Consider This from NPR
The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday. Support NPR and get your news sponsor-free with Consider This+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/considerthis
Episodes
July 8, 2025 • 10 mins
The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.
It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.
In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it.
The thing is, be...
It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.
In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it.
The thing is, be...
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July 7, 2025 • 11 mins
Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials.
Twenty-six feet in less than an hour.
That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more...
Twenty-six feet in less than an hour.
That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more...
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July 6, 2025 • 12 mins
If you're a parent, decisions about vaccines have gotten a lot more confusing recently. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s health department is walking back longstanding recommendations.
NPR's Pien Huang speaks with a pediatrician and a vaccine researcher to discuss how the changes may affect public health - and how frontline conversations are going between pediatricians and families.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider ...
NPR's Pien Huang speaks with a pediatrician and a vaccine researcher to discuss how the changes may affect public health - and how frontline conversations are going between pediatricians and families.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider ...
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July 4, 2025 • 13 mins
Independence Day means different things to each of us. On this 249th birthday for America, we spend some time looking at different definitions of America by revisiting NPR's 2018 series: American Anthem — which had the simple goal of telling 50 stories about 50 songs that have become galvanizing forces in American culture.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus....
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus....
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July 3, 2025 • 9 mins
President Trump put essentially his entire domestic agenda in one bill.
It would significantly cut clean energy incentives, Medicaid and food assistance programs — and double down on tax cuts, immigration enforcement and national defense.
Despite opposition from Democrats, and divides within the Republican Party, it passed through Congress.
How did that happen? And what does it mean for American taxpayers...
It would significantly cut clean energy incentives, Medicaid and food assistance programs — and double down on tax cuts, immigration enforcement and national defense.
Despite opposition from Democrats, and divides within the Republican Party, it passed through Congress.
How did that happen? And what does it mean for American taxpayers...
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July 2, 2025 • 10 mins
This summer marks 80 years since the end of World War II when Allied forces liberated Nazi-occupied Europe, and also began to discover the horrific scale of the Holocaust.
An estimated six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime.
With the passage of time, there are fewer and fewer survivors who can tell the stories of what they witnessed and endured.
Once fringe ideas of Holocaust d...
An estimated six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime.
With the passage of time, there are fewer and fewer survivors who can tell the stories of what they witnessed and endured.
Once fringe ideas of Holocaust d...
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July 1, 2025 • 7 mins
The massive tax and spending bill central to President Trump's agenda is one step closer to reality.
After weeks of negotiations and 49 consecutive votes that started Monday morning, the senate approved President Trump's signature domestic policy bill around lunch time Tuesday. It now goes back to the House of Representatives where Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will have to reconcile the senate changes with his members' ...
After weeks of negotiations and 49 consecutive votes that started Monday morning, the senate approved President Trump's signature domestic policy bill around lunch time Tuesday. It now goes back to the House of Representatives where Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will have to reconcile the senate changes with his members' ...
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June 30, 2025 • 8 mins
The massive budget bill that Senate Republicans are debating pays for some of its tax cuts by slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending. The latest report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates nearly 12 million people will lose health insurance if the Senate version of the bill becomes law.
Trump insists the cuts come from eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Democrats have said th...
Trump insists the cuts come from eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Democrats have said th...
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June 29, 2025 • 11 mins
A number of Supreme Court decisions handed down this term have expanded the power of the president while limiting the power of the courts.
How has this term changed the relationship of the judicial and the executive branches?
NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Greg Stohr from Bloomberg about what we've learned about the makeup and direction of the court from this year's rulings.
For sponsor-free episodes of...
How has this term changed the relationship of the judicial and the executive branches?
NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Greg Stohr from Bloomberg about what we've learned about the makeup and direction of the court from this year's rulings.
For sponsor-free episodes of...
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June 28, 2025 • 13 mins
Although President Trump launched air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, the administration has chosen a different path when dealing with Kim Jong Un, the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea.
For our Reporter's Notebook series, host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondent Anthony Kuhn about covering Trump and Kim's past negotiations and the difficulties of reporting on North Korea.
For sponsor-free e...
For our Reporter's Notebook series, host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondent Anthony Kuhn about covering Trump and Kim's past negotiations and the difficulties of reporting on North Korea.
For sponsor-free e...
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June 27, 2025 • 10 mins
Three different federal judges have issued nationwide blocks to President Trump's executive order to deny U.S. citizenship to some babies born to immigrants in the U.S.
These court orders are called universal injunctions.
But when the case reached the Supreme Court, the administration didn't focus on the constitutional right to birthright citizenship.
Instead, government lawyers put most of their energy i...
These court orders are called universal injunctions.
But when the case reached the Supreme Court, the administration didn't focus on the constitutional right to birthright citizenship.
Instead, government lawyers put most of their energy i...
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June 26, 2025 • 8 mins
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has spent years spreading doubt about the safety of vaccines and linking them to autism.
Dozens of studies have debunked the theory, but it has nevertheless persisted for years. Part of the reason why may be that autism diagnoses have soared over the last few decades.
Dr. Allen Frances is psychiatrist who led the task force that created the fourth edit...
Dozens of studies have debunked the theory, but it has nevertheless persisted for years. Part of the reason why may be that autism diagnoses have soared over the last few decades.
Dr. Allen Frances is psychiatrist who led the task force that created the fourth edit...
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June 25, 2025 • 12 mins
Tens of millions of people across the US are currently under a heat advisory. And the extreme heat isn't just affecting people.
You may have seen videos online of the heat causing asphalt roads to buckle. It is impacting rail travel too. Amtrak has been running some trains more slowly, as have the public transit systems of Washington and Philadelphia.
Mikhail Chester, an engineering professor at Arizona State Uni...
You may have seen videos online of the heat causing asphalt roads to buckle. It is impacting rail travel too. Amtrak has been running some trains more slowly, as have the public transit systems of Washington and Philadelphia.
Mikhail Chester, an engineering professor at Arizona State Uni...
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June 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Three years ago, the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States.
As the legal landscape shifted, the medical landscape of reproductive care was faced with a serious question. Where would people turn for abortions?
Abby Wendle, from NPR's Embedded podcast team, has been reporting on self-managed abortions, and how the medical community's views on it have changed in recent year...
As the legal landscape shifted, the medical landscape of reproductive care was faced with a serious question. Where would people turn for abortions?
Abby Wendle, from NPR's Embedded podcast team, has been reporting on self-managed abortions, and how the medical community's views on it have changed in recent year...
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June 23, 2025 • 9 mins
On Monday, Iran struck back against the United States, firing missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar. The retaliatory strikes come two days after the U.S. attacked nuclear sites in Iran.
In a twist, President Trump thanked Iran on social media for giving advance notice of the attacks, "which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured."
Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR correspondents Aya Bat...
In a twist, President Trump thanked Iran on social media for giving advance notice of the attacks, "which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured."
Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR correspondents Aya Bat...
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June 22, 2025 • 9 mins
The U.S. joined Israel's war on Iran and over the weekend bombed three of the country's nuclear sites, including Fordo, located deep inside a mountain.
In the aftermath of the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the attack.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted that the U.S.'s attack would have "everlasting consequences."
The move by the Trump administr...
In the aftermath of the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the attack.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted that the U.S.'s attack would have "everlasting consequences."
The move by the Trump administr...
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June 21, 2025 • 9 mins
Frank Langfitt has covered the world. Now he reports for NPR as a roving correspondent, focusing on stories that help us understand a changing America.
Recently, he covered both the military parade that brought tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling through the nation's capital, as well as the No Kings protests where people in dozens of cities across the country rallied against politicization of the armed forces by ...
Recently, he covered both the military parade that brought tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling through the nation's capital, as well as the No Kings protests where people in dozens of cities across the country rallied against politicization of the armed forces by ...
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June 20, 2025 • 10 mins
Last weekend, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home by a man impersonating a police officer.
The attack comes amid a rise in political violence. Last year alone, Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against members of the U.S. Congress.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords knows the horrors of gun violence only too well. The ...
The attack comes amid a rise in political violence. Last year alone, Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against members of the U.S. Congress.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords knows the horrors of gun violence only too well. The ...
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June 19, 2025 • 10 mins
Many Afghans who helped the US military or who were persecuted by the Taliban for other reasons found refuge in the United States. They were granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, by the US government.
Now the Trump administration has revoked TPS for Afghans. So what happens now?
NPR's Monika Evstatieva reports that for thousands of Afghans in the United States, and many stuck in limbo abroad, the available ...
Now the Trump administration has revoked TPS for Afghans. So what happens now?
NPR's Monika Evstatieva reports that for thousands of Afghans in the United States, and many stuck in limbo abroad, the available ...
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June 18, 2025 • 9 mins
In 2003, the U.S. launched a war in Iraq based on what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons programs, then spent years mired in a conflict with no clear end.
Today, President Trump is threatening to bring the U.S. military into another Middle East conflict. As with Iraq, the justification for a potential attack on Iran is the alleged threat of a nuclear weapon.
We talk to journalist Steve Coll, author ...
Today, President Trump is threatening to bring the U.S. military into another Middle East conflict. As with Iraq, the justification for a potential attack on Iran is the alleged threat of a nuclear weapon.
We talk to journalist Steve Coll, author ...
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