State of the World from NPR

Today we take a break from the serious and often depressing international news beat to bring you the sound's of Soviet Central Asia in the 1970's and 80's. Our Moscow correspondent introduces us to an anthology of songs that came out of a record factory in Tashkent documenting a wide variety of music from the silk road in that time period. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

The Trump administration has made good on it's threat to apply 25% tariffs to the two biggest U.S. trading partners, Mexico and Canada. China also had its tariff increased from 10 to 20 percent. Canada and China are hitting back with retaliatory tariffs and Mexico has promised to follow suit. We hear about the reaction and impact. And the Trump administration has announce it is suspending military...

Our correspondent takes a look at the near future of the the war with Hamas in Gaza through the eyes of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He is being pulled in opposite directions politically: President Trump wants the ceasefire in Gaza to continue, while influential right-wing members of Netanyahu's political coalition want fighting to resume. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

A Palestinian man serving 18 life sentences for a pair of bus bombings in 2004 speaks to NPR days after his release. And, the average person in Lagos, Nigeria, spends over 6 hours of their day in traffic - have new Chinese-backed railways made a difference? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship prefe...

The Trump administration has been dismantling the US Agency for International Development, and the headquarters have been closed for weeks. But, on Thursday, workers got to go back to their desks - to clean them out and leave. 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

Brazilians are flocking to the theaters to see its Oscar-nominated film I'm Still Here. It tells the story of a family devastated by the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964. There has never been a truth commission to investigate abuses or prosecutions of those accused of wrongdoing during a two-decade-long rule. Advocates hope the film might lead to a better understanding of that dark past....

During the Assad regimes, Western nations placed crippling economic sanctions on the country. Some have been lifted, but most are still in place, so how does a country shattered by civil war rebuild? And we follow the return to Damascus of one US Syrian Jewish leader, after decades in exile. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to ma...

The man poised to become Germany's new Chancellor says the US administration doesn't care about the fate of Europe. And, on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine what has been the impact of the largest conflict in Europe since the second world war? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast...

We remember Paquita la del Barrio, who sang about romantic heartbreak and the pain of infidelity, spitting out insults with relish, and empowering a whole generation of women. Our correspondent in Mexico explains what she meant to her fans. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Priva...

After 14 years of a devastating civil war, Syria is in the process of reinventing itself. One big question is how the country will be governed now that the more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family has come to an end. For clues on what the future might hold, our correspondent goes to the city that was run by a rebel group during the war. That group led the toppling of the Assad regime and now...

Germany's economy boomed as the world underwent globalization. But since then, too little investment, too much bureaucracy and a nearby war in Ukraine has cause Europe's largest economy to stagnate. The issue has played a big role in the upcoming German election. Our Berlin correspondent tells takes us to a German factory. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of persona...

Ireland considers becoming the first western country to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The move is controversial, but Ireland has a history of leading the way with effective boycotts. We hear about the past and present of Irish activism. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your...

Members of the Trump Administration will meet with counterparts from Russia this week to discuss a possible peace deal with Ukraine. Notably, the Ukrainians are absent from these talks. Other European nations are also not invited, even though as a whole Europe gives Ukraine more aid money than the United States. We get updates from three NPR reporters covering various parts of the story. And we me...

Syria is reinventing itself following a 14-year bloody civil war and the rapid crumbling of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad regime in December. As NPR's Emily Feng travelled the country reporting on the new Syria, she kept seeing one man's face on flags, posters and vehicles everywhere she went. So, she decided to find out more about him. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and...

Giving a bouquet of flowers to your beloved is a classic Valentine's Day gesture of love. But as we hear from our correspondent in Colombia, growing those flowers comes at a steep environmental cost. 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

President Trump had separate phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine on the same day. Following the calls, Trump posted on social media that both leaders want peace and he said that he wanted negotiations on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine to begin immediately. We hear about what this could mean from NPR's White House correspondent. We also hear about how the U.S. relationship...

President Trump has made clear his desire for the U.S. to take Greenland saying the territory is vital to U.S. economic security. Greenland is an autonomous territory of U.S. ally Denmark. And as we hear, Danes have had a variety of reactions to Trumps words. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship pre...

The Trump administration is dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. They had been doing humanitarian work in more than 100 countries. We hear from NPR correspondents around the world about what the agency had been doing on the ground and what it's elimination could mean. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsor...

The musical diva of the Arab world is commemorated in Paris. And tariff threats have Prosecco lovers stocking up. 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

West Bank residents react to President Trump's plan for the U.S. to take ownership of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and relocate nearly 2 million people from there. And Gaza's police were hit hard by Israel in the war against Hamas, but the force is back providing law and order after a ceasefire in the conflict. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data fo...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes his inaugural international trip to Central America. In Colombia, fighting erupts between rival guerilla factions, displacing tens of thousands. 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

A US-Canada trade war is averted for now, but Canada is roiling from Trump's remarks. In China, Lunar New Year celebrations were already subdued from economic concerns even before new U.S. tariffs and Beijing's retaliatory response. 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 Polic...

Netanyahu's visit to the White House makes him the first world leader to meet President Trump since the inauguration. Their meeting occurs as the future of Gaza, the wider Middle East, and Netanyahu himself are hanging in the balance. You can also find all our reporting on this conflict at npr.org/mideastupdates See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

Rebel forces continue to claim more Congolese territory coveted for its rich mineral resources. In Myanmar, former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and the country is mired in a brutal civil war. 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

9 out of ten cars sold in Norway are EV's. Government incentives and a commitment to charging stations have made Norway a world leader in electric vehicle use. 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