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Chapter 1: What do Americans think about the current gas prices and economy?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. A new poll from NPR, PBS News, and Marist shows that 81 percent of Americans say gas prices are a strain on their household budgets, and a majority say that the economy is not working well for them personally. NPR's Domenico Montanaro has more on the political implications.
Our poll finds Democrats with a 10-point advantage on the congressional ballot test. That's when we ask who people would vote for if the congressional elections were held today in their district. 52% say a Democrat, 42% say a Republican. Democrats also have the advantage on enthusiasm. 61% say that they're enthusiastic, very enthusiastic to vote in these midterms.
Just 47% of those who voted for Trump in 2024 say the same in most years. Those would be the kinds of things indicative of a pretty big election wave. That could be. It's why the Senate, for example, looks within reach for Democrats, even if it is still a reach. I mean, we'll see what happens. Nothing is guaranteed.
Chapter 2: How are congressional elections shaping up for Democrats in 2026?
NPR's Domenico Montanaro reporting. In Tennessee, Republicans unveiled new congressional maps today in an effort to eliminate the state's last Democratic-held congressional seat. From member station WPLN, Mariana Bacchia reports.
The proposal would split Memphis and Shelby County into three districts. If passed, Tennessee's nine congressional districts would all be represented by Republicans, in a state where roughly a third of voters support Democrats. Tennessee's ninth congressional district, which has historically represented Memphis in the U.S.
House, would stretch from the bottom of the city to the edge of Nashville, a distance spanning nearly 300 miles. The new maps come on the heels of Indiana's primaries, where several Republicans who opposed President Trump's redistricting plan for the state lost to Trump-backed challengers.
The president has urged Tennessee and other GOP-led states to redraw their maps as part of his mid-decade redistricting push. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bacayau in Nashville.
CNN founder Ted Turner has died at 87. He started the first U.S. superstation and owned sports teams, including the Atlanta Braves. The media mogul previously announced he had Lewy body dementia, a degenerative disease. NPR's David Folkenflik has more.
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Chapter 3: What changes are being proposed in Tennessee's congressional maps?
Ted Turner is perhaps best known for starting CNN.
He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder, and he thought there would be a market for it.
That's Eason Jordan, who rose to be CNN's chief news executive. The place operated on the cheap and on the fly.
Look, we were young and at times very shoddy, but we were the only game in town and we did some extraordinary things.
CNN came into its own with coverage of the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the first Gulf War. In 1996, with the launch of rivals Fox News and MSNBC, Turner sold his holdings. He gave a billion to fund the United Nations and helped to inspire the giving pledge from philanthropic giants Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. David Fogenflick, NPR News.
This is NPR. A federal civil rights agency filed a discrimination lawsuit against the New York Times claiming that it passed over a white male employee for promotion in favor of a lesser qualified woman of color to meet diversity goals. The New York Times calls the lawsuit politically motivated.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit on behalf of an editor after he didn't get the role of deputy real estate editor in 2025, alleging gender and racial discrimination. Pollinating insects influence human health by pollinating our crops. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, new research in the journal Nature shows that influence can be surprisingly large.
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Chapter 4: What impact did Ted Turner have on the media landscape?
Nature is good for human health. Trees clear the air, wetlands filter water, and insects pollinate food. But moving beyond these generalities to specifics has been hard. A research team in Nepal zoomed in by tracing the links between pollinators, crops, and farmers. They found that insects are responsible for more than 20% of total vitamin E, A, and folate intake in these areas.
As insects decline worldwide from climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use, the researchers say human health could suffer. But the study also found that simple actions to help pollinators, like planting wildflowers, can help reverse these declines and keep communities healthy. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.
Pope Leo will inaugurate the central tower of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica during his visit to Spain next month. The June celebration will mark 100 years since the death of the church's architect, Anthony Gaudi. The church is still incomplete. The first stone was placed in 1882. This is NPR News.
Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a question.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of the discrimination lawsuit against the New York Times?
What happens if we refund tariffs? Why are groceries so expensive? At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious because the forces shaping our world can be hard to see. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts and start seeing how the economy really works.