Consider This from NPR

Federal regulators are now limiting the number of flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. This comes after a harrowing month for the air traffic controllers who work the airspace around it. On April 28th, communications and radar systems went dark at the air traffic control facility in Philadelphia, where controllers manage the airspace around Newark. Since then there have been more outages. Hundreds of flights in and out of Newark have been cancelled or delayed since that first outage. Now the Federal Aviation Administration is slowing the pace of arrivals and departures.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy insists that will help. Still, these incidents have raised big questions. How did the mess in Newark get as bad as it did? And, What it will take to fix an aging air traffic control system. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. economy is in flux. And for millions of Americans, a new line item in their budget includes repaying federal student loans.Making ends meet isn't just tough for student loan borrowers. Groceries cost a lot more now than they did in 2020. Tariff disputes make it difficult to plan future purchases and they can make it harder to find everyday items at affordable prices. Housing — whether it's your mortgage or rent — remains expensive. And the job market — well that's tough, too.Unpredictable inflation, added expenses, a volatile stock market – the health of the U.S. economy is anything but certain right now. How can you manage? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Joe Biden has stage four metastatic prostate cancer.The former president made that announcement Sunday afternoon. It came just days before the publication of "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."An explosive book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Original Sin chronicles what the authors say was Biden's steep physical and cognitive decline.Joe Biden repeatedly insisted he was capable of serving a second term. "Original Sin" argues his advisors and his family went to great lengths to hide that he wasn't. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the first major foreign trip of his second term, President Trump met with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. His arrival was greeted with fanfare across the region — there were motorcades featuring Teslas, long processions of Arabian horses and camels, and traditional dance and musical performances. According to the White House, Saudi Arabia agreed to invest $600 billion in the United States. Qatar placed a huge order for Boeing Passenger jets. But the biggest announcement of Trump's trip was a bit of surprise deal-making: after more than 20 years, Trump said, the U.S. will lift sanctions on Syria. President Trump and interim Syrian President al-Sharaa met for tea and also discussed the possibility that Syria could recognize Israel as a sovereign state. NPR's Scott Detrow and Hadeel Al-Shalchi examine how this news was received in Israel, whether this moment be a critical turning point for Middle East peace and ask, can Trump actually deliver on these promises? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Earlier this week, the White House announced that the U.S. and China had agreed to lower the reciprocal tariffs they had put in place in April – but only for ninety days. As the trade war enters a new and uncertain phase, host Scott Detrow speaks with veteran NPR China correspondent John Ruwitch about this unprecedented moment. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been six months since President Trump first announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which has dramatically shrunk parts of the federal government. And with so many individual stories about federal workers losing their jobs around the country, the big picture can sometimes look blurry.A team of NPR reporters has been looking at agencies — from food inspectors to nuclear scientists to firefighters and more — and today, we'll connect some of the dots on how DOGE cuts have impacted workers, and hear how Americans far beyond Washington may feel the effects of these cuts. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's order that would end automatic citizenship for the children of many categories of immigrants has been blocked from going into effect by three separate federal judges. Those injunctions have been upheld by three separate appeals courts.So Thursday's case at the Supreme Court was really about two questions: Whether the constitution guarantees birthright citizenship and whether judges can issue nationwide injunctions against federal policies.University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, author of the book You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers, followed the arguments and breaks down clues that point to the Justices' thinking.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nearly half a million people in Gaza now face starvation, according to a new report from the IPC, the international panel of famine experts who advise the United Nations.For more than ten weeks, Israel has halted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages. Israel accuses Hamas of seizing aid, selling it on the black market and using aid distribution to reinforce its control of Gaza.The UN says hundreds of truckloads of lifesaving supplies are waiting at the border. Meanwhile, inside Gaza, food is scarce. Humanitarian groups like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) exhausted supplies of basic staples weeks ago, forcing them to shut down their kitchens and bakeries, and everyday Palestinians are grinding up pasta and lentils to make flour for bread. Antoine Renard of the WFP says when he was in Gaza last week, wheat flour was selling for $10 a pound. Juana Summers talks with Renard about what he's seen in Gaza, and what's next for the people there.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a neighbor of Ukraine's and host to more than 2 million of its war refugees, Poland has seen, heard and felt what Russia is capable of, and it's now preparing for the worst. This year, Poland will spend nearly 5% of its GDP on defense, more than any other NATO member, including the U.S.NPR's Rob Schmitz reports on the country's plan to train every adult in Poland for war.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Last week, the Gates Foundation announced it would spend more than $200 billion over the next 20 years — including nearly all the personal wealth of chair Bill Gates — and sunset operations in 2045.The Foundation says its goals are combating maternal and infant mortality, treating infectious diseases and lifting millions out of poverty.The announcement comes at a time when the U.S. is drastically reducing foreign aid commitments under the Trump administration, and other wealthy nations are also cutting global health funding.But in an interview with NPR about his decision, Gates said he remains optimistic that new scientific advances create opportunities to save lives.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The election of the first American pope is a remarkable moment in the two thousand year history of the Catholic Church. But in choosing his name, it's clear Leo is looking forward. NPR's Scott Detrow and Jason DeRose look at what his selection means for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in both the U.S. and around the world. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When NPR listeners think of reports from Italy or the Vatican, usually one name comes to mind: Sylvia Poggioli. She covered much more, of course, over the years - reporting across Europe and on the war in the Balkans. But as Poggioli tells host Scott Detrow, for this week's Reporter's Notebook series, it was the Vatican, that in some ways, was her most challenging assignment. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been more than two years since civil war exploded in Sudan. By some estimates the conflict has killed as many as 150-thousand people, and displaced millions more. In April, NPR International Correspondent Emmanuel Akinwotu gained rare access to the capital city, Khartoum, and reports how the once vibrant city of 6 million has been ravaged by war. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The cardinals have elected a new pope: Robert Prevost, a cardinal born in Chicago. He has taken the name Leo XIV. He is the first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church.NPR's Scott Detrow has been in Rome all week. He talks through what we might expect from Pope Leo XIV with NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose, and former, longtime NPR Rome correspondent Sylvia Poggioli.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Newark Liberty International Airport has been a mess the past week, with hundreds of flights cancelled and hundreds more delayed. It was triggered in part by an incident on April 28, when air traffic controllers for the airport experienced a radar and communications blackout. They were unable to reach approaching planes. There were no accidents, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later told reporters that the outage lasted for 30 seconds. After that incident, several air traffic controllers took time off to deal with the stress and trauma. That, on top of bad weather, a runway that's closed for repair and an already short-staffed air traffic controller corps, led to a lot of disruption.David Grizzle, the former chief operating officer and head of air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, says what happened at Newark isn't surprising, given decades-old staffing and technology issues. He explains what it would take to fix air traffic control in the U.S.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope, some of the biggest questions hanging in the air have to do with LGBTQ Catholics. Will the church continue the path of outreach charted by Pope Francis, softening its harsh positions? Will it allow LGBTQ Catholics to fully participate in the church?The Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, has built a ministry aimed at making gay, lesbian and transgender people feel more welcome in the Catholic church and advised Francis on the issue. He says Francis himself changed the church, but so did the many LGBTQ Catholics who have come out — changing the church at the level of the family and parish. That trend, he says, will continue.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's rapid-fire spending cuts have affected communities all over the country–including strongholds of his supporters. One of them is Rising Sun, Maryland. The town had won two FEMA grants designed to mitigate the effects of catastrophic flooding. And though the area voted overwhelmingly to support Trump's re-election, his administration has now cancelled the program that funded those grants. Across the state in the Trump-voting town of Emmitsburg, Maryland, a similar scenario is playing out. The town is home to the National Fire Academy–a sort of national war college for training firefighters in America. In March, the Trump administration abruptly cancelled classes at the academy. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports that locals are concerned about how that will affect the town's economy–and emergency preparedness across the country. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Days before the beginning of the conclave to select the next pope, NPR's Scott Detrow is in Rome. He speaks with Sylvia Poggioli about the rituals and ceremonies involved in the upcoming election at the Vatican. We also hear from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, about this moment for the Catholic Church, and what it's like being a seasoned veteran of the conclave process. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Over the past few months, world leaders and diplomats have talked about grand plans for ending the war in Ukraine. But what about daily life there right now? For our reporter's notebook series, we'll get on the ground with NPR correspondent Joanna Kakissis, who's been living and working in Ukraine for almost the entire war. We'll hear how everyday Ukrainians have adapted to a new normal. People go to work and kids go to school, but most nights Russian attacks continue.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. has sent people it has detained — people it calls terrorists — to a prison overseas — indefinitely.This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Americans are rushing to car dealerships as they worry about what President Trump's tariffs will do to car prices in the coming months. New vehicle sales have been increasing steadily this year, and they jumped in March, according to market research firm Cox Automotive. That's the month when President Trump announced upcoming auto tariffs. Shoppers are racing to buy cars this spring because they believe that prices are going to go up in the summer and fall. And experts say if tariffs remain in place, that's likely. It's a gamble President Trump is making – with the hope his tariff strategy will lead domestic car companies to make more vehicles at home. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley, who was at Ford's Kentucky truck plant, about Trump's tariffs, and Ford's future.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump is pushing the boundaries of executive power in nearly every area of policy. From his trade war, to immigration, to education, to the reductions in the federal workforce.Many of his actions are direct challenges to the Courts and to Congress. Those two branches of government are designed to act as checks on the president. Trump has governed largely by unilateral executive action... and left lawmakers on the sidelines. NPR's Juana Summers talks with political correspondents Mara Liasson and Susan Davis about the changing power dynamic.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An NPR investigation has been following President Trump's efforts to retaliate against his perceived enemies since he returned to the Oval Office in January. NPR's Tom Dreisbach found that Trump's targets are already facing the consequences - including criminal investigations, attempted deportations, and firings. Trump has used government power to target more than 100 people or institutions across American society – and they're all feeling the consequences. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

About one in 31 children in the U.S. has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to CDC data released this month.When Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed these findings, he declared that autism is a rapidly growing "epidemic" in the U.S. and vowed to identify the "environmental toxin" he says is to blame. Which of Kennedy's remarks rang true to those in the autism community?Jill Escher is the president of the National Council on Severe Autism, and had both gratitude and criticism for the new initiative.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have become some of the biggest issues facing Canadians as they head to the polls in their federal election on April 28th. Scott Detrow speaks to Lloyd Axworthy, a member of the Liberal party, who served as Canada's top diplomat between 1996-2000, about the schism between the two longtime North American allies and how Canada's next prime minister can reposition the country's foreign and economic policy in the face of growing tensions with the United States. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Long before he was elected to run the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis was essentially exiled from his Argentinian Jesuit order. Francis often referred to this two-year period, which happened when he was in his 50s, as a "dark night" and a "crisis" in his life.For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series, we talk with NPR religion editor Daniel Burke about what he learned by digging into this little known period of Francis' life that shaped him and his papacy.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whether a "chainsaw," per Elon Musk, or "scalpel," as President Trump has said — the Trump administration is making deep cuts to the federal government within its first 100 days.And Trump has appointed personal allies with little experience in government to key cabinet positions.For the civil servants working to enact the missions of these government agencies, that's often meant another word: "chaos."NPR correspondents Tom Bowman, Michele Kelemen and Selena Simmons-Duffin recap what they are hearing from federal workers at the Departments of Defense, State, and Health and Human Services.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When you think of a successful protest movement, most Americans probably think of the American Civil Rights movement, and the March on Washington in 1963.Martin Luther King, Jr. standing behind a podium on the steps of the Lincoln memorial delivered his most famous speech and a line that would come to define the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act just nine months after the March. A year after that Johnson signed the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.The quest for equality continues. In the decades since that bright summer day in August 1963, many other Americans have tried to use the model of protest to achieve their political goals. But do protests work?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On March 23, the death toll in Gaza surpassed 50,000 people killed by Israeli fire in the war with Hamas.This is the story of 15 people who were killed the same day. There were airstrikes across the territory, and in the south Israeli troops opened fire on a crew of emergency workers in ambulances and a firetruck. At first, the Israeli military said the vehicles were "advancing suspiciously" toward troops, "without headlights or emergency signals." It said the soldiers had eliminated a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants. A recording unearthed days later told a different story ultimately leading the Israel to conduct an investigation. The results blamed an "operational misunderstanding" and cite professional failures.In more than 18 months of war – it's been rare for the Israeli Military to acknowledge failure. Coming up the story of what happened. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What does it take to keep the economy stable? That is a question that Jerome Powell considers every day in his role as Chair of the Federal Reserve. It's also a role that is meant to be done independent of politics. However, Powell's name has been making headlines, following a series of comments made by President Trump attacking Powell, after he warned that the President's aggressive tariff policies could hurt the economy.President Trump has been threatening to fire Powell, something he backed away from Tuesday afternoon.As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, all this is further rattling financial markets, making Jerome Powell's task of keeping the economy stable even harder to do.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Monday morning in Rome Cardinal Kevin Farrell Camerlengo or Cardinal Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church announced the death of Pope Francis I.That was followed some 17 hours later by the rite of ascertainment. A formal acknowledgement of Francis' death...and the transfer of his body to his coffin. And it's one a few of the many centuries-old rituals that will play out over the next several days as the church mourns Pope Francis.There will be the mourning of the faithful as Francis' body lies in St. Peter's Basilica. A funeral, where Francis will be remembered by his fellow priests, followers and world leaders. Then, the Conclave where the College of Cardinals will meet to choose his successor.Pope Francis has died at 88. Now the church has to chart a course without his leadership. Who will be his successor, and what path will he choose? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Viktor Orban is in his fourth consecutive term as Prime Minister of Hungary. In that time, he has dismantled democratic checks and balances, taken control of the country's media, civil society and universities, and consolidated power in him and his Fidesz party. NPR's Rob Schmitz looks at how Orban's step-by-step dismantling of Hungary's democracy has become a point of fascination for political scientists around the world, including those advising the Trump administration.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, two federal judges handling separate immigration cases escalated their attempts to get the Trump administration to comply with court orders.One case involves President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act, the 18th-century wartime law, to deport migrants without due process.The other is about the wrongful deportation, also without due process, of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and the government's refusal to bring him back to the U.S.The growing conflicts point to a potential constitutional crisis, where the president openly defies the country's highest court — or at least, as one legal scholar maintains, a crisis at the Supreme Court.Our guest is University of Virginia professor Amanda Frost, who specializes in immigration and citizenship law.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When it comes to the cost of raising a child from infancy to the age of 17 in the United States – it's hard to settle on a precise figure.There's one thing we do know – it's going to be expensive. By some estimates, raising a kid, who was born in 2015, could cost a middle class family close to $320,000 over 17 years. That money goes to childcare, healthcare, food, clothes, education, transportation, activities, toys, and a lot more. All of those things will be affected – one way or another – by the Trump administration's tariff policy.And the companies that sell products geared at those raising kids – they're going to feel the pinch as well. One CEO argues it could even mean certain products will become unavailable.Being a parent in the U.S. is already expensive. Slapping tariffs on the products kids use could make it more so. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump administration's move to send immigrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador is the subject of multiple on-going fights in court. But in an Oval Office meeting with the Salvadoran president this week, President Trump was already looking ahead."We also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they're not looking, that are absolute monsters. I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country," Trump said.Trump later clarified that by "homegrown criminals" he meant U.S. citizens.No president has tried to do exactly what Trump is proposing. In this episode, we hear from someone who argues it's wildly unconstitutional.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency team, or DOGE, appears to be grabbing sensitive data from all over the government. A whistleblower has come forward by filing an official disclosure to Congress about concerning activity on the systems at one independent federal agency, the National Labor Relations Board. Elon Musk says DOGE is searching for savings throughout the government. But is the data being accessed valuable? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Measles is an extremely contagious disease. It's also extremely preventable. There's a vaccine. It's highly effective. For decades it has made measles outbreaks in the U.S. relatively rare, and measles deaths rarer still. But the U.S. has now seen more than 700 measles cases this year, and 3 deaths so far with active outbreaks across six states.The federal response is under scrutiny because Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has made a career spreading false information about vaccines.What are this administration's views on vaccines, and what do they mean for what is already one of the worst U.S. measles outbreaks this century. Kennedy publicly promised he would support vaccines. Dr. Peter Marks, who was forced out as the nation's top vaccine regulator says his department isn't doing enough.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump administration admitted that it wrongfully deported a man named Kilmar Abrego Garcia.It had also been arguing that courts cannot compel the U.S. government to return him to this country.The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously determined the government must "facilitate" his release from the El Salvador prison where he is being held, but the Department of Justice has so far only confirmed his presence at that prison.If he is not returned to this country to face due process, people following this case point out a troubling implication: The government could potentially send anyone to a foreign prison – regardless of citizenship – with no legal recourse.Harvard University emeritus professor of constitutional law Laurence Tribe explains his argument.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For weeks, President Trump has been targeting certain law firms with executive orders. Some have fought back, but others have cut deals to avoid the damage. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series, we dive into this legal drama with NPR's Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas, to see how this use of executive power is changing the landscape of the American legal system. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During his second Presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to carry out the largest deportation program the U.S. has ever seen.And true to his word – Trump's administration is arresting, detaining and deporting immigrants without legal status.But as part of the crackdown on illegal immigration, legal immigrants are getting caught up in the mix.And then there's people like Amir Makled – a U.S. Citizen and lawyer. Makled was detained by Border agents at a Detroit airport as he returned from a family vacation in the Caribbean. How is the Trump administration's immigration policy changing who is getting arrested and detained? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's pretty rare for one person to do one thing that affects nearly every business in the United States. But that's the power of the presidency and the new tariffs that took effect this week. Over the last few days, as the tariffs have gone up and down, NPR has been talking to Americans who run different kinds of businesses. Even though their companies don't have much in common, all of them are doing the same thing right now: Trying to figure out what's going on and how to respond. Trump's tariff plans affect nearly every company in America. We'll hear from a few business owners about what it means for themFor sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After a week of market turmoil, President Trump announced he would reset his most extreme tariffs to 10 percent across the board, with the exception of China — which he boosted to a 125% tariff rate. Even at the reduced level, the tariff rates are the highest the nation has seen in many decades.And higher tariffs translate to higher prices for American consumers. Martha Gimbel of the Budget Lab at Yale takes an imaginary walk through a big box store to look at how much more people might pay for t-shirts, rice, medication and other staples. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been 25 years since measles was officially "eliminated" from the United States. That's a technical term. In public health, it means measles has not had a steady twelve month spread. Right now there are measles cases in several states The biggest number of cases are in West Texas where two kids have died. A quarter of a century after measles was officially eliminated in the US, the disease is once again spreading in West Texas, New Mexico and there are cases in several other states. What can be done to get the virus under control? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Billionaire Elon Musk told Fox News recently that falling birth rates keep him up at night. It's a drum he's been beating for years.Musk is one of the world's most visible individuals to elevate this point of view. Vice President JD Vance also talks about wanting to increase birthrates in the U-S. But it's not just them. There are discussions across the political spectrum about birth rate decline and what it means for the economy. One response to this decline is a cause that's been taken up by the right, and it has a name – Pronatalism. Many of its advocates met up recently in Austin, Texas, at "Natal Con." Pronatalists think they have a friendly audience in the White House. How do they want to use it?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Deportation is a complicated process — with lots of layers. As the Trump administration expands the number and scope of deportations – what does that mean in practice? NPR's Asma Khalid and Ximena Bustillo unpack how deportations are supposed to work — and why so many lawsuits have been filed saying court process has been sidestepped in recent cases.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The video game industry is huge. Last year alone it generated an estimated $187 billion dollars in revenue. But it's also facing a host of serious issues: massive layoffs, the advent of A.I., games that take years to be released, and a schism between big and small developers.This week's Reporter's Notebook takes us inside this evolving industry with NPR's Vincent Acovino, who recently covered the annual Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The country of Myanmar has been in crisis for years. A civil war has been going on since 2021. And then, last Friday, a devastating earthquake hit, leaving at least 3,000 people dead. The tragedy only deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country.One person watching the situation closely is Kim Aris. His mother is Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the country's de facto leader before the military ousted and imprisoned her after a coup four years ago. When Aris spoke to NPR earlier this week, he wasn't even sure where his mother was, or whether she was safe. The earthquake has brought more devastation to Myanmar raising questions about whether the country's military can stay in power – and about the future of its ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whatever you think of President Trump's tariffs, there's one point you have to concede: his interest in them is not a passing whim. He noted that on Wednesday, in the Rose Garden, when he was announcing the latest, massive round of tariffs. "I've been talking about this for 40 years," he said.The use of tariffs are a core belief for Donald Trump. Trade deficits are bad, other countries take advantage of the U.S. and tariffs are the way to fix this.Since the Rose Garden announcement, markets have plunged, other countries have promised to retaliate, and members of his own party have spoken out against the tariffs.Trump's tariff plan is designed to eliminate U.S. trade deficits. Are trade deficits actually bad?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Eight-point-seven billion. Four-hundred million. One-hundred-seventy-five million. These are just some examples of the money the federal government has withheld or is threatening to withhold from various colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Harvard University. That $8.7 billion figure was announced earlier this week by the Trump administration, which said that it's reviewing federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard because Harvard has not done enough to curb antisemitism on campus.Some educators say the administration's moves to cut funding at colleges and universities amounts to a war on higher education. But the loss of those funds will be felt far beyond the college campuses. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In President Donald Trump's telling, tariffs are the political equivalent of duct tape: you can use them to fix anything. For example, they're a negotiating tool — he used the threat of tariffs to pressure Canada and Mexico to implement border policies he liked. He also sees tariffs as a revenue source that might help offset his proposed $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and as a shield to protect American manufacturing jobs from overseas competition.With all of these potentially conflicting aims, and with another major round of tariffs expected to be announced on Wednesday, what is the strategy behind them?Rana Foroohar, a Financial Times columnist and the author of Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World, says they're an "experiment" that could lead to a big change in the way the global economy works.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Last week, South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that Korean adoption agencies were responsible for widespread fraud, malpractice and even human rights violations. More than 140,000 South Korean children were adopted by families living abroad in the decades after the Korean war. The report documented cases in which agencies fabricated records and others in which abandoned children were sent abroad after only perfunctory efforts to find living guardians.Documentarian Deann Borshay Liem was an adult when she first learned the story she'd been told about her identity was a lie. She was adopted by an American family from California in 1966, when she was eight years old. Her adoption records said she was an orphan, but she eventually discovered her birth mother was alive, and she had a large extended family in South Korea.She shares her adoption story, her reaction to the commission's report, and her thoughts on what justice looks like for adoptees.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The AI boom has caused a huge surge in energy consumption, so how is the tech industry thinking about its environmental footprint as it invests in new AI models? Emily Kwong, host and reporter for NPR's Short Wave podcast, finds out what solutions are being considered that might meet both consumer demand and address climate concerns.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After reaching historic levels, fatal overdoses from opioids are dropping rapidly. Today we bring you a reporter's notebook from NPR's national addiction correspondent Brian Mann. He tells host Scott Detrow what it's been like to cover America's addiction crisis and explains the significance of the recent decline in opioid deaths. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bezalel Smotrich's views were once fringe in Israel. He's an ultranationalist West Bank settler, who has repeatedly called for Israel to resettle the Gaza Strip. Today, as finance minister, he's a key figure influencing the future of Israel's war against Hamas.NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has the story of Smotrich's rise to power in Israel politics.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Six months ago, Southern Appalachia was devastated by Hurricane Helene.Now, after a dry spell and a windy March — the region faces wildfires that are feeding on the downed trees and vegetation that the hurricane knocked to the forest floor.The North Carolina Forest Service has declared one of them "the highest priority fire in the U.S."And due to climate change and population growth, the Carolinas must anticipate a future with more fire danger.Experts and first responders explain the current situation — and the way forward.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In January of 1987, Michel Shehadeh, a Palestinian man who'd lawfully immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, was taking care of his toddler son at home when federal agents arrived at his door and arrested him at gunpoint. Shehadeh soon learned he was one of eight immigrants arrested on charges relating to their pro-Palestinian activism. Then, in March of 2025, federal agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate student, and Georgetown professor Badar Khan Suri. Both are in the U.S. legally, being threatened with deportation. And both are targets of the Trump administration's crackdown on what they describe as anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas speech on college campuses. We hear from David Cole, who represented the Los Angeles Eight for insight into this moment, and what we can learn from their plight.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the 24 hours since a bombshell Atlantic article, senators have grilled Trump administration intelligence officials — but there are no signs yet that anyone involved will face any repercussions. The article, by Jeffrey Goldberg, details how he was inadvertently added to a chat on Signal, the encrypted messaging app, where key administration figures were planning a U.S. bombing operation in Yemen.NPR's Ryan Lucas followed a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard testified that no classified information was discussed in the chat group. Democrats challenged that assertion.And Willem Marx reports on reaction in European capitals. The Atlantic article included disparaging comments about European allies from Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For weeks, President Trump has been issuing executive orders and memos that levy or threaten sanctions on major law firms.The moves suspend security clearances, cancel government contracts, bar employees from federal buildings — and other actions that threaten their ability to represent their clients.While Trump complains the law firms employed "very dishonest people," legal experts say Trump is retaliating against firms who have represented his political opponents or, in one case, rehired an attorney who had left his position to help prosecute a case against Trump.We hear from Rachel Cohen, who publicly resigned from her law firm in protest.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the president has "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution" for official acts.To reach that conclusion, the High Court grappled with this question: how much power a president should have?And some legal scholars say the ruling draws on the unitary executive theory — which, in its most extreme interpretation, gives the president sole authority over the executive branch.But did it pave the way for Trump's second term and the constitutional questions it's raised: From the dismantling of federal agencies established by Congress to the deportation migrants to third party countries without due process?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Greenland is a lot more than an object of Donald Trump's territorial ambitions. It's a place whose small population is facing big questions – about climate change, economic development, and identity. Today we bring you a reporter's notebook, traveling with NPR's Juana Summers and her team through Greenland at a time of huge political uncertainty. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Representatives from Russia and Ukraine will be in meetings to try to hammer out details of a ceasefire on Monday. But peace is still a long way off.For starters it's only a partial ceasefire—no strikes on energy infrastructure. It's only for 30 days.And the Ukrainians and Russians aren't even meeting with each other. The U.S. will be a go-between.One of the biggest things working against a new agreement, is what happened after Ukraine's last agreement with Russia. And the ones before that.Ukraine says it won't trust a promise from Russia. It needs security guarantees. To understand why, you've got to go back to the birth of independent Ukraine.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Farmers already worry about things like crop prices, the cost of farm supplies and extreme weather.Now, President Trump's signature tariffs — and the federal government under the Trump administration — pose more big question marks.We hear from Ann Veneman, the Secretary of Agriculture under George W. Bush.And Robert Smith and Wailin Wong from NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money report on what economic uncertainty means for one farmer.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The argument for international aid is in part a moral one, but it's also been about U.S. interests. As then-senator Marco Rubio put it in 2017: "I promise you it's going to be a lot harder to recruit someone to anti-Americanism, anti-American terrorism if the United States of America was the reason why they're even alive today."Now, as secretary of state, Rubio serves under a president who is deeply skeptical of the idea of international aid. "We're giving billions and billions of dollars to countries that hate us," President Trump said in a speech last month. His administration shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development. A federal judge said this week that move violated the constitution. What's left of the agency has been folded into the State Department.Trump has also moved to gut government-funded, editorially independent broadcasters like Voice of America, and attempted to effectively eliminate the congressionally-funded think tank the U.S. Institute of Peace.This sort of soft power has been a pillar of American foreign policy. Is the Trump administration walking away from it?We talk to former Democratic congressman and former secretary of agriculture, Dan Glickman, who sponsored the legislation that created the USIP. And NPR's Emily Feng reports on the legacy of Voice of America in China.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Measles continues to spread in West Texas and New Mexico. About 300 cases have been reported, since the outbreak began in January - but the actual number is likely higher. The communities where measles continues to spread people are largely unvaccinated. At the same time some isolated measles cases have been reported in a dozen other states - largely linked to international travel.In most of the U.S., vaccination rates are still high enough to stop a major outbreak. But if they continue to fall, we could see long-term consequences of measles in the future. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"Oopsie, too late. "That post on X from the President of El Salvador got retweeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend with a laugh-crying emoji over a headline about a judge's ruling. The judge ordered the Trump Administration not to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador. That came after a Brown University physician in the United States on an H1-B visa from Lebanon was sent back. Even though a federal judge issued an order that she appear at an in-person hearing on Monday.In a court filing today, lawyers for the government said US Customs and Border Patrol officers said they didn't learn of the order until after the doctor was sent back.The administration insists it is not defying court orders. Trump hasn't yet openly and explicitly defied the courts. Can he undermine them just by flirting with defiance?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nearly 40, 000.That's the United Nations estimate for the number of children who have been killed or injured since Israel began its war with Hamas some 18 months ago. Last year, NPR profiled one injured Gazan boy, Nimer Sadi al-Nimer, who was shot five times by the Israeli military while he and his father were gathering food dropped by parachute outside Gaza City. This week, NPR Gaza producer Anas Baba tracked Nimer down to hear what the past year has been like. NPR correspondent Rob Schmitz speaks with Baba about what he learned after reconnecting with Nimer.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"A little disturbance," "a period of transition," "a detox period." These are all phrases that President Trump and his administration have used to describe the economy, as the stock market has plunged in response to one tariff announcement after another.Trump is adamant that his tariffs will ultimately bring revenue, jobs and factories to the U.S.But economist Matt Slaughter, dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, is skeptical. He thinks Trump's strategy is a recipe for long-term economic pain, and that a recession is getting more likely by the day.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been trying to access the massive amounts of Americans' personal information held in databases throughout the federal government.These databases hold information far more sensitive than name, address or even social security number. Diagnoses and medical data like treatment for mental health and addiction issues is also included in the trove of data.Now, more than a dozen lawsuits are invoking a little known law from 1974 that was designed to safeguard exactly this kind of data from federal overreach.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump administration continues to fire, shut down or defund independent elements of the federal government that traditionally work as a check on presidential power.Supporters of President Trump say: That's exactly the point. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The deadliest phase of the U.S. fentanyl crisis appears to be over. That's according to new research showing fatal overdoses from fentanyl and other street drugs continue to plunge and have now dropped from their peak in all 50 states. But with that good news comes with challenges including caring for a larger population of people, who are surviving, but may be deeply unwell.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

House Republicans have to get their spending bill passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. They can likely afford to lose just one vote. And that's the easy part. Then they'll have to get working on their plan to extend 4.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts passed under the Trump administration — a plan that will require huge cuts in government spending. Republicans are adamant that cuts to Medicaid are a non-starter. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report last week that said Republicans' budget likely would require cuts to Medicaid or Medicare.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Many migrants in Mexico journey north to the U.S. border by riding on top of freight trains. It's a dangerous trip: migrants have been kidnapped by cartels or killed by falling onto the tracks. And now, with the Trump administration suspending asylum applications at the border, the chances of crossing into the U.S. are even smaller than they were a few months ago.NPR's Eyder Peralta recently rode along with migrants through a frigid night to try to answer a simple question: why do so many still take the risk?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been a little more than a week since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Vice President JD Vance was in the meeting too. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, sat on an Oval Office couch, mostly silent, as Trump and Vance berated the Ukrainian leader. Along the way, the president and vice president made it clear just how much of the established global order they are ready to upend. An order that for most of his career, Rubio has defended, and worked to help hold up. So what changed ...and what do those changes mean? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Like a lot of economists, Mark Zandi, with Moody's Analytics, thinks President Trump's across-the-board tariffs are a bad idea. Saying, "Tariffs, broad-based tariffs, are a real problem for the economy."But Zandi says – it's not just the tariffs themselves that are the problem, it's the uncertainty created by Trump's rollout. Trump threatened 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico would start in February. They were paused at the 11th hour, only to eventually go into effect this week.On Thursday Trump announced the new tariffs would be paused for most products, but potentially only until April 2.Meanwhile tariffs on China snapped into place in February, and then doubled, to 20%.What happens next is anyone's guess. Businesses have been optimistic about the economy under Trump. His chaotic tariff rollout threatens that.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A hundred minutes — that's how long President Trump had the floor — literally — last night.A hundred minutes he used to lay out his agenda, his grievances and what he argued are the accomplishments of his first six weeks in office.This all came during his "joint address" to Congress — the State of the Union that's not a State of the Union.Since Trump returned to office in January, there's been little room left for democrats to make their case to the American people. Democratic moderates think they have an answer for Trump 2.0. What does their playbook look like? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After the Trump-Zelenskyy blow-up on Friday, European leaders held emergency talks in London to put together a roadmap to peace. Then, on Tuesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced a proposal called ReArm Europe. The roughly $840 billion plan would quickly build up defense budgets in Europe. Meanwhile, the U.S. seems to continue to align itself with Russia. President Trump is upending the U.S.-led order that has dominated global politics for the better part of a century. What does that mean for Ukraine – and for America? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

People who work for the federal court system don't have the same kinds of job protections that most other Americans do.A nearly year-long NPR investigation has found problems with the way the courts police sexual harassment and bullying...and a pervasive culture of fear about blowing the whistle. A warning to our listeners, this piece contains a description of sexual assault.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Unlike any other religious leader around the world, the leader of the world's one billion Catholics is also the leader of a sovereign nation. And Pope Francis hasn't been shy about using that political power.He's pushed for an end to the wars between Hamas and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine.And he's repeatedly tried to point the world's attention to two ongoing challenges: immigration and climate change. Much of the world has spent the last two weeks focused on Pope Francis' health. And the reason why has as much to do with the fact that he's a powerful geopolitical force as it does with the fact he's a key religious figure. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Tuesday, President Trump will address Congress and the nation in a major speech, where he'll sum up what he's accomplished in his first month. And while the Trump administration has already claimed success in curbing illegal immigration, many people affected by his policies have experienced chaos and panic.Andrea Lino, a supervising attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, shares stories about how Trump's actions have affected her clients and her work.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Tuesday, 21 DOGE employees resigned. NPR spoke to one of them who says she felt the new administration was causing "harm to the American people." As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency work to remake the federal government, some of the people tasked with executing his vision have serious concerns about what the changes will do. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump at the White House.On the agenda — a deal for Ukraine to share its rich natural resources. The Trump administration wants hundreds of billions of dollars of rare earth metals and other critical minerals. Details are thin on what exactly Ukraine would get in exchange. The meeting comes as the world marks three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as Trump promises to bring an end to the war.But bringing an end to the war may not be so simple argues Alexander Vindman.The Ukrainian-born Vindman was the White House staffer and active duty Army officer, who testified against Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2019.Trump fired Vindman not long after. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage.Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's security, recently announced that it would further boost its defense spending.And a recent poll found 85 percent of Greenlanders are opposed to being part of the United States.Parliamentary candidate Naaja Nathanielsen is one of them.It isn't clear whether Trump's ambitions for Greenland will take. But some politicians in the territory are taking his calls for acquisition more seriously than ever before.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Friday, Donald Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff CQ Brown, along with several other top Pentagon officials. Now, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has a question for the man tapped to succeed him, Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Caine.Quote — "will he have the ability to speak truth to power?" Senator Reed is the top democrat on the Armed Services Committee. The Trump administration says it wants a military built on meritocracy. Critics say it's building one governed by political loyalty.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Donald Trump's tariffs and comments about turning Canada into the 51st state have tested U.S. relations with the country. One example is the deterioration of longstanding bonds between Detroit, Michigan and its neighbor across the river, Windsor, Ontario. NPR's Don Gonyea is a Detroit native and current resident of the city. He's had a front row view to changing attitudes between the two populations who have long enjoyed a very friendly, symbiotic relationship.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"The Department of Education is a big con job." That's just one of the things President Trump has said about one of the most high profile departments in federal government — a department Trump says he wants to eliminate.Trump says he wants to save money, and kill policies he doesn't like. Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE has already started cutting funding from the department. The Trump administration wants the Department of Education gone. But can they get rid of it, and what could be lost in the process? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia. Three years ago Russian troops poured over Ukraine's border, and Russian missiles and drones continue to bombard Ukrainian cities.Besides being untrue, the comments echoed a popular Kremlin talking point. And Trump's comments signaled a seismic shift in decades of U.S. foreign policy. Supporters of Ukraine and its allies, both here and abroad, were left shaken.NPR's Joanna Kakissis and Greg Myre discuss Ukraine's future as Russia-U.S. relations thaw. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is the United States headed toward autocracy?That's a question prompted by a steady stream of executive orders seeking to consolidate power in the White House and upend long held policies and norms.New York Times Opinion writer M. Gessen lived through much of Russia's slide into autocracy, and wrote a book about it. They argue that one of the ways Vladimir Putin consolidated power... was by making a series of arguments that seemed outrageous at the time — like the idea that the LGBT population was a threat to Russian sovereignty. President Donald Trump's second term has been marked by a string of policy proposals that would have been unthinkable in any other administration.Even if they don't go anywhere, they're reshaping the boundaries of our democracy. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, along withother top officials spent much of Tuesday weighing whether to use her power to remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office.It's a power that no New York Governor has ever used before.Adams faces growing calls to step down over allegations of corruption - and criticism that Adams' deepening ties with the Trump administration have compromised his ability to govern independently.The nation's biggest city has been all but paralyzed by the legal and political problems of its Mayor. What's next for Eric Adams, and what does the scandal tell us about the Trump Justice Department? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An Israeli delegation is in Cairo to hash out details for the second phase of a ceasefire deal with Hamas. Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas agreed to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages – and Israel said it would free around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.NPR's Jerome Socolovsky looks into why Israel has long accepted lopsided deals to bring back abducted citizens. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Across the country and around the world, tens of thousands of federal workers face uncertainty amid an unprecedented reduction and restructuring of the federal workforce.President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders — freezing hiring, ordering teleworkers back to the office, reclassifying employees and dismantling wide-ranging DEI programs.What will mass layoffs mean for federal workers and the government services they provide?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There are at least two million people in America who have thoughts and ideas they can't put into words. People who have had strokes or traumatic brain injuries often live with aphasia: difficulty using language, both written and spoken. But music mostly originates in the undamaged hemisphere of the brain, and people with aphasia can often sing. Today in our bonus episode, in partnership with the podcast Rumble Strip, we meet a member of The Aphasia Choir of Vermont.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Donald Trump is now chairman of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Trump replaced 18 members of the board with allies who then elected him into the position. There is no precedent for this move – most presidents have been hands-off with the cultural center since it opened in 1971 – including President Trump himself during his first term. Already, artists affiliated with the center have departed and performers are canceling shows. For a decade, Deborah Rutter served as President of the Kennedy Center. This week, she was ousted from that position. In her first interview since then, she speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the abrupt end to her tenure.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Panama has been looking for solutions to a long-term problem. Every time a ship passes through the Panama Canal, more than 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun pour out into the ocean. Nobody ever thought Panama could run out of water. It is one of the rainiest countries in the world. But a couple years ago, a drought got so bad that the canal had to reduce traffic by more than a third - which had a huge impact on global shipping.The Panama Canal needs more water. Authorities have decided to get it by building a dam in a spot that would displace more than 2,000 people along the Rio Indio.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Gaza Strip – ground zero of Israel's war with Hamas – is only about twice the size of Washington, DC. It has about 25 miles of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of about 2 million people. Last week, President Trump proposed relocating those people to other countries in the region, like Egypt and Jordan.Trump has said the Palestinians would not be allowed to return: UN officials and others say Trump's plan would amount to ethnic cleansing. Despite domestic and international concerns that the U.S. is empire building, Trump continues to double down on his plans for the U.S. to "own" Gaza.Trump says the U.S. is going to take over Gaza, though he offers few specifics. What could the proposal mean for Palestinians and the broader Middle East? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's blizzard of executive orders has run into a snowplow of legal challenges. There are dozens of cases challenging the White House's actions. Judges all over the country have found that the White House acted illegally.The challenges, and the rulings, continue to pour in. But Trump's team is punching back. After a judge blocked Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing personal data and other Treasury department systems, Musk referred to him as "a corrupt judge protecting corruption" and called for his impeachment.Vice President JD Vance made the controversial claim on Sunday that quote, "judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power." Comments like these suggest Trump's circle may be willing to ignore court orders and defy judicial authority.So what happens if the executive branch ignores the judicial branch? Is that a constitutional crisis? Is the United States already in one?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is quickly expanding its reach through the federal government.It recently accessed systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Musk and his team now are looking at key payment and contracting systems for Medicare and Medicaid.That was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.On X, Musk said he believes quote "big money fraud is happening." Medicare insures older people. Medicaid offers insurance to low income people and those with disabilities.These two health insurance programs serve tens of millions of people, and they consume a huge part of federal and state budgets. So how could DOGE impact these services? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Project 2025, is a 900-plus page blueprint for a conservative President. It was unveiled in the spring of 2023, well before Donald Trump had won the republican presidential nomination.It outlined a suite of very conservative policies that would, for example, outlaw the mailing of abortion pills and abolish the department of education. It even suggests a return to the gold standard.It became a democratic talking point, so much so that Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the plan and the authors.But now that Trump is in office, releasing his own detailed plans. A lot of them are strikingly similar to the ones laid out in Project 2025. And one of its chief architects is now the head of the critical Office of Management and Budget.Trump disavowed Project 2025 during the campaign. Now, as President, is he using it as a playbook?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For centuries, scholars only had one version of the life of Margery Kempe, an English mystic who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries — until a ping pong match revealed her story in her own words. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A lot of labels have been applied to Trump's foreign policy approach. America First, Isolationist, transactional, imperialist, protectionist. "I'm a nationalist and a globalist" he told the Wall Street Journal during his first term. In his inaugural address last month, Trump made comments suggesting his foreign policy will be characterized by restraint, saying, in part, success should be defined by the "wars we never get into."Yet in the same address, he also said, the United States will take back the Panama Canal. In his first campaign, Trump ran on the idea that the cycle of the United States intervening in the Middle East should come to an end. And on Tuesday of this week, he said that the U.S. will "take over" the Gaza Strip, after relocating the Palestinians, who live there.Trump has promised a new approach to American foreign policy. Is there a Trump Doctrine? And what is it?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As President Trump dismantles Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices at the federal level, organizations across the country are also shifting their approach to diversity. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump floated two stunning ideas about Gaza on Tuesday. The first is he said the U.S. would take over the territory, which has been devastated by the recent war.And, he said the entire population of Gaza would be relocated to other countries. Trump offered no specifics for his plans sending Palestinians and Israelis scrambling to understand what he means.President Trump's vague plan to "Make Gaza Beautiful Again" could signal the largest shift in US-Middle East policy in decades and could upend widespread hope for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Washington these days, Elon Musk seems to be everywhere.In the 15 days Donald Trump has been back in the White House, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been moving to change every corner of the federal government. The billionaire entrepreneur and his team have gained access to a sensitive government payment system in the Treasury Department.They're pushing to drastically reduce the number of federal employees. How did the world's richest man come to have such a big role in the federal government?And why does he want it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Panama Canal has sat at the center of global trade for more than a century, connecting two oceans. The things Americans use every day pass through here, from gas to food. And now, this spot is also at the center of President Trump's global expansionist agenda.Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just wrapped up a trip to Panama where he told the President that if China's influence over the canal isn't curbed the United States will take measures to protect its rights.Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal has the potential to reshuffle global politics. We're meet the people and the 51-mile waterway in the middle of it all.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Most presidents want as much power as they can get. And it's not unusual to see them claim authority that they don't, in the end, actually have. We saw it just last term, when former President Biden tried to unilaterally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student loans.Or when he announced, days before leaving office that the 28th Amendment, on gender equality, was now the law of the land. So are the opening moves of Trump's presidency just a spicier version of the standard playbook or an imminent threat to constitutional government as we know it?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Schools, corporations, even churches, are wrestling with how to approach issues of racial and social justice in a highly polarized U.S. But what happens when people with shared political views disagree on how much is too much? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What went wrong in the midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet over Reagan National Airport, outside of D.C.? As officials search for clues the country mourns those lost. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced senators today in a contentious confirmation hearing to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Trump. He's a former Democrat — turned independent presidential candidate — turned Trump loyalist.He's also someone who has pushed vaccine misinformation, something he was repeatedly questioned about during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.HHS is a massive system that oversees everything from the Food and Drug Administration to vaccine funding to the Affordable Care Act. What do we know about how Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. would run it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Country music singer Charley Crockett was born and raised in Texas, grew up in a single-wide trailer with his mom and says his family lineage traces all the way back to the frontiersman Davy Crockett. This Sunday is the music industry's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. And Crockett is up for an award for the first time — Best Americana Album — for his record "$10 Cowboy." For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Susie Wiles is doing something no woman has done before. She is the first in history to hold the position of White House Chief of Staff. Now, we will find out if she can do something that no one — man or woman – has ever done before: Impose discipline and order on a Trump White House that was rife with leaks, drama, and by many accounts – chaos – during his first term. A chief of staff can be the difference between a ground-breaking presidency and chaos. Is Susie Wiles up to the task?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Former President Joe Biden championed DEI programs–initiatives aimed at diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility in recruiting, hiring and retention of federal government employees. In a matter of days – and a few pen strokes – President Donald Trump brought it all to an end this week. NPR's Pien Huang speaks with Timothy Welbeck, the director of Temple University's Center for Anti-Racism, to understand more about the history of DEI and how it became targeted by President Trump, For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes--if their homes survived. But the disaster doesn't end when the fire stops. A single block and a half separates the Altadena home of Jennifer and Ed Barguiarena from complete destruction. Just down the street lies charred, flattened debris. But for families like the Barguiarenas — the seemingly lucky ones, whose houses survived — an altogether different ordeal is just beginning. The water still isn't safe to drink, cook or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people's homes and yards. And families like the Barguiarenas are also worried about what they can't see – the possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their homes.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What do Babygirl, Singing in the Rain and Apocalypse Now have in common? They've all been overlooked by Oscar voters.Some Oscar blunders fall into the category of snubs - others show a failure to recognize films that will endure.Now sometimes, these critiques are a matter of movie taste. Sometimes, they're a broader matter of representation – raising questions about who the movie industry chooses to celebrate or ignore.The Academy Awards have made some truly epic misses over their long history.Two of NPR's film regulars dig into those times when the Oscars got things very wrong, and what that tells us about the art, culture and business of the movies. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, he was flanked by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.Also on the dais was Apple CEO Tim Cook, Open AI's CEO Sam Altman, and Bernard Arnault owner of L-V-M-H which owns luxury brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton. An American government closely aligned with money and power is something outgoing President Joe Biden warned about in his farewell address. Oligarchy – A word that once more commonly referred to the super wealthy of Eastern Europe has reached the shores of the U.S. What could an American oligarchy mean for the U.S. government and its citizens For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Donald J. Trump began taking decisive steps to implement his agenda hours after being sworn in. In the day since he's once again become President, Trump has signed more than 200 executive actions aimed at delivering on campaign promises such as lower energy prices, mass deportations and an end to birthright citizenship. There's been a deluge of actions, orders and pronouncements during the President's first day. From tariffs to immigration to the January 6th pardons – we breakdown everything down. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump returns to Washington newly empowered. The Republican party has remade itself in his image. The Supreme Court has granted him sweeping immunity for his official actions. And, unlike last time, he narrowly won the popular vote.And Trump is prepared to exercise his new power almost immediately. He's pledged to sign an unprecedented wave of executive actions – many of which will be challenged in court.These actions include one making it U.S. policy to recognize only two biologically distinct sexes – male and female. And his administration would end birthright citizenship — a right explicitly protected by the Constitution.President Donald Trump's executive actions could make fundamental changes to some of the foundations of American government.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When he ran for office in 2020, President Joe Biden vowed to turn the page on then president Donald Trump. But it's Trump who is returning to the White House for a second term in office. We speak with NPR's Asma Khalid, who covered the Biden administration, on the legacy he leaves behind. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Will Rogers State Historic Park is a vast stretch of natural space in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's a treasure to Angelenos. People get married there, picnic there, and have kids' birthday parties on the great lawn.The park's namesake, Will Rogers, was a vaudeville performer, radio and movie star, and was known as America's "cowboy philosopher." His nearly century-old ranch house is the park's centerpiece. It's survived a near miss with wildfire before. Last week, as firestorm engulfed large parts of Los Angeles, this piece of American history was reduced to rubble.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the time we publish this episode, Israel's government has yet to accept the terms of the long-negotiated and hard fought ceasefire deal announced yesterday.The deal is still on, but the quarreling over the details demonstrates how difficult it is to keep the agreement on track.On Thursday morning Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a cabinet vote on the deal, accusing Hamas of "reneging" on parts of the agreement. A Hamas official said on social media that the group is committed to the agreement announced Wednesday. After more than 15 long months, tens of thousands dead, and close to 2 million people displaced, will we finally see an end to the war in Gaza? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet picks are in full swing on Capitol Hill with a number of them appearing before the Senate this week.Nominees including Pam Bondi, Trump's pick to run the Justice Department, John Ratcliffe, his pick to run the CIA, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio Trump's nominee for Secretary of State have all answered questions about what they'll do and what they won't do if confirmed.Rubio and Ratcliffe will play key foreign policy roles under the 47th president.Those are the people, but what do they tell us about the policy?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On a shelf in his office at CIA headquarters, Director Bill Burns keeps a tiny scaled model of a house. It's the house in Kabul, Afghanistan, where Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2022. When NPR went out to interview him last week, Burns pointed to the exact balcony on which Zawahiri was standing. There was pride in his voice. The CIA had never stopped looking for the guy even more than two decades after 9/11. But it was also a reminder of challenges, of adversaries that will outlast any single CIA director.Now, as Burns wraps up four years running the Central Intelligence Agency, the challenges have multiplied and intensified.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"Wildfire" is the word we tend to use when we talk about what Los Angeles has been dealing with the past week. But Lori Moore-Merrell, the U.S. Fire Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency used a different word, when she spoke to NPR this morning. She described a "conflagration." Saying they're not wildland fires with trees burning. They're structure to structure fire spread.They may have started at the suburban fringe, but they didn't stay there. Which prompts a question: what happens when fire meets city?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From handling crises in the rail and airline industries to overseeing the distribution of billions of dollars in infrastructure funding, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has taken on a lot over the last four years.Now, his tenure is coming to an end.Host Scott Detrow speaks with Buttigieg about what the Biden administration accomplished, what it didn't get done, and what he's taking away from an election where voters resoundingly called for something different. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

While the debate over homeless policy plays out across the country, Project HOME has offered resources to homeless people in Philadelphia for decades. We talk with the co-founder, who just retired after 35 years. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jimmy Carter's four years in the White House were largely defined by an event that took place halfway through his term. On November 4th, 1979 Iranian college students took over the US Embassy in Tehran, and took 52 Americans hostage.For the next 444 days, the Carter administration tried to secure the hostages' release. In April, 1980 they even commissioned a rescue mission that ended in failure. While Carter was trying to end the hostage crisis, he was also campaigning for a second term. A year to the day after the Americans were taken hostage, Ronald Reagan beat Carter in a landslide.The hostage crisis played a key role in Carter's defeat. The Iranian Hostage crisis helped doom Jimmy Carter's presidency, but for some of the people he helped free, he was a hero. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Extremely dry conditions coupled with high winds have led to an explosive wildfire situation in southern California. Multiple fires have erupted across the Los Angeles area since Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate, and firefighters are struggling to contain the flames.Adria Kloke is one of the people who has had to flee. She packed up her belongings, along with her cat, and left her home in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday. Kloke shares her story with NPR.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Washington, D.C., the federal government is closed – as are most of the schools in the area. That's because the first major snow storm in about three years barreled in Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Southern U.S. is preparing for another storm that could paralyze parts of Texas, Arkansas and Northern Louisiana. And Southern California is preparing for "life threatening, destructive gusts" driving wildfires. That's a lot of wild weather...so what's going on?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What happened on January 6, 2021? There have been news reports, documentaries and witness testimonies all trying to put that question to rest. But despite an impeachment trial and a House Select Committee investigation, the fight over how that day will be remembered isn't over.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Billionaire Elon Musk begins 2025 as one of the most influential people in the United States. He's developed a close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, and has been advising the incoming administration on policy and staffing. And Musk is now increasingly weighing in on European politics as well.Host Scott Detrow speaks with reporter Rebecca Collard about Musk wading into European politics.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As president, Jimmy Carter promised always to tell the American people the truth about what was happening in the country. We'll look at how that affected his presidency as we remember Carter's life and legacy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Orleans is still reeling from the New Year's Day attack that killed 14 people on Bourbon Street. We ask a counterterrorism expert how attacks like this can be prevented and hear the latest from New Orleans.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

So much can happen in a year. While we all wish for a happy New Year, that's not always the case. We talk to author and podcaster Kelly Corrigan about the lessons she learned from a challenging year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Most years bring both good and bad experiences. But sometimes, it's the challenges of a bad year that show us our hidden strengths.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every year, more and more Americans embark on Dry January – a whole month of giving up alcohol.It's easy to imagine the benefits: no hangovers, better sleep, happier wallet. But like with any resolution for the new year, staying committed can be hard.Today, we're bringing you an episode from our friends at the "Life Kit" podcast that's all about how to get through Dry January – and reexamine your relationship with alcohol.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.He was the nation's 39th president, in office from 1977 to 1981.He will of course be remembered for his accomplishments in office. But also for all that he accomplished in the four decades after he left the White House. Host Andrew Limbong speaks about Jimmy Carter's legacy with two NPR journalists who have covered the White House for years: national political correspondent Mara Liasson and senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Syria's dictatorship fell in early December, celebrations broke out around the world - including nearly 6,000 miles away, in Toledo, Ohio. That's where Mohammed al-Refai, a refugee from Syria, lives now. NPR has followed his story for nearly a decade.In 2015, millions of Syrians fled the civil war in their country. al-Refai got a visa to come to the U.S. His parents and siblings, who fled to Jordan, did not. So, he moved on his own to Toledo, where built a new life for himself. He long dreamed of visiting his family and maybe, one day, returning to Syria.With the Syrian civil war now over, we talked to al-Refai about what comes next. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The holiday season is joyous – and also expensive.From steep flight prices to a laundry list of presents to buy, when January 1st rolls around, you might feel like your bank account is hurting.Luckily, our friends at the "Life Kit" podcast have an answer for everything – including what they call "financial self-care."Today, we're bringing you one of their episodes that's all about creating routines for a healthy bank account in 2025 and beyond. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It can be hard to resist jumping on the whole "New Year, New You" bandwagon. But if you've decided 2025 is your year to make some changes, we have tips to help you succeed."Life Kit" host Marielle Segarra joins us to share the best ways to approach New Year's resolutions.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What makes a movie a Christmas movie?When the movie Die Hard was released on Blu Ray a few years back, the studio called it "the greatest Christmas story ever told!" It does take place at an office Christmas party, but is that fact enough to make it a Christmas movie? What about "Elf," "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Eyes Wide Shut" are those Christmas movies? Yes, right? NPR producer Marc Rivers says, "not so fast."Just what makes any Christmas movie a true Christmas movie?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a permanent fixture of the Christmas song canon. But the holiday song canon is big, and a number of other pop artists have made their own Yuletide jingles since 1994 including John Legend, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.But not even the woman who shattered records with her Eras tour has given us a holiday song that has had staying power worthy of The Canon.For 30 years Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" has dominated the holiday music charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson explains what makes it a lasting hit?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

By most objective measures, the US economy is in good shape. Employers added about 2 million jobs this year. Unemployment is low. In much of the country, gasoline is now selling for less than $3 a gallon. The Economist has called the United States' performance "the envy of the world."But even as the U.S. is outperforming most other countries, many Americans remain frustrated by the high cost of living. And that's fueled a lot of unhappiness, and a political comeback for President-elect Donald Trump. Trump will soon take the reins of an economy that's bounced back strongly during the four years he was out of office. For many families, though, that rebound was overshadowed by soaring prices for food, housing, and other necessities.Will his policies bring costs down? Or rekindle inflation? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It was a hectic election season in America, to put it lightly, and we're not alone. What do this year's elections across the world say about the state of democracy at large? Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondents about some of the most consequential global elections of 2024.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now. Some sequels are pretty darn good, but many believe the perfect movie sequel came out 50 years ago this month. Of course, we're talking about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II. It's not only considered the greatest sequel of all time, it's also considered one of the greatest movies of all time. So why does Godfather II work, and where so many other sequels fall short? NPR producer Marc Rivers weighs in.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the start of this year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing a crisis. Just a few months before, Hamas had breached Israel's border with Gaza, killing some 1200 people in Israel on October 7th.As the year ends, Netanyahu is spending some of it in a courtroom to fight corruption charges that have dogged him since 2019. The Israeli Prime Minister has called the charges absurd.You might think that would be detrimental to his political career, but instead Netanyahu looks stronger than he has since the war began. This — despite that trial, an international arrest warrant and a grinding war.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How does fitness and movement change across the lifespan? According to NPR's Allison Aubrey, who covers health and wellness, the official recommendation is to aim for more than 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. That could be running, walking, biking, swimming, or weightlifting. We meet a group of active older people, who show it's never too late to find movement and exercise that works for you.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With just a handful of shopping days until Christmas, millions are making last minute online purchases. Unfortunately 'tis also the season for financial and identity theft. We ask an expert how you can avoid the scams.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States in just over a month.Throughout his campaign, Trump laid out a list. Things he plans to accomplish in a second term — some on day one. They include: closing the border...imposing tariffs... and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.Trump also campaigned on bringing down food prices...in fact, he told NBC's Kristen Welker, it's the reason he won.President-elect Trump has a long to-do list for his first days in office. How much of it can he actually get done? A lot says senior Trump advisor Jason Miller.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For many of us, Christmas songs are dominating our playlists this week. There's the one you start hearing in October, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby," and the Christmas banger that went to number one last year, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."Lee, now 80, recorded the song when she was 13. The living legend talked to NPR last year when her song — finally — hit number one. We revisit that conversation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The brutal regime of Bashar al Assad fell over the weekend with dizzying speed. Syrians within the country and around the world burst into celebration. Now, the rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al Sham, or HTS has to govern. They are designated a terrorist organization by the US.And some worry that HTS could slide into its own kind of autocratic regime.That fear is not unfounded. Across the Middle East and North Africa, many revolutions have overthrown autocrats, only for those countries to descend back into chaos or a more oppressive rule.The Syrian revolution began amid a wave of uprisings in the region that led to new, undemocratic regimes. Can Syria avoid a similar fate today? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced yesterday that he will resign before President-elect Trump takes office. This comes after Trump announced he would appoint loyalist Kash Patel to lead the Bureau.President-elect Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, held several national security positions in the first Trump administration. Since then, he's found money and attention as a pro-Trump influencer promoting conspiracy theories. What can that tell us about his plans for the FBI?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

One of the triumphs of modern medicine is that children diagnosed with cancer today have an 85 percent chance of surviving at least five years.That is up from a rate of about 50 percent a generation ago.But survival brings new challenges.NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports on the unique needs of young people as part of the series, Life After Diagnosis.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, police arrested 26 year old Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania. He's facing charges including murder, the illegal possession of a firearm, and lying about his identity.Authorities believe they have arrested the person responsible for gunning down the CEO of a health insurance company. What have we learned about Luigi Mangione, and his possible motivations? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For half a century, one family has brutally ruled Syria. Nearly overnight, that reign ended. Syria is not only a home to millions of people. It's also a crucial piece in a geopolitical chess game.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You never know if president-elect Donald Trump is bluffing, but when you have billions of dollars on the line, you have to take him seriously. So car companies took notice, when Trump announced a plan for huge new tariffs in a social media post before Thanksgiving.A 25 percent tax on imports from Canada and Mexico would have a major impact on the car industry, which depends heavily on cross border trade.Trump's tariffs could have huge consequences for the people who make cars, and the people who buy them. Even if he's bluffing, he has other big plans to shake up the auto industry.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An epic poem and an epic reunion come to the big screen. The Return looks for new meaning in Homer's ancient story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca — and to his wife Penelope. We talk to co-stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Syrian anti-government insurgents claim they have entered the city of Hama — a major Syrian government stronghold.This continues their momentum over the last week, when they also seized Syria's second largest city, Aleppo. Since the war started in 2011, half a million people have been killed and many millions of others displaced.The Syrian Civil War has been locked in a stalemate for years. Now, rebel forces are gaining ground against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Will the group ultimately end his control over the country?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the time we publish this episode, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick to run the Pentagon, is struggling to hold onto his nomination. There's an ever growing list of accusations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and financial misconduct.The former Fox and Friends weekend host has spent Wednesday meeting with Senators and doing interviews trying to control the damage.Pete Hegseth's nomination for Secretary of Defense hangs in the balance...will he survive? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Just before Donald Trump took office the first time, he held a press conference, announcing that he would turn over control of his business empire to his sons. He said he wanted to address concerns about conflicts of interest even though he maintained he didn't really have to. Saying, "I could actually run my business. I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don't like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to."Trump's second term may put that theory to the test. The former and future president hasn't yet announced any plan to wall himself off from his businesses while in office, and Trump's businesses like his many hotels and resorts could benefit substantially from his actions as President.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hunter Biden no longer has to worry about going to prison.That's because his father President Joe Biden pardoned him with just weeks left in his presidency. The President's son was convicted in June on federal gun charges. Hunter Biden lied about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. And he pleaded guilty in September for failing to pay more than a million dollars in federal taxes.The younger Biden was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month.President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. What will that mean for his legacy... and for the future of presidential pardons? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump promises to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants once he returns to the White House. If he follows through, the scale of it would be unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes.Many supporters of Trump's mass deportation agenda say expelling unauthorized immigrants will help the US economy. But a look back at America's first major immigration crackdown suggests otherwise.On this episode, host Adrian Ma and his colleagues from NPR's The Indicator podcast look at that immigration crackdown during the 'Chinese Exclusion Era,' and the economic impact it had on the West. For a deeper dive into the economic history of the Chinese Exclusion Era, check out the latest installments of Planet Money's newsletter. In Part One, NPR's Greg Rosalsky covers the economic circumstances that led to a populist anti-Chinese movement. In Part Two, he explains the ways (both legal and extralegal) that movement succeeded in driving Chinese immigrants away from the U.S. and the economic fallout that ensued.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you've followed Stephen Colbert's career closely, you might have picked up on something. It's there back in his days on The Colbert Report, when he issued a throw-down about the proper way to make barbecue sauce and that time on The Late Show, when he took calls on the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line the weekend before Thanksgiving. Colbert has opinions about food. Like, strong opinions. And it turns out that's true off-camera, too. Stephen and his wife, Evie McGee Colbert say they basically live in the kitchen.Now they've written a cookbook: Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves. It's a delightful window into their marriage and the food of the South Carolina Low Country where they both grew up.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Thirteen bestselling cookbooks, a thriving food business in the Hamptons that she sold decades ago, and now her memoir "Be Ready When the Luck Happens" has hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list. None of that was in Ina Garten's plan. Her legendary career began when she was working in Washington DC as a somewhat discontented government employee, and saw an ad for a food store in the Hamptons. For this Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrating gratitude and food, we take a look at how Ina Garten built a successful business, powerful brand and happy life. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On a Sunday in mid-July, Pastor Chris Morgan welcomed worshipers to Christ United Methodist Church in suburban Pittsburgh with a simple message.That Sunday was particularly difficult.A day earlier, a man had nearly assassinated then-candidate Donald Trump forty miles north in Butler. Morgan asked people to pray for Trump and those killed and injured in the shooting, and asked the congregation to pray for the family of the shooter.Morgan had already planned a sermon series, called Do Unto Others, to deal with the nation's — and his congregation's — political divisions ahead of Election Day. NPR's Frank Langfitt went to Christ Church the weekend before Election Day – and the weekend after – to see if the efforts there made a difference. As Americans prepare to come together at Thanksgiving, how do we bridge this country's political divide? And can we? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In her new memoir, Angela Merkel writes about the many dilemmas she had to navigate as Chancellor of Germany. Dilemmas her male colleagues never had to sweat. Like, can you wear a pantsuit instead of a skirt in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament? She decided the answer was, yes.Merkel is the only woman ever to rise to the most powerful political post in Germany. She served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021. Angela Merkel has gone toe-to-toe with world leaders like Vladimir Putin, led Germany through times of turmoil and become a role model for other women aspiring to positions of leadership. But her legacy is complex. She gets into all of this in her new memoir, "Freedom." For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President-elect Trump's promises more ICE workplace raids like the ones in 2019. This time, advocates and undocumented people want to be prepared.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The movie version of the Broadway smash Wicked hits screens Friday, just in time for the holidays. Stage and screen star Cynthia Erivo plays the Wicked Witch of the West. She speaks to NPR about the role.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Apple TV series "Bad Sisters" debuted two years ago. There were laughs. There was murder. And that could've been it for the Garvey sisters, because the show wasn't originally intended to have a second season. But, as creator and star Sharon Horgan puts it — "You don't just kill a man and move on."The Garvey sisters are back for Season 2 – with more banter... wickedness... and secrets. We catch up with creator and star Sharon Horgan to find out what's in store. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you're tracking Donald Trump's cabinet picks, you may have noticed common threads among them: top jobs are going to people fiercely loyal to Trump, people with experience appearing on TV, but no experience directly relevant to the jobs they would be doing.There's another thing several share: being accused of sexual misconduct. Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Elon Musk, who Trump has picked to co-run the Department of Government Efficiency — all these men have faced some variation of accusations of sexual misconduct. All have denied it, or claimed no memory.Donald Trump's first presidential win helped lay the groundwork for the #MeToo movement. What do his cabinet picks say about the movement today?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Last week British surgeon Nizam Mamode testified in front of a committee in the U.K. Parliament. Dr. Mamode had recently returned from working at a hospital in Central Gaza. He told parliamentary members what he witnessed, including drones that would come down and "pick off civilians, children. And we had description after description. This is not, you know, an occasional thing. This was day after day after day." For months, NPR has been collecting eyewitness accounts from Gaza that corroborate Dr. Mamode's testimony, saying the Israeli military has been using sniper drone technology and that they're not just shooting enemies, but also civilians.|For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What does it take to run the Department of Defense? That's a question that will be at the heart of Pete Hegseth's confirmation process early next year.Hegseth, a longtime Fox News host, is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense. The department he's nominated to run is one of the biggest, most complex entities in the US government. It's an institution that former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel notes – has its "own judicial code, legal system and health care system."Pete Hegseth is about to oversee a Defense Department with an 800 billion dollar budget, and millions of service members. Is he qualified for the job?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President-elect Trump has vowed to elimanate the Department of Education. The DOE oversees everything from college student loans to aid for public school special education. What would shutting it down mean for America's schools?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When compared to some of president-elect Trump's other cabinet picks, Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State is a pretty conventional choice.He's a veteran politician who served on the foreign relations and intelligence committees for over a decade, and he's been a loyal Trump backer throughout this year's campaign. But when you look back at Marco Rubio during his 2016 presidential campaign, there's a striking contrast. When he ran against Trump in 2016, Rubio called him a con artist, and described his style of leadership as dangerous. Now, he's going to work for him. Marco Rubio's political evolution is indicative of how the Republican Party has remade itself around Donald Trump, and it gives some clues about how he may operate as the nation's top diplomat.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week President-elect Donald Trump announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services.The nomination comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy "go wild on health" during the campaign.Kennedy holds a number of controversial opinions on health, and promotes a number of scientifically debunked claims like vaccines cause autism, fluoride is poisoning the public water system and AIDS isn't caused by the HIV virus.Kennedy has long wanted to remake health and healthcare policy in the United States. Soon, he may get his chance. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first woman of color to lead the ticket of a major party. But despite her historic run, she ultimately lost. What will her legacy be?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since Donald Trump won the presidency last week, Democrats have been pointing fingers, laying blame and second-guessing themselves.All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro talked with three democratic strategists who are looking ahead and asking: Where does the party go from here?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wicked – the 20-year-old – smash hit on Broadway turns the story of the "Wizard of Oz" on its head. Now, the story of Elfaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good Witch, and the Wizard himself is making the shift from stage to screen. The director bringing the Broadway hit to screens across the country is Jon M. Chu, the director of the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians.The movie version of Wicked is in many ways the culmination of Chu's own story as a person of color. Chu always wanted to be a filmmaker. Chu says his life experience and career lead him to tell the story of a person of color in a new way.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During the campaign, President-elect Trump called for reporters to be imprisoned and for media outlets to lose their licenses over unfavorable coverage, Will he make good on the threats?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today, we're sharing an episode of Trump's Trials for listeners.Now that Donald Trump is headed back to the White House the three remaining criminal cases against him will most likely go away. Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for new episodes each Saturday.Sign up for sponsor-free episodes and support NPR's political journalism at plus.npr.org/trumpstrials.Email the show at trumpstrials@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Referred to as one of the most fascinating librarians in American history, Belle da Costa Greene is the figure who is responsible for the depth and legacy of the Morgan Library's collection, to this day.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In just over 70 days, Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States will become the 47th, and he'll begin implementing his vision of an all powerful chief executive.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the days leading up to election night, news outlets across the country were predicting a historically close race, one that could take days to call. But as election night progressed, it became clear former President Donald Trump was on a path to victory. So much so, that before anything was official, he thanked his supporters from his campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach.And then, Wednesday morning at about 5:30, it became official when the Associated Press called Wisconsin for Trump. We're still awaiting final tallies, but it appears Trump is on track to win the popular vote for the first time. Trump's agenda for a second term will be dissected over and over in the days ahead. Today, we break down how America sent him back to office --- how Trump won in 2024.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The homestretch of the presidential campaign means huge rallies, a final barrage of campaign ads, and massive multi-state get out the vote efforts. All of that costs money.And it seems like every successive presidential election ends up being the most expensive election in history.Open Secrets, a group that tracks election spending, estimates the 2024 federal election cycle will cost nearly $16 billion. It was around $15 billion in 2020.Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign raised a record billion dollars in just three months.And, according to Open Secrets, tech billionaire Elon Musk has poured more than $118-million into his America PAC in support of former President Donald Trump.As we publish this episode Tuesday afternoon, we don't know who will win this election. But we do know that outside money has played a bigger role than ever before.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Quincy Jones, the famed music producer who helped artists dominate popular music for half a century, has died. NPR's Walter Ray Watson described Jones' talent as one that produced music that hooked ears, warmed hearts and moved feet to dance.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In these closing days of the presidential election, polling across the board has nearly every swing state in a statistical tie, meaning the election may come down to just a couple thousands votes. No matter who wins, in the coming days we're going to hear a lot more from Donald Trump and his allies about the results. And if history is any guide we can expect a mix of misleading information, rumors and outright lies For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one. Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956. We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful, unexpected presidential campaign of our lives. We revisit the key moments that brought us to this point in the race.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There are plenty of ways to encourage people to vote, as the presidential candidates and their supporters are demonstrating in this final stretch of the campaign.We dig into each campaign's voter turnout operation.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Tuesday night, one week before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris made her closing argument to the American people. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

North Carolina has more rural voters than any other 2024 presidential swing state. As early voting continues across the state, canvassing groups are working to turn out voters — including in Nash County, a purple county President Biden won in 2020 and former President Trump won in 2016, both by razor-thin margins.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At a recent Trump rally, many speakers leaned into racist, misogynistic and vulgar rhetoric. So what could it do for his campaign in the final days of election season? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Evangelical and Pentecostal conservatives are a powerful force in Republican politics.They've stuck by former President Donald Trump for three presidential elections in a row.That's despite Trump's long list of criminal charges, sexual harassment and assault allegations, and regular brutal, personal attacks on political opponents — all of which wouldn't fit many people's definition of Christian. Conservative Christian support for former President Donald Trump seems to be unwavering. A North Carolina pastor says there's a simple reason why.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Election day is almost here, and we could soon find out who will become our next president. But winning doesn't only happen at the ballot box, and the results of this election are already being litigated in court.Trump and his allies filed a slew of lawsuits alleging widespread fraud. These efforts failed. But four years later, they are already trying to employ the same strategies again.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week and next, world leaders are gathering in Colombia for the 16th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to check up on their collective progress in slowing biodiversity loss.Can they successfully turn those plans into action against what the United Nations is calling "humanity's senseless and suicidal war with nature?"For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you had any doubts, we can clear them up now. Emo music not only still exists — it's thriving. A new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame focuses on Hopeless Records and its history. The independent record label has had an impressive roster over the last 30 years, featuring some of pop punk and emo music's biggest names from Sum 41 to All Time Low to Avenged Sevenfold. NPR's Juana Summers travels to Cleveland, Ohio to visit the exhibit and dives into why emo music remains relevant today.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In his posthumous memoir, Patriot, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote - "If they do finally whack me, the book will be my memorial."Though his voice has fallen silent, his wife Yulia Navalnaya is sharing his message. She now leads the movement her husband started, fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An NPR investigation has found more than 100 times when former president Donald Trump has said his rivals, critics and even private citizens should be investigated, prosecuted, or put in jail, or otherwise punished.So, could he act upon those threats if reelected?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Millions of ballots are tabulated at the Maricopa County Tabulation Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Inside and out, the building is a fortress.It's the legacy of the 2020 election when armed protestors gathered outside the building on election night. After Arizona was called for Joe Biden there were months of allegations about voter fraud.At a time when election results are routinely challenged, candidates cry foul and protesters threaten violence...what does it take to run an election? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two decades ago, only a third of Latinos believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Today, that number has risen to 62 percent. So why are Latino voters in this country changing their minds about abortion?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today, Israel announced that they had killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas.Sinwar came to power in the wake of the death of hiss predecessor, as well as the head of Hamas's military wing – leaving him ss the leading figure of the militant group. What will Sinwar's death mean for Hamas and for Israel's war in Gaza ?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"Israel has a right to defend itself and its people." It's a phrase that's been spoken by Israel's allies – and American presidents – for decades, especially in the days after Israel launched its war in Gaza after the October 7th attack by Hamas. But what do those words actually mean in a historically, politically and in the midst of Israel's incursions into Gaza and Lebanon. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Legendary journalist Bob Woodward's new book War, like so many of his books about the American presidency over the last half century, is generating headlines.But Woodward's work is about a lot more than juicy nuggets that rocket around cable news and social media.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vice President Harris' multiracial identity has not been a major focal point during her short campaign. But what do members of her communities think?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you eat salmon, there's a good chance that it comes from a salmon farm in Norway. The country has been farming salmon for over 50 years. The industry is touted as a key producer of sustainable, low carbon footprint protein. But there are still negative environmental impacts. Each year, an average of 200,000 farmed salmon escape from their open net pens and breed with wild salmon. Interbreeding with these escaped salmon passes on significant genetic changes to wild salmon, changes that make them less likely to survive in the wild. NPR's Rob Schmitz traveled the country's west coast, visiting fishing villages and fish farms to see how the growth of salmon farming is affecting the wild population. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers. This is despite its own research validating many child safety concerns. The confidential material was part of a more than two-year investigation into TikTok by 14 attorneys general that led to state officials suing the company on Tuesday. The lawsuit against the popular video sharing platform claims it was designed to keep young people hooked on the service. Documents uncovered by Kentucky Public Radio show that the company's internal research may help support this accusation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hurricane Milton tore a path of destruction through Florida late Wednesday, leaving multiple dead and wrenching buildings apart.Many across the southeastern U.S. were still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which hit less than two weeks ago.Now, residents and officials must again navigate the clean up rescue and recovery efforts.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida's central west coast, residents are preparing for the worst. The storm exploded into a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week, and now threatens to be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state.Like Hurricane Helene, which slammed into Florida and the Southeastern United States nearly two weeks ago, Milton is predicted to bring with it massive storm surges, destructive winds, heavy rain and the risk of death for those in its path. The damage Hurricane Milton could cause is chilling, but maybe not surprising.NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with climate reporter Rachel Waldholz about the ways in which climate change is supercharging hurricanes, including Helene and Milton.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the span of one day, a Category 1 hurricane headed for western Florida escalated to the highest intensity there is: Category 5.Since then, the predicted wind intensity for Hurricane Milton has ebbed and flowed ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall in Florida on Wednesday.But for now, experts are calling it an "extremely life-threatening situation."NPR spoke to a meteorologist who broke down the triple threat Hurricane Milton poses.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a twist that many addiction experts thought impossible, the decades long upward trend of opioid deaths in the United States has finally started to decline. And while there are plenty of theories, there are still very few answers as to why and how.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The October 7th Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza have changed the course of geopolitics. The events have upended the lives of countless individuals, and they will have far reaching consequences for the world. Today, we're presenting a special episode of State of the World, NPR's daily global news podcast. Our team of reporters in the region bring us stories of lives changed in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.State of the World brings you vital international stories from NPR reporters around the globe every week day. You can find them on Apple, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a state where every vote matters, campaigns are not only trying to win in counties where they're strongest. They're also trying to lose by less in places where votes for their candidate are harder to find. We take a look at volunteers in Wisconsin who are working to make less more.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Consider This host Ari Shapiro and WUWM's Maayan Silver speak with voters along a 15-mile road that cuts through the Milwaukee area's segregated neighborhoods as election season continues in this crucial swing state.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The effort to recover from Hurricane Helene is only beginning. But neighbors and volunteers from humanitarian organizations are pitching in to help.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The war in the Middle East appears to be widening, almost one year after Hamas launched its attack on Israel.For more on what might unfold from here, Consider This host Ailsa Chang speaks with General Frank McKenzie, the retired Commander of United States Central Command.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a race where so much of the polling is within the margin of error — it seems as though any one thing could affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.But have vice presidential debates made a difference in past races?NPR's senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith dug into that existential, and political question.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Historian Robert Caro's book "The Power Broker" details how urban planner Robert Moses reshaped New York through the roads and bridges he built, and the lives of the communities he destroyed.It's a definitive account of how power is acquired, how it works and how it's wielded in this country.That book, along with his four books on President Lyndon Johnson, have made Caro one of the most significant American authors of the last half century.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Sean "Diddy" Combs sang about being a bad boy in his 2001 hit, the lyrics were a mission statement and a boast. But today, the lyrics might sound more like a warning, as dozens of allegations of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, racketeering and rape are piling up against the music mogul.The #MeToo movement quickly gained prominence in the film and media worlds in 2017. Why has it taken the music industry so long to follow suit?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Karim Khan, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, about the pager explosions and conflict in the Middle East.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The share of Americans who are in the workforce today is the highest it's been in decades. But it's still not enough to replace all the baby boomers who are aging out of the workforce. Which is why immigration has been so important for the economy.The businesses in Dayton, Ohio know this all-too-well.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Consider This host Mary Louise Kelly wanted to find out what young voters in Georgia are most concerned with ahead of the presidential election this year.So, she traveled across the state to speak with young people from both sides of the aisle to hear their priorities, hopes, and skepticisms.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The US is trying to broker an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Ceasefire talks begin and end and begin again. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to the region 10 times in the past year. And that's not the only war the US hopes to end. Russia and Ukraine have been fighting since 2014 when Russia first attacked. It launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, more than two and a half years ago.The US and NATO have been supporting Ukraine's efforts to hold off Russia in a hope to preserve broader security and stability in Western Europe.The next occupant of the White House looks certain to inherit two major conflicts. Why are these wars lasting so long with no end in sight?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been more than two and half years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the U.S. and its NATO allies have slowly and incrementally provided military assistance to Ukraine. In recent months, Ukraine has been pressing for American long-range missiles with the ability to strike deep into Russia. But some officials fear that providing such weapons could place the U.S. and its allies in direct conflict with Russia. Host Scott Detrow speaks with Pentagon reporter Tom Bowman. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A few months ago, it was looking like Donald Trump had Georgia all but locked up.Now with Harris in the race, Georgia is once again in play for democrats. But the state has never elected a female Governor or a female U.S. senator. Will that fact determine who might win their 16 electoral votes?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The biggest city in the country is in the midst of a major political scandal, and things appear to be unraveling in New York Mayor Eric Adam's administration. There are federal investigations, top level resignations, and scandals reaching back into his 2021 mayoral campaign. So, what's going on?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two unusual attacks against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah come at a time when negotiations over a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have stalled. What could this mean for the region, and the threat of an all-out war? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A year ago at this time, members of the United Auto Workers Union were feeling powerful and optimistic. The group's new President Shawn Fain had called a historic strike. For the first time, the Union walked out on ALL three big automakers. It was a bold move that by most measures worked. It ultimately brought Ford, GM and Stellantis much closer to the union's demands for historic raises and new job protections. The strike's success had people predicting a bigger and more powerful union.A year on the union is still staring down some major challenges. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Former President Donald Trump was targeted in what "appears to be an attempted assassination" on Sunday afternoon, the FBI says.What do we know about the suspect, his motivations, and what this could mean for the rest of the 2024 election?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the new HBO documentary "Stopping the Steal," we hear from Republican officials in Arizona and Georgia who wanted Donald Trump to win the 2020 presidential election but were not willing to break the law for him. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Getting older has been a punchline for as long as anyone can remember. And while there are plenty of jokes to be made about aging, it can also have some negative implications for how we see ourselves and others. For writer Anne Lamott, aging has been a challenge, and a gift. "There is grace in not being able to see everything so clearly with all of its faults and annoying tendencies." Lamott has been reflecting on growing older in her latest column for the Washington Post, and shares some of those insights with Consider This host Mary Louise Kelly.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vice President Kamala Harris was dominant during Tuesday's presidential debate in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump struggled to stay on topic and a times sounded incoherent. With the race to the White House neck and neck will this debate make a difference? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's an old line: "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are?" Well if it's true, then Cristeta Comerford knows the last five Presidents better than almost anyone.She just retired after nearly 30 years as White House chef. Comerford cooked for Presidents from Clinton to Biden...making everything from family snacks to state dinners.She is the first woman and the first person of color to hold the serve in that job.She reflects on her groundbreaking role, and what she's learned from cooking for some of the most powerful people in the world.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After days of back and forth, both presidential campaigns finally agreed on the rules for Tuesday night's debate. But what are the rules for moderators? Just ask questions? Fact check in real time? A Colorado newscaster went viral for his moderation style. He wishes more journalists would try it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ahead of the presidential debate, host Scott Detrow talks to comedians Matt Friend and Allison Reese. They're two of the most prominent political impressionists out there, who are trying to channel the candidates.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're in a moment where DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) hiring practices mean many different things to many people. Over the past four years, many of the companies that publicly embraced DEI policies in the wake of George Floyd's murder have been backing away. What are the politics behind the anti-DEI backlash and what happens when workplace diversity initiatives are lost?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Project 2025 - you've probably heard about it. It's a roadmap from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the next Republican president.It's also been a major talking point for Democrats on the campaign trail. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has tried to disavow it and distance himself. That's because the plan has attracted negative attention over the ultra conservative policies it endorses like overhauling and eliminating some government agencies, firing thousands of civil servants and a mass deportation campaign. Project 2025 was created to help the next Republican President execute an extreme conservative agenda. Now it's also become an attack line for Democrats. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It was a night of mourning on Tuesday, when Doug Emhoff, second gentlemen and the first Jewish spouse to a US president or Vice president, spoke at the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington DC. Emhoff was one of more than a thousand people attending a prayer vigil dedicated to six hostages recently killed by Hamas. Their bodies were recovered over the weekend. The deaths of the six hostages comes as it's been more than 300 days since Hamas took more than 240 people hostage after it attacked Israel on October 7th. As the days in captivity drag on, many have been killed, and their families live in agony. One of those family members is LeElle Slifer, who's cousin Carmel Gat was one of the six hostages killed. She shares what her cousin meant to her and what her family wants from the Israeli government.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson entered the national spotlight, she found praise and also criticism.In her new book, Lovely One, Jackson describes how she endured her confirmation hearing, along with her multi-generational path to becoming the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court — a branch which she tells NPR remains ready to offer credible opinions on the most contentious issues facing the nation, even in the face of waning public confidence.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For about three weeks in 2000, there were zero measles cases in the United States. It was declared eradicated.Fast forward to 2024, and measles cases are surging, especially in Oregon where the state is facing the worst outbreak since the early 1990s.This is happening as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the vaccination rate among kindergartners is dropping, and more and more parents are seeking exemptions to school vaccine requirements.People are vaccinating their children at lower and lower rates. What does that mean for kids as they head back to school, and for infectious and deadly diseases like measles? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Labor Day is considered the beginning of the end of the Presidential election, but as history shows, things can change a lot by election day. Host Scott Detrow speaks with his colleagues Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro and White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez about where things are, and where they could go.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Raunchy sex comedies had a moment at the end of the 20th century. And perhaps the king of them all, was American Pie. Even people who have never seen the movie probably know the most memorable scene has something to do with a sex-obsessed teenage boy doing something unseemly with a homemade apple pie. Flash forward a quarter century and Hollywood is making fewer teen comedies than it used to. For the 25th anniversary of American Pie, Scott Detrow speaks with one of the film's stars Alyson Hannigan about its legacy.A warning for listeners, this episode contains language and references to scenes not suitable for younger audiences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a brutal robbery and murder he has always insisted he did not commit. Spencer spent the next 34 years in prison, dashing off letters almost every day to his wife, his friends, lawyers, to anyone who would listen, claiming his innocence.In 2021, he was officially released from prison. But on Thursday, he was officially exonerated. We hear about his life after decades behind bars — and his faith that one day, the truth would prevail.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Earlier this month, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, wrote a piece for Foreign Affairs arguing that the future of warfare is here. They say that the U.S. is not ready for it.The two authors argue recent technological developments have changed warfare more in the past several years than the decades spanning from the introduction of the airplane, radio, and mechanization to the battlefield. And while this new tech has only been shown in small snippets in current conflicts, it is only the beginning.So, can the U.S. catch up? And what will this warfare look like?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president, his son stole the show.In a viral moment, the cameras panned to 17-year-old Gus Walz, who, with tears in his eyes, stood up, clapped loudly, pointed to the stage and appeared to repeatedly yell out: "That's my dad!"Some cheered the new visibility of neurodivergent people.But what do advocates and parents of neurodiverse children actually want from government officials, like Tim Walz, in terms of policy? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been more than three weeks since the U.S. and Russia completed the largest prisoner swap since the collapse of the Soviet Union.Speaking from the White House shortly after news broke that three American prisoners were headed home, President Biden described the release as an "incredible relief."Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was one of those prisoners, and she's sharing what life was like in a Russian prison and how she's adjusting to life at home. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Both major party presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are on the same side of one issue. Getting rid of taxes on tips. But what would that really look like in practice? Wailin Wong and Darian Woods from NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator, dive into the potential guardrails for a policy that many economists believe could easily go off track. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What happens when political ambition collides with a #MeToo allegation in the Democratic party? Episode 2 of our two-part investigation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Did Eric Garcetti, a powerful Democrat, lie under oath about a #MeToo scandal in his office? That's the question at the center of a new investigation from NPR.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

College students are trickling back onto campuses for the fall semester, just months after protests exploded across the U.S. over Israel's war in Gaza. University leaders are bracing for more protests and counter-protests this semester. And on some campuses, new rules have already taken effect. We hear from Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier about the academic year ahead.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Before she became vice president, Kamala Harris had only ever won elections in California — a solid blue state.To win the White House, the Harris-Walz ticket will need to compete in purple and even red areas.At the Democratic National Convention, delegates and other attendees from conservative parts of the country offer what they think their party needs to do to reach voters in swing states and Republican strongholds.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Olivia Julianna, 21, is one of more than 200 digital content creators who has been given media credentials to the Democratic National Convention this week.She has over a million followers across TikTok, Instagram and other accounts, in an age where more young people are learning the news through social media.But she never imagined that her "very working-class" upbringing would lead her not only to the DNC — but in front of it.We hear from the Texas native ahead of her speech to the convention.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs.Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed. And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system.Eventually, students were able to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.The students who ousted Hasina are now helping to lead Bangladesh. "We youth are not only the generation of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram," says 19-year-old protestor Mumtahana Munir Mitti. "We also love our country. And we also love to participate in [the] rebuilding of our country."For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

They've been called "Hollywood's worst-kept secret." Medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro, which are commonly used to treat diabetes, are part of the zeitgeist these days. More and more celebrities are opening up about taking them to lose weight. So when you imagine where these drugs are prescribed most for weight loss around the U.S., maybe you're thinking Los Angeles or New York. Turns out, the capital of the weight loss drug boom is in Kentucky — in a small city called Bowling Green, where at least four percent of the population got a prescription in the last year.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The state of the presidential race is a far cry from what it was just a few months ago. Vice President Kamala Harris's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has sparked waves of excitement, and some tension, among democratic leaders and voters across the country. Thousands of delegates now head to Chicago for the party's convention this week, where Harris is expected to deliver the biggest speech of her political career to date. NPR's Adrian Ma speaker with co-host Ari Shapiro, about how this moment couple shape her campaign to the nation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Twenty-five years ago this month, one film, and one filmmaker, became synonymous with the big plot twist.So what was it about The Sixth Sense that made it such a cultural phenomenon at the time of its release? And how did that shape the rest of controversial director M. Night M. Night Shyamalan career?Haley Joel Osment joins Scott Detrow in conversation to reflect on the impact it had on his work, and how he used that success to propel his career forward.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump is pledging to go further on immigration than he did in his first term as president, if he is re-elected in November.Internal emails and documents from Trump's time in office — obtained by NPR through the Freedom of Information Act — shed light on how realistic his plan is to radically expand the United States' deportation system.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

So often, telling the story of the Israel-Hamas war is reduced to a catalog of numbers.But this war is much more than all of that. It is the daily life of the people living in the midst of the war that has now been raging for 10 months.The war has also come to encompass a sense of insecurity that permeates, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza through famine, unclean water and dwindling resources. Pair that with the prospect of a wider regional conflict with Iran that looms nearby.On Thursday, U.S. and Arab mediators will launch new talks to attempt a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. But hopes for tensions to be diffused are not high.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money."And it's doing that by having federal agencies make new business rules. There are actions to simplify health insurance paperwork, crack down on fake product reviews, streamline parent-teacher communications in schools and circumvent those automated customer service calls that the White House labels "doom loops."It's all part of a wider economic mission to eliminate modern business practices that the Biden administration believes exploit Americans.Neera Tanden, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, breaks down why this is happening and how it will work in reality.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

By most measures, the new Democratic ticket has had an impressively smooth launch.But there is one caveat to that — controversy over how vice presidential nominee Tim Walz described his military service.A spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign has said in a statement that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee "misspoke" when talking about his military service. Walz, who served for 24 years in the National Guard, had made a comment that sounded like he had been to war. Walz's Republican opponent, JD Vance, pounced on that comment to accuse Walz of what's called "stolen valor," a serious charge among veterans. But there's also a history of playing politics with military service – one that's been used in past elections. Is Tim Walz guilty of deliberately misrepresenting his military record or the victim of a familiar political smear tactic?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it.Notably there's Narcan.It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose.Are college campuses and their students prepared?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Three Taylor Swift concerts were canceled in Austria this week, after authorities foiled planned attacks on the venue. Three young men are now in custody, and at least two of them recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State — specifically an affiliate group known as ISIS-K.This isn't the first time Islamic State-related groups have been tied to attacks in Europe — over 140 people were killed in an attack on a Moscow concert hall earlier this year, and an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 killed 22 and injured more than a thousand.So - what exactly is ISIS-K, and how should we think about their presence in Europe?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ever since women began competing in weightlifting in the Olympics, in the year 2000, only one American woman has won a gold medal.This year, there are hopes that might change.And many of those hopes rest on the (very strong) shoulders of a 21-year-old college student in Chattanooga, Tenn. named Olivia Reeves.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi once told Washington Post Columnist Karen Tumulty quote "Nobody ever gives away power. If you want to achieve that, you go for it. But when you get it, you must use it." That was in 2020, and Nancy Pelosi used her power then. She's still using it. Most recently to influence President Joe Biden's decision to end his presidential campaign. First as a volunteer and democratic fundraiser, then as a member of Congress, and finally as the most powerful woman in political history, Nancy Pelosi has spent the better part of four decades amassing power and using it to achieve her legislative goals. Now she's put pen to paper about HOW she did that. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Democrats hope he can secure Midwestern swing states.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There are some 43 million refugees in the world, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency.The 37 of them competing in Paris as the Refugee Olympic Team are fighting for something more than just athletic excellence.We hear from judoka Muna Dahouk and kayaker Saman Soltani.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn't exactly moved. Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world.Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty.G20 nations would have to agree on this proposal before it goes anywhere — and so far, that's not happening. France, Spain, South Africa and several other nations have voiced support, but the U.S. and Germany aren't on board. Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sport Climbing kicks off at the Olympics in Paris next week. It's a strength-to-weight ratio sport. Meaning, aside from your technique or mental game, the lighter you are relative to your strength, the easier it'll be to get up a wall. That's led some climbers to fall into the mindset that losing weight is the path to better performance. One recent study of 50 elite climbers found that more than a third intentionally lost weight before a competition — primarily by fasting and skipping meals, and occasionally by using laxatives, or vomiting. The mindset that lighter is better is what led one young climber, Jake Scharfman, to develop an unhealthy relationship with his weight. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you're not entrenched in the world of video games, you might not realize how much real actors have to do with modern gaming.They provide everything from lines of dialogue, to portraying heroes and villains, to performing stunts – all of this bringing video games characters to life.Some of the biggest game studios rely on voice and performance capture artists, and all this adds up to big bucks. The video game industry made close to $185 billion last year.But video game performers whose human performances become computer data, are especially vulnerable to being replaced by generative AI.Which is why they're now on strike.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Wednesday in Paris, the U.S. women's water polo team faced off against Italy and proved once again what a dominant force they are in the pool, cruising to a 10-3 win.For the team's star goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, these games have been something of a reunion. She has played professionally on both Greek and Italian teams. Now that she's in Paris, she's competing against some of her former teammates.She's the first Black woman to play on the U.S. women's water polo team. She made 80 saves at the Tokyo Olympics alone — more than any other goalkeeper in the women's and men's tournaments. She's considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.So how far will Johnson go in these Olympics?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel claimed responsibility for one. It has no comment on the other. First, an Israeli attack in Lebanon killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran. The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran's new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. Hamas and Iran both blame Israel for the attack.When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the two killings, he did not claim responsibility for the attack in Tehran. He did describe the Israeli strike in Beirut as a crushing blow. In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby expressed concern the assassinations could result in an escalation of the conflicts already playing out.Two assassinations in the Middle East have the potential to start a violent chain of retaliations. Will they?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become.Her childhood friend Carole Porter, who lived a few houses away, paints a picture of a working-class, multicultural neighborhood.And she pointed to two women who had a huge effect on the vice president's life.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For a brief moment, people in the Venezuelan diaspora felt a surge of hope as reports indicated the opposition party was polling way ahead of Nicolas Maduro's party. Then, Venezuela's electoral authority declared Maduro the winner. Members of the opposition have cried foul. And the US and other international observers have questioned the integrity of the election.So where does Sunday's election leave Venezuelans, who are living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency? And where does it leave the nearly 8 million people who have left Venezuela during President Maduro's time in office?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vice President Kamala Harris has a little over a week to pick a running mate to join her on the presidential ticket. The list of possibilities is long, but many have a couple of things in common — the represent swing states and are white, straight men — qualities that might help make a winning ticket. Who should the current Vice President pick to be her running mate, and what will make that a winning choice?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Among the many Democratic Party insiders who publicly or privately urged President Joe Biden to reconsider running for reelection, one played an outsized role: Nancy Pelosi.Pelosi is 84 years old — older than Biden — and no longer in House leadership.But her part in the pressure campaign that led to a change in the Democratic ticket shows: she is still very much a leader, and her political pull remains strong.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Clayton Young and Conner Mantz are longtime training partners and friends. They're also the two fastest men's marathoners representing the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.The pair met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. They've been friends, training partners and competitors ever since. With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Young and Mantz break away from the pack and take home the gold at the Olympic games?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vice President Kamala Harris is barreling towards the Democratic nomination for president.Her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has a record of personally attacking women of color who stand in his way.Sexist and racist attacks on Harris have already started. How might they impact her bid for office? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democratic presidential nominee next month, she'll be the first woman of color to lead a major party's ticket.Of course, that would not be her first, first. Harris's entire career is a list of jobs that nobody who looks quite like her had held before, including California's attorney general, Senator, and Vice President of the United States. Harris often stresses that while she may be a first, others paved the way. Kamala Harris has had a career full of firsts – could she also be the first woman to become President of the United States?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In just a matter of hours, a Kamala Harris for President campaign has gone from a far-flung possibility, to all but certain likelihood. It puts the Vice President in a tricky spot. She's got to run on President Biden's achievements, while avoiding the more challenging aspects of his record. Biden entrusted Harris with some of the most challenging parts of his portfolio, including voting rights, the rollback of reproductive rights and immigration.Harris has struggled to find her footing on immigration. Early on, she faced criticism for having not visited the southern border.As Republicans like Texas Governor Greg Abbott started bussing migrants to northern cities, the Vice President's mansion in Washington DC became a drop-off point. Even though Kamala Harris isn't yet the official nominee, both voters and the republican party will force her to answer for the Biden administration's immigration policies in this year's election. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Biden has made a historic decision to endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, to take his spot at the top of the Democratic ticket. The move comes after weeks of calls for Biden to step aside after concerns about his fitness for the job.NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson about what this means for the Democratic Party in the months ahead to the election.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A plucky meteorology heroine; a male rival with no shortage of hubris; and some very, very big storms: that's the basic formula behind the new disaster action movie Twisters, which follows storm chasers around Oklahoma amid a tornado outbreak.It's a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister, a box-office hit in its day which also spurred a lot of real-life research into severe storms.We've since learned a lot about how tornadoes behave, and the technology of storm chasing has improved dramatically. But behind these summer blockbusters is a mystery that scientists are still trying to solve: why do tornadoes form at all?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2017, the Larry Nassar scandal rocked the Olympic community. Hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse against the former USA Gymnastics doctor underscored how vulnerable athletes are — particularly when they're minors. That year, Congress and the U.S. Olympic Committee had a solution.The U.S. Center for SafeSport was founded to investigate and respond to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. The goal was for predators like Larry Nassar to never harm young athletes again.Now, seven years later, SafeSport is facing scrutiny of its own — over whether it's made good on that promise.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A warming planet is making storms and wildfires more intense, and more destructive. That's making homeowners insurance more expensive and harder to find.Insurance companies are raising their rates because, they say, they need to cover increasing losses from extreme-weather-related property damage.This week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is holding a summit to address this spike in premiums. HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman explains what the federal government is looking to learn.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump's message for America has long been one of grievance and retribution.What will he say at the Republican National Convention this week, after an attempt on his life?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When President Biden heard that Donald Trump had picked J.D. Vance to be his running mate, he called the Ohio senator "a clone" of Trump. But when Vance first gained national attention, he was one of Trump's loudest critics.Vance first drew the national spotlight in 2016 with the publication of his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." The book served as a biography of his upbringing in America's Rust Belt and social commentary on the white working class at a time when many were trying to understand those voting for Donald Trump.On the press tour for that book Vance had a lot of negative things to say about Donald Trump. He said Trump was unfit for the nation's highest office, and in unearthed private messages, he compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.J.D Vance went from New York Times bestselling author, to senator, to Vice Presidential candidate. That political journey has brought him closer and closer to a presidential candidate he once professed to despise. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the days after the assassination attempt, Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination, announced his VP pick and had a legal case dismissed.Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the entire federal case against the former president involving his handling of classified documents.Consider This host Ailsa Chang spoke with NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson about the legal issues in the ruling and its implications.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Shortly after 6pm on Saturday, a would-be assassin took aim at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.Trump and two others were injured and one person was killed before the Secret Service shot and killed the alleged gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.Crooks was a registered Republican but gave $15 to a progressive Political Action Committee in 2021. Law enforcement has yet to identify a motive or an ideology. For the first time in decades, a presidential candidate has been the target of an assassination plot. How might Saturday's events affect an already divided America?Author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses what history can teach us about this moment.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the weeks since Biden's disastrous performance in the presidential debate, a steady drip of high-profile supporters – everyone from members of Congress, to big donors like George Clooney – has urged him to step aside.They're worried he's too old for a second term, and too vulnerable to losing to Trump.President Biden rejects those calls. He believes he can withstand a bruising campaign, win re-election, and lead the country for four more years. Last fall, Consider This host Scott Detrow traveled to western Pennsylvania — a key swing state — where he gathered a group of voters all around the same age as Biden and Trump, to talk about how they viewed age in the race. This week, Detrow checked back in with some of them to see if recent events have changed how this group of key voters are thinking about President Biden.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Palmer Luckey launched his first tech company as a teenager. That was Oculus, the virtual reality headset for gaming. Soon after, he sold it to Facebook for $2 billion.Now 31, Luckey has a new company called Anduril that's making Artificial Intelligence weapons. The Pentagon is buying them – keeping some for itself and sending others to Ukraine.The weapons could be instrumental in helping Ukraine stand up to Russia. Ukraine needs more weapons – and better weapons – to fight against Russia. Could AI weapons made by a billionaire tech entrepreneur's company hold the answer? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Four years after World War II, leaders from Europe and North America formed an alliance largely aimed at deterring Soviet expansion — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — NATO.Seventy-five years later the member states of that organization have come together in Washington to celebrate NATO and plan for its future.As they did in 1949, the NATO allies believe Russia presents the largest security threat to their world order. The immediate threat is Russia's war with Ukraine, but the allies also worry about the future of America's leadership.Eight diplomats from the nations closest to Russia weigh in on the threat the country poses to them and the world order.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Former President Trump derided Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as "the woman in Michigan," when the two publicly clashed in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. A Detroit rapper once put out a song about her called "Big Gretch" praising her handling of the pandemic. Whitmer's star soared during the pandemic with people being attracted to her human, pragmatic style.These days she's a national co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign while simultaneously being touted a possible replacement for Biden on the ticket. Whitmer herself says that's not happening.As Democrats scramble to figure out a way forward this election year, Whitmer talks about her new memoir "True Gretch", and what the future may hold for both her and her party. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On June 27th, long-simmering concerns about President Biden's age – and whether he's fit to serve a second term – exploded after a disastrous debate performance.Biden has been trying to clean up the mess ever since. First at a fiery rally in North Carolina. And some ten days after the debate in a one-on-one interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. Neither event accomplished the goal of shoring up support for Biden, and now members of Congress are questioning whether the 46th President should remain the democratic nominee.Evan Osnos, New Yorker staff writer and author of a biography on Joe Biden, weighs in on the Biden campaign at a crossroads.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

California recently allocated $12 million for reparations for the state's Black residents as a way to compensate them for the harm caused by the legacy of slavery and current discrimination. Although it's not clear what the money will be spent on, it is clear it won't be directed toward cash payments at the moment, which many in the reparations movement say is the best way to atone for the legacy and harm of slavery. NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with NPR race and identity correspondent Sandhya Dirks about the latest on California's attempts to lead the way on reparations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Students with disabilities often face a tough time getting the services they need at school. When they can't get them, many families seek help from the federal government. And, right now, the Department of Education is swamped with a record number of discrimination complaints. The backlog is leaving families across the country waiting months, even years, for help. NPR's Jonaki Mehta visited one such family, in central Georgia For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Extreme wildfires doubled worldwide over the last two decades, according to a new study of NASA satellite data.You'd think, if the wildfire crisis is getting worse, there'd be more and more firefighters in place to meet that demand. But at agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, adequate staffing has been a huge challenge.But as organizations like the Forest Service raise alarm about firefighter shortages, there's also a whole group of people who are trained to fight fires and are struggling to get jobs in the field: formerly incarcerated people.We hear from Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter who started an organization to help others build firefighting careers once they're released from prison.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This year, more than half the world's population lives in countries that are choosing leaders. And those choices will tell us a lot about the state of democracy around the world.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law on July 2, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson called it a way for America to honor its promise of liberty. But 60 years on, how well has it lived up to that promise?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Monday the Supreme Court issued its most anticipated decision of the term — expanding the power of the presidency, and calling into question whether former President Trump will ever face a trial in federal court for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election. In a 6-to-3 decision, along ideological lines, the Court ruled that presidents have absolute immunity for their core constitutional powers, and are entitled to a presumption of immunity for other official acts. But the Court ruled that presidents do not have immunity for unofficial acts. Host Ailsa Chang speaks with constitutional law expert Kim Wehle about the legal issues raised by the ruling and with NPR Senior Political editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro about how this decision could impact the election.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More than 50 years of Pride marches, parades, festivals, and now partnership deals with major brands has increased LGBTQ visibility and community. And as a result, it's also made Pride the target of a backlash.Host Scott Detrow speaks with Eric Marcus, the creator of the podcast "Making Gay History" about how Pride has evolved into what it is today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The day after a debate in which he faltered many times, President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail to try and reassure supporters that he is still up for the job and capable of beating former President Donald Trump in November.His performance in the CNN debate on Thursday led many Democrats to panic about his chances of winning reelection. Some commentators who have long supported Biden even called for him to step aside.NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with NPR Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and Congressional Correspondent Deirdre Walsh about what happens next and whether Biden can quell Democrats' fears.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The surgeon general's office has declared gun violence a national public health crisis. It's the first time the body has ever issued a public health advisory about firearms, and for Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, it's a step in reframing the conversation about death by gunfire. According to the CDC, more than 48,000 Americans were killed by gun violence in 2021, and over half of those deaths were by suicide.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Going into the first presidential debate, polls show a close race. A good debate performance could mean a chance for a decisive lead. But the debate also comes with risks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is designed to provide monthly checks for low income, disabled and elderly Americans. But outdated rules trap recipients in poverty.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For decades, people seeking abortions went to specialty clinics like Planned Parenthood. But since Roe v. Wade was overturned, more general practitioners are stepping in to provide abortions.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In early June, President Joe Biden severely restricted asylum requests from migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization. Two weeks later, the President struck a more welcoming tone, saying he'd protect hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens. Immigration has become a big issue, for both parties. Policy experts say Biden hopes that in a close election year, these executive actions will sway voters to his side. But will that strategy pay off and how will it affect migrants? NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd who is reporting from the San Diego border with Mexico.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The question of how to reconcile Michael Jackson's musical genius with his alleged misconduct is still fraught.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Polls – and NPR's own reporting – tell a story of many Americans fatigued by the upcoming presidential race. They're not satisfied with the choice between two men who have both already held the office of President. But American allies and partners are watching the race intently, including South Korea, Japan, Ukraine and Israel. The fates of those countries are closely tied to whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden ends up sitting in the White House next year.The NPR correspondents who cover those countries, Anthony Kuhn in South Korea, Joanna Kakissis in Ukraine, and Daniel Estrin in Israel, discuss the stakes each of those countries have in the outcome of America's presidential election.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This year's college application process was supposed to get easier. That's because last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.The problems with the FAFSA form began last fall. And with August and September around the corner, some applicants continue to experience technical issues.Before this year, students would already know how much aid they're getting. But in 2024, not knowing, which is the case for many, could mean they can't go to college. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We are just weeks away from one of the biggest political events of the election campaign season: the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Former President Donald Trump is, of course, the party's presumptive nominee, but he's yet to announce his running mate.The list is long, but the candidates all have one thing in common — they're being considered because they could help Trump get elected in November. NPR's Franco Ordoñez and Jeongyoon Han break down which candidates are rising to the top and why it matters. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Vivek Murthy, U.S. surgeon general, has called attention to what he has called the 'youth mental health crisis' that is currently happening in the U.S.This week, he published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for social media warning labels like those put on cigarettes and alcohol. He hopes to warn young people of the danger social media poses to their mental wellbeing and development. On average, teens in the U.S. are spending nearly 5 hours on social media every single day. And it is negatively impacting their health.So what options do parents have? And will the government step in?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As part of his ongoing look at groundbreaking films from 1999, host Scott Detrow speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer-director of Boys Don't Cry. The film starred Hillary Swank, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man searching for himself and love in Nebraska. Peirce talks about the challenges she faced in getting the movie made and her efforts to find a transgender man to play the lead role in the film.Detrow also speaks with critic Willow Catelyn Maclay, who sees the film's legacy as complicated.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As the U.K. gears up for a July election, polls show the liberal Labour Party ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives by a hefty margin.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed more than 1,100 people, President Joe Biden expressed America's backing for its Middle Eastern ally. But that same month, polls showed that support for Israel among American voters was not unwavering. And that, in fact, support was split across generations.That split between young voters poured out into the streets in November. Two big marches – one organized by pro-Palestinian groups and one by pro-Israeli groups – occurred in Washington. Whether or not Joe Biden gets re-elected in 2024 will depend a lot on if he can repeat his 2020 success with young voters. But a split over U.S. support for Israel may get in his way. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

America is facing two very different futures on the world stage after November. If former President Trump wins, he's promised to fundamentally re-evaluate the NATO alliance, reshape global trade and overhaul the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies.He's largely avoided explaining how he'd handle the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, yet says he can settle the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.Meanwhile, if President Biden wins, he's signaled his commitment to fight global threats to peace and freedom, and he's vowed to continue to help Ukraine and Israel fight in their respective wars.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michael Bommer likely only has a few weeks left to live. A couple years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.Then, an opportunity arose to build an interactive artificial intelligence version of himself through a friend's company, Eternos.Life, so his wife, Anett, can interact with him after he dies.More and more people are turning to artificial intelligence to create digital memorials of themselves.Meanwhile Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, has been studying the field of "digital death" for nearly a decade, and says using artificial intelligence after death is one big "techno-cultural experiment" because we don't yet know how people will respond to it. Artificial intelligence has opened the door for us to "live on" after we die. Just because we can, should we? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Saturday, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, killing at least 270 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in the process. The rescue of the hostages was a moment of triumph for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he didn't have long to bask in it.Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's unity war cabinet, announced his resignation on Sunday, over Netanyahu's management of the war in Gaza. After Gantz's resignation, Netanyahu will be even more reliant on far-right members of his coalition, who have vocally opposed efforts to broker a cease-fire. The U.S. continues to push a cease-fire proposal outlined last month, and on Monday the U.N. Security council passed a U.S.-drafted resolution supporting that deal.NPR's Michele Kelemen and Daniel Estrin help us get a sense of what this weekend's events might mean for the war and its ending.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy