Consider This from NPR

More people are hospitalized with COVID than at any point in the pandemic. But the omicron variant is also causing more Americans to tune out the pandemic and turn away from public health measures right when they're needed most. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports. Even some vaccinated and boosted Americans are ready to move on from COVID, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic — a group he's dubbed 'vaxxed...

Americans' trust in both their government and in each other is declining. That's according to the Pew Research Center , who have been collecting this data for decades. Researchers Bradley Jones and Katerina Eva Matsa discuss how and why Americans are losing trust in two critical institutions: elections and news media. Then, Eric Liu , the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and Tony Marcano...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is planning "things that we have not done in the past" if Russia invades Ukraine. His comments follow days of diplomatic talks and a deadlock on resolving the crisis brewing along the Ukraine-Russia border, where Russia has massed 100,000 troops with tanks and artillery. Blinken speaks to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the current tensions and this we...

The men on death row in Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a maximum security prison in southeastern Texas, spend most of their time in solitary confinement, isolated from each other. Now, a prison radio station is giving them a sense of community and a way to be heard. Keri Blakinger talks about how it started and the impact it's had. Read her piece "The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That's Reaching Men on Dea...

Many public spaces across the country now require negative COVID-19 tests for entry. But the cost of testing can vary widely, and some say they have had to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase tests. Adam Tanner explains some of the reasons for the drastic difference in at-home test prices. Read his piece 'How Much Should It Cost to Get Tested for COVID-19' on Consumer Reports. In participating r...

As Democrats are making a push for voting rights legislation in Congress, more faith leaders want Americans to approach it as a moral – even spiritual – issue, including pastor and Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Warnock explains why he thinks ending the legislative filibuster in the Senate may be a necessary step, a move that President Joe Biden also endorsed while speaking in Warnock'...

A surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant has meant many school districts across the country have considered or committed to returning to remote learning for the time being. WBEZ reporter Sarah Karp spoke with parents in Chicago where a standoff between the teachers union and mayor has resulted in no teaching happening in person or virtually for the last few days. And we hear from th...

Before they built one of the biggest athlete-driven business empires in the world, LeBron James and Maverick Carter were just two kids from Akron, Ohio. On this episode of NPR's newest podcast, The Limits With Jay Williams , Carter explains how he and James succeeded — on their own terms. Carter is CEO of the SpringHill Company. Listen to more of The Limits via Apple , Google , or Spotify . See pc...

If you're confused about the new CDC Coronavirus guidelines, you're not alone. In fact, this week, the American Medical Association released a statement saying, "The new recommendations on quarantine and isolation are not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus." Adherence to public health guidelines is built on trust, and over the last few weeks, trust in the CDC seems to be e...

A new owner can change everything for a professional sports team. And in the world of professional soccer, more and more of those new owners are countries accused of human rights abuses. Former Manchester City player Nedum Onuoha describes what it was like when a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family took charge of his club. Plus, New York Times reporter Tariq Panja explains why complaints about wh...

A year since the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, the belief in 'the big lie' is now mainstream . And in states around the country, that belief is driving people to run for public office, where they would oversee elections this year. NPR's Miles Parks reports. Here's his complete report on where election-denying candidates are running to control voting. And NPR's Tovia Smith reports on why...

New daily cases are at an all-time high. The good news: vaccines and boosters have never been more widely available — but not for everyone. Children five and under still do not have a vaccine available as the omicron surge stretches health care workers thin. For advice on navigating the pandemic in this moment, we turn to Dr. Ibukun Kalu , a pediatric infectious disease doctor at Duke University....

A year ago, insurrectionists stormed the Capitol building in hopes of overturning the election results - fueled by the "Big Lie" that Donald Trump actually won. He did not. As NPR Special Correspondent Melissa Block reports, this lie has become entrenched in the Republican party. And Republican state legislators across the country have used it to justify passing new laws restricting voting access....

This week marks a year since the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and in this episode we're returning to the events of the day, which have become much clearer over the past year. And Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who was there on January 6th, describes what it's like returning to work in the building where he says he was almost certain he would die. In participating regions...

We take a look back on the year in news and pop culture... in quotes. Audie Cornish and Ari Shapiro join Sam Sanders for a special episode of NPR's It's Been a Minute to play a deluxe version of their favorite game, Who Said That. Listen to It's Been A Minute on NPR One , Apple Podcasts or Spotify . In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of wh...

In 2011, influential Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was secretly detained by Chinese authorities. While in detention, he thought often about his father – who had also been punished by the Chinese government – and how incomplete his understanding of his father was. Ai spoke to Ailsa Chang about his new book, which explores his time in detention, his relationship with his father, and his atte...

We're halfway through another intense pandemic school year. As many teachers are taking a well-deserved holiday break, we'll hear why these past few months in the classroom have gotten harder – and what that could mean for students and parents. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthi...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that people who test positive for COVID-19 but remain asymptotic can cut their quarantine time in half, from ten days to five. This shift comes in part due to major disruptions causes by rising Omicron cases, with hospitals and airlines in particular struggling to stay fully staffed. This moment in the pandemic feels a little like...

An NPR investigation digs into the practice of billing parents for their children's foster care — something that happens in every state in the country. It's a bill many cannot afford to pay, which in turn makes it even more difficult for parents to get their lives back on track and reunite with their children. On top of that, research shows government actually loses money when it tries to collect...

After everything that has happened this year, it can feel difficult to find things to celebrate. So we're using this episode to spread a little joy, through something everyone can relate to: food. We asked all of you what holiday dish is never missing from your table, and you answered – from seafood gumbo in Louisiana to Hungarian Beigli to traditional New Mexican cookies called Biscochitos and mo...

This week, Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he cannot support the Build Back Better Act, which contains more than half a trillion dollars in climate investments. The White House has been negotiating with Manchin for months, hoping he would cast a key vote for the plan in the Senate, where their party's majority is razor thin. Without Manchin's support, the Biden administration's m...

The HBO show Succession is compelling in part because it portrays a world most of us will never see: the backroom deals between cutthroat billionaires and their fraught family relationships. But the show's dark comedy also gives us insight into the world we all inhabit, and how that world treats women across a spectrum of relationships. From entrenched sexism to performative feminism, writer Flann...

This holiday season we all deserve a little peace and quiet with the people we love, but the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 threatens to complicate things for everyone. As tests appear to be in short supply in places like New York City, the White House announced plans to send 500 million at-home tests to Americans who want them and new federal testing sites to meet the demand in t...

Public school enrollment dropped three percent nationwide during the 2020-2021 school year. NPR's education team continued to track enrollment this school year and found that while districts have gained students, a significant majority are still not back to where they were prior to the pandemic. A similar story has unfolded in Los Angeles, Chicago and at more public schools across the nation. NPR...

NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast has a tradition to look back on some of their favorite things from the last 12 months of television, movies and music. In this episode they're revisiting the pop culture that thrilled them, moved them and kept them company during another challenging year. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on NPR One , Apple Podcasts or Spotify . See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...