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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Learn ...
Aug 15, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Learn more about sponsor message choices...
Aug 08, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Democrats hope he can secure Midwestern swing states. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Aug 06, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Priva...
Aug 05, 2024•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become. Her childhood friend Carole Porter, who lived a few houses away, paints a picture of a working-class, multicultural neighborhood. And she pointed to two women who had a huge effect on the vice president's life. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn ...
Jul 30, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast For a brief moment, people in the Venezuelan diaspora felt a surge of hope as reports indicated the opposition party was polling way ahead of Nicolas Maduro's party. Then, Venezuela's electoral authority declared Maduro the winner. Members of the opposition have cried foul. And the US and other international observers have questioned the integrity of the election. So where does Sunday's election leave Venezuelans, who are living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency? And where does it leave t...
Jul 29, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vice President Kamala Harris has a little over a week to pick a running mate to join her on the presidential ticket. The list of possibilities is long, but many have a couple of things in common — the represent swing states and are white, straight men — qualities that might help make a winning ticket. Who should the current Vice President pick to be her running mate, and what will make that a winning choice? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcast...
Jul 28, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Among the many Democratic Party insiders who publicly or privately urged President Joe Biden to reconsider running for reelection, one played an outsized role: Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi is 84 years old — older than Biden — and no longer in House leadership. But her part in the pressure campaign that led to a change in the Democratic ticket shows: she is still very much a leader, and her political pull remains strong. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Pod...
Jul 26, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Clayton Young and Conner Mantz are longtime training partners and friends. They're also the two fastest men's marathoners representing the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The pair met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. They've been friends, training partners and competitors ever since. With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Young and Mantz break away from the pack and take home the gold at the Olympic games? For sponsor-free episodes of C...
Jul 25, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vice President Kamala Harris is barreling towards the Democratic nomination for president. Her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has a record of personally attacking women of color who stand in his way. Sexist and racist attacks on Harris have already started. How might they impact her bid for office? 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 . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcast...
Jul 24, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast If Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democratic presidential nominee next month, she'll be the first woman of color to lead a major party's ticket. Of course, that would not be her first, first. Harris's entire career is a list of jobs that nobody who looks quite like her had held before, including California's attorney general, Senator, and Vice President of the United States. Harris often stresses that while she may be a first, others paved the way. Kamala Harris has had a career full of fi...
Jul 23, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In just a matter of hours, a Kamala Harris for President campaign has gone from a far-flung possibility, to all but certain likelihood. It puts the Vice President in a tricky spot. She's got to run on President Biden's achievements, while avoiding the more challenging aspects of his record. Biden entrusted Harris with some of the most challenging parts of his portfolio, including voting rights, the rollback of reproductive rights and immigration. Harris has struggled to find her footing on immig...
Jul 22, 2024•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Biden has made a historic decision to endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, to take his spot at the top of the Democratic ticket. The move comes after weeks of calls for Biden to step aside after concerns about his fitness for the job. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson about what this means for the Democratic Party in the months ahead to the election. For sponsor-free episodes of Cons...
Jul 21, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast A plucky meteorology heroine; a male rival with no shortage of hubris; and some very, very big storms: that's the basic formula behind the new disaster action movie Twisters , which follows storm chasers around Oklahoma amid a tornado outbreak. It's a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister , a box-office hit in its day which also spurred a lot of real-life research into severe storms. We've since learned a lot about how tornadoes behave, and the technology of storm chasing has improved drama...
Jul 21, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2017, the Larry Nassar scandal rocked the Olympic community. Hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse against the former USA Gymnastics doctor underscored how vulnerable athletes are — particularly when they're minors. That year, Congress and the U.S. Olympic Committee had a solution. The U.S. Center for SafeSport was founded to investigate and respond to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. The goal was for predators like Larry Nassar to never harm young athletes again. Now, seven year...
Jul 19, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
