From Apple News In Conversation : A medieval-monster slayer. A tiny alien named Roscoe. A talking plate of spaghetti. These are just a few of the customizable companions available through AI-chatbot apps like Kindroid, Tolan, and Character.AI. In her latest piece for the New Yorker , journalist Anna Wiener explores the rapidly expanding world of these products and the people who use them. She joins Apple News In Conversation guest host Sam Sanders to talk about the users she met who are in relat...
Apr 11, 2026•25 min
Israel’s strikes on Lebanon threaten the ceasefire with Iran. And Bloomberg ’s Andrea Palasciano looks at President Trump’s difficult meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The Artemis II crew is set to return from its 10-day mission to the moon today. Space.com ’s Mike Wall joins to discuss how this era of lunar exploration is different from past endeavors. California’s wide-open gubernatorial election might provide a rare opening for a Republican candidate. Politico ’s Jeremy White br...
Apr 10, 2026•17 min
The ceasefire deal between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is already showing signs of fraying. Avi Salzman from Barron’s tells us there’s little sign of movement in the Strait of Hormuz. Wisconsin voters passed a first-of-its-kind law restricting future data centers. Politico ’s Tyler Katzenberger explains what the referendum says about how some voters feel about the AI boom. Golf’s most prestigious tournament, the Masters, starts today. The Athletic ’s Brody Miller joins to discuss the field — and ...
Apr 09, 2026•15 min
President Trump announces a two-week ceasefire with Iran, pulling back from threats he made earlier in the day. Phil Stewart from Reuters explains what we know — and don’t know — about the deal. Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary to stump for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Washington Post ’s Catherine Belton joins to discuss why the MAGA-aligned Orbán is facing a tough battle in upcoming elections. Plus, Republican Clay Fuller won the election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, fallout fr...
Apr 08, 2026•15 min
President Trump says today’s deadline for Iran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz is firm. Will Weissert of The Associated Press details the latest. The United Arab Emirates is cracking down on Iranians who live in the country in retaliation for drone attacks. The Wall Street Journal ’s Omar Abdel-Baqui joins to discuss what that means for the nearly half a million Iranians living in the U.A.E. Thousands of low-income HIV patients could soon lose access to drug coverage. Stateline ’s Nada Hassan...
Apr 07, 2026•13 min
American forces pulled off a daring rescue of a downed U.S. airman in Iran. The Wall Street Journal ’s Shelby Holliday breaks down the chain of events. It’s been a year since President Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he unveiled his signature global tariffs. Courtenay Brown of Axios explains how the tariffs reshaped the American and global economies. Michigan and UConn face off in tonight’s men’s NCAA Tournament final. Eddie Pells of the Associated Press previews the matchup. Plus, Pope Leo deliv...
Apr 06, 2026•14 min
From Apple News In Conversation : Last June, journalist Andy Greenberg received an anonymous email from someone claiming to be trapped inside a scam compound in Southeast Asia. The source, using the pseudonym Red Bull, said he had access to a trove of internal materials exposing the inner workings of the criminal operation — and that he was willing to risk his life to share them. Greenberg has now published Red Bull’s story in Wired . He joins Apple News In Conversation guest host Sam Sanders to...
Apr 04, 2026•31 min
Pam Bondi is out as President Trump’s attorney general. Semafor ’s Shelby Talcott joins to discuss why the president became frustrated with Bondi’s job performance. Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has displaced more than a million people. NPR ’s Lauren Frayer breaks down why some are worried their loved ones will never return. The WNBA players’ union enlisted the help of a Nobel laureate for its contract negotiations with the league. The Wall Street Journal ’s Rachel Bachman explains how the str...
Apr 03, 2026•15 min
President Trump delivers a national address on the war with Iran. Reuters has the takeaways. The confirmation of Trump’s nominee for the next U.S. surgeon general is stalled in the Senate. The Washington Post ’s Dan Diamond explains why the nomination of the MAHA-aligned doctor has run into some roadblocks. Inadequate snow and rain in the West is raising fears of drought and wildfires. USA Today ’s Trevor Hughes joins to discuss the potential effects of the continuing dry weather. Plus, an Ameri...
Apr 02, 2026•16 min
The Supreme Court hears arguments today regarding President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. The Wall Street Journal ’s James Romoser joins to discuss the key questions before the court. Some U.S. allies in the Gulf want President Trump to keep up the war with Iran. Aamer Madhani of the Associated Press explains why some countries say Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough. A federal judge halted construction on President Trump’s new ballroom at the White House. The Washington Post...
Apr 01, 2026•16 min
NASA’s Artemis program will soon send a four-person crew around the moon. Bloomberg ’s Loren Grush explains why the agency is making a lunar return. Iran instituted what is being called the “Tehran toll booth” on the Strait of Hormuz. NBC News reports some ships are being charged millions of dollars to pass. The Trump administration is using a little-known immigration court to boost its mass-deportation efforts. NPR ’s Ximena Bustillo explains how the strategy is narrowing due process for immigr...
Mar 31, 2026•15 min
The U.S. says it can only confirm about a third of Iran’s missile capabilities have been destroyed. Idrees Ali of Reuters joins to discuss what that means as signs of a potential U.S. ground operation grow. Lawmakers in Washington left for a two-week recess after failing to fund DHS and as long lines at some airports persist. NBC News ’s Sahil Kapur explains why competing Republican bills in both chambers stalled. Even though Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis has ended, many businesse...
Mar 30, 2026•14 min
From Apple News In Conversation : We are in the middle of a protein boom. Protein food products make up a more than $100 billion industry — and it’s still growing. In a new book, Protein: The Making of a Nutritional Superstar , health scholar Samantha King and sociologist Gavin Weedon reveal how marketing, industry interests, and cultural trends — not nutritional science — have turned protein into the most popular nutrient of the moment. King and Weedon sat down with Apple News In Conversation g...
Mar 28, 2026•26 min
The Senate reached a deal to fund DHS, as security wait times at the nation’s airports have continued to get longer. Juan Lozano of the Associated Press explains how Houston’s airports have come to embody the shutdown’s impact on travelers. President Trump said he would postpone strikes on Iran’s power plants again. Reuters reports on how each side has presented different plans on ending the war. Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen the detention of more than 11,000 parents of children who are...
Mar 27, 2026•15 min
The DHS shutdown has led to record-breaking wait times at airports as the Transportation Security Administration struggles with staffing shortages. NBC News reports on how TSA’s administrator warned Congress that things could get worse in the coming months. Meta and Google lost a court case over whether their platforms were to blame for the mental-health issues of a woman who compulsively used social media as a small child. NPR ’s Bobby Allyn breaks it down. Major League Baseball is back for the...
Mar 26, 2026•16 min
President Trump said talks with Iran over ending the war have been productive. Humeyra Pamuk of Reuters joins to discuss whether that means a diplomatic resolution is close. A group of employees at Voice of America are suing the government, alleging that Trump official Kari Lake spread pro-Trump propaganda on air. NPR ’s David Folkenflik breaks down the case. Something happened last year for the first time since the Great Depression: More people moved out of the U.S. than into it. The Wall Stree...
Mar 25, 2026•16 min
President Trump reversed course on attacking Iran’s power plants Monday, saying they are in talks to end the war and fully open the Strait of Hormuz. The Wall Street Journal ’s Tom Fairless joins to discuss how countries are working to save energy as the back-and-forth over the strait continues. Investigators are working to determine how an Air Canada jet crashed into a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The Washington Post reports on how an air-traffic controller said afterward that he...
Mar 24, 2026•16 min
President Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of crucial energy infrastructure. Reuters reports on how Iran issued a threat of its own in response. ICE officers are being deployed to airports to assist TSA agents with long lines. Politico reports that the moves comes as funding to reopen DHS remains stalled. Congress may have accidentally turned off tax-filing and payment deadlines for more than three years. Richard Rubin of the Wall Street Jour...
Mar 23, 2026•16 min
From Apple News In Conversation : Twitter was created 20 years ago. Many saw the platform as an online public square — a place to connect with strangers, spark viral debates, and even launch careers and social movements. When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he began reshaping it in his own image, eventually rebranding it as X, and redefining how it operates and what it’s used for. New York Times technology reporters Ryan Mac and Kate Conger, authors of Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed ...
Mar 20, 2026•31 min
The U.S. is considering lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil. The Washington Post ’s Evan Halper explains why. Fallout from revelations about Latino civil-rights icon Cesar Chavez have been swift as institutions move to strip his name off of buildings, parks and other sites. Gustavo Arellano of the Los Angeles Times joins to discuss the reaction. The identity of the artist known as Banksy has reportedly been revealed. Blake Morrison of Reuters breaks down how he and his colleagues unraveled the...
Mar 20, 2026•17 min
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. NBC News reports on how Gabbard declined to say whether Iran had posed an imminent threat before the war began. A Times of Israel correspondent says he received death threats about his reporting on a missile strike in Jerusalem from bettors on the prediction site Polymarket. Will Oremus of the Washington Post explains what happened next. The men’s NCAA basketball tournament is underway. ...
Mar 19, 2026•16 min
Iran is cracking down on dissent to prevent an uprising by its citizens. The Wall Street Journal ’s Margherita Stancati breaks down the situation Iranians are in. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin begins the confirmation process today to become the next homeland-security secretary. The Atlantic ’s Nick Miroff discusses what Mullin might do with large warehouses the administration purchased to convert into megajails. Cuba is dealing with a major economic crisis and the failure of its antiquated p...
Mar 18, 2026•15 min
President Trump’s call for military assistance from other countries at the Strait of Hormuz has met with a mostly cool reception. NBC News reports on why. A federal judge tossed out subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve in a probe over whether Jerome Powell gave false testimony. The Wall Street Journal ’s Nick Timiraos breaks down the case. A cash-only market for GLP-1s is bringing down prices for the drugs across the industry. Christopher Rowland of the Washington Post joins to discuss why lo...
Mar 17, 2026•15 min
President Trump wants allies to send send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to provide security for oil tankers. The Guardian on how reports several countries are considering their options. A bipartisan bill aimed at increasing housing supply passed in the Senate overwhelmingly. Sahil Kapur of NBC News breaks down what’s inside the legislation. Extreme weather is about to hit a large swath of the country. Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press explains why blizzard conditions, thunderstorms, and...
Mar 16, 2026•16 min
From Apple News In Conversation : The Academy Awards are finally here. The race to win isn’t just about art — it’s also about creating carefully orchestrated, big-budget campaigns. Katey Rich, awards editor at The Ankler and host of the Prestige Junkie podcast, joins Apple News In Conversation guest host Sam Sanders to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to win an Oscar, who she thinks will bring home the gold this year, and why — even in an era of streaming and shrinking audiences — t...
Mar 14, 2026•29 min
Oil markets had a volatile week as concern about the future of the war in Iran grows. The Wall Street Journa l’s David Uberti joins to discuss the market chaos. Lebanon is one of several countries that has been drawn into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Mohamad El Chamaa of the Washington Post explains how more than 800,000 Lebanese people have been displaced during the fighting. The Academy Awards are on Sunday. On this week’s Apple News In Conversation , Katey Rich, awards editor at The Ankler...
Mar 13, 2026•15 min
A continuing military investigation revealed that a deadly strike on a school in Iran was likely carried out by U.S. forces. Idrees Ali of Reuters joins to discuss how the school may have ended up on a target list. Member countries of the International Energy Agency said they will release 400 million barrels of reserve oil as prices surge. The Wall Street Journa l’s Matthew Dalton discusses whether the move can bring down the cost of crude. Travel around U.S. is being disrupted as global events ...
Mar 12, 2026•15 min
Iran faced another intense day of bombing. The BBC reports attacks on minelaying ships near a vital shipping route. Republicans gathered in Florida for their annual retreat to hash out policy priorities ahead of the midterms. Mia McCarthy of Politico joins to discuss the top issues on the GOP’s agenda. Alabama’s governor commuted the death sentence of a man convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. AL.com ’s Savannah Tryens-Fernandes breaks down the case. Plus, a whistleblower says a former DOGE e...
Mar 11, 2026•15 min
Iran buried its missile stockpiles deep underground in order to protect them. The Wall Street Journal ’s David S. Cloud explains why that may have been a big mistake. Australia granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team over concerns for their safety upon returning to Iran. Nassim Khadem of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation breaks down the act of resistance that led the team to seek protection. The Trump administration wants to keep several coal plants operational de...
Mar 10, 2026•14 min
Iran has a new supreme leader. Reuters reports that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen, in what many see as a direct rebuke of President Trump. The BBC lays out what’s known about the new leader. The ongoing war is starting to take its toll on the global economy. David J. Lynch of the Washington Post joins to discuss how Americans might soon feel the impact. Demands for accountability are increasing after an airstrike hit a school in southern Iran at the out...
Mar 09, 2026•16 min
