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Chapter 1: What awards has NPR's Throughline podcast received?
When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.
Chapter 2: What executive actions is President Trump expected to take regarding the Department of Education?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is expected to sign an executive action to start dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. NPR's Corey Turner reports the White House has been moving toward this moment since it publicly disclosed its intentions last month.
Between early retirement buyouts, the firing of newer hires, and last week's big reduction in force, the department will soon be down to roughly half the size it was when Trump took office. The White House insisted in a fact sheet to NPR that the executive action would not cut key federal funding streams that help schools serve low-income students, kids with disabilities, and rural communities.
But last week's purge included the entire legal staff at the department responsible for making sure that funding... is spent according to law and reaches the children who need it most. Corey Turner, NPR News.
Chapter 3: What recent developments have affected Tesla and its Cybertruck?
An investigation is underway to torch Cybertrucks at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas this week, one of a number of attacks in the U.S. and overseas aimed at the company owned by Elon Musk. The man spearheading fast-moving funding cuts, layoffs and closures across the federal government.
In another setback for Tesla, thousands of Cybertrucks are being recalled for the eighth time since 2023 because reported exterior panel defect. The Pentagon's now trying to figure out which of the web pages it took down because of the Trump administration's anti-DEI order should be put back up.
Chapter 4: How is the Pentagon responding to the anti-DEI order?
NPR's Tom Bowman reports some pages have been restored following public outcry over the removal of pages that highlight the military stories of American heroes, including those who broke racial and gender barriers.
They have key words to search, let's say gender or African-American or Hispanic. So some of this was taken down to review it. And then they decided it took a while to do because it's, you know, labor intensive. So many people were noticing, well, where's Jackie Robinson, Tuskegee Airmen? What have you done with Navajo Code Talkers?
And then the explanation was, we're not going to completely eliminate those or take those down. We're going to put them back after we review it.
Chapter 5: What are the impacts of legal sports gambling on society?
NPR's Tom Bowman reporting. March Madness is in full swing. So is sports gambling. People in the U.S. are expected to wager $3 billion this year on the NCAA tournament. NPR's Katie Riddle has more.
The entire industry of gambling has undergone a tectonic shift in recent years, as gambling is now legal in 38 states. More people are struggling with problem gambling. Experts warn it triggers the same pathways in the brain as substances can. Ben Yu struggled for years with problem gambling.
I wanted to chase it no matter what, even if it meant my death, even if it meant like everybody hated me. But I also was really good at lying and hiding it.
Yu is in recovery now. He says some parts of his life are damaged permanently. Katie Riddle, NPR News.
From Washington, this is NPR. Spring has sprung, though depending on where you are, it may not feel like it yet. Today's arrival of the vernal equinox marks a season of longer days and warmer temperatures in the northern hemisphere, while the southern hemisphere marks the first day of autumn. Various celebrations are being held around the world today.
In India, they're observing Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. In Mexico, many visit the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. In Japan, it's a public holiday, and it's the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, in Iran and other countries. Finland is once again named the happiest country on the planet, making it the eighth time in a row for the Nordic nation.
Terry Schultz reports European countries keep the top spots in the annual survey of well-being while the United States has dropped precipitously.
The World Happiness Report tracks how people in more than 140 countries feel about their lives. This year, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands round out the top five, with Costa Rica, Israel, and Mexico the only non-European countries in the top 10. The survey is done by Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Gallup CEO John Clifton says data proves happiness is not based on wealth.
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