Ayesha Roscoe
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Gambling with Memes
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and you're listening to the Sunday Story from Up First. So there are some things in this world that I just have a hard time getting my head around. And, you know, I've got to say one of them is cryptocurrency. And the longer it's around, the weirder and more complicated it seems to get. It's all a bit daunting to me.
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Gambling with Memes
Justine Yan produced this episode of The Sunday Story. The original Planet Money episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jang with help from Keith Romer. fact-checking by Sierra Juarez, and engineering by Neil Rauch. The Sunday Story team also includes Andrew Mambo, Jennifer Schmidt, and Liana Simstrom. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
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Gambling with Memes
Up first, we'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Gambling with Memes
But for some of my colleagues, explaining new trends in the economy is what they do. A few months ago, Planet Money host Alexi Horowitz-Gazi came across a viral video that clarified something about the explosion of a type of cryptocurrency called meme coins. These are highly valuable and highly volatile tradable currencies that have cropped up on the Internet over the past decade.
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Gambling with Memes
Today on the Sunday Story, Planet Money host Alexi Horowitz-Gazi and freelance reporter Nick Nevis explain just how we got here. Stay with us.
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Gambling with Memes
We're back with the Sunday story. Today, a deep dive into meme coins from our colleagues over at Planet Money. Here's NPR's Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi with freelance reporter Nick Nevis.
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Gambling with Memes
And anyone can make one. Here's Alexi talking about the video he saw and the story of one particular meme coin.
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A Sunday in the Park
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and you're listening to the Sunday Story from Up First.
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A Sunday in the Park
So listeners, it's me again. Remember that walk I told you to take? Where did you go? This is our last episode of the year and we wanted to step into the new year with a question for you all. What's a special place in your life? One that you visit weekly or even daily when you feel depleted, it fills you up. It can be anywhere, your community center, your gym, a weekly singing class.
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A Sunday in the Park
And we have gotten to know our neighbors very well between birthday parties and parties. And christenings and, you know, helping each other when we get stuck in the snow and and just keeping an eye on each other's kids and dogs. Yeah, that's Teddy, who's always in the window of my other next door neighbor. And Miss Venetta, she's like the heartbeat of this neighborhood for me.
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A Sunday in the Park
It might even be a very special aisle at your local grocery store. What is that place in your community that lifts you up? If you have a place like this, we want to know about it. You can send a two- to three-minute voice memo to us at upfirstsunday at npr.org. You can even include some sounds from that space. Remember, this is radio, so we love to hear good sounds.
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A Sunday in the Park
Tell us your name and where you're speaking to us from, and we might share it in an episode this coming year. Thank you for spending your Sundays with us. Till next year, I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday story. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan. Gilly Moon mastered the episode.
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A Sunday in the Park
The Code Switch episode was produced by Xavier Lopez, Jasmine Garst, Margaret Serino, and Christina Carla. It was edited by Courtney Stein and Leah Dinella. It was mastered by James Willits. The Sunday Story team includes Andrew Mambo, Jenny Schmidt, and Liana Simstrom. Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week.
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A Sunday in the Park
Until then, have a great rest of your weekend. And Happy New Year!
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A Sunday in the Park
her place is surrounded by this nice little porch. And inside, it's always kind of dimly lit. She got some outlets she got to work on. But it's a second home for my kids if they want to show her something or... Just say, hey, they'll run down the pavement between our front door and hers. If they lose a tooth, she'll have some money for them.
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A Sunday in the Park
Inside her place, the news is always on, and she's always got a snack in the kitchen, maybe some pumpkin seeds for Annalise or some toast for Gabrielle or hot dogs for Reggie. And if I ever need somebody... And boy, have I needed somebody at times. She's been there. Her home has been our safe space. And it's because of that, it's so hard to imagine living anywhere else.
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A Sunday in the Park
Earlier this year, NPR's immigration reporter Jasmine Garst and producer Xavier Lopez spent a day in one of their favorite places in the world, a park in Queens, New York. It's called Flushing Meadows Park.
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A Sunday in the Park
But I do plan on starting a fresh chapter soon. We're planning on moving in the new year. But wherever I go, I know I don't ever want to be too far from Miss Venetta. So we can stop by and visit. On today's episode of the Sunday Story, in the spirit of places that feel like home, we're going to play you a part of an episode that originally ran on NPR's Code Switch podcast.
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A Sunday in the Park
It's a portrait of a community, a small slice of everyday life for the people who call Queens home. And while you listen, maybe go take a walk to one of your places and stay until the end because I have a little request for you as we go into the new year. An invitation to send in a sort of audio postcard from a place that you call your own. All that after the break.
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A Sunday in the Park
I also live in Queens. Queens has been called the most diverse urban place on the planet. Almost half of its population is made up of immigrants from over 120 countries. And Flushing Meadows Park is a microcosm of immigrant life.
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A Sunday in the Park
It's also, for Xavier and Jasmine, kind of like their backyard, where they can go anytime they need to recharge and remember what really matters, to be in community. For me, that place is actually a house. Two doors down from my house. It's the home of my dear friend and neighbor, Miss Venetta. I've lived in my neighborhood for 15 years now. All my kids were born here.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First. In late December, NPR correspondent Ruth Sherlock drove from the Syrian capital Damascus into the open, flat scrubland outside the city. It's a desolate place where stray dogs roam and where, eventually, a dirt track led to an area closed off by high cement walls.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Today, Ruth Sherlock joins us on the podcast. She's been covering the outpouring of grief and anger from Syrians coming to terms with the extent of the mass killings and the questions they now face over retribution, reconciliation, and the future of their country. A warning, this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence. We'll be right back.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
I mean, what these men are describing is unimaginable. How does their testimony match with what we already know about the killings in Sednaya?
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
So with all of this evidence of mass killings, I imagine that grieving families want to know at the very least, Where are the bodies of their loved ones? Exactly, Aisha.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
And that's when we met the excavator driver. When we come back, the excavator driver.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
We're back with NPR's Ruth Sherlock, who's been covering the revelation that many thousands of Syrians killed by the Assad regime wound up in mass graves. So, Ruth, you wanted to report on the graves, but it couldn't have been easy to find people willing to talk at this point.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
That is a lot to come to terms with for everyone, for those who had family members who were killed, as well as those who played a part in this machinery of death. There's so much being uncovered right now, but I have to think that there is so much that we still don't know, right? That's right.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Well, I mean, that's the big question going forward. Like, what does justice look like for Syria? And who might be held accountable?
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Thank you so much, Ruth, for this incredible reporting and documenting this moment in history. Well, thank you so much for having me on the show. That's NPR correspondent Ruth Sherlock. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan. It was edited by Ginny Schmidt. Gilly Moon mastered the episode.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Special thanks to Jawad Rizala, James Heider, Carrie Kahn, Tara Neal, Didi Skanky, Ahmed Altamimi, Lauren Hodges, Iman Maani, Claire Harbitch, and Emily Bogle. The Sunday Story team includes Andrew Mambo and our senior supervising producer, Liana Simstrom. Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
We're back with The Sunday Story. I'm here with NPR correspondent Ruth Sherlock. Ruth, welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much, Aisha. First, let me thank you for being here and, you know, for taking on what is like a close Thank you so much. Yeah, I mean, Syrians have had so much to contend with. But in a way, I feel it's a privilege to be able to document this moment.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
So since the start of the Syrian revolution 13 years ago, there have been reports about what's been going on in the country. Systematic disappearances, brutal repression of any dissent. The Assad family ruled for over 50 years, and then the regime just collapsed. I mean, like a house of cards in a matter of days, right? Just really everything changed. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
You went into Syria after that happened. What was it like?
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Under Assad, even a whispered word of dissent could have someone disappeared into the intelligence service's vast network of detention centers and prisons, right? Yeah.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
Inside, it seemed at first there was very little, just dirt and some Russian military trucks. But that's because what is here lies hidden below ground. This is a mass gravesite, one of dozens that Syrians are discovering across the country, a remnant of Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
So one of the first things the rebels did when they took power was liberate the infamous Sednaya prison, which I understand had become a symbol of the brutality and terror there. that the Assad family instilled in Syrians.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
You went there with them and you brought us this report.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
I mean, this must have been beyond devastating for the families who would have held on hope that they would see their father, their daughter, their son. And, you know, they had all this excitement that the regime failed and they don't find that loved one and they still don't know what happened.
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Reckoning with the Assad Regime's 'Machinery of Death'
So, I mean, what happened to those prisoners?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. This month, Filipino leader Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody. He's now in the Netherlands, where he's facing charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court over his connections to a spree of killings.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
What are the next steps for this ICC case against Duterte?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
How are the families of victims of these killings in the Philippines reacting to the news of his arrest? They're thrilled. They're in shock.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
There's so much grief there, just really unimaginable as a mother to lose your child. Something that sticks with me about this story is just the feeling of powerlessness that these family members feel about the safety of their loved ones. You know, whether they are drug users or sellers or not, because it could all be so arbitrary, like with Jim Boyd. Just a case of mistaken identity, right?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
Yeah. I mean, so zooming out for a moment, what, if anything, has like international scrutiny in the wake of Duterte's presidency done for the victims and their families?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
What also struck me was that there isn't a culture of rehabilitation in the Philippines yet. What they have instead is a culture of punishment. What are some of the challenges of shifting from punishment to rehabilitation?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
Well, Emily, thank you for bringing us this story.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
How did the current president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., come to power? Our friends over at ThruLine made an episode telling the story of the Marcos family, one of the Philippines' most infamous political families, and how they rewrote history to come back to power in 2022, despite being overthrown decades ago.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
It's about how melodrama and nostalgia can create a myth capable of resurrecting a dynasty. And it's got a lot to say about the dangers democracies around the world are facing. You don't want to miss it. Listen to Throughline wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Justine Yan and edited by Jenny Schmidt. Thanks to Marjorie Rosas and Ashley Westerman.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. The Sunday Story team also includes Abby Wendell and Andrew Mambo. Our supervising producer is Liana Simstrom and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
So last year, we aired your story looking at the legacy of these killings. Today, we want to come back to this episode since the neighborhoods you visited remain hotspots for death under the current president.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
Those killings were among the brutal tactics Duterte championed in order to combat drug abuse, starting when he was mayor in the 1990s and later as president of the Philippines. NPR's international correspondent Emily Fang has covered the Asia-Pacific region for the last decade and joins us now. Welcome.
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
Emily, what do we know about the International Criminal Court's case against Duterte?
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The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War
You're listening to The Sunday Story. We'll be right back. In the Philippines, getting official data on drug killings isn't easy, but one group has made it a priority. NPR's Emily Fang picks up the story.
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Alternate Realities
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. Since the COVID pandemic, lots of conspiracy theories have been floating around the Internet. For some, these ideas and the conspiracy thinking that fuels them may not have had much of an impact. But for others, they can feel urgent and personal. This is the case for journalist Zach Mack.
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Alternate Realities
Well, I guess you and your dad were able to have these conversations and kind of figure out at least some sort of coexisting. But how about, you know, your sister and your mother? How have they been grappling with... Because There wasn't some aha moment. And he said, oh, I was totally wrong, which generally doesn't happen, right? And so how are your mother and sister grappling with this?
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Alternate Realities
So your dad is saying that you are not able to accept his beliefs without judging him. How do you respond to that?
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Alternate Realities
You know, you set out to win a bet, and in the process... You hope that your dad would see the light, but this story really ends where it began, which is with a family that's been torn apart by a father's beliefs. What are you hoping that the audience walks away feeling?
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Alternate Realities
And I think that's definitely felt in this conversation and in the podcast, the love that you have for your father and that he has for you. Zach, thank you so much for bringing this really tough story, but a real story that a lot of people are going through. And thank you for sharing that. And thank you to your family for sharing that.
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Alternate Realities
We're back with a Sunday story and reporter Zach Mack, who spent the last year documenting his father's conspiratorial thinking and its effect on his family. Mack says his goal was to bring his father, quote, back to reality. He turned his reporting into a new series called Alternate Realities for NPR's Embedded Podcast. Zach Mack joins us now. Welcome to the podcast.
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Alternate Realities
That's reporter Zach Mack. His new series, Alternate Realities, is out now in the Embedded podcast feed. You can hear the series wherever you get your podcasts. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Andrew Mambo and was edited by Jenny Schmidt and Liana Simstrom. The mix engineer for this episode was Jimmy Keeley. The Sunday Story team includes Justine Yan.
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Alternate Realities
Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. We always love hearing from you, so feel free to reach out to us at thesundaystoryatnpr.org. I'm Ayesha Roscoe. Up First is back in your feed tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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Alternate Realities
So to start, you know, can you tell me a little bit about your family? Like what was it like growing up for you?
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Alternate Realities
Okay. So when did you feel like your dad was starting to become maybe a different person than the person that you knew? Like, what did that look like?
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Alternate Realities
Mack's father holds a number of conspiratorial views. He believes, among other things, that a shadowy cabal secretly runs the world, a group he calls the globalists. Last year, as Zach tried to make sense of his dad's beliefs, he began recording their conversations with his dad's permission, of course.
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Alternate Realities
But was this in line with what you had been hearing from your dad? Like, did you have a sense of like where he was getting these ideas from?
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Alternate Realities
So, you know, well, I know about prophets and I've definitely seen people prophesize in my life. And I mean, in general, with prophets, you always got to check the record. Like, are their prophecies correct? It sounds like your dad might have been hearing things that aligned with his view of the world, maybe in a way that's just kind of stretched beyond reality.
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Alternate Realities
What has your dad said that resonates with him about these sorts of prophecies?
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Alternate Realities
Here's a moment from one conversation in which Zach's dad urges Zach to start stockpiling emergency supplies.
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Alternate Realities
This all seems so personal and really, you know, just possibly destructive to your family. So why did they agree to be a part of this project?
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Alternate Realities
And there had been difficulties between your mom and your dad and your sister and your dad, like on their own, right?
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Alternate Realities
I can understand how having a partner who does not share your reality would be very straining for a marriage. But your parents have been together a long time, right?
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Alternate Realities
That sounds so difficult and so hard and so personal. Was there a point where, given how fragile your family was, you considered dropping this project or talking through maybe some other measures for reconciliation?
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Alternate Realities
When we come back, 2024 comes to an end, and with it, Zach and his dad check the list after their year-long bet. We're back with the Sunday story, and we're talking to reporter Zach Mack about the impact conspiracy theories have had on his father and what that has meant for his whole family. So, Zach, at the end of the year, obviously, none of the things on your dad's list came to pass.
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Alternate Realities
It was a moment you had been waiting for and, you know, hoping it would bring a moment of realization for your dad. So what happened?
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Alternate Realities
Today on The Sunday Story, a look at what happens to one family in this age of misinformation and conspiracy theories. A conversation with reporter Zach Mack when we return.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. We're continuing with the story of Ben Spencer, a man who has been fighting what he maintains is his wrongful conviction and sentenced to life in prison. If you haven't listened to the first part of the series, please go back and listen to that.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
We're back with the Sunday story from Up First. So Barbara Bradley Haggerty has gone to Dallas to reinvestigate the crime, found two key witnesses from the original trial, and they both recant. She also found a new alibi witness. So what happens now?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
The wild thing about this case is it seems like anyone who even just scratches the surface a little bit finds evidence and all the evidence is pointing towards Ben being innocent. Like there's no evidence pointing the other way.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
So this is the movie ending that we've been wanting, right? We wanted the movie ending, and we're finally getting it. Not yet. Not yet?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Oh, wow. I mean, that is huge. And after so long, they can finally be together.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Oh, goodness. So how many years of life had been stolen from them? Really, when you think about it, stolen from them. Right.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
I mean, how did Ben react? I mean, after all these years, what what did he what did he say? How did he feel?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
You know, that was very unselfish of him, but so painful. And he really lost this lifeline, right, with who was his wife.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
You know, after all that Ben has been through, for him to take this moment, really that's supposed to be his moment of triumph, and to think about Young, the victim in this case, and his family and their suffering, it really says so much about who Ben is and his character and his morality, right? Um...
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Barbara, before I let you go, I'm wondering, how do you see the criminal justice system now, after all of these years reporting this story?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Yeah, that is the question. That is the question that I think will stay with all of us. Barbara, thank you so much for sticking with this story and not letting Ben Spencer fall through the cracks and spend the rest of his life in prison. Thank you for all the work that you do.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
That was journalist Barbara Bradley Haggerty. To learn more about Ben Spencer's story, you can check out Barbara's book, Bringing Ben Home, A Murder, A Conviction, and the Fight to Redeem American Justice. This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo and edited by Jenny Schmidt. It was engineered by Kwesi Lee. The rest of the Sunday Story team includes Justine Yan and Liana Simstrom.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Outside of Deborah, was there anything else positive going on in his life?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. A special thanks to Anchor Entertainment for providing audio of Ben's final court appearance. I'm Ayesha Roscoe. Up first, we'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Have a great rest of your weekend.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
But, you know, as you said, courts are very unlikely to go against a jury decision and his appeals have been denied. So so what does Jim do?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
That's going to give you all the background that you need. Now, Barbara, as you explained in the first episode, the 1990s were this pivotal time in the American justice system. It was the tough on crime era, but it was also this time of technological change, including the arrival of DNA testing, which to date has helped to free about thirty six hundred innocent prisoners.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
We're back with Barbara Bradley Haggerty and the story of Ben Spencer. So, Barbara, this judge says there's no way that Ben Spencer committed the crime for which he's serving a life sentence. But, you know, in the movies, you would think, OK, they open up the bars and he's let right out. But that's that's not what happened. Right.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
You told us, however, DNA didn't help Ben Spencer because police didn't obtain any DNA from the crime scene. So while there was new hope for many wrongfully convicted, there wasn't that hope for Ben.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
I mean, that just seems so unfair, especially when you have someone who was committing similar crimes with the same M.O. I mean, and then you have a judge that reviewed it and grilled the witnesses and found Ben to be innocent. So so did the higher court in rejecting what the judge found, did they give a reason? Was it just that there wasn't any DNA? Yeah.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
It's really unimaginable. Yeah. what he's going through. And I mean, you know, at this point, Ben's been in prison for 30 years. And I just have to say that again, 30 years. And now he's essentially being told that there's really no hope. But... then there's you and Barbara, and you get involved in 2017.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
OK, so you team up with this investigator who has this experience. But it sounds kind of a little crazy because didn't Jim McCloskey, he already was looking for new evidence with his efforts and he talked to 200 people. He didn't find anything. But so y'all, but y'all thought y'all could find something.
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Yeah, I mean, you just knock on the door and see what happens. Exactly. What's the second lesson?
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The Luckiest of the Unlucky
Yeah, so he was the one who said, oh, yeah, he told me everything, and I was so outraged, and that's why I'm testifying. That's right.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. Many of us decide to make changes in our life all the time. Sometimes they're small, like New Year's resolutions, to read more or eat less sugary sweets. But sometimes we make big changes, ones that are life-altering, like a career change.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
If you are living paycheck to paycheck, is it really realistic to say, let me reinvent myself and do some good in the world?
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Oh, yeah. Being in that situation and now she got to take care of two kids and no college degree. That is a very difficult situation to be in.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
No, that is a great story. I mean, really all of these stories are incredibly inspiring. And, you know, even just in my personal life, I'm looking at this, I'm thinking, okay, if they can do it, well, maybe I need to keep trying too. We can all do it. Yeah, but tell us why these stories matter to you and why maybe they'll matter to, you know, all of us.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
So before I let you go, I guess I'm wondering if this third act, this time of reinvention, does it go beyond work? You know, I guess a lot of people might go, I don't really want to spend much more time making money. I want to spend more time on art or writing or other creative pursuits.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Well, Anthony, thank you so much for these stories. And I guess it's basically like keep hope alive. You can do it.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Anthony Brooks is a reporter with WBUR in Boston. You can find Anthony's third act series and more of his stories at WBUR.org. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Andrew Mambo and edited by Jenny Schmidt. The engineer was Jimmy Keeley. Liana Simstrom is our supervising producer and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Up first, we'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Okay, so tell me about the man in that story that drew your attention.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
But I'm guessing since we're talking about him, he didn't just stop and retire in a traditional sense.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Today we're going to focus on those life-altering changes, specifically the ones we make late in life. One of the most notable people to make a big change in recent years is President Donald Trump, who will tomorrow be inaugurated as president for the second time. He famously turned from mogul to politician when he was 69. An age often considered retirement age.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
So he wanted to do good and he wanted to do it at a point when it would matter, right?
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Well, how is it going for Tom now? Like, is he happy with the life that he chose and the radical change that he made?
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
So, Anthony, this is a really heartwarming story. And as you say, what Tom did, I guess, is no longer as out there or outlandish as it might have seemed. What has changed? Is it that people are just living longer?
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Okay. I'm not 45 yet, but I certainly hope when I'm 45 that I got half of my life ahead of me. I hope I got a long, long time.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
You got a good chance. But that is wild to think about, like how much longer people are living these days and what that means.
Up First from NPR
Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
But growing numbers of people are rejecting this idea that a productive life ends at a certain age. Instead, many are now seeing the part of life that comes after middle age not as an end, but as a beginning. The start of what some call the third act of life. Anthony Brooks is a former NPR reporter and longtime correspondent at member station WBUR in Boston.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
We're back with reporter Anthony Brooks and his stories of people who reinvented themselves late in life. But it's still scary, isn't it, to make a big life change so far along when you're really set in your ways. And it's scary to me right now to make life changes. And even like taking the finances aside, it often will require letting go of a planned life, right? Yeah.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
I mean, it sounds like she was extremely successful.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
He's spent the last few years interviewing people about their decision to reimagine and reinvent themselves late in life. His series is called Third Act, and he joins us now to talk about what he's learned. Hi, Anthony.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
Well... It really seems like she has achieved that and that this project really is making the world a little bit richer.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
We're back with Anthony Brooks of WBUR in Boston. His series, Third Act, looks at how Americans are reinventing themselves in their older years. So, Anthony, I love this idea that like as our life expectancy increases, people are seeing the end of middle age as a kind of beginning. But it does feel like that may be easier done if you have the financial means.
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Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
So I'm intrigued by the origin story of this project. Did you decide to do this because you were feeling stuck or you wanted a change in your life?
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and you're listening to The Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. If you've been listening to NPR's reporting on Gaza over the past year and a half, there's a name you've likely heard. NPR's producer in Gaza, Anas Baba. With Anas Baba in Khan Yunus, Gaza. That was NPR producer Anas Baba. Anas Baba.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
Justine Yan is a producer for The Sunday Story. She's been keeping in touch with Anas since he returned to Gaza City in late January to try and understand what it's like to be a reporter covering the war while also living through it. Justine takes up the story after the break. Stay with us.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
The ceasefire remains fragile. The first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas ended on March 1st, with no agreements as to what comes next. On March 2nd, Israel blocked all goods and humanitarian aid from entering Gaza to pressure Hamas into a different deal, one that frees more hostages but does not end the war. Anas Baba continues to report for NPR from Gaza City.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
This episode was reported and produced by Justine Yan. Additional production by Adelina Lansianese. Editing by Jenny Schmidt. Fact-checking by Will Chase. And audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. Thanks to Aya Batraoui, Dee Dee Skanky, Daniel Estrin, and Mary Glenn Denning. The Sunday Story team includes Andrew Mambo, Kim Naderfame-Petersa, and our senior supervising producer, Liana Simstrom.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Ayesha Roscoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
Anas is one of the only Palestinian journalists in Gaza working full-time for an American news organization. He's from Gaza City, and he's been NPR's eyes and ears on the ground. He sends dispatches from hospitals, displacement camps, and bomb sites.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
Anas does all of this with little more than a cell phone. He works closely with a team of NPR journalists who've been covering this war from outside of Gaza. Israel has banned international journalists from independent access to Gaza since Hamas's deadly attack on October 7, 2023. On January 19th of this year, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect.
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A Palestinian Reporter Returns Home to Gaza City
The ceasefire permitted Palestinians to return to the north of Gaza.
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A Home But Not A Cure
Yeah, I can see how it's hard to accept that some people won't be able to get helped in the way that we think about it. Like, can everybody with the right, you know, approach get sober? What happened with 1811 Eastlake?
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A Home But Not A Cure
So Will has raised a lot of really difficult questions about Housing First as a policy. After the break, he tries to make sense of all of this nuanced information, the good stuff, the bad stuff, and how it can all fit together. We're back with the Sunday story, talking with reporter Will James about the complicated reality of Housing First.
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A Home But Not A Cure
Will, I want to take us back to the question that kicked off your reporting. The results from 1811 Eastlake are part of this stack of evidence that Housing First works. And yet, the shortfalls that you point to in your reporting are real, right? So in practice, people continue to relapse and overdose and have crises even once they're inside under Housing First.
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A Home But Not A Cure
Housing first started as a fringe idea, but eventually evidence started piling up that this worked to resolve many of the most stubborn cases of chronic homelessness. When people got housing under this approach, they usually stayed housed for years, like Kenny.
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A Home But Not A Cure
I'm wondering, how have you come to understand the role of Housing First in addressing homelessness?
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A Home But Not A Cure
So it sounds like people may need to modify their expectations of what Housing First can do. But do you think there are ways to continue improving it, like as a part of a comprehensive plan to reduce homelessness?
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A Home But Not A Cure
So I want to go back to Kenny. You point to his life as an example of what success looks like under Housing First. But you also point out in your audio documentary that it's a complicated success.
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A Home But Not A Cure
But with homelessness now at record levels, conservative think tanks and activists have set their sights on the philosophy of housing first. They're pushing for more programs that require treatment and sobriety before housing. And Project 2025 calls for ending support of it all together.
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A Home But Not A Cure
Well, I mean, that's incredibly moving. Getting back to the politics of all of this, President Trump, he's surrounded by critics of Housing First. So what is the possible impact of shifting away from Housing First on a national level?
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A Home But Not A Cure
That's Will James, reporter and producer at Seattle member station KUOW. You can find his full documentary on housing first at the link in our show notes. Thank you for being here, Will.
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A Home But Not A Cure
This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan and Kim Naderfane Peterson. It was edited by Jenny Schmidt. Kwesi Lee mastered the episode. Special thanks to Liz Jones, who edited the KUOW audio documentary on Housing First. The Sunday Story team includes Andrew Mambo and our senior supervising producer, Liana Simstrom. Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
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A Home But Not A Cure
After a break, reporter Will James joins me to talk about the future of Housing First and whether it's time for a course correction and how the U.S. handles one of its most persistent problems. We're back with the Sunday story. I'm here with Will James, a reporter and producer for KUOW in Seattle.
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A Home But Not A Cure
Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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A Home But Not A Cure
He recently published an audio documentary about the housing first approach to homelessness, its history and its future. Will, welcome to the podcast.
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A Home But Not A Cure
So, Will, Housing First has been around for 30 years, and it's been the U.S. government's central strategy for fighting homelessness for at least a decade now, depending on when you start counting. Help us to understand the backlash to this philosophy. Like, where is it coming from?
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A Home But Not A Cure
That is very interesting because you are talking to people who are dealing with this firsthand and they are fueling some of these doubts about housing first. Like what what are they seeing that's causing their concerns?
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A Home But Not A Cure
This building, the Union Hotel, is the first in Seattle to operate under a philosophy called Housing First. And Kenny was one of the original tenants who moved in 30 years ago. He came here straight off the streets.
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A Home But Not A Cure
And you talked to some tenants who had experiences like this for your audio documentary.
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A Home But Not A Cure
So conditions were so bad in the building that Michelle actually felt safer staying in a tent out on the street?
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A Home But Not A Cure
And vocal critics of Housing First, like the vice president, J.D. Vance, have picked up on these anecdotes, right, in their efforts to dismantle these programs. But what do they want instead?
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A Home But Not A Cure
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. Not long ago, reporter Will James walked into an apartment building in Seattle and met a tenant named Kenny Taylor.
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A Home But Not A Cure
OK, so so housing first was an alternative to treatment first. Yeah. So what were the problems with this reward and punishment based system that, you know, housing first emerged to address?
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A Home But Not A Cure
When Kenny moved into his apartment in the 1990s, Housing First was an experiment and nobody knew how it was going to turn out. But now, 30 years later, Housing First is the central strategy the federal government uses to combat homelessness. So is it working? And is it working like it's supposed to?
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A Home But Not A Cure
So you're talking about the 1811 Eastlake Project. Yes. You've got a section about this in your audio documentary, and it starts with this excerpt from a local Seattle call-in show back then, The Conversation.
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A Home But Not A Cure
When housing first was introduced, the idea was to take some of the most vulnerable people living on the streets and move them immediately into their own permanent subsidized apartments. A lot of these people had serious mental illnesses and addictions. The plan was to get them a home first and then worry about treating those problems later.
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A Home But Not A Cure
So what I'm picking up on here is that there are very different ideas about what success looks like under Housing First. The callers were basically saying they want people to get sober. And Bill, who runs the nonprofit, is saying we have to accept that, you know, some percentage of people are never going to get sober.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and you're listening to the Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. So if you've been following the news over the last year, you've likely heard about the rise of the Christian nationalism movement. Today on the Sunday Story, we take a closer look at one group of Christian nationalists and hear their vision for the country today.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
You're listening to The Sunday Story. After the break, Heath Drewson and I sit down to talk about the road ahead as we enter the next Trump term. We'll be right back.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
We're back with Heath Drusen talking about his podcast, Extremely American. which takes this deep dive into Christian nationalism and talks to the practitioners of it who are very open about it. One thing that I was struck by in the excerpt that we just heard is that they want the nation to be run under religion.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
This idea of Christianity or Christ, that's where I get a little confused because I'm a Christian and I grew up in a very conservative church. But I guess I want to get some clarity on what these specific Christian nationalists, when they're talking about a Christian government, what does that actually look like to them?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
The other part of this that I think is, you know, very interesting is that there was like another very pro-U.S. and Protestant movement in the 1920s. And that was like the Ku Klux Klan, right? Where... to be American was to be white and to be Protestant, right? Like that was a part of this, right? Like that was a part of what it meant.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
And obviously now the Klan was a terrorist organization, but I just wonder how does whiteness interact with this movement?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
That is an interesting dichotomy there. So this is a church in a town in Idaho. They may have created this kind of Christian industrial complex, but how far can their reach really be?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
So, I mean, the influence that Christian nationalism has is not theoretical, right? Trump and his advisors have not called for some of the most extreme things that the Christian nationalists that you talk to, that they're pushing for, for an actual theocracy and things of that nature.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
You did a lot of reporting from this college town in Idaho. It's called Moscow. Tell me about your reporting there.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
But in this next Trump administration, are there any things that you are going to be paying attention to or looking out for just along these lines?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
Heath, thank you so much for bringing this reporting to us. It's very illuminating. So thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Keith Drusen is the host and creator of the Extremely American podcast series from Boise State Public Radio. You can hear both seasons of the show at NPR.org or wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
It was edited by Jenny Schmidt. Kweisi Lee mastered the episode. Special thanks to Boise State Public Radio, who partnered with Heath on Extremely American, James Dawson, Heath's co-reporter and sound designer on the season, and Extremely American editor Morgan Springer. The Sunday Story team includes Andrew Mambo and our senior supervising producer, Liana Simstrom.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up First is back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
in their own words. I'm here with journalist Heath Drewson. He's the host and creator of the Extremely American podcast series from Boise State Public Radio and the NPR Network. The podcast series provides an inside look at how a national movement traces back to a church in Idaho. Heath, welcome to the podcast.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
A Christian town? Yeah. So what does that mean exactly?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
So how did you get access to the church and the people behind it? And do they call themselves Christian nationalists?
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
When we come back, we'll take a listen to some of season two of Heath Drewson's podcast, Extremely American. It starts off with a candid moment between Drewson and Gabriel Wrench. He's a prominent member of Doug Wilson's Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, the Moscow, Idaho-based religious organization.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
Then, Drewson and his co-reporter James Dawson check out a Christian nationalist conference called Fight, Laugh, Feast, headlined by Doug Wilson and other leading voices of the national movement. We'll be right back.
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Theocrats on the Doorstep of Power
So I know that you've immersed yourself in reporting on Christian nationalism in America. Talk to me about what this very, very broad category means to you.
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Who gets to be an American?
Team, continue their episode of NPR's Throughline Podcast.
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Who gets to be an American?
In part one of their episode, ThruLine lays out how in the 1800s, thousands of Chinese laborers immigrated to the U.S. to work in factories and build America's railroads. But when an economic downturn hit, politicians turned against the Chinese, claiming they were taking low-wage jobs because they were willing to work under slave-like conditions. There were mob attacks and mass lynchings.
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Who gets to be an American?
And in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. That prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country. Under these conditions, Wong Kim Ark and his parents went back to China. But a few years later, he returned to the U.S. to work. He'd make occasional visits back to China to see his family. In 1895, he returned back to San Francisco after one of those visits.
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Who gets to be an American?
But officials refused to let him leave the steamship. The U.S. government was looking for a test case to expand the Chinese Exclusion Act. And he was it. After the break, ThruLine's run to Abdel Fattah and Ramteen Arablui and part two of their story, the test case.
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Who gets to be an American?
That story was brought to you by Ramteem Erablui, Rand Abdel-Fattah, and the rest of my colleagues at ThruLine. You can hear the full episode on NPR's ThruLine wherever you listen to podcasts. We also put a link to the episode in the show notes. As for Wong Kim Ark, he continued to live his life between the United States and China, where he had kids and a wife.
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Who gets to be an American?
He was even able to bring some of his kids to live in the U.S., Though Wong Kim Ark's fight for recognition didn't make his own life much easier, it did clear a path for his own family and the descendants of millions of others whose rights are, for now, secured by soil and not by their skin color or ethnicity. He went to visit China one last time in 1931 when he was in his 60s.
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Who gets to be an American?
He never returned to the U.S. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Thanks for listening to the Sunday Story from Up First. We'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Who gets to be an American?
You're listening to The Sunday Story. Here are my colleagues Ramteen Ereblui and Rond Abdel-Fattah from ThruLine with an excerpt from their episode on birthright citizenship. Here's Rond.
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Who gets to be an American?
Trump's action, although dramatic, wasn't exactly a surprise. He'd been talking about doing exactly this over and over.
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Who gets to be an American?
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. So a fundamental question is being asked right now. Who gets to be a U.S. citizen? On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. whose parents are in the country illegally.
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Who gets to be an American?
This is Trump at a GOP event at his Doral Golf Resort in Miami on January 27th of this year.
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Who gets to be an American?
After Trump issued his order, 22 states quickly filed lawsuits. And then federal courts temporarily blocked the order, which means that now the issue will move slowly through the legal system. At the heart of this fight is a question that's centuries old. Who is truly American and who gets to decide?
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Who gets to be an American?
Recently, my colleagues at NPR's History podcast, Throughline, revisited the story behind the 14th Amendment and how it came to be. The story focuses on one man, Wong Kim Ark. He was born in 1873 in San Francisco to Chinese parents at a time that the U.S. was turning against Chinese immigrants.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
So you were already starting to see this extreme fear, this kind of almost a paralysis in Nebraska in the lead up to Trump's inauguration. I know you were in Illinois soon after Trump actually took office. What were you seeing and hearing there?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
When we come back, people waiting in line at a food bank express their own feelings of disorientation and fear. Stay with us. We're back with NPR's Jasmine Garz talking about her recent reporting on immigration. So Jasmine, when you were in Waukegan, Illinois in January, you went to a food bank hosted by a church in a Latino community. What was the mood like there?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
Can you take us to one of those conversations that you witnessed?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
What Jasmine was seeing in Florida, it was kind of a foreshadowing of what was to happen around the country. Since President Donald Trump took office, he's taken unprecedented measures to crack down on illegal immigration. And in many places, these measures have instilled a lot of fear. When we come back, a conversation with NPR's Jasmine Garst. Stay with us.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
You mentioned Jose, her husband, is involved in activism. How does that fit into this climate of fear?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
Jasmine, thank you so much for joining us today and for all of your reporting. Thanks for having me. Correspondent Jasmine Garst is with NPR's immigration team. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Andrew Mambo and was edited by Jenny Schmidt and Liana Simstrom. The mix engineer for this episode was Kwesi Lee. Fact-checking for this episode was done by Katie Doggart.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
The Sunday Story team includes Justine Yan. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. We always love hearing from you, so feel free to reach out to us at thesundaystoryatnpr.org. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up First is back in your feed tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
We're back with NPR's immigration reporter, Jasmine Garst. Jasmine, welcome. Hi, Ayesha. So let's head to Fort Myers, Florida. This was a city you visited in the spring of 2024. Why were you down there?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday story from Up First. Every Sunday, we do something special. We go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. Not too long ago, NPR's immigration correspondent Jasmine Gartz was at the laundromat in her predominantly Latino neighborhood in New York City. And this ad came on the wall-mounted TV that's always playing there.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
Is Fort Myers unique or is this something that's happening throughout Florida?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
Have you gone to other states and seen similar situations where people are fleeing or staying out of sight?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
This ad, it caught Jasmine's attention because she spent a lot of time over the last year talking to immigrants with and without legal status who are scrambling to adjust to this moment. People who have seen this coming for a while now. There's one woman in particular who really stuck with her.
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
And we should just remind everybody, you were talking to all of these people before Trump had even taken office, you know, at this point. But I imagine that you probably heard something different from many of the immigrants in Nebraska, or did you?
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Fear and Dreaming in the USA
The dream of your child being able to have those opportunities that you didn't have. I didn't get to do these things, but you, my child, my offspring, maybe not, maybe it's my grandchildren, but you're going to do it. That is very American as well.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. Tonight, Hollywood's biggest stars gather for the Academy Awards, the annual celebration of all things movies. If you've been listening to the Sunday Story for a while, you know I love horror movies, so I was happy to see the horror genre getting some love this year.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
We're back with the Sunday story from up first as we hear more Oscar predictions from the team over at Pop Culture Happy Hour.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
So another note I want to make is that we are going to be making these next predictions before the Screen Actor Guild Awards have come out at the time of this recording. So ordinarily, as I did with the best picture, I would have kind of like dug into my back and looked, oh, who won SAG Awards? And that would have helped inform my opinions here. We're just out here being brave.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
We're being brave. We're out here naked. Just sheets of the wind. We're doing that.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I have no idea. So let's move on to the acting categories and let's start with the lead actress category. Stephen, who is nominated here?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
All right. And I'm pretty sure that we all think Demi Moore is going to walk away with this award. Linda, why do you think she'll win?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah, I get that. I mean, Stephen, you and I are aligned. I also would... really love to see Mikey Madison take this home. I've been a huge fan of hers ever since she was in Better Things, the great Pamela Adlon show as one of her daughters.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I've seen some criticisms of the film as being like a movie where we don't learn much about the Mikey Madison character and that she's just this one note, you know, sex worker. And I disagree with that hard. I think that Just because we don't learn every single detail about her backstory, that doesn't mean that she's not a fully realized character.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I think that there are just these so many great moments and interactions that hint at both her social class, her status in life. And I think the ending actually is one of the great endings. But look, we're not here to deliberate that. I'm just here to say that I loved Mikey Madison. And look, I'd be happy if Cynthia Erivo won. I'd also be happy if Demi Moore won.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
We're back with the Sunday story from Up First, and today we're sharing an excerpt of an episode from our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour. It features all of their predictions of who will be the big winners at tonight's ceremony.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
All right. Well, let's move on to the nominations for actor in a leading role. Glenn, why don't you set that up for us?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
All right. So I'm going to go first here because I guess I'm the only one who is convinced that Timothy is probably going to pull off a Rami Malek here. I was looking at sort of this entire crop of nominees. And unlike with the best actress category, there's not really any that are like transformative in like the traditional way. In the Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill category.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Or, you know, The Whale, Brendan Fraser, like that kind of thing. DiCaprio and The Revenant. Like, that's not happening here. And so I think for me, we can never underestimate the enthusiasm of the Academy's boomer and raucous membership. Mm-hmm. as well as its tendency to love actors who play real people.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Again, Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, Will Smith in King Richard, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, on and on and on. Like over the last 15, 20 years, a lot of the winners in this category have been playing real people. And I don't know if the Dylan cosplay on SNL hurt or helped Siawe's chances. I think maybe it's possible they just kind of neutralized them.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I feel as though Timothy has a very good shot and I would not be surprised to see him wind up with the Oscar.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
a misunderstood witch, an unknowable singer-songwriter, a dejected TV personality, and the dean of cardinals will all walk into the Dolby Theater on Sunday night. Because it's that time of year again. Yes, it's the Oscars.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I'm the only one here. I'm standing alone here on my Club Chalamet boat.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah. Look, in a just world, Clarence Macklin, who is one of the other performers in this movie and a formerly incarcerated person who contributed to the storytelling of this film, would have also been up here in this category because he, to me, gives just as good of a performance. But I am glad that Coleman Domingo is here and I am with you both, Glenn and Linda, that I think he should win.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
And I'm Ayesha Harris. And on this episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're offering up a guide to this year's Oscars. Joining us today are our fellow Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts, Linda Holmes. Hey, Linda.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
So it sounds like Glenn, Linda, and I are for Coleman Domingo.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
A late stage change in the numbers. Four for Coleman Domingo.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
That brings us to the end of this big Oscars extravaganza show. Glenn Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Linda Holmes, thanks so much for being here. We all owe each other beers at this point. Oh, absolutely. We'll make it happen.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Thank you, friend. If you'd like to hear more discussion about this year's Oscars, check out the full episode on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Jessica Reedy and Jenny Schmidt. The Sunday Story team includes Justine Yan and Liana Simstrom.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. Up First will be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
And Glenn Weldon. Hey, Glenn. Hey, Ayesha. It's great to be here with all of you to talk about the Oscars for our big Oscar show. We are going to obviously spend some time on Best Picture first since that's the big ticket award of the night. And a couple big blockbusters earned nominations. Stephen, do you want to set those up for us?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I was definitely thankful for those recaps for Dune Part 1 before I watched this one.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yes, yes. Well, okay. There's also a handful of smaller but no less ambitious movies that were nominated. And to some degree, I think This crop, we all really liked and admired quite a few of these. So, Linda, can you give us the rundown on these films?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
The film The Substance was about the terrifying outcome of an age-reversing drug, and it's been nominated in five categories, including Best Picture and Best Actress. And I also saw Conclave. It's a visually stunning film. is amazing. It's about the selection of a new pope. I really love that one. And of course, I had to watch Wicked with my kids. We had a lot of fun.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Those are all very different, but like I said, very ambitious in their own ways. So it's nice to see them in the mix here for sure. Of course, we've got the more traditional Best Picture nominees here. Glenn, tell us about this group.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah. And, you know, for the past several years, we've seen international features nominated in the Best Picture category. And so this year, I'm Still Here actually earned a nomination. It's set in 1970s Brazil when it was under a military dictatorship. And it tells the story of a mother dealing with the disappearance of her politician husband.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
And finally, we've got two movies that have been making lots of waves.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Okay. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a second. But they've been on the scene since way back at Cannes. The Cannes Film Festival last spring. Stephen, what have we got here?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah. Okay, well, before we truly dig into who we think will and should win here, it's important for us to sort of briefly touch on the controversies that have arisen during awards season. There's the big one. Very soon after the nominations were announced in January... Some old racist and Islamophobic tweets made by Amelia Perez star Carla Sofia Gascon resurfaced by journalist Sarah Hagee.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Now, in those tweets, the actress used slurs and other disparaging language to refer to a wide range of demographics and people, including Muslims, Chinese people, and George Floyd. Gascon apologized via an official Netflix statement, but continued to discuss it in interviews, and she suggested there was some kind of larger conspiracy at work against her.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Now, to a lesser degree, the Amelia Perez team has also faced some flack for using AI cloning to widen Gascon's singing range. Amelia Perez led the Oscars race this year with 13 nominations. But I'm actually curious if you all think that these controversies have impacted this film's chance of taking home Best Picture. Linda, let's start with you and what you think will win.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
If you haven't seen it, you don't have to look to the western sky. That's in the movie. It's kind of a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and it's got a whopping 10 nominations this year. Beyond that, I haven't been able to see many of the movies this year because I'm always working. But our friends over at Pop Culture Happy Hour have seen them all. It's their job.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Just to back up a little bit, in case you haven't heard about the AI controversy around the Brutalists, leads Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones were reportedly, their voices were fed into some AI software. And director Brady Korbe said in a statement that only their Hungarian dialogue was enhanced by the AI.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
But also the film's editor said that generative AI was used as inspiration for some of the architectural drawings that are done by Adrian Brody's character. So, Stephen, what are your thoughts on what will win?
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah, yeah. I mean, one thing I will note is that it's also important to remember that the Oscars are ultimately decided through rank choice voting. And so it doesn't have to be everyone's favorite film. It just has to be enough people's maybe even second favorite film.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
Yeah, and that's where you and I align, Glenn. I also think Onora is going to win. It won the Producers Guild of America Awards first. And since 2010, every winner of the PGA award has also won best picture with three exceptions. And then there was also one year where there was a tie between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave. 12 Years a Slave wound up winning the Oscars. So like,
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I feel like the odds were kind of in Anora's favor, but we shall see. So we all said who we think will win, but like, who do we think should win? For me, I think Anora should win. I think it is, to me, the correct choice in part because it subverts expectations around genre.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
You think it's going to be some sort of like sort of crime movie, but it's also a family comedy and a screwball comedy and a drama. And it just feels like a movie that's of the moment in a way that most of the other films in this pack do not land for me. It normalizes this depiction of sex work.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
It also has this very matter-of-fact take on capitalism that I don't think is either subtle, but it's not preachy either. It's just very resonant.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I don't know. Well, Linda, I know you were not a huge fan of this, and we don't have to get into why. And also, I love that we have different opinions on this show. So I am curious as to what you think should win.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
And we're going to hear their predictions coming up right after the break.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
I would be so happy to see this one. It has stayed with me months later, and I think it's just such a beautiful film that I need to rewatch. I definitely need to rewatch, and I think it rewards rewatch. And we should also note that Nickel Boys is actually released by Amazon MGM Studios, and Amazon supports NPR and Pace to distribute some of our content.
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Who Will Win at the Oscars
You're listening to The Sunday Story. More Oscar predictions when we come back.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Our editors are Shannon Rhodes, Miguel Macias. Martha Ann Overland, and Melissa Gray. Michael Radcliffe is our director, with support from technical director Andy Huther. And the engineers who help us out, David Greenberg, Zach Coleman, and Arthur Holliday-Lorent.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Tomorrow on The Sunday Story, with the recent arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity, NPR's Emily Fang takes a look at the aftermath of his brutal war on drugs.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
And it's taken on a new urgency this week amid a showdown between a federal judge, James Boasberg, and the Trump administration over its use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans it claims belong to a criminal gang.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
The Department of Homeland Security is making cuts to its civil rights and immigration oversight offices. Saying these offices obstruct immigration enforcement. I'm Sarah McCammon. I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Coming up, NPR's Ron Elving on the latest news from the Trump administration. Travelers to the U.S.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
are worried about being interrogated at checkpoints, searched and detained for days.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Also, Sudan's military says it's retaken the seat of the country's government. Could this be a turning point in the civil war there? Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Border officials might ask the purpose of your visit and how long you intend to stay and then wave you through.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Michelle Hackman covers immigration for The Wall Street Journal and joins us now. Welcome. Thanks for having me. So in your latest article, you mentioned border officials are using aggressive questioning tactics with visa holders and tourists. What are you seeing?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Obviously, I'm not a lawyer and not privy to everything that ICE knows. But why not just detain? deport someone who has problems with their visas immediately or just turn them around at the airport? Why shackle and chain them and keep them in ICE detention?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
You've reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. What are they telling you?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
One concern that people have had is border officials going through people's phones and looking for, you know, social media, stuff like that. Is that legal? Is it legal for border officials to go through people's phones?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Travelers from Asia, Africa and South America have a much more difficult time entering the U.S. compared to Europeans. In India, the current wait time just for an appointment for a tourist visa is more than a year. Most Europeans don't even need a visa to come to the U.S. for short stays. Is the focus on these European tourists being blown out of proportion or?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
People abroad may think twice before coming to the U.S., If they're hearing these sorts of news stories, what kind of impact could this crackdown have on the U.S. economy?
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
That's Michelle Hackman. She covers immigration for The Wall Street Journal. Thank you so much for coming in today.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
We reached out to the U.S. Customs Border and Protection Agency to ask them about reports that officials have become more aggressive with international travelers arriving in the U.S., but did not hear back from them before this podcast.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
It's the first time the army has recaptured the palace in the capital since the outbreak of the war almost two years ago.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
But he regained it in his mid-40s, making him the oldest man to become world heavyweight champion.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Foreman was the father of 12 children, including five sons, all named George Foreman.
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DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
And that's up first for Saturday, March 22nd, 2025.
Up First from NPR
Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Upheaval at the Pentagon.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Hamas frees more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
It's the last such exchange in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
And in New York State, the governor has deployed National Guard troops to help secure prisons.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the second African-American to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is now out of a job.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Prison guards protesting working conditions they say are unfair and unsafe have been on strike across New York State since Monday.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
And there have been other developments this week. A group of correctional officers were charged in a fatal beating of an inmate.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Trump has nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Cain as his replacement.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Top military lawyers are also out, as are more than 5,000 personnel. I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
And that's up first for Saturday, February 22nd. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Martin Patience handcrafted today's podcast with care and with help from the equally gifted and talented Michael Radcliffe.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
You know I do not like birds. Our director is the very nimble Andrew Craig, and his reflexes are cat-like to counter the birds.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, and Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. They shake their heads at us a lot.
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Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons
Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, conspiracy theories are all over social media. For some, that's as far as they go. But for reporter Zach Mack, they've infiltrated his family and frayed relationships. What happens when relatives can't agree on what's true and what isn't?
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Luis Clemens is our deputy managing editor.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
The story of a young black man convicted for killing a white businessman and how he remained in prison even as witnesses recanted their testimony.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
It'll be a holiday treat.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
And I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Republicans defy the demands of President-elect Donald Trump and vote in favor of the deal.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
But not until after Trump interfered with his own demands and threats.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
We'll have more on that story, plus a car plows into a busy Christmas market in Germany, killing at least five people and leaving more than 200 injured.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Authorities in Germany say a man intentionally drove a BMW into an outdoor Christmas market yesterday in the city of Magdeburg.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Congress ratifies a bipartisan short-term spending plan to avert a government shutdown this weekend.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Netflix has streamed live events before, but they are stepping up their game this Christmas Day.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
And a Beyonce halftime show to boot. Can Netflix handle that traffic? John Oran is here to tell us more. He covers sports and business for Puck News. Thank you for being with us.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
OK, so as I mentioned before, Netflix has hosted live events before. There was last month's boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, as well as a live reunion last year for the reality show Love is Blind. How have these live events gone in the past?
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
What's in it for the NFL? There is that risk of technical issues, even if that's just short term. They're also competing against Christmas Day NBA games. So what is the upside for the NFL?
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Are the viewers, the fans of these sports, are they making the jump to streaming? Like, right now it seems like they need a cable package, Amazon Prime Video. They might need Peacock. Are they going to have to add Netflix to the list? I mean, this could be a lot just for the fan to keep up.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Netflix has secured the streaming rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cups. What does that tell you about the company's kind of longer-term strategy when it comes to sports?
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
That's John Oran. He covers sports and business for Puck News. Thank you so much for joining us.
Up First from NPR
Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
And I'm Aisha Roscoe.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Our director is Danny Hensel.
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Government Shutdown Averted, German Christmas Market Attack, Netflix And The NFL
Andy Huther is our technical director with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and Arthur Halliday-Lorent.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
First up today, the war in Gaza. A ceasefire is imminent. Israel's war cabinet signed off on the deal early this morning, and international mediators say it starts tomorrow morning.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. The latest from the region today on the podcast.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
Israel's war cabinet gives the final approval to a deal with Hamas.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
And the case against Pepsi over allegations a case of the soda costs different amounts for different shoppers.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
And we're still learning about the virus, our reaction to it, including some new and concerning information about Trump cabinet pick Robert Kennedy, and how prepared we are for the next pandemic.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
The Federal Trade Commission accuses Pepsi of giving unfair discounts for its soft drinks to its biggest retailer, discounts that it doesn't offer to smaller rivals.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
And that's up first for Saturday, January 18th, 2025. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
Today's podcast was produced by Andrew Craig, with help from Fernando Naro, Gabe O'Connor, and Martin Patience. Michael Radcliffe directed.
Up First from NPR
Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
Andy Huther is our technical director with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and Arthur Holliday-Lorent.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, making big changes later in life. More Americans are switching things up as we live longer and healthier.
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Ceasefire On Track, Pandemic Preparedness, Pepsi Sued
Do it now. And then you can hear Scott roar like that. That was amazing, Scott. He's grabbing on to life.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
But that was only possible with help from a few Democratic lawmakers, which has riled up their congressional colleagues.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
The Republican spending bill narrowly passed the Senate last night with help from a few Democratic lawmakers.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Plus, conservative media usually puts a positive spin on President Trump's policies. But how are they covering the economic fallout?
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
President Trump can ordinarily count on the support of more conservative news outlets.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us now to tell us more. Good to have you, David.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Where are we starting to see some of this pushback?
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
So what are they saying?
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
One key Democratic vote from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer helped the Republican bill advance.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
And how have other pro-Trump outlets covered this moment?
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Well, what do you think the impact of this coverage will be?
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
That's NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. David, thanks so much for joining us. The Israeli government denies that its campaign against Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. South Africa is arguing in the International Court of Justice that it does. The case is yet to be decided.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
And for his role in those protests, Khalil has been taken into custody by immigration agents and is now facing deportation.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
And that's up first for Saturday, March 15th, 2025. I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Martin Patience produced today's episode with help from Ryan Bank and Phil Harrell.
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Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Andrew Craig is our director with support from technical director Andy Huther.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, and Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.
Up First from NPR
Democrat In-Fighting; Conservative Media on Trump; Mahmoud Khalil's Wife Speaks
And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Week in Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
World leaders meet in Munich to discuss the fate of Ukraine.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
The Trump administration continues its efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
That's an agency set up after the 2008 financial crisis to make sure banks stick to rules about credit cards, home loans, and other forms of debt.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
Plus, a tumultuous week at a federal consumer protection agency.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board have been sorting through black box data for the past two weeks.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
Now investigators say the helicopter's pilots may not have heard a critical instruction from air traffic control.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
And is pressing Zelensky for concessions.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
And that's up first for Saturday, February 15th. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
This podcast was produced by Martin Patience with help from Fernando Naro, Samantha Balaban, Elena Twork, and Gabe O'Connor.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
He keeps us on track. Our editors were Miguel Macias, Dee Parvaz, Nick Spicer, Rafael Nam, Russell Lewis, and Matthew Sherman.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor and Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, how advocates for homeless people devise the housing first strategy and why conservative lawmakers oppose it.
Up First from NPR
The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
But on Monday and Tuesday, it's not me and you, Scott.
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The Future of Ukraine ... and a US Consumer Agency. More on Black Hawk Crash
They're nice.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
And I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Thousands of protesters outside the parliament building cheered when the measure was passed.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
The political crisis threatened to pull an established democracy back to its days of military rule.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Plus, Texas sues a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication to a Dallas woman.
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S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago, out-of-state doctors have been prescribing abortion medication to patients in states with strict abortion laws.
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S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Earlier this month, he tried to impose martial law as he struggled against his political opponents in the government.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Did you know coffee is the second most popular beverage in the U.S. after water?
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
And for me, I just drink a lot of Coca-Cola. But I am thinking of all the millions of coffee drinkers out there because this week coffee prices on the futures market hit their highest level in nearly half a century. We invited NPR's Alina Selyuk here to explain what's going on. Welcome to the podcast. Hello, hello. Can you guess what I brought? Did you bring some coffee to keep you going?
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S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Okay, you brought your latte. What is happening with coffee prices?
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S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
OK, I think my mom drinks something like that. But back to the prices. Was it just the irreversible damage to harvest that drove up the cost?
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S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
OK, so now we've been talking about record prices on the futures market, but I don't buy coffee at the futures market, right? You buy it at the grocery store or at Starbucks. So how is this going to translate?
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
That's probably bad news for coffee drinkers, but we got to give it to you straight. No cream and sugar here. That's NPR's Alina Selyuk. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Our director is Michael Radcliffe.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
Jay Ciz is our technical director with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and author Holiday Laurent.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor. He also did a lot of editing this week.
Up First from NPR
S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
The celebrated African-American poet Nikki Giovanni passed away this week at the age of 81. We remember her and her work. with a conversation between her and NPR host Rachel Martin earlier this year.
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Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
But is that how things are really going to work?
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Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
That's what the president said, but there have already been some big cuts. We'll look at who's actually calling the shots.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Musk has been tasked by President Trump to cut the federal workforce, and so he has. Over 62,000 employees across 17 agencies.
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Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Plus, five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we'll look at the efforts to treat long COVID.
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Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
And for millions of Americans, the infection has had lasting consequences, leaving them with a series of at times debilitating symptoms referred to as long COVID.
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Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
it almost sounds like he might be stripping some of that power away from Musk and his Doge entity.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
And that's up first for Saturday, March 8th, 2025. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Martin Patience produced today's episode with help from Michael Radcliffe and Ryan Bank.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Andrew Craig is our director, and today's his birthday. Happy birthday! With support from technical director Andy Huther.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, and Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Lowering grocery prices was one of President Trump's repeated campaign promises.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Diarrhea.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Well, hold on to your wallet, Scott, because according to economic experts, the tariffs President Trump just imposed on dozens of our trading partners will make prices on many things go up even higher.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
President Trump's tariffs are here, and that means higher prices for many things Americans buy every single day.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Senate Republicans are moving ahead with their budget plan. It's intended to help realize some of President Trump's domestic policies, such as his tax and energy agendas.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
We'll also take a look at a Republican spending bill intended to help enact President Trump's domestic policies.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
basketball and hockey fans had a big night last night.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
And I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Dee Parvaz edited along with Melissa Gray, Avi Schneider, and Martha Ann Overland.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes. Evie Stone is our executive producer, and Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Now, you know, we take keeping you informed very seriously. Our friends at NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, they take making fun of the news very seriously.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
You can test your knowledge of the week's news against the show's panelists by listening every weekend. Check out this weekend's lightning fill-in-the-blank news quiz.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey
Biscuits.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
At least 14 people were killed after a man drove his pickup truck into a crowd celebrating the start of the new year.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. What made an American-born veteran claim allegiance with ISIS and carry out a deadly attack?
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
So, who changed their votes to help Johnson, and how will he get things done with a very slim majority?
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Congress just started its new session on Friday, and there's drama already.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
They've also been looking into a possible link between that attack and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Today marks the start of nearly a week's worth of funereal events to honor former President Jimmy Carter. He passed away earlier this week at the age of 100.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
And I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Our editors are Dee Parvaz, Martha Ann Overland, Kelsey Snell, and Krishnadev Kalamer.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucia Oliver is our executive producer.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
And for the latest news, plus delightful conversations about books, movies, and more, listen to Weekend Edition. You can find us on the radio, your smartphone. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station and listen to us, you know, on the weekends.
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
Yeah.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
The meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky began smoothly, with President Donald Trump touting his role as a peacemaker between Ukraine and Russia.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Friday, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., demoted several senior lawyers in the office, including lawyers who oversaw cases against President Trump's political allies and the January 6th rioters.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Demotions at the Department of Justice, including lawyers who worked on the January 6th cases.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Think the cost of eggs is high right now? The Department of Agriculture says that prices could rise more than 40 percent this year.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
This week, the USDA announced it will spend up to $1 billion to fight the virus.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Leah Douglas covers agriculture and energy policy for Reuters and has been closely following this outbreak. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. So can you give us a sense of just how serious the spread of bird flu is?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
And what is the threat to humans and other animals?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
And one person has died from this?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Is the bird flu outbreak, is that what's responsible for high egg prices or is there more to it?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
What is the government's plan to combat bird flu and lower the price of eggs? What will it entail?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Well, about those vaccines, because scientists have developed a vaccine, but I gather it's not widely used. Why isn't it being used?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
A heated exchange in the Oval Office in front of reporters and a minerals deal left unsigned. I'm Aisha Rasta.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
So you've been covering this story for a long time. What are the experts telling you needs to happen to get this outbreak contained?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
That's Leah Douglas, an agriculture and energy policy reporter at Reuters. Thanks for talking with us. Thank you for having me. And that's up first for Saturday, March 1st, 2025. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Martin Patience produced today's episode with help from Gabe O'Connor, Fernando Naro, and Gabriel Donatoff.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Our technical director, Andy Huther.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, and Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. They're happy to work with the ever delightful, just a shining light, Jim Cain, our deputy managing editor, and we are too.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Week in Edition. It's on your radio.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
Right now, go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy-Vance-Trump Blow Up, DOJ Demotions, Feds Plan for Bird Flu
After the meeting, the White House canceled a joint news conference and the Ukrainian delegation canceled plans to sign a treaty with the United States on sharing Ukraine's mineral resources.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
And I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Trump says he'll impose tariffs on goods coming in from three of the nation's biggest trading partners, Mexico, Canada, and China.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
We'll have more on that, including analysis from NPR's Ron Elving.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
If these new tariffs will likely raise prices in the U.S., why is Trump in favor of them?
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
That's after the fatal crash Wednesday night.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Investigators are still trying to find out why a military helicopter collided with a passenger jet this week near Washington, D.C.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
And that's up first for Saturday, February 1st. I'm Ayesha Roscoe.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Our producer is Martin Patience with help from Andrew Craig and Elena Twork.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Our editors are Pallavi Gogoi, Ed McNulty, Russell Lewis, Shannon Rhodes, and Matthew Sherman.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Oliver is our executive producer.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, we re-air our episode about three communities in the U.S. that are balancing the need for more housing with the threat of climate-related disasters.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
Setting the stage for more inflation and a trade war.
Up First from NPR
Tariffs Come Due, Chopper Traffic After Crash
No, you may regret a lot of things, but not listening to NPR.