News Above the Noise—Week of October 11, 2026
1. Why Pope Leo XIV Has the Gumption and Perseverance We All Need
In this Sunday Paper exclusive guest op-ed, NPR’s Scott Detrow and Daniel Burke, authors of the new book American Pope, share what a year of talking to the pontiff’s family, friends, and former adversaries revealed about how he leads. Their reflections take us back to Peru, where he faced a chilly, at times openly hostile, reception from the clergy he’d been sent to guide Read more here.
2. The Work of Student Reporters Sent Shockwaves Across the Country
Stepping back from work to care for a loved one can quietly shrink Social Security benefits, which are based on a worker’s 35 highest-earning years. Experts say the squeeze often hits in a person’s 40s and 50s, during peak career-growth years. Read more here.
3. A Century After the First Known Cases of Dementia, the Disease Is Being Seen in a New Light
In 1891, a psychiatrist in Prague examined the brain of a patient who had suffered mental freezing spells and fits of rage, and found damage in one small region. At the time, most doctors saw severe memory loss as an ordinary part of growing older. Robert Kolker traces how that observation, and the decades of theories that followed, led to a moment of reckoning for the field. Read more here.
4. What Is Pink Noise? And How Does It Make for a Better Night’s Sleep?
Before you queue up an all-night playlist, consider that the evidence is still thin and one person’s lullaby may be another’s disruption. Scientists found that a more targeted approach, one that responded to the brain in real time, made a measurable difference. Dr. Lipman explains why he thinks the real story is personalization, and how it could change the way we sleep. Read more here.
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