Episodes

  • Kris Bowers On The Evolution Of Music In 'The Wild Robot'

    Kris Bowers On The Evolution Of Music In 'The Wild Robot'
    Dec 25 2024
    Kris Bowers is no stranger to using music to build a world. The Oscar-winning composer has worked on films like "Green Book," 'Origin," and "The Color Purple," and on the hit Netflix series "Bridgerton." He's also known for his on-the-spot compositions, illustrated in this conversation with 1A Entertainment Correspondent John Horn.

    His latest project is "The Wild Robot". In the animated feature directed by Chris Sanders, Roz is a robot is marooned on a deserted island, unable to communicate with the animals and the natural world she finds herself in.

    As her programming evolves, and as she learns to speak to her animal neighbors, the score evolves with her.

    Kris Bowers joins us to talk about putting music to this wild world.

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    30 mins
  • Game Mode: Tetris Turns 40

    Game Mode: Tetris Turns 40
    Dec 24 2024
    Think back to the first time someone told you about the game Tetris. Was it a friend? An older sibling or a parent? Maybe you saw someone playing it at an arcade.

    How long did it take you to get what Tetris is — what you had to accomplish in the game and how to play it?

    2024 boasts the 40th anniversary of the classic game of falling blocks, known as tetrominoes.

    More than 520 million copies of Tetris have been sold since its worldwide release in the 1980s.

    For our series "Game Mode", we're setting up to stack — looking at the game's history and why it became and has stayed popular.

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    28 mins
  • How Reforestation Efforts Could Be The Key To Fighting Climate Change

    How Reforestation Efforts Could Be The Key To Fighting Climate Change
    Dec 23 2024
    Most of us know that trees can help reduce the impacts of climate change by taking in carbon dioxide.

    Most of us also know that scientists and environmental authorities have been sounding alarms for the better part of the last decade about the devastating effects of climate change.

    Could trees store enough carbon, with a lot of help from us, to offset humanity's carbon emissions? What's the role of trees in our fight against climate change? And what's better left to other climate solutions?

    We talk to an author whose new book explores whether or not serious reforestation efforts can really be an effective solution to reducing the carbon in our atmosphere.

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    29 mins
  • 1A Presents: Milk Street Kitchen's Holiday Lollapalooza: The Best of 2024

    1A Presents: Milk Street Kitchen's Holiday Lollapalooza: The Best of 2024
    Dec 22 2024
    It's no surprise we love talking about food here at 1A.

    From the latest cookbooks to answering your questions about your favorite foods.

    As a holiday treat, we're bringing you highlights from the latest episode of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio Podcast.

    For the complete episode, and to learn more about Milk Street be sure to visit milkstreetradio.com.

    Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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    33 mins
  • The News Roundup For December 20, 2024

    The News Roundup For December 20, 2024
    Dec 20 2024
    Just hours before federal funding for the government runs out, Congress is left scrambling to find a way to keep the government open after midnight tonight.

    Meanwhile, a New York judge has decided that Trump can't use his presidential immunity to shed his felony conviction.

    And Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism.

    In global news, following the fall of the Assad regime, prosecutors, aid workers, and journalists are learning more about the atrocities committed under Syria's former president.

    Israeli attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza have left the medical facilities barely able to provide basic care and no longer capable of surgical procedures or maternal services.

    And Canada's embattled prime minister, Justin Trudeau, saw his position as the country's leader weaken this week after the resignation of his finance minister.

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • The Trials, Tribulations, And Triumphs Of Holiday Travel

    The Trials, Tribulations, And Triumphs Of Holiday Travel
    Dec 19 2024
    It's the holiday season.

    And that means time spent with friends, with family, and... in the car. Or a plane. Or a train. Or maybe even by boat.

    But one thing's for sure. America will be on the move here soon if it's not already.

    Where are we going, what's waiting for us when we get there, and why is it so difficult sometimes to get where we need to go at the end of another year?

    Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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    32 mins
  • The Science Behind Talking To Yourself

    The Science Behind Talking To Yourself
    Dec 18 2024
    Have you ever gotten into an impassioned argument in the shower with a sparring partner who... wasn't actually there?

    How about replaying a dinner party conversation from weeks ago but this time, you know exactly what to say and you're saying it... to yourself?

    Whether the dialogue is in our heads or said aloud, many of us talk to ourselves, even if we don't realize it. But oftentimes the habit is seen as strange — especially if there are others around.

    We get into why so many of us talk to ourselves, and what the benefits of self-talk.

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    30 mins
  • What Lower Interest Rates Mean For The Economy

    What Lower Interest Rates Mean For The Economy
    Dec 17 2024
    The Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates after two years of rate hikes to the highest levels in decades.

    It meets again this week to decide whether to cut them again, or keep them as is.

    High interest rates made the cost of borrowing high, meaning that car loans, credit card debt, and mortgages cost exponentially more than before the pandemic.

    We discuss how the Fed's decision to lower rates affects the economy.

    Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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    31 mins