State of the World from NPR

State of the World from NPR

Immerse yourself in the most compelling and consequential stories from around the globe. The world is changing in big ways every day. State of the World from NPR takes you where the news is happening — and explains why it matters. With bureaus spanning the globe, NPR reporters bring you facts and context from the ground so you can cut through the noise of disinformation. NPR's State of the World, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. State of the World was previously State of Ukraine. You'll continue to hear Ukraine coverage here, along with other international stories. Support NPR's reporting by subscribing to State of the World+ and unlock sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/stateoftheworld

Episodes

January 2, 2026 10 mins

As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit the story of an NPR journalist in Gaza seeking food from a distribution site run by private American contractors in June of 2025. In a harrowing experience he found himself facing Israeli military fire, crowds fighting for rations, and masked thieves.

Learn more about ...

Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit the story of the olive ridley turtle in India.  Their population has rebounded after years of efforts to stem their decline.  We go to a turtle festival on India's coast and hear tourists cheer on turtle hatchlings as they head to the ocean.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR P...
Mark as Played

As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit a story about families from Ireland learning their full history. There, the Catholic Church once ran homes for unwed mothers. Until recently the church dominated life in Ireland and pregnancy outside marriage was considered shameful. Behind one of these homes a ghastly discovery has recently been made. It was a...

Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit the story of an important typewriter.  It was  recently discovered in a basement in upstate New York and it holds important clues about the origins of Chinese computing. The discovery also raises questions about language and culture.


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Pri...
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit a story about a Ukrainian youth orchestra.  Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv ...
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit a story about how Europe is experiencing a changing climate.  It is the world’s fastest warming continent with temperatures there increasing at twice the average global rate. That is melting Europe's glaciers, which may disappear by the end of the century, forever altering the continent's rivers with ripple effects on shipping. We g...
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit a report from America’s neighbor to the north last April.  Canada 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 pl...
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit a report from a remote corner of southeastern Syria near the border with Jordan.  There some 7,000 people were trapped in a refugee camp for years. They had fled Syrian regime forces and ISIS attacks and had nowhere else they could go. Our reporter was the first person to visit the camp, after the Syrian regime fell.  We get an up...
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we get a glimpse inside the shattered city of Khartoum, Sudan, in April of 2025.  The capital city was destroyed by the two-year civil war and is in the process of trying to recover.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Mark as Played
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year, we revisit the story of the defiant Austrian nuns.  The three sisters, all in their 80’s, recently ran away from a nursing home. With the help of supporters, and a locksmith, they broke into their former convent in defiance of church orders. They’re determined to fulfill their vows and grow old on their own terms. These sisters are have taken I...
Mark as Played
December 19, 2025 4 mins

Cuba today feels more isolated than ever after years of sanctions from the United States have severely damaged the economy. Now Cubans are watching the U.S. ramp up pressure on the government of Venezuela, Cuba’s most loyal ally and an important trading partner. Our reporter in Havana talks to some Cubans about the current moment.

Learn more about sponsor message ch...

Mark as Played

President Trump has ordered a ban on all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, escalating pressure on the country's president. Venezuelans tell us that in a country long battered by shortages, it’s just another crisis to endure.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Mark as Played
December 17, 2025 5 mins

Myanmar, also known as Burma, will hold a phased general election starting later this month. It comes amidst a years long civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. And it is being called by a military government that seized power in a coup four years ago. We learn about the lengths the leadership is going to in order to convince the world to accept the ele...

Mark as Played

One method of combating extreme poverty is providing cash grants to allow people to start businesses. We go to Uganda to take a look at one such program that has changed their model in an effort to increase the impact of their support. And the changes caused intended consequences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Pr...

Mark as Played

Jews in Israel had been looking forward to the Hanukkah holiday this year, since recent public celebrations had been curtailed first by COVID and then the wars that followed the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023. But this year’s celebration is happening in the aftermath of a horrific attack on a Hanukkah event in Australia that killed at least 15. We go to Tel Aviv to hear ho...

Mark as Played
December 12, 2025 5 mins

NPR recently met with a senior Hamas leader on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar as the organization prepares to negotiate the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. He says Hamas is willing to lay down its weapons for up to ten years. Our correspondent gives us the highlights of the conversation.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...

Mark as Played
Physical maps might feel out of date in our smartphone and GPS age but maps aren’t just for navigation. They are windows into history, culture and how we perceive the world. We visit a map library in Maine to see what maps can tells about the planet and ourselves.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Mark as Played

Life for Russians has changed in myriad ways since the start of the full scale war in Ukraine in 2022. It has affected everything from what they can say to what they can buy. But perhaps the most far reaching change is in what Russians learn. Our correspondent in Moscow tells us about a new undercover documentary that shows the changes to Russian schools.

Learn mor...

Mark as Played

The mayor of a city in the state of Michoacan, Mexico launched a full-frontal assault on organized crime in his community. Last month he was assassinated by a lone gunman. His death has lead to a protests across Mexico and calls for more to be done to combat drug cartels and corruption. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark as Played

Even as Ukraine is engaged in high stakes peace talks with the U.S. and Russia, the country is dealing with a massive corruption scandal which has reached very high levels of the government. Though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been implicated, it has been a challenge for him. We go to Kyiv to get reaction from Ukrainians. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Burden

    The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.

    SmartLess

    "SmartLess" with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.