Elise Hu: The Beauty Ideal
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it's also shaped by global norms. This hour, journalist Elise Hu reflects on what's considered beautiful now, and how we'll think about beauty in the future.
Health & Safety
Alabama Hospital Diaries: Doctors On The Frontline Of The Latest COVID Surge
As COVID-19 surges across the country, medical workers are under increasing strain. One of the hardest-hit states is Alabama, where doctors express frustration at a crisis they say was preventable.
Alabama Hospitals Run Out Of ICU Beds. Chaplain Says It's A Frightening Situation
NPR's A Martinez talks with Rev. Moneka Thompson, a staff chaplain at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham about the COVID-19 surge in her state, where ICU beds are completely full.
News Brief: Latest On Afghanistan, Texas Voting Bill, Alabama's COVID Surge
The Biden administration has a warning about what could come next in Afghanistan. A political standoff in Texas is over. Doctors in Alabama say they're exhausted by a crisis that was preventable.
A Texas Lab Performs Crucial Testing For Pfizer's COVID Vaccine
The lab has access to a high-security facility that Pfizer needed to prove its COVID-19 vaccine was working. Now the scientists there are testing the vaccine's effectiveness against viral variants.
The Phone Call That Made An Afghan Woman Doctor Flee
She practiced medicine in Mazar-e-Sharif. She wanted to serve her country. Her story offers a window into what the Taliban takeover may hold for Afghanistan's women.
Afghanistan's Health Care Is In 'Limbo' Following Taliban Takeover, Says MSF Rep
Filipe Ribeiro of Doctors Without Borders Afghanistan talks to NPR about the future of the country's health care system under Taliban rule.
A Lack Of Health Information Has Made This Washington County A COVID Hot Spot
Walla Walla, Wash., has among the highest per capita COVID-19 rates in the U.S. But the county's public health director says it's not his job to reach unvaccinated people in his community.
Is The Need For COVID Boosters Actually Urgent? U.S. Surgeon General Weighs In
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about how urgent the need for COVID boosters is, how the rollout will work and whether we should even be giving boosters in this country.
A Traveling ICU Nurse Describes Taking On The Latest COVID Surge
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Grover Street, a travel nurse and author of the book Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic, about working on the road with COVID-19 patients.