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China and the US were supposed to hold diplomatic talks over the weekend. Instead they sparred over a Chinese balloon that entered American airspace before it was shot down. Where do relations between Washington and Beijing go from here? This wasn't the first time a Chinese surveillance balloon flew into into U.S. airspace. NPR's Greg Myre talks us through past incidents. Then we speak with Jessic...

Football is the most watched sport in the US - and one of the most profitable. The NFL reported that last year, the Super Bowl was watched by two-thirds of Americans. But for some, the popularity and success of the sport are overshadowed by its continuing problems around race - from its handling of players kneeling in protest against the killing of unarmed Black people, to lawsuits over racially b...

More than three years since the start of the COVID pandemic, infectious disease experts are studying other viruses with pandemic potential. Their goal is to understand how pandemics begin and how they can be prevented. This is the focus of the NPR series "Hidden Viruses: How Pandemics Really Begin." In this episode, NPR's Ari Daniel takes us to Bangladesh, where researchers studied a dangerous vir...

The Memphis Police Department has disbanded its special SCORPION unit, after five of the unit's officers were involved in the death of Tyre Nichols. But similar units are still operating across the U.S. Specialized police units are often created after a spike in crime, as officials come under pressure to do something about it. The units often operate with little oversight and develop a reputation...

Pamela Anderson has had an incredibly rich, and varied, career. She's an actress, the author of several books, and a prominent activist - especially for animal rights. But many people still see her primarily as a sex symbol, the archetypal "blonde bombshell." In a new memoir titled "Love, Pamela", Anderson takes control of the narrative, telling her story in her own words. In participating regions...

Signs of a forthcoming recession seem to be everywhere: from grocery stores, where food prices are soaring, to Fortune 500 companies, where workers are being let go by the thousand. Survey after survey shows fears of recession are high. And if one does come, navigating the downturn can be tricky. NPR's Arezou Rezvani shares advice from economists and personal finance experts on how to prepare for...

While some countries are seeing their populations decline and grow older, others are growing fast. That has economic implications. Could migration help? NPR's Emily Feng reports on the long term consequences of China's shrinking population. We also hear from Lant Pritchett, research director with the think tank Labor Mobility Partnerships, about the ways in which migration could help tackle popula...

Americans have grown accustomed to hearing about the latest mass shooting. And recently news coverage has been focused on two tragic events in California — Last weekend eleven people were killed and nine injured in Monterey Park near Los Angeles. And on Monday, seven people were killed and one wounded in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. In the past 72 hours alone, seventy-one people wer...

Five police officers have been charged with murder and other crimes in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death this month in Memphis. Nichols, who was Black, died after a traffic stop. All five of the officers facing charges are Black. Since the deaths of George Floyd in 2020 and so many others, many police departments have vowed to diversify their forces as a way to help end police brutality and racism w...

Maya Moore stepped away from her stellar basketball career to help free Jonathan Irons, a man who was incarcerated for over two decades on a wrongful conviction. With the help of Moore and her family, Irons was exonerated and released from prison in 2020. Over the course of working on his case, Moore and Irons developed a friendship that turned into love and the pair got married shortly after Iron...

For months, Ukraine pressed western allies for state-of-the-art tanks. For months, Germany and the U.S. resisted. That changed Wednesday. Both countries have now promised to send tanks to Ukraine. The German-made Leopard II and American-made Abrams tanks are considered the best in the world. NPR's Rob Schmitz in Berlin and Greg Myre in Washington explain how Ukraine's allies changed their minds. I...

Since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion, some Muslims in America have sought a better understanding of what their faith says about abortion. NPR's Linah Mohammad reports on the diversity of views within Islam about the issue. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at conside...

The people of Monterey Park, California, would normally be celebrating Lunar New Year right now, one of the biggest holidays of the year in a community that is two-thirds Asian. Instead, the city is mourning a terrible loss. Ailsa Chang went to the site of Saturday night's mass shooting in Monterey Park to speak to people there about the tragedy's impact on their community, which is often describe...

Admit it - you've fantasized about what you would do if you hit the lottery and exactly how you would spend your millions - or billions. Spending a few dollars for a chance at a massive jackpot seems irresistible. Roughly half of all Americans buy at least one lottery ticket per year, despite the nearly impossible odds of winning. But some people take it much further. Unlike casino games and sport...

In China, huge numbers of people are expected to travel and gather with family this weekend for the start of the Lunar New Year, just as the country experiences a major surge in COVID infections. NPR's Emily Feng reports that the holiday may be bittersweet for some. We also hear reporting from NPR's Wynne Davis, who collected recipes to help ring in the Lunar New Year . And in Ukraine, many Orthod...

The Justice Department is investigating the mishandling of classified documents linked to President Biden and to his predecessor, former President Trump. Both cases raise questions about how classified information should be handled. NPR's Greg Myre explains how classified material is handled at the White House, and how that compares to other government agencies. And we speak to Yale law professor...

The U.S. will hit its borrowing limit on Thursday, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and her department will need to take "extraordinary measures" to avoid default. That means the clock is ticking for Congress to take action to raise the debt ceiling. For the moment, though, Democrats and Republicans are in a staring match. House Republicans say they won't raise the limit without signi...

If you could change one thing in your life to become a happier person — like your income, a job, your relationships or your health — what would make the biggest difference? That's the question Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Robert Waldinger has been attempting to answer through decades of research. He's the director of "the world's longest-running scientific study of happiness," and he spoke with Ari Sh...

The soccer world was shocked by the death of renowned U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl at the World Cup in Qatar. Then came the conspiracy theories claiming his death was caused by the COVID vaccine. Wahl died from an aortic aneurysm. His wife, epidemiologist Dr. Céline Gounder, gave multiple interviews and released Wahl's autopsy results to combat the disinformation. We ask Gounder about her dec...

The start of a new year can push us to think about how we take care of ourselves – our bodies or our minds. And for some people that can mean seeking help for mental health issues like depression and anxiety. In some ways, being open about pursuing treatment for mental health concerns is becoming more commonplace. But for men who are socialized not to express vulnerability and keep emotions in che...

This is a pivotal moment in the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces continue to have the upper hand on the battlefield, but there are real questions about what comes next and what an acceptable end to this war could look like. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmyrto Kuleba provides his assessment on the state of the war and the path ahead. And former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice argues for a dr...

People sometimes object when Aubrey Gordon describes herself as fat. It's not that they're disputing her size, she says. Rather, they're acting out on their assumptions about what it means to be a fat person. Gordon is the author of "'You Just Need To Lose Weight' and 19 other Myths about Fat People." In the book, she explores and debunks pervasive societal myths about fat people. In participating...

Destructive flooding caused by torrential rains has created a deadly disaster in California. The death toll rivals the worst wildfires and points to a common cause for both: drought. Brian Ferguson with California's Office of Emergency Services explains how a "weather whiplash" of dry years followed by heavy rain and snow can lead to dangerous outcomes. And NPR's Lauren Sommer reports on how offic...

The attack on Brazil's congress and presidential palace Sunday was reminiscent of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Both are part of a broader transnational extremist movement. We talk about that with Guilherme Casarões of the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, and with NPR correspondents Shannon Bond and Sergio Olmos. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news s...

Parents who have their kids placed in foster care often get a bill to reimburse the state for part of the cost. NPR found that in at least 12 states there are laws that say parents could lose their kids forever if they fail to pay it. We hear about one family in North Carolina who had a child taken away because of an unpaid bill. And NPR investigative correspondent Joseph Shapiro takes a closer lo...