A mysterious radio pirate thrives in Chicago; how to *really* have fun; a dispatch from Ukraine

Plus, a tantalizing COVID mystery. [View this email online]( [Best of NPR]( April 10, 2022 This week, we look at a 68-year-old illegally broadcasting “audio noir” in Chicago, advice on how to inject playfulness in your life, and a dispatch from Borodyanka, Ukraine. Plus, our reporter investigates how her daughter dodged COVID-19. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott’s weekly weigh-in Mikhail Klimentyev/AP A good weekend to you. The accounts of Russian devastation in Ukraine have been horrifying. President Biden’s vow to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes was clear and moral. But as someone who has covered wars and savagery, [in this week’s essay I wondered]( Do pledges of prosecution ever really discourage more crimes? This week, we also got to [welcome the great Irish poet Colm Toibin]( (his voice, by the way, could make a tax form sound like poetry). Vinegar Hill is his lifetime collection. Linger over his poem about his parents and his own mortality, “Two Plus One”: I have their two weak hearts in one. Kae Tempest, the British spoken-word artist, [spoke with us about their LP]( The Line is A Curve, in which they say they search for a life with “Less deceit/Less complex/More complete.” Andrea Arnold has a stunning new documentary, Cow, that’s almost wordless, but powerfully expressive. [It’s presented through the eyes of Luma]( a mother cow. It’s all concrete and steel and may make you question the milk you pour over your cereal. A sad postscript to our story last week on Flee Club, a shoe store owned by two Chicago boyhood friends, that has been repeatedly robbed. They told us they want to stay open, “because we’re doing stuff to build our community.” But a day after our interview, they were robbed again and [now say they want to leave their hometown.]( And Delia Ephron [lifted our hearts speaking about her memoir]( Left on Tenth. In short order, she was rocked by the death of her sister, her husband, her beloved dog — and then by her own leukemia. "Life gave me a story so big,” she told us, “that I simply had to write it.” We’re glad she shared it with us, too. [Scott Simon]( Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of [Weekend Edition Saturday]( and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him [on Twitter](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Stories you might have missed Nickolai Hammar/NPR This is what a team of NPR reporters saw in one town in Ukraine after Russian troops withdrew. Burned-out cars. Apartment buildings blackened from flames. Shattered storefronts. An artist swaddling a statue with symbolic medical gauze. Many residents here, in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, are [confronting the startling wreckage]( wrought by the Russians — and are waiting grievously for the remains of loved ones to be uncovered from the ashes. Our science correspondent’s child was exposed to COVID — but never caught it. Why? Michaeleen Doucleff’s 6-year-old daughter, Rosy, has been exposed to the coronavirus at least four times over the course of the pandemic, but every time, she seems to have escaped an infection. Many people fall into that category — maybe even you. [New research offers a tantalizing hint as to why.]( It all boils down to two key tools: cells originally made to fight another coronavirus, and a little-talked-about arm of the immune system called the RIG-I pathway. A newly arrived bird flu is ravaging wild bird populations in the U.S. — spelling trouble for poultry farmers who are trying to shield their flocks. And this outbreak isn’t likely to burn itself out like past ones. More than 40 wild bird species in 30 states have already tested positive for the virus, with some succumbing to mass die-offs. So far, the risk to humans seems low — but one expert at the CDC [says the agency is watching intently.]( How do you have real fun, even when life’s got you down? When we have true fun, we stave off loneliness and come away with energy that buoys us. [One author shares a handy acronym]( that might just help spark some playfulness in your life. --------------------------------------------------------------- Want a stream of major developments on the war in Ukraine delivered to your phone? [Join NPR’s Telegram channel]( for the latest news in one, easy-to-access place. --------------------------------------------------------------- From our member station [STATION]( Keith Srakocic/AP This retired audio engineer is running a pirate radio station in Chicago. 87.9 FM airs an eclectic array of "audio noir" — crime-thriller radio dramas, complete with melodramatic music — over a 2-square-mile sweet spot on Chicago's North Side. It's all illegally broadcast by Bill, a 68-year-old self-described "bad-boy nerd," from a nondescript two-flat on a residential block. The genesis of the station? He has insomnia, and the plotlines from Dragnet and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar help him fall asleep. And he’s not alone. [But the project is not without its risks.]( — WBEZ, Chicago --------------------------------------------------------------- Before you go... Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images - The U.S. Capitol fox's rampage fascinated folks. But for those afflicted by its rabies-carrying bite, there's a big shock: [the price of treatment.]( - Here's the [latest thinking on testing]( isolation and treatment if you test positive for COVID at this stage of the pandemic. - Mortgage rates just hit a sky-high 5%. That’s forcing some people to close the door on [their homeownership dreams.]( - A woman punched the wrong number on a lottery machine after a “rude person” bumped her. [Her ticket was a $10 million winner.]( - Details about Russian President Vladimir Putin's daughters, who now face U.S. and U.K. sanctions, have long been shrouded in secrecy. [Here's what we do know.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? 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