Morning Edition

Weekdays on News and Talk and News and Classical 5:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m

Renee Montagne, Steve Inskeep and Janice Baker

Every weekday for over three decades, NPR's Morning Edition has taken listeners around the country and the world with two hours of multi-faceted stories and commentaries that inform, challenge and occasionally amuse. Morning Edition is the most listened-to news radio program in the country.

A bi-coastal, 24-hour news operation, Morning Edition is hosted by NPR's Steve Inskeep in Washington, D.C., and Renee Montagne at NPR West in Culver City, CA. Even as hosts, Inskeep and Montagne often get out from behind the anchor desk and travel across the world to report on the news first hand.

Heard regularly on Morning Edition are some of the most familiar voices including news analyst Cokie Roberts and sport commentator Frank Deford as well as the special series StoryCorps, which travels the country recording America's oral history.

Produced and distributed by NPR in Washington, D.C., Morning Edition draws on reporting from correspondents based around the world, and producers and reporters in locations in the United States. This reporting is supplemented by NPR Member station reporters across the country as well as independent producers and reporters throughout the public radio system.

Since its debut on November 5, 1979, Morning Edition has garnered broadcasting's highest honors, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

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News/Talk

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Summer Science: The Perfectly Toasted Marshmallow

Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR

Joe Palca's perfectly toasted marshmallow.

By Joe Palca

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 5:18 am

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It's the epic quest of campers everywhere: How do you get the perfectly toasted marshmallow? In our inaugural installment of NPR's Summer Science series, we gave some guidance on the first key ingredient: how to build the campfire. (Later this summer, we'll attempt to answer the vexing question of how to stave off brain freeze.)

2:08 am

Tue June 12, 2012

The Old With The New: Generations Clash In New 'Dallas'

Credit Mark Seliger / TNT

Bobby (Patrick Duffy, top left), J.R. (Larry Hagman, top center left) and the rest of the Ewing family are back, including a new generation, for TNT's reboot of Dallas.

By Allison Keyes

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 9:08 am

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In 1980, the world was transfixed by the question of "Who shot J.R.?" Of course, we're talking about the archvillain from the nighttime soap opera Dallas. Three hundred fifty million people worldwide tuned in to find out. Now the TNT cable network is rebooting the show and hoping for even a fraction of that passion.

2:00 am

Tue June 12, 2012

After Libya's War, Acts Of Vengeance

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Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A destroyed apartment building in Tawargha, south of the Libyan coastal city of Misrata. Rebels from Misrata destroyed Tawargha, accusing residents of supporting Moammar Gadhafi and committing atrocities.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A destroyed building in Misrata holds the damaged remains of tanks that belonged to Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A destroyed home in Tawargha, south of Misrata. Residents were driven out and have not returned, fearing they will be killed. Graffiti in the town talks of "slaves," a reference to the black-skinned people of Tawargha. The town has been unofficially renamed New Misrata.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A man fishes in the Mediterranean outside a Tawargha refugee camp on the outskirts Tripoli. The people of Tawargha fled their ancestral homeland after the revolution when people from the city of Misrata accused them of collaborating with Gadhafi.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A diorama at the Tawargha refugee camp that represents their old home.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A Tawargha man - who declined to give his name or show his face for fear of reprisals - shows his disfigured legs. He says after his friends were shot dead, a man from Misrata intervened to save his life. Instead of killing him, he says, a militia from Misrata then broke his legs with a rifle butt.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An English class in the Tawargha refugee camp. Students here are studying a new history textbook that makes almost no mention of Gadhafi.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Houda Mohammed Belaid says that when she and her sister joined a protest march against their status as refugees from Tawargha, gunman attacked the protest march and shot them.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The view out a broken window in the Tawargha refugee camp near Tripoli.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An English class in the Tawargha refugee camp. Students here are studying a new history textbook that makes almost no mention of Gadhafi.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A destroyed home in Tawargha, south of Misrata. Residents have not returned home for fear of death. Misratans have burned every single home in the area and destroyed the town's infrastructure.

By Steve Inskeep

Originally published on Fri June 15, 2012 9:05 am

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NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. Near the Libyan coastal city of Misrata, he looks at violence that took place after the revolution.

11:58 pm

Mon June 11, 2012

As Drone Strikes Grow, So Do Concerns Over Use

Credit Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan on Jan. 31, 2010. Drones have become the U.S. weapon of choice in the fight against terrorism. But as the technology of this new form of warfare improves, so do concerns about how others will use it in the future.

By Jackie Northam

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 7:28 am

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Without question, drones have become the U.S. weapon of choice in the fight against terrorism. Counterterrorism officials say they've come to rely on the pilotless aircraft for their surveillance capability and what officials say is precision targeting. That reliance has led to greater use in the past couple of years, especially in Pakistan and Yemen.

John Bellinger, a State Department legal adviser during the George W. Bush administration, says there are increasing concerns about the frequency of drone attacks.

11:50 pm

Mon June 11, 2012

What Animals Can Teach Humans About Healing

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Credit Mark Pardew / AP

When wildfires swept across Australia in February 2009, this photo of a firefighter sharing his water with an injured koala captured hearts around the world. The koala later died — not of fire-related injuries, but of chlamydia. Koalas in Australia are suffering from an epidemic of chlamydia, says Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz. "There's no such thing as safe sex in the wild."

Credit Joanna Brooks /

Cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz has worked at the UCLA Medical Center for more than 20 years. She is also a cardiac consultant for the Los Angeles Zoo.

Credit Joanna Brooks /

Science journalist Kathryn Bowers writes about health, biology and evolution. She teaches writing at UCLA.

By editor

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 5:18 am

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When Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz was asked to treat an exotic little monkey with heart failure at the Los Angeles Zoo, she learned that monkeys can suffer heart attacks from extreme stress — just like humans. That's when the cardiologist realized she'd never thought to look beyond her own species for insights into disease.

9:23 pm

Mon June 11, 2012

Egypt's Underground Wakes Up

Credit Courtesy of the artist

Noor Noor performs with his band El-Zabaleen, which makes many of its instruments out of recycled materials.

By editor

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 4:42 pm

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3:39 am

Mon June 11, 2012

A Comeback For Downtown Cleveland

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Credit Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer

Outdoor dining spaces are filled on a warm spring day on E. 4th Street in downtown Cleveland. Like many former industrial towns, downtown Cleveland has seen a revival in the last few years to become an urban hotspot.

Credit John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer

Development of old properties in downtown Cleveland has caused an influx of young, college-educated residents.

By editor

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 8:11 am

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Almost 11 years ago, Phil Alexander opened his company, BrandMuscle, in the affluent Cleveland suburb of Beachwood.

The company sells marketing software to corporate clients worldwide, and its offices have a lean, energetic vibe, with 20-somethings tossing around ideas in multiscreened meeting rooms or a comfortable coffee bar.

1:44 am

Mon June 11, 2012

Looking To The Future, Libya Erases Part Of Its Past

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Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A map of the oil pipelines at Al-Sidrah. The man pointing to the map is Abujala Zenati, who had retired as manager of the operation. He says he returned to work after the revolution to help support the new Libya.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Abujala Zenati in the central control room at the oil production facility at Al-Sidrah.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An oil tanker sits off the coast of Al-Sidra, filling its tanks with oil from an undersea pipeline. Oil production crashed during last year's fighting, but is now approaching pre-revolutionary levels.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A display in Libya's national museum used to read "The Museums of the Jamahiriya." Jamihiriya was a word Ghaddfi invented to describe the governing system of Libya. The word has been covered with stickers of the revolutionary flag.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Libya's deputy oil minister, Omar Shakmak, says he secretly supported the opposition in Libya while working in the oil industry for decades.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A view of the Leptis Magna amphitheater. Leptis Magna is a massive Roman ruin on the Libyan coast between Tripoli and Misrata.

By Steve Inskeep

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 8:11 am

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NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In his first story from Libya, he looks at what has changed in a country that was dominated for decades by one man.

1:42 am

Mon June 11, 2012

Court's Ruling May Force Africans To Leave Israel

Credit JIim Hollander / EPA/Landov

African migrants line up to receive a free hot meal provided by a group of Israelis called Soup Levinsky in Levinsky Park in Tel Aviv on Sunday. A court in Jerusalem ruled that Israel could deport South Sudanese nationals back to their home country.

By editor

Originally published on Sun June 17, 2012 6:00 am

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An Israeli court last week upheld a government plan to deport all South Sudanese residents now living in the country, a move that comes amid a wider government crackdown on the 60,000 African nationals who've entered Israel illegally over the past few years.

Human rights groups have objected to Israel's handling of the Africans, saying the government does not do enough to differentiate between economic migrants and genuine asylum-seekers.

1:39 am

Mon June 11, 2012

Three Ways To Stop A Bank Run

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images

This is what you don't want.

By editor

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 8:11 am

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There's a slow-motion bank run happening in Europe, as depositors move their money from financially troubled countries like Greece and Spain to stronger countries like Germany.

Banks take depositors' money and lend it out. So even a strong bank is in trouble if all the depositors suddenly decide to pull their money out. A full-blown run can sink a bank in an afternoon.

Once a run starts, there are basically three ways to stop it.

1. Slow it down

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