This year's college application process was supposed to get easier. That's because last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The problems with the FAFSA form began last fall. And with August and September around the corner, some applicants continue to experience technical issues. Before this year, students would already know how much aid they're getting. But in 2024, not knowing, which is the case for many, could mean...
Jun 19, 2024•9 min
This year's college application process was supposed to get easier. That's because last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The problems with the FAFSA form began last fall. And with August and September around the corner, some applicants continue to experience technical issues. Before this year, students would already know how much aid they're getting. But in 2024, not knowing, which is the case for many, could mean...
Jun 19, 2024•9 min
We are just weeks away from one of the biggest political events of the election campaign season: the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Former President Donald Trump is, of course, the party's presumptive nominee, but he's yet to announce his running mate. The list is long, but the candidates all have one thing in common — they're being considered because they could help Trump get elected in November. NPR's Franco Ordoñez and Jeongyoon Han break down which candidates are rising to the ...
Jun 18, 2024•12 min
Vivek Murthy, U.S. surgeon general, has called attention to what he has called the 'youth mental health crisis' that is currently happening in the U.S. This week, he published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for social media warning labels like those put on cigarettes and alcohol. He hopes to warn young people of the danger social media poses to their mental wellbeing and development. On average, teens in the U.S. are spending nearly 5 hours on social media every single day. And it is neg...
Jun 17, 2024•10 min
As part of his ongoing look at groundbreaking films from 1999, host Scott Detrow speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer-director of Boys Don't Cry. The film starred Hillary Swank, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man searching for himself and love in Nebraska. Peirce talks about the challenges she faced in getting the movie made and her efforts to find a transgender man to play the lead role in the film. Detrow also speaks with critic Willow Catelyn Macla...
Jun 16, 2024•13 min
As the U.K. gears up for a July election, polls show the liberal Labour Party ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives by a hefty margin. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 14, 2024•10 min
After the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed more than 1,100 people, President Joe Biden expressed America's backing for its Middle Eastern ally. But that same month, polls showed that support for Israel among American voters was not unwavering. And that, in fact, support was split across generations. That split between young voters poured out into the streets in November. Two big marches – one organized by pro-Palestinian groups and one by pro-Israeli groups – occurred in Washingto...
Jun 13, 2024•9 min
America is facing two very different futures on the world stage after November. If former President Trump wins, he's promised to fundamentally re-evaluate the NATO alliance, reshape global trade and overhaul the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies. He's largely avoided explaining how he'd handle the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, yet says he can settle the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Meanwhile, if President Biden wins, he's signaled his commitment to fight global threa...
Jun 12, 2024•15 min
Michael Bommer likely only has a few weeks left to live. A couple years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Then, an opportunity arose to build an interactive artificial intelligence version of himself through a friend's company, Eternos.Life, so his wife, Anett, can interact with him after he dies. More and more people are turning to artificial intelligence to create digital memorials of themselves. Meanwhile Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a research associate at the University of C...
Jun 11, 2024•14 min
On Saturday, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, killing at least 270 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in the process. The rescue of the hostages was a moment of triumph for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he didn't have long to bask in it. Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's unity war cabinet, announced his resignation on Sunday, over Netanyahu's management of the war in Gaza. After Gantz's resignation, Netanyahu will be even mor...
Jun 10, 2024•10 min
Billions of dollars in federal COVID funding is set to expire for K-12 schools. Educators across the country say the extra money helped students catch up, and plenty of students still need that support. Some schools say losing the the money, received over the last few years, will lead to cancelation of crucial programs, budget cutbacks and possible layoffs. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Wall Street Journal education reporter Matt Barnum about the impact of expiring federal funds on schools acro...
Jun 09, 2024•9 min
With the presidential election approaching, some voters are wondering how we again ended up with Donald Trump and Joe Biden as the presumptive nominees. Recent focus groups with swing voters put into words why some people are turning away from the main candidates, and polling gives us an insight into what this could mean in November. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about spo...
Jun 07, 2024•12 min
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza can't end until Israel has destroyed Hamas. NPR's reporting from Israel and Gaza suggests that goal is still a long way off. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at [email protected] . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 06, 2024•10 min
'Ezra' is a road trip movie, a movie about fathers and sons. Bobby Cannavale plays the father Max, and he hasn't quite figured out what his son Ezra's autism diagnosis means for their life together. The movie draws on the real experiences of screenwriter Tony Spiridakis. William A. Fitzgerald, who plays Ezra. And associate producer Alex Plank also has autism, and is the founder of wrongplanet.net . Many members of the cast and crew are neurodivergent, or have neurodivergent family members. Holly...
Jun 05, 2024•15 min
The 12 New Yorkers who served on the jury for former president Donald Trump's trial, and voted to convict him om 34 counts of falsified business records, have not had their identities disclosed publicly to protect their privacy. But now the trial is over, and they are likely returning back to normal life. So, will they reveal themselves to the public? And what risks do they encounter in doing so? In this episode we take a look at what other public figures who have gone up against Trump have face...
Jun 04, 2024•9 min
When the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s, it had been a decade since a full-scale deployment of American troops. That's why when the wars started a lot of the medical corps' experience came from big city emergency rooms. But a few years into the wars, the military was facing hundreds of casualties each month between Afghanistan and Iraq. Military surgeons were seeing wounds requiring double amputations, the kind of thing you might never encounter before serv...
Jun 03, 2024•10 min
The Rosetta Stone, the Kohinoor diamond, sculptures from Greece's Parthenon known as the Elgin Marbles are all dazzling objects that bear the history of early civilizations. But these objects were also taken by colonizers, and still remain on display in museum galleries far from their homes. Over the past several years museums around the world have been reckoning with the looted treasures they have kept and benefited from. Now one small museum in Nashville, Tennessee is returning ancient objects...
Jun 02, 2024•11 min
After a trial that lasted 21 days and a deliberation that took less than ten hours, a Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump says he will appeal the charges, but there are still implications for him, and his ongoing presidential campaign for the 2024 election. So what grounds does Trump have to appeal these charges? And how long could it take to play out? Attorney and NYU law professor Andrew Weissmann join...
May 31, 2024•8 min
After 10 hours of deliberation, in a historic verdict, a jury of 12 New Yorkers reached a verdict in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump. Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of felony falsification of business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election. Trump says this is "a rigged disgraceful trial," while the Biden campaign said this verdict shows that "no one is above the ...
May 30, 2024•19 min
When Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, it heralded an end to racial segregation in professional baseball. And even though Major League Baseball teams were integrated, official recordkeepers refused to acknowledge stats from the Negro Leagues – where Black players were relegated to for decades. Author and historian Larry Lester is one of the people who has fought to change that for years. He's spent over 50 years compiling statistics from the Negro Leagues. Now, that effor...
May 29, 2024•10 min
Nearly two dozen witnesses and 21 days of court later, Donald Trump's New York hush money trial is coming to a close. Twelve New Yorkers have been listening to witnesses like adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen. Today, those jurors heard closing arguments, first from the defense, and then the prosecution. Now, they have to determine whether Trump falsified business records to cover up an alleged affair with Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. What ...
May 28, 2024•10 min
The summer of 2023 saw skylines choked by Canadian wildfire smoke, coral cooked in hot tub-warm ocean water and a month straight of 110-degree Fahrenheit high temperatures in Phoenix. Scientists say 2024 will likely bring another hotter-than-normal summer and, with it, the potential for more climate-driven disasters. NPR's Rebecca Hersher says forecasters predict an extremely active Atlantic Hurricane season. And NPR's Kirk Siegler reports on a shortage of federal wildland firefighters ahead of ...
May 27, 2024•11 min
It seems like every year we hear the same thing: that this will be the busiest summer travel season ever. But this one really stands out. AAA projects that this Memorial Day weekend will see the highest number of travelers in nearly two decades. What will that mean? Congested roads, crowded airports and a lot of headaches. Hannah Sampson , who covers travel news for The Washington Post , shares some tips to survive summer vacation season. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C...
May 26, 2024•10 min
We bring you a special episode of Trump's Trials. Host Scott Detrow speaks with former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman. Although Litman is convinced the jury will convict Trump in the New York hush money trial he also gives a rundown of other possible outcomes in the case. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 24, 2024•16 min
Abortion Rights has been a motivating political issue for generations, and this year might be the most intense for those on both sides of the issue. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports on the anti-abortion rights activists who want to ramp up restrictions, criminalize patients who pursue abortions, and ban procedures like IVF. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at [email protected] . Learn more about sponsor message...
May 23, 2024•12 min
Everyone says you live through history, but "I don't think anyone prepared us for this much history," say the students in the Class of 2024. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 22, 2024•13 min
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, state laws on abortion have been changing constantly. It will all be part of the picture as voters go to the polls in November. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 21, 2024•11 min
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash, according to state media. Here's how his death might contribute to instability in Iran and the region. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 20, 2024•11 min
A little less than six months out from the general election, it seems like a new poll comes out every few minutes. In the constantly shifting data, every presidential candidate wants to know how to attract voters under 30. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
May 19, 2024•12 min
Hollywood depictions have long helped inform America's understanding of the Vietnam War. But there was usually one thing missing from these Vietnam War stories: the Vietnamese perspective. For Vietnamese Americans, like author Viet Thanh Nguyen, that experience left him feeling confused as a child. In his Pulitzer-winning debut novel The Sympathizer, Nguyen filled that gap by telling the story of a Vietnamese double agent who struggled with his involvement in all parts of the conflict. And with ...
May 17, 2024•12 min
