Consider This from NPR

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?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