I'm Linda Holmes and I'm Stephen Thompson. There's more stuff to watch and read these days than any one person can get to.

That's why we make pop culture happy hour.

Twice a week we sort through the nonsense, share reactions and give you the lowdown on what's worth your precious time and what's not.

Find pop culture happy hour on the NPR-1 app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, this is Maggie. Currently trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro towards Uru Peak.

This podcast was recorded at 125 Eastern on Thursday, September 28th, aka three days after Tamar Keith's birthday.

So things may change by the time you hear it. Keep up with all of NPR's political coverage at NPR.org on the NPR-1 app and on your local public radio station.

Okay, here's the show.

Hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast here with our weekly roundup of political news.

The coyote that is the Senate Republican caucus was once again vested by the road runner that is the Affordable Care Act repeal.

Now, Republicans are moving on to overhauling the tax code.

These tax cuts are significant. There's never been tax cuts like what we're talking about.

Meanwhile, the candidate backed by President Trump and Senate Republican leaders lost by a lot in Alabama this week.

We'll try to make sense of that. And more than a week after Hurricane Maria, much of Puerto Rico is still without power and drinking water.

And as the situation gets more dire, it's becoming a bigger focus in Washington.

I'm Scott DeTro, I cover Congress for NPR.

I'm Tamar Keith, I cover the White House.

I'm Mara Laias and a National Political Correspondent.

All right, and we are going to start right with Puerto Rico. It's been over a week since Hurricane Maria hit the island and still power is out almost everywhere.

Nearly half of Puerto Ricans don't have drinking water.

People are running out of food and medicine.

It is increasingly clear the island is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

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