The end of the enhanced child tax credit is forcing parents to make difficult choices. CNN tells some of their stories, while NPR crunches the numbers on the measure’s impact. Death doulas provide comfort in people’s final days. Time looks at how demand for the service grew during the pandemic. Chinese American freestyle-skiing Olympian Eileen Gu must walk a political tightrope, competing for China without making comments that anger the government and her corporate sponsors. Bloomberg Businessweek reports on the tough challenge she faces, all at the age of 18. The New York Times is buying Wordle. The Wall Street Journal reports on the deal, how the simple word game is sparking complicated debates about strategy, and how it’s inspiring some players to get their fix by digging out old childhood games.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.