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The Treadmill of Stigma, Language and Mental Illnesses

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A military aide holds up the Congressional Medal of Honor. The 2005 Stolen Valor Act makes false claims about receiving military medals punishable by up to one year in prison.

By Edward Schumacher-Matos

Originally published on Thu March 1, 2012 11:45 am

Veteran reporter Nina Totenberg hit a nerve for some Morning Edition listeners last week when she asked a lawyer whether or not his client, Xavier Alvarez, was a "nutcase."

4:14 pm

Thu March 1, 2012

Marc Maron Learns How To Be A 'Sensitive Man' With Nick Lowe

Credit Courtesy of the artist

By Dan Raby

Originally published on Thu March 1, 2012 2:00 pm

When you've been making catchy pop songs as long as Nick Lowe has it's okay to look to classic sounds for inspiration. Lowe's new song, "Sensitive Man," finds the sexagenarian rocker digging deep into the essence of '50s Sun Records-era rock. The song could feel right at home on a jukebox next to a tune by The Crickets or Jerry Lee Lewis. The backing vocals, Tijuana Brass horns and jangly guitar sounds look to the past but aren't stodgy nor simply nostalgic.

4:07 pm

Thu March 1, 2012

Nation's Toughest Immigration Law Stays Put For Now

Credit John Amis / AP

A line of people wait outside the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments over tough new laws targeting illegal immigration in Alabama and Georgia on Thursday.

By Corey Dade

Portions of Alabama's strict immigration law will remain in force until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on its predecessor, the Arizona statue that ignited a national firestorm in the debate over illegal immigration.

A panel of three judges from an Atlanta federal appeals court decided Thursday to put off action on lawsuits against measures in Alabama and Georgia. Oral arguments are set for April 25 before the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Arizona's enforcement policy.

4:03 pm

Thu March 1, 2012

Will The New AK-47 Be As Popular As The Original?

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Credit Luis Robayo / Getty Images

A Colombian police officer stands guard next to seized Chinese-made AK-47 replicas on Nov. 18, 2009. The guns have become so ubiquitous around the world that Russia's planned redesign may not do much to booster sales.

Credit Henri Huet / AP

A 14-year-old Vietnamese boy points an AK-47 in 1968. The Vietnam War became the first large conflict in which both sides carried assault rifles.

Credit John Downing / Express/Getty Images

A Sudanese fighter holds his AK-47 at the ready in 1971. The gun's simple, intuitive design has made it popular among small-arms dealers, as well as insurgents, terrorists and child soldiers.

Credit Matias Recart / AFP/Getty Images

A man is arrested by a policeman armed with an AK-47 after violent clashes erupted during a 1993 general transportation strike in Managua, Nicaragua.

Credit Matias Recart / AFP/Getty Images

Young rebels in Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo, play with their AK-47s in the city of Goma in 1996.

Credit Abdelhak Senna / AFP/Getty Images

Russian commanders gave Kalashnikov rifles to Chechen militiamen who helped in the fight against Islamic militants in 1999.

Credit AP

An undated photo of Osama bin Laden shows him with an AK-47 in his lap.

Credit AFP / Getty Images

A Congolese fighter carries two AK-47s past burning bushes following strife in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003.

Credit Mohammed Sawaf / AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi police cadets are trained to use AK-47s in Karbala, Iraq, on March 26, 2009.

Credit Keystone / Getty Images

The first time the automatic Kalashnikov, or AK-47, was used in a conflict was 1956, when the Soviet Army entered Hungary to crush a popular uprising in Budapest.

By editor

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:59 am

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The Kalashnikov assault rifle, or AK-47, is one of the most dangerous and widely used weapons in the world. For more than 60 years, nations, rebels, gangsters and child soldiers have wielded the gun.

And now, Russian officials say it's outdated. As part of a $700 billion army modernization program, the country has announced a redesign of the rifle.

New York Times foreign correspondent C.J. Chivers — author of The Gun, a book about the Kalashnikov — tells NPR's Audie Cornish that the updates are mostly cosmetic.

3:35 pm

Thu March 1, 2012

Seattle's First Urban Food Forest Will Be Free To Forage

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Credit iStockphoto.com

Designers of a food forest in Seattle want to make blueberry picking a neighborly activity.

Credit Courtesy of Glenn Herlihy

If all goes well in the food forest's 2-acre trial plot, the whole 7-acre park will look something like this.

By editor

If you're a regular reader of The Salt, you've probably noticed our interest in foraging. From San Francisco to Maryland, we've met wild food experts, nature guides and chefs passionate about picking foods growing in their backyards.

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