Are we alone in the universe? It's a question that's been posed again and again. Carl Sagan posed it in the 1970s as a NASA mission scientist as the agency prepared to send its twin Viking landers to Mars. And nearly 50 years after the first of two landers touched down on Mars, we're no closer to an answer as to whether there's life — out there. Scientists haven't stopped looking. In fact, they've expanded their gaze to places like Saturn's largest moon, Titan and Jupiter's moon Europa. The sear...
Mar 01, 2024•11 min
Here in the US, the average age of retirement is 61. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky passed that birthday more than 20 years ago. And on Wednesday afternoon, he announced that while he still isn't ready to retire just yet, he will no longer lead Republicans in the Senate. McConnell says he still has "enough gas" in the tank to thoroughly disappoint his critics. The soon-to-be former leader intends to serve out the rest of his term which continues through January 2027. McConnell's Congression...
Feb 29, 2024•10 min
Despite a last minute agreement to push a deadline for a shutdown, Congress and the White House have to agree on how to fund the government. So far, all they've been able to do is kick the can down the road. And conditions for making a political deal are only getting worse. Republicans can only lose two votes. And there's skepticism all around. Finding a way out largely depends on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana. But Johnson has a fractious caucus, is relatively inexpe...
Feb 29, 2024•10 min
The backlash to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling designating frozen embryos has been intense. Republicans at the state and national level have openly disagreed with the decision. And Democrats have used the ruling to hammer Republicans over reproductive rights. Last month, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth introduced a bill to protect IVF. It hasn't gotten a lot of attention - until now. Duckworth used IVF to build her own family, and has been warning since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wad...
Feb 27, 2024•13 min
Popular culture is filled with stories of the underground railroad - the legendary secret network that helped enslaved people escape from southern slave states to free states in the north. Harriet Tubman is the underground railroad's best known conductor. Tubman, who was a Union spy during the Civil War, escaped slavery in Maryland, but returned again and again, risking her own freedom to help free others, including members of her family. Inevitably there's much we don't know ...including how th...
Feb 26, 2024•10 min
In the last few years, a new trend has emerged on social media: de-influencing. Instead of selling, de-influencers encourage their followers to stop buying things they don't need. De-influencers are also using this trend as an opportunity to raise awareness about the negative impact of overconsumption on the environment. From plastic packaging to useless gadgets that end up in landfills, overconsumption doesn't just have a negative effect on our wallets, but also on our planet and climate change...
Feb 25, 2024•15 min
In Kansas City neighborhood organizations do the work of violence prevention one block, and one person at at time. 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
Feb 23, 2024•11 min
Quote – "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." That statement, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the U-S Embassy, came two days after Russian missiles began raining down on his country two years ago. After weeks of speculation and warnings Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared war. Fueled by grit, patriotism and billions of dollars from the US, Ukraine has waged a fight no one expected they could. But nearly two years in that could be changing. US aid is stuck i...
Feb 22, 2024•11 min
Keyser, West Virginia, was once known for coal. But the jobs have been disappearing. First because of automation, then cheap natural gas. And now, the urgency to address climate change is one more pressure on this energy source that contributes to global warming. Now the town, like so much of the country is attempting to transition to renewable energy. The country's first major climate policy, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, gave that transition a boost. It passed with the key vote of West...
Feb 21, 2024•14 min
Brian Mann covers the U-S opioid and fentanyl crisis for NPR. That means he talks to a lot of people struggling with addiction. Again and again, he's heard stories of people who have succumbed to their addiction — last year 112, 000 — more than ever in history. But when Mann traveled to Portugal to report on that country's model for dealing with the opioid crisis, he heard a very different story. Overdose deaths in Portugal are extremely rare. The country has taken a radically different approach...
Feb 20, 2024•11 min
Much of the world has spent the weekend mourning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. And asking why he chose to return to Russia, after he'd been poisoned, and when it was clear he was in danger. Filmmaker Daniel Roher, who interviewed Navalny for the Oscar-winning documentary "Navalny," says the Russian opposition leader was an incredibly optimistic and certain about himself and his mission. And that Navalny believed he could usher in a brighter future for Russia. So what happens to that ...
Feb 19, 2024•10 min
About two years ago, New Jersey's Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said that the state would be partnering with the Danish company Orsted, the largest developer of offshore wind projects in the world. The company had agreed to build Ocean Wind 1, the state's first offshore wind farm, powering half a million homes and creating thousands of jobs in the process. The following year, Orsted inked another deal with the state for Ocean Wind 2, a second offshore wind farm with similar capacity. After yea...
Feb 19, 2024•11 min
Rent has skyrocketed in the United States. That means Americans are handing over a bigger portion of their paycheck to their housing costs. They have less money for things like food, electricity, and commuting. The pandemic and inflation have both played a role in pushing rents higher. Whitney Airgood-Obrycki a Senior Research Associate at Harvard's Joint Center on Housing Studies says rents are actually going down, but that increases have been so large it's going to take time for the market to ...
Feb 16, 2024•12 min
For half a century, during the Cold War, every U-S president painted Russia as the dominant threat. America's ideological opposite, a hostile and nuclear-armed power. Ronald Reagan went so far as to call the Soviet Union an Evil Empire. So the events of recent days have been noteworthy. On top of a holdup of U-S aid for Ukraine, former President Trump said he might NOT come to the defense of a NATO ally who hadn't spent enough on defense. And Tucker Carlson, the erstwhile Fox news host, flew to ...
Feb 15, 2024•13 min
One single election does not a trend make. But does Democrat Tom Suozzi's victory in the special election for New York's 3rd Congressional District mean something bigger for democrats? The Congressman won his seat – which until recently had been held by disgraced Republican George Santos – by diving head on into an issue that democrats would usually rather avoid – immigration. Was that the opening chapter in a playbook Suozzi is writing, for fellow Democrats trying to find a way to deal with the...
Feb 14, 2024•8 min
On June 14, Donald Trump will turn 78 years old. Joe Biden turned 81 in November. Whether the candidates like it or not, age, mental acuity and physical fitness are issues dominating the 2024 election cycle. Though the two men were born fewer than four years apart, voters have consistently expressed more concern about Biden's age than Trump's. Is a double standard being applied when it comes to the presidential candidates and age? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This , sign up for Consider...
Feb 13, 2024•11 min
The question looming over the war between Israel and Hamas is what will happen what will happen to Rafah, the city in southern Gaza. More than half of Gaza's population has sought refuge there–an estimated one and a half million people. Israel says that in order to defeat Hamas, it needs to bring the war to Rafah. The Biden administration says a military operation in Rafah cannot proceed. Is this a hairline crack or the beginning of a rift between the U.S. and Israel that could reverberate acros...
Feb 12, 2024•9 min
Immigration is one of the main things Americans will be voting on in November. And many are currently unhappy with the situation at the US Southern Border, which is widely described as a crisis. As Donald Trump runs for another term, he's hoping to leverage that discontent just as he did in 2016. An across-the-board crackdown on immigration was one of the signature policies of the Trump presidency. In a second term, he's promising to go even further. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This , ...
Feb 11, 2024•12 min
Hollywood films have long tried to capture America's obsession with its most popular sport. So on this Super Bowl weekend, we ask: what do the best football movies have in common? Is it the "Big Speech" with the team down a point and only seconds to go? Or what about the classic underdog story? Scott Detrow discusses that with Brittany Luse, host of NPR's It's Been a Minute, and with Stephen Thompson of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This , sign up for Consid...
Feb 09, 2024•12 min
Abortion is a personal issue. But it's also political. And few things motivate voters and politicians like abortion rights. Over and over, U.S. voters have shown they're willing to choose lawmakers, presidents and ballot initiatives based on how they feel about abortion rights. We examine the role abortion could play in the 2024 elections. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This , sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org See pcm.adswi...
Feb 08, 2024•12 min
When it comes to whether or not Trump should appear on presidential ballots, there are at least two questions to consider. The first is legal — does the 14th amendment apply him? The second is practical. What would happen if Trump WERE removed from the ballot? How might his tens of millions of supporters respond? At a rally last month, the former President suggested if he doesn't get what he views as "fair" treatment, the country is in big trouble. This week the Supreme Court will weigh whether ...
Feb 07, 2024•11 min
The U.S. Immigration system isn't working. The last significant reform was in 1986. Presidents and Congress have been trying to fix it and change it ever since. Congress is at it again, but that effort, like so many others, looks doomed to fail. Just a few hours after the text from the Senate bipartisan bill dropped, Speaker of The House Mike Johnson said IF the bill reaches the house – it will be DEAD on arrival. And on Monday night GOP support for the legislation in the Senate seemed to all bu...
Feb 06, 2024•13 min
It was a year ago this month that a Norfolk Southern freight train with 38 cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Twenty of those train cars carried hazardous materials. In the days after the crash officials, decided to burn off one of those hazardous materials, vinyl chloride. The burn and massive plume of smoke it created caused environmental problems and concerns about the health and safety of residents. A year after that devastating derailment and chemical burn the train company Norfolk Sout...
Feb 05, 2024•12 min
More than 100 people are killed on U.S. roads every day — more than 40,000 people a year. So, it seemed bold, if not crazy, when city leaders across the country began to set their sights on eliminating traffic fatalities completely. It has now been 10 years since U.S. cities began to adopt the approach known as Vision Zero. NPR's Joel Rose reports on what has worked and what hasn't. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This , sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Em...
Feb 04, 2024•10 min
More than two decades of growing internet use has surfaced fears about the social and psychological impacts of nearly unfettered access to pornography. But many researchers and sex therapists worry that the online communities that have formed in response to these fears often endorse inaccurate medical information, exacerbate mental health problems and, in some cases, overlap with extremist and hate groups. NPR's Lisa Hagen speaks about her reporting with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. For sponsor-free epi...
Feb 03, 2024•29 min
Former president Donald Trump is facing dozens of criminal charges, including four felony counts on charges of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump says he's being persecuted, and that idea resonates with his Christian base. 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...
Feb 02, 2024•12 min
For people in the US, 2020 was one of the most dangerous years in decades. The first year of the pandemic saw a huge spike in violence. The number of homicides in the country rose about 30 percent from 2019. Fast forward a couple of years – and things look very different. According to crime analyst Jeff Asher, "2023 featured one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the US in more than 50 years." In big cities and small, from the East coast to the West, violence has dropped dramatically. Despi...
Feb 01, 2024•12 min
Fox News has been the Republican Party's biggest cheerleader almost since it premiered in 1996. Nearly three decades later, many Republicans perceive Fox as the de facto kingmaker for all kinds of Republican candidates — including presidential. That kingmaker status brought Fox News power, ratings and billions in profits and has spawned a succession of imitators and competition. But for Fox, that synergy with Trump and the Republicans has come with significant risk and significant consequences. ...
Jan 31, 2024•12 min
Immigration and management of the U.S. Southern Border is always a politically charged issue, but especially at this moment. House republicans are trying to advance articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. They say he has refused to comply with the law and has breached the trust of the public. Meanwhile President Biden is describing the U.S. immigration system as broken. All this is playing out as a government funding bill is tied to the border and a presid...
Jan 30, 2024•11 min
A deadly attack on an U.S. military base in Jordan pulled the United States deeper into a regional conflict that it's trying to avoid. How the U.S. responds could determine whether the country enters another full scale war. We ask National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, what comes next. 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 podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Polic...
Jan 29, 2024•9 min
