State of Ukraine

Americans' most loved Italian food staple could soon double in price or disappear from U.S. supermarket shelves following tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that could go into force from January. Our reporter in Rome explores why the tariffs are being applied and what it could mean for Italian producers and U.S. consumers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited Moscow this week to present the revised Ukraine peace proposal. We'll hear how they were received. And Marco Rubio won't attend a NATO meeting of foreign ministers about Ukraine, the first time in more than 20 years the U.S. Secretary of State won't be at such a meeting. We'll get reaction from Europe. And we'll hear from a former U.S. ambassador to NATO on what the alliance's role in a Ukraine peace deal should be. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During the over two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, there has also been violence in the other Palestinian Territory— the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for decades. There have been waves of attacks by Israeli settlers, some of which have been deadly. And arrests of residents, which Israel says is for its own security. Israel has also been quietly redistricting the land. It's the same land Palestinians want for a future state and they fear it is being annexed by Israel. We go there to see what it means on the ground.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A month ago, Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a category five— one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the Atlantic. Scientists agree that Melissa was made stronger by climate change. We meet some Jamaicans that are wondering how to rebuild smarter for the possibility that another powerful storm may hit in the future.   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this encore episode we look at the decision to have children. Much of the attention on the world's plunging birth rate is on east Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. But Latin American countries, like Chile, are also seeing a decline in fertility. We go to Chile's capital to understand the personal decisions behind the countries plummeting birth rate trend.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this encore episode, we take a look at keepsakes. Clearing out a closet, attic or garage can be a chore. Old photographs, clothes and books can create clutter, or take up space that's sometimes needed for something else. But every so often, the heirlooms or mementos that you find retain some value: if that's emotional value, it can be hard to part with them. If it's financial, that can make it easier, as Willem Marx hoped it would be with his childhood stamp collection in London. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

German surfers are not stoked after one of the world's largest inland waves, in a river in Munich, disappeared following a city dredging project. Now the community is uniting to bring it back. Our correspondent investigates.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In China, two economic realities exist side by side. The country's fast-growing technology sector leads the world in some aspects, yet prospects for the average Chinese worker remain dim. We take a look at both sides of the economic picture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they are making progress toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war. But European allies feel they've been left out of the plan, which they say placates Russia. We get reaction from Ukrainians on the state of negotiations and from a German diplomat on what the plan is missingLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During the more than decade-long civil war in Syria, millions were displaced in the country and millions more fled abroad as refugees. It's been almost a year since the war ended and many Syrians are starting to come home. Some have found their houses destroyed but others have found strangers have been living in their homes, sometimes for years. We go to Syria to see how locals are dealing with the thorny issue of ownership after war.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Venezuela's leaders are under increasing pressure as U.S. warships stage off the South American country's Caribbean coast. The region is on edge as the U.S. weighs military action. We look at Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro's ability to stay in power over the years and we hear from Venezuelans on the border with Colombia about what they think of the situation.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.N. climate conference is being held this month in Brazil. The U.S. is conspicuously absent, but China is there. We look at how these two countries are taking opposite paths on renewable energy— China is expanding it exponentially while the U.S. is investing in fossil fuels. We look at what these decisions mean for the climate and for these countries' economies.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since the Gaza ceasefire began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received blowback from members of his ruling coalition but also an in-person boost from President Trump. And even while he's on trial for corruption, Netanyahu is gearing up to run for reelection. Our correspondent in Tel Aviv takes a look at Netanyahu's political present and future.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Voters in Ecuador overwhelmingly voted not to allow foreign military bases to return to the country. The Trump Administration had hoped to use Ecuador to support U.S. military activity in the region. And it's happening against the backdrop of frequent U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats. Supporters of the national referendum wanted help to stem soaring violence from drug gangs using it as a key transit hub. We go to the Ecuadoran coast where fishermen try to make a living in the face of extortion by drug gangs and now contend with the threat of strikes by the U.S. military.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This year authorities in Mumbai, India banned feeding pigeons in public spaces over health concerns. That might seem like a minor civic act but the backlash has been huge. We go to Mumbai to understand the controversy that touches not just on public health but also caste dynamics and religious duty.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1985 the Nevado del Ruiz volcano triggered a mudslide that wiped out the town of Armero, Colombia in one of the 20th century's worst natural disasters. All these years later the ghosts of Colombia's deadliest tragedy still haunt its slopes, and families are still searching for lost children.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It has been a month since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was implemented and despite some violations the shaky truce is holding. Both sides say they're committed to the deal. We look at how progress towards the next phase in the agreement is proceeding.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An increasing number of women are joining the Ukrainian military, with thousands serving in frontline roles, as Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine nears its fourth year. NPR's Joanna Kakissis talks to some of these Ukrainian women who are training and fighting to defend their country.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, Israel's control of the West Bank has increased. Palestinians in the occupied territory are having their land confiscated at unprecedented rates.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The war with Russia has touched all aspects of Ukrainian life, including efforts to preserve the nation's history. We go to an island in the Dnipro River where archaeologists from around the world are racing to preserve an 18th century shipwreck - exposed by Russia's destruction of a major dam - as the site is threatened by both rapid deterioration and the nearby front line.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When the Dalai Lama fled Chinese-controlled Tibet over sixty years ago, he settled in Dharamshala, India, setting up a government-in-exile. Thousands of Tibetan refugees followed their spiritual leader there. But now their numbers are dwindling and their are concerns about their future. We go there to understand the pressures their population faces.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After constant requests during two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli military finally brings our correspondent into the territory to see the devastation in post-war northern Gaza firsthand. And even though he's been covering this conflict since it began, seeing the destruction up close was shocking.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Austria, three nuns, all in their 80's, recently ran away from a nursing home. With the help of supporters, and a locksmith, they broke into their former convent in defiance of church orders. They're determined to fulfill their vows and grow old on their own terms. These sisters are now taking Instagram by storm where they're being supported by a growing community. We go to Salzburg to meet them.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Dates and olives are important crops in the Middle East and growing them is essential to the livelihood of many Palestinians in the West Bank. But increasingly Israeli settlers have been attacking and intimidating Palestinian olive farmers there. We go to the West Bank to see how this year's harvest is going.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After two years of war, Gaza is littered with unexploded bombs often hiding in the rubble of destroyed buildings. And they can be deadly even decades later. We go to Gaza to hear about one family's encounter with an unexploded bomb and learn how long it might take make the territory safe.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea amid a tense tariff war between the two countries. Trump was upbeat after the meeting in which both sides agreed to trade concessions. We take a look at the state of U.S.-China relations with a former U.S. ambassador to China.And ahead of that meeting, President Trump signed several rare earth agreements with Asian countries to reduce America's reliance on China. We hear why the U.S. is anxious to find other sources for these minerals and ask if it's too little too late.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Darfur region of Sudan because known to the world as the site of a genocide twenty years ago. The U.S. and U.N. say there is a genocide happening in Darfur again and now the violence there has reached a new level of horror. A paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces took control of the city of El Fasher, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents trapped under RSF control and there is evidence of atrocities being committed. We hear about what is happening in the city and a Sudanese-American poet who grew up in El Fasher and is watching from afar.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Isolated indigenous tribes deep in the Amazon rainforests of Peru are seeing the crop used to make cocaine spread into their lands from drug traffickers seeking more territory for cultivation. With the incursion comes deforestation and violence. We go to the rainforest and meet the self-defense force patrolling the jungle to stop the destruction. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The small island country of Trinidad and Tobago is in the middle of an American military buildup. The U.S. has deployed warships and attacked alleged drug boats nearby, leaving residents on edge. We hear from fishermen who see drones in the sky and go to the funeral of someone presumed to have been killed by a U.S. strike.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

China's fast fashion mega-seller Shein is opening its first permanent Paris boutique in the iconic Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville department store. Parisian purists say the move betrays the artistry and craftsmanship of France's tradition of couture. Some are boycotting the store and others have even started a petition in opposition of Shein's Paris arrival.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The automotive industry in Germany, once the backbone of Europe's biggest economy, is in a rapid decline. In the past year, the German car industry shed more than 51,000 jobs – about 7% of its total workforce. We go to some companies that are now turning to manufacturing weapons as part of the country's boost in military spending to keep their factories running.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv who are marking the new sounds of their country with a sonic poem.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In just seven minutes, in broad daylight, millions of dollars worth of jewels that once belonged to French royalty were stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. We hear about what was stolen, how the French people are reacting and what it might take to catch the thieves who did it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems to hold and Gaza starts to emerge from war, the immense challenges facing the territory in its eventual recovery are becoming clear. Around ninety percent of buildings damaged or destroyed, there are no funds for reconstruction and unexploded bombs are buried beneath debris. We hear from the U.N. program that has a team on the ground working to clear rubble and rebuild infrastructure about the challenges that lie ahead.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Oscar Wilde was jailed for, "gross indecency," a 19th century euphemism for gay sex, his library card was revoked. 130 years later, the British Library has re-issued it to his grandson.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Migrants travel by boat for hundreds of miles from Africa to reach Spain's Canary Islands. After surviving the dangerous crossing, many are stranded for months and unable to work. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a deeply personal postcard from NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu, we go the funeral of his venerated grandfather in Nigeria. It was a huge celebration of life, with music and dance. However, the family was confronted with extortion and exploitation at the gravesite. It's an all too common occurrence, one that amplifies the grief of many Nigerians.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons were released into Gaza and the occupied West Bank as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal. All 20 surviving Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas after spending more than two years in captivity in Gaza. We hear reaction from Gaza and Tel Aviv.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The kiwi, an adorable flightless bird from New Zealand, is disappearing, largely because of invasive species brought to the country's islands by humans. So New Zealand has set a goal of exterminating rats, possums and other invasive animals that threaten the country's biodiversity.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano is depicted in Greek and Roman mythology as the entrance to the underworld. Its eruptions thousands of years ago blocked out the sun, turning summer into winter. And now the volcano is stirring in a way it hasn't for centuries. We go to the volcano outside Naples to understand its new activity.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Israel and Hamas have agreed on the "first phase" of a Gaza ceasefire deal, raising the possibility that the war may now be over. We hear from two of our correspondents in the region who have covered the entire war about the details in the plan and reactions to the announcement in Israel and in Gaza. And an interview with a Israeli man whose cousin's remains are still in Gaza, about how families of hostages are feeling in this moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We continue our look at the ramifications of the two years of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. We go to southern Lebanon where demolitions and attacks on towns near the boarder with Israel continue even after a cease-fire between the two countries was put in place.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy