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Steve Inskeep, Renee Montagne
Bob Leweke

Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. National hosts Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep, and local host Bob Leweke, bring the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite you to experience the stories.

On any given day, topics may include reports on the Supreme Court from Nina Totenberg; education from Claudio Sanchez; health coverage from Joanne Silberner; and the latest on national security from Tom Gjelten. Steve and Renee interview newsmakers: from politicians, to academics, to filmmakers. In-depth stories explore topics like "digital generations" about the effect of technology on the way we live; special series delve into the intersection of science and art, and discover the untold stories of the country's Hidden Kitchens.

Morning Edition, it's a world of ideas tailored to fit into your busy life.

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Marfa, Texas: An Unlikely Art Oasis In A Desert Town

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Credit Art (c) Judd Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

In the 1970s, minimalist artist Donald Judd moved to Marfa, Texas, where he created giant works of art that bask beneath vast desert skies. In the years since, Marfa has emerged as a hot spot for art tourism.

Credit Brian Santa Maria / iStockphoto.com

This summer, NPR's Destination Art series is going off the beaten path to visit small to midsize North American cities that have cultivated lively arts scenes. And we want to hear from you! Where's your favorite art hot spot? What makes it unique? Tell us about it.

Credit Matt Slocum / AP

Prada, Marfa is a faux boutique displaying luxury bags and shoes in the middle of the sparse Texas landscape. It was created in 2005 by artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset.

Credit Citoyen du Monde Inc / Flickr

Though the locals have mixed feelings about being an art mecca, Kaki Aufdengarten-Scott, Marfa's one-woman chamber of commerce, says without art tourism, "this town would have dried up and blown away."

Credit ydhsu / Flickr

The Marfa Book Co. is run by poet Tim Johnson, who doesn't think Judd would approve of Marfa's emergence as a chic art world destination.

Credit Neda Ulaby / NPR

"You just come out here and you feel like, I want to make something; I want to do something!" explains sculptor Campbell Bosworth. Above, a creative car, spotted on the street in Marfa.

By Neda Ulaby

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:36 pm

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This tiny town perched on the high plains of the Chihuahua desert is nothing less than an arts world station of the cross, like Art Basel in Miami, or Documenta in Germany. It's a blue-chip arts destination for the sort of glamorous scenesters who visit Amsterdam for the Rijksmuseum and the drugs.

"They speak about Marfa with the same kind of reverent tones generally reserved for the pilgrimage of the Virgin of Lourdes," notes Carolina Miranda, a writer who covers the art world.

5:18 pm

Wed August 1, 2012

'The Wrestler' Grapples With Myth, Power And Love

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Credit Ron Tanovitz

By editor

Originally published on Mon August 13, 2012 10:15 am

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A Muslim-American poet and novelist of Indian descent, Kazim Ali's work has been featured in Best American Poetry and the American Poetry Review. He teaches at Oberlin College.

11:48 am

Wed August 1, 2012

Eight Badminton Players Disqualified From Olympics

By Steve Inskeep

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 7:31 am

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Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Olympics, in London last night, featured the best and worst of athletic behavior. American swimmer, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever, winning his 18th and 19th career medals. But over at the badminton arena, eight women competing in doubles events seemed to do their best to lose, which has led to an uproar, not to mention an endless number of puns on the word: badminton.

NPR's Howard Berkes joins us from London to talk about both developments. Hi, Howard.

HOWARD BERKES, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

7:18 am

Wed August 1, 2012

Utah Town, Pop. 2 Llamas, For Sale: $3.9 Million

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Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 7:31 am

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. This might test the strength of the real estate recovery. A town is for sale - Woodside, a ghost town, a former railroad stop outside Salt Lake City. For $3.9 million you could own a dead gold mine, a geyser, and old buildings. The town is said to be near a former hideout of Butch Cassidy's gang, not the actual hideout, but near it. The buyer even gets the town's two current residents - a pair of free-range llamas. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Strange News

7:18 am

Wed August 1, 2012

London Cabbie Offers His Car As Olympics Lodging

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Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 7:31 am

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Rent is notoriously high in London and especially so during the Olympic Games. That's why David Weeks stuffed his cab with a mattress, radio, mini-fridge and teddy bear. The cabbie is parking it outside his flat to rent out to tourists for about 80 bucks a night, much cheaper than most hotels, but there's still rules - no smoking and no pets. The vacancy sign is still on, but he's calling it the Hail-a-Hotel. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Sweetness And Light

5:12 am

Wed August 1, 2012

Four Sports Superstars, Four Years Later

Credit Matt Slocum / AP

Michael Phelps reacts after winning silver in the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the Aquatics Centre on Tuesday. South Africa's Chad le Clos took home the gold.

By Frank Deford

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 4:34 pm

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Let us go back an Olympiad, to August of 2008. Incredibly, then, in all four of the world's most popular men's individual sports, we were at a time when, quite possibly, the four greatest champions ever in each of those sports was at or near his peak.

There they were, as the Beijing Olympics began:

Tiger Woods, 32 years old, still a prime age for a golfer, winner of his 14th major, the U.S. Open, only a few weeks ago — gloriously alone at the top.

4:59 am

Wed August 1, 2012

As Islamists Gain, Mali's Tradition Under Threat

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Credit Rebecca Blackwell / AP

A soldier wears a button bearing the image of coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo with the words 'President, CNRDRE,' the French acronym of the ruling junta, as he stands guard at junta headquarters in Kati, outside Bamako, Mali.

Credit Romaric Ollo / AFP/Getty Images

Islamist rebels of Ansar Dine near Timbuktu, in rebel-held northern Mali, during the release of a Swiss hostage on April 24.

By Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 7:31 am

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Hard-line Islamists in northern Mali stoned a reportedly unmarried couple to death for adultery last Sunday. Analysts worry this is growing evidence of the rebel fighters' avowed intention to impose strict Islamic law in the vast territory under their control.

Another version of the story put about by an al-Qaida-linked militant group is that the couple was married but engaging in extramarital affairs.

4:56 am

Wed August 1, 2012

The Ghostly Grandeur Of A Desert Graveyard

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Credit Stacy Kendrick / Concordia Cemetery

A couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos at the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.

Credit Henry Flores

A photo provided by Henry Flores shows a headstone with what some believe is a ghost in the frame, perched behind the tomb.

Credit Melissa Sargent

The grave of John Wesley Hardin draws many visitors and historians to Concordia.

Credit Melissa Sargent

During a recent tour, the cemetery's visitors included a dog, who sought a cool place to rest.

Credit Stacy Kendrick

A couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos at the Concordia Cemetery.

Credit Melissa Sargent

The cemetery holds the graves of men who came from China to build the intercontinental railroad in the 1800s.

Credit Melissa Sargent

With more than 60,000 graves, Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas, is an easy place in which to get lost. The graveyard covers some 52 acres.

Credit Melissa Sargent

An infant grave for Cynthia Jimenez. The children's section of the cemetery is said to be haunted.

By Neda Ulaby

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 7:31 am

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It's a raggedy moonscape; no lush green grass or tranquil arbors here. Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas, just a few blocks from the Mexican border, is stark and dusty. It's overrun with crumbling concrete markers and old wooden crosses gone askew. And it goes on ... and on ... and on.

"It's 52 acres," says Bernie Sargent, chair of the El Paso County Historical Commission. "Sixty thousand people buried here. And they're all dead."

The Grave Of A Wild West Legend

12:43 am

Wed August 1, 2012

'Once More,' Passing The Torch To One And All

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Credit Ron Tanovitz

By editor

Originally published on Mon August 13, 2012 10:14 am

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Representing Europe in NPR's Poetry Games is Slovenian poet Ales Steger. Steger's first work translated into English, The Book of Things, won last year's Best Translated Book Award for Poetry. The translator was poet Brian Henry, who also translated Steger's Olympic poem, "Once More."

8:04 am

Tue July 31, 2012

Police Use Their Heads To Hem In Runaway Hamster

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Destination Art

5:32 am

Thu August 2, 2012