebrating women podcasters. All are welcome!

Mark Asquith shares what makes Captivate stand out from other podcast hosting providers.

Stop stressing over camera-switching for live-streaming and video-podcasting!