Inside The U.S.-China Showdown; Unlocking Creativity; Maria Butina Speaks

Plus, Tom Petty's universal pep talk

Stories And Podcasts You May Have Missed  Jane Arraf/NPR Fahima Suleiman, a Yazidi caretaker in northeastern Syria, sits with sleeping toddler Ibrahim, who is being separated from his mother. The boy's father was an ISIS fighter, and his mother is being forced to leave him in Syria when she returns to Iraq. Yazidi officials believe hundreds of children under age 4 have been born to Yazidi mothers kidnapped and raped by ISIS fighters. The women are being allowed to rejoin their communities — if they leave the children behind. "It's been three years, and he wasn't apart from me for even a minute," says one boy's mother. "My parents won't accept him. Nothing is in my hands." The children reportedly will be left at an orphanage run by Syrian Kurds. Maria Butina says her efforts to build contacts in conservative political circles in the United States was about strengthening the U.S.-Russia relationship. “I was building unofficial communication of civil diplomacy," she told NPR from her detention center. The FBI says what she was building was a portfolio of potential targets for other Russian operatives to exploit. Her outreach included officials at the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, newly unveiled documents reveal. Melissa Meltzer Warehall has one of the most painful jobs there is, caring for her husband after he developed early onset Alzheimer’s. A five-week skills class showed her it was possible to keep a positive outlook. The study that created the class found eight core techniques for surviving stressful circumstances. Philando Castile was a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor in Minnesota when he was fatally shot by a police officer during a 2016 traffic stop. His mother says he often bought lunches for students who couldn’t afford them. She continued that legacy this week, donating $8,000 to settle a hundred high schoolers’ lunch debts. Two catastrophic crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircraft have killed hundreds of passengers since October. The plane manufacturer announced last week that it had known since 2017 about the software error believed to have contributed to both crashes. Use of marijuana, first as medicine and later as a recreational drug, has been legalized or decriminalized by an increasing number of U.S. states. On Tuesday, Denver became the first jurisdiction in the country to decriminalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms. You’ve almost certainly never heard the music of Buddy Bolden; few living people have. The New Orleans horn player’s work never was recorded. Still, he’s revered as one of the inventors of jazz, and the genre’s fans are hustling to save the house where much of that innovation likely took place. Best Podcasts Of The Week iStock Creativity powers our world, but reaching and sustaining it is difficult to achieve. An economist, a street performer and a behavioral and learning scientist offer different approaches to maximizing your creativity on TED Radio Hour. Many remember Tom Petty for the impressionistic lyrics and surreal music videos from some of his biggest hits, but others embrace his bluntest song as their American Anthem. NPR listeners told us how “I Won’t Back Down” got them through boot camp, divorces and depression and surviving in America as a recent immigrant. The Indicator From Planet Money looks at how Subway’s $5 foot-long sandwich deal, with its insanely catchy jingle, led the fast-food chain to become the biggest in the country — and now has it struggling for survival. Hidden Brain examines the role that religion played in our survival as a species and as societies as big communities replaced tribal ones. “It became more difficult to identify and punish the cheaters and free riders,” social psychologist Azim Shariff says, “so we needed something big … an epic force that could see what everyone was doing, and enforce the rules.”  Your body is a stubborn jerk, something you know well if you’ve ever attempted a diet. Dropping pounds triggers a slower metabolism and increased hunger, sending the weight-loss roller coaster right back up. That means you should carefully consider your goals and methods. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images Best Videos Of The Week NPR’s Laura Sullivan teamed up with PBS Frontline for a deep dive into the issues that spurred President Trump’s still-escalating trade war with China. Steep new tariff increases, which went into effect on Friday, increase pressure on Xi Jinping’s government to reach a deal — and increase the chances you’ll feel the pinch, too. What will it mean to be human in 2050? How will we evolve? NPR’s Elise Hu takes a look in a new video series, Future You. The first two episodes look at how the brain and computers can work together to communicate telepathically and amplify or replace our physical abilities. — Christopher Dean Hopkins  We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: bestofnpr@npr.org 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 Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002