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
May 2, 2024 • 12 mins
If you go by headlines, the last 12 months have delivered major wins to organized labor.
But despite well publicized victories the rate of U.S. union membership fell to a record low in 2023. Just 10%.
And in southern states, the push to unionize can still be a grinding, uphill battle.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
E...
But despite well publicized victories the rate of U.S. union membership fell to a record low in 2023. Just 10%.
And in southern states, the push to unionize can still be a grinding, uphill battle.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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May 1, 2024 • 10 mins
From New York — to Illinois — to Los Angeles — encampments in support of Palestinians dot campuses across the country.
And over the last couple of days the tension has only increased as police have intervened on several campuses, including Columbia University, UCLA and the University of Texas. Hundreds of protestors have been arrested.
Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses are growing in scope and intensit...
And over the last couple of days the tension has only increased as police have intervened on several campuses, including Columbia University, UCLA and the University of Texas. Hundreds of protestors have been arrested.
Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses are growing in scope and intensit...
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May 1, 2024 • 11 mins
Dame Judi Dench has played everyone from the writer Iris Murdoch to M in the James Bond films. But among the roles the actress is most closely associated, are Shakespeare's heroines and some of his villians.
Amongst those roles are the star-crossed lover Juliet, the comical Titania and the tragic Lady Macbeth. Now she's reflecting on that work, and Shakespeare's work in Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent.
T...
Amongst those roles are the star-crossed lover Juliet, the comical Titania and the tragic Lady Macbeth. Now she's reflecting on that work, and Shakespeare's work in Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent.
T...
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April 29, 2024 • 12 mins
Protests against Israel's war in Gaza on college campuses have expanded across the country. They're the biggest student protests, since college students demonstrated against the Vietnam war in the late sixties and early seventies.
What do the campus protests of today have in common with those of the sixties? How might they affect the policies of their universities and the US government?
Thirty years ago, South A...
What do the campus protests of today have in common with those of the sixties? How might they affect the policies of their universities and the US government?
Thirty years ago, South A...
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April 29, 2024 • 12 mins
Three decades ago, South Africa held its first democratic election, closing the door on the apartheid era.
And Nelson Mandela was elected its first Black president.
Today, the country is still led by Mandela's political party - the African National Congress. But polls show that voters are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the party's leadership, and next month's national elections could lead to the ANC havi...
And Nelson Mandela was elected its first Black president.
Today, the country is still led by Mandela's political party - the African National Congress. But polls show that voters are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the party's leadership, and next month's national elections could lead to the ANC havi...
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April 26, 2024 • 12 mins
During the early days of the pandemic, former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins became a familiar voice steering the country through an unprecedented public health crisis.
Now, he is going through his own health crisis, an aggressive form of prostate cancer. By talking about it publicly he hopes to draw attention to routine screening.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Appl...
Now, he is going through his own health crisis, an aggressive form of prostate cancer. By talking about it publicly he hopes to draw attention to routine screening.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Appl...
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April 26, 2024 • 9 mins
Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a strict immigration law making it harder to hire undocumented workers.
But like much of the country, Florida is dealing with a tight labor market and some employers are struggling to find workers.
NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports on how the law is affecting the state's economy, from construction sites, to strawberry fields.
For sponsor-free episodes of Conside...
But like much of the country, Florida is dealing with a tight labor market and some employers are struggling to find workers.
NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports on how the law is affecting the state's economy, from construction sites, to strawberry fields.
For sponsor-free episodes of Conside...
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April 25, 2024 • 10 mins
One of Richard Nixon's most famous quotes...right up there with "I am not a crook"... had to do with presidential immunity.
"When the president does it" he said "that means that it is not illegal." That idea – that you can't prosecute someone for actions taken as president - the Supreme Court has never actually ruled on it.
On Thursday, the Justices will take a crack, with the federal election interference case ag...
"When the president does it" he said "that means that it is not illegal." That idea – that you can't prosecute someone for actions taken as president - the Supreme Court has never actually ruled on it.
On Thursday, the Justices will take a crack, with the federal election interference case ag...
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April 24, 2024 • 12 mins
Americans often rank the economy as a number one voting issue. As part of NPR's "We the Voters" series we check back in with four Americans we've been following since the pandemic.
They share how they're faring in a the current economy, and how that might influence the positions they take in the 2024 presidential election.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or...
They share how they're faring in a the current economy, and how that might influence the positions they take in the 2024 presidential election.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or...
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April 23, 2024 • 9 mins
The broad outlines of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case have been known for months.
Hush money payments to a former porn star made in 2016, when Trump was a presidential candidate. Bragg alleges Trump was involved in a scheme to cover up those payments, one that amounted to criminal fraud.
Now we're getting a more detailed outline of their arguments – and Trump's defense.
We break down the...
Hush money payments to a former porn star made in 2016, when Trump was a presidential candidate. Bragg alleges Trump was involved in a scheme to cover up those payments, one that amounted to criminal fraud.
Now we're getting a more detailed outline of their arguments – and Trump's defense.
We break down the...
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April 22, 2024 • 10 mins
For the last 60 years a transportation revolution has largely passed America by.
Bullet trains were invented in Japan in the early 1960s. Since then, countries all over the world have adopted the technology and constructed sprawling networks of high speed rail lines.
Despite spending billions of dollars in federal funding, he U.S. lags far behind. But a recent visit from Japan's Prime minister has revived intere...
Bullet trains were invented in Japan in the early 1960s. Since then, countries all over the world have adopted the technology and constructed sprawling networks of high speed rail lines.
Despite spending billions of dollars in federal funding, he U.S. lags far behind. But a recent visit from Japan's Prime minister has revived intere...
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April 20, 2024 • 11 mins
Civil War, the new A24 film from British director Alex Garland, imagines a scenario that might not seem so far-fetched to some; a contemporary civil war breaking out in the United States.
And while the film has taken heat for little mention of politics, the question of an actual civil war has everything to do with it.
Amy Cooter is a director of research at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism...
And while the film has taken heat for little mention of politics, the question of an actual civil war has everything to do with it.
Amy Cooter is a director of research at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism...
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April 19, 2024 • 10 mins
Back in 1999 when Donald Trump was flirting with a presidential run, he was pro-abortion rights. In an interview on Meet the Press with NBC's Tim Russert, the New York real estate developer said he didn't like abortion, but he wouldn't ban it.
Fast forward almost two decades, and Trump was running for the republican presidential nomination, and he had a very different stance on abortion, even suggesting in an MSNBC town h...
Fast forward almost two decades, and Trump was running for the republican presidential nomination, and he had a very different stance on abortion, even suggesting in an MSNBC town h...
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April 18, 2024 • 12 mins
Salman Rushdie is probably most closely associated with his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, a book inspired by the life of the prophet Muhummad. The book was notorious not just for its contents but because of the intense backlash, and the threat it posed to his safety and wellbeing.
While Rushdie saw it as an exploration of Islamic culture, some Muslims saw it as blasphemous. The year after it published, Iran's supreme le...
While Rushdie saw it as an exploration of Islamic culture, some Muslims saw it as blasphemous. The year after it published, Iran's supreme le...
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April 17, 2024 • 9 mins
In 1994, the world watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda. Nearly one million people died as neighbors brutally killed their neighbors. Paul Rusesabagina is credited for keeping more than 1,200 people safe in his hotel through weeks of violence. His life and story inspired the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda.
In 2021, Rusesabagina says he was kidnapped, tried and imprisoned in Rwanda for two years and seven months over his ties to...
In 2021, Rusesabagina says he was kidnapped, tried and imprisoned in Rwanda for two years and seven months over his ties to...
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April 15, 2024 • 10 mins
Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel over the weekend, saying it was in response to an airstrike earlier this month that hit Iran's consulate in Syria and killed seven Iranian military officials, including two generals.
Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the Syria strike, though the Pentagon said Israel was responsible.
Sima Shine is a former senior Israeli int...
Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the Syria strike, though the Pentagon said Israel was responsible.
Sima Shine is a former senior Israeli int...
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April 14, 2024 • 15 mins
On Monday, former President Donald Trump will enter a Manhattan courtroom for his first criminal trial. But before a verdict can be rendered a jury must be selected. And for Trump's legal team that is going to be a challenge.
A small number of attorneys have faced a similar challenge — how do you select an impartial jury when your client is famous?
Host Scott Detrow speaks with attorney Camille Vasquez for insig...
A small number of attorneys have faced a similar challenge — how do you select an impartial jury when your client is famous?
Host Scott Detrow speaks with attorney Camille Vasquez for insig...
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April 13, 2024 • 9 mins
For months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insisting that the goal of Israel's bombardment in Gaza is to "destroy Hamas."
But in the path of that destruction, more than 33,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed. Regular people, entire families, and more than 13,000 children.
Yet, it's not clear if Israel is any closer to its stated goal of destroying Hamas. In fact, is it possible that the...
But in the path of that destruction, more than 33,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed. Regular people, entire families, and more than 13,000 children.
Yet, it's not clear if Israel is any closer to its stated goal of destroying Hamas. In fact, is it possible that the...
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April 11, 2024 • 8 mins
O.J. Simpson was more than a football star. More than a pop culture icon or a defendant acquitted of murder.
He became a symbol of America's complicated relationship to race, celebrity, and justice. His family announced that he died of cancer Wednesday at age 76.
The murder trial of O.J. Simpson became not only about one man and two victims, but the entire country. Coming up, we assess the legacy of a case, and a ...
He became a symbol of America's complicated relationship to race, celebrity, and justice. His family announced that he died of cancer Wednesday at age 76.
The murder trial of O.J. Simpson became not only about one man and two victims, but the entire country. Coming up, we assess the legacy of a case, and a ...
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April 11, 2024 • 10 mins
In recent years, the body positivity movement has raised it's profile, especially on social media largely through self-described anti-diet and body positivity influencers.
These influencers and others like them represent a pivot away from the diet and fitness culture embodied by companies like weight watchers, which focuses on losing weight as a path to healthier living.
Today there is a broad "anti-diet" movemen...
These influencers and others like them represent a pivot away from the diet and fitness culture embodied by companies like weight watchers, which focuses on losing weight as a path to healthier living.
Today there is a broad "anti-diet" movemen...
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