The way we have bought homes for the last 100 years could change as soon as July. Who wins, who loses, and who gets a share of the $418 million class-action settlement? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Vladimir Putin has ruled Russia for a quarter century. This weekend's election results confirmed that he will reign for another six years. Putin's hold on the Kremlin gives him control of the world's largest nuclear arsenal and a military that's been at war in Ukraine for more than two years, ever since he launched an invasion in February 2022. That war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, but despite these losses, the Russian military is pressing forwar...
Three solidly blue cities have rolled out crime fighting initiatives that feel more like conservative strategies. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
When Russia's war in Ukraine began over two years ago, neighboring countries feared that they could be next. And NATO asked itself - was it prepared to defend its territory if war arrived on its doorstep? The answer was no. So, its military chief decided it was time to ramp up NATO's strategy and revive its military headquarters. And for the first time this spring, NATO will exercise brand new war plans to prepare for the worst. The plan comes as Donald Trump makes another run at the White House...
This week marks four years since the outbreak of Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic. One of the most vexing legacies — one that science still hasn't solved — is long Covid. That's the debilitating condition that can develop in the aftermath of an infection. Millions of Americans are living with the often debilitating symptoms that can include brain fog, shortness of breath, and low energy. Some struggle with simple daily living tasks like laundry and cooking. Four years since the pandem...
Here's one sign that shrinkflation is no longer just a topic for economics nerds. Cookie Monster recently complained on social media that his favorite food was getting smaller. "Me hate shrinkflation!" the fuzzy blue monster declared. "Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!" President Biden promised to sign a bill banning it during his State of the Union address. Shrinkflation isn't new. It's been happening for years. But people seem to be paying more attention right now amidst high fo...
Haiti's Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, has announced his resignation. But the country remains in freefall. Will Haitians finally have a chance to determine their own political future? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
The holy month of Ramadan begins this week. It is a holy month of worship for Muslims during which they worship, study the Quran, pray and fast from sunrise until sunset. It is a time of light, but Ramadan feels different this year, especially for Palestinian-Americans, says Eman Abdelhadi. She is a professor at the University of Chicago, whose research focuses on Muslim-Americans. Abdelhadi says "every moment of joy feels stolen and elicits a sense of guilt." The guilt she describes is connecte...
We're moving closer to the dream of landing humans on Mars. But will sustaining human life on Mars even be possible? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
As John Kerry leaves his role as the first Presidential Envoy for Climate, has he helped shift us away from climate disaster? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
When Shogun, James Clavell's best selling novel was adapted into a powerhouse NBC miniseries in 1980. The hero of the story was Englishman John Blackthorne. The people he met when he landed in Japan in search of riches, are viewed and portrayed as primitive. In the 2024 Shogun adaptation the Japanese characters are fully formed. The series elevates the stories of the Japanese characters as much as it does Blackthorne's. That was a deliberate decision on the part of Shogun co-creators Rachel Kond...
On August 6, 1945, a stone-faced President Harry Truman appeared on television and told Americans about the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. The attack on Hiroshima marked the first time nuclear power was used in war, but the atomic bomb was actually tested a month earlier in the Jornada del Muerto desert of New Mexico. At least hundreds of New Mexicans were harmed by the test's fallout. Radiation creeped into the grass their cows grazed, on the food they ate, and the water they drank. A ...
Nikki Haley's announcement that she was suspending her campaign for president didn't come as a surprise. She's trailed front-runner Donald Trump in all but two Republican primary contests so far. Haley did manage to sway some Republican voters away from Trump. She also managed to recruit independents and Democrats, too. As she ended her campaign on a stage in South Carolina, Haley did not endorse Trump. She said he would have to earn their votes. Nikki Haley appealed to Republicans who did not w...
This week marks a milestone in the presidential primary process. Fifteen states and one US Territory vote on Super Tuesday. This one day is the biggest delegate haul for candidates during the presidential primary season. The states voting on Super Tuesday include places with lots of Arab American voters, like Minnesota. Just last week, more than 13 percent of voters in Michigan's Democratic primary voted uncommitted. Many of those voters are Arab Americans who wanted to send Joe Biden a message ...
Former President Donald Trump scored a legal victory today. The Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0 that the likely Republican nominee for President should be restored to the ballot in Colorado. The decision also says individual states cannot bar candidates for federal office under the insurrection clause. So: a legal victory, and also a political victory. As the clock ticks toward November 5th – Election day – it's increasingly looking like the many legal cases focused on former President Trump may tip ...
Chances are, this November 5th 2024 is going to feel a lot like November 3rd 2020 — a bit like Groundhog Day. After a decisive set of Republican primaries, it's increasingly clear President Joe Biden is likely to face off against a familiar foe: former President Donald Trump. A race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden isn't only a rematch, but a contest between two men who have already occupied the Oval office and been in the public eye for decades. This, despite the fact that several polls show ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In Kansas City neighborhood organizations do the work of violence prevention one block, and one person at at time. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
