NPR Series: Reporter's Notebook https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1930200 An occasional series of essays for NPR.org written by NPR correspondents and other contributors. en Copyright 2024 NPR - For Personal Use Only Story API Shim 1.2.24 Thu, 03 Apr 2025 04:45:25 -0400 https://media.npr.org/images/podcasts/primary/npr_generic_image_300.jpg?s=200 NPR Series: Reporter's Notebook https://www.npr.org/series/1930200/reporter-s-notebook The case for nixing the Oscars' best international feature category In the extraordinary new age of subtitled streaming and globalized filmmaking, the Oscar category is becoming a caricature of itself as a relic of the past. Tue, 22 Mar 2022 05:01:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2022/03/22/1087968378/best-international-feature-film-category-oscars https://www.npr.org/2022/03/22/1087968378/best-international-feature-film-category-oscars Hand of God; Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom; Flee; The Worst Person in the World; Drive My Car'/>

In the extraordinary new age of subtitled streaming and globalized filmmaking, the Oscar category is becoming a caricature of itself as a relic of the past.

]]> Bilal Qureshi With 'Dune,' Denis Villeneuve has made Hollywood's definitive post-9/11 epic With the new 2021 movie, director Denis Villeneuve turns the novel's meditations on race, culture and colonialism into riveting and undeniable cinema. Thu, 21 Oct 2021 11:33:39 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2021/10/21/1047784204/dune-2021-movie-sept-11-frank-herbert-denis-villeneuve https://www.npr.org/2021/10/21/1047784204/dune-2021-movie-sept-11-frank-herbert-denis-villeneuve

With the new 2021 movie, director Denis Villeneuve turns the novel's meditations on race, culture and colonialism into riveting and undeniable cinema.

(Image credit: Chiabella James)

]]> Bilal Qureshi 'It Seemed Apocalyptic' 40 Years Ago When Mount St. Helens Erupted Howard Berkes covered the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens for NPR and has returned to the volcano for multiple stories over the years. He recalls the massive blast and its aftermath. Mon, 18 May 2020 05:01:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2020/05/18/854829288/it-seemed-apocalyptic-40-years-ago-when-mount-st-helens-erupted https://www.npr.org/2020/05/18/854829288/it-seemed-apocalyptic-40-years-ago-when-mount-st-helens-erupted

Howard Berkes covered the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens for NPR and has returned to the volcano for multiple stories over the years. He recalls the massive blast and its aftermath.

(Image credit: Robert Krimmel)

]]> Howard Berkes Reporter's Notebook: In Small-Town Russia, 'Football Is My Life' Millions of Russian adults and children play soccer on various levels. In one small town, three generations of soccer players take on the meaning of the game and the World Cup. Wed, 04 Jul 2018 04:56:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2018/07/04/624188051/reporters-notebook-in-small-town-russia-football-is-my-life https://www.npr.org/2018/07/04/624188051/reporters-notebook-in-small-town-russia-football-is-my-life

Millions of Russian adults and children play soccer on various levels. In one small town, three generations of soccer players take on the meaning of the game and the World Cup.

]]> Alina Selyukh Baseball, Vietnam And Coming Of Age At The 1969 World Series On Oct. 15, 1969, hundreds of thousands marched in Washington to protest the Vietnam War. But it was also Game 4 of the World Series, and NPR's Brian Naylor, then 14, knew where he had to be. Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:44:10 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2014/10/15/356435069/baseball-vietnam-and-coming-of-age-at-the-1969-world-series https://www.npr.org/2014/10/15/356435069/baseball-vietnam-and-coming-of-age-at-the-1969-world-series

On Oct. 15, 1969, hundreds of thousands marched in Washington to protest the Vietnam War. But it was also Game 4 of the World Series, and NPR's Brian Naylor, then 14, knew where he had to be.

(Image credit: Brian Naylor)

]]> Brian Naylor In Appalachia, Poverty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder NPR's Pam Fessler was told that Eastern Kentuckians would be reluctant to talk because they were tired of being depicted as the poster children of the War on Poverty. Instead, she got an earful. Sat, 18 Jan 2014 10:38:00 -0500 https://www.npr.org/2014/01/18/263629452/in-appalachia-poverty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder https://www.npr.org/2014/01/18/263629452/in-appalachia-poverty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder NPR's Pam Fessler was told that Eastern Kentuckians would be reluctant to talk because they were tired of being depicted as the poster children of the War on Poverty. Instead, she got an earful.

]]> Pam Fessler Dwindling Middle Class Has Repercussions For Small Towns As the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession, one fact that's emerging is that while jobs are coming back, most of these jobs are either high- or low-paying jobs. Middle-class jobs are not coming back, and it's evident in towns across the Midwest like Lincoln, Ill. Tue, 12 Nov 2013 03:04:00 -0500 https://www.npr.org/2013/11/12/242999770/reinventing-the-dwindling-middle-class-may-take-a-revolution https://www.npr.org/2013/11/12/242999770/reinventing-the-dwindling-middle-class-may-take-a-revolution

As the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession, one fact that's emerging is that while jobs are coming back, most of these jobs are either high- or low-paying jobs. Middle-class jobs are not coming back, and it's evident in towns across the Midwest like Lincoln, Ill.

(Image credit: Kelly McEvers)

]]> Kelly McEvers Does Capitalism Work? A True/False Quiz In Times Square "Starting a conversation about capitalism is like walking up to a stranger and asking, 'Can I talk to you about Jesus?'" says artist Steve Lambert. The best way to talk about the C-word, he says, is to make it personal. His giant art installation in New York challenges passers-by to weigh in. Sat, 05 Oct 2013 06:08:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2013/10/05/229192177/does-capitalism-work-a-true-false-quiz-in-times-square https://www.npr.org/2013/10/05/229192177/does-capitalism-work-a-true-false-quiz-in-times-square

"Starting a conversation about capitalism is like walking up to a stranger and asking, 'Can I talk to you about Jesus?'" says artist Steve Lambert. The best way to talk about the C-word, he says, is to make it personal. His giant art installation in New York challenges passers-by to weigh in.

(Image credit: Jake Schlichting)

]]> Margot Adler Midcentury Furniture + Grandkid Nostalgia = Modern Trend It first showed up in the 1950s and '60s — think low-slung sofas, egg-shaped chairs and the set of <em>Mad Men</em>. Today, midcentury modern furniture is "blazing hot," as one dealer puts it. One explanation is that people often like what their grandparents liked. Wed, 29 May 2013 17:11:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2013/05/29/187084448/midcentury-furniture-grandkid-nostalgia-modern-trend https://www.npr.org/2013/05/29/187084448/midcentury-furniture-grandkid-nostalgia-modern-trend

It first showed up in the 1950s and '60s — think low-slung sofas, egg-shaped chairs and the set of Mad Men. Today, midcentury modern furniture is "blazing hot," as one dealer puts it. One explanation is that people often like what their grandparents liked.

]]> Andrea Hsu Discovering A Family Member's Lost Time In Amsterdam When Margot Adler learned that a cousin had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, she was stunned. Adler started digging around and discovered that like Anne Frank, 25,000 Dutch Jews hid, and two-thirds of them survived. Her cousin was one of them. Tue, 21 May 2013 16:40:58 -0400 https://www.npr.org/2013/05/21/182676360/discovering-a-family-members-lost-time-in-amsterdam https://www.npr.org/2013/05/21/182676360/discovering-a-family-members-lost-time-in-amsterdam

When Margot Adler learned that a cousin had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, she was stunned. Adler started digging around and discovered that like Anne Frank, 25,000 Dutch Jews hid, and two-thirds of them survived. Her cousin was one of them.

(Image credit: Margot Adler)

]]> Margot Adler