Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; The Case Against Al Franken; The 45th Anniversary Of 'Milliken v. Bradley'

Plus, want to feel happier? Try talking to a stranger.

Stories And Podcasts You May Have Missed Olivia Falcigno/NPR Happiness, one researcher says, is the sum of many positive moments throughout the day. Something as simple as a friendly chat in the elevator can boost your mood. The feeling may seem fleeting, but the research on well-being, scientists say, suggests that a happy life is made up of a high frequency of positive events. Even small positive experiences can make a difference. First came kidney failure, then came the $540,842 dialysis bill. A 50-year-old man needed dialysis, and there wasn’t a single provider of the lifesaving treatment in his insurance network. The out-of-network clinic in Montana he went to charged him more than half a million dollars. His physician wife sent us this bill. Days after NPR debuted this story, Fresenius, one of the two largest dialysis providers in the U.S., agreed to waive the bill.  What gets to be a “burger”? Lawmakers across the U.S. and in the EU argue that labels like "vegan sausage" or "cauliflower rice" mislead people. Tofurky, the ACLU and others are suing, saying new label laws violate free speech. Parents are sometimes the problem when it comes to tech use. Most of us feel like we're failing, at least at times, to manage the competing bids for attention that come from work, kids, partners and our digital devices. And parents of young kids pick up their phones an average of almost 70 times a day — often to escape a stressful parenting moment. Here's how to stop using your phone as a pacifier, for you or your kids. Videos Of The Week Shuran Huang / NPR Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “I am very much alive.” The Supreme Court justice sat down for an interview with NPR's Nina Totenberg and said that despite battling cancer for a third time earlier this year, she's not going anywhere any time soon.  How microexpressions can make moods contagious. Feelings seem to spread among friends, partners or groups. Therapists call this emotional contagion, and they have found that emotions can easily leak out of a person's face in very measurable, consistent ways called microexpressions, which are fleeting, involuntary expressions of feelings that last a fraction of a second. But why are we so easily influenced by one another's emotions? A new video from Invisibilia explains what's going on. Weekly Listens Yasmine Gateau for NPR This week marked the 45th anniversary of the ruling in Milliken v. Bradley, the Supreme Court case that made school district lines a tool for segregation. The court ruled, essentially, that schools did not have to integrate beyond district lines — so Detroit’s mostly-white suburbs did not have to integrate with Detroit schools. The case laid the groundwork for what exists in America today: mostly segregated and unequally funded schools. Click here to listen.   The case against Al Franken. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Jane Mayer of The New Yorker about her investigation into allegations of sexual impropriety against Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat who resigned from the Senate in 2018. Click here to listen.   In 1960, when he was 12 years old, Jimmy Lai snuck out of China and into Hong Kong by hiding in the bottom of a fishing boat. He got a job in a factory, and by the time he was 21, Lai was running a factory. Today, he's one of the richest people in Hong Kong. Planet Money recounts Lai’s story and looks at the 200-year history of China and the West — a story of communism, colonialism and capitalism. Click here to listen.   Frederic Cirou/PhotoAlto/Getty Images We tend to think of being asleep or awake as an either/or prospect: If you're not asleep, then you must be awake. But neurologist and sleep disorder specialist Guy Leschziner says it's not that simple. As head of the sleep disorders center at Guy's Hospital in London, Leschziner has treated patients with a host of nocturnal problems, including insomnia, night terrors, narcolepsy, sleepwalking, sleep eating and sexsomnia, a condition in which a person pursues sexual acts while asleep. In this episode of Fresh Air, Terry Gross talked to Leschziner about his book The Nocturnal Brain. Click here to listen.   Protests against Puerto Rico's embattled governor took many forms before his abrupt resignation from office. People demanding his resignation have protested on horseback, jet skis, motorcycles and kayaks. And demonstrators have found another way: pots and pans. Click here to listen.    Some decisions we struggle to make, others we can’t forget. This episode of Hidden Brain takes a look at why we often stumble when trying to make ourselves happy. Psychologist Dan Gilbert says we're not great at predicting how much we will enjoy an experience, in part because we fail to consider all of the details. Click here to listen.   Eleanor Vassili/StoryCorps Childhood neighbors celebrate seven decades of love. Joel and Julia Helfman grew up in the West Bronx in New York during the '40s. Joel was 13 when a 12-year-old girl moved in across the street. After an errant ball during a stickball game landed near Julia as she read a book, she retrieved it for Joel. "And the rest is almost history," Joel says in this StoryCorps conversation with his now-wife of 69 years. Click here to listen. 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! 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