Raunchy sex comedies had a moment at the end of the 20th century. And perhaps the king of them all, was American Pie . Even people who have never seen the movie probably know the most memorable scene has something to do with a sex-obsessed teenage boy doing something unseemly with a homemade apple pie. Flash forward a quarter century and Hollywood is making fewer teen comedies than it used to. For the 25th anniversary of American Pie, Scott Detrow speaks with one of the film's stars Alyson Hanni...
Aug 30, 2024•12 min
In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a brutal robbery and murder he has always insisted he did not commit. Spencer spent the next 34 years in prison, dashing off letters almost every day to his wife, his friends, lawyers, to anyone who would listen, claiming his innocence. In 2021, he was officially released from prison. But on Thursday, he was officially exonerated. We hear about his life after decades behind bars — and his faith that one day, the truth would prevail. For sp...
Aug 29, 2024•10 min
Earlier this month, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, wrote a piece for Foreign Affairs arguing that the future of warfare is here. They say that the U.S. is not ready for it. The two authors argue recent technological developments have changed warfare more in the past several years than the decades spanning from the introduction of the airplane, radio, and mechanization to the battlefield. And while this new tech has ...
Aug 28, 2024•11 min
When Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president, his son stole the show. In a viral moment, the cameras panned to 17-year-old Gus Walz, who, with tears in his eyes, stood up, clapped loudly, pointed to the stage and appeared to repeatedly yell out: "That's my dad!" Some cheered the new visibility of neurodivergent people. But what do advocates and parents of neurodiverse children actually want from government officials, like Tim Walz, in terms of policy? For sponsor-free epis...
Aug 27, 2024•9 min
It's been more than three weeks since the U.S. and Russia completed the largest prisoner swap since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Speaking from the White House shortly after news broke that three American prisoners were headed home, President Biden described the release as an "incredible relief." Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was one of those prisoners, and she's sharing what life was like in a Russian prison and how she's adjusting to life at home. For sponsor-free episodes of...
Aug 27, 2024•11 min
Both major party presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are on the same side of one issue. Getting rid of taxes on tips. But what would that really look like in practice? Wailin Wong and Darian Woods from NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator , dive into the potential guardrails for a policy that many economists believe could easily go off track. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at consid...
Aug 25, 2024•10 min
What happens when political ambition collides with a #MeToo allegation in the Democratic party? Episode 2 of our two-part investigation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . 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 Policy...
Aug 24, 2024•43 min
Did Eric Garcetti, a powerful Democrat, lie under oath about a #MeToo scandal in his office? That's the question at the center of a new investigation from NPR. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . 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 Policy...
Aug 24, 2024•37 min
College students are trickling back onto campuses for the fall semester, just months after protests exploded across the U.S. over Israel's war in Gaza. University leaders are bracing for more protests and counter-protests this semester. And on some campuses, new rules have already taken effect. We hear from Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier about the academic year ahead. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org ...
Aug 23, 2024•10 min
Before she became vice president, Kamala Harris had only ever won elections in California — a solid blue state. To win the White House, the Harris-Walz ticket will need to compete in purple and even red areas. At the Democratic National Convention, delegates and other attendees from conservative parts of the country offer what they think their party needs to do to reach voters in swing states and Republican strongholds. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via ...
Aug 22, 2024•7 min
Olivia Julianna, 21, is one of more than 200 digital content creators who has been given media credentials to the Democratic National Convention this week. She has over a million followers across TikTok, Instagram and other accounts, in an age where more young people are learning the news through social media. But she never imagined that her "very working-class" upbringing would lead her not only to the DNC — but in front of it. We hear from the Texas native ahead of her speech to the convention...
Aug 21, 2024•9 min
Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs. Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed. And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system. Eventually, students were able to fo...
Aug 20, 2024•8 min
They've been called "Hollywood's worst-kept secret." Medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro, which are commonly used to treat diabetes, are part of the zeitgeist these days. More and more celebrities are opening up about taking them to lose weight. So when you imagine where these drugs are prescribed most for weight loss around the U.S., maybe you're thinking Los Angeles or New York. Turns out, the capital of the weight loss drug boom is in Kentucky — in a small city called Bowling Green, where at...
Aug 19, 2024•12 min
The state of the presidential race is a far cry from what it was just a few months ago. Vice President Kamala Harris's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has sparked waves of excitement, and some tension, among democratic leaders and voters across the country. Thousands of delegates now head to Chicago for the party's convention this week, where Harris is expected to deliver the biggest speech of her political career to date. NPR's Adrian Ma speaker with co-host Ari Shapiro, about how this...
Aug 18, 2024•11 min
Twenty-five years ago this month, one film, and one filmmaker, became synonymous with the big plot twist. So what was it about The Sixth Sense that made it such a cultural phenomenon at the time of its release? And how did that shape the rest of controversial director M. Night M. Night Shyamalan career? Haley Joel Osment joins Scott Detrow in conversation to reflect on the impact it had on his work, and how he used that success to propel his career forward. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider ...
Aug 16, 2024•11 min
Donald Trump is pledging to go further on immigration than he did in his first term as president, if he is re-elected in November. Internal emails and documents from Trump's time in office — obtained by NPR through the Freedom of Information Act — shed light on how realistic his plan is to radically expand the United States' deportation system. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pc...
Aug 15, 2024•11 min
So often, telling the story of the Israel-Hamas war is reduced to a catalog of numbers. But this war is much more than all of that. It is the daily life of the people living in the midst of the war that has now been raging for 10 months. The war has also come to encompass a sense of insecurity that permeates, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza through famine, unclean water and dwindling resources. Pair that with the prospect of a wider regional conflict with Iran that looms nearby. On Th...
Aug 14, 2024•11 min
This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money." And it's doing that by having federal agencies make new business rules. There are actions to simplify health insurance paperwork, crack down on fake product reviews, streamline parent-teacher communications in schools and circumvent those automated customer service calls that the White House labels "doom loops." It's all part of a wider econom...
Aug 13, 2024•8 min
By most measures, the new Democratic ticket has had an impressively smooth launch. But there is one caveat to that — controversy over how vice presidential nominee Tim Walz described his military service. A spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign has said in a statement that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee "misspoke" when talking about his military service. Walz, who served for 24 years in the National Guard, had made a comment that sounded like he had been to war. Walz's Republican op...
Aug 12, 2024•12 min
Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it. Notably there's Narcan. It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose. Are college campuses and their students prepared? For s...
Aug 11, 2024•11 min
Three Taylor Swift concerts were canceled in Austria this week, after authorities foiled planned attacks on the venue. Three young men are now in custody, and at least two of them recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State — specifically an affiliate group known as ISIS-K. This isn't the first time Islamic State-related groups have been tied to attacks in Europe — over 140 people were killed in an attack on a Moscow concert hall earlier this year, and an explosion at an Ariana Grande conce...
Aug 09, 2024•10 min
Ever since women began competing in weightlifting in the Olympics, in the year 2000, only one American woman has won a gold medal. This year, there are hopes that might change. And many of those hopes rest on the (very strong) shoulders of a 21-year-old college student in Chattanooga, Tenn. named Olivia Reeves. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...
Aug 08, 2024•8 min
Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi once told Washington Post Columnist Karen Tumulty quote "Nobody ever gives away power. If you want to achieve that, you go for it. But when you get it, you must use it." That was in 2020, and Nancy Pelosi used her power then. She's still using it. Most recently to influence President Joe Biden's decision to end his presidential campaign. First as a volunteer and democratic fundraiser, then as a member of Congress, and finally as the most powerful woman i...
Aug 07, 2024•11 min
Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Democrats hope he can secure Midwestern swing states. 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
Aug 06, 2024•9 min
There are some 43 million refugees in the world, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency. The 37 of them competing in Paris as the Refugee Olympic Team are fighting for something more than just athletic excellence. We hear from judoka Muna Dahouk and kayaker Saman Soltani. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...
Aug 05, 2024•8 min
Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn't exactly moved. Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world. Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty. G20 nations would have to agree on this prop...
Aug 04, 2024•8 min
Sport Climbing kicks off at the Olympics in Paris next week. It's a strength-to-weight ratio sport. Meaning, aside from your technique or mental game, the lighter you are relative to your strength, the easier it'll be to get up a wall. That's led some climbers to fall into the mindset that losing weight is the path to better performance. One recent study of 50 elite climbers found that more than a third intentionally lost weight before a competition — primarily by fasting and skipping meals, and...
Aug 03, 2024•11 min
If you're not entrenched in the world of video games, you might not realize how much real actors have to do with modern gaming. They provide everything from lines of dialogue, to portraying heroes and villains, to performing stunts – all of this bringing video games characters to life. Some of the biggest game studios rely on voice and performance capture artists, and all this adds up to big bucks. The video game industry made close to $185 billion last year. But video game performers whose huma...
Aug 02, 2024•12 min
On Wednesday in Paris, the U.S. women's water polo team faced off against Italy and proved once again what a dominant force they are in the pool, cruising to a 10-3 win. For the team's star goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, these games have been something of a reunion. She has played professionally on both Greek and Italian teams. Now that she's in Paris, she's competing against some of her former teammates. She's the first Black woman to play on the U.S. women's water polo team. She made 80 saves at...
Aug 01, 2024•9 min
In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel claimed responsibility for one. It has no comment on the other. First, an Israeli attack in Lebanon killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran. The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran's new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. H...
Jul 31, 2024•9 min
