Consider This from NPR

Since the start of his second term, President Trump has been at odds with the federal courts. The protests in Los Angeles are just the latest series of events to raise huge questions about presidential power: in this case, whether the president can use military force to control protests. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge who has a stark warning: that Trump's actions signal of the end of the rule of law in America. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 15 June 2025

Kentucky is one of the poorest states and is likely to see billions of dollars cut from Medicaid and other government benefits if Trump's spending bill becomes law. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series we hear from Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman and Joe Sonka. The two reporters traveled through rural eastern Kentucky to gauge how cuts could impact people who rely on federal assistance and what that means for the health clinics that serve them. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 14 June 2025

Early Friday local time, Israel finally did what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to do for years: It launched a massive attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, killing top military commanders, nuclear scientists and — according to Iran — dozens of Iranian civilians. The attacks have once again plunged the volatile region into uncharted waters. NPR correspondent Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv and NPR's National Security Correspondent Greg Myre discuss what this could mean for the region and for U.S. hopes of a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

Kilmar Abrego Garcia: a name that's become near-synonymous with the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown. Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE agents on March 12th, as he was leaving his job in Baltimore. In the days and months that followed, the fate of the 29-year-old father of three was in the hands of the Trump administration and El Salvador's President. At the time of his arrest the administration alleged he was an active member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13. His family and his legal team deny this. He was deported to a supermax prison in El Salvador despite a protective order that he should remain in the U.S. But then – less than a month after his arrest, a federal judge and then the Supreme Court ruled the government should facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. Now nearly three months after Abrego Garcia was sent to a prison in another country... he's back on US soil. What happens now? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 June 2025

The White House's message on what's happening in Los Angeles is simple: this is what President Trump was elected to do. It is true that polls have found people trust the Republican Party more to handle immigration. A CBS poll taken last week found that 54% approve of Trump's deportation policies. Trump is making a big bet on how far Americans want him to go. He mobilized National Guard and active-duty troops that the mayor and governor say they don't need. The administration says its immigration efforts are focused on criminals. But California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted other people swept up in workplace raids. "A U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, was arrested; a 4-year-old girl, taken; families separated; friends, quite literally, disappearing." Trump is doubling down in Los Angeles. We hear from a conservative immigration analyst who thinks it will work. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Fentanyl and other street drugs killed more than 230,000 people under the age of 35 in the U.S. over the last decade. But now new federal data shows drug deaths among young people are plummeting at an unprecedented rate – saving thousands of lives each year. What's driving the drop, and with federal funding cuts on the horizon, will it continue? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

The last time a President deployed the National Guard over a governor's objections was more than 50 years ago. Over the weekend, President Trump did just that — in California. He ordered 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, where people are protesting federal immigration raids. Today, governor Gavin Newsom said California is suing the Trump administration for what the governor called an unlawful action. Trump called the protesters "insurrectionists"; Vice President JD Vance suggested they constituted an "invasion." What does that signal about where the situation in California is headed? We ask Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2025

Citing a rarely used law, President Trump bypassed California's governor Gavin Newsom, and ordered two thousand national guard troops to Los Angeles for sixty days. It's the first time in 60 years a president has used federal power to deploy national guard troops without the agreement of the state's governor. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and hears how people in the city are reacting. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 8 June 2025

In March, NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson reported on problems with the way federal courts police sexual harassment and bullying. A culture of secrecy made reporting the story particularly difficult. With few protections, many who alleged mistreatment were afraid to speak out. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series, Johnson takes us inside her investigation – and speaks with Consider This host Scott Detrow about the challenge of using anonymous sources to bring accountability to the courts. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 7 June 2025

House Republicans' reconciliation bill, which includes a first-of-its-kind national private school voucher program, is now in the hands of the Senate. The proposal would use the federal tax code to offer vouchers that students could use to attend private secular or religious schools, even in states where voters have opposed such efforts. Debates about voucher programs have raged on throughout the years. But what does the research say? NPR education correspondent Cory Turner unpacks it. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

President Trump has signed a new travel ban. Travelers from 12 countries will be barred from entering the US, and people from an additional seven countries will face partial travel restrictions. The proclamation goes into effect June 9 — and fulfills something Trump has long-promised: to bring back the travel ban from his first term. But that ban was the subject of many legal challenges. Some legal scholars say President Trump has learned a lot since then. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2025

Whether it was her history making win in 2017. Or the history she made as only the second woman elected to lead a country to give birth while IN office. Or her decision to step away from power after leading New Zealand through crisis after crisis. Jacinda Ardern could never be described as a TYPICAL politician. But perhaps the most norm-busting feature of her time as Prime Minister was her rejection of the old ways of leadership. Now as she reflects on her time as Prime Minister of New Zealand Ardern is emphasizing the need to lead with kindness and empathy. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

Tuesday morning brought another shooting near a food distribution site in Gaza — the third in as many days. This time, more than two dozen people were killed as they tried to collect emergency food aid, according to Gaza health officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Israeli military acknowledged firing warning shots at "several suspects" moving toward their position, and fired additional shots at individual suspects who, they said, did not retreat. The violence may have something to do with the way Israel is now managing food distribution in Gaza. It's not how aid is typically given out in war zones. Avril Benoit, CEO of Doctors Without Borders within the U.S., explains what she sees is wrong with the new aid plan in Gaza. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2025

In the past, most military parades in the U.S. were staged to signal the end of a war and welcome home of those who fought. The last major military parade in the nation's capitol was in 1991. It marked the end of the Gulf War. The capital has not seen a military parade like the one planned by President Trump for June 14th in decades - a parade estimated to cost $45 million. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with historian Joshua Zeitz. He's a contributing editor for Politico Magazine and has written about where Trump's parade fits into the American tradition. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

President Trump wants to make a deal with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Putin says Russia wants to engage in peace talks, but Putin has also been ordering the most widespread and violent aerial attacks on Ukraine in years. This has led Trump to criticize Putin more and more in public — a step that's been rare over the course of Trump's two terms in office. Three years into his war on Ukraine, what does Putin really want? It's a question leaders around the world are trying to figure out. To learn more, NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Angela Stent, Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University, Senior Fellow at the Brookings institution — a nonpartisan policy organization in Washington DC — and author of the book "Putin's World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 1 June 2025

The Trump administration has thrown so many curveballs at colleges and universities, it can be hard to keep track. But there's logic behind the many efforts, from cutting research grants to detaining international students involved in activism. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and education correspondent Elissa Nadworny about what's at stake in the federal government's multi-pronged assault on higher education and what the administration hopes to accomplish. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2025

When Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new COVID recommendations this week, it raised questions among clinicians and patients: Will those shots still be available to people who want them — and will insurance cover it? NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, about the CDC's new guidelines for healthy children and pregnant women — and whether they could make it more difficult for these patients to get shots if they want them. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

When ISIS was at its height, its ranks included several hundred Americans. They were often young men radicalized online by savvy marketing that promised free housing and the chance to meet a wife. When the Islamic State collapsed, some of them ended up in huge detention camps in Syria, and the U.S. has been trying to bring them home. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer reports on one American family coping with the aftermath of the child they lost, and the children they found. What happened to the families of the Americans who joined ISIS? Not just the families they left behind in the U.S., but the ones they formed overseas? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2025

NPR and three public radio stations in Colorado sued President Trump on Tuesday over his executive order that seeks to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik breaks down the suit, and NPR CEO Katherine Maher answers Mary Louise Kelly's answers about the lawsuit, potential fall out, and future of NPR and public media. And a reminder about how NPR covers news about NPR: All Things Considered host Kelly and media correspondent Folkenflik, as well as the editors and other journalists working on stories about NPR all operate without involvement from corporate officials or news executives. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2025

It's a classic Washington power move — the late-on-Friday news dump. This past Friday, at 4:30pm, start of a long holiday weekend, about half the staff of the National Security Council got emails asking them to leave by 5pm. Dozens of people abruptly dismissed. The restructuring of the NSC as Secretary of State and National Security advisor Marco Rubio has characterized it — continues a trend in this second term for President Trump, of radical downsizing. The Trump administration plans to cut thousands of intelligence and national security jobs across the government. The US Government has long relied on scores of intelligence officials across the government to keep America safe. Trump wants many of them gone – what could that mean for security at home and abroad? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 26 May 2025

President Trump's spreading of the false claim that South Africa is perpetrating a genocide against its white inhabitants is just the latest example of misinformation making its way from corners of the internet into presidential statements or even policy. This isn't the first time that a falsehood that began on the fringes of the right-wing made its way to the Trump White House. NPR's Scott Detrow and Lisa Hagen examine how these beliefs have been able to reach the Oval Office. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 25 May 2025

The Supreme Court has become the focal point of the legal battle over President Donald Trump's executive authority – and presidential power more broadly. Few reporters are as prepared as NPR's Nina Totenberg to report on this unique moment. Over the last fifty years, Totenberg established herself as the preeminent Supreme Court reporter in America. She's broken countless stories – including allegations of sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas during the justice's 1991 confirmation hearings. For this week's Reporter's Notebook host Scott Detrow speaks with Totenberg about this crucial moment in the court's history and consequential cases she has covered over the years. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2025

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem got a pop quiz at a senate hearing this week. The question came from Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, of New Hampshire. Hassan asked Noem to to explain habeas corpus. For the record, habeas corpus is the legal principle, enshrined in the Constitution, that protects people from illegal detention. The reason that this bit of Latin is under discussion – is because the Trump administration says it's considering suspending habeas corpus. This core constitutional protection has been an obstacle to the President's mass deportation plan. Habeas corpus is a principle that's hundreds of years older than America itself. What would it mean if the President suspended it? And could he, under the Constitution? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2025

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim worked for the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. This weekend, they were slated to go to Jerusalem — Milgrim was to meet Lischinsky's family for the first time. According to Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Lischinsky had bought a ring and was planning to propose. Instead, they were gunned down outside an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. The killing comes aside a rise in antisemitic incidents. Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, reacts to the news. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

Federal regulators are now limiting the number of flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. This comes after a harrowing month for the air traffic controllers who work the airspace around it. On April 28th, communications and radar systems went dark at the air traffic control facility in Philadelphia, where controllers manage the airspace around Newark. Since then there have been more outages. Hundreds of flights in and out of Newark have been cancelled or delayed since that first outage. Now the Federal Aviation Administration is slowing the pace of arrivals and departures. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy insists that will help. Still, these incidents have raised big questions. How did the mess in Newark get as bad as it did? And, What it will take to fix an aging air traffic control system. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

The U.S. economy is in flux. And for millions of Americans, a new line item in their budget includes repaying federal student loans. Making ends meet isn't just tough for student loan borrowers. Groceries cost a lot more now than they did in 2020. Tariff disputes make it difficult to plan future purchases and they can make it harder to find everyday items at affordable prices. Housing — whether it's your mortgage or rent — remains expensive. And the job market — well that's tough, too. Unpredictable inflation, added expenses, a volatile stock market – the health of the U.S. economy is anything but certain right now. How can you manage? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2025

Joe Biden has stage four metastatic prostate cancer. The former president made that announcement Sunday afternoon. It came just days before the publication of "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again." An explosive book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Original Sin chronicles what the authors say was Biden's steep physical and cognitive decline. Joe Biden repeatedly insisted he was capable of serving a second term. "Original Sin" argues his advisors and his family went to great lengths to hide that he wasn't. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2025

On the first major foreign trip of his second term, President Trump met with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. His arrival was greeted with fanfare across the region — there were motorcades featuring Teslas, long processions of Arabian horses and camels, and traditional dance and musical performances. According to the White House, Saudi Arabia agreed to invest $600 billion in the United States. Qatar placed a huge order for Boeing Passenger jets. But the biggest announcement of Trump's trip was a bit of surprise deal-making: after more than 20 years, Trump said, the U.S. will lift sanctions on Syria. President Trump and interim Syrian President al-Sharaa met for tea and also discussed the possibility that Syria could recognize Israel as a sovereign state. NPR's Scott Detrow and Hadeel Al-Shalchi examine how this news was received in Israel, whether this moment be a critical turning point for Middle East peace and ask, can Trump actually deliver on these promises? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2025

Earlier this week, the White House announced that the U.S. and China had agreed to lower the reciprocal tariffs they had put in place in April – but only for ninety days. As the trade war enters a new and uncertain phase, host Scott Detrow speaks with veteran NPR China correspondent John Ruwitch about this unprecedented moment. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2025

It's been six months since President Trump first announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which has dramatically shrunk parts of the federal government. And with so many individual stories about federal workers losing their jobs around the country, the big picture can sometimes look blurry. A team of NPR reporters has been looking at agencies — from food inspectors to nuclear scientists to firefighters and more — and today, we'll connect some of the dots on how DOGE cuts have impacted workers, and hear how Americans far beyond Washington may feel the effects of these cuts. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2025

President Trump's order that would end automatic citizenship for the children of many categories of immigrants has been blocked from going into effect by three separate federal judges. Those injunctions have been upheld by three separate appeals courts. So Thursday's case at the Supreme Court was really about two questions: Whether the constitution guarantees birthright citizenship and whether judges can issue nationwide injunctions against federal policies. University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, author of the book You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers, followed the arguments and breaks down clues that point to the Justices' thinking. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

Nearly half a million people in Gaza now face starvation, according to a new report from the IPC, the international panel of famine experts who advise the United Nations. For more than ten weeks, Israel has halted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages. Israel accuses Hamas of seizing aid, selling it on the black market and using aid distribution to reinforce its control of Gaza. The UN says hundreds of truckloads of lifesaving supplies are waiting at the border. Meanwhile, inside Gaza, food is scarce. Humanitarian groups like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) exhausted supplies of basic staples weeks ago, forcing them to shut down their kitchens and bakeries, and everyday Palestinians are grinding up pasta and lentils to make flour for bread. Antoine Renard of the WFP says when he was in Gaza last week, wheat flour was selling for $10 a pound. Juana Summers talks with Renard about what he's seen in Gaza, and what's next for the people there. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2025

As a neighbor of Ukraine's and host to more than 2 million of its war refugees, Poland has seen, heard and felt what Russia is capable of, and it's now preparing for the worst. This year, Poland will spend nearly 5% of its GDP on defense, more than any other NATO member, including the U.S. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports on the country's plan to train every adult in Poland for war. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2025

Last week, the Gates Foundation announced it would spend more than $200 billion over the next 20 years — including nearly all the personal wealth of chair Bill Gates — and sunset operations in 2045. The Foundation says its goals are combating maternal and infant mortality, treating infectious diseases and lifting millions out of poverty. The announcement comes at a time when the U.S. is drastically reducing foreign aid commitments under the Trump administration, and other wealthy nations are also cutting global health funding. But in an interview with NPR about his decision, Gates said he remains optimistic that new scientific advances create opportunities to save lives. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

The election of the first American pope is a remarkable moment in the two thousand year history of the Catholic Church. But in choosing his name, it's clear Leo is looking forward. NPR's Scott Detrow and Jason DeRose look at what his selection means for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in both the U.S. and around the world. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 May 2025

When NPR listeners think of reports from Italy or the Vatican, usually one name comes to mind: Sylvia Poggioli. She covered much more, of course, over the years - reporting across Europe and on the war in the Balkans. But as Poggioli tells host Scott Detrow, for this week's Reporter's Notebook series, it was the Vatican, that in some ways, was her most challenging assignment. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 10 May 2025

It's been more than two years since civil war exploded in Sudan. By some estimates the conflict has killed as many as 150-thousand people, and displaced millions more. In April, NPR International Correspondent Emmanuel Akinwotu gained rare access to the capital city, Khartoum, and reports how the once vibrant city of 6 million has been ravaged by war. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2025

The cardinals have elected a new pope: Robert Prevost, a cardinal born in Chicago. He has taken the name Leo XIV. He is the first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church. NPR's Scott Detrow has been in Rome all week. He talks through what we might expect from Pope Leo XIV with NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose, and former, longtime NPR Rome correspondent Sylvia Poggioli. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Newark Liberty International Airport has been a mess the past week, with hundreds of flights cancelled and hundreds more delayed. It was triggered in part by an incident on April 28, when air traffic controllers for the airport experienced a radar and communications blackout. They were unable to reach approaching planes. There were no accidents, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later told reporters that the outage lasted for 30 seconds. After that incident, several air traffic controllers took time off to deal with the stress and trauma. That, on top of bad weather, a runway that's closed for repair and an already short-staffed air traffic controller corps, led to a lot of disruption. David Grizzle, the former chief operating officer and head of air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, says what happened at Newark isn't surprising, given decades-old staffing and technology issues. He explains what it would take to fix air traffic control in the U.S. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

On the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope, some of the biggest questions hanging in the air have to do with LGBTQ Catholics. Will the church continue the path of outreach charted by Pope Francis, softening its harsh positions? Will it allow LGBTQ Catholics to fully participate in the church? Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, has built a ministry aimed at making gay, lesbian and transgender people feel more welcome in the Catholic church and advised Francis on the issue. He says Francis himself changed the church, but so did the many LGBTQ Catholics who have come out — changing the church at the level of the family and parish. That trend, he says, will continue. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

On the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope, some of the biggest questions hanging in the air have to do with LGBTQ Catholics. Will the church continue the path of outreach charted by Pope Francis, softening its harsh positions? Will it allow LGBTQ Catholics to fully participate in the church? The Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, has built a ministry aimed at making gay, lesbian and transgender people feel more welcome in the Catholic church and advised Francis on the issue. He says Francis himself changed the church, but so did the many LGBTQ Catholics who have come out — changing the church at the level of the family and parish. That trend, he says, will continue. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

President Trump's rapid-fire spending cuts have affected communities all over the country–including strongholds of his supporters. One of them is Rising Sun, Maryland. The town had won two FEMA grants designed to mitigate the effects of catastrophic flooding. And though the area voted overwhelmingly to support Trump's re-election, his administration has now cancelled the program that funded those grants. Across the state in the Trump-voting town of Emmitsburg, Maryland, a similar scenario is playing out. The town is home to the National Fire Academy–a sort of national war college for training firefighters in America. In March, the Trump administration abruptly cancelled classes at the academy. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports that locals are concerned about how that will affect the town's economy–and emergency preparedness across the country. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Days before the beginning of the conclave to select the next pope, NPR's Scott Detrow is in Rome. He speaks with Sylvia Poggioli about the rituals and ceremonies involved in the upcoming election at the Vatican. We also hear from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, about this moment for the Catholic Church, and what it's like being a seasoned veteran of the conclave process. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 4 May 2025

Over the past few months, world leaders and diplomats have talked about grand plans for ending the war in Ukraine. But what about daily life there right now? For our reporter's notebook series, we'll get on the ground with NPR correspondent Joanna Kakissis, who's been living and working in Ukraine for almost the entire war. We'll hear how everyday Ukrainians have adapted to a new normal. People go to work and kids go to school, but most nights Russian attacks continue. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2025

The U.S. has sent people it has detained — people it calls terrorists — to a prison overseas — indefinitely. This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos." Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

Americans are rushing to car dealerships as they worry about what President Trump's tariffs will do to car prices in the coming months. New vehicle sales have been increasing steadily this year, and they jumped in March, according to market research firm Cox Automotive. That's the month when President Trump announced upcoming auto tariffs. Shoppers are racing to buy cars this spring because they believe that prices are going to go up in the summer and fall. And experts say if tariffs remain in place, that's likely. It's a gamble President Trump is making – with the hope his tariff strategy will lead domestic car companies to make more vehicles at home. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley, who was at Ford's Kentucky truck plant, about Trump's tariffs, and Ford's future. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

President Trump is pushing the boundaries of executive power in nearly every area of policy. From his trade war, to immigration, to education, to the reductions in the federal workforce. Many of his actions are direct challenges to the Courts and to Congress. Those two branches of government are designed to act as checks on the president. Trump has governed largely by unilateral executive action... and left lawmakers on the sidelines. NPR's Juana Summers talks with political correspondents Mara Liasson and Susan Davis about the changing power dynamic. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

An NPR investigation has been following President Trump's efforts to retaliate against his perceived enemies since he returned to the Oval Office in January. NPR's Tom Dreisbach found that Trump's targets are already facing the consequences - including criminal investigations, attempted deportations, and firings. Trump has used government power to target more than 100 people or institutions across American society – and they're all feeling the consequences. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2025

About one in 31 children in the U.S. has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to CDC data released this month. When Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed these findings, he declared that autism is a rapidly growing "epidemic" in the U.S. and vowed to identify the "environmental toxin" he says is to blame. Which of Kennedy's remarks rang true to those in the autism community? Jill Escher is the president of the National Council on Severe Autism, and had both gratitude and criticism for the new initiative. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have become some of the biggest issues facing Canadians as they head to the polls in their federal election on April 28th. Scott Detrow speaks to Lloyd Axworthy, a member of the Liberal party, who served as Canada's top diplomat between 1996-2000, about the schism between the two longtime North American allies and how Canada's next prime minister can reposition the country's foreign and economic policy in the face of growing tensions with the United States. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2025