The overwhelming majority of gun owners are in favor of universal background checks, of raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 and so-called "red flag" laws to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, a new NPR/Ipsos survey finds. That mirrors the support among the rest of the public. So why is it that ideas with broad-based support have such trouble becoming federal law? This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, ...
Jul 11, 2022•14 min
President Biden has exchanged letters with the WNBA all-star, who is behind bars in Russia. It's the latest example of the thorny politics surrounding Americans jailed abroad. And the president will take his first trip to the Middle East next week, visiting Israel and Saudi Arabia. His administration has embraced the success of the Abraham Accords, an agreement brokered during the Trump administration to better integrate Israel with its neighbors in the region. This episode: political correspond...
Jul 08, 2022•26 min
When the Supreme Court declared that abortion access is an issue that should be decided by states, it introduced a new, high-stakes political fight into many of the 36 gubernatorial races happening this year. Here's what that looks like in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, WHYY political reporter Katie Meyer, and Michigan Radio reporter Zoe Clark. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free liste...
Jul 07, 2022•15 min
Election misinformation has spread beyond the confines of social media to local, grassroots events taking place throughout the country. An NPR investigation explores the role four prominent election denial influencers have in promoting false claims about the 2020 election, and how the events they hold & the ideas they promote affect election officials — and erode trust in the democratic process. This episode: political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, political correspondent Miles Parks, senio...
Jul 06, 2022•14 min
Republican primary candidates who lost by substantial margins are refusing to concede their races — echoing Donald Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud and potentially setting up lucrative post-election fundraising schemes. This episode: congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter Stephen Fowler, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast ...
Jul 05, 2022•14 min
The last few months have made us acutely aware of inflation. We all agree that it's making our lives harder, but economists disagree about what's causing it. A special episode from our friends at Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 04, 2022•19 min
The Supreme Court ends its term and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes the bench. And how does the Christian right keep securing political wins even as the share of like-minded Americans dwindles? This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, political reporter Ashley Lopez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. ...
Jul 01, 2022•27 min
The Supreme Court limited the ways in which the EPA could regulate greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, jeopardizing President Biden's goal for an emissions-free power sector by 2035. And the high court sided with the Biden administration in a case concerning the White House's decision to end the so-called "Remain in Mexico" policy. The Trump-era policy had required asylum seekers to either be detained in the U.S. or sent to Mexico where while they wait for months or years to have their a...
Jun 30, 2022•14 min
The alliance is poised to admit Sweden and Finland after Turkey dropped its objections to their membership. The U.S. will bolster its military presence in Europe as Russia continues its war in Ukraine. And Biden's trip to Europe to meet with other world leaders has included a number of meetings on global inflation and the economy. This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Support the show and u...
Jun 29, 2022•13 min
According to testimony from White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, Trump knew that the some protesters were armed before encouraging them to march on the Capitol, didn't want to intervene once they stormed the building, and indicated he agreed with the chants that Vice President Pence should be hanged. Hutchinson said that Rudy Giuliani and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows sought pardons. And, in an interview with NPR's Asma Khalid, Vice President Kamala Harris refused to say whether she supports endin...
Jun 28, 2022•27 min
On Saturday, Biden signed legislation designed to prevent people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun and increase the prevalence of state "red flag" laws. The new law comes just days after the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled there is a constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense, striking down a long-standing New York law that restricted concealed carry. This episode: congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, WNYC reporter Jon Campbell, and senior pol...
Jun 27, 2022•13 min
In a 6-3 vote along partisan lines, the Supreme Court's conservative majority has overturned Roe v. Wade , the 50-year-old case that was the basis for legal abortion across the United States. The result: a split national landscape, with states free to enforce laws prohibiting abortion. This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, national correspondent Sarah McCammon, demographics and culture correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Support t...
Jun 24, 2022•17 min
Top Trump-era Justice officials, including acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, testified about the former president's push to have the Justice Department substantiate his election fraud claims. He came very close to firing the officials who stood in his way and installing one who would not. And a number of Republicans who supported Trump's efforts to subvert the Democratic process asked the president for pardons, according to the testimony of administration aides. This episode: White House co...
Jun 24, 2022•16 min
In Nashville last week, Christian conservatives echoed Trump's claims about fraud after his speech at their conference. In Texas, the state GOP incorporated the idea that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent into the party's new platform. Sharply-partisan districts and an ever-more polarized public have drawn lawmakers like Rep. Elise Stefanik, once known for her moderate politics, to publicly promote the former president's attacks on the American democratic process. This episode: White...
Jun 22, 2022•14 min
The officials who appeared before the Jan. 6 committee were Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling — all Republicans who indicated then-President Trump pushed them to violate their obligations to the Constitution. The committee also heard from Shaye Moss, a former staff election worker in Georgia who was targeted by Trump and his allies over baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud. She left her ...
Jun 21, 2022•18 min
A special episode from our friends at Code Switch : In the wake of violence and tragedies, people are often left in search of ways to feel safe again. That almost inevitably to conversations about the role of police. On today's episode, we're talking to the author and sociologist Alex Vitale, who argues that many spaces in U.S. society over-rely on the police to prevent problems that are better addressed through other means. Doing so, he says, can prevent us from properly investing in resources ...
Jun 20, 2022•32 min
Take our survey: https://www.npr.org/podcastsurvey Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, reportedly said she'd be willing to speak to the committee following reporting by the Washington Post that Thomas was communicating with a Trump legal adviser at the heart of the probe. And the Federal Reserve escalated its battle against inflation Wednesday, announcing the largest interest rate hike in 28 years as the central bank struggles to regain control over soaring prices. T...
Jun 17, 2022•22 min
The committee centered its third hearing around one person in particular: former Vice President Mike Pence, honing in on the pressure put on him by former President Trump to overturn the 2020 election. Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney began the hearing by saying: "What the president wanted the vice president to do was not just wrong. It was illegal and unconstitutional." The hearing featured live testimony from two Pence legal advisors, Greg Jacob and retired fourth circuit judge Michael Lutt...
Jun 16, 2022•14 min
Ahead of those elections, NPR held discussions with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the Nevada about their concerns and priorities ahead of the midterms, ranging from the cost of living to gun violence. Then, a look at what Congress is doing to address gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, and whether any legislation has a chance of passing. Read more: https://www.npr.org/1103894544 This episode: congressional correspondents Kelsey S...
Jun 15, 2022•14 min
One theory: as polarization pushed policy-making out of Congress and toward states, divergent policies passed in red and blue-leaning states may have caused a big — and growing — gap in health outcomes. Read more: https://n.pr/3NUFJZr This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and health correspondent Allison Aubrey. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org...
Jun 14, 2022•14 min
The second hearing into the Jan. 6 insurrection featured a slew of clips from top Trump aides from the campaign and administration testifying that the former president was repeatedly told that voter fraud claims were not true — but he continued to double-down, both publicly and privately. And senators came to a very narrow agreement on measures designed to curb gun violence. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and senior political edito...
Jun 13, 2022•14 min
The hearing documenting former President Trump's role in the January 6th riot was largely told through recorded clips. But Rep. Liz Cheney — a Republican from Wyoming and an ousted member of GOP leadership — also played a starring role. Why did she break with her Republican colleagues? And in California, progressive Democrats had setbacks in two high-profile elections — the LA mayoral primary and a recall election for the District Attorney in San Francisco. This episode: demographics and culture...
Jun 10, 2022•26 min
Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's vice chair, summed up the hearing's thesis like this: "On this point, there is no room for debate: Those who invaded our Capitol and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them." The hearing featured produced videos of the assault on the Capitol, recorded clips of interviews with insurrectionists and senior aides to Donald Trump, and live testimony from a Capitol police officer and a documentary filmmaker. This episode: ...
Jun 10, 2022•16 min
Trump voters largely remain enthusiastic about the former president and would considering voting for him again in 2024, but some had a hard time seeing past their affection for the conservative, incumbent politicians he was opposing when casting their primary ballots. That was great news for Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, national political correspondent Don Gonyea, and national political correspo...
Jun 08, 2022•14 min
The United States is hosting a major gathering of heads of state from the Americas, but some countries are upset President Biden has elected not to invite some leaders the White House described as "dictators." The move led other leaders to boycott — raising questions about whether the summit can effectively address pressing challenges like migration. This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and international correspondent Carrie Kahn. Support...
Jun 07, 2022•14 min
The Commerce Department is investigating whether China is skirting U.S. tariffs by routing solar panel parts through southeast Asian manufacturers — the biggest U.S. solar panel suppliers. That scared U.S. solar panel installers, who were worried the Commerce Department would impose retroactive fees on projects built during the investigation. Forecasts for new solar energy fell by almost half. On Monday, President Biden intervened by granting a two-year hiatus on the tariffs and invoking the Def...
Jun 06, 2022•12 min
The Labor Department said Friday that U.S. businesses added 390,000 jobs in May, as the unemployment rate held steady at a very low 3.6 percent and, despite rising prices, American continue to spend. Nevertheless, voters remain concerned about the economy and the White House is scrambling to find a convincing message. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Asma Khalid, chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley, demographics and culture correspondent Dan...
Jun 03, 2022•23 min
Despite bipartisan efforts at a modest deal, Senate Republicans could filibuster any gun control measures that are brought to a vote. That would increase the amount of support needed to pass legislation and imperil its passage. In his speech, Biden noted that guns are the number one cause of death for American children. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Support the show and unlock spo...
Jun 03, 2022•12 min
The conservative majority so far appears unmoved by prevailing public opinion on the controversial social issues before them this term, though they have been notably slow to issue final opinions. That will make for a busy few weeks of rulings as the Supreme Court races to conclude its term by the middle of the summer. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, and national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Support the show and unlock spo...
Jun 01, 2022•14 min
And President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited with victims and their families in Texas on Sunday. The White House is considering more executive actions on guns, though substantial reform would require congressional action — something that remains very unlikely despite ongoing negotiations. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free...
May 31, 2022•13 min
