Consider This from NPR

The House Select Committee investigating the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol held what is expected to be its final hearing. Committee members voted to refer former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department for prosecution on four criminal charges. They include inciting an insurrection, obstructing an official government proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the Uni...

The world of wine has long had a reputation for snobbery. And it has long been dominated mostly by white men. But that has slowly begun to change. From sommeliers to vineyard owners, the industry is gradually opening up to more people of color and women. Vintner's associations and vineyards have rolled out recruitment plans and scholarships to provide opportunities for equity, diversity, and inclu...

Three years into the pandemic, the world could be on the cusp of the biggest outbreak yet — in China. The country had some of the strictest COVID polices anywhere, but in recent weeks has dramatically eased them. And as China has dropped most testing and quarantine requirements, the virus is spreading largely unchecked. How could that impact China and the world? NPR China affairs correspondent Joh...

Deion Sanders' decision to leave Jackson State for the University of Colorado has stirred a lot of debate in the world of college football. LA Times sports culture critic Tyler Tynes explains why some are saying that Sanders is letting down Historically Black Colleges and Universities by leaving Jackson State. And Washington Post sports writer Liz Clarke breaks down how big money swirls around som...

Each mass shooting has a grim number attached to it. But that number is made up of individuals, each of whom had a full life and a family who continues to cope with their absence. Ten years ago, 26 first graders and staff were murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. In this episode, we make space to think of the individuals who died. We spoke with the parents...

Prosecutors say the former CEO of cryptocurrency giant FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, defrauded investors and customers for years, to the tune of billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday night in the Bahamas, on an extradition request by American authorities. NPR's David Gura unpacks the charges and the ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried's activities at FTX. And Wall Street Journal re...

In November, Huy Tu found out they were one of 11,000 Meta employees being laid off. Tu is allowed to stay in the U.S. through the OPT program, which requires that they be employed. Since there is only a 90-day grace period for employees who are laid off, Tu is now racing to find a new job. That will be especially difficult because nearly 150,000 tech workers have lost their jobs this year, accord...

If you think about Jack the Ripper or In Cold Blood, true crime stories have always fascinated us. But the groundbreaking success of the 2014 podcast Serial sparked a new interest in these sordid stories. Hundreds of true crime podcasts followed in Serial's footsteps, telling tales of the murdered and the missing and the unresolved. Today true crime podcasts dominate weekly podcast charts. But wha...

This week, authorities in Germany arrested more than two dozen suspected far-right extremists over a plot to violently overthrow the government. The plotters were reportedly inspired by QAnon conspiracy theories. NPR's Rob Schmitz walks us through the latest. And German historian and author Katja Hoyer explains why members of Germany's far-right can seem invisible. In participating regions, you'll...

President Biden on Thursday announced the negotiated release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a penal colony in Russia and her return to the U.S. She had been detained since February, when Russian authorities found a small amount of hash oil in vape cartidges that were in her luggage when she arrived in the country. In return, the U.S. released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. NPR's Whi...

In Georgia, Democrat Raphael Warnock held on to his U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican candidate Herschel Walker in a special runoff vote. Warnock's reelection is a big win for Democrats, as it gives them a slightly expanded majority in the Senate. It also further supports the idea that Georgia, a historically red state that Democrats managed to flip in 2020, really is becoming more purple. We...

Jewish ultranationalists are about to have a lot more power in Israel. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to return to office after his far-right coalition won elections last month. And he's already named two of the most incendiary figures in Israeli politics to key positions in the government. The new government could stir internal divisions among Israel's citizens, push to erode the...

It's been more than a year now since many kids across the country returned to their classrooms. And many of them brought grief and trauma with them, too. But some educators just don't feel equipped to support kids who are grieving. NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee speaks with a handful of school mental health professionals who recently attended a special training on grief and trauma. Also in this episode, N...

On Sunday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will return to the field for the first time in nearly two years. This comes after an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine imposed by the NFL after more than two dozen female massage therapists filed allegations against him ranging from sexual misconduct to sexual assault. The allegations stem from incidents that occurred in 2020 and 2021, wh...

It didn't take long for Elon Musk's stated vision for Twitter—a "digital town square" where all legal speech flows freely—to run head long into reality. Namely, the fact that many citizens of that town square want to share inaccurate, racist or violent ideas. Yoel Roth used to lead the team that set the rules for what was allowed on Twitter, and aimed to keep users safe. Not long after Musk took o...

The protests in China may have been silenced, for now. But could this be the start of a new political awakening among young people in the country? Host Juana Summers talks to Yangyang Cheng, a Fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center , and Professor Mary Gallagher, who directs the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan about why this is happening now. In participating r...

The advocacy group Human Rights Campaign reports that in the past year, more than 300 bills targeting LGBTQ rights have been introduced by state legislatures around the U.S. A recent NPR analysis shows that about 15% of those bills were signed into a law. NPR's Melissa Block breaks down the current landscape of anti-LGBTQ legislation. At the same time, a record number of openly LGBTQ candidates we...

Russian attacks have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy and heating infrastructure, threatening to leave millions vulnerable to the approaching bitter cold of winter. Winter will also force both sides to change their tactics on the war's frontlines. NPR's Nathan Rott reports on what leafless trees and frozen fields mean for the battlefield. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news...

Christina Zielke went to an ER in Ohio bleeding profusely while experiencing a miscarriage. This was in early September, before the state's 6-week abortion ban was put on hold by a judge. What happened to her next is an example of how new state abortion laws can affect medical care in emergency situations. Doctors who run afoul of these laws face the threat of felony charges, prison time and the l...

For over a year, we've been working on a series of stories on climate migration that spans thousands of miles and multiple continents. Our team of journalists saw firsthand how climate change is making places like Senegal less habitable. They saw how that's pushing some people to places like Morocco, where they cross international borders in search of a better life. And how that migration is drivi...

Every time stand-up comic Dave Chappelle gets in front of a mic, he seems to reignite a debate over when, or whether, a comedian can go too far. Chappelle has been heavily criticized for jokes about gay people and the trans community. Most recently the comedian came under fire while hosting SNL. During his monologue, he made comments that critics say elevated longstanding, prejudiced tropes agains...

There are two tiny patches of Spain on the African continent. One is a city called Melilla that's surrounded by Morocco and the Mediterranean Sea. The European Union has spent billions to keep migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from crossing the border between Morocco and the Spanish city. This episode, we look at what that means for the people who make it through and for the city they arrive in. Th...

As people across the U.S. celebrate Thanksgiving and enjoy their long holiday weekend, Consider This provides listeners with a list of TV shows and movies to binge over the holiday weekend. One of them is the HBO breakout hit The White Lotus, featuring Michael Imperioli in a lead role for season two of the show. Viewers might best remember Imperioli for his previous role as Christopher Moltisanti...

Hospitals around the country are overwhelmed, but this time it's not just with COVID. Cases of the flu and RSV are also spiking earlier this year. We hear from a pediatrician in Seattle who says it is the worst season she's seen in her 16-year career. And NPR's Rob Stein reports on what infectious disease specialists recommend to stay healthy this season. In participating regions, you'll also hear...

North Korea says it has successfully tested its largest intercontinental ballistic missile. And experts say it could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to targets in the continental United States. But what is North Korea's ultimate goal? And how can the United States and its allies deter Pyongyang? Mary Louise Kelly discusses that with NPR correspondent Anthony Kuhn and Victor Cha of the Center...