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Schools like the University of Mississippi School of Medicine are trying to recruit more Black students. But they face a swell of Republican opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

A team from NPR speaks with voters along a 15-mile road that cuts through the Milwaukee area's segregated neighborhoods as election season continues in this crucial swing state.

Each year the ARCS Foundation, San Diego Chapter, a non-profit organization led entirely by women, hosts a Scientist of the Year fundraiser to honor a preeminent local scientist. This year’s honoree, Dr. Terry Sejnowski, is one of the world’s foremost computer scientists and computational neuroscientists, whose visionary and ingenious work on neural networks laid the foundation for the machine learning and AI revolution that is taking the world by storm today. Dr. Sejnowski is head of Salk Institute’s Computational Neurobiology Laboratory and holder of the Frances Crick Chair. He is also a distinguished professor at UC San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences, where he is co-director of the Institute for Neural Computation. ARCS San Diego invites you to join them for a celebration of science and scientists that is set for Saturday, April 27 (4 - 8 p.m.) at The Conrad Performing Arts Center in La Jolla. In addition to honoring Dr. Sejnowski, the program will pay tribute to this year’s ARCS Scholars – all 50 of them – along with distinguished ARCS Scholar alumnus, Dr. Randall Kelley, who has served as Director of Data Science and Machine Learning at several major corporations. All funds raised at this event will support future ARCS Scholars. Through their research, these talented Scholars make outstanding contributions to advance science and keep America competitive on the global stage, which is the ARCS mission. ARCS San Diego has put together an exciting program for its signature event. About ARCS: The ARCS Foundation (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists), a national organization with 15 chapters across the country, provides financial awards to promising graduate students who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and medical research. Since its inception in 1985, the San Diego Chapter of ARCS has given more than $12.3 million to support graduate students at four local institutions: UCSD, SDSU, USD, and Scripps Research. For program details and to register, go to: san-diego.arcsfoundation.org Stay Connected on Facebook

Deidre McCalla’s songwriting reveals an unyieldingly honest perspective expressed with a lyric touch that relentlessly celebrates the power and diversity of the human spirit. She learned, at an early age, that life begins with an acoustic guitar. Her first album, Fur Coats and Blue Jeans, was released when Deidre was nineteen and a student at Vassar College. Deidre later studied jazz guitar at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. With five independent albums to her credit, Deidre has touched audiences from Maui to Maine, from church basements and college coffeehouses to Carnegie Hall. A Black woman, mother, lesbian, and feminist, Deidre has long been in the forefront of Black musicians redefining the understanding of how Black folk do folk. Deidre is riding high on her current release "Endless Grace" which dominated the June 2022 Folk Radio Charts as the #1 Album with the #1 Song, "Shoulder to The Wheel" and the #3 Song, "I Do Not Walk This Path Alone," and finished the year as the #13 Top Album. PopMatters, Rhythms Magazine, and the Folk Alley Listener Favorites Poll ranked Endless Grace among the Ten Best Folk albums for 2022. In 2023, Deidre’s song, "Shoulder to The Wheel," won the 19th Annual International Acoustic Music Award for Best Folk/Americana/Roots Song, making Deidre the first woman to ever win that category in IAMA history. A much-beloved performer, Deidre has shared the stage with a long list of notables that includes Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Holly Near, Odetta, Cris Williamson, and Sweet Honey in the Rock. She has taught performance at Warren Wilson College’s Swannanoa Gathering, and songwriting at Common Ground on the Hill. Deidre’s work has been published in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, The Original Coming Out Stories, and Chrysalis: A Feminist Quarterly, and she is featured in The Power of Words: A Transformative Language Arts Reader. Kevin Roth has shared his music with local audiences several times since moving to San Diego a half-dozen years ago. He has impressed listeners with his masterful playing, rich voice, and lyrics that range from profound to hilarious. Kevin began to play the dulcimer in 1972, at the old age of thirteen. At sixteen, he recorded his first album for Smithsonian Folkways Records, which immediately launched him into international fame. Between 1974 and 1984, Roth recorded ten albums with this label, establishing himself as a prominent folk singer and dulcimer player. In 1984, Kevin performed the theme to the PBS-TV children’s show "Shining Time Station," which brought him to another new and much larger market. In 2006, His friendship and collaboration with Noel Paul Stookey, of the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, further cemented Kevin in American folk history. His career has taken him to concert and symphony stages around the world, to festivals, to radio and television shows, and two appearances at the White House. As his career grew, Kevin became professionally and financially successful, winning numerous awards and partnering with prominent companies such as Sony, National Geographic, PBS, Random House, and Time Warner. Then came a sudden diagnosis of melanoma, and it changed his life. He had a choice to accept a death sentence or to live. He chose life. Through adapting and combining techniques from his music and performance practice with others that he researched, he found a simple and powerful method to change how he lived. Kevin discovered how to not just survive, but to become truly happy and thrive. Deidre McCalla's Socials: Facebook | Instagram | X

Photojournalists at NPR member stations documented protests at college and university campuses nationwide this week.

In its third year, NPR's College Podcast challenge received more than 500 entries from all around the U.S. We've listened to them all and narrowed it down to 10 finalists.

Colleges are just beginning to receive long-overdue FAFSA data. Meanwhile, students who've been accepted to college still face weeks before they receive aid offers.

Peggy Watson, David Beldock, and Paul Beach perform original acoustic folk, blues, and jazz. Together, the three are known for their dazzling musicianship, beautiful harmonies, and humorous stage presence. Before Paul joined them, David and Peggy were unlikely music partners. While David spent years performing with various bands, honing his rock and blues guitar playing, Peggy was rooted in contemporary folk traditions with occasional detours into jazz and pop. But when they joined forces, they discovered that writing songs together was a fun challenge that they could not resist. The result has been a collection of melodic, thoughtful, funny, and emotional songs that appeal to a wide range of listeners. Their styles span everything from folk to jazz to blues to show tunes. David Beldock is a guitar player and singer/songwriter. He has played in two of San Diego’s most renowned bands, Bordertown and Wooden Angel. His songs have won various awards, most notably from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and from Dr. Demento (which especially pleased him). His solo CDs, along with his collaborative CDs with Peggy, have received favorable reviews. Before meeting David, Peggy performed as a solo singer/songwriter. She played at coffee houses, concert series, and benefit concerts mostly in the San Diego region. Her wide vocal range and clear soprano voice have made her a standout among local singers. Peggy has used her talents to perform concerts benefitting AIDS organizations, international medical aid projects, and many other events supporting environmental justice and human rights. David has joined her in this tradition. Peggy’s CDs have received excellent reviews from local publications and one of her albums was selected to be part of a KPBS Radio premium membership package. Bass player Paul Beach is a gifted musician who worked with the late singer/songwriter Larry Robinson as well as many other renowned local performers. In the past, Paul toured with major bands in all fifty states and throughout the world. His credits include tours with Gary Puckett, Spanky and Our Gang, the Association, and the Mamas and the Papas. Deborah Liv Johnson was the third of five children, born to missionary parents in Tanzania, East Africa. Returning to the United States before her first birthday, Deborah was raised in the desert community of Ridgecrest, California. Her first love of music was drumming. Johnson attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, known to have “the best college choir in the world.” She did not, however, follow the straight and choral path. Instead, she lettered in track and developed a presence as a singer/songwriter with stints at the campus coffeehouse and downtown clubs. Graduating with a degree in creative writing, Johnson moved to San Diego to continue her music career. Image-rich lyrics and well-crafted melodies became her trademark. Often flying solo, Johnson’s performances showcase the eclectic nature of her songwriting, highlighting deft guitar work and vocals, as she moves easily between blues, ballads, folk, country, and jazz standards. Johnson has released eight CDs on her own Mojave Sun Records label. Over the years, Johnson has opened concerts for various name artists such as Dan Fogelberg, Don McLean, Spyro Gyra, Suzanne Vega, Arlo Guthrie, Nils Lofgren, John Stewart, Tom Chapin, Rita Coolidge, and Janis Ian. She has toured across the country and sung the national anthem for Hillary Clinton. For more information visit: sdfolkheritage.org

Set during a uniquely stressful summer for one Nantucket family, Gabriella Burnham's second novel highlights the strong bonds between a mom and her daughters.

Iowa and LSU drew the second-largest audience for any basketball game on ESPN since 2012, the network said. Reese said Wednesday that like Clark, she will leave college for the pros.