Tens of thousands of court workers across Mexico are on an indefinite strike. It comes in response to a controversial judicial reform law that is advancing through Congress. Also, Cambodia has lost more than a third of its primary forests to private development in the last two decades, but a movement of young activists has challenged the government to improve its environmental record. And, the US has expanded its access to the CBP One app so asylum-seekers can book an appointment as soon as they...
Aug 23, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast A labor dispute between two of Canada's largest railroad operators and union has mushroomed into a full lockout of union workers. Also, in Germany’s self-styled beer town of Munich, more people are switching to non-alcoholic beverages. And, a new art exhibit in Denver showcases the work of a Japanese American prisoner incarcerated at a camp in southeastern Colorado during World War II called “Amache.” Plus, scientists report they were able to "hear" low-frequency gravitational waves caused by th...
Aug 22, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Moscow’s mayor has called Kyiv’s overnight assault “one of the largest ever” drone attacks on the Russian capital. It comes as Ukraine continues its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Also, a Turkish organization representing the döner industry has applied to the EU to certify döner kebab as a traditional specialty, but German döner makers have vetoed the move, saying it could increase the price. And, Israel wants control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, but Hamas says it will only agree...
Aug 21, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast US intelligence officials say they’ve confirmed findings made by Google cybersecurity researchers that Iran has tried to hack the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns. Also, Slovakia’s culture minister has fired the directors of the Slovak National Gallery and the country’s most influential theater, which the artistic community says is a crackdown on artistic expression. And, a legal debate on who own the rights to the diaries of Li Rui, once a top Chinese official and a personal secretary to...
Aug 20, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ukrainian troops continue to push deeper inside Russia’s Kursk region. Also, as the West tries to turn away from lithium supplied by China, European leaders are focused on local lithium deposits, but a plan to mine in Serbia is being met with local anger. And, a look at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the biggest performing arts festival in the world. Plus, Switzerland is holding a contest to find the best way to clear out military munitions that have been dumped into its lakes. Listen to today’s...
Aug 19, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indonesia is set to inaugurate Nusantara as its new capital this weekend. It will replace the current capital, Jakarta, which has a population of about 30 million people and is beginning to slowly sink into the sea. Also, two days of ceasefire negotiations over the war in Gaza wrapped up today with the participants planning to reconvene next week in Cairo, Egypt. And, a new study reveals that islands in the Scottish Hebrides may be the only place on Earth to have a detailed record of how the Ear...
Aug 16, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mohammad Shabani's suicide note is analyzed by a handwriting expert and Fariba Nawa gets the results. She follows the ripple effects of the new information, and Mohammad's best friend tries to make sense of what it means.
Aug 16, 2024•26 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreak on the African continent to be “a public health emergency of international concern.” Following the recording of Sweden’s first case of a new variant of mpox, there is a race to get vaccines into the arms of the most vulnerable Africans. Also, highly anticipated negotiations are underway in Qatar to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. And, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found that Ukraine was responsible for the 2022 sabotage of the No...
Aug 15, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden administration is flooding the zone in the Middle East with high-level diplomats ahead of a key meeting on Thursday. Getting a ceasefire for Gaza is the immediate goal. But this is also about bringing down the temperature in a region that's on edge after Israel assassinated two top leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas. Also, the British prime minister has vowed to come down hard on rioters involved in violent far-right protests in the UK last week. Some offenders have already been sentence...
Aug 14, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Ukrainian military has invaded Russia's Kursk region. The incursion has prompted the Russian military to pull some of its troops out of eastern Ukraine to defend itself. Host Marco Werman speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov about what's happening on the ground inside of Kursk and how Russian officials and citizens are reacting. Also, the humanitarian situation in Sudan has reached a breaking point. That's especially true in parts of Darfur, which might be experiencing ...
Aug 13, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Greece is on fire. About half of the country is on red alert, after dozens of fires broke out — including several close to the capital, Athens. A prolonged drought and soaring summer temperatures are making it hard for authorities to contain the blazes. Also, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is threatening to restart production of intermediate range nuclear weapons. This is in response to plans by the US to position long-range missiles in Germany. And, we have a wrap-up on the Olympics in Paris, wh...
Aug 12, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian strikes in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region have killed around a dozen people and injured 37 others. It comes as Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory continues into its fourth day. Also, Japan Meteorological Agency has issued its first-ever advisory warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast to help focus people on earthquake readiness. And, with tensions high across the Middle East, we talk to people in Israel, Lebanon and Iran as they face the possibility of...
Aug 09, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 9 is almost ready. But not quite.
Aug 09, 2024•31 sec•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Authorities in Austria have canceled a series of Taylor Swift shows after learning of an alleged ISIS plot to attack the music venues along her much-hyped Eras Tour. Also, after preparing themselves for an evening of violent far-right protests, police in the UK encountered peaceful anti-racism rallies overnight. And, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. Plus, thousands of bagpipe enthusiasts have gathered for the annual bagpipe festival ...
Aug 08, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hamas has a new leader, Yahya Sinwar, who is said to be one of the main planners of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Also, US Ambassador Rahm Emmanuel will skip the ceremony in Japan this week that remembers the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because of a decision by Tokyo to exclude Israel. And, China agrees to crack down on some precursor chemicals used by cartels to make fentanyl. Plus, young musicians from South America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East convene at New York City'...
Aug 07, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Bangladesh, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the head of the country's interim government after the army stepped in following anti-government protests that pushed a long-serving prime minister out of power. Also, public health officials warn that some diseases are seeing concerning spikes in Gaza. And, a federal judge in the US has ruled that Google has a monopoly on the internet search. Plus, what is the relatively new Olympic event, sport climbing? Listen to today’s Music...
Aug 06, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule came to an end today after weeks of violent clashes with protesters left more than 300 people dead. Jubilant scenes emerged from the capital, Dhaka, after Hasina resigned and fled the country. Also, it's been five years since India revoked the special status of Kashmir. And, nearly 400 people were arrested in about a dozen cities across the UK over the weekend, after the murder of three young children sparked anti-immigrant riots. Plus, a l...
Aug 05, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast A UNICEF official talks about what humanitarian aid workers are doing in Gaza to help Palestinian civilians. Also, Vladimir Putin met released Russian prisoners on a red carpet at the airport on Thursday. We'll hear about Moscow's view of the historic prisoner exchange. And Thailand’s wildlife is fantastically diverse. Its elephants, primates and wild tigers are a source of national pride. But one native species that is not loved is the water monitor. It's a dog-sized creature with snakelike fan...
Aug 02, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fariba Nawa is threatened. She steers her reporting to focus on impunity. The investigation into Iran's hunt for dissidents goes to the United Nations, inside a Turkish parliamentary hearing, and to the US State Department to find out if anyone will intervene.
Aug 02, 2024•26 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast American citizens have been freed from Russia on Thursday in a prisoner exchange, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Also, nearly 23 years after the attacks of Sept. 11, the man accused of planning those attacks — along with two accomplices — agreed to plead guilty. Plus, as the incumbent president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, faces accusations of election fraud, the legacy of a former president, Hugo Chávez, looms large over the country, even though he died more than ...
Aug 01, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Israeli army claimed responsibility for a missile strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in his Beirut apartment. At least three people were killed in that strike and some 70 wounded. Hours later, Hamas' leader-in-exile Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed as they slept in Tehran. Following the assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah figures, there are fears about a wider conflict engulfing the Middle East. Also, some Brazilians along the southern coast of the country are celebrating ...
Jul 31, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Israeli army has confirmed that it struck a building in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, while targeting a Hezbollah commander. Israel's Defense Minister has said Hezbollah "crossed a red line" by killing children on a soccer field over the weekend. Also, Venezuelans are out in the streets in many parts of the country, disputing the results of Sunday's presidential election. Longtime leader Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner, but the opposition says it can prove its candidate a...
Jul 30, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast A rocket from Lebanon killed 12 children and teens on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Saturday, drawing international attention to the region and also to the Druze people living there. We look at how the Druze community fits into the fabric of Israel. Also, as the results of Venezuela's presidential elections continue to be contested, with both sides claiming victory, our reporter on the ground in Caracas brings us the latest on how people are feeling amid the uncertain...
Jul 29, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Olympic Games have begun in Paris, despite a massive sabotage campaign against France’s rail system. Also, Canada's wildfire season is well under way and has already sparked evacuations, destroyed homes and burned forests across national parks. And, two leading Mexican drug lords from the Sinaloa Cartel have been arrested by authorities in the US. Plus, a new study finds that scribes in ancient Egypt suffered from repetitive stress injuries. Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air ....
Jul 26, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Sağlam family's kidnapping operation is caught in a police dragnet. The ensuing police investigation reveals an entire network of conspirators behind the Sağlams. When one conspirator is arrested and interrogated, he confesses. Fariba Nawa uses the confession to tell the story of Iran's behind-the-scenes involvement.
Jul 26, 2024•30 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Typhoon Gaemi is one of the strongest typhoons to affect the Asia-Pacific region in nearly a decade, and it's sparked massive evacuations in the Philippines, leaving flooding and landslides in its wake. Also, National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek talks about his walk through northern India. And, the civilian casualties tracking group Airwars has been gathering incident-by-incident documentation of civilians publicly reported killed in Gaza, and found that the figures reported by the Hamas-ru...
Jul 25, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the US Congress for a fourth time. Also, Japan’s Nanmoku village has the oldest population in the world. And, a new study by scientists find wild sharks off the coast of Brazil that have tested positive for cocaine. Plus, host France wants the organizers of the Olympic Games to stick to the French language. Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air ....
Jul 24, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Soldiers and police are patrolling the streets of Paris as the city hosts the Summer Olympics. Parts of the city are off-limits, including much of the Seine river, as the “City of Light” goes on maximum alert to protect athletes and fans. Also, the UAE — where protests are banned — sentences 57 Bangladeshi residents to lengthy prison terms for demonstrating in solidarity with people in Bangladesh over job quotas. And, new rules at the US border have some dog owners concerned. Plus, an internatio...
Jul 23, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast World leaders weigh in after US President Joe Biden announced that he's ending his bid for re-election and put his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Also, a project in Namibia hopes to combine a pesky plant known as the encroacher bush with a mushroom byproduct known as mycelium to help deal with the country's housing crisis. And, Kenya sends its first fencer, Alexandra Ndolo, to the Olympic Games. Plus, BALTHVS brings back the short-lived psychedelic music e...
Jul 22, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Earlier on Friday, in the culmination of what the US is calling a sham trial, a Russian court found Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich guilty of espionage. The American journalist has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. We'll dig into the implications of that news, and we'll also hear about the growing number of American journalists being detained in Russia. Also, a drone strike on the city center of Tel Aviv, sent by Yemeni Houthi rebels, killed one person. That's stoking fears of ...
Jul 19, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
