Fed Chair Jerome Powell held interest rates steady on Wednesday, and said the economic path ahead is unclear. The Washington Post reports on how economists are trying to sort through the warning signs they’re seeing. The Wall Street Journal ’s Drew Hinshaw joins to discuss a complicated problem the next pope will inherit: how to handle the Vatican’s messy finances. Yesterday Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water. The Utah News Dispatch has more, ...
May 08, 2025•15 min
The Wall Street Journal ’s Andrew Tangel discusses a troubling recent communication loss for air-traffic controllers, and how it has served as a wake-up call. India struck sites in Pakistan, causing global concern. The Washington Post has more. Today the conclave to elect a new pope begins. NPR ’s Bill Chappell takes us inside the secretive process. Plus, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people in the military to take ...
May 07, 2025•13 min
Aria Bendix, health reporter for NBC News , discusses the impact of cuts and changes at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Washington Post examines the overall impact on public health of Trump’s first 100 days in office. Gerry Shih , Jerusalem bureau chief for the Washington Post , joins to talk about Israel’s plans to occupy more of Gaza and fully control distribution of aid there. Trump has threatened massive tariffs on movies produced overseas. Meg James, seni...
May 06, 2025•15 min
The Trump administration wants a baby boom, but many of its policies are making it harder for American families to expand. Vox 's Rachel Cohen explains. The trial of Sean Combs, the music mogul known as Diddy, starts today. He faces federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. Charles Bethea, a staff writer with the New Yorker , spent several months profiling one of the lead attorneys defending him. Warren Buffet is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway as he wa...
May 05, 2025•15 min
The Democratic Party is strategizing over how to respond to Trump. Perry Bacon Jr. with the Washington Post walks us through how that’s going. Mike Waltz is out as national-security adviser. ABC has the story. Generative AI is making nonconsensual deepfake porn incredibly easy to make and much more difficult to prevent and prosecute. Reporters Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy speak to In Conversation about the scale of the problem. Plus, a judge struck down Trump’s use of the Alien E...
May 02, 2025•14 min
Kamala Harris delivered her first speech since leaving the White House. The Washington Post has the details. Trump wants to use tariffs to boost U.S. manufacturing. The Wall Street Journal ’s Jon Emont describes what happened when Nike tried to move part of its manufacturing to North America. Plus, the Journal reports on how the trade war is putting pressure on China’s economy. Republicans need to agree to pass Trump’s budget bill. Will they? NBC ’s Sahil Kapur weighs in. Plus, what ...
May 01, 2025•15 min
A look at the first 100 days of DOGE. Wired ’s Makena Kelly has the details. Israel has prevented almost all aid from reaching Gaza for close to two months. This week, the International Court of Justice began to weigh in. The Washington Post reports. Reuters also finds that community kitchens in Gaza may close due to dwindling supplies. The Trump administration’s deportations and detainments have left families shattered. Time looks at some of the more prominent cases. Plus, Tr...
Apr 30, 2025•15 min
Reuters speaks to voters about their views on Trump’s second term so far. The Wall Street Journal ’s Nick Timiraos discusses the state of the economy and how businesses are coping with turbulence. This week the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case expected to have considerable implications on both education and the separation of church and state. USA Today ’s Maureen Groppe has the details. Plus, Canada’s Liberal party won national elections, why lawyers ar...
Apr 29, 2025•14 min
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten joins to discuss recent polling and why Trump’s honeymoon period didn’t last long. NPR reports that 114 immigrants were arrested in a raid at a Colorado nightclub on Sunday. Meanwhile, a judge in Milwaukee was arrested for allegedly helping a man evade immigration authorities at a courthouse. Toronto Star columnist Althia Raj breaks down what’s at stake as Canadians head to the polls for federal elections today. Plus, an SUV rammed into...
Apr 28, 2025•15 min
In a recent pulse-check on the health of our democracy by Bright Line Watch , hundreds of scholars warned that the U.S. is heading swiftly toward authoritarianism. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University who specializes in the subject, explains how we got here. Plus, setbacks for Trump in court, pregnant people in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, and the hidden costs of being polite to a chatbot. Today&...
Apr 25, 2025•15 min
Travel to the United States is a multibillion-dollar industry. The Washington Post examines how and why it is decreasing. Pope Francis kept up a routine of near daily calls to a church in Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas war. The Wall Street Journal has more. And CNN details what to expect at his funeral. The Athletic ’s Mike Vorkunov joins to discuss an investigation into a sprawling sports-gambling scheme. Plus, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are at a standstill , b...
Apr 24, 2025•15 min
The Wall Street Journal ’s personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen shares why it might be a good idea to delete certain personal data about yourself online. Amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech and initiatives aimed at bolstering diversity, teachers are worried they might run afoul of new, vague rules around discussions of inclusivity. NPR has the story. The value of the dollar is in question as a result of Trump’s trade war. The Washington Post ’s David Lync...
Apr 23, 2025•14 min
A number of agencies, like the Federal Reserve, operate independently from the party ruling Washington. The Wall Street Journal ’s Greg Ip explains how a Supreme Court case could challenge that precedent. NPR ’s Jasmine Garsd explains why some immigrant and mixed-status families are considering self-deportation. Bloomberg ’s Josh Sisco joins to discuss a major antitrust case against Google. Plus, the Supreme Court weighs in on certain books in schools, the ...
Apr 22, 2025•15 min
Pope Francis , who attempted to modernize the Vatican, has died. He was 88 years old. We remember his legacy with Reuters correspondent Joshua McElwee. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly discussed sensitive military plans with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer over the app Signal. The Wall Street Journal reports that it’s the latest news in what’s been a chaotic time at the Pentagon. The Supreme Court over the weekend issued a rare overnight ruling barring the Trump admin...
Apr 21, 2025•16 min
Vera Bergengruen, national-security reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joins to discuss Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, his plans for his country, and his relationship with Trump. Bergengruen profiled Bukele for Time last year. Plus, the U.S. may abandon its support to Ukraine , Luigi Mangione was indicted on federal charges, a gunman killed two people on the campus of Florida State University , the latest from Gaza, and things other than eggs you can dye this Easter. Today’s e...
Apr 18, 2025•15 min
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making research into autism one of his major initiatives. NBC ’s Brandy Zadrozny explains how he’s reinvigorated the anti-vaccine movement in the process. The Los Angeles Times looks at how several Democratic governors, including California’s Gavin Newsom, are responding to and contending with the Trump administration. NPR explains how government bureaucracy has disrupted the reintegration of former Marine Paul Whelan, who was released from R...
Apr 17, 2025•14 min
Bloomberg News reports on Harvard University’s pushback to demands from the Trump administration and the resulting retribution. CNN examines how other universities have responded. And Wesleyan president Michael Roth talks about his own approach. The Wall Street Journal ’s Yaroslav Trofimov joins to discuss how some U.S. allies are hedging their bets in a trade war with China. As the White House and El Salvador have declined to help return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the Uni...
Apr 16, 2025•15 min
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he will not help return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. NBC News has more. And Rolling Stone reports on private White House considerations about sending U.S. citizens there as well. Joseph Walker from the Wall Street Journal joins to talk about a possible way that Republicans could cut Medicaid funding. Anil Oza, Sharon Begley fellow at Stat News , discusses the rise in U.S. maternal mortality ra...
Apr 15, 2025•14 min
The government says Meta broke the law when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. The trial starts today. The Verge ’s Lauren Feiner details the case. The Trump administration has purposely classified thousands of living immigrants as dead. Lisa Rein from the Washington Post explains why. Universities are coming off a pandemic that closed campuses and reduced enrollment numbers. These days, they’re contending with the Trump administration’s disruptive cuts to research. Bloomberg ...
Apr 14, 2025•14 min
At the end of a chaotic week for the markets, we ask Bloomberg reporter Shawn Donnan what it’s all been for. Plus, the Supreme Court says the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a man who was erroneously deported, six people died in a helicopter crash in the Hudson River, and why politics and high visa costs have some international music artists rethinking big events in the U.S. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu....
Apr 11, 2025•15 min
A look at China’s targeted response to Trump’s tariffs. Lingling Wei with the Wall Street Journal has the details. The IRS and the DHS have finalized an agreement to share taxpayer data with federal immigration authorities as part of Trump’s deportation crackdown. Shannon Najmabadi with the Washington Post breaks down what the policy change could mean for immigrants without legal status. International students are seeing their visas revoked without warning or reas...
Apr 10, 2025•14 min
Tensions are rising within the White House as a result of inconsistent messaging on the policy goals for tariffs. Bloomberg ’s Justin Sink details the challenge in sorting out the varying disputes. The Trump administration is using a point system to determine who is eligible to be deported. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán with NPR describes how the system is leading to critical errors. The Los Angeles Times looks at the administration’s attempts to strip legal fun...
Apr 09, 2025•15 min
Michigan’s auto industry is at the forefront of the economic turmoil brought on by the Trump administration’s tariffs. The Wall Street Journal ’s Jeanne Whalen tells us about the impact on manufacturers and workers so far. Flight attendants who work for the airline that’s overseeing most of the federal government’s deportation flights told ProPublica ’s McKenzie Funk that they don’t feel like they can treat passengers humanely — or keep them...
Apr 08, 2025•15 min
The Trump administration is defending sweeping tariffs that sent markets careening. Shawn Donnan of Bloomberg News discusses what might happen next. Trump has attempted to revoke temporary protected status for some Venezuelans. KFF Health News reporter Vanessa G. Sánchez tells us how the caregiving industry could be affected. The Wall Street Journal examines the recent killing of Palestinian paramedics and how cellphone video footage helped detail the incident. Plus, a second child has di...
Apr 07, 2025•14 min
President Trump’s tariffs have caused U.S. markets to plummet. How to prepare for a potential recession, and how the tariffs might have an outsized impact on a small African nation. Plus, Semafor ’s Elana Schor joins to discuss major news from Washington this week including Sen. Cory Booker’s record-length speech, and a push for proxy voting in the House. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu....
Apr 04, 2025•13 min
A Maryland father was mistakenly sent to a Salvadoran prison. The administration called it an “administrative error.” Nick Miroff of The Atlantic joins to discuss. Farmers, a constituency that supported Trump, are worried about the impact of tariffs. The Wall Street Journal ’s Kristina Peterson talks about how they’re feeling. Politico ’s Alice Miranda Ollstein discusses a Planned Parenthood case that went before the Supreme Court. Plus, why you shouldn&rsquo...
Apr 03, 2025•14 min
Americans are feeling uneasy about the economy. Business Insider ’s Emily Stewart describes why. New election results from Wisconsin and Florida provide indications to how voters are thinking about Trump and Elon Musk. NBC News and Politico have the details. Last week, Palestinians protested Hamas in Gaza. NPR ’s Daniel Estrin explains the actions’ significance. Plus, the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Cory Booker...
Apr 02, 2025•14 min
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been denying people entry into the country after searching their phones. Gaby Del Valle from The Verge details what travelers should know about their rights. Andrea González-Ramírez, senior writer for The Cut , joins to discuss her reporting on a woman who was criminally charged after suffering a miscarriage. The Washington Post ’s Patrick Marley tells us what to watch in today’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Plus, the worst quarter for t...
Apr 01, 2025•14 min
The Trump administration’s drive to dismantle inclusion policies is undercutting federal funding for scientific-research grants. The 19th looks into some of the fallout. CNN reports on how special elections for two House seats in Florida this week have Republican leaders worried about their razor-thin majority. A preliminary report from South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission acknowledges that the government failed to protect the rights of adoptees. The Washin...
Mar 31, 2025•14 min
Politico ’s Dasha Burns joins to discuss the political blowback after the leak of a Trump administration group chat on Signal that included war plans. Plus, Trump pulled the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador, mass layoffs at HHS, and what archaeologists learned from ancient footprints in North America. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu....
Mar 28, 2025•13 min
