For those living with long COVID, daily activities like going for a walk, washing the dishes, or being on a Zoom call can be incredibly draining. These long-term effects of a COVID infection - called post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, PASC, or more simply long COVID - have been a reality for many patients since the start of the pandemic. While it is not known exactly how common long COVID is, it isn't rare. One study found that some 30% of participants across multiple age ranges reported persist...
Nov 19, 2021•11 min
Migrants from faraway countries are stuck in Belarus, just across its border with Poland. They've traveled there to seek asylum in the EU. But Poland has refused to accept them. How did they get there? They were invited — and in some cases, their travel facilitated — by the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. EU leaders say Lukashenko and his backers in Russia are 'weaponizing' migration in retaliation for sanctions placed on Belarus last year. Those sanctions came after the EU a...
Nov 18, 2021•15 min
Afghanistan is facing its worst drought in decades, but that's not the only reason it is on the verge of a hunger crisis. After the Taliban took over, much of the country's international development aid was suspended, and the United States froze $9.5 billion in Afghan government assets. The economy has plummeted. Richard Trenchard, country director for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan, explains what he's heard from farmers and herders. PBS NewsHour special corr...
Nov 17, 2021•10 min
This week's virtual summit between President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping may have restored a tone of respect between the world's two largest powers, but U.S. intelligence is telling a different story. NPR's Greg Myre reports on a national security conference held in Georgia last month where former and current U.S. intelligence officers were surprisingly candid about what they see as the biggest growing threat: China. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment ...
Nov 16, 2021•11 min
The holiday shopping season is basically here. But a lot of things that Americans want to buy are not. Now the race is on to get goods off ships and into stores and warehouses — before it's too late. NPRs Scott Horsley reports some retailers are already feeling the pinch from less inventory and higher shipping costs. Even if goods do make it into the U.S., many are sitting in warehouses, which are bursting at the seams. NPR's Alina Selyukh explains why. In participating regions, you'll also hear...
Nov 15, 2021•14 min
Thousands of youth activists from all over the world gathered in Scotland this week for the COP26 UN climate summit. They say climate change is already transforming their countries — and that their generation has the most to lose if greater action isn't taken. This episode contains reporting from Ari Shapiro in Glasgow, with production and editing by Mia Venkat, Noah Caldwell, and Ashley Brown. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what'...
Nov 12, 2021•12 min
Who is to blame for the deaths of nine people at the Astroworld Festival last Friday? Houston police have opened a criminal investigation and concertgoers have already filed more than 20 lawsuits against the event organizers and rapper Travis Scott, who continued to perform for more than half an hour after officials declared a mass casualty event. Crowd safety expert Keith Still explains the science behind how a concert crowd can transform into an uncontrollable mass that threatens human life. H...
Nov 11, 2021•15 min
Following the Columbine shooting in April of 1999, top leaders of the National Rifle Association huddled in private to discuss their public response to the tragedy. Secret tapes of those deliberations were obtained by NPR investigative correspondent Tim Mak. He explains what's revealed in the tapes: that the group considered a much different stance than the one it ultimately took — a stance that would help set the stage for decades of debate about gun violence in America. Tim Mak is also author ...
Nov 10, 2021•12 min
Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse is not just the next chapter of his company: it's the next chapter of the internet. There are a lot of questions about what role Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, should play in building that future. Meta's Vice President of metaverse, Vishal Shah, argues that the company has learned from its struggle to moderate content on Facebook, and will build safety and privacy into the metaverse. Jason Moore — Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College teaching ...
Nov 09, 2021•14 min
Now that the hot takes have cooled after Virginia's gubernatorial election, NPR correspondents Anya Kamenetz and Tamara Keith dissect the role of education in the race — and why it was about way more than critical race theory. Read more from Anya here . In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will 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 da...
Nov 08, 2021•13 min
Waking up at dawn with the bakers and the baristas may not be for everyone — especially night owls. Whether you have to wake up early, or you'd like to become more of a morning lark, here are a few habits that can help you set yourself up for success at that first alarm. In this episode of NPR's Life Kit, host Kavitha George speaks with early risers who have tips to help adjust one's biological clock. Listen to more episode's of Life Kit on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or NPR One . See pcm.adswizz.c...
Nov 07, 2021•22 min
In recent years, Sudan has been home to one of the most successful pro-democracy movements on the African continent. Now, a military coup threatens that movement's progress. NPR's Eyder Peralta , who has been reporting in the region, explains how it all unfolded — and what could happen next. Read more on the events in Sudan from NPR's Becky Sullivan : The coup in Sudan could threaten U.S. influence in a strategically important region . In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segm...
Nov 05, 2021•13 min
The CDC made it official on Tuesday: kids 5 - 11 are now eligible to receive Pfizer's COVID-19 pediatric vaccine. Within hours, some of the first shots were administered in Hartford, Connecticut. Jenny Brundin of Colorado Public Radio spoke to parents and kids in Denver about getting a shot. While some are eager, others want to 'wait and see.' NPR's Allison Aubrey and Selena Simmons-Duffin wrote about why pediatricians say it's better not to wait. Read their piece: Some parents want to wait to v...
Nov 04, 2021•12 min
Any ruling is months away, but this week's oral arguments provided some clues. NPR's Nina Totenberg watched them unfold. Hear more from Nina's coverage on the NPR Politics Podcast via Apple , Google , or Spotify . Also in this episode: Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi , an OB-GYN in Texas, who told NPR pregnant people in Texas have been travelling to Oklahoma for abortions. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Ema...
Nov 03, 2021•10 min
In what some have called "Striketober," workers in factories as well as the health care and food industries have either started or authorized strikes in the past month. Thousands of workers across the U.S. are on strike, demanding better wages, better working conditions and more benefits. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Joseph McCartin, professor of history at Georgetown , about what this moment means for the future of labor in America and how long the momentum may last. In participating regions, ...
Nov 02, 2021•12 min
A U.N. climate summit is underway this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Many of the world's top carbon emitting-countries will be represented there. Scientists say they need to do more to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The U.S, along with the China, are the world's top greenhouse gas emitters. India is third. And Brazil plays a crucial role in global climate, because it is home to vast rainforests that feed on carbon. But those rainfore...
Nov 01, 2021•12 min
In this episode of NPR's investigative podcast Embedded , Chris Benderev reports on the trial of a man who shot and killed five people in the office of an Annapolis newspaper in 2018. Embedded 's series of episodes on the Capitol Gazette began in February of 2021. Listen via Apple , Spotify , or Google . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 31, 2021•33 min
A final girl in the horror genre is the woman who is left to deal with the aftermath of surviving a terrifying killer. From The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , to Friday the 13th , to Halloween . The term 'Final Girl' was first coined by writer Carol J. Clover in her book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film . Society knows this trope well. But after the credits roll, audiences typically don't know much about what actually happens to that final girl. Or whether she can live a no...
Oct 29, 2021•11 min
Two years ago, a massive protest movement swept through Iraq. People were angry about corruption and a lack of basic services like electricity and health care in a country that brings in billions of dollars in oil revenue each year. That protest movement culminated in a parliamentary election, held earlier this month. NPR international correspondent Ruth Sherlock reported on the election closely from inside Iraq. Through her reporting, and in conversation with host Ari Shapiro , Ruth explains wh...
Oct 28, 2021•15 min
Last summer, when former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen sat down to tape their podcast, the country was facing a pandemic, joblessness and a contentious election. And their conversations, they say, were an effort to offer some perspective and an attempt to try and find a unifying story for the country. The two talked about their dads, race, and the future of the country. Those conversations have now become a book, titled Renegades: Born in the U.S.A. — and they spoke to Audie Corni...
Oct 27, 2021•15 min
The CDC has now released booster guidance for all three vaccines available in the U.S. — making tens of millions of people eligible for another shot. And on Tuesday, an FDA panel met to review data from Pfizer on their vaccine for children ages 5 - 11. NPR's Alison Aubrey explains what those data say about the vaccine — and how it might be rolled out. Pediatrician Dr. Reah Boyd tells NPR how she's talking to parents about vaccinating their young children. Additional reporting in this episode fro...
Oct 26, 2021•13 min
School board members across the country are being intimidated and threatened. Now the National School Boards Association wants the federal government to step in. The group said in a recent letter to President Biden that acts of school board harassment and confrontations seem to be coordinated. The online newsletter Popular Information has written about national groups targeting school boards . NPR Ed correspondent Anya Kamenetz travelled to Gwinnett County, Georgia, where school board members ha...
Oct 25, 2021•13 min
This episode is from our friends at Wisdom From The Top . From the creator of How I Built This, host Guy Raz invites you to listen in as he talks to leadership experts and the visionary leaders of some of the world's biggest brands. Along the way, you'll hear accounts of crisis, failure, turnaround, and triumph, as the leaders reveal their secrets on their way to the top. These are stories that didn't make it into their company bios, and valuable lessons for anyone trying to make it in business....
Oct 24, 2021•59 min
A record 4.3 million workers in America quit their jobs in August. Anthony Klotz coined this ongoing phenomenon "The Great Resignation." Klotz is an organizational psychologist at Texas A&M University. In part, he says, the pandemic has made workers reevaluate what they are actually getting out of their jobs. "During the pandemic, because there was a lot of death and illness and lockdowns, we really had the time and the motivation to sit back and say, do I like the trajectory of my life? Am ...
Oct 22, 2021•13 min
Last week the White House announced a plan to help move the port of Los Angeles into 24/7 operating status. But that will only "open the gates" of the clogged global supply chain, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NPR on the NPR Politics Podcast. Another crucial supply chain link is the trucking industry, which is short tens of thousands of drivers. Bruce Basada, President of the Diesel Driving Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, explains why. The clogged supply chain is leading to dela...
Oct 21, 2021•13 min
Since 2016, a number of U.S. diplomats and federal employees have reported symptoms of a mysterious illness, the so-called Havana Syndrome. The list of symptoms include hearing loud sounds, nausea fatigue, and dizzying migraines, among others. The cause of this mystery illness is a source of curiosity, but it remains unknown. Last year the State Department commissioned a study by the National Academies of Sciences for researchers to investigate Havana Syndrome. NPR's Sarah McCammon spoke to Dr. ...
Oct 20, 2021•13 min
Colin Powell's life was marked by public service, first as a soldier in Vietnam and then eventually as President George W. Bush's secretary of state. By that time he had already held many prominent positions in government, including national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the first African American to hold each of these roles. But Powell's story will always be entwined with the Iraq War. Although he argued against the invasion in private White House meetings, ...
Oct 19, 2021•12 min
One of the killings that sparked racial justice protests last year is again in the national spotlight, with a trial that begins this week in Brunswick, Ga. Three white men are accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man shot and killed as he was jogging down a residential street. NPR correspondent Debbie Elliott reports on the defendants' expected arguments and the evidence stacked against them in a trial that serves as yet another test case for racial justice. In participating r...
Oct 18, 2021•11 min
After the protests last year, we heard the phrase "racial reckoning" a lot, as some groups of people struggled to catch up with what's just been reality for many others. On this episode of NPR's new Book of the Day podcast , we've got two books that might help you reckon with that reckoning, in two different ways: Traci Todd and illustrator Christian Robinson's bright and powerful picture book biography Nina: A Story of Nina Simone and poet Claudia Rankine's Just Us: An American Conversation , i...
Oct 17, 2021•19 min
Large parts of the West have been hot and dry for so long that reservoirs are running low and some communities are mandating conservation. California is talking about a statewide mandate, too. Meanwhile, farmers are preparing to flood their fields to replenish aquifers, while ranchers are selling off parts of their herds and worried about feeding the rest. NPR's Dan Charles reports from California and NPR's Kirk Siegler reports from North Dakota. Also in this episode: water rights lawyer Christi...
Oct 15, 2021•15 min
