Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the formal annexation of four territories in Ukraine on Friday, after the conclusion of what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called "sham" referendums and "a complete farce." NPR's Kat Lonsdorf talked with Ukrainians near the frontline about how the turmoil is affecting them. Dara Massicot , a Russian military analyst with the RAND corporation, says, with this move, Putin has "burned bridges behind him," leaving him with few options to force a cl...
Sep 30, 2022•13 min
Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction through central Florida, with extreme winds, heavy rains and a torrent of waters flooding in from the Gulf of Mexico. Roads and bridges were washed away, coastal cities were swamped and electrical systems were wrecked - leaving millions of homes and businesses without power. While the full scope of the disaster is not yet known, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says it will take years to rebuild. We'll hear an eyewitness account of the destruction in Ft. Myers...
Sep 29, 2022•14 min
The widespread protests in Iran were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died after being detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. The fuel that's keeping them going is a broader, deeper resentment at life under the regime. Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explains what risk the protests pose to the regime, and why he believes it is incapable of reform. This episode also feature...
Sep 28, 2022•14 min
Every year, more than 300,000 U.S. families have infants who require advanced medical care in neonatal intensive care units. Specialized treatments and round-the-clock care rack up enormous bills for parents as they try to navigate their baby's care. And in the worst case scenarios, some families are left with millions of dollars in medical bills long after their child has passed. We talk to Kaiser Health News correspondent Lauren Weber about her reporting on how steep medical bills have impacte...
Sep 27, 2022•12 min
Ruby Bridges was just six years old in 1960 when she became the first Black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. She was escorted by four federal marshals and greeted by a mob of angry white protesters. Today, Bridges is a civil rights activist and author, and she is sharing her experience with a new generation of kids in her latest children's book, I Am Ruby Bridges. Bridges tells her story through the eyes of her six-year-old self and talks about ...
Sep 26, 2022•13 min
This week the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced recommendations that doctors screen all patients under 65 for anxiety. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we've heard about sharp increases in the number of people suffering from mental health problems. With a health care system already overburdened and seemingly unable to deal with the rise in mental health issues, America is facing what is being called a mental health crisis. But are we losing sight of another crisis - the issues ca...
Sep 24, 2022•13 min
The NFL has dealt with plenty of scandal this century, but this offseason was pretty rough. Accusations of racist hiring practices, star players charged with sexual assault, and owners behaving badly have all been embarrassments for the league. None of that has affected the bottom line. TV ratings are as high as ever and NFL programs dominate the Nielsen top ten. Our host Juana Summers talks to Kevin Draper, sports reporter for the New York Times, about what, if anything, can slow down the NFL j...
Sep 23, 2022•14 min
More than 55,000 people in the U.S. are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, according to research from The Sentencing Project. Behind bars, they are largely unseen and unheard. The Visiting Room Project is an effort to change that. It's a collection of first-person testimonials of people who are serving life sentences. We hear inmates tell their stories and talk with Calvin Duncan, co-creator the project, which invites the public to sit face-to-face with people who have no ...
Sep 22, 2022•14 min
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated billions of dollars to Puerto Rico to help it rebuild from Hurricane Maria with more resilient infrastructure. Five years after the storm, only a tiny fraction of it has been spent, and Hurricane Fiona has again left much of the island in the dark. NPR's Adrian Florido explains how Fiona has left some Puerto Ricans feeling like their recovery has gone "back to zero." Sergio Marxuach , with The Center for a New Economy, a Puerto Rican think ta...
Sep 21, 2022•11 min
As record numbers of people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses, communities are searching for tools to prevent them. A new program in Canada could serve as a model. Over the past few years, government-approved clinics have opened across the country, where people can use street drugs under medical supervision. If they overdose, they can get life-saving care immediately. Some doctors are even prescribing powerful opioids to patients to keep them from using street drugs that may be laced with dead...
Sep 20, 2022•11 min
For many in the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth was synonymous with the monarchy. As she's laid to rest, King Charles faces a potentially "existential" challenge in convincing the British and global public that the monarchy is a force for good, according to historian Dan Jones. That may be a difficult task in the Commonwealth, a group of 56 countries connected in part by a history of British colonial rule. Many see the monarchy as inextricably linked to the injustices of that colonial system. Jo...
Sep 19, 2022•13 min
Since a Supreme Court ruling paved the way for college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image, or likeness - NIL for short - athletes are popping up in ads selling everything from protein shakes to air conditioners. Host Michel Martin speaks with Ramogi Huma, founder and President of the National College Players Association, about the hurdles that keep some college players from cashing in, and the future of student compensation. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect...
Sep 17, 2022•15 min
For the past six months, dancers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in Los Angeles have been striking almost every weekend. This is because the strippers say they've faced unsafe working conditions, including assault and harassment from customers. After the dancers say they were unable to meet with club managers to discuss their demands and were not allowed to work, they launched an effort to form a union. This episode also features reporting from NPR's Brianna Scott and KCRW's Robin Estrin . I...
Sep 16, 2022•15 min
It's a strange moment in the pandemic. Mask mandates and other restrictions have all but disappeared. For most vaccinated people, the risk of severe illness has gone way down. But hundreds of people are dying of COVID-19 every day. For their loved ones, grieving a terrible loss as the country is moving back to normal can be jarring. Everyday Americans are weighing the threat the coronavirus poses to them. Scientists, too, are debating how dangerous the virus is right now. NPR's Rob Stein reports...
Sep 15, 2022•8 min
Over the past week, the Ukrainian military has retaken thousands of square miles of territory from Russian troops, in a counteroffensive east of Kharkiv. Retreating Russian soldiers left behind tanks and ammunition as they fled. We'll hear the stories of Ukrainians who spent months under Russian occupation, and take a look at what the counteroffensive means for the next phase of the war. This episode also features reporting by NPR's Ashley Westerman . In participating regions, you'll also hear a...
Sep 14, 2022•13 min
Social media platforms have helped fuel political polarization and incitements to violence across the globe, from the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This is because algorithms consistently select content that evokes anger and outrage from its users to maximize engagement. And sometimes, those extreme emotions turn into extreme actions. New York Times reporter Max Fisher took a deep dive into the impact of social media in his book, "The Chaos Machi...
Sep 13, 2022•13 min
A lot of mobile homes aren't actually that mobile. They're brought in trucks in big pieces, then screwed together and put up on foundations. At that point they're basically just houses, with one major exception: the people who own those houses, if they live in a mobile home park, often don't own the land underneath them. That can leave them at the mercy of the big companies that own and manage the mobile home parks. NPR's Chris Arnold and Robert Benincasa have the story of a group of residents w...
Sep 12, 2022•12 min
Even if you have never walked the red carpet at the Met Gala, or sat in the front row of a Fashion Week runway, the notion of fashion is hard to escape. For some of us, what we wear – whether it's Gucci or the GAP–is about more than just the clothes on our bodies. Fashion is often about who we are - our ideas, identity, and culture. For those who cover and create fashion, it can be a way to challenge and change the culture in ways that resonate beyond the red carpet and the runway. Host Michel M...
Sep 10, 2022•14 min
Quiet quitting. It's a buzzy topic in the workplace and on social media, sparked by a viral TikTok video earlier this summer. So what does it mean? For some workers, it's simply doing what's in your job description and nothing more. For others, it's about setting boundaries and focusing on work-life balance. Quiet quitting doesn't actually involve quitting a job. But as workplace culture has changed during the pandemic, many people are re-evaluating their relationship to work and trying to figur...
Sep 09, 2022•15 min
Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of Britain since 1952, died on Thursday at the age of 96. She reigned for longer than any other ruler of the United Kingdom, spanning seventy years and fifteen prime ministers. NPR's Frank Langfitt brings us the story of her life and reign, including the ups and downs of the royal family during her tenure. 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 . ...
Sep 08, 2022•13 min
For more than a month, residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have not had access to safe drinking water. The city is under a boil water advisory after problems with the pumps at the city's main water treatment plant. It's the latest emergency in a city that has had problems with its water system for decades. We talk to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan about efforts to fix Jackson's water infrastructure. This episode also features reporting from NPR's Cory Turner and Jenni...
Sep 07, 2022•13 min
Traffic fatalities have surged since the early days of the pandemic, reversing a persistent decline since the 1970s. Roads in the U.S. are now more dangerous than they've been in 20 years. Vox's Marin Cogan tells us about the deadliest road in the country, a stretch of US-19 in Pasco County, Fla. And we speak to Ryan Sharp, director of transportation and planning in Hoboken, N.J. That city has managed to bring traffic deaths to zero for the past four years. This episode also features reporting f...
Sep 06, 2022•13 min
When Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in 2017, she was in the midst of reporting on corruption within the island's government. After her death, a small team of reporters picked up her work where she left off, determined to find the people behind her assassination. In this episode, we'll talk with one of those reporters — Stephen Grey from Reuters — about their investigation, which has uncovered new evidence about the network of people responsible for killing Caruana Galizia. ...
Sep 05, 2022•11 min
After decades of scandals over horrible conditions, many states are reimagining prisons and jails and reusing those properties to benefit the community. 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
Sep 04, 2022•15 min
After the 2016 election – and Russian hacking attempts targeted at local election offices – hundreds of local governments across the country made changes. Among them, installing something called an Albert sensor. It's designed to warn of hacking attempts. But in Washington State, this cybersecurity tool has become the subject of suspicion on the political right. It's part of a trend that one voting expert described as "using the language of election integrity to dismantle the infrastructure of e...
Sep 02, 2022•11 min
Students in Uvalde, Texas are going back to school for the first time since a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School back in May. But parents and kids are still worried about security in the district — and some families are opting to homeschool instead of going back in-person. NPR's Juana Summers spent a week in Uvalde speaking with families about how the community is trying to move forward — and balance education with the need to keep students safe. In participatin...
Sep 01, 2022•14 min
It's been 17 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, permanently changing life for many people across the country. Over a thousand were killed, and many more were displaced. The city suffered billions of dollars of damage. New Orleans has slowly recovered over the years, but for many, the trauma of the natural disaster lingers on. NPR's Juana Summers talks with filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr. about his new documentary, 'Katrina Babies,' which explores the trauma experienced by familie...
Aug 31, 2022•12 min
Serena Williams dominated tennis for the better part of two decades. Her athleticism and aggressive style changed the way the women's game is played. And she inspired a generation of young Black players who followed in her footsteps. Coco Gauff was one of them. At 18 years old, she was born five years after Williams' first Grand Slam singles title. Today, she's ranked 12th in the WTA rankings. "Growing up, I never thought I was different," she said, "because the number one player in the world wa...
Aug 30, 2022•12 min
This summer, just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the story of a 10-year-old girl in Ohio became a flashpoint in the national abortion debate. The girl had become pregnant as a result of rape and had to travel across state lines to Indiana to get an abortion. For one rape survivor, the case reminded her of what she lived through long ago, before Roe was the law the of the land. She spoke with NPR's Sarah McCammon about her experience. In participating regions, you'll also h...
Aug 29, 2022•13 min
Across the country, some teachers are deciding not to return to the classroom this September. The pandemic didn't create the problem of teacher burnout, but it made a bad situation worse. Fed up with low pay, hampered by partisan politics intruding in the classroom, and shaken by the recent Uvalde shooting, many say they have reached their breaking point. Teacher vacancies have left school districts across the U.S. scrambling to find enough qualified faculty for the fall. In some areas, competit...
Aug 27, 2022•13 min
