State of the World from NPR

Syria is in a precarious place as it emerges from civil war and a long dictatorship. The recently announced removal of U.S. sanctions bring hopes that the economy might stabilize. Another challenge is Syria's population— it is one of the most diverse countries in the Middle East and with that comes competing demands and priorities from various groups. NPR's Jane Arraf takes us to southern Syria, n...

President Trump's first major overseas trip of his second term is to the same place as his first term, the Middle East. Trump is visiting the Gulf States of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And he is scheduled to meet with Syria's new president for the first time. We'll hear about the significance of that meeting and the deals between the U.S. and Gulf countries being announced. W...

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and President Trump's efforts to change the U.S. relationship with Europe and NATO have caused some European countries to rethink their own defense. One example is Poland, which shares a 500-mile border with Russia and Russian ally Belarus. Poland is preparing to repel a Russian invasion, including a plan to train every adult male in the country to be ready...

Since Israel's military went to war against Hamas in Gaza more than a year and a half ago, it has conducted thousands of strikes in the territory. One attack last year stands out. Israel struck a five-story building housing an extended family of well over 100 people. The military says they were targeting an enemy spotter on the roof. NPR reporters and producers set out to chronicle this attack, to...

The world's 1.4 billion Catholics now have a new pope. Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago and spent two decades of service to the church in Peru will now be known as Pope Leo XIV. We go to the Vatican to hear what it was like in St. Peter's Square when the new pope blessed the faithful for the first time. And we hear from someone who knows the pope from his time in Chicago. See pcm.adswizz.co...

India conducted airstrikes on targets across Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It was the most extensive attack in decades and Pakistan's defense minister warned the escalation could lead to nuclear confrontation. We go to our correspondent in Mumbai to understand what is happening and what each country might do next. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

This week 133 cardinals will meet in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to select a new pope who will lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. This will be the first papal conclave in which fewer than half the voting cardinals are European. During his time, Pope Frances selected many cardinals from the global south and our correspondent in Rome tells us how this could influence who the next pope wil...

Israel's cabinet has approved plans for Gaza that include expanding the war, taking territory with the intent to keep troops there, and major shifts in the way food and aid are distributed. Our correspondent in Tel Aviv tells us what are in the plans and what they could mean for Gaza. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage yo...

At the heart of a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is what, if any, Ukrainian territory Russia will be allowed to keep. Moscow asserts that four Ukrainian provinces are more culturally Russian than Ukrainian. We go to one of those areas to find out what the people there think. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to ma...

Donald Trump has passed one hundred days in his second term as president of the United States. We look at how he is reshaping the US relationship with the rest of the world. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Every year Israeli's spend their Memorial Day commemorating Israelis killed in war and attacks. This year it comes as they are reckoning with an ongoing war that is already the longest war the country has ever waged. We go to Tel Aviv to see what this year's Memorial Day in Israel is like. Note: there is a mention of suicide in this episode. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

Fifty years ago this week Communist forces seized the city of Saigon bringing an end to the Vietnam war. It was a war that defined a generation with effects that reverberate today. We go to Laos were one man's search for closure takes him to the top of the tallest mountain. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast...

Pope Francis was laid to rest in a funeral ceremony over the weekend and next week the College of Cardinals will convene their conclave at the Vatican to choose his successor. In this episode we speak to one of those cardinals, who will attend his first papal conclave. And we go inside the room where it all happens, the Sistine Chapel famous for its ceiling of frescos by Michelangelo. See pcm.adsw...

During Syria's long civil war, the White Helmets were known for running into harms way, rescuing civilians from the aftermath of regime attacks. Now with the regime gone, the famed organization is finding a new mission with new challenges. We go to Damascus to see them in action. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your po...

The sometimes cold and often frozen relationship between Russia and the U.S. has gotten a lot warmer since President Trump took office. And even through the American drive to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine may be faltering, the desire to do big business deals with the Kremlin has not. We go to Moscow to look at how the relationship between the two countries has changed, from the Ru...

America's neighbor to the north has seen wide ranging impacts from the tariffs on goods sent to the U.S.— from Canadian identity to the country's politics and of course the economy. Even small businesses are feeling the change. We go to the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia to see how tariffs are playing out. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for spon...

Catholics around the world are in mourning following the death of Pope Francis. We go to one tiny church in Gaza, the Holy Family Church, which had a very personal relationship with the pontiff. Pope Francis made a practice of personally calling the church nearly every day since the war in Gaza began. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship...

Pope Francis died of a stroke on Easter Monday, according to the Vatican. He was one of the most popular pontiffs in decades, taking stances on the inclusivity of the church as well as treatment of the poor and migrants. We look back on the life and the papacy of the first non-European pope in more than a millennium. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

In Kenya, generations of mostly Somalians have lived in one of the world's largest refugee camps for over thirty years. Many hoped to resettle in places such as the U.S., which has paused a key admissions program. And a visit to China's oldest trade fair, where traders are plotting their next move after U.S. tariffs and a darkened economic forecast. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our co...

The discovery of a clandestine cartel crematorium on a disused ranch in Jalisco has once again raised questions about the crisis of forced disappearances and the connection to organized crime. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

After being hunted to near extinction, wolves have made a population comeback in recent decades with the help of conservation efforts. Now, the country with the most wolves in Europe is Italy. Our correspondent in Rome set's out for the Italian forest with an organization that takes small groups to try to see wolves in the wild. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of p...

In his fifteen years as prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban has steadily chipped away at his country's democratic freedoms. We go to Budapest to see what the erosion of democracy looks like and we find that may of Orban's strategies are being studied by politicians elsewhere. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your po...

The Trump administration is undertaking shifts in U.S. foreign policy and that has meant big shifts at the State Department, which is in charge of that policy. The changes have veteran diplomats worried. And the gutted aid agency USAID has been absorbed into the State Department. We'll see what the loss of USAID funding has meant for the search for truth about Syria's civil war. See pcm.adswizz.co...

Many communities have thrived for years on the peninsula and islands in the lagoon around Nigeria's crowded commercial capital Lagos. But the last decade has seen a violent shift, as thousands of people have been evicted by the Nigerian Navy and the government in an apparent effort to make way for luxury developments. We go to the communities and meet the people affected. See pcm.adswizz.com for i...

The United States has long been a center for academic and scientific research. But two phenomena may be changing that and sending talent to Europe instead. The Trump administration has hit many colleges and universities with cuts to federal funding. And at the same time many academics feel like their freedom is under attack. Our correspondent in Rome tells us that European Universities are offerin...