NPR’s 40 Most Engaging And Popular Stories Of 2020

Mourning and celebrating; coping and distancing: 2020 has been a year of collective emotional dissonance. Even as the worst public health crisis in memory changed our lives, it also made us cherish bright moments where we found them.

We watched a high-stakes election play out — and sometimes we just wanted a distraction from it all.

Here are the NPR stories that hit home in 2020. They examine the complicated reality of life during a pandemic. They highlight moments of grace, surprise and persistence — and sometimes, stark disagreement.

Most-Viewed Stories

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — here in her chambers during a 2019 interview with NPR’s Nina Totenberg — died Sept. 18, 2020, at the age of 87.

Shuran Huang/NPR

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Shuran Huang/NPR

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Sarah Mirk for NPR

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Caleb Anderson, 12, attends virtual calculus class at Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta, Ga., where he is a sophomore.

Anderson family

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Anderson family

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Pilar Quilantang Galang was one of more than 100 girls and women raped by members of the Japanese Imperial Army in the village of Mapaniqui on Nov. 23, 1944. She was 9 years old at the time. Even now, in her 80s, when she sees the ruins of the «Red House (at rear of photo), where the rapes happened, she says, «I feel like I’m losing my mind. I wish it would be destroyed.

Cheryl Diaz Meyer for NPR

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Cheryl Diaz Meyer for NPR

Pilar Quilantang Galang was one of more than 100 girls and women raped by members of the Japanese Imperial Army in the village of Mapaniqui on Nov. 23, 1944. She was 9 years old at the time. Even now, in her 80s, when she sees the ruins of the «Red House (at rear of photo), where the rapes happened, she says, «I feel like I’m losing my mind. I wish it would be destroyed.

Cheryl Diaz Meyer for NPR

PHOTOS: The Essence Of Mary Ellen Mark, The Invisible Made Visible
The late documentary photographer’s brilliant work is condensed from more than 2 million images to 515 plates for a retrospective.
PHOTOS: Why These World War II Sex Slaves Are Still Demanding Justice
NPR interviewed at least two dozen survivors across the Philippines who were victimized by Japanese soldiers.
‘Not A Paramilitary.’ Inside A Washington Militia’s Efforts To Go Mainstream
«The true neo-Nazis hate us, which they should because we hate them too. And the far left, who we don’t have any problems with, hate us because they believe that we’re neo-Nazis.
An Uneasy July 4th In Richmond, Va., As Armed Groups Gather Warily
One holiday, two visions of the future — for Richmond, and for America.
PHOTOS: Why South Africans Built An Illegal Settlement Called Covid
The settlement’s official name, Izwelethu, means «Our Land in Xhosa. Hardly anybody calls it that.
‘God … Let Us Survive’: Remembering Korean War’s Chosin Battle And Evacuation
«Chinese bullets were flying like rain, and nobody dared to climb on the truck. Then a Marine sergeant did.
The Front Line At Home: A Health Care Worker’s New Normal
«I’m glad I can take care of others. They’re giving us their body to take care of. It’s a beautiful job we are doing, but I wish it weren’t to this magnitude.
Why An Auto Plant Closure Looms Large In Presidential Contest In Ohio
It isn’t a booming facility. It’s more of a ghost town with a fresh paint job.
Her Incredible Sense Of Smell Is Helping Scientists Find New Ways To Diagnose Disease
A woman smelled disease on her husband more than a decade before his symptoms drove them to seek medical help.
‘He Will Be A Happier Elephant’: Vet Describes What It Was Like To Rescue Kaava
Putting an elephant on a plane during a pandemic was just one of the challenges in moving the animal to a conservation park.
NPR’s Andy Bickerton contributed to this report.