Consider This from NPR
Episodes
After 50 years, is the future of special education in jeopardy?
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fifty years ago, special education in America was born.In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the landmark law known today as the Individuals with Disa...
Trump attacks Somali immigrants ahead of expected Minnesota immigration enforcement
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Roughly 80,000 people of Somali descent now live in Minnesota. The vast majority of them are American citizens.This week, President Trump attacked Som...
The White House keeps firing immigration judges. He is one of them
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump is purging the immigration court system. About 140 immigration judges have been fired by the administration or resigned. Meanwhile, t...
Did the U.S. commit a war crime in the Caribbean?
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than 80 people have now been killed by U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats.There are growing questions about an order to kill two of those peopl...
Is MAHA influencing health policy?
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the recent Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, summit - which was attended by the U.S. Secretary of Health and the Vice President - the agenda sho...
What can a 90s kids’ movie tell us about the redistricting battle?
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When the Missouri legislature began to redraw maps mid-decade, it reminded a reporter of a very specific movie scene. The film was Air Bud, and altho...
How parking explains everything
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
No matter how you measure it, there is a lot of parking in the U.S. According to some estimates there are as many as six parking spaces for every car....
What's motivating volunteers across the country, especially this Thanksgiving
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From building homes to ushering theater-goers to re-enacting medieval history for middle-schoolers – yes, you read that right – acts of volunteeri...
AI is transforming crime, too
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
By the midpoint of 2025, the U.S. was on track to set a new yearly record in the number of reported data breaches.That’s according to data compiled ...
Sen. Kelly says Trump doesn't “understand the Constitution”
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Facing the threat of a potential military court martial and possible questions from the FBI, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona spoke to NPR's Scot...
Navigating vaccine misinformation with a pediatrician
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The CDC recently rewrote its vaccine guidance to suggest shots might cause autism, renewing false claims about vaccines and causing anxiety among pare...
Can progressive mayors save the Democratic Party?
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani built a coalition of voters who were engaged by his charisma and his campaign’s focus on key issues suc...
Trump moves closer to closing the Education Department
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When President Trump nominated Linda McMahon as education secretary, he told her to put herself out of a job. She moved one step closer to that this w...
Expensive and exhausting: Why caregivers need to care for themselves, too
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Caregiving services for seniors can easily cost more each year than what the average American makes. And health insurers, both government and priv...
How Chicago's ICE resistance was born
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Activists in Chicago have been tracking federal immigration enforcement agents' movements, following their cars and alerting neighbors with whistles. ...
When it comes to the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, it's complicated
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump is deepening the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, despite the government coming under fire for human right abuses, despite the con...
Republicans targeted abortion providers. Some Mainers lost primary care
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Maine Family Planning clinics treat STDs, bronchitis and tick bites. Because they also provide abortions, they've been hit by a new federal law that c...
Tornado recovery in St. Louis is a mess. The city blames Trump's FEMA changes
16 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been six months since a tornado hit St. Louis and damaged more than five thousand buildings and homes. Residents and local officials say the Tru...
What it takes to make a Tiny Desk Concert
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's concert series Tiny Desk, first launched on a whim in 2008, attracts millions of viewers. We hear from two members of the NPR music team on what...
A Rolex, a gold bar, a trade deal and the ethics of presidential gifts
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At a recent gathering of Swiss business executives in the White House, the CEO of Rolex presented President Trump with a gold-plated desk clock.The CE...
'Is this really happening?' National Guard Members on Trump Deployments
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A group of National Guard members in Ohio are using an encrypted group chat to work out how they're feeling as President Trump deploys Guard troops to...
Democrats have released more Epstein emails. What next?
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released emails to and from Jeffrey Epstein that suggest Donald Trump may have known about Epstein’s...
Why Fetterman still thinks his party is wrong on Israel, shutdown & the working class
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When John Fetterman won Pennsylvania's senate seat in 2022, Democrats across the country treated him as a hero and an example of a path forward for th...
FDA reverses decades of guidance on hormone therapy for menopause
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The FDA is removing the black box warning on estrogen therapy after two decades. Should it?Women who want to use estrogen to treat menopause symptoms ...
'Affordability,' and the repercussions of the increasing global wealth gap
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
‘Affordability’ was the word that resonated across America during elections last week, reflecting voters’ demand for elected officials to addres...
What this week’s elections could mean for the midterms
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tuesday’s election was the first time voters registered how they’re feeling since President Trump entered the White House.And after Democratic can...
Nancy Pelosi announces end to nearly four decades in Congress
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nancy Pelosi is arguably the most powerful woman in American history. After her election to Congress in 1987, she accumulated more and more power, eve...
Tariffs aren't a presidential power, says California Attorney General
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Next year, the Supreme Court will decide whether the President can use a five decade old emergency powers act to shape the U.S. economy.Trump invoked ...
Tariffs are going to the Supreme Court. What's at stake?
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a major case about the administration’s use of tariffs. President Trump has long touted the ...
Trump is slashing the number of refugees. What does that mean?
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every year the President of the United States determines how many refugees can enter this country. The law says he must consult Congress on this numbe...
Trump calls alleged smugglers 'unlawful combatants'. That term has a history.
02 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The legal definition of the term 'unlawful combatants' was used to justify detaining people at Guantanamo indefinitely, without ever charging them wit...
Why this episode wouldn't work in print
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From recording a snoring elephant to figuring out how to be a mime during an interview, three former print journalists talk about how telling an audio...
Could next week's elections predict the political future?
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Voters head to the polls next week in California, Virginia and New Jersey among other states. Senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson an...
Here's what could happen if Obamacare subsidies aren't extended
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a critical week regarding the Affordable Care Act, which is at the center of the government shutdown impasse. “Window shopping" began for som...
Unpacking The U.S. Economy’s ‘Cockroach’ Problem
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When companies need a loan, traditionally they turn to a bank.But increasingly they’re turning to financial firms that are not really banks, but do ...
Can the global economy handle a world with fewer kids?
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ashley and Nick Evancho say raising their 3-year-old, Sophia, is one of the most joyous things they've ever done. But the Evanchos also made a decisi...
What happens if Antifa is labeled a foreign terrorist organization
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a public roundtable, President Trump asked his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to apply the designation to Antifa.NPR's Ryan Lucas reports that it...
Netanyahu's political future and what the 'BibiSitters' want from him
26 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A delegation of high-level US officials were recently sent to Israel to try to hold the fragile Gaza truce together. The Israeli press called them the...
Congress is investigating cases of U.S. citizens detained in immigration raids
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. citizens have been arrested in the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. According to ProPublica, at least 170 have been arr...
Was this NBA betting scandal inevitable?
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The FBI arrested multiple people tied to the NBA in a wide-ranging illegal gambling probe. The NBA and other major sports leagues have been deepening ...
The Trump administration says left-wing terrorism in the US is on the rise. Is it?
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For many years, the far right has been the most lethal and persistent source of domestic terrorism in the U.S. But the assassination of right-wing inf...
Philadelphia is solving homicides at the fastest rate in 40 years. Here's how
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's getting harder to get away with murder in Philadelphia.Violent crime has fallen sharply -- like it has in many other cities.And Philadelphia poli...
When ICE offers job opportunities in small towns
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration's push to expand immigration enforcement -- as part of its deportation efforts -- has created job opportunities in small town...
A rare bipartisan move to rein in Donald Trump on Venezuela
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following repeated U.S attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela, Senator Tim Kaine has partnered with fellow Democrat Senator Adam Schiff and Repub...
What is needed to keep the ceasefire on track?
18 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Veteran Middle East correspondent Jane Arraf has seen peace deals fall apart many times in her decades covering the region. She talks about what she i...
Farmers already had it bad. The shutdown made it worse.
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
America’s farmers are getting walloped by the federal government shutdown.The closing of government offices means they’ve lost access to data and ...
We may be in an AI bubble. What does that mean?
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the AI boom an AI bubble? Wall Street and Silicon Valley increasingly think so.This week JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said "a lot of assets" appe...
The fighting in Gaza has stopped. But dire conditions persist.
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“A New and Beautiful day is rising.” That’s what President Trump told a gathering of world leaders this week.He was speaking of the ceasefire be...
The targets of Trump's DOJ are already paying a price
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At President Trump’s public urging, the Justice Department has brought criminal charges against some of his perceived political enemies. NPR Justice...
Justice Anthony Kennedy's book is not boring
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As a justice on the Supreme Court, Anthony Kennedy wrote some big opinions.He was appointed by President Reagan, and most often voted with conservativ...
Hostage's brother-in-law: we haven't matured enough as a region to coexist peacefully
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of Omri Miran, who has been held hostage by Hamas since October 7, 2023. Lavi explains...
Jake Sullivan tried to get a Gaza peace deal. Here's what he thinks of Trump's
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A ceasefire is now in effect between Israel and Hamas, and the Israeli military has pulled back from certain positions in the Gaza Strip. In the comin...
Will a ceasefire deal move forward after two years of war between Israel and Hamas?
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After two years of bloodshed, Israel and Hamas have agreed to phase one of a ceasefire deal.It’s a moment of hope — and some skepticism — am...
A week into the shutdown, federal workers are stuck in limbo
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a week since a federal shutdown ground work at numerous government agencies to a halt. There's no indication that an agreement could come so...
The National Guard arrives in Chicago. What now?
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The clock is ticking for Chicago and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.President Trump has deployed the National Guard to the country’s third largest ci...
Trump calls cartels terrorists. Is that enough to go to war?
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly a quarter century after the September 11th attacks, the Trump administration is using the language of terrorism to target a new enemy: Latin Am...
When will sufficient aid be allowed into Gaza? UNICEF says Gazans need more
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas made significant progress over the weekend, many in the region are expressing some cautious optimism ab...
Federal workers reaffirming loyalty to the Constitution, not politics
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Federal workers across the United States are feeling the impact of the government shutdown. This comes after months of turmoil for federal workers as ...
Daniel Day-Lewis was retired. His son is just getting started
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eight years ago, Daniel Day-Lewis announced he was retired from acting. He offered no further comment. Retirement notwithstanding, the three-time winn...
Here's how the shutdown is playing out across the U.S.
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government shutdown is on. Already, it’s being felt across the country.National Parks are preparing to scale back or close. Furloughed federal w...
Trump’s economy is marked by uncertainty. What could more tariffs mean for you?
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When President Trump came into office, he promised to fuel an economic boom with a magic bullet: tariffs. They're taxes added to a wide range of impor...
Ukraine's scrappy wartime innovation
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
NPR’s National Security Correspondent Greg Myre spent the summer reporting on the war in Ukraine. He saw the devastation of the conflict. But he als...
Why the stakes for this shutdown are higher
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The deadline for a government shutdown is quickly approaching. If Democrats and Republicans can't make a deal, the government will run out of money af...
The world commits to new climate goals without the U.S.
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than a hundred countries have committed to fresh plans to curb pollution, with one big holdout: the U.S.NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with the EU C...
Goodbye, Ari Shapiro
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After 25 years at NPR and 10 years hosting All Things Considered and the last few years hosting Consider This, Ari Shapiro is moving on to his next ad...
They warned about AI before it was cool. They're still worried
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A superhuman artificial intelligence so smart it can decide to get rid of slower-witted humans is a pretty terrifying concept.What was once strictly t...
Trump is changing public health guidance. What's it mean for you?
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government’s approach to public health has changed more in the last eight months than it has in decades. Since President Trump returne...
Does Trump's plan to get homeless people off the streets violate civil liberties?
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump is promising to sweep homeless people off America’s streets. One controversial part of his plan could force thousands of people into...
One of ICE’s biggest detention facilities is plagued by problems
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration is moving fast on a plan to create several holding centers around the country for people detained in a nationwide immigration...
Did Charlie Kirk's killing shatter Spencer Cox's vision of politics?
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, who has been in the national headlines just about every day since Charlie Kirk's killing, has long wanted to bring commu...
How to really listen in today's America
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's Don Gonyea reports from across the country, engaging with a wide range of people and in places as distinct and different as political rallies an...
Trump used the military to target a Venezuelan vessel. Is it legal?
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A 30 second video clip shows a boat bobbing in the water.Then, a fireball and a huge plume of smoke.President Trump posted the footage on social media...
Kimmel cancellation renews questions about free speech
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has said for years that he wants Jimmy Kimmel off the air. Now, ABC and its parent company Disney have put the show on indefinite hia...
The U.K.'s response to Trump, like America's, is divided.
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The first day of President Trump’s historic trip to the UK was dominated by ceremony.A carriage procession around the grounds of Windsor Castle with...
Robert Redford was his own kind of Hollywood icon
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Redford died early Tuesday morning, according to his publicist. He was 89 years old.Redford was a golden child of Hollywood, starring in dozens...
Charlie Kirk's chair is empty. Can MAGA harness his movement?
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the assasination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, there’s a great deal of speculation about who will fill his seat, literally and met...
The immigration crackdown is changing how people interact with law enforcement
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for federal immigration enforcement agents in Los Angeles to use race and other profiling factors in deciding w...
Understanding the war in Gaza through the words of a child
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes the stories that help us understand the full impact of war are told through a child’s voice.And sometimes the most powerful stories of war...
Can the global HIV/AIDS fight recover from Trump's cuts?
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
HIV has been in retreat around the world. Fewer people are dying of the disease.New infections are decreasing. More HIV positive people have access ...
Young Conservatives Are Asking What's Next For the Movement Charlie Kirk Started
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For many young conservatives, Charlie Kirk was more than just another political activist or online personality.He was the face of their movement -- a ...
The 9/11 terrorism case is in limbo. So are the victim families.
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 9/11 terrorism case has been in legal limbo for more than a decade and many doubt the case will ever make it to take to trial. That’s partly bec...
What Jeffrey Epstein's bank knew
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Six years after his death in prison, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to dominate the news.A House committee has released a suggestive note sent...
Hackers are after your water. How this town defends against them.
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.On a recent Augus...
What happens when democracies use military force to occupy their own territory?
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same pos...
Trump wants to change education. What's that mean for kids?
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has vowed to abolish the Department of Education. He’s pressured schools to end DEI initiatives and protections for transgender stud...
A vaccine skeptic is leading public health in the US. Today, RFK Jr. faced questions
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a scathing line of questioning from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday.Kennedy is a vaccin...
Your covid vaccine questions answered
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The one thing certain about the COVID vaccine right now is that everything about it is changing.The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the...
Corporate America ditched DEI. What happened to the employees?
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Chief diversity officer” was once Corporate America’s hottest job. Now corporate America has retreated from DEI and slashed thousands of jobs...
Cumberbatch and Colman team up to play a couple at war
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
So many movies are made about the beginning of a relationship. That first spark of attraction. That first kiss. The new dark comedy “The Roses” i...
The lasting impact of the administration’s changes to health science
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump Administration has made significant changes to the departments in charge of public health. So what does that mean for the health of average ...
Covering Katrina: navigating New Orleans in the days after the storm
30 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans twenty years ago this week, leaving a trail of destruction across the city and the Gulf Coast. NPR journalists were ...
President Trump, entertainer-in-chief
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before he entered politics, most Americans knew Donald Trump as an entertainer. As the host of the hit show “The Apprentice” he was catapulted to ...
Gazans are starving. How did it get this bad?
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The war in Gaza is approaching the 2 year mark. As it does, Israel continues to launch new attacks on a territory that is already in ruins. And the hu...
Should the government be in the business of business?
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the federal government owns part of a company? That’s one of MANY questions about federal policy right now, as the Trump Administr...
Can Trump call the National Guard into Chicago too?
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For over two weeks, members of the National Guard have been walking the streets of Washington, D.C. -- alongside federal law enforcement and local pol...
What a day in immigration court is like now
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration is deploying a new strategy to speed up deportations. Government lawyers are asking immigration judges to dismiss on-going ca...
Bubbling questions about the limits of the AI revolution
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
OpenAI founder Sam Altman floated the idea of an AI bubble, an MIT report found that 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing and tech sto...
High stakes diplomacy and canceled Halibut Olympia, insights from the Alaska Summit
23 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Normally, foreign policy summits between world leaders involve painstaking planning and organization days and weeks in advance. The hectic and last mi...
Famine is declared in Gaza. Will anything change?
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The people of Northern Gaza are starving. That’s according to an official declaration by a United Nations-backed group of experts, who comprise the ...
It's not your imagination. Hurricanes are getting more severe.
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, leaving more than 1300 people dead and becoming the most expensive hurricane in histor...