Post Reports

On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we talk about the benefit of hearing birdsongs for our well-being. Read more: Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds . Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being. Today on “Post Reports,” neuroscientist and Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains.&...

The Coast Guard said Thursday that the missing submersible suffered a catastrophic loss of pressure that killed all five people onboard. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the unregulated industry of deep-sea tourism.  Read more: The Coast Guard said Thursday that debris was found near the search area for Titan, OceanGate Expeditions’s lost Titanic submersible . All crew members have died...

Lexie Rizzo took on Starbucks. Now she’s out of a job. Today, a look at the U.S. labor laws that are supposed to protect workers who are organizing unions. Read more: People describe Lexi Rizzo as a “coffee person.” She loves drinking coffee, talking about coffee. And she loved her job at Starbucks. She worked there for nearly eight years, until she got fired in March. Rizzo believes she was...

This week, President Biden will honor Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state dinner. Today on “Post Reports,” New Delhi bureau chief Gerry Shih explains why Biden is rolling out the red carpet for the controversial world leader. Read more: President Biden will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week with a lavish state dinner, a reception that is rarely o...

Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today. “Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. Comin...

Come for the leather kink, stay for the lifesaving health care outreach. Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Fenit Nirappil embeds on the front lines of preventing the next mpox outbreak at International Mr. Leather in Chicago. Read more: How do you fight a potential outbreak after the health emergency has ended? Chicago has been witnessing early signs of a new mpox outbreak, formerly known a...

While people have been watching former president Donald Trump’s second indictment, others in the nation are watching everyday bail hearings. They’re a volunteer army of court watchers, and even Grammy-winning artist Fiona Apple says she is one.  Read more: There have been many eyes on the justice system whenever people are arrested or first come in contact with police. But who looks out for p...

Today on “Post Reports,” we catch up on the cast of characters in the Trump documents case: from his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta to special counsel Jack Smith to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon. Read more: Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he broke the law dozens of times by keeping and hiding top-secret documents in his Florida home — the first hearing...

In the midst of other big news last week, you may have missed the surprising Supreme Court decision in support of voting rights in Alabama. Today, we break down the case that redraws Alabama’s congressional map.  Read more: It seemed almost predictable that the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court would side with civil rights groups in the latest case on voting rights in Alabama . But...

A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. But as Samantha Schmidt reports from the beleaguered city of Kherson, a push for liberation from Russian occupation is just the beginning.  Read more: A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway . There are signs of small gains for Ukrainian troops, but wins will be difficult as a long battl...

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time. Now, he’s being charged with obstruction and conspiracy in connection with classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which could mean years in prison if he’s found guilty.  Read more: For the second time in two months, former president Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, has been indicted. As the first fo...

Today, we break down what’s happening with the Canadian wildfires, the smoke enveloping parts of the United States, and what you can do to protect yourself.  Read more: While the United States has grown accustomed to increasingly devastating wildfires ravaging the West Coast, the country is facing a new challenge: intense wildfire smoke hitting the East Coast from fires burning through Canadi...

How a reclusive heiress’s past in suburban D.C. sparked a true-crime sensation in Brazil — and a national reckoning over modern-day slavery and the status of household servants.  Read more: Margarida Bonetti was a mysterious figure in São Paulo, Brazil, for more than two decades. She was often seen walking her dogs (Ebony and Ivory) through the streets of the Higienópolis neighborhood or peek...

We’re more than a year away from the 2024 presidential election and there are already 12 republican candidates. The question, as it’s been since 2016: Can anyone beat Trump?  Read more: Michael Scherer is a national political reporter for The Post . He says even though 2024 is a ways away, this is still a pivotal time. Large donors are figuring out who to back and candidates are trying to mak...

What happens when the “sideshow characters” of national politics are suddenly thrust onto the main stage? And in a post-Donald Trump Washington, where are they now? Read more: Ben Terris has spent years covering politics via the people on the fringe: operatives who aren’t well known but are key to understanding how Washington works.  When a former reality TV show host became president, sudden...

Today, a conversation with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on how loneliness is posing a profound public health threat in the United States.  Read more: Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, says loneliness is a serious threat to the mental and physical health of the nation. Studies show half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, and the consequences can be devastating; from a grea...

The United States won’t default on its debt payments, that’s the good news. The bad news? A lot of Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with the agreement that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy crafted. Yet, both men say the deal represents a win for their respective parties. So, who actually got what they wanted out of this deal? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain.  Read more: Here’...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won reelection, beating a challenge from a united opposition movement and cementing his tenure at the country’s helm into a third decade. Read more: Erdogan’s victory affirmed his political survival and his support among loyal supporters, many of them conservative Muslims. Turkey’s overseas allies, including the United States, must now navigate their rela...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis created an election police unit to crack down on voter fraud. But actual convictions by this unit are rare — and the toll on Florida’s voters is climbing higher. Read more: In its first nine months, the Office of Election Crimes and Security referred hundreds of alleged illegal voting cases to local law enforcement for possible charges — but few resulted in any arrests.&n...

“The Little Mermaid” has debuted with Halle Bailey playing the titular character, Ariel. Culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer shares why this movie matters to Black girls, especially, and what Disney is doing with its successful intellectual property. Read more: The Washington Post’s culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer happens to be a mom of two Black children. That’s part of the reason she was s...

The author of a new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. unravels the story of how one fabricated quote perpetuated a story that King and fellow civil rights leader Malcolm X were antagonists.  Read more: When author Jonathan Eig was doing research for his new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he was digging through archives and libraries, trying to find information...

As the 2024 campaign season approaches, an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination for president, Ron DeSantis, is starting to lose his shine, just as he is about to officially enter the race. Read more: The 44-year-old governor of Florida became a national name by defending former president Donald Trump. But now they are in a power struggle.  DeSantis plans to announce that he is...

Across the life span, the risk of death is higher for men and boys than women and girls. The longevity gap is the greatest it’s been in years. It’s a health crisis that’s largely silent because men are largely silent about their health.  Read more: The crisis in men’s health goes beyond men not going to the doctor enough. Men are dying, on average, nearly six years sooner than women — and the...

Ever since the 2020 election, Arizona election official Bill Gates has struggled with PTSD. He’s one of many election workers who are still coping with the barrage of death threats and harassment they endured in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.  As the country braces for another presidential election cycle, in which Trump is the Republican front-ru...

Today, a story about the uncharted legal territory of a new abortion law, and the consequences for families and doctors who end up in the middle. Read more: Nobody expected Baby Milo to live a long time. The unusual complications in his mother’s pregnancy tested the interpretation of Florida’s new abortion law.  Earlier this year, Washington Post reporter Frances Stead Sellers shared the stor...