iPods were all the rage 20 years ago, but Apple discontinued them in 2022. Now, Claire Hughes collects and refurbishes old iPods as a hobby, then shares the playlists she finds on them as time capsules of joy. She tells us about how she’s connecting with strangers through her project Junk Drawer Jukebox. And, friction-maxxing is the idea of putting aside our phones and the convenience they bring in exchange for doing things the way we did before technology entered our lives. New York Magazine co...
Apr 10, 2026•27 min
The U.S.’s ceasefire with Iran is on shaky ground after Israel launched its deadliest day of strikes on Lebanon so far. Tehran and Islamabad say the strikes violate the two-week agreement. Israel said Thursday it has agreed to talks with Lebanon. The Washington Institute's Holly Dagres explains more ahead of a U.S. delegation’s scheduled visit to Pakistan on Saturday. Then, since Israel began its invasion of Lebanon last month, more than 1 million people have been forced out of their homes. As I...
Apr 09, 2026•22 min
President Trump is celebrating the two-week ceasefire that the U.S. and Iran agreed to on Tuesday night. The deal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, but will the U.S. end up walking away without getting much from Iran? Security analyst Jim Walsh discusses the deal. Then, as negotiations continue, we hear from Radin Yad, who was born in Iran and now lives in Europe. And, the Center on Conscience and War says it’s seeing a rise in calls from U.S. military members facin...
Apr 08, 2026•27 min
The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission is heading back to Earth after completing a loop around the moon. Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, shares more details of the historic lunar flyby. Then, with the crew expected to return on Friday, former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman reacts to new pictures of the moon and explains how Artemis II could influence the future of space missions. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and...
Apr 07, 2026•17 min
Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown talks about what's next in the unfinished release of Justice Department files about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, now that Pam Bondi has been forced out as attorney general. Then, Ret. Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery says, "We're not going to get regime change; we need a change in how the regime acts." He talks about Iran's persistent military capabilities, the dramatic rescue of a downed U.S. weapons systems officer and Defense Secretary Pe...
Apr 06, 2026•25 min
Lowriders have long turned city streets into moving works of art. Now, a new exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution is tracing the history of lowriding from its roots in Chicano communities to its influence on art and activism. Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, talks about perhaps the most famous lowrider of all time, "Gypsy Rose." Then, in 1939, a Black aviator named Chauncey Spencer flew in a fragile biplane from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Bl...
Apr 03, 2026•16 min
While gas prices across the country have skyrocketed since the start of the war with Iran, the U.S. has been relatively insulated from Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. European and Asian countries haven’t been as lucky. But CNN’s Rana Foroohar said the energy crisis affecting them is likely to hit the U.S., too. And, a key panel approved President Trump's plans for a new ballroom. The vote came days after a federal judge ordered the project to stop until Congress signed off on it. The Wa...
Apr 02, 2026•16 min
President Trump is threatening to pull out of NATO, calling the alliance a "paper tiger." Trump and NATO allies in Europe have been at odds since his first term, but the relationship hit a new low following Trump's decision in late February to go to war in Iran without first consulting them. Now, Trump is criticizing allies for not helping the U.S. military. Julianne Smith, former ambassador to NATO under the Biden administration, joins us. Then, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday on...
Apr 01, 2026•21 min
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “not just a U.S. problem set.” NPR’s Tom Bowman weighs in on whether President Trump will wind down the war in Iran without reopening the narrow waterway through which a quarter of the world's oil travels. Then, the National Mall has become a stage for the deep division between the Trump administration and its many critics. Recently, artwork ridiculing President Trump appeared in front of the Lincoln Memorial. NPR’s Frank Lang...
Mar 31, 2026•18 min
The Trump administration came through on its promise to pay Transportation Security Administration workers, with officers receiving a deposit into their accounts on Monday. But Aaron Barker, local AFGE union leader, explains how his first paycheck in weeks was lacking. Then, along with the war Israel and the U.S. are waging in Iran, Israel has been striking southern Lebanon. Reporter Borzou Daragahi details how the war is expanding across the Middle East. And, college is expensive. Is a four-yea...
Mar 30, 2026•18 min
More than 100 years ago, miners in Tonopah, Nev., risked their lives to pull a fortune of silver and gold from the nearby mountains. The mines are quiet now, but Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd visited the town of a little more than 2,000 people to learn why residents are betting that another boom is on the horizon. Then, O’Dowd heads to Las Vegas to understand the “desperate cry” for affordable housing there as real estate prices surge, but wages in the city's multi-billion-dollar hotel and gamin...
Mar 27, 2026•26 min
You might be cynical about the size of awards this week in two trials looking at social media harm against children. But Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen says rulings against Meta and Google could signal a larger trend. She joins us. Then, the war with Iran is having massive ripple effects across the Middle East. Princeton University's Bernard Haykel explains how Iran's neighbors across the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, see the war. And, Corpus Christi, Texas, is weeks away from a potential w...
Mar 26, 2026•19 min
In a first-of-its-kind verdict, a jury in New Mexico found Meta hid what it knew about child exploitation on its social media platforms. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez explains how the company misled children and teenagers about the safety of Facebook and Instagram. Then, the Department of the Interior is paying a French energy company nearly $1 billion to stop plans to build an offshore wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean. Grist staff writer Jake Bittle details why the Trump administration...
Mar 25, 2026•25 min
President Trump says there is a good chance for a deal to end the war in Iran, but Iran has denied that any peace talks are happening. Wendy Sherman, former U.S. deputy secretary of state, details the state of affairs. Then, traders bet hundreds of millions of dollars on oil contracts before Trump announced the U.S. would pause strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. Roben Farzad discusses why some observers are questioning whether insider trading is at play. And, the Supreme Court is consider...
Mar 24, 2026•21 min
A former top American official in Cuba discusses whether President Trump's pressure campaign on Havana could lead to the collapse of the country's communist leadership. Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, who was charge d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Havana from 2015 to 2017, joins us. Then, the war with Iran is costing the U.S. tens of billions of dollars as it enters its fourth week. The Harvard Kennedy School's Linda Bilmes joins us to discuss the long-term economic costs. And, afte...
Mar 23, 2026•23 min
“The Wiz” premiered on Broadway a little more than 50 years ago, reimagining a classic American story, “The Wizard of Oz,” as an all-Black production filled with gospel, funk and soul music. Dwandalyn Reece from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, shares the story of one of the show’s iconic costumes, worn by André De Shields, who played “The Wiz” himself. And, the Ford Model T first hit the road in the early 1900s. Kathleen Franz from the Smithsonian National Museum of ...
Mar 20, 2026•19 min
Iran launched attacks on the world's biggest liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar on Thursday. These strikes are in retaliation for Israel's attack on a major natural gas field in Iran. NPR's Aya Batrawy shares the latest. Then, AP's Cristiana Mesquita explains what life is like now in Cuba, where there's an energy shortage, frequent blackouts and an uncertain future. President Trump pledged to do "something with Cuba very soon," and the island's socialist government vowed to resist any U.S. a...
Mar 19, 2026•21 min
President Trump was scheduled to go to China for a summit in Beijing at the end of the month, but he has postponed the trip to focus on the Middle East. Professor David Lampton explains China’s interests in the conflict and the significance of a U.S.-China meeting. Then, Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday in protest of the war in Iran, saying the country posed “no imminent threat to the U.S.” Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey explains the significance ...
Mar 18, 2026•20 min
Israel says it killed two of Iran’s highest-ranking leaders in an airstrike on Monday night. And President Trump is bashing allies for declining to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed. Jon Finer, former principal deputy national security advisor to former President Joe Biden, joins us to discuss what this means for potential diplomacy in this war. Then, artificial intelligence is playing an important role in the war in Iran. We look at how it's being used and how ...
Mar 17, 2026•23 min
As the war in Iran enters its third week, the Straight of Hormuz remains effectively closed, with Iran blocking oil tankers from moving through. This has caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket. Now, President Trump is demanding U.S. allies help reopen it. Journalist Negar Mortazavi details the latest in the war. Then, new artificial intelligence-powered headsets will give Burger King workers a "friendliness score" based on their customer interactions. Law professor Ifeoma Ajunwa unpacks the ethi...
Mar 16, 2026•19 min
"Sinners”, the horror film that blends blues music, history and vampires, is up for a record-breaking 16 Academy Awards. One of those nominations is for the new Best Casting category. Casting director Francine Maisler joins us. Then, the Norwegian film “Sentimental Value” is up for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Co-writer and director Joachim Trier joins us to discuss the film. And, “Hamnet,” based on Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel of the sam...
Mar 13, 2026•31 min
Radin Yad was born in Iran and now lives in Europe. He shares what he's hearing from his family in Tehran and how he views the U.S. and Israeli war against his country. Then, we hear about how swing voters in Michigan are viewing the war in Iran from Rich Thau, who runs the firm Engagious, which hosts focus groups for the Swing Voter Project. And, singer-songwriter David Archuleta joins us to discuss his new memoir, “Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself.” Archuleta first rose to fame as a teen...
Mar 12, 2026•23 min
President Trump said he is still considering sending U.S. troops into Iran to secure its hidden stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the key building block of a nuclear weapon. Weapons expert David Albright explains what that would take. Then, the United Nations said that Israeli strikes have displaced nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon. Professor Fawaz Gerges details how violence is harming the region. And, CBC Sports digital host and Paralympian Allison Lang...
Mar 11, 2026•22 min
As the war with Iran continues, we look at the potential risks of an attack by Iran on U.S. soil. Phil Mudd, former deputy director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center and the FBI's National Security Branch, joins us. Then, Republican foreign policy and politics expert Colin Dueck talks about why many of President Trump's Make America Great Again supporters back the war in Iran. And, this weekend, two desalination plants came under attack in Iran and Bahrain. Georgetown University professor Mar...
Mar 10, 2026•21 min
Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named as Iran's next supreme leader. Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus offers his thoughts on the latest news out of Iran. Then, Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, unpacks how the Iranian public is responding to the new leader and why his selection is a signal that Iran's leadership is digging in against the Trump administration's campaign against it. And, defense spending expert...
Mar 09, 2026•24 min
Even when it's freezing and covered in snow, Minnesota's Sax Zim Bog attracts birders from around the world. They flock there hoping to spot owls, hawks and rare songbirds that spend most of their time in northern Canada. Many of those birds are feeling the pressure of the warming climate, however, so local scientists and wildlife enthusiasts are working to conserve their habitat, which also happens to be a peatland adept at storing carbon. Here & Now's Chris Bentley reports. Then, volunteer...
Mar 07, 2026•18 min
The United States does not have a rich diamond mining history. But an exhibit at the Smithsonian proves that some of the world’s most dazzling gems are homegrown. We speak with Gabriela Farfan, curator of gems and minerals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, about two of their best American gems on display. And, voting by mail became a major political flashpoint during the COVID-19 pandemic, but controversies over voting remotely aren't new. During the Civil War, tens of thous...
Mar 06, 2026•18 min
As the U.S. and Israel hit Iranian targets from the air, some Iranian Kurdish groups are reportedly discussing whether to launch an incursion from Iraq, potentially opening a new front in the conflict. Al-Monitor correspondent Amberin Zaman discusses the conversations happening behind the scenes. Then, retired Adm. Mark Montgomery supports the war but has concerns the Trump administration hasn't planned for what comes next. He tells us why. And, former Iranian news editor and Tehran resident Ali...
Mar 05, 2026•29 min
More than 10 years ago, journalists Yeganeh Rezaian and her husband, Jason Rezaian, were wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. She was released after more than two months; he was held for 544 days. Yeganeh Rezaian shares how she views the U.S. war with Iran. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson talks about Secretary Kristi Noem testifying before Congress, the Iran war and the partial government shutdown. Then, Democrats aim to flip a dozen Republican-held House seats in red dist...
Mar 04, 2026•27 min
Reuters correspondent Emily Rose joins us from Jerusalem to explain what the war with Iran could mean for Israeli politics after decades of Prime Minister Netanyahu pushing for intervention in Iran. Then, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) attended a classified briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She’s part of a cohort of Democratic lawmakers working to rein in President Trump, and details what an upcoming vote on war powers could mean. And, the Trump administration has cited regime change, de...
Mar 03, 2026•20 min
