Consider This from NPR

PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has saved 26 million lives since President George W. Bush launched the program in 2003.  But the Trump administration has made major changes to the way the U.S. distributes foreign aid, disrupting HIV care — and leaving many health workers uncertain about the future of PEPFAR. What do those changes to foreign assistance mean for the fight aga...

The FIFA 2026 World Cup kicks off in June and 11 American host cities are getting ready for an influx of fans. Juliette Kayyem, a national security expert and former DHS official, examines how the partial government shutdown has impacted preparedness for the mega event. For sponsor-free episodes of  Consider This,  sign up for C onsider This+  via Apple Podcasts or at  plus.npr.org . Email us at ...

President Trump has called the affordability crisis a hoax, but the data shows the burden of rising costs really matters to Americans. NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks about covering affordability issues and meeting people who struggle to find secure housing - or enough food to eat.  For sponsor-free episodes of  Consider This,  sign up for C onsider This+  via Apple Podcasts or at  plus.npr.org . Emai...

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the global economy’s major arteries. It had been closed to most commercial traffic for about 6 weeks up to today. The reopening is good news for hundreds of ships that have been stuck.  But questions remain about the safety of the passage. Questions, like how many underwater mines are still out there? Or what happens if the ceasefire falls apart?  And those questions...

Almost a decade after the height of the #MeToo movement, intimacy coordinators are a fixture on film sets. As of this year, the job is now covered by SAG-AFTRA, the labor union that represents actors. Their growing presence on set has led to more demand for intimacy coordinator training programs. NPR visited one of those programs in downtown Los Angeles, and met an assistant director  and a porn a...

Unease is growing in the ranks of the US military. Since President Trump began his second term, his controversial use of the armed forces both at home and abroad has left some service members unsettled and demoralized.  The Iran war made those feelings worse.  For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@np...

Two entertainment and media powerhouses are likely to become one. So why aren’t the artists happy about it? Backlash against a possible merger between the media companies Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery increased this week when more than 2,000 actors, writers and directors signed a letter opposing the deal.  The letter warns that the merger will result in “fewer opportunities for...

Rep. Eric Swalwell, of California, is the latest member of Congress accused of sexual misconduct. How common is a story like this? Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with PBS NewsHour Congressional Correspondent Lisa Desjardins, who reported on the patterns of abuse in Congress eight years ago. In her reporting, Desjardins spoke to former staffers who were working to change the rules around reporting a...

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of both President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, conceded defeat in an historic election in Hungary. The results of the vote will have far reaching consequences, potentially reshaping the central European country's relationship with the EU and laying bare the weaknesses of Orban's style of far-right, nationalist populism. For sponsor-free episodes of ...

It took more than 50 years for humans to return to the moon. Will it take another 50 years before NASA can get back? Fifty-four years.  That is how long it has been since human last traveled beyond Earth’s orbit — since the crew of Apollo 17 left the moon behind in December 1972. This week, NASA’s Artemis II mission changed that. Why did it take so long? And given everything we know about the agen...

As a fragile ceasefire holds in the Middle East, all eyes are turning to Islamabad for high-stakes talks to end the war in Iran. Pakistan has emerged as a key player in bringing Iran and the US to the negotiating table. But will that be enough to bring peace? For sponsor-free episodes of  Consider  This,  sign up for C onsider This+  via Apple Podcasts or at  plus.npr.org . Email us at  considerth...

The landscape of Montgomery, Alabama is a monument to Civil Rights, but is America losing touch with the lessons of that movement? Montgomery, Alabama was the setting for much of the battle for Civil Rights. As the country celebrates its 250 anniversary, NPR’s Debbie Elliot went to Montgomery to see what it can teach us.   For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via...

President Trump is threatening to destroy the nation of Iran if a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is not reached by 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.  “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” The U.S. and Iran are holding indirect talks on ways to pause, or end, the war. But...

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have stood shoulder to shoulder in their war on Iran   — both men have said they want to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, destroy its ballistic missiles and end Tehran’s support for proxy militias across the region. But are they still on the same page on how to end it? Please help us out by completing a short survey telling us what you lik...

After a dramatic rescue of a U.S. airman in Iran, President Trump posted a profanity-laden threat to Iran that if it didn't open the Strait of Hormuz it would be "living in Hell." Representative Madeline Dean, Democrat from Pennsylvania told NPR that Trump's handling of the war in Iran - and the recent budget he proposed to fund it - are troubling and un-American. Please help us out by completing...

As the U.S. pulls out of providing billions of dollars of aid for programs globally, NPR's reporters find out what that looks like on the ground - and how China is moving in to take America's place. Please help us out by completing a short survey telling us what you like and how we could improve our podcast. You can find it right now at  https://npr.org/springsurvey     This episode was produced b...

Some of the most memorable speeches in American history have been delivered in wartime, with presidents seeking to unify the country, explain their strategy and, often, make a moral case for war. But President Trump has always spoken differently than his predecessors, so what does that mean when there’s a war on?   Help us improve Consider This by taking a short, anonymous survey at npr.org/spring...

Attacking civilian infrastructure is a war crime under international law. So when President Trump threatened to attack power plants and potentially all desalination plants in Iran earlier this week, it raised concerns among some legal experts. Kuwaiti officials also accused Iran of destroying one of its desalination plants earlier this week.   If a war crime were to be committed during the conflic...

The quest to reach  the Moon has always been a key part of the American myth. So has the country's embrace of immigrants, and its vision of itself as a defender of democracy around the world. On a day all three are in play, we'll meet the crew headed out toward the moon. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at cons...

A series of Trump administration policy decisions – deportations, tariffs, and the Iran war – are ratcheting up the pressure on American farmers.  It’s a group that tends to support the president, but persistent challenges may test their patience.  For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . This...

Israel’s invasion in Lebanon is rapidly widening and could outlast the war in Iran. People in southern Lebanon are living through a war within a war. The war is of course the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. The war within Lebanon started with a series of strikes from the militant group Hezbollah. They launched rockets and drones from Lebanon into Israel. Israel responded with strikes in Lebano...

At the heart of the war against Iran is a question about the fate of the Iranian government. Adrian Ma speaks with Ramtin Arablouei, host of the NPR podcast Throughline, about what Iranians in the United States want from regime change in Iran - and the history of why. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This,  sign up for C onsider This+  via Apple Podcasts or at  plus.npr.org .  Email us at con...

Americans are keeping their driver’s licenses longer than ever and driving well into their old age. But how long is too long? And who decides when to take away the keys? NPR’s transportation correspondent, Joel Rose, has been looking into those questions and found that there is no single national standard when it comes to older adults and driving. And the laws vary greatly from state to state.   O...

Anytime tensions are high in the Middle East, oil prices can be expected to spike.  So a war in the region is pretty much guaranteed to mean higher prices at the pump. And that is particularly painful for anyone whose living depends on what it costs to fill up. Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR’s economics correspondent Scott Horsley about how the U.S. economy is faring, almost a month since the U...

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has a new book. Unlike much of his public speaking of late – like his record-breaking 25-hour Senate floor speech – it isn’t directly about the politics of the current moment. It’s an argument for civic ideals – for ten virtues he sees as critical to American life, like agency and patriotism, but also vulnerability and humility. What does that mean for his political futur...