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Make sense of the day. Every weekday afternoon, the hosts of All Things Considered help you consider the major stories of the day in less than 15 minutes, featuring the reporting and storytelling resources of NPR. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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Ivy Insights

The Consider This podcast from NPR is a daily snapshot of the news, often focusing on a single issue, presented concisely. It provides listeners with a comprehensive and insightful overview of current events, helping them stay informed and prepared to take on the world. The show's format allows for easy listening at any time of day, and its reporting is thorough and thought-provoking.

One of the best aspects of The Consider This podcast is its ability to cover a wide range of topics in a brief yet thorough manner. Each episode dives into an important news story, providing context, analysis, and expert interviews. The show's reporting is well-researched and presents multiple perspectives on the issue at hand. Additionally, the inclusion of local news roundups and community-focused nonprofit news platforms helps listeners stay connected with their own communities.

One potential drawback of this podcast is that it no longer includes the local news roundup that used to end each episode. While listeners have found alternative sources for local news, some may miss the convenience of having it included in this show. Additionally, reviews mention that some prefer the host on certain days over others due to personal preferences regarding their voices.

In conclusion, The Consider This podcast from NPR is highly regarded for its informative and concise reporting on current events. Listeners appreciate its ability to present complex issues in a way that is easy to understand without sacrificing depth. Although it no longer includes local news roundups, there are other options available for those seeking localized information. Overall, this podcast offers valuable insights into the news and serves as a trustworthy source for staying well-informed.



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Latest episodes from Consider This from NPR

What reporting in Gaza shows amid Trump's break from Netanyahu on starvation

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2025 8:36


New light has emerged between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, with the latter disputing Israel's claim that there is no starvation in Gaza. But Consider This: Even as global outrage and assistance grows, aid agencies say only a total ceasefire will allow all the necessary aid in to get to those who desperately need it 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

Facing persistent scrutiny over Epstein, the Trump administration rehashes 2016 probe

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2025 13:05


President Trump traveled to Scotland to talk trade with the EU and play golf. But as soon as he landed he was asked about Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.The pressure on the Trump administration has continued to intensify over its handling of the Epstein files, and who-knew-what-when. Pressure that's also coming from within his party.And as those calls have ramped up, so has messaging from the administration about a range of other issues, including a rehashing of the 2016 election, and Russia's involvement in it. Trump has lobbed serious claims, like treason, at former President Obama.To get at why these two complicated and dated stories are intersecting and to understand what we can learn from it about the president's governing style, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro and cybersecurity correspondent Jenna McLaughlin.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

Texas floods: how to talk to people on the worst day of their lives

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2025 10:22


At least 135 people died earlier this month when floods swept through the Texas Hill Country. As in any other natural disasters, journalists from around the country soon arrived to cover the catastrophe. For this week's reporter's notebook series, NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán and Kat Lonsdorf speak with host Scott Detrow about their experiences covering the floods and the importance of interviewing people affected by the disaster with empathy and respect. 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 have RFK Jr.'s vaccine policies impacted America's public health?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2025 11:18


Before he entered politics, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a career out of stoking doubt about vaccines, promoting theories contradicted by mountains of scientific evidence on common vaccines which have been studied for decades and safely administered to hundreds of millions of people.Now, six months in as head of Health and Human Services, he has instituted a number of policy changes on access to vaccines for both children and adults. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly and health correspondents Rob Stein and Pien Huang talk through how these changes could impact public health and the public's wallets. 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 in, how Trump has changed the Education Department.

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2025 10:07


Federal education policy has seen a lot of changes since President Trump's inauguration. For example, the Department of Education itself, which Trump has vowed to close.But that hasn't stopped the Trump administration from also wielding the Department's power. Most recently, by withholding billions of dollars for K-12 schools.The Trump administration has drastically changed the federal government's role in education. What does that mean for American classrooms? 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 of 'shock and awe' on immigration enforcement

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2025 10:42


Since returning to office, President Trump has moved swiftly to upend decades of federal policy—from education to healthcare to vaccines...but nowhere more aggressively than immigration. Congress just passed tens of billions in funding for immigration enforcement...It's the largest domestic enforcement funding in U.S. history, fueling Trump's mass deportation campaign of migrants living in the U.S. illegally. President Trump campaigned for office promising the largest deportation in history.Six months into his second term, how has immigration enforcement changed.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 civil rights organization declares a 'state of emergency' in the U.S.

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 9:39


As a candidate in 2024, President Trump promised – often – to end what he and other conservatives describe as "woke" policies.On his first day in office, he signed executive orders rolling back policies around diversity, equity and inclusion — and those policy changes have continued over the last six months of the second Trump administration.One of the oldest civil rights organizations in the country now warns that the administration's policies have thrust Black Americans — and the entire country — into a "state of emergency." NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Marc Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League. 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 Emil Bove the face of a new MAGA judiciary?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 9:12


President Trump helped reshape the federal courts during his first term in office. And he relied heavily on the Federalist Society in that effort, which helped him zero in on judges with a conservative, originalist interpretation of the constitution.Now the nominations machinery is restarting, and Trump's most controversial judicial nominee is only one step away from the federal bench.His name is Emil Bove. During his first term, Trump appointed scores of originalists to the federal bench– a victory for the conservative legal movement.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 plea deals canceled, what happens next with the Guantanamo 9/11 trials?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2025 11:13


Plea deals with the 9/11 defendants, including for the alleged ringleader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have been canceled. Families of those who died on September 11th are still calling for justice. What happens next in the most delayed criminal trial in US history? NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Georgetown University Law professor Stephen Vladeck. 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

Florida: The front line of Trump's immigration crackdown

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2025 11:34


NPR correspondent Jasmine Garsd has taken several reporting trips to Florida recently, a state seeing some of the most aggressive immigration enforcement since President Trump took office again in January. She's spoken with children separated from their parents and reported on a new massive detention center in the state. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series Garsd talks about how Florida is key to understanding what the future of immigration enforcement may 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

Trump says no one cares about Epstein. Why won't his base let it go?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 9:12


One of the narratives at the heart of President Trump's political movement is this: American society is dominated by a shadowy group of elites, and those elites are deeply corrupt. Nothing represented that theory more than the case of Jeffrey Epstein.He was a man most people had never heard of initially, with a private plane and a private island. Acquainted with the world's most powerful people: British royalty, U.S. presidents.A man who ultimately died in jail...by suicide, according to authorities... before the case against him went to trial. Epstein's case and his death bred skepticism and conspiracy theories – especially among supporters of Donald Trump.Now, some of Trump's most ardent supporters are attacking his Justice Department's decision not to release all of the files related to the Epstein case.Trump says nobody cares about Epstein. But his base won't let it 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

Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 2:01


Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Will air traffic control's $12.5 billion update fix employee morale?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 8:52


Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testified on Capitol Hill, where he thanked Congress for recently approving $12.5 billion dollars to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system. But some U.S. air traffic controllers say there's a much deeper problem: a nationwide staffing shortage that leaves controllers overworked and employee morale low. NPR's Joel Rose and Joe Hernandez spoke with five current and former air traffic controllers to find out what improvements they want to see. 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

Tariffs are a tax. Are you already paying it?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 10:02


It's been over three months since President Trump announced very big across-the-board tariffs on imports from nearly every territory on Earth–including uninhabited islands. It's a move he said would revitalize the U.S. economy.Since that splashy White House announcement, the tariff rates have been a wildly moving target. Ratcheted up - then back down - on China, specifically.Overlaid with global product-specific tariffs on categories like automobiles and copper. Partially paused after the stock market tanked.Through it all, the tariff rate has remained at or well-above 10 percent on nearly every good imported to the U.S. And if you've listened to NPR's reporting since April, you'll have heard many voices make one particular prediction over and over again – that American consumers will pay the price.If American consumers are going to pay for the tariffs, the question is: when ? 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

Climate change is fueling brutal rainstorms. Here's how to stay safe

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 10:53


It's not just Texas. In the past couple of weeks, communities all around the country have been hit with torrential rains and deadly flash flooding. Extreme weather events like this are expected to become more common as the planet heats up. As climate change increases flash flooding risks, our infrastructure is struggling to keep up. But improvements to that infrastructure will cost billions.NPR's Michael Copley explains how a changing climate drives flooding and how communities and individuals can prepare.And NPR's Laura Sullivan reports on how flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency didn't capture the true risks at Camp Mystic, which was devastated by the Texas flooding.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

Trump threatens Russia over Ukraine. Will it make a difference?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 6:47


President Trump has made some big shifts in U.S. policy on Russia's war with Ukraine lately. In the course of two weeks, Trump halted and reinstated weapons to Ukraine and he began openly showing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin's continued military escalations. Now, Trump has announced a deal with NATO to try to pressure Russia toward a ceasefire deal in just 50 days by threatening stiff tariffs and increased military aid to Ukraine. President Trump seems to be taking a tougher stance against Russia, but will it make a difference, and will it last? 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 do we know about what's driving political violence?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2025 7:29


It's been a year since the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania and the motivations of the shooter are still unclear.The US Capitol Police threat assessment cases have risen for the second year in a row, with the total number more than doubling since 2017. At times political violence is starting to feel as pervasive as school shootings. But what do we know about what's driving this anger?NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Katherine Keneally, from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, about her threat analysis research and recommendations for countering a rise in political violence.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

Inside the Diddy trial: why it felt like a watch party at the courthouse

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 13:01


On July 2nd, Sean Combs was acquitted of the most serious charges he faced: racketeering and sex trafficking. He was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — and he remains in prison awaiting sentencing in early October.Over the course of eight weeks, the trial became a spectacle, even by the high standards of celebrity courtroom dramas. One reason? All of the influencers. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series we bring you the the view from inside the courthouse as the Diddy spectacle unfolded. 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 old oil wells become 'orphans,' that's a problem

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 7:58


All across the U.S., there are aging oil and natural gas wells no longer in use.A lot of them don't have anyone on the hook to seal them up. Some estimate over a million such "orphan wells" still exist.Because they haven't been plugged, they're still leaking greenhouse gases and other chemicals into the atmosphere and into the land around them.What would it take to plug them — or even just one of them?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 harrowing journey to find food in Gaza

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 10:31


Israel bans international journalists from independent access to Gaza. But NPR's Anas Baba is from Gaza, and in the 21 months he has been reporting on the war, he's also been living it. Over the course of the war, he has lost a third of his body weight, and until his food supplies ran out several weeks ago, he was getting by on just one small meal a day.Israel still tightly restricts the entry of food into Gaza. The food it does allow in is mostly distributed through new sites run by private American contractors with a group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. GHF operates under protection from the Israeli military, and the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said this new system "is killing people."According to health officials and international medical teams in Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli troops as they approach these food sites. U.S. officials have accused American media of spreading Hamas misinformation. In this episode, Anas Baba takes us on the perilous journey he made to one of these new GHF distribution sites, in an attempt to secure food.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 devastating floods a Central Texas community comes together

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 10:53


It's been nearly a week since devastating flooding tore through Kerr County, Texas killing more than a hundred people.Now, after unimaginable tragedy, residents are coming together to help each other move forward.NPR's Juana Summers and producers Erika Ryan and Tyler Bartlam visited the City West Church, which has transformed from a house of worship into a pop up food distribution site serving thousands of meals to the community and first responders.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. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 10:12


The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it. The thing is, beneath that demographic data point are millions of families making intimate decisions about kids. NPR's Sarah McCammon and Brian Mann dug into the politics and personal stories behind America's shrinking birthrate.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

Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 11:23


Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials. Twenty-six feet in less than an hour. That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more survivors will be found. But in a press conference today, officials warned the death toll will continue to rise.In the Texas Hill Country, climate change and geography conspired to create one of the worst floods in generations. 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 vaccines, how are pediatricians restoring trust?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2025 12:16


If you're a parent, decisions about vaccines have gotten a lot more confusing recently. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s health department is walking back longstanding recommendations. NPR's Pien Huang speaks with a pediatrician and a vaccine researcher to discuss how the changes may affect public health - and how frontline conversations are going between pediatricians and families.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.nprth.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The songs that define America

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2025 13:15


Independence Day means different things to each of us. On this 249th birthday for America, we spend some time looking at different definitions of America by revisiting NPR's 2018 series: American Anthem — which had the simple goal of telling 50 stories about 50 songs that have become galvanizing forces in American culture.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 domestic policy megabill is set to become law

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 9:22


President Trump put essentially his entire domestic agenda in one bill.It would significantly cut clean energy incentives, Medicaid and food assistance programs — and double down on tax cuts, immigration enforcement and national defense.Despite opposition from Democrats, and divides within the Republican Party, it passed through Congress.How did that happen? And what does it mean for American taxpayers? NPR correspondents explain.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.nprth.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Saving history one story at a time

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 10:55


This summer marks 80 years since the end of World War II when Allied forces liberated Nazi-occupied Europe, and also began to discover the horrific scale of the Holocaust. An estimated six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime.With the passage of time, there are fewer and fewer survivors who can tell the stories of what they witnessed and endured. Once fringe ideas of Holocaust denial are spreading. Multiple members of President Donald Trump's administration have expressed support for Nazi sympathizers and people who promote antisemitism.The stories of those who lived through the Holocaust are in danger of being forgotten. And there's a race against time to record as many as possible.In this episode, the story of a Jewish man who survived Buchenwald and an American soldier, who helped liberate the concentration camp.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 Speaker may have to make a lot of promises to get bill to Trump's desk

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 7:49


The massive tax and spending bill central to President Trump's agenda is one step closer to reality.After weeks of negotiations and 49 consecutive votes that started Monday morning, the senate approved President Trump's signature domestic policy bill around lunch time Tuesday. It now goes back to the House of Representatives where Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will have to reconcile the senate changes with his members' competing priorities.Michael Ricci has had a long career in republican politics, including working as Speaker Paul Ryan's communications director and Speaker John Boehner's Chief Speech writer. We talked with him about the stakes, and the bill's prospects in the House.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

Why a GOP senator says the budget bill breaks Trump's promise

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2025 8:05


The massive budget bill that Senate Republicans are debating pays for some of its tax cuts by slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending. The latest report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates nearly 12 million people will lose health insurance if the Senate version of the bill becomes law. Trump insists the cuts come from eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Democrats have said they break Trump's promise not to touch Medicaid — and over the weekend, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina agreed. "What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore?" We asked Sarah Jane Tribble, the chief rural correspondent for KFF Health News, what the cuts will mean for rural residents of states like North Carolina — and the hospitals that serve them.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 this term says about where the Supreme Court is headed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2025 11:26


A number of Supreme Court decisions handed down this term have expanded the power of the president while limiting the power of the courts. How has this term changed the relationship of the judicial and the executive branches?NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Greg Stohr from Bloomberg about what we've learned about the makeup and direction of the court from this year's rulings. 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

Iran's nuclear sites got bombed. North Korea? It's another story

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2025 13:04


Although President Trump launched air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, the administration has chosen a different path when dealing with Kim Jong Un, the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea. For our Reporter's Notebook series, host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondent Anthony Kuhn about covering Trump and Kim's past negotiations and the difficulties of reporting on North Korea. 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 Supreme Court just lifted a key check on presidential power

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 10:56


Three different federal judges have issued nationwide blocks to President Trump's executive order to deny U.S. citizenship to some babies born to immigrants in the U.S.These court orders are called universal injunctions.But when the case reached the Supreme Court, the administration didn't focus on the constitutional right to birthright citizenship.Instead, government lawyers put most of their energy into arguing that universal injunctions themselves are unconstitutional.And on Friday, in a 6-3 decision on ideological lines, the Supreme Court agreed — limiting the power of lower courts and lifting a key restraint on 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

Autism rates have exploded. Could the definition be partly to blame?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 8:13


Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has spent years spreading doubt about the safety of vaccines and linking them to autism. Dozens of studies have debunked the theory, but it has nevertheless persisted for years. Part of the reason why may be that autism diagnoses have soared over the last few decades.Dr. Allen Frances is psychiatrist who led the task force that created the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which expanded the definition of Autism. Frances says that expanded definition played a role in the increase.Rates of autism have exploded in recent decades. Could the clinical definition of autism itself be partly to blame? 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 not built for this heat

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 12:16


Tens of millions of people across the US are currently under a heat advisory. And the extreme heat isn't just affecting people. You may have seen videos online of the heat causing asphalt roads to buckle. It is impacting rail travel too. Amtrak has been running some trains more slowly, as have the public transit systems of Washington and Philadelphia.Mikhail Chester, an engineering professor at Arizona State University, talks through the intersection of extreme heat and transportation.And NPR's Julia Simon shares advice on how people can keep themselves cool.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

Medical views on self-managed abortion shifting since overturn of Roe

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 10:56


Three years ago, the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States.As the legal landscape shifted, the medical landscape of reproductive care was faced with a serious question. Where would people turn for abortions?Abby Wendle, from NPR's Embedded podcast team, has been reporting on self-managed abortions, and how the medical community's views on it have changed in recent years. The podcast has just released a new series about the history of self-managed abortion called The Network. It was produced with Futuro 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

Iran launches missiles at U.S. base in Qatar

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 9:16


On Monday, Iran struck back against the United States, firing missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar. The retaliatory strikes come two days after the U.S. attacked nuclear sites in Iran.In a twist, President Trump thanked Iran on social media for giving advance notice of the attacks, "which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured."Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR correspondents Aya Batrawy, who is on the ground in Dubai, and Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman, reporting from Washington. Editor's note: This conversation was recorded prior to President Trump announcing that Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire.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 are the wider repercussions of the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear sites?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2025 9:23


The U.S. joined Israel's war on Iran and over the weekend bombed three of the country's nuclear sites, including Fordo, located deep inside a mountain. In the aftermath of the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the attack. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted that the U.S.'s attack would have "everlasting consequences." The move by the Trump administration is a massive escalation, and brings the U.S. into direct conflict with Iran. How will Iran respond and what are the wider repercussions? NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with journalist Robin Wright, author of "The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran." 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

Covering the military parade and a No Kings rally on the same day

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2025 9:44


Frank Langfitt has covered the world. Now he reports for NPR as a roving correspondent, focusing on stories that help us understand a changing America. Recently, he covered both the military parade that brought tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling through the nation's capital, as well as the No Kings protests where people in dozens of cities across the country rallied against politicization of the armed forces by someone they called a would-be autocrat. Many have dubbed the day as a split-screen moment - and for Frank, going to two events on the same day gave him the sense of looking at America with a lens he had often examined other countries in the past. There are events that become a Rorschach test that brings out America's political and cultural divisions in bold relief. You could look at that day as an example of a divided America — a moment where our differences were placed in pretty stark relief. But perhaps by being in both places on the same day you see something different. 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 Gabby Giffords is grappling with the rise in political violence

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 10:58


Last weekend, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home by a man impersonating a police officer.The attack comes amid a rise in political violence. Last year alone, Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against members of the U.S. Congress. Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords knows the horrors of gun violence only too well. The Arizona Democrat was shot at a constituent event in Tucson in 2011.Now a leading gun safety advocate, Giffords speaks with host Mary Louise Kelly about how she is handling this moment and her thoughts on addressing the problem of gun violence. 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

Afghans in the US have lost protected status. What happens now?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2025 10:57


Many Afghans who helped the US military or who were persecuted by the Taliban for other reasons found refuge in the United States. They were granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, by the US government. Now the Trump administration has revoked TPS for Afghans. So what happens now?NPR's Monika Evstatieva reports that for thousands of Afghans in the United States, and many stuck in limbo abroad, the available options are dwindling.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

Lessons from Iraq, as Trump teases attacks on Iran

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 9:55


In 2003, the U.S. launched a war in Iraq based on what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons programs, then spent years mired in a conflict with no clear end.Today, President Trump is threatening to bring the U.S. military into another Middle East conflict. As with Iraq, the justification for a potential attack on Iran is the alleged threat of a nuclear weapon. We talk to journalist Steve Coll, author of The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq about how this moment echoes the run-up to the war in Iraq and how it differs.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's at stake in the conflict between Israel and Iran?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 12:42


The United States has worked for decades to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Now Israel says it is attacking Iran to remove that threat. What are the stakes in this conflict, not only for the two nations directly involved, but for the US and the world?Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Aaron Stein, the President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute about those stakes and the history of nuclear proliferation 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

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