Top Stories from NCPR

(Apr 6, 2021) Efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic have meant clearing the performance schedules of countless musicians. One cellist in Ottawa has embraced this chance to dig a little deeper, redefining himself during isolation, and he suggests we all do the same.

(Mar 18, 2021) You can get the sugar out of a lot of trees, but there's something special about the sugar maple. Its trunk is highly efficient at storing and moving sap. That's in part because the sap is stored throughout the trunk, rather then down in the roots, as with most trees in winter. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look at that other "sweet science," the one behind our favorite breakfast condiment.

(Mar 18, 2021) Child Care advocates say it needs to be treated as a public good. COVID-19 stimulus programs are treating it that way.

(Mar 11, 2021) Imagine going out to your mailbox each month, and picking up a $300 check for each of your children. That’s what the new child tax credit will look like. And it's a big deal for middle and low income families.

(Mar 4, 2021) Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss cosmic rays. While many people may think cosmic rays only affect astronauts or satellites - objects in space - computers and other electronic equipment on Earth can be affected, too.

(Feb 11, 2021) In general, plants make food from sunlight, and animals fuel themselves by "burning" oxygen. But some animals think outside the box.

Curt Stager and Martha Foley look at a photosynthetic slug that hijacks the genetic machinery of the algae in its diet, and at a jellyfish that needs no oxygen, burning the alternative fuels of hydrogen and sulfur.

(Feb 2, 2021) On February 21, 1912, disaster struck in the form of a train collision on the New York Central Railroad line between Utica and Ogdensburg.

The story goes like this: the winter of 1912 - especially February - was a pretty rough month weather-wise for the Northeast. Record-setting low temperatures and frequent snowstorms were disrupting the railroad, and supplies were running low in small communities that relied on it.

(Feb 1, 2021) The COVID-19 vaccine continues to be distributed to the 7 million New Yorkers in groups 1A and 1B. They include healthcare workers, teachers, and people over the age of 65.

Getting the vaccine is a fairly simple procedure; signing up for it is proving to be a lot harder, especially for those uncomfortable with modern technology, like computers and smartphones. That’s where New York State’s Offices for the Aging are stepping in.

(Jan 28, 2021) It's the reason opposites attract and doorknobs shock, why lightning strikes, and the way bumblebees find the sweet spot in flowers. Whenever an object has more or fewer electrons than its neighbor, there is the potential for static discharge.

Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about the mysterious and hair-raising ways of static electricity.

(Jan 26, 2021) The way we socialize and see friends during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed drastically. To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, keeping our social distance, wearing masks, and hanging out outdoors have become norms.

Of course, balmy summer temperatures are a lot easier than January snowstorms.