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App Allows Shy Students To Ask Questions Anonymously

Close to a million college kids use Piazza. Pooja Sankar, the apps' creator, says her company can't solve all the problems for women in computer science but she hopes it's making a difference.

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National Security

The Details Of Drones, From A Pilot Who Flew Them

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Lt. Col. T. Mark McCurley, a retired drone pilot who wrote the tactical manual for the Predator. His new memoir is called Hunter Killer.

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National Security

Surge In Cyberattacks Signals Strength Of Iran's Hard-Liners

The U.S. has noticed an uptick in cyberattacks from Iran. The hacks seem to be from hard-liners in Iran hoping to undermine better relations with the West, possibly in backlash to the nuclear deal.

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Planet Money

As New Tools Bust Down Barriers For The Blind, Schools Struggle To Keep Up

Apps can read a book aloud, and screen readers can translate websites into spoken language. These technologies have created opportunities for blind people, but many institutions have been slow to open up.

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Until now, Donald Trump has relied on traditional media to cover his campaign, like this book launch earlier this week.

Until now, Donald Trump has relied on traditional media to cover his campaign, like this book launch earlier this week. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

Politics

In First Radio Ads, Donald Trump Promises 'You'll Never Be Disappointed'

The bold ads will air in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In one of them a woman's voice says Trump, once president, will brutally and quickly cut the head off of ISIS.

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There was a lot of excitement in 2012, when the Hiriko car was unveiled at this event at European Union headquarters in Brussels. At the time, the then-president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, hailed the car as a trans-Atlantic "exchange between the world of science and the world of business."

There was a lot of excitement in 2012, when the Hiriko car was unveiled at this event at European Union headquarters in Brussels. At the time, the then-president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, hailed the car as a trans-Atlantic "exchange between the world of science and the world of business." Zhou Lei/Xinhua/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Zhou Lei/Xinhua/Landov

All Tech Considered

How A Folding Electric Vehicle Went From Car Of The Future To 'Obsolete'

Engineers at MIT developed an electric, shareable car that would fold to conserve parking spaces. A prototype was made for production in Europe. But why did this promising auto never hit the road?

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Twitter changed its "favorite" star icon to a "like" heart icon prompting largely negative responses from Twitter users. But is it the heart they hate? Or the change itself?

Twitter changed its "favorite" star icon to a "like" heart icon prompting largely negative responses from Twitter users. But is it the heart they hate? Or the change itself? Screenshot by NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Screenshot by NPR

The Two-Way

Why No Love For Twitter's Hearts?

Twitter changed its "favorite" icon from a yellow star to a red heart. Twitter users aren't loving it, but NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam predicts it's just a matter of time.

Business

Amazon Opens First Permanent Brick And Mortar Bookstore In Seattle

Amazon is opening its first permanent brick and mortar bookstore in Seattle. The company often tries out new products and ideas in its hometown, and if this does well, it could be a harbinger of things to come.

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Business

Gaming Company Activision Blizzard Buys 'Candy Crush' Developer

King Digital, the Swedish studio behind the "Candy Crush" puzzle game, is selling itself to Activision Blizzard for $5.9 billion. The goal of this corporate game: converting Crush players into paying customers interested in other online pastimes.

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The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that additional diesel Volkswagens were equipped with "defeat devices," making them run more cleanly during testing.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that additional diesel Volkswagens were equipped with "defeat devices," making them run more cleanly during testing. Markus Schreiber/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Markus Schreiber/AP

The Two-Way

EPA Says It Has Found More 'Defeat Devices' In Volkswagen Cars

The U.S. government says the German automaker's software allowed 10,000 more diesel cars than it had acknowledged earlier to run more cleanly during emissions testing than in real-world conditions.

All Tech Considered

What Happens When Your Lights, Appliances Are Connected To The Internet

What's the point of Internet-connected light bulbs and how do they work? This week's All Tech Considered segment explores benefits, concerns and possible implications of the Internet of Things.

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A startup in Austin, Texas, has built the prototype of a tiny home that could stack up, in a "rack," and move when you do.

A startup in Austin, Texas, has built the prototype of a tiny home that could stack up, in a "rack," and move when you do. Kasita hide caption

itoggle caption Kasita

All Tech Considered

Could A Tiny Mobile Studio Solve Your Housing Crisis?

For decades, architects have worked to turn shipping containers into homes and mock up cities that are plug and play. Now a startup in Texas is building a luxury studio that would travel when you do.

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