NPR News & Stories From WUNC

Golf is hundreds of years old, and even today, it’s known more for its traditions than memes. And that makes for a tricky proposition for Jay Monahan, the newish PGA Tour commissioner. “Five years ago, when you came to a PGA tournament, we didn’t let you bring your cellphone on site," he said. Monahan talks with us about bringing social media onto the green, competing against other sports like football and what it’s like when your biggest stars are essentially freelancers.  

(Markets Edition) The 10-year Treasury yield remains above 3 percent, which some are blaming for our market decline. We'll talk with Susan Schmidt, senior portfolio manager at Westwood Holdings Group, about why this narrative might be wrong. Afterwards, we'll look at the connection between high gas prices and SUV/pick-up truck sales, and then we'll visit Midland, Texas, to find out why the region — one of the richest in the nation — has schools that consistently rank among the poorest in Texas. 

Every day, nearly half a million workers stream into the white stone banks and office buildings in the City of London, a single square mile at the historic core of greater London.

It’s the financial capital of Europe, but it’s not all business.

Hidden behind courtyard walls and through narrow passageways are roughly 200 open spaces designed to provide the workers of the city some respite from its hustle and bustle.

The University of Alabama football team is visiting the White House, again, on Tuesday to receive its congratulations. Back in January, Alabama captured its fifth college football championship in nine years, an unprecedented run of success (unless you go back to Princeton and Yale’s dominance in the late 19th century).

For years, low gas prices fueled sales of SUVs and pickup trucks, and low interest rates made it easier for car buyers to trade up every time some shiny new technology came along. But with gas prices and interest rates rising, and tariffs on imported aluminum and steel driving up costs, automakers are facing an uncertain future.

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(U.S. Edition) As the U.S. increasingly looks to Europe as a model for how to regulate internet companies, we'll look at how Europe is cracking down on one popular communication tool. There's word Whatsapp, which allows you to text and make voice and video calls using encrypted Wi-Fi, will cut off kids under 16. Afterwards, we'll talk to Zanny Minton Beddoes — editor in chief of The Economist — about how she thinks liberalism should adapt to the needs of the 21st century.

Found Furnishings is a second-hand furniture store in what locals call “old Midland.”

Kristen Covington, the owner, grew up in the area and went to public schools in the Midland Independent School District. She and her husband have kids age 2 and 5, and education weighs on her mind a lot. 

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service … The fifth time might just be a charm for Japanese drug maker Takeda in its bid to buy Shire. What’s the Irish company’s big allure, and how much is Takeda willing to pay? Then, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 3 percent for the first time in four years. How does it impact you, and why does that level matter? Afterwards, today marks three years since Nepal was hit with a series of deadly earthquakes. We’ll take you to Kathmandu where one architect thinks he has the answer for making more indestructible buildings. 

When Nepal's twin earthquakes hit three years ago, entire Himalayan villages disappeared beneath tons of earth and rock. Hindu temples dating back to the 10th century shattered into shards of carved wood and stone. Urban glass and steel buildings toppled.

But seven miles from the first epicenter, a three-room public school — built to demonstrate local earthquake-proof techniques — was still standing amid the national ruin of 9,000 fatalities and 800,000 homes destroyed.

The Economist magazine celebrates its 175th anniversary this year. The publication, according to current editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, was founded to espouse "classical liberalism," or the belief that open societies, freer trade and the preservation of individual freedom are important to modern progress. 

But the rising popularity of protectionist policies in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries has led Minton Beddoes to reevaluate liberalism's role in the world. 

Political campaigns want your data. At least that’s what the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal taught us. But data isn’t just a factor in presidential politics. Local campaigns collect lots of data as well, and that data needs to be secured. Marketpalce Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about what kinds of information smaller campaigns have.