Goats and Soda We're all neighbors on our tiny globe. The poor and the rich and everyone in between. We'll explore the downs and ups of life in this global village.
Goats and Soda

Goats and Soda

STORIES OF LIFE IN A CHANGING WORLD

Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege has spent nearly 25 years campaigning against sexual violence and aiding survivors. On Thursday, he won the $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. In his remarks, he paid tribute to the survivors. "These women stand up again after being subjected to extreme violence and not only reclaim their own strength but also extend a helping hand to others." Joel Saget /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joel Saget /AFP via Getty Images

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , who is running as a third party candidate for president, made news this week for his deposition from 2012 that "a worm ... got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

RFK Jr. is not alone. More than a billion people have parasitic worms

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The Taliban has a history of supporting the use of stoning as a punishment for "moral crimes" — reiterated in a statement this year by their supreme leader. Above: In 2015, Afghan Solidarity members gather in Kabul to protest Taliban militants who stoned an Afghan woman to death in the Taliban-controlled area outside Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor province. She was accused of adultery. Wakil Kohsar /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Wakil Kohsar /AFP via Getty Images

Taliban affirms that stoning will be punishment for adulterers — especially women

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Franziska Barczyk for NPR

The invisible lives — and deaths — of the children of sex workers

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Tommy Trenchard picks up coins with his toes. Aurélie Marrier d'Unienville hide caption

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Aurélie Marrier d'Unienville

Those weird quirks siblings have in common? Darwin had a theory

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A child receives a measles vaccination at a clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe, where a 2022 outbreak saw some 700 children die from the highly infectious childhood disease. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP hide caption

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Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Don't just sneeze without a tissue! That's the message of this early pandemic era graffiti in Dakar, Senegal. The World Health Organization has just issued an updated report on the way SARS-CoV-2 spreads. Take our quiz to see if you're up on your COVID terminology. Seyllou /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Seyllou /AFP via Getty Images

A photo of Ajmal Khan on his way to Western Europe to find work, taken by a travel companion and sent by Khan to his family in Afghanistan via WhatsApp. The 17-year-old drowned when crossing the Drina River near the city of Bijeljina in Bosnia-Herzegovina — part of a common route for migrants as they head toward wealthier European countries. Courtesy of the family hide caption

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Courtesy of the family

The Imvanex vaccine is one of two available vaccines that are used to protect against the mpox virus. Vaccines were widely used during the 2022 mpox outbreak. But currently no vaccines are available in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has reported thousands of cases so far this year. Alain Jocard /POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Alain Jocard /POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Caitlynn Almance (wearing orange) poses for a portrait with family members at her parents' home in Odessa, Texas. "The bond my siblings have with each other — it's just the most beautiful bond ever," says Caitlynn, who was six months pregnant in this photo taken in early March. Danielle Villasana for NPR hide caption

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Danielle Villasana for NPR

How do you get siblings to be nice to each other? These Latino families have an answer

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Scholars Susan Ashbrook Harvey, left, and Robin Darling Young became 'sworn siblings' after an ancient ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Keren Carrion/NPR; Jodi Hilton for NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrion/NPR; Jodi Hilton for NPR

How two good friends became sworn siblings — with the revival of an ancient ritual

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Although matzo sold in supermarkets is typically square, the round matzo is believed to be the earliest form of this unleavened bread that is eaten during the Passover holiday as a symbol of both suffering and freedom. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Surviving children of the Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the camps the Nazis had set up to exterminate Jews and kill millions of others. Research into the appropriate way to "re-feed" those who've experienced starvation was prompted by the deaths of camp survivors after liberation. ullstein bild/Getty Images hide caption

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ullstein bild/Getty Images

What World War II taught us about how to help starving people today

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The grass pea — Lathyrus sativus — is hardy and drought resistant. It tastes like a sugar snap pea, although if that's all you were to eat its natural toxin could make you sick. But breeders might be able to address that issue. Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images hide caption

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Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images

What are 'orphan crops'? And why is there a new campaign to get them adopted?

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Bernard Chiira founded the Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust or AT4D. It is an accelerator that has supported 45 startups from 11 countries. Many of the startups aim to help people with disabilities access the technologies they need – including wheelchairs. Gabrielle Emanuel/NPR hide caption

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Gabrielle Emanuel/NPR

An EMT wearing personal protective equipment prepares to unload COVID-19 transfer patients in the early days of the pandemic. The Biden Administration has just announced a new program aimed at preventing the next pandemic. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

Joel Breman trains scientists in malaria diagnosis in Côte d'Ivoire, 1986. Breman died this month at age 87. Courtesy of the Breman family. hide caption

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Courtesy of the Breman family.