Kind, charming and full of love: These are the moms who shaped NPR readers' lives

Plus, can New Hampshire Public Radio help this student find a $10,000 flute?

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen May 12, 2024 Good morning. This week, an 11-year-old girl and her father discovered a fossil that came from the largest marine reptile ever found, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA resigned days apart, and Katy Perry's mom fell for an AI Met Gala photo of her daughter. Best of NPR Today, Americans honor the moms in their lives for Mother's Day. But for some, this holiday can be difficult. Some may be grieving a mother they've lost. Some might not have a relationship with their mother. And some may have never known who their mom was.  Mother figures can come in all shapes and sizes. This month, I asked newsletter readers to share stories about the influential mother figures in their lives. From moms to grandmothers to neighbors and friends, these are the women that shaped your lives most:  Janet Smith, Catherine Ha, Abeba Aberham, Patty Duffy and Paula Recchia 🤱 Lee Sider's mother died this year, weeks before Mother's Day. She credits her mom for setting an example of what an independent, hardworking woman could achieve.  🤱 Rebecca Arthur's adoptive mother taught her that "being a blood relative is not necessary to share the love equally with all children."  🤱 Janet Smith's high school sweetheart's mom offered her a lifeline in her teenage years when she felt she had no anchor. 🤱 When Patty Duffy's mom died of ALS, her mother-in-law bonded with her over a story of her own mother's death. 🤱 Abeba Aberham's aunt risked her life to bring her out of Ethiopia during a time of war. 🤱 Catherine Ha and Mary Alice Padilla both became caretakers for their moms after they were diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  You can read the stories of these influential mothers and more here. Some readers shared their stories via voice note, which you can listen to here.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message The Week That Was Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Reuters Gabriella Zavala runs a small organization that helps asylum-seekers in Matamoros, Mexico. Her life was turned upside down one day in April after the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project shared images on social media of a flyer with her name on it telling migrants to vote for Biden. Viral photos of the flyer were filmed in portable toilets at a migrant camp in Mexico, and they sparked a right-wing firestorm in Congress. But NPR's reporting suggests the flyer is not what it purports to be. Electric vehicles are sometimes called "zero-emission vehicles." But making the batteries that fuel them is not a zero-emission process. It takes a lot of (mostly not clean) energy and hurts the environment in other ways. So does that cancel out EV's benefits to the environment? The answer is no — and here's why. Let's call this the case of the missing flute. Justin Selkow had been loaned a $10,000 flute from Dartmouth College. He misplaced it almost immediately. After reaching out to police and scouring security footage, he reached out to NPR network station NHPR as a last-ditch attempt for help. Were they able to help him find this flute? You have to listen to find out. Support your local station with NPR+ NPR+ is a great new way to support mission-driven journalism while getting something great in return (aside from that warm fuzzy feeling of making a difference). Enjoy Sponsor-free listening from your favorite NPR podcasts, and even get fun bonus episodes from select shows like Fresh Air, Planet Money, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! And more. All in return for a simple recurring donation to your local station. Get NPR+ Podcast Picks NPR NPR's Book of the Day: In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. 🎧 The Golden Screen, the new book by Jeff Yang, offers a comprehensive guide to some of the most significant films representing Asian Americans, including commentary by industry trailblazers like Daniel Dae Kim, Janet Yang and Simu Liu. Yang and book contributor Preeti Chhibber speak with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Bollywood and kung fu movies shaped their identities growing up. Points North, from Interlochen Public Radio: This award-winning podcast tells stories about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes through narrative, sound-rich journalism that is deeply rooted in a sense of place. 🎧 On this episode, a team of archaeologists looks for signs of prehistoric life 100 feet underwater in Lake Huron. But they need help narrowing their search, so, they turn to artificial intelligence. Pop Culture Happy Hour: Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, video games and more.  🎧 Summer is just around the corner. If you're like me and would rather spend it indoors than out in the sun, check out this guide of the movies, TV and music Pop Culture Happy Hour is most excited about.  Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from Central Florida Public Media (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy