Colorado has universal background checks, a red flag law and the city of Boulder recently passed an assault weapons ban. None of it was enough to stop a man from shooting and killing 10 people at a Boulder grocery store this week. State Rep. Tom Sullivan, whose son was killed in the 2012 Aurora movie theatre shooting, reacts to the events of this week — and tells NPR why he still believes incremental action at the state level can help prevent gun violence. Additional editing help in this episode...
Mar 24, 2021•15 min
America's infrastructure GPA is a C-minus, according to the American Society Of Civil Engineers, which this month called for massive investment in the nation's roads, bridges and transit system . The Biden administration is preparing to propose that kind of investment — along with green energy policies and progressive programs that would total more than $3 trillion. NPR's Mara Liasson reports on the plan, which Biden has signaled he wants to pass with Republican support. That's just one politica...
Mar 23, 2021•14 min
In Europe, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been slow. The U.S. is doing better — vaccinating as many as 3 million people per day this past weekend. Some of those people were vaccinated by Chichi Ilonzo Momah, who runs Springfield Pharmacy in Springfield, Pa. Momah says local independent pharmacists are trying to make sure no one falls through the cracks. The rollout is also progressing thanks in part to military personnel stationed at vaccine sites around the country that are run by the Federal...
Mar 22, 2021•12 min
Sohla El-Waylly was one of the most vocal critics of her previous employer, Bon Appétit , and eventually resigned after the magazine's racial reckoning.She's now a columnist at Food52 and star of the YouTube series Off-Script with Sohla . She and Sam talk about racism in the food media industry (and everywhere else), The Cheesecake Factory, and certain kinds of mushrooms. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast ...
Mar 21, 2021•27 min
Dante Disparte, founder and chairman of Risk Cooperative and member of FEMA's National Advisory Council, explains how lessons from last year can help us in the next pandemic — and why warnings from former Presidents Bush and Obama were not enough to prepare the U.S. for the coronavirus. In participating regions, you'll also hear from local journalists about what's happening in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of p...
Mar 19, 2021•14 min
Reports of hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders have skyrocketed in the past year, coinciding with former President Trump's racist rhetoric. The pattern is clear: Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are being terrorized by harassment and violence. State representative Bee Nguyen tells NPR the shootings in Atlanta this week have rattled the Asian-American community in Georgia. New York Congresswoman Grace Meng outlines a bill she's introduced to help address the...
Mar 18, 2021•14 min
Three women come together to talk about the isolation and sacrifice that comes with being pregnant during the pandemic. Those women: Irène Mathieu, a pediatrician in Charlottesville, Virginia; Elizabeth Baron, a mental health counselor in New York City; and Ashley Falcon, a fashion stylist who moved from Florida to New York in the early stages of the pandemic. Economist Hannes Schwandt predicts the pandemic will coincide with a drop in birth rates. In participating regions, you'll also hear from...
Mar 17, 2021•15 min
Thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have shown up at the southern border in recent weeks, overwhelming the government's ability to process and transfer them into the custody of sponsors or family members. Melissa Lopez, director of Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services Inc , tells NPR what the situations looks like from her vantage point in El Paso. Mark Greenberg , senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, explains why COVID-19 protocols are making it even harder for the govern...
Mar 16, 2021•15 min
People who stormed the Capitol were radicalized by what they consumed online and in social media. That should sound familiar: Ten years ago, ISIS used a similar strategy to lure Americans to Syria. Dina Temple-Raston reports on the pattern of radicalization. Tom Dreisbach explores familiar warning signs in the past of one Capitol siege suspect — including hateful speech and violent rhetoric. More reporting from the NPR Investigations team is here . In participating regions, you'll also hear from...
Mar 15, 2021•14 min
In this episode from NPR's Louder Than A Riot , New Orleans rapper Mac Phipps speaks exclusively to NPR about the power dynamics at play throughout his clemency hearing, and hosts Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael examine how his hip-hop career continues to affect his image in the eyes of the law. Find more episodes of Louder Than A Riot on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sp...
Mar 15, 2021•48 min
It's been one year since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in her own apartment. In that year, Taylor's name has become a national symbol in the fight against racial injustice and police violence. But beyond the symbolism, many feel that actual progress has been disappointing. In Louisville, Taylor's death has made other young Black women reflect on their own safety. Reporter Jess Clark of member station WFPL spoke to Black high school students who say Taylor's death changed the way t...
Mar 12, 2021•14 min
Less than 4% of Brazil's population has been vaccinated, and now a dangerous new variant has overwhelmed parts of the country's health care system. Duke University's Miguel Nicolelis tells NPR what it's like in Sao Paulo, where hospitals are turning patients away. Other countries are also struggling to contain the coronavirus, combat disinformation, and distribute vaccines. NPR international correspondents survey the obstacles: Diaa Hadid in Islamabad, Ruth Sherlock in Beirut and Julie McCarthy ...
Mar 11, 2021•13 min
March 11 will mark one year since the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic — when schools, businesses and workplaces began shutting down. To mark the moment, two of the nation's top public health officials who have helped lead the U.S. response to the pandemic — Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins — spoke to NPR about what they've learned, what they regret and why they're hopeful about the year ahead. Hear their full interview with NPR's ...
Mar 10, 2021•15 min
Jury selection in the highly anticipated trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began Tuesday after being delayed amid an effort to gain clarity on the potential of a third-degree murder charge. Chauvin faces charges in the killing of George Floyd last Memorial Day. Jamiles Lartey , who reports on criminal justice and policing for The Marshall Project , explains the delay. NPR's Leila Fadel and Adrian Florido have been covering the trial in Minneapolis. Benjamin Crump, the atto...
Mar 09, 2021•14 min
Over the weekend, the Senate approved a version of President Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, setting up a vote in the House that could send the package to Biden's desk as early as Tuesday. The package contains direct cash payments for many Americans, extended unemployment benefits, billions of dollars for vaccine distribution and a significant change to the child tax credit that could lift millions of American children out of poverty. Indi Dutta-Gupta of the Georgetown Center on Pove...
Mar 08, 2021•12 min
What do you do after you've survived a mass shooting? In this episode of NPR's Embedded podcast, we hear the staff at the Capital Gazette newspaper return to work after losing five of their colleagues. Trauma reveals itself in unexpected ways, coworkers struggle to figure out how they fit together as a team, and the staff grapples with the question: Is the newspaper that existed before the shooting the same one that exists after? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use o...
Mar 07, 2021•34 min
Colombian President Iván Duque won praise from the United Nations, Pope Francis and the Biden administration with his recent announcement that Colombia would welcome Venezuelan refugees with open arms — providing protected status, work permits and legal residency for up to 10 years. President Duque tells NPR why he's hopeful the move will spur the U.S. toward more aggressive support of Venezuelan migrants, some of whom are currently protected by a deferred deportation order signed by President T...
Mar 05, 2021•14 min
In the U.S., the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is improving every day, but hundreds of millions of people are still vulnerable. And now, with some states relaxing or eliminating public health measures altogether, many people live in places where the virus will be freer to spread unchecked. KUT reporter Ashley Lopez reports on how business owners and employees are reacting to the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions in Texas. And Rochelle Walensky, the new director for the Centers of Disease Control ...
Mar 04, 2021•14 min
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about voting laws in Arizona that would make ballot access harder for people living in rural areas like the Navajo Nation. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that the conservative court isn't likely to strike down the laws which could pave the way for more legislation that cuts into future election turnout. The push for legislation that would restrict voter access comes primarily from Republican lawmakers in state houses across the country. This is despite t...
Mar 03, 2021•15 min
Disinformation isn't new. But in the last decade, the growth of social media has made it easier than ever to spread. That coincided with the political rise of Donald Trump, who rose to power on a wave of disinformation and exited the White House in similar fashion. NPR's Tovia Smith reports on the growing threat of disinformation — and how expert deprogrammers work with people who believe it. Other reporting on disinformation in this episode comes from NPR correspondents Joel Rose and Sarah McCa...
Mar 02, 2021•13 min
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines has taken over after a turbulent time. Former President Donald Trump was frequently at odds with the American intelligence community, including some of his hand-picked intel chiefs. In her first interview after a month on the job, Haines tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly "it has been a challenging time" for the U.S. intel community. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your c...
Mar 01, 2021•15 min
Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington , was one of the most consequential architects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of. Rustin imagined how nonviolent civil resistance could be used to dismantle segregation in the United States. He organized around the idea for years and eventually introduced it to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But his identity as a gay man made him a target, obscured his rightful status and made him feel forced to choose, again and again, whi...
Feb 28, 2021•1 hr 12 min
It's been almost a decade since Washington and Colorado became the first states in America to legalize recreational marijuana. Now a new generation of states are wrestling with how to do it with a focus on racial equity that was missing from early legalization efforts. WBEZ reporter Mariah Woelfel reports from Chicago on why legalization plans in Illinois are still leaving Black businesses behind. VPM reporters Ben Paviour and Whittney Evans explain how lawmakers in Virginia are designing new ma...
Feb 26, 2021•13 min
Just because the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is done, it doesn't mean the story of what happened on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol is over. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to set up a commission, similar to the one created after the Sept. 11 attacks, to investigate what happened that day and what measures might prevent a future attack. That's not so easy in this moment, when Congress is often gridlocked over the most basic things. And when lawmakers themselves are also...
Feb 25, 2021•13 min
Natural gas utilities face a bleak future in a world increasingly concerned about climate change. An NPR investigation shows how they work to block local climate action and protect their business. More from NPR's Jeff Brady and Dan Charles : As Cities Grapple With Climate Change, Gas Utilities Fight To Stay In Business . Additional reporting in this episode from NPR's Nathan Rott . In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in...
Feb 24, 2021•12 min
After more than 500,000 deaths and nearly a full year, experts say there are a growing number of reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the pandemic. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have all fallen dramatically in recent weeks. Among those falling numbers, a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson that may be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration this week. Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University explains why the shot is just as desirable as already-authorized vaccines from Pzifer and...
Feb 23, 2021•13 min
Last summer, the city of Austin, Texas, slashed the budget for its police department. More recently, the city council voted on a new way to spend some of that money. KUT reporter Audrey McGlinchy explains what other changes have taken place in Austin. A powerful new player is joining calls for reparations for Black Americans: the American Civil Liberties Union . Civil rights attorney Deborah Archer — the ACLU's newly elected board president and the first Black person to assume that role — explai...
Feb 22, 2021•13 min
Why is it so hard to feel the difference between 400,000 and 500,000 COVID-19 deaths — and how might that impact our decision making during the pandemic? In this bonus episode from NPR's daily science podcast Short Wave , psychologist Paul Slovic explains the concept of psychic numbing and how humans can often use emotion, rather than statistics to make decisions about risk. To hear more about new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines, listen to Short Wave via App...
Feb 21, 2021•12 min
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is on track to pass a number next week that once seemed unthinkable: Half a million people in this country dead from the coronavirus. And while the pandemic isn't over yet, and the death toll keeps climbing, artists in every medium have already been thinking about how our country will pay tribute to those we lost. Poets, muralists, and architects all have visions of what a COVID-19 memorial could be. Many of these ideas are about more than just honoring those we...
Feb 19, 2021•13 min
Millions of people in Texas have gone three or more days without power, water or both. Texas has had winter weather before, so what went so wrong this time? Reporter Mose Buchele of NPR member station KUT in Austin explains why the state's power grid buckled under demand in the storm. And Marshall Shepherd , director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia, explains the link between more extreme winter weather and climate change. Additional reporting in this episode from...
Feb 18, 2021•14 min
