The U.S. Almost Out Of Afghanistan. What Happens There Next?
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. military will be fully out of the country by August 31. The Taliban already control more th...
Latest On Boosters; 'Trusted Messengers' Lead Vaccine Outreach
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Biden administration is emphasizing vaccine outreach by 'trusted messengers' — community volun...
Co-Opted And Weaponized, 'Cancel Culture' Is Just Today's 'Politically Correct'
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'Cancelling' is a term that originated in young and progressive circles, where it was used to mean '...
Why Wildfire Is Not Just A Western Problem
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All over the east coast and Midwest, forests are getting hotter and drier. Many are also overgrown a...
NPR Traces California Yoga Teacher's Alleged Path To The Capitol Riot
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's Tom Dreisbach reports on the story of Alan Hostetter, a former police chief and yoga instructo...
How Critical Race Theory Went From Harvard Law To Fox News
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Critical race theory is a legal framework developed decades ago at Harvard Law School. It posits tha...
Questlove Unearths The Long-Forgotten 'Summer Of Soul'
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1969, during the same summer as Woodstock, another music festival took place 100 miles away. The ...
BONUS: American Anthem
04 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Star-Spangled Banner is the official anthem for the United States, but there are plenty of songs...
How The Delta Variant Is Changing The Pandemic On A Global Scale
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cases are surging in countries around the world as the more transmissible delta variant spreads rapi...
What Donald Rumsfeld Left Behind
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The former Secretary of Defense was a chief architect of the conflict that came to be known as Ameri...
A 'Pandemic Of Unvaccinated People' As Delta Variant Spreads Rapidly
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Los Angeles County — America's most populous county — recently recommended mask wearing even for...
What The Pentagon's UFO Report Reveals About Aliens — And Ourselves
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Late last year the Senate passed a bill that required U.S. intelligence agencies to share what they ...
What We've Learned In The First 100 Hours Since The Surfside Condo Collapse
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Susana Alvarez, a survivor of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, explained to NPR's Lulu Garci...
BONUS: Battle Rattle
27 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alicia Argelia met Army veteran Matt Lammers when he rolled into the store where she worked. Matt ha...
What Hollywood Could Learn From The 20-Year Success Of 'Fast & Furious'
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's behind the 20-year success of the Fast & Furious franchise? Casting, storytelling and reinven...
Not Just Wildfire: The Growing Ripple Effects Of More Extreme Heat And Drought
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the second weekend in a row, parts of the American West will be gripped by historic heat, coming...
Millions Of Americans Could Be Facing Eviction
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Back in March, Congress approved nearly $50 billion in aid for people who need rental assistance to ...
The Unproven Lab Leak Theory Puts Pressure On China — But It May Backfire
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From the beginning of the pandemic, the debate about the origins of the coronavirus was immediately ...
50 Years Later, Is America's War On Drugs At A Turning Point?
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In June 1971, then-President Richard Nixon said the U.S. had a new public enemy number one: addictio...
BONUS: Tom Hanks, Fox News, And A Debate About Whiteness In Hollywood
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This all started with a guest essay by Tom Hanks for The New York Times called "You Should Learn the...
Reparation Discussions Are Gaining Traction But Not Widespread Support
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Juneteenth, the celebration to commemorate the end of chattel slavery in the United States, is the n...
Will The U.S. Meet Its July 4 Vaccination Goal? Your State May Already Have
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, President Biden laid out an ambitious goal: to get 70% of adults in the U.S. at least on...
Parents Want Schools To Make Up The Special Education Their Kids Lost In The Pandemic
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Remote learning simply didn't work for many children with disabilities. Without the usual access to ...
What's At Stake As President Biden Enters Negotiations With Vladimir Putin
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wednesday will be President Biden's first meeting with one of America's greatest adversaries. Drawin...
Why Everything Is More Expensive Right Now
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From computer chips to rental cars to chicken breasts, a complex global supply chain is straining un...
BONUS: A World Where The NRA Is Soft On Guns
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
About two months after the coronavirus began spreading in the United States, groups of Americans beg...
ProPublica's 'Secret IRS Files' Unveil How Richest Americans Avoid Income Tax
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The story made waves in Washington, D.C., this week: The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-See...
Back To The Office: Not Everyone Is Welcoming The Return
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For Americans who were able to work from home at the start of the pandemic, what felt like an extend...
Listener Q&A: Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy On Variants, Boosters And Vax Mandates
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, and case rates are at their lowest point s...
Democrats' Path To Big Legislation Runs Through West Virginia. Is It A Dead End?
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Democratic proposals for immigration reform, gun control, infrastructure and voting rights are stall...
How The Biden Administration Is Confronting A Surge In Cyberattacks
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cyberattackers have recently targeted a crucial fuel pipeline, a global meat distributor and a water...
BONUS: A Looping Revolt
06 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stockton, Calif., may represent the future of American news. The city's longtime newspaper, The Reco...
The U.S. Can't Agree On The Truth. Is It The Media's Job To Fix That?
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution as crucial to a functioning democracy. But wha...
Companies Made Racial Justice Promises Last Summer. Did They Keep Them?
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Corporations had a lot to say about racial justice last summer. They made statements. They donated m...
Pressure On The World's Biggest Polluters Is Increasing. But Can It Force Change?
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Atlantic hurricane season began Tuesday and another "above average" number of storms is expected...
Americans Are Feeling Optimistic And Uncertain As Second Pandemic Summer Begins
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From dating apps, to airline travel, to in-person high school classes, the U.S. is seeing evidence o...
Does America Have Its Own 'Civil Religion?'
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Much is said about how divided the U.S. is these days. But perhaps there is still something that uni...
BONUS: Barack Obama Talks About What It Means To Be A Man
30 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Former President Barack Obama is thinking a lot about our values as Americans. These days, in a divi...
Threats To Democracy Are Growing Around the World — And The U.S. May Be One Of Them
28 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All over the world, democratic institutions are under threat. The United States isn't just part of t...
How Anti-Trans Bills Evoke The Culture Wars Of The 90s
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Proponents of trans female athlete bans struggle to cite examples of trans women or girls gaining an...
Fortnite Trial Tests Apple's 'Good Guy' Reputation
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Apple has always wanted to be one of the good guys in tech. But now a high-stakes lawsuit with Epic ...
What's Changed — And What Hasn't — In The Year Since George Floyd Was Killed
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After his death on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the face of a movement against police violence....
What's Behind The Progressive Push To Rethink America's Relationship With Israel
24 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Israel had solid bipartisan support for Israel from Capitol Hill. But progressive congr...
NPR Analysis Finds Growing Vaccine Divide Between Urban And Rural America
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We know that Americans in blue states are getting vaccinated at higher rates than those in red ones....
The CDC's Mask Guidance Created Confusion. Could It Also Boost Vaccinations?
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance that vaccinated peo...
The Latest On Biden's Infrastructure Plan, With A Vision For A New 'Climate Corps'
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The White House is courting influential Democratic senators and making a public relations push for P...
Long Before QAnon Conspiracies, The U.S. Was Swept By 'Satanic Panic'
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past year, QAnon conspiracies have migrated from obscure corners of the internet into natio...
The Conflict Between Israel And Hamas Is Getting Worse, Raising Humanitarian Alarms
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has gone from bad to worse. The Biden administration says it's...
BONUS: How One Family Is Learning To Support Their Non-Binary Child
16 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nine-year-old Hallel is the oldest of three children. They also identify as a "boy-girl," which was ...
How To 'Human' Again: Advice For The Long Transition To Post-Pandemic Life
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The promise of post-pandemic life is exciting, but that doesn't mean it won't get awkward at times. ...
The Debate Is Over: Donald Trump Owns The Republican Party
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, House Republicans voted to expel Rep. Liz Cheney from party leadership after the Wyoming ...
Why Are So Many Businesses Struggling To Find Workers?
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans say enhanced pandemic unemployment benefits are what's keeping people out of the workfor...
'It's Top-Down': Three Generations Of Black Officers On Racism And Police Brutality
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Three officers, each from a different generation, weigh in on Derek Chauvin's murder conviction and ...
How One LA Neighborhood Reveals The Racist Architecture Of American Homeownership
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Property ownership eludes Black Americans more than any other racial group. NPR's Ailsa Chang and Jo...
BONUS: We Buy A Superhero
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Comic book publishers like Marvel and DC sit on a treasure trove: thousands and thousands of comic b...
NPR Turns 50 Amid Reckoning In Journalism Over Who Tells Stories — And How
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Now 50 years old, NPR has grown up alongside American journalism. We take stock of some lessons lear...
Supply Scarce Abroad, Demand Down At Home: Vaccine Access Is Starkly Unequal
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vaccine demand is beginning to slide in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, the pandemic is d...
Scotland May Try To Break Away From The United Kingdom — Again
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, Scots vote in Regional Parliamentary elections. That's not usually an international sto...
Is The Biden Rescue Plan Working? 'American Indicators' Weigh In On The Recovery
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic economy has left different people in vastly different situations. Today, we follow up w...
How Brazen Smugglers Are Fueling Record Numbers At The Southern Border
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A record 172,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in March. Those numbers are fueled...
How India's COVID-19 Outbreak Got So Bad, And Why It May Be Even Worse Than We Know
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Things have gone from bad to worse in the pandemic's global epicenter. India reported nearly 400,000...
What Makes President Biden's Massive Spending Pitch So Historic
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Any one of President Biden's multi-trillion-dollar spending packages would be among the largest ever...
The CDC's New Mask Guidance, Explained, And A Look At How Long Vaccines Protect Us
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fully vaccinated people can ditch the mask outdoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...
New Census Numbers Mean A Political Power Shift For Some States
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The first set of results from the 2020 census are in, and according to the count, the official popul...
How Faith Leaders In Israel And The U.K. Are Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Israel and the United Kingdom are among the most-vaccinated countries in the world. Their success is...
BONUS: Policing In America
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. As the trial of Derek Chau...
The Story Behind The SolarWinds Cyberattack
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, hackers believed to be directed by the Russian intelligence service, the SVR, slipped a m...
How To Navigate Life When You're Vaccinated And Others Aren't (Or Vice Versa)
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A little more than half of adults in the U.S. have had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. That...
Will Justice For George Floyd Lead To Lasting Change?
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As crowds gathered Tuesday evening after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found ...
Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty On All Counts In Killing Of George Floyd
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted on three counts in the trial over...
With All U.S. Adults Eligible, How Can More Be Convinced To Get Vaccinated?
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Starting Monday, every person in America 16 and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Nea...
BONUS: Workin' 9 To 5
18 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Flexible hours for working parents, daycare centers at the office, equal pay. Between the 1960s and ...
What Amazon's Defeat Of Union Effort Means For The Future Of American Labor
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A movement to unionize workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., was seen as a potential tur...
'I Wish There Was An Easy Ending:' Afghanistan's Murky Future After Longest U.S. War
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden announced this week that all U.S. troops if Afghanistan will be withdrawn by Sept. 1...
Minneapolis Lives In 'A State Of Continuous Trauma' After Another Police Killing
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There have been nightly protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn., following Sunday's killing of 20-year-ol...
The J & J Pause, Explained — And What It Means For The U.S. Vaccination Effort
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced a reco...
The Biden Administration's Women-Led Push For Investment In 'Care Infrastructure'
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden wants to make a massive investment in infrastructure, and not just in roads and brid...
BONUS: 'We Already Belong'
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"To Asian women, not for—there's no speaking for us, splendidly vast and manifold as our people ar...
As Anti-Trans Bills Advance, Trans Journalists Weigh In On 'Privilege' Of Reporting
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Arkansas became the first state to outlaw gender-affirming health care for transgender you...
Within Biden's Infrastructure Plan Lies An Agenda To Address Climate Change
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The details in President Biden's proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan have a lot to do with prot...
Amid Record Pandemic Travel, What's Safe? And The Debate Over Vaccine Passports
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's mixed messaging on travel reveals the uncertain fut...
The Housing Market Is Wild Right Now — And It's Making Inequality Worse
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Home prices are soaring around the U.S. Amid low inventory and historically low interest rates, some...
How The Pandemic Has Changed Worship In America And The Debate Over Religious Freedom
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two Easters have now come and gone since the pandemic began, and the need for restrictions has not g...
'It Hurts People': How Trans Youth Are Being Targeted By State Legislation
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bills under consideration in dozens of states target trans youth by focusing on two things: health c...
High School Seniors Ask, 'What Will College Look Like Next Fall?'
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is giving us all hope that we'll be back to some sense of normal soon, ...
Race To Immunize Tightens As Cases Rise; Promising Vaccine News Released
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists are growing concerned the U.S. may be headed for a fourth wave. COVID-19 cases are rising...
Inside The Opening Days Of The Derek Chauvin Trial — And The Trauma It's Resurfacing
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's trial began this week. He's accused of murdering M...
4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of worldwide vaccine doses have been administered in just four countries — India, C...
First-In-The-Nation Effort Advances Debate Over What Form Reparations Should Take
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The city of Evanston, Ill., authorized spending on a reparation program this week — believed to be...
One's Antifa. One's In A Militia. How An Ancestry Match Led To An Unlikely Bond
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two distant cousins connect online, only to learn that one is a militant leftist and the other is in...
Colorado Shooting Reveals Limits Of State Gun Control — And Steels Activists For More
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Colorado has universal background checks, a red flag law and the city of Boulder recently passed an ...
President Biden's Next Big-Ticket Item: A Transformational Infrastructure Plan
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America's infrastructure GPA is a C-minus, according to the American Society Of Civil Engineers, whi...
Coronavirus Cases Are Surging In Europe. Why The U.S. Is In Better Shape — For Now
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Europe, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been slow. The U.S. is doing better — vaccinating as m...
BONUS: Sohla El-Waylly on Race, Food and 'Bon Appétit'
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sohla El-Waylly was one of the most vocal critics of her previous employer, Bon Appétit, and eventu...
Are We Ready For The Next One? The Striking Pandemic Warnings That Were Ignored
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dante Disparte, founder and chairman of Risk Cooperative and member of FEMA's National Advisory Coun...
Georgia Shooting: The Latest In A Year Of Trauma And Terror For Asian Americans
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Reports of hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders have skyrocketed in the past ...
Pregnant In A Pandemic: 'COVID Couldn't Rob Us Of Everything'
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Three women come together to talk about the isolation and sacrifice that comes with being pregnant d...
What's Behind The Increase In Migrant Children At The Southern Border
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have shown up at the southern border in recent weeks, ov...
Young And Radicalized Online: A Familiar Pattern In Capitol Siege Suspects
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
People who stormed the Capitol were radicalized by what they consumed online and in social media. Th...
BONUS: Rapper Mac Phipps, After 20 Years In Prison, Is One Step Closer To Freedom
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode from NPR's Louder Than A Riot, New Orleans rapper Mac Phipps speaks exclusively to N...