For the first time in a decade Congress will hold a hearing Wednesday on the subject of reparations for the descendants of slaves in the United States, a topic that has gained traction in the run-up to the 2020 elections. The hearing is set for June 19, also known as "Juneteenth," the day when in 1865 former enslaved people in Texas first learned that they had been emancipated two years earlier. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is holding the hearing on H.R. 40 , which calls for a commission to "study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans," including a formal apology by the U.S. government "for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants." The hearing is scheduled to feature testimony from author Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose article "The Case for Reparations," published by The Atlantic magazine in 2014, is widely credited with re-igniting the

Updated at 6:55 p.m. ET President Trump announced Thursday he would sign an executive order to obtain data about the U.S. citizenship and noncitizenship status of everyone living in the United States. In a Rose Garden ceremony, Trump said he would drop efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Instead, his executive order will direct all U.S. agencies to provide the Department of Commerce all information they have on U.S. citizenship, noncitizenship and immigration status. "We have great knowledge in many of our agencies," Trump said, flanked by Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. "We will leave no stone unturned." The executive order marks the administration's latest effort to obtain the information despite a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that bars the administration from including the question on the 2020 census for now. In backing down from the legal fight, Trump appears to be doing what the Census Bureau encouraged over a year

Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET President Trump announced an executive order on gathering citizenship information, a shift from an earlier effort to get a question about citizenship on the 2020 census. Trump spoke alongside Attorney General William Barr, who praised his decision. Their remarks come after the Supreme Court blocked, for now, the addition of the question " Is this person a citizen of the United States? " on the annual headcount. Critics feared the question would lead to undercounts of immigrant groups and communities of color. Despite the justices' rejection, Trump had vowed to continue pushing for the change — even as printing of the paper forms has begun. The administration's persistence includes an attempt to change the Justice Department's legal team on the issue. But Trump's remarks Thursday indicate the administration is dropping the question fight in favor for a different avenue for getting a count of noncitizens in the U.S. Still, it's not clear what impact the executive

Updated at 7:40 p.m. ET A House panel heard at times emotional testimony about conditions at facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security. The hearing of the House oversight committee grew heated as Democrats and Republicans on the panel argued over who bore responsibility for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at detention centers on the southern border. Republican lawmakers who represent border districts and Democratic lawmakers who have recently traveled to the border each testified. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., disputed charges that some of those being held at a Border Patrol facility in Texas were forced to drink water from toilets. "Please, American public," Lesko said, "there is no one asking people to drink out of toilets." She referred to a video from the Arizona Border Patrol showing an agent touring a facility and drinking water from a sink above a toilet unit. But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who made that accusation in a news conference after

Updated at 7:05 p.m. ET The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening condemning the president for a series of racist tweets about four Democratic lawmakers. The vote was mostly along party lines, as the House split 240-187, with four Republicans supporting the nonbinding measure. Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas joined with Democrats to rebuke the president, as did Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent. The House was paralyzed for a substantial portion of the afternoon over legislative procedure. Republicans sought a ruling on the question: Does calling the president's tweets "racist" violate the rules of decorum established in the House? So an already heated debate turned to farce as the House voted on whether to sanction House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for characterizing the president's remarks as "racist," as part of a

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is testifying before Congress on Wednesday, and lawmakers have so many questions they may not have enough time to ask them all. The House judiciary and intelligence committees have scheduled hearings for 8:30 a.m. and noon. Majority Democrats and minority Republicans are expected to try their utmost to get the most good they can from Mueller — in very different ways. Members of Congress already postponed Mueller's hearings once to wrangle more time. Complicating the matter will be Mueller himself, who has said he intends to confine his testimony to what he has already set forth in his report. In addition, the Justice Department sent Mueller a letter on Monday night saying it expects Mueller to not stray beyond what is publicly known about his work, citing executive privilege. That won't constrain members of Congress from trying. Here are some of the questions they might ask, broken up by the majority and the minority members on these committees.

Editor's note: This is an updated version of a story that was published on Nov. 9, 2018. The United States has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 4.43 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017 — far greater than what is seen in other wealthy countries. On a state-by-state calculation, the rates can be even higher. In the District of Columbia, the rate is 16.34 per 100,000 — the highest in the United States. In Louisiana, the rate is 10.68 per 100,000. In Texas and Ohio — the scene of two mass shootings at the beginning of August — the rates are close to the national average: 4.74 per 100,000 in Texas and 4.60 in Ohio. And the national rate of gun violence in the U.S. is higher than in many low-income countries. Those findings are part of the latest version of an annual report on gun violence from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation , which tracks lives lost in every country, in every year, by every possible cause of death. The

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have the stage to themselves for Sunday night's Democratic primary debate. The debate, hosted by CNN and Univision in Washington, D.C., will not have a live audience amid coronavirus concerns. Follow NPR's live coverage of the debate. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit Loading...

John Prine, a wry and perceptive writer whose country and folk songs often resembled vivid short stories, has died at age 73. His death, from complications caused by COVID-19, was confirmed by his family. Even as a young man, Prine — who famously worked as a mailman before turning to music full-time — wrote evocative songs that belied his age. With a conversational vocal approach, he quickly developed a reputation as a performer who empathized with his characters. His beloved 1971 self-titled debut features the aching "Hello In There," written from the perspective of a lonely elderly man who simply wants to be noticed, and the equally bittersweet "Angel From Montgomery." The latter song is narrated by a middle-aged woman with deep regrets over the way her life turned out, married to a man who's merely "another child that's grown old." Bestowing dignity on the overlooked and marginalized was a common theme throughout Prine's career; he became known for detailed vignettes about ordinary

President Donald Trump wants the Catholic vote. Recently, Trump was on a conference call with several hundred Catholic educators — and many prominent bishops. Trump reportedly described himself as the “best [president] in the history of the Catholic Church.”  In reality, though, there’s a growing rift within the church on support for the president. A number of prominent Catholics are criticizing Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic — and many have been vocal on Twitter. Related:  Coronavirus postponed Russia’s Victory Day. That could be a problem for Putin. Rev. Robert Ballecer, an American priest stationed in the Vatican, has been particularly outspoken. Before he moved to Rome, Ballecer had been living at St. Ignatius College Prep , a Jesuit high school in San Francisco. The Jesuits allowed Ballecer to pursue his Catholic ministry as a host at “ TWiT ,” a podcast network focused on technology . It seemed like a good fit, as Ballecer is a self-described mechanic, engineer and

The Census Bureau says it is continuing the gradual relaunch of limited field operations for the 2020 census next week in nine states where the coronavirus pandemic forced the hand-delivery of paper forms in rural areas to be suspended in mid-March. On May 13, some local census offices in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington are scheduled to restart that fieldwork, according to an updated schedule the bureau published on its website Friday. All workers are expected to be trained in CDC guidance in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and besides a new reusable face mask for every 10 days worked and a pair of gloves for each work day, the bureau has ordered 2 ounces of hand sanitizer for each census worker conducting field operations, the bureau tells NPR in an email. The announcement means more households that receive their mail at post office boxes or drop points are expected to find paper questionnaires left outside their

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

A meat-packing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, where a coronavirus outbreak exploded a few weeks ago, resumed operations on Thursday after a two-week closure. The reopening of Tyson Foods' largest U.S. pork plant came the same day that health officials in Black Hawk County, where the plant is located, announced that 1,031 of the plant's estimated 2,800 employees have tested positive for the virus. That's higher than previous estimates by state officials. Tony Thompson, sheriff of Black Hawk County, was among the public officials who called for the Waterloo facility to shut down temporarily. His call to close the plant came after he first toured the facility on April 10. Thompson says that when he toured the plant then, he "fully expected" to see barriers, masks and other personal protective equipment in place. That wasn't the case. "What I saw when we went into that plant was an absolute free-for-all," he says. "Some people were wearing bandannas. Some people were wearing surgical masks. ....

Magician and animal trainer Roy Horn, of the legendary Las Vegas duo Siegfied and Roy, died Friday from complications related to COVID-19. Horn tested positive last week. He was 75. "The world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Siegfried Fischbacher said of his partner in a statement. "Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life." Roy Horn was born in Germany in 1944. He and Siegfried began their act in Las Vegas in 1967. In 1989 they began a 14-year run at the Mirage Resort performing illusions with exotic animals, making tigers, lions, even elephants vanish and reappear. In October of 2003, Roy Horn was performing with a 400-pound white tiger named Mantecore when the great cat grabbed him by the throat before a stunned audience and dragged him

Protests over stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19 have become more common around the country. In California, a surprising group is behind some of them: those who oppose mandatory vaccinations. On Thursday, a mash-up of people mingled on the sidewalk in front of California's state Capitol in Sacramento. There were Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags. There were Christians, singing along to religious rock songs and raising their hands in prayer. The event's MC. urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to tune into their event. "Everybody up at the Capitol, tell Gavin Newsom [to tune in to] 107.9 FM, if he wants to hear what we have to say," the MC told the crowd over loudspeakers. "It could be kind of good for him!" There were also mothers with their children at the rally. Many people were not wearing face masks or observing social distancing protocols. They'd all come out to protest California's stay-at-home order, put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week's

President Trump wants states to begin relaxing stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses after the spread of the coronavirus pummeled the global economy and killed millions of jobs. The White House coronavirus task force released guidelines on April 16 to encourage state governors to adopt a phased approach to lifting restrictions across the country. Some states have moved ahead without meeting the criteria . The task force rejected a set of additional detailed draft recommendations for schools, restaurants, churches and mass transit systems from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it considered " overly prescriptive ." A number of states have already begun to lift restrictions, allowing for businesses including hair salons, diners and tattoo parlors to once again begin accepting customers. Health experts have warned that reopening too quickly could result in a potential rebound in cases. States are supposed to wait to begin lifting any restrictions until they have a 14

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later

For the first time in its 231-year history, the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments remotely by phone and made the audio available live. The new setup went off largely without difficulties, but produced some memorable moments, including one justice forgetting to unmute and an ill-timed bathroom break. Here are the top five can't-miss moments from this week's history-making oral arguments. A second week of arguments begin on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Here's a rundown of the cases and how to listen. 1. Justice Clarence Thomas speaks ... a lot Supreme Court oral arguments are verbal jousting matches. The justices pepper the lawyers with questions, interrupting counsel repeatedly and sometimes even interrupting each other. Justice Clarence Thomas, who has sat on the bench for nearly 30 years, has made his dislike of the chaotic process well known, at one point not asking a question for a full decade. But with no line of sight, the telephone arguments have to be rigidly organized, and

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to pick up in Alaska, Dr. Anne Zink, the state's chief medical officer, faced a difficult choice. Should she continue in-person meetings and nightly briefings with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy? Or should she opt for a more socially distant form of engagement? Zink chose the latter, saying she wanted to model the behavior that she has been appealing to residents to follow. She now appears at Dunleavy's briefings by video. And over the past two months, she has become a trusted voice as she urges Alaskans to follow the strict social distancing and other public health guidelines adopted by the state administration — which doctors groups have credited with keeping the state's COVID-19 numbers among the lowest in the country. Zink, who has a Facebook fan club and a #ThinkLikeZink hashtag , isn't the only public health official to acquire a cultlike following during the pandemic: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal infectious disease expert, has inspired a Saturday

Dr. Grace Farris is chief of hospital medicine at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan. She also writes a monthly comics column in the Annals of Internal Medicine called "Dr Mom." You can find her on Instagram @coupdegracefarris . Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Very briefly, at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020, there were slightly more women on American nonfarm payrolls than men. That's no longer true. The historically disastrous April jobs report shows that the brunt of job losses fell on women. Women now account for around just under half — 49% — of American workers, and they accounted for 55% of the increase in job losses last month. One way of looking at why that matters that is to look at the gap that opened up between women's and men's unemployment last month. The below chart shows women's unemployment rate minus men's unemployment rate since 2007. Usually, the line bumps around near or just below zero — meaning men's unemployment is usually near or slightly higher than women's. But that spike on the far right shows how women's unemployment leapt to be 2.7 points higher than men's in April. Women had an unemployment rate of 16.2% to men's 13.5% last month. That's uncommon for a recession. The below chart is a longer view, and the

Updated at 9:44 a.m. ET As a young woman growing up in a poor farming community in Virginia in the 1940 and '50s, with little information about sex or contraception, sexuality was a frightening thing for Carole Cato and her female friends. "We lived in constant fear, I mean all of us," she said. "It was like a tightrope. always wondering, is this going to be the time [I get pregnant]?" Cato, 78, now lives in Columbia, S.C. She grew up in the years before the birth control pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on May 9, 1960. She said teenage girls in her community were told very little about how their bodies worked. "I was very fortunate; I did not get pregnant, but a lot of my friends did. And of course, they just got married and went into their little farmhouses," she said. "But I just felt I just had to get out." At 23, Cato married a widower who already had seven children. They decided seven was enough. By that time, Cato said, the pill allowed the couple to

Airlines and airport operators in the United Kingdom are not waiting for the British government to publicly confirm their fears. Already, the groups representing major players in the U.K.'s air travel industry are pushing back on a proposal that would require travelers to quarantine after arriving from outside the country. A spokesperson for Airlines UK — a trade body with British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair as members — says the group understands from government officials that plans for a quarantine are in the works, but that details remain scarce at the moment. "We need to see the detail of what they are proposing. Public health must of course be the priority and we will continue to be guided by Sage advice," the group said in a statement emailed to NPR, noting that support measures will be necessary to ensure "that we still have a UK aviation sector once the quarantine period is lifted." "We will be asking for assurances that this decision has been led by the science and that

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt plays new music from Suzi Analogue and Liam Betson , and tells us about the lengths audiophiles will go to get pure sound . Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney and @KOSUryan .

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt plays new music from Aaron 'Ab' Abernathy , Drive-By Truckers , and Moses Sumney . Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney & @KOSUryan .

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt plays new music from A Tribe Called Quest , Magnificent Bird , and Sinkane . Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney & @KOSUryan .

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt plays his favorite songs of 2016 from Car Seat Headrest , Mitski , and Solange . Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney & @KOSUryan .

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt brings us new tunes by Los Campesinos! , Jay Som , and Benjamin Booker featuring Mavis Staples! Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney & @KOSUryan .

Educators, parents and students are all struggling to find their way through distance learning, but the challenges can be even greater for special education students.

While schools are closed, we're creating a series of "Talk of Iowa" episodes that will be fun and educational for learners of all ages. Every Tuesday, we'll learn about Iowa wildlife, and every Thursday, we'll learn about Iowa history.

On this episode of Talk of Iowa , Charity Nebbe invites Richard Jauron and Aaron Steil to talk about the best methods for planting trees this arbor day. Jauron and Steil also answer listener questions about the plants and trees in their lives. Guests: Aaron Steil , assistant director, Reiman Gardens Richard Jauron , extension horticulture specialist, Iowa State University

While schools are closed, we're creating a series of "Talk of Iowa" episodes that will be fun and educational for learners of all ages. Every Tuesday, we'll learn about Iowa wildlife, and every Thursday, we'll learn about Iowa history. The animals we’ll learn about on this edition of Talk of Iowa excel at swimming, holding their breaths and have coats that humans envy. Wildlife biologist Jim Pease will introduce listeners to some of the hairy critters that make their homes in Iowa’s wetlands. We’ll learn about muskrats and beavers, two members of the rodent family that may look a little clumsy on land, but move with precision and ease in the water. Beavers are known as nature’s engineers for their incredible lodges and dams, but muskrats are also good builders. Minks and river otters belong to the mustelid family. The two species resemble each other with their glossy coats and long bodies, but river otters are much larger than minks. Unlike the primarily vegetarian muskrat and beaver

What does it mean to find a sense of self in work? The new film " Working Man " explores this question through a group of laid off factory workers as they fight for the reopening of their fictional factory -- the last of its kind in the small Midwestern city where they live.

For the past 20 years, Iowa Public Radio’s Rob Dillard has been working hard to keep Iowans informed and share some of Iowa’s unique voices.

The first Iowa woman to summit Mount Everest back in 2016 is on a mission to climb all seven of the highest peaks in the world. The 7 summit seeker has one left – Mount Vinson on the continent of Antarctica. The mountain peaks at 4,892 meters or 16,050 feet high, and Iowa native and climber, Jen Loeb, is hoping to conquer her expedition in November of 2021.

In her book Eligible , author Curtis Sittenfeld retells the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice with a modern, Midwestern twist. The Bennet family lives in Cincinnati, Liz Bennet is a journalist in her late 30’s and the bachelors Bingley and Darcy are wealthy doctors with coastal ties.

While schools are closed, we're creating a series of "Talk of Iowa" episodes that will be fun and educational for learners of all ages. Every Tuesday, we'll learn about Iowa wildlife, and every Thursday, we'll learn about Iowa history. The nation is celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the 19 th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment gave women the right to vote. During this episode of Talk of Iowa , political scientist Karen Kedrowski explains how the 19 th Amendment was the culmination of a long battle for women’s suffrage, but it wasn’t the end of the fight for equal rights for women.

"To change the story, you have to change the storyteller."

Can you find compassion in your heart for the haters in your life?

At age 35, Stitch Fix founder Katrina Lake became the youngest female founder and CEO to take a company public in 2017.

Can an all-woman board move beyond empowerment, and get to actual power?

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. Each week, we’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. Each week, we’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.

Birgit Soyka stands in a large warehouse amongst 68 bird cages, each holding an exotic bird. The walls are covered in photos of brightly colored parrots, and bird-shaped tchotchkes dot the room. She cradles Boogie, a Congo African gray, and a regular guest at the San Francisco Bird Hotel, a spa and resort for birds. “Hi Boogie,” Soyka says; the bird coos in response. As the owner of the San Francisco Bird Hotel, Soyka takes care of Boogie and up to 150 other birds at a time. Her bird-boarding business started back in 2006, when Soyka, who says she’s always loved birds, agreed to “bird sit” a friend’s pet. “It was the beginning of a big snowball and avalanche,” Soyka says. “Out of this one bird came three birds, then 10 birds, then 100 birds.” In 2014, her small business turned into a full-blown bird spa and resort. At the Bird Hotel, all the cages are named after castles around the world; there’s Charlottenburg Palace, Hearst Castle and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few. There are

Jessie Beck, a biologist with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, is our captain on today ’ s inflatable boat commute to A ñ o Nuevo Island.

Here's the sound we played as a clue. We asked you to guess what exactly it is and where exactly in the Bay Area we recorded it.

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. We’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.

It’s Friday night on the corner of 16th and Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission District. Shops are closing up and folks that live out here are settling into vacant doorways. The traffic on the street sounds frustrated; revving, waiting, and beeping as the last of the commuters surface from the BART station and breeze by. Most of them don’t even notice a man in a poofy red and white mushroom hat, sorting through a tangled web of colored wires and extension cords.

This story originally aired in 2015. All week long, we've been playing this sound , and asking you to guess what exactly it is and where exactly in the Bay Area we recorded it. This auditory guessing game is part of Audiograph , a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the Bay Area’s sonic signature. Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you. Every Thursday, we tell you the story behind our weekly mystery sound on Crosscurrents , and here in weekly blog posts. Listen above for the full answer... SARAH CAHILL: “I heard some music coming from somewhere in the building, and I have to say it was a very sensuous experience wandering around thinking, 'oh its this way,' and making a turn and then encountering a little cage of love birds and a little fountain and a pool. I thought 'oh my god' what is this place?!" Congratulations to this week's winner, Joshua Raoul Brody ! Is there a sound from your life that should be featured on

The Census Bureau says it is continuing the gradual relaunch of limited field operations for the 2020 census next week in nine states where the coronavirus pandemic forced the hand-delivery of paper forms in rural areas to be suspended in mid-March. On May 13, some local census offices in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington are scheduled to restart that fieldwork, according to an updated schedule the bureau published on its website Friday. All workers are expected to be trained in CDC guidance in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and besides a new reusable face mask for every 10 days worked and a pair of gloves for each work day, the bureau has ordered 2 ounces of hand sanitizer for each census worker conducting field operations, the bureau tells NPR in an email. The announcement means more households that receive their mail at post office boxes or drop points are expected to find paper questionnaires left outside their