A composite image shows architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1992 (left), and one of his buildings photographed circa 1955.
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"The Volcano" at Le Havre Cultural Center, France, built in 1982.
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The Oscar Niemeyer Museum, inaugurated in 2002, the largest museum in Latin America, is in Curitiba, the capital of the state of Parana, Brazil. Curitiba, considered an outstanding example of urban planning worldwide and the ecological capital of Brazil, was chosen as one of the 12 host cities for the 2014 soccer World Cup.
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A pianist at Auditorium Oscar Niemeyer in Ravello on the day of its official inauguration in 2009, with Italy's Amalfi coast in the background.
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Brasilia Cathedral was inaugurated by President Juscelino Kubitschek in 1960.
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The interior of Brasilia Cathedral.
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The Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art near Rio de Janeiro, built in 1991.
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Auditorium Oscar Niemeyer in Ravello, Italy, on the day of its inauguration.
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Brasilia's National Museum, inaugurated in 1960.
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The National Congress building in Brasilia.
Credit AP
One of Oscar Niemeyer's earliest projects, built in the early 1940s, came to be known as the "Pampulha architectural complex." It was commissioned by Juscelino Kubitschek, who would later become president of Brazil. At the time, he was mayor of Belo Horizonte. The complex included a church, which was initially refused for consecration by the Roman Catholic Church.
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The inauguration of the Oscar Niemeyer foundation building in Niteroi, Brazil, 2010.
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Part of Niemeyer's foundation building in Niteroi, Brazil, 2010.
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By the late 1950s, Kubitschek was president of Brazil, and he invited Niemeyer to design many of the civic buildings in the country's new capital of Brasilia, including the Palacio da Alvorada, the official residence of Brazilian presidents, pictured here in 2006.
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Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Center of Asturias, Spain, built in 2006.
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The Federal Supreme Court in Brasilia.
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A church, pictured circa 1955 on the grounds of the presidential palace, is connected to the palace by an underground hallway.
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Construction for the headquarters of the French Communist Party began in the late 1960s.
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Oscar Niemeyer in 1992 (left) and Niemeyer Center in Aviles, Spain, 2011
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Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer looks at drawings for a project of two cities in Senegal, Africa, in his office in Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 4:27 pm
There are a number of ways to leave a legacy. Some people have kids. Some become president. Or you can build unforgettable buildings that define the landscape.
Judy Smith, of Dalton, Ga., looks over paperwork as she files for unemployment benefits in August after being laid off from a catering job. More than 2 million people who get extended benefits may lose them if Congress doesn't act soon.
Credit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The total number of weeks of benefits available in any particular state depends on the unemployment rate and unemployment insurance laws in the state where the person worked. This map shows the maximum number of weeks of benefits currently available in each state.
Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 1:49 pm
The Labor Department's glad tidings Friday about the uptick in job creation last month might morph into bad news next month for many of the long-term unemployed.
That's because the boost in November hiring, with employers adding 146,000 jobs, might make it more difficult for Democrats to argue in favor of having Congress renew the extension of benefits for people out of work more than six months.
In stories by four noted authors, this year's edition of Hanukkah Lights showcases some of the program's most touching and insightful moments: Two teenagers find the formula to bridge a bitter family divide; the life of a cynical young reporter is changed by a single mysterious encounter; a reluctant grade-school student stands up for his heritage, and is wounded in the line of duty; and a despairing mom reconnects with her distant yet devoted daughter. Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz bring these generation-spanning tales to life.
Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 1:03 pm
In Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare", director Matthew Heineman exposes what he sees as flaws in the U.S. healthcare system, such as a doctor who can spend just minutes with her patients to a soldier addicted to painkillers. Colonel Chester 'Trip' Buckenmaier III, of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, describes the military's efforts to swap pain pills for alternative therapies, like acupuncture and yoga.
Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 1:03 pm
Why Even Tragedy Gets A Laugh — When comedian Tig Notaro found out she had breast cancer, she incorporated the grim news into her stand-up routine--and got quite a few laughs from the audience. Notaro and neuroscientist Robert Provine discuss the origins of laughter, what separates the amusing from the truly funny, and why even tragedy sometimes gets a laugh.
FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: We're ending this hour into the sea, Ira. Could you tell?
IRA FLATOW, HOST:
Ooh, yeah. I like it.
LICHTMAN: The noise you're hearing comes from a blue whale; that's an animal that can reach 90 feet in length, which is longer than a tennis court. Biologist...
JEREMY GOLDBOGEN: Hands down, these are largest animals of all time. And so one of the questions we're interested in is how do they sustain such an extreme body mass and why don't we see anything bigger than a blue whale?
FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: Up next, more spacey news.
IRA FLATOW, HOST:
All right.
All right. Can't get enough?
Mm-hmm.
LICHTMAN: Earlier this week, NASA announced plans to launch another rover to Mars in the year 2020. And there's some buzz, there's some speculation that this one could have a wheel up on Curiosity. Maybe it wouldn't just analyze samples there but could shift them back to Earth.
Next up, who didn't, at one time or another, now think about it, who didn't want to be an astronaut when they were growing up, especially those of us, the children of the space-age space race? Well, for those of us whose lives are a bit more Earthbound, we've got a fun edition to our Ask an Expert series. How about Ask an Astronaut? Everything you wanted to ever ask an astronaut, Flora.
Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 1:03 pm
What does life truly need to survive? Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Alison Murray and colleagues describe a community of unusual bacteria that survive under 20 meters of ice in the dark, salty, sub-freezing waters of Lake Vida, Antarctica.
