Consider This from NPR

From recording a snoring elephant to figuring out how to be a mime during an interview, three former print journalists talk about how telling an audio story is special.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our exe...

Voters head to the polls next week in California, Virginia and New Jersey among other states. 

Senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro explain what they are watching in these elections — and what voters’ choices might say about the political moment.

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It’s a critical week regarding the Affordable Care Act, which is at the center of the government shutdown impasse. “Window shopping" began for some people buying health insurance through the ACA – also known as Obamacare – giving enrollees estimates on how much their premiums could cost next year. 

Without the ACA tax credits that Democrats want to extend into 2026, many people could see big incre...

When companies need a loan, traditionally they turn to a bank.

But increasingly they’re turning to financial firms that are not really banks, but do have a lot of cash. This is called the “private credit” market. It has exploded in the past 15 years. It’s now valued at around $2 trillion.

Natasha Sarin, president of the Yale Budget Lab and former Biden administration official, a...

U.S. citizens have been arrested in the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. According to ProPublica, at least 170 have been arrested or detained by immigration agents since President Trump took office for his second term.

In response, Texas Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — both Democrats — have announced an investigation into these detenti...

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For many years, the far right has been the most lethal and persistent source of domestic terrorism in the U.S.


But the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk last month and attacks against immigration enforcement efforts have fueled a talking point for Republicans about concerns over left-wing political violence.

The political motivations behind these attacks are still unclear, but ...

It's getting harder to get away with murder in Philadelphia.

Violent crime has fallen sharply -- like it has in many other cities.

And Philadelphia police are now solving homicides at the highest rate since 1984.

There's a connection there -- but there's also plenty more to the story.

Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter Ellie ...

The center is in a old prison run by the...

America’s farmers are getting walloped by the federal government shutdown.

The closing of government offices means they’ve lost access to data and loans that help keep them afloat —

Then there’s healthcare. More than a quarter of the nation’s farmers rely on the Affordable Care Act…along with the subsidies at the heart of the shutdown...