Consider This from NPR

Trump targets Big Law, and Big Law appears intimidated

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For weeks, President Trump has been issuing executive orders and memos that levy or threaten sanctions on major law firms.The moves suspend security c...

How an obscure legal theory shaped the immunity decision and Trump's second term

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the president has "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution" for official acts.To reach that...

On the road in Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Greenland is a lot more than an object of Donald Trump's territorial ambitions. It's a place whose small population is facing big questions – about...

The long history of Russia's broken promises to Ukraine

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Representatives from Russia and Ukraine will be in meetings to try to hammer out details of a ceasefire on Monday. But peace is still a long way off.F...

Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Farmers already worry about things like crop prices, the cost of farm supplies and extreme weather.Now, President Trump's signature tariffs — and th...

Trump is taking a hammer to traditional pillars of soft power

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The argument for international aid is in part a moral one, but it's also been about U.S. interests. As then-senator Marco Rubio put it in 2017: "I pro...

Measles is spreading. Are you safe?

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Measles continues to spread in West Texas and New Mexico. About 300 cases have been reported, since the outbreak began in January - but the actual num...

Is Trump defying the courts?

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Oopsie, too late. "That post on X from the President of El Salvador got retweeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend with a laugh-cry...

Never give up - one Gaza boy's story of trying to survive in Gaza

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 40, 000.That's the United Nations estimate for the number of children who have been killed or injured since Israel began its war with Hamas som...

Trump says the economy is in 'transition.' What comes after?

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"A little disturbance," "a period of transition," "a detox period." These are all phrases that President Trump and his administration have used to des...

Over a dozen lawsuits to stop DOGE data access are betting on a 1974 law

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been trying to access the massive amounts of Americans' personal information held in databases t...

The Trump administration's attacks on oversight of executive power

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration continues to fire, shut down or defund independent elements of the federal government that traditionally work as a check on p...

Fentanyl deaths are plunging, but it's just the first step

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The deadliest phase of the U.S. fentanyl crisis appears to be over. That's according to new research showing fatal overdoses from fentanyl and other s...

Republicans say Medicaid is safe. But budget math says otherwise

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

House Republicans have to get their spending bill passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. They can likely afford to lose just one vote. And t...

Riding 'La Bestia' with migrants in Mexico

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many migrants in Mexico journey north to the U.S. border by riding on top of freight trains. It's a dangerous trip: migrants have been kidnapped by ca...

Marco Rubio pivots to America First diplomacy

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a little more than a week since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Vice President J...

When it comes to the economy, it's all about uncertainty

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Like a lot of economists, Mark Zandi, with Moody's Analytics, thinks President Trump's across-the-board tariffs are a bad idea. Saying, "Tariffs, broa...

Can democrats find their way out of the wilderness?

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A hundred minutes — that's how long President Trump had the floor — literally — last night.A hundred minutes he used to lay out his agenda, his ...

How Trump's foreign policy is reshaping the world order

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the Trump-Zelenskyy blow-up on Friday, European leaders held emergency talks in London to put together a roadmap to peace. Then, on Tuesday, Eur...

When it comes to harassment, are federal judges above the law?

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People who work for the federal court system don't have the same kinds of job protections that most other Americans do.A nearly year-long NPR investig...

The political power of the pope

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unlike any other religious leader around the world, the leader of the world's one billion Catholics is also the leader of a sovereign nation. And Pope...

An immigration lawyer on Trump's first month

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, President Trump will address Congress and the nation in a major speech, where he'll sum up what he's accomplished in his first month. And ...

Former DOGE employee: work could 'cross extreme ethical and legal lines'

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, 21 DOGE employees resigned. NPR spoke to one of them who says she felt the new administration was causing "harm to the American people." A...

Is there a deal to end Russia's war with Ukraine?

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump at the White House.On the agenda — a deal for Ukraine...

The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage.Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's security, rec...

Are Trump's military picks based on merit or loyalty?

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Friday, Donald Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff CQ Brown, along with several other top Pentagon officials. Now, Senator Jack Reed...

Trump's tariffs and rhetoric strain historic Windsor-Detroit friendship

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump's tariffs and comments about turning Canada into the 51st state have tested U.S. relations with the country. One example is the...

What happens if the Education Department is abolished?

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The Department of Education is a big con job." That's just one of the things President Trump has said about one of the most high profile departments ...

The fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance as Trump sides with Russia

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia. Three years ago Russian troops poured over Ukraine's border...

Is the U.S. headed for autocracy?

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is the United States headed toward autocracy?That's a question prompted by a steady stream of executive orders seeking to consolidate power in the Whi...

Will New York's mayor survive widening scandal?

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, along withother top officials spent much of Tuesday weighing whether to use her power to remove New York City Mayor Er...

Why are Israel's deals to exchange hostages so lopsided?

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An Israeli delegation is in Cairo to hash out details for the second phase of a ceasefire deal with Hamas. Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas ag...

After weeks of chaos, the future is uncertain for thousands of federal workers

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Across the country and around the world, tens of thousands of federal workers face uncertainty amid an unprecedented reduction and restructuring of th...

Bonus Episode: The Aphasia Choir

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are at least two million people in America who have thoughts and ideas they can't put into words. People who have had strokes or traumatic brain...

Ousted Kennedy Center president says artists must feel "welcome and safe"

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump is now chairman of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Trump replaced 18 members of the board with a...

In Panama economic needs threaten to erase a way of life

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Panama has been looking for solutions to a long-term problem. Every time a ship passes through the Panama Canal, more than 50 million gallons of fresh...

Trump says the U.S. will 'own' Gaza — what that could mean for the Middle East

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Gaza Strip – ground zero of Israel's war with Hamas – is only about twice the size of Washington, DC. It has about 25 miles of coastline along...

Are we in a constitutional crisis?

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump's blizzard of executive orders has run into a snowplow of legal challenges. There are dozens of cases challenging the White House's ac...

What DOGE could mean for Medicare and Medicaid?

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is quickly expanding its reach through the federal government.It recently accessed systems at the Cent...

Trump 2.0 or Project 2025?

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Project 2025, is a 900-plus page blueprint for a conservative President. It was unveiled in the spring of 2023, well before Donald Trump had won the r...

Bonus Episode: "Margery," the medieval memoirist

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, scholars only had one version of the life of Margery Kempe, an English mystic who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries — until a ping...

Is there a Trump Doctrine for Foreign Policy?

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of labels have been applied to Trump's foreign policy approach. America First, Isolationist, transactional, imperialist, protectionist. "I'm a n...

The wider impact of DEI changes under the Trump administration

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As President Trump dismantles Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices at the federal level, organizations across the country are also shifting ...

Trump's Plan for Gaza: American intervention and mass relocation

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump floated two stunning ideas about Gaza on Tuesday. The first is he said the U.S. would take over the territory, which has been devastat...

What does Elon Musk get out of remaking the government?

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Washington these days, Elon Musk seems to be everywhere.In the 15 days Donald Trump has been back in the White House, Musk and his Department of Go...

The people and the waterway at the center of the Panama Canal

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Panama Canal has sat at the center of global trade for more than a century, connecting two oceans. The things Americans use every day pass through...

Is Trump testing limits or trying to eliminate them?

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most presidents want as much power as they can get. And it's not unusual to see them claim authority that they don't, in the end, actually have. We sa...

A pastor's sermons on social justice causes conflict among congregation

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Schools, corporations, even churches, are wrestling with how to approach issues of racial and social justice in a highly polarized U.S. But what happe...

Investigators look for answers in worst U.S. airline crash in two decades

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What went wrong in the midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet over Reagan National Airport, outside of D.C.? As officials ...

What would RFK Jr. mean to HHS?

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced senators today in a contentious confirmation hearing to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Trump...

Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country music singer Charley Crockett was born and raised in Texas, grew up in a single-wide trailer with his mom and says his family lineage traces a...

Can Susie Wiles keep Trump on track?

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Susie Wiles is doing something no woman has done before. She is the first in history to hold the position of White House Chief of Staff. Now, we will ...

Trump's dismantling of DEI

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Former President Joe Biden championed DEI programs–initiatives aimed at diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility in recruiting, hiring and rete...

Their home survived the fires, but there's still danger everywhere

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes--if their homes survived. But the disaster doesn't end when the fi...

When Oscar got it wrong

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do Babygirl, Singing in the Rain and Apocalypse Now have in common? They've all been overlooked by Oscar voters.Some Oscar blunders fall into the...

Is there an American oligarchy?

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, he was flanked by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.Also on the dais was Apple CEO Tim ...

Breaking down the executive actions Trump is using to govern

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald J. Trump began taking decisive steps to implement his agenda hours after being sworn in. In the day since he's once again become Pre...

Trump is back and ready to change America

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump returns to Washington newly empowered. The Republican party has remade itself in his image. The Supreme Court has granted him sweeping im...

Joe Biden's complicated legacy

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When he ran for office in 2020, President Joe Biden vowed to turn the page on then president Donald Trump. But it's Trump who is returning to the Whit...

'The birds are back.' Resilience in the ruins of the Palisades fire

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Will Rogers State Historic Park is a vast stretch of natural space in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's a treasure to Angelenos. People get married the...

Will we finally see an end to the war in Gaza?

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the time we publish this episode, Israel's government has yet to accept the terms of the long-negotiated and hard fought ceasefire deal announced y...

America's place in the world during a second Trump term

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet picks are in full swing on Capitol Hill with a number of them appearing before the Senate this week.Nominees...

Keeping America Safe: CIA Director Burns reflects

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On a shelf in his office at CIA headquarters, Director Bill Burns keeps a tiny scaled model of a house. It's the house in Kabul, Afghanistan, where Al...

What happens when wildland fire reaches the city?

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Wildfire" is the word we tend to use when we talk about what Los Angeles has been dealing with the past week. But Lori Moore-Merrell, the U.S. Fire A...

On the way out: Transportation Sec. Buttigieg looks back on achievements, challenges

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From handling crises in the rail and airline industries to overseeing the distribution of billions of dollars in infrastructure funding, Transportatio...

As longtime housing activist retires, the fight to end homelessness continues.

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While the debate over homeless policy plays out across the country, Project HOME has offered resources to homeless people in Philadelphia for decades....

'He saved our lives.' A former US hostage reflects on Carter's legacy

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jimmy Carter's four years in the White House were largely defined by an event that took place halfway through his term. On November 4th, 1979 Irani...

Wildfires displace thousands and ravage greater Los Angeles

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Extremely dry conditions coupled with high winds have led to an explosive wildfire situation in southern California. Multiple fires have erupted acro...

Wild weather spreads across the U.S.

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Washington, D.C., the federal government is closed – as are most of the schools in the area. That's because the first major snow storm in about t...

The battle over the truth of January 6

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happened on January 6, 2021? There have been news reports, documentaries and witness testimonies all trying to put that question to rest. But des...

Elon Musk wades into European politics

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Billionaire Elon Musk begins 2025 as one of the most influential people in the United States. He's developed a close relationship with President-elect...

What Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech tells us about his presidency.

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As president, Jimmy Carter promised always to tell the American people the truth about what was happening in the country. We'll look at how that affec...

Can we prevent deadly truck attacks like the one in New Orleans?

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New Orleans is still reeling from the New Year's Day attack that killed 14 people on Bourbon Street. We ask a counterterrorism expert how attacks like...

The lessons author Kelly Corrigan took away from a challenging year.

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

So much can happen in a year. While we all wish for a happy New Year, that's not always the case. We talk to author and podcaster Kelly Corrigan about...

What we learn when things fall apart

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Most years bring both good and bad experiences. But sometimes, it's the challenges of a bad year that show us our hidden strengths.Learn more about sp...

How to put your drinking on ice this January

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, more and more Americans embark on Dry January – a whole month of giving up alcohol.It's easy to imagine the benefits: no hangovers, bett...

Jimmy Carter's complex legacy

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.He was the nation's 39th president, in office from 1977 to 1981.He will of course be remember...

He left everything to flee war in Syria. What does the war's end mean for his future?

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Syria's dictatorship fell in early December, celebrations broke out around the world - including nearly 6,000 miles away, in Toledo, Ohio. That's...

Your guide to financial self-care in 2025

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The holiday season is joyous – and also expensive.From steep flight prices to a laundry list of presents to buy, when January 1st rolls around, you ...

For a happier new year, rethink your resolutions.

26 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It can be hard to resist jumping on the whole "New Year, New You" bandwagon. But if you've decided 2025 is your year to make some changes, we have tip...

What makes a true Christmas movie?

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What makes a movie a Christmas movie?When the movie Die Hard was released on Blu Ray a few years back, the studio called it "the greatest Christmas st...

What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a pe...

The numbers were good, but feelings were bad: The US economy in 2024

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By most objective measures, the US economy is in good shape. Employers added about 2 million jobs this year. Unemployment is low. In much of the count...

In a year of global elections, what did we learn about the state of democracy?

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It was a hectic election season in America, to put it lightly, and we're not alone. What do this year's elections across the world say about the state...

Is "The Godfather: Part II," the perfect sequel?

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now. Some s...

How Netanyahu survived another tumultuous year

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the start of this year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing a crisis. Just a few months before, Hamas had breached Israel's border ...

It's never too late to get fit

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does fitness and movement change across the lifespan? According to NPR's Allison Aubrey, who covers health and wellness, the official recommenda...

Holidays shopping brings out the scammers. Here's how to stay safe

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With just a handful of shopping days until Christmas, millions are making last minute online purchases. Unfortunately 'tis also the season for financi...

Can Trump turn promises into policy?

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States in just over a month.Throughout his campaign, Trump laid out a list. Things he plans to a...

A legend weighs in on a Christmas classic

15 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, Christmas songs are dominating our playlists this week. There's the one you start hearing in October, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for C...

Can Syria avoid another slide into autocracy?

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The brutal regime of Bashar al Assad fell over the weekend with dizzying speed. Syrians within the country and around the world burst into celebration...

Wray is out. Patel may be in. What's it mean for the FBI?

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced yesterday that he will resign before President-elect Trump takes office. This comes after Trump announced he ...

The unique needs of young cancer survivors are often overlooked

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the triumphs of modern medicine is that children diagnosed with cancer today have an 85 percent chance of surviving at least five years.That is...

A suspect is in custody. Some Americans are celebrating his alleged actions

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, police arrested 26 year old Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania. He's...

What Assad's Fall Means For The World

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For half a century, one family has brutally ruled Syria. Nearly overnight, that reign ended. Syria is not only a home to millions of people. It's also...

The enormous consequences Trump's tariffs could have

08 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You never know if president-elect Donald Trump is bluffing, but when you have billions of dollars on the line, you have to take him seriously. So car ...

"The Return" tells an ancient story that still resonates today.

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An epic poem and an epic reunion come to the big screen. The Return looks for new meaning in Homer's ancient story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca — ...

Insurgents gain ground in Syria. What happens now?

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Syrian anti-government insurgents claim they have entered the city of Hama — a major Syrian government stronghold.This continues their momentum over...

Can Pete Hegseth's nomination survive?

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the time we publish this episode, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick to run the Pentagon, is struggling to hold onto his nomination. There'...

Will Trump's next term make him richer?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just before Donald Trump took office the first time, he held a press conference, announcing that he would turn over control of his business empire to ...