Donald Trump and the Department of Justice have a tumultuous relationship to say the least. It's become a focal point of the president-elect's campaign against the federal government. He's threatened to fire many of its employees and frequently brought up issues with the DOJ during his 2024 campaign speeches. This week, the Justice Department announced its intention to release part of its report on Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But officials plan to keep the part of the report d...
Jan 09, 2025•39 min
Jimmy Carter, the longest-living president of the United States, died in late December at the age of 100. Carter served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981. In October, 1A marked Carter's centenary birthday, looking back at his political career and post-presidential work. We heard from many of you wishing him a happy birthday and sharing stories about meeting Jimmy Carter in person. Carter was also guest on 1A in 2018 to talk about his book, "Faith: A Journey for All." A devout evangelical C...
Jan 09, 2025•23 min
The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for protecting the health of all Americans. It administers insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid, approves food and drug products through the FDA, and oversees vaccines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through the CDC. As the largest civilian agency in the government, HHS employs more than 80,000 federal workers. But it's also an agency that could face significant changes under the incoming Trump administration. Rober...
Jan 08, 2025•35 min
Few Americans familiar with the federal government are unaware of the Department of Defense. The DOD is one of our largest agencies with a budget of $2 trillion dollars. That's roughly 16 percent of the entire federal budget. And few veterans are unaware of the Department of Veterans Affairs, also called the VA. It facilitates programs that benefit those who've served in the armed forces and their families. But who's watching over that trillion-dollar defense budget? And who's making sure those ...
Jan 07, 2025•36 min
Four years ago on Jan. 6, journalist Kate Woodsome was at the U.S. Capitol. She was calm as a small group surrounded her, shouting. What happened next reverberated around the country for years to come. The storming of the Capitol was a historic moment for the United States. But it was also a crucial turning point in the life of that Washington Post reporter at the center of the vitriol. In the four years since, she's made major changes in her professional and personal life. She's also shifted he...
Jan 06, 2025•12 min
President-elect Donald Trump says federal workers' jobs are on the chopping block under his incoming administration, citing waste and promising to "dismantle government bureaucracy." The more than 2 million government workers across the country – at least 80 percent of whom are located outside DC – do critical work that keeps all facets of U.S. life running. While the president-elect's rhetoric is concerning for them, problems with the upkeep and setup of our federal agencies do persist. We laun...
Jan 06, 2025•35 min
President Jimmy Carter died this week at 100, the first president to reach his centenary birthday. A truck plowed into crowds in the early hours of New Years Day in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. The driver was killed following an exchange of fire with police. Overseas, a South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached and President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law on the country in late 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sa...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 25 min
They are best friends who are with us through all of life's ups and downs. They love us unconditionally, even when we aren't our best selves. Many people consider their pets to be part of their family. That's why when our pet companions pass away, it can be devastating. Some research suggests that losing a pet can be even more difficult to cope with than the death of a family member. Today, more people are seeking out pet loss support. There's also a movement to push for more policies at work li...
Jan 02, 2025•32 min
Writing a book can be hard. Add in the twists and turns of a mystery... Where to even start?! Three authors join us today to help us cozy up to confusing capers. In the latest edition of our "Ask A" series, we're asking mystery novelists about how they mystify and confound amateur sleuths and gumshoes the world over. From the red herrings to the smoking guns, how do they craft their whodunits? Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questio...
Jan 01, 2025•36 min
2024 was a hard year for people who make games — the industry saw mass layoffs and increasing consolidation. But for the people who play them, releases didn't slow down. Indie developers released games like the monster-hunting game "Palworld" and "Animal Well," an expansive puzzle game. Big developers moved some releases back — like new additions to the "Assassin's Creed" and "Grand Theft Auto" series. Remakes of legendary titles from the "Silent Hill" and "Final Fantasy" series delighted longti...
Dec 31, 2024•38 min
Art, for many of us, is an escape. Whether it's turning on your favorite album during a traffic-heavy commute or getting lost in your favorite book before bed – art helps us cope with the stresses of everyday life. But how does the role of art shift when your way of life is turned upside down in an instant? That's what happened to Slava Leontyev, his wife, Anya, and their friend Andrey when Russia invaded Ukraine. Instead of leaving, the three Ukrainian artists chose to fight erasure and Russian...
Dec 30, 2024•33 min
If you live in a U.S. city, you've likely seen a rat or two running around. According to the pest control company, Orkin, an estimated 21 million U.S. homes face rodent invasions, each fall. But rats play a much larger role in human history. These creatures have been sacrificed for the advancement of scientific research. Rats are complicated — and it inspire equally complicated feelings in us. This year, New York City held its first ever annual national urban rat summit to address the city's chr...
Dec 27, 2024•31 min
2024's year in film saw a sequel 36 years in the making. There was also a musical that had theater-goers singing along. And a drama-comedy set around a Polish Holocaust tour. We break down the best and most disappointing films of the year. We also talk documentaries, TV shows you need to binge, and what to plan to watch in the new year. Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing ...
Dec 26, 2024•35 min
Kris Bowers is no stranger to using music to build a world. The Oscar-winning composer has worked on films like "Green Book," 'Origin," and "The Color Purple," and on the hit Netflix series "Bridgerton." He's also known for his on-the-spot compositions, illustrated in this conversation with 1A Entertainment Correspondent John Horn. His latest project is "The Wild Robot". In the animated feature directed by Chris Sanders, Roz is a robot is marooned on a deserted island, unable to communicate with...
Dec 25, 2024•30 min
Think back to the first time someone told you about the game Tetris. Was it a friend? An older sibling or a parent? Maybe you saw someone playing it at an arcade. How long did it take you to get what Tetris is — what you had to accomplish in the game and how to play it? 2024 boasts the 40th anniversary of the classic game of falling blocks, known as tetrominoes. More than 520 million copies of Tetris have been sold since its worldwide release in the 1980s. For our series "Game Mode", we're setti...
Dec 24, 2024•28 min
Most of us know that trees can help reduce the impacts of climate change by taking in carbon dioxide. Most of us also know that scientists and environmental authorities have been sounding alarms for the better part of the last decade about the devastating effects of climate change. Could trees store enough carbon, with a lot of help from us, to offset humanity's carbon emissions? What's the role of trees in our fight against climate change? And what's better left to other climate solutions? We t...
Dec 23, 2024•29 min
It's no surprise we love talking about food here at 1A. From the latest cookbooks to answering your questions about your favorite foods. As a holiday treat, we're bringing you highlights from the latest episode of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio Podcast. For the complete episode, and to learn more about Milk Street be sure to visit milkstreetradio.com. Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A ...
Dec 22, 2024•33 min
Just hours before federal funding for the government runs out, Congress is left scrambling to find a way to keep the government open after midnight tonight. Meanwhile, a New York judge has decided that Trump can't use his presidential immunity to shed his felony conviction. And Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism. In global news, following the fall of the Assad regime, prosecutors, aid workers, and journalists are learnin...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 24 min
It's the holiday season. And that means time spent with friends, with family, and... in the car. Or a plane. Or a train. Or maybe even by boat. But one thing's for sure. America will be on the move here soon if it's not already. Where are we going, what's waiting for us when we get there, and why is it so difficult sometimes to get where we need to go at the end of another year? Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect wit...
Dec 19, 2024•32 min
Have you ever gotten into an impassioned argument in the shower with a sparring partner who... wasn't actually there? How about replaying a dinner party conversation from weeks ago but this time, you know exactly what to say and you're saying it... to yourself? Whether the dialogue is in our heads or said aloud, many of us talk to ourselves, even if we don't realize it. But oftentimes the habit is seen as strange — especially if there are others around. We get into why so many of us talk to ours...
Dec 18, 2024•30 min
The Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates after two years of rate hikes to the highest levels in decades. It meets again this week to decide whether to cut them again, or keep them as is. High interest rates made the cost of borrowing high, meaning that car loans, credit card debt, and mortgages cost exponentially more than before the pandemic. We discuss how the Fed's decision to lower rates affects the economy. Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscrib...
Dec 17, 2024•31 min
Last week, the House passed a bill to create 63 new permanent judgeships. Case backlogs and delays have had many lawmakers saying we need more federal judges. If the bill did become law, President-elect Donald Trump would have 22 new seats to fill. The legislation originally had bipartisan support, but President Joe Biden vowed to veto it, with the support of many Democrats. In his first term, Trump put more judges in place than almost any president in history. Biden has made his mark too, surpa...
Dec 16, 2024•35 min
Bill Browder is a financier turned anti-corruption campaigner. He made his fortune in post-Soviet Russia before falling afoul of Putin. We last spoke to him back in 2018. Back then, few imagined Russia would dare carry out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Browder wasn't one of them. Now, with Donald Trump's return to the White House just weeks away, the newly knighted Browder tell us world leaders must act. He joins us to explain why Putin remains such a huge threat to Ukraine and the world...
Dec 15, 2024•34 min
The alleged shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione, was apprehended this week in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee at a local McDonald's phoned authorities claiming to have recognized him from photographs provided by New York police. President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 Americans this week. According to his administration, it's a single-day record. After rebels took control of the Syrian capital of Aleppo, President Bashar al-Assad fled the country and has been...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 25 min
There are few books in the world that most people have heard of. There are even fewer so recognizable that are 500,000 words long. That's right, we're talking about the dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary is the longest English variant of its kind in the world. But many of those who made significant contributions to its creation went unknown for years — until now. These included hundreds of women, people without formal educations, and patients in mental institutions. In other words, the pe...
Dec 13, 2024•33 min
Pasteurization is the process that rids milk of bacteria. But more people are opting for unpasteurized milk, also known as raw milk. In May, sales of raw milk rose more than 20 percent compared to the year before. That's according to Nielson IQ, a market research firm. But consuming raw milk comes with significant risks. In late November, California regulators recalled some raw milk products after detecting bird flu virus. And last week, the USDA ordered testing across the nation's milk supply o...
Dec 12, 2024•36 min
2024 was, in many ways, a year of elections. Both home and abroad.President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November. He won a second term in office and will be headed back to Washington come January. Across the globe, an election took place in India in seven stages starting in the spring and ending in June. Voters in Pakistan and Indonesia also went to the polls. European governments in France, Slovakia, the U.K. all saw switch ups. Germany, a financial powerhouse in...
Dec 11, 2024•39 min
Over the past year, the Chinese government has stepped up its cyber operations, focusing not just on espionage or stealing intellectual property, but on hacking to bolster geopolitical goals. U.S. authorities and institutions are used to digital aggression from the likes of Russia. But are now freshly reconsidering the objectives and capabilities of one of the country's other eastern rivals. We discuss those goals and how China using cyberspace to achieve them. We also discuss the latest from Ru...
Dec 10, 2024•11 min
$10 billion. That's how much money was taken from Americans in fraud schemes last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Many of those crimes – specifically those involving imposters – often start with a phone call or a text and a made-up claim. Victims can hand over thousands of dollars. And they often feel ashamed about being duped by these criminals. How do we let go of the stigma around being scammed? And what's being done about the increasingly elaborate ways scammers are stealing...
Dec 10, 2024•33 min
President-elect Donald Trump is packing his administration with incredibly wealthy businesspeople. His picks make up what could be the wealthiest government in U.S. history – worth about $340 billion. Watchdog groups are sounding the alarm, saying the business interests of many of these powerful picks are at odds with what's best for the American people. Trump himself is again bringing financial conflicts into office, too. But this time, there are fewer guardrails to prevent abuses of power for ...
Dec 09, 2024•33 min
