The extremes of climate change are wreaking havoc on the Mississippi. Over the past two months, this critical waterway has seen below average rainfall. In some places, water levels haven't been this low for more than 30 years. NPR's Debbie Elliot explains how that is helping the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico push upriver, threatening municipal and commercial water supplies. Then Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco and Eva Tesfaye, of The Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk, show us how life on t...
Nov 04, 2022•14 min
The attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband and other recent incidents have security experts worried about the potential for political violence around the midterm elections. NPR's Miles Parks and Odette Yousef explain what law enforcement and elections officials are preparing for. 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 colle...
Nov 03, 2022•11 min
Billions will be watching when the men's soccer World Cup begins in Qatar this month. But the country's human rights record will also be in the global spotlight during the tournament. A 2021 investigation by The Guardian revealed that more than 6,500 migrant laborers died during the construction of World Cup facilities and infrastructure. There are also questions about how LGBTQ soccer fans and players may be treated in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. We hear from one man who is speaking ...
Nov 02, 2022•15 min
More than eight months after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, new challenges are emerging. NPR's Franco Ordoñez reports that Ukrainian soldiers are preparing for what could be their toughest battle yet: the fight for the southern city of Kherson. Meanwhile, supply chain issues are complicating the flow of Western military aid to Ukraine. We hear about that from NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR global economics correspondent Stacey Vanek Smith. In participating regions, you'll a...
Nov 01, 2022•13 min
Elections are tight in many parts of the US these days. They certainly are in the battleground state of Wisconsin, where the last two presidential elections were decided by very thin margins. This year's midterms could be just as tight in the state. For Democrats, who are hoping to pick up a US Senate seat in Wisconsin, a key factor will be turnout among young voters. NPR's Juana Summers talked to three Wisconsin voters under the age of 30 to find out what issues are driving them to the polls th...
Oct 31, 2022•15 min
On Friday, federal authorities issued an internal bulletin that warned of the potential for violence from domestic extremists during the midterm election season. The same day, a federal Judge in Phoenix refused to stop a group from patrolling outdoor ballot boxes. Members of the group have been showing up heavily armed, often masked and wearing tactical vests. Critics say this is intimidating voters. The judge said that barring the group would violate their constitutional rights. From election d...
Oct 29, 2022•15 min
On Sunday, Brazilians will go to the polls to choose between two very different presidential candidates. One is the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, who has been called Latin America's Trump. The other is leftist former president and working class icon, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The outcome of the presidential runoff vote will of course shape the future of Brazil's democracy. But the vote's impact could also be felt far beyond the country's borders. We hear what the outcome could mean for t...
Oct 28, 2022•14 min
The G.I. Bill of 1944 provided free education, unemployment pay and home loans for millions of veterans returning from fighting in World War II. These benefits helped to expand the American middle class after the war. But many returning Black veterans were excluded because of segregation. And that exclusion helped widen the wealth gap between white and Black Americans. A bill in Congress would repair some of that harm by paying reparations to the families of nearly one million Black veterans who...
Oct 27, 2022•14 min
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 12 million people have cast ballots in the 2022 midterms, according to the United States Elections Project . Hidden in that number are hints about the effect disinformation might be having on voting by mail, whether new voting restrictions are depressing turnout and how motivated Americans are to cast ballots this year. NPR's Miles Parks breaks down the national early voting picture, and Sam Gringlas with WABE in Atlanta, talks about the role early voting has...
Oct 26, 2022•10 min
A year ago, William Shatner, the actor who played Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, boarded a Blue Origin rocket ship. At the age of 90, he became the oldest person to fly into space. We hear from Shatner about "Boldly Go," the book he has since written about how that experience changed his outlook. And we also hear from Frank White, the author and philosopher who coined the term "Overview Effect" to describe experiences like Shatner's. In participating regions, you'll also hear a l...
Oct 25, 2022•10 min
The war in Ukraine is stressing global energy and food markets. China's COVID-19 lockdowns continue to affect supply chains. Economies large and small are facing persistent inflation. All of it adds up to a bleak global economic picture. We talk to three NPR reporters on three different continents —Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley in Washington, Rob Schmitz in Berlin and Lauren Frayer in Mumbai—about how economic crises half a world away can bear down on daily life. This episode also ...
Oct 24, 2022•13 min
This week, politics in the UK looked a little — crazy. Outraged members of Parliament yelled their demands for Prime Minister Liz Truss to resign, a head of iceberg lettuce managed to outlast her, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson -who was just ousted a few months ago over the " partygate " scandal- is back in play as a possible replacement for Truss. It feels like political theater, but the consequences are very real as people in the U.K. continue to struggle through an economic crisis. A...
Oct 22, 2022•14 min
The House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot has subpoenaed former President Donald Trump for testimony under oath and records. We speak with Nick Akerman, a former federal prosecutor who was involved in the Watergate case, about what's at stake for both Congress and the former president. Plus, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports that Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon has now been sentenced to four months in prison for defying his own subpoena from the January 6 committee. In particip...
Oct 21, 2022•11 min
Election day is less than three weeks away, and Democrats are trying desperately to hold on to their slim majority in Congress by focusing on abortion rights. But Republicans are betting that the economy and inflation are the most pressing issues for voters. So how is the focus on abortion working out for the Democrats? We discuss that with NPR Political Correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and NPR Senior Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro. In participating regions, you'll also hear a loca...
Oct 20, 2022•12 min
This week, China's Communist Party Congress is expected to approve a historic third term in office for the country's leader, Xi Jinping. Xi has already been in power for a decade, a period marked by growing authoritarianism in China. Many experts believe he could emerge a more emboldened leader in his new term. Ailsa Chang speaks with Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, about the global implications of a third term for Xi Jinping and how this signals a new era for China...
Oct 19, 2022•14 min
It's been more than a month since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being detained by Iran's morality police – allegedly for breaking the rule requiring women to wear a hijab. Her death sparked protests that continue to this day. Women and girls have been at the forefront of the demonstrations, often removing and burning their hijabs in defiance of the authorities. We hear from some of the protesters themselves. And we talk to Iranian-American writer Reza Aslan, who tells us that what we are se...
Oct 18, 2022•14 min
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was designed to soften the financial impact of the pandemic for small businesses. It issued about $800 billion in potentially forgivable government loans to keep workers employed during COVID shutdowns. Now, the overwhelming majority of those loans have been forgiven with very little scrutiny. That means many loans have been forgiven to businesses that flourished during the pandemic or to fraudsters who took advantage of the lax system. Meanwhile, the majori...
Oct 17, 2022•14 min
In a party not known for ethnic diversity, 22 Black candidates are running for Republican House seats this year. And for the first time, we could see two Black Republican senators serving simultaneously. The historically diverse lineup also includes Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans on Republican tickets for the midterms. While some Republican see a shift toward Ronald Regan's vision of the party as an inclusive "Big Tent''. But others say that the party's problematic record on race continue...
Oct 15, 2022•15 min
Public health officials are warning of a possible surge in COVID cases this winter. How bad it could get depends on how many people take the right precautions, according to Dr. Ashish Jha . We talk to the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator about bracing for the next potential wave. Even if a COVID surge doesn't happen, there are plenty of respiratory ailments making a comeback, especially in children. Dr. Ibukun Kalu of Duke Children's Hospital in Durham, North Carolina explains why virus...
Oct 14, 2022•14 min
President Biden met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this summer — a man he had previously accused of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But at the meeting, he met the Crown Prince with a fist bump. It all came as gas prices were rising globally, under pressure from Russia's war in Ukraine. One of Biden's goals was to convince Saudi Arabia's leaders to increase oil production. But this month, Saudi Arabia and the other oil producing countries of OPEC Plus dec...
Oct 13, 2022•12 min
There are more than 16 million people in the U.S. that are caring for someone with Alzheimer's and related dementias. More than two-thirds of them are women. Caregiving can be emotionally and physically draining, as well as isolating. There are not a lot of resources available for caregivers and many are not paid. For six years, Jacquleyn Revere took care of her mom who had dementia and posted about the highs and lows on her TikTok account. Revere gained thousands of viewers and followers who co...
Oct 12, 2022•12 min
In the span of one morning this week, Russian airstrikes hit cities across Ukraine—some hundreds of miles from the frontline. Throughout the war, even when Russian troops haven't been able to reach Ukrainian cities, their missiles and rockets and artillery have. More than 6,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its campaign in February, according to the United Nations . NPR's Jason Beaubien has the story of one of those deaths, 11-year-old Nasta Grycenko. This episode a...
Oct 11, 2022•10 min
Last week, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in Merrill v. Mulligan, a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for the third time this decade. At the center of the debate is Alabama's new congressional maps. Black voters make up the majority of only one out of seven districts. More than a quarter of the state's population is Black. A three-judge federal panel ruled that Alabama should create a second congressional district. The state appealed, arguing that congressional maps sh...
Oct 10, 2022•14 min
Over the past few years, we've heard shocking allegations from women athletes about experiencing sexual harassment and abuse. And earlier this week a report was released outlining a pervasive culture of abuse among coaches in the National Women's Soccer League. Elite women soccer players were subjected to a range of abuse - from belittling comments to sexual advances.Sally Yates, former Acting Attorney General, led the investigation – which was a response to allegations made last year against co...
Oct 08, 2022•14 min
Cheating allegations have rocked many worlds over the last few weeks. Chess, fishing, poker, and even Irish dancing. These 'sports' cheating scandals have attracted a lot of attention lately. Maurice Schweitzer is a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He studies emotions, trust and ethical decision making and says that our reaction to cheating might tell us something deeper about human nature and why we care about people cheating to get ahead. In partic...
Oct 07, 2022•15 min
As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is perpetually stuck in limbo. The people there are subject to federal laws, but don't have a vote for president or Congress. This is a major problem when it comes to responding to disasters like Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island last month. Many Puerto Ricans are deeply frustrated by what they claim has been a slow and inefficient response from a federal government that they have no say in. Some want statehood, some want more autonomy. A small, but growing, ...
Oct 06, 2022•14 min
After a prescribed burn became the largest wildfire in New Mexico history earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service put a ninety day ban on controlled burns. But while these kinds of burns do carry risk, very few escape, and they are a crucial tool in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Forest ecologists are worried the ban added to the wildfire risk in areas that desperately need maintenance. An investigation by CapRadio and the California Newsroom found that proper fire mitigation co...
Oct 05, 2022•15 min
The past twelve months have been the deadliest on record for the migrants crossing the Southern U.S. Border from Mexico. More than 800 have died in the last fiscal year. This past year also saw a shift in migration. More and more are coming from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Past entry points have given way to more remote locations on the border, like Eagle Pass and Del Rio, Texas. These were sleepy border towns, now they are some of the busiest junctions on the border. Who is arriving and what...
Oct 04, 2022•13 min
Higher mortgage rates are putting a damper on the U.S. housing market. Home prices are down and sales of existing homes have now fallen for seven months in a row. The ripples in the housing market are being felt as the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to fight inflation. And those higher borrowing costs mean that monthly mortgage payments have shot up. We hear from would-be buyers who say that soaring mortgage rates are pushing them out of the market. And we talk to NPR's Chris Ar...
Oct 03, 2022•14 min
The Electoral Count Reform Act is a bipartisan response to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol where rioters and the former president attempted to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence into subverting the election count. But some critics think it doesn't go far enough and argue that real reform would mean making significant changes to the Electoral College and to the winner take all allotment of electoral votes. Host Michel Martin talks to Stanford Historian Jonathan Gienapp about the o...
Oct 01, 2022•14 min
