Search results for

Stereotyping in films and TV is as old as Hollywood itself. For some, portraying a stereotypical character — the ditzy blonde or angry black man — is a foot in the door to the acting world. For others, it is a path that can be limiting and repetitive.

Coffee is social stimulant, solitary pleasure, intellectual catalyst. It also connects us to far corners of the globe. From small specialty farms in Guatemala to large, industrial operations in Brazil and unexpected corners of the world, like Vietnam, the world's morning cup of joe makes quite a journey.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Tom Goldman about the week in sports, including the NHL lockout, the San Francisco Giants and Lance Armstrong's rough week.

The European Union was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Friday. Kristian Berg Harpviken closely follows the Norwegian Nobel Committee's process each year. He joins guest host Celeste Headlee to discuss why he thinks the committee chose the EU.

Andrew Cuomo is expected to propose some of the nation's toughest gun laws in his State of the State address on Wednesday, including a stronger ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But getting those bills through the state's Republican-controlled Senate will be another matter.

In November, voters will decide whether new state laws on issues such as labor policy, immigration and gay marriage can remain in effect. They're using a process called "popular referendum." Different from a ballot initiative, it amounts to a public veto of elected officials. And its use is growing.

Two weeks after the attacks that killed the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, there is still confusion about what exactly happened and whether the United States might have prevented the tragedy. Critics of the Obama administration accuse the White House of dissembling about the attack. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston talks to Melissa Block.

Since the 1961 publication of the Third International Dictionary, people have debated the merits of dictionaries that describe language as it is and those that explain how it should be. Today the debate continues, but it doesn't hold the same cultural significance as before, writes Geoff Nunberg.

In the closely watched Senate race in Virginia, Democrat and former Governor Tim Kaine holds an edge over Republican and former Governor George Allen. Kaine is a former Democratic National Committee chairman and Allen is a former senator who wants his seat back.

Given North Dakota's Republican leanings, it was assumed that GOP Rep. Rick Berg would be virtually certain to win the state's open seat in the U.S. Senate. But the most recent poll shows a tossup between Berg and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.