Here and Now

It’s been 20 years since Kurt Cobain, leader of the rock band Nirvana, committed suicide. It was April 5, 1994, and his death left a legion of fans grieving his loss. But according to a new book, Cobain lives on in Nirvana’s music, and you can still see his spirit in culture and fashion. So with Nirvana about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week, Cobain biographer Charles Cross joins Here & Now’s Robin Young to talk about the Nirvana frontman’s legacy.

The Labor Department releases March jobs numbers tomorrow. Economists expect relatively good news with payrolls expected to rise by 200,000 in March.

But the outlook for the long-term unemployed is still murky. A recent Brookings Institution paper found that only 11 percent of the long-term unemployed find work again a year later.

Researchers have documented a new breath hold record among mammals. They timed a dive by a whale off the coast of California that lasted two hours and 17 minutes.

To gather the initial results, which were published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, the researchers used barbed darts to attach temporary dive recorders to the dorsal fins of eight whales. The satellite-linked tags were made by a Redmond, Washington company, Wildlife Computers.

It’s that time of year again — when college acceptance (and rejection) letters find their way into the hands of nervous high school seniors. But that’s the easy part. Exponentially more complicated is figuring out how to pay.

The average cost of four-year-private college in 2013 was $30,094. The sticker price at in-state public colleges is close to $9,000 or $22,000, if you’re coming from out of state. And those jaw-dropping estimates don’t include room and board, books or even an apple to give the teacher.

Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein says pick your topic — the tragic disappearance of the Malaysian plane, Ukraine, the NSA, the economic crisis, even the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays — and you can find a conspiracy theory.

Sunstein himself has faced hate mail and threats after his time in the Obama White House, and for his articles on topics such as FDR and the rights of animals. Glenn Beck repeatedly described him as “the most dangerous man in America.”

Last night, Muriel Bowser, Democratic mayoral candidate in Washington, D.C., won the primary election positioning her to be the next mayor of the nation’s capital.

The election took a dramatic twist three weeks ago when federal prosecutors alleged that the current Mayor Vincent Gray was aware of an illegal $680,000 slush fund that aided his 2010 mayoral campaign.

Patrick Madden, city hall reporter for WAMU, joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson with details.

Fans of house music are mourning the loss today of legendary producer Frankie Knuckles, who died unexpectedly yesterday at age 59. He was considered the “godfather of house music.” That’s a style that started in Chicago in the late 1970s.

Knuckles founded his own club in Chicago called The Power Plant, where he would remix artists like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Luther Vandros. One of his most iconic clubs songs is “Waiting on My Angel” with artist Jamie Principle.

The Ebola virus has broken out across Guinea and has reportedly spread to other countries in West Africa.

Already more than 80 people have been killed from the hemorrhagic fever which has no vaccine or treatment.

The Zaire Strain of the virus is reportedly contracted from animal to human contact with bats, primates, rodents and some antelopes.

Neighboring country Senegal has closed its borders to Guinea in hopes of keeping the virus out.

China is chasing Europe’s lead and wants to capture the ocean’s waves and tides for clean and renewable energy.

The country is investing large amounts of money and entering into ventures with Lockheed Martin and partnering with the Netherlands to develop various tidal power projects.

China has 11,000 miles of coastline and, if it becomes affordable, harnessing the sea could be the key to reducing pollution and advancing the renewable energy sector in Asia and elsewhere.

The United Nation’s International Panel on Climate Change released its fifth report on climate change today.

The report details recent impacts of climate-related extremes such as wildfires, droughts and floods and predicts the vulnerability of human and natural resources, including a stress on crops and water resources.

You know that section in tabloids that shows celebrities running errands with their kids, or at their child’s soccer game?

Maybe you don’t look at those pictures, and our next guests would thank you for that.

Actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have launched a new social media campaign to get the kids of very visible celebrities out of pictures.

According to a new report from the Associated Press, Republicans spent years developing a strategy to take advantage of the 2010 census, taking control of state legislatures and drawing Congressional districts that favored the GOP.

That means Democrats face an uphill fight to try to regain control of the House this fall.

Associated Press reporter Stephen Ohlemacher joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to discuss his reporting.

Many have heard of Bonnaroo and Telluride, but what about Asheville, North Carolina’s Moogfest?

WFPK music director Kyle Meredith and Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson look at some smaller niche festivals across the country, and music attendees can expect to hear.

• More DJ Sessions

Songs Heard In This Segment

Dan Deacon, “True Thrush”

If you’ve ever eaten candy from a European Union country, you might notice some unusual ingredients.

For  instance, Nestlé’s chocolate “Smarties” contain radish, lemon and red cabbage extracts for coloring, rather than yellow six or red 40. So why is that?

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s plans to transfer the Brooklyn Nets to one of his Russian companies may never happen.

The move, which would be the first of its kind in U.S. professional sports, can not take place without the approval of the National Basketball Association. It’s unclear whether the NBA would let such a change happen.