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Chapter 1: What is the focus of the Shortwave podcast?
Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave podcast from NPR.
Chapter 2: What happened after the death of Pope Francis?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Local parishioners gathered to pray and light candles at a church in Buenos Aires shortly after the death of Pope Francis was announced today. Francis was the first Latin American pope, and his legacy resonated deeply in his homeland, Argentina. In Vatican City... Bells tolled at St.
Peter's Basilica as crowds flooded to the square to pay tribute to the Pope. Francis is being remembered for his humility and his unwavering commitment to the poor and marginalized. The Vatican has released the official cause of the Pope's death, and PR's Jason DeRose has the details.
Chapter 3: What is the cause of Pope Francis' death?
The Vatican News Agency says the cause of Pope Francis' death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse. The director of the Vatican's health office issued the official certification. According to the medical report, the pope had a prior history of acute respiratory failure caused by double pneumonia, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
Earlier this year, Francis was hospitalized for more than a month due to pneumonia. As late as Sunday, he attended Easter Mass and met with world leaders and the faithful at the Vatican. Pope Francis was 88 years old. Jason DeRose, NPR News.
Chapter 4: How will the Catholic Church choose the next pope?
With the death of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church now begins the ancient and secretive process of choosing his successor. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports Francis opened up the College of Cardinals globally.
He has appointed Catholic cardinals from parts of the world that had never been represented at the Vatican. So now what happens is when these 100-plus cardinals meet in Rome, probably within the next week or so, many of them don't know each other. So it's all bets are off of who the next pope could be.
Chapter 5: What are the implications of President Trump's comments on the Federal Reserve?
NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reporting from Rome. Stocks on Wall Street tumbled today as President Trump renewed his attacks on the chairman of the Federal Reserve. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
Chapter 6: How are tariffs affecting U.S. interest rates?
President Trump took to social media once again to complain the Federal Reserve has been too slow to lower interest rates. Trump's own tariffs are making it more difficult for the Fed to cut rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned last week, taxing nearly everything the U.S. imports is is likely to push inflation higher, at least temporarily.
Trump dismissed that threat and belittled Powell, calling the Fed chairman, quote, a major loser. Investors who were already rattled by the president's trade war are not likely to be reassured by his attacks on the central bank. Oil prices fell on fears of a global economic slowdown, and the yield on 10-year treasuries rose. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 971 points. The Nasdaq was down 415. This is NPR News in Washington. Beijing is threatening to retaliate against any country that negotiates a trade deal with the U.S. that hurts China. The governments of Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have been holding talks with the U.S. since President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports.
Veterans Affairs officials recently issued a memo in response to widespread concern that mental health therapists would not have privacy due to overcrowding at VA facilities. NPR's Katia Riddle reports.
The memo appears to mandate that VA therapists have private spaces. It follows reporting from NPR suggesting clinicians at the VA would have to conduct telehealth therapy sessions with headsets and shared offices. Lynn Bufka is with the American Psychological Association. The organization raised alarm about privacy.
Confidentiality between the patient and the clinician can be significant. protected with things like four walls and a door so that people aren't seeing who's with the therapist or hearing what's being said.
The VA has said repeatedly that veterans will be guaranteed private therapy sessions. Katie Aretto, NPR News.
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering changes to how it tracks carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Such gases are the main cause of climate change. The EPA currently requires thousands of factories and other industrial sites to report their greenhouse gas emissions, but now the agency is considering changing those guidelines.
Some industrial sites could be exempted from the reporting rules. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.
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