We know that climate change is making all sorts of extreme weather events more likely all around the globe. So what can we do about that? In this episode, NPR's Allison Aubrey gives us tips on how to avoid heat-related illnesses when temperatures soar to dangerous levels. And we hear from a climate researcher about what steps we would need to take on a global scale to try and bring temperatures down. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's...
Jul 20, 2023•11 min
It's easy to lose track of the seriousness of the legal cases involving Donald Trump, in part because there are just so many. This week the former president and current presidential candidate said he received a letter informing him he is a target in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Such a letter often precedes an indictment. And a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, may soon consider an election interference case there that cou...
Jul 19, 2023•12 min
One of the most cutting-edge and controversial fields of biomedical research right now is the quest to create eggs and sperm in the lab for anyone with their own DNA. And now, private companies have jumped into the race to revolutionize the way humans reproduce. In vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, would enable infertile women and men to have children with their own DNA instead of genes from the sperm and eggs of donors. It would also provide queer couples the opportunity to have children biologicall...
Jul 18, 2023•12 min
Carlos Alcaraz's victory over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final was the latest coronation of a tennis great from Spain. NPR's Rob Schmitz looks into how the country became such fertile ground for outstanding players. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your po...
Jul 17, 2023•8 min
Since the 2024 Presidential election may ultimately be decided by a handful of votes in a handful of states, courting young voters will be key. Gen Z has been turning out in record numbers in recent midterms. Often much of the political conversation focuses on young voters in and around big cities. But since young voters are so key for Democrats' success, and rural voters are an essential bloc for Republicans, what young, rural voters think really matters. Host Scott Detrow spoke with NPR's Elen...
Jul 16, 2023•14 min
James Barber is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Alabama, for the murder of Dorothy Epps in 2001. It's the first execution since Governor Kay Ivey paused capital punishment in the state and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of death penalty protocols after the state failed to execute two inmates last year. Host Scott Detrow speaks with The Atlantic's Elizabeth Bruenig. She reported extensively on Alabama's troubles with lethal injection last year. She says the state's process is very opaqu...
Jul 14, 2023•15 min
Six years ago when former Obama staffer Brian Wallach was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - ALS - a rare neurological disease that kills most people who contract it within a few years, he and his wife Sandra Abrevaya quickly got to work. They launched a non-profit advocacy group I am ALS and a battle to try and fight for increased funding and research that they hoped would lead to a cure for the disease. Since then Wallach and Abrevaya have changed the face of medical advocacy in th...
Jul 13, 2023•15 min
As we confront the realities of a changing climate, a group of scientists says we're living in a world of our very own making - a world altered by the burning of fossil fuels, the explosion of nuclear weapons, plastic pollution and environmental degradation. The scientists call it the Anthropocene. And they have identified a geological site in Canada they say best reflects this new epoch in Earth's history. We hear from NASA's Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin. Also, NPR's A...
Jul 12, 2023•10 min
Baseball was once known for breaking racial barriers in the U.S. But now, Black representation in the major leagues is at its lowest level in decades. This year, MLB did something to try and change that, by staging the first annual HBCU Swingman Classic. It's an opportunity for players from historically Black colleges and universities to play in front of scouts and executives on a national stage. NPR's Juana Summers reports from Seattle on MLB's efforts to reverse the decline and recruit Black A...
Jul 11, 2023•13 min
Since the war began, military aid from the US to Ukraine has largely received bipartisan report. But a new planned 800 million dollar package has split Democrats and also riled up Human Rights Groups because of one weapon included in the package — cluster bombs. More than a hundred countries, including allies of the US, have banned use of the weapon, which releases a large number of bomblets over a wide area. Unexploded bomblets pose a danger to civilians. The Biden administration is defending t...
Jul 10, 2023•13 min
The U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate of high-income countries globally, and the numbers have only grown. According to a new study published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association – maternal death rates remain the highest among Black women, and those high rates have more than doubled over the last twenty years. When compared to white women, Black women are more than twice as likely to experience severe pregnancy-related complications, and nearly three times as likely t...
Jul 09, 2023•15 min
Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Bettie Davis, Clark Gable. During Hollywood's Golden Age, which existed roughly from the 1910s and 20's into the early 1960s, these actors weren't just stars... They were in the words of NPR's movie critic Bob Mondello "American royalty". But in an age of Disney and Marvel, the movie star appears to have been eclipsed by the franchises in which they appear. NPR critics Mondello and Aisha Harris breakdown the decline and seemingly disappearance of the classic movie st...
Jul 07, 2023•13 min
The police killing in France of a 17-year old of North African descent sparked protests and violence across the country as well as a national conversation about racism and police brutality. Rebecca Rosman reports from the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the police killing took place. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports from Marseille, the scene of some of the worst violence. And Ari Shapiro interviews Sebastian Roche, a sociologist who studies policing and race in France. In participating regions, yo...
Jul 06, 2023•10 min
On Wednesday Israel said it concluded a two-day military operation in the Jenin refugee camp meant to root out armed militants. The raid on the camp in the occupied West Bank - complete with airstrikes – was the most intense military operation Israel has carried out in more than 15 years. At least 12 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded. One Israeli soldier was killed. Israel claimed the attack was one that targeted militants and minimized harm to non-combatants. NPR's Daniel Estrin visit...
Jul 05, 2023•9 min
It's been more than a decade since 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' was repealed. Introduced in 1993, the law remained in effect until 2011. During that time an estimated 114,000 troops were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Veterans who received an "other than honorable" discharge from the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were ineligible for veterans' benefits. That meant missing out on benefits like free VA healthcare, VA-backed home loans or funds for college tuitio...
Jul 04, 2023•14 min
There's nothing obviously patriotic about scarfing down as many hot dogs as you can in ten minutes. So how did competitive eating become so synonymous with the holiday celebrating the Fourth of July? To find out, host Scott Detrow visits a hot dog eating contest in Washington, D.C. And producer Matt Ozug unpacks the evolution of eating as a sport, from a 17th century farmer to today's televised competitions. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense o...
Jul 03, 2023•13 min
The Supreme Court ended its term this week with three rulings that will have far reaching consequences in the lives of millions of Americans. The court struck down President Biden's student debt relief program. It also sided with a Colorado website designer who wants to refuse business to a same-sex couple, and it effectively killed affirmative action in college admissions. All three rulings were a 6-3 split. All of the court's Republican-nominated justices voting against the three justices who ...
Jul 02, 2023•12 min
A week on from an aborted uprising, Vladimir Putin is still standing. But for how long? The brief rebellion, launched by the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, marked the greatest challenge to Putin's rule since he came to power, 23 years ago. The mercenary leader is now in exile in Belarus and no charges are being filed against him or his followers. So where does that leave Putin, who has a reputation for being ruthless with his enemies? In participating regions, you'll als...
Jun 30, 2023•10 min
The Supreme Court effectively killed race-conscious admissions in higher education on Thursday. In two cases, the court decided that the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina - both of which consider race - are unconstitutional, ruling the policies violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The decisions reversed decades of precedent upheld over the years by narrow court majorities that included Republican-appointed justices. The rulings could end t...
Jun 29, 2023•12 min
A punishing heat wave has left more than a dozen people dead across Texas. In recent days temperatures have climbed above 100 degrees in many parts of the state. Now the extreme heat is heading east, putting people's health at risk across the Mississippi Valley and the Central Gulf Coast. NPR's Lauren Sommer reports on how climate change and the El Niño climate pattern are increasing the intensity and frequency of heat waves. And Monica Samayoa from Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on how one ...
Jun 28, 2023•8 min
When it comes to American politics, Florida regularly finds its way to the center of the conversation. Often important, if not pivotal in presidential elections, Florida is home to former President Trump and his strongest opponent in the Republican presidential primary for 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis. As he campaigns for the nomination Gov. DeSantis has taken center stage in some of the most contentious battles of the culture war, those around trans rights, book censorship and immigration. But j...
Jun 27, 2023•10 min
Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a direct challenge to his authority over the weekend. Mercenary fighters with the Wagner group took over a military headquarters and launched a march toward Moscow. The group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, eventually called off the uprising. He's apparently accepted a deal to live in exile, and claims the weekend's events were a protest, not an attempt to overthrow the government. NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow, and Greg Myre in Kyiv, explain what the turmoil...
Jun 26, 2023•9 min
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is a $1.2 trillion law meant to spur a massive infrastructure renewal and rebuilding program complete with new bridges, railroads and highways. It also allocates $65 million to expand internet access to all. Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, is the man Biden tapped to make sure the massive job gets done. We speak with Landrieu about the Affordable Connectivity Program – which provides monthly $30 subsidies for lower-income individuals to buy Inter...
Jun 25, 2023•13 min
Last June, when the Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade decision, which had stood for nearly 50 years, the constitutional right to abortion ceased to exist. While reproductive health providers had been fearing, and preparing for the possible reversal for years, it still left millions of people seeking reproductive health care in flux. A year on, state controlled access to abortion continues to shift in many locations across the country. We hear from people who have been forced to make decisio...
Jun 23, 2023•13 min
There has been no shortage of confrontations between the U.S. and China this year. This week, shortly after a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, intended to thaw relations with China, President Biden likened Chinese President Xi Jinping to a "dictator" in off the cuff remarks. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called that "an open political provocation." Before that there were dust ups over TikTok and a Chinese spy balloon. But one of the most intractable and vol...
Jun 22, 2023•11 min
As climate change gets worse, California is seeing larger and more dangerous wildfires. And in response some insurers are leaving the state behind, finding the growing risk too high to pay. Host Ailsa Chang talks with Michael Wara, who directs a climate and energy policy program at Stanford, about the financial calculus insurers are making as the threat of climate-fueled disasters grows. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to mana...
Jun 21, 2023•9 min
Time is running out to locate the submersible vessel that went missing Sunday, on a voyage to visit the wreckage of the Titanic. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates the five people aboard the vessel, known as the Titan, could run out of air by Thursday morning. CBS Sunday Morning correspondent David Pogue was aboard the same vessel to take the same voyage last year. He says its interior is the size of a minivan, it's built with a combination of off-the-rack and highly technical components and it has ...
Jun 20, 2023•10 min
While Black people in this country have been celebrating Juneteenth for decades, what is sometimes referred to as Emancipation Day or America's "second Independence Day" is only being celebrated as a national holiday this year for the third time. June 19th marks the date in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free. on that day, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army delivered the news to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. But for African Americans, th...
Jun 19, 2023•12 min
Made in America. It may be a catchy political slogan, but it's a lot more complicated than it sounds. So many things we use everyday come from China. In 2018 - former President Donald Trump launched a trade war with the country, eventually slapping tariffs on more than 300 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports. Two and half years into the Biden presidency – those taxes are still here. To understand why, NPR's White House correspondent Asma Khalid spoke with policy makers, economists and even ...
Jun 18, 2023•12 min
It depends on when, and where you grew up, but you can probably name a few of your favorite sit-com dads - from Mike Brady and his "bunch", to Homer Simpson, to Andre Johnson from Blackish. There is no single, universal way to be a father. There are as many ways to be a dad as there are dads. This year, for Father's Day, we asked a variety of different dads to tell us their stories about what fatherhood means to them. And we have a story that puts a new twist on the old saying "like father, like...
Jun 16, 2023•13 min
