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Falling Into The Sky And Other Tales Of Gravity

You're high, high up. You lean over and look way, way down. Then you leap. Meet my favorite leapers: An Austrian who falls for 24 continuous miles, a medieval musician who leaps off a tower, a movie stuntman who lands on a chain of cardboard boxes, and my favorite, a man who almost falls into the sky.

You may recognize this drawing from Allie Brosh's popular "<a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html">This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult</a>" blog post. (It's now a popular Internet meme.)

Even When It Hurts 'ALOT,' Brosh Faces Life With Plenty Of 'Hyperbole'

On her Hyperbole and a Half blog, Allie Brosh writes stories about her life illustrated with a "very precise crudeness." Most are lighthearted — about her dog or her favorite grammatical mistake ("a lot" vs. "alot) — but her most popular posts have also been the most upsetting, about her crippling depression.

Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn't fit anywhere else.

Tacloban Took Brunt Of Typhoon Haiyen

The Philippine city of Tacloban has suffered the worst from the massive storm. Survivors are in great need of food, water, shelter and medical services among other things.

A composite image shows part of the NPR/Center for Responsive Politics reporting team's whiteboard at NPR headquarters that was used to map out how Wellspring connects to other social welfare groups. (Click the enlarge button to see a full-size image.)

Secret Persuasion: How Big Campaign Donors Stay Anonymous

Tax-exempt social welfare groups have become the vehicle of choice for big political contributions.

Hey mutual fund investors: Think you can beat the market? Charley Ellis, who's worked in investment management for 50 years, doubts it. That's because the fees actively managed funds charge can get expensive.

Resisting The Temptation To 'Win' When Investing

Some financial experts say the fees charged by actively managed mutual funds are not worth it. Over the long haul, they could cost a retirement account tens of thousands of dollars. So NPR's Uri Berliner explores funds that have minimal expenses.

Big Data may not be much to look at, but it can be powerful stuff. For instance, this is what the new National Security Agency (NSA) data center in Bluffdale, Utah, looks like.

A Brave New World: Big Data's Big Dangers

Big Data raises concerns about more than just privacy. The debate opening up before us is an essential one for a culture dominated by science and technology. Who determines if a technology is adopted? Who determines when and how it will be deployed? Who owns our data? What are our rights in this new world?

Seen here in 1978, Ukivok, the stilt village on Alaska's King Island, was abandoned after its only school closed in 1959.

Ghost Island Looms Large Among Displaced Inupiat Eskimos

About 50 years ago, the native Alaskans were forced to leave their ancestral home on King Island, in the Bering Sea. Now, an Anchorage poet has crowdsourced enough money to bring a group of former King Islanders and their descendants back for a visit.

First Female Fighter Pilot: 'Attention Wasn't What I Wanted'

In this week's Sunday Conversation, host Rachel Martin speaks with Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the Air Force's first female fighter pilot, about gender in the Air Force. Leavitt is also the first female fighter wing commander, and she has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Texas delegate on the floor of the Republican National Convention in 2012.

Democrats Want To Mess With Texas? GOP Says Not So Fast

Democrats see opportunity in Texas' fast-growing Latino population. But the Republican Party is strong in Texas — very strong. Still, the GOP is split on how to handle the upcoming demographic changes: play to the base or try to recruit new Republicans?

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