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The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday. Support NPR and get your news sponsor-free with Consider This+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/considerthis

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The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday. Support NPR and get your news sponsor-free with Consider This+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/considerthis

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English


Episodes
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In Panama economic needs threaten to erase a way of life

2/13/2025
Panama has been looking for solutions to a long-term problem. Every time a ship passes through the Panama Canal, more than 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun pour out into the ocean. Nobody ever thought Panama could run out of water. It is one of the rainiest countries in the world. But a couple years ago, a drought got so bad that the canal had to reduce traffic by more than a third - which had a huge impact on global shipping. The Panama Canal needs more water. Authorities have decided to get it by building a dam in a spot that would displace more than 2,000 people along the Rio Indio. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:09:17

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Trump says the U.S. will 'own' Gaza — what that could mean for the Middle East

2/12/2025
The Gaza Strip – ground zero of Israel's war with Hamas – is only about twice the size of Washington, DC. It has about 25 miles of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of about 2 million people. Last week, President Trump proposed relocating those people to other countries in the region, like Egypt and Jordan. Trump has said the Palestinians would not be allowed to return: UN officials and others say Trump's plan would amount to ethnic cleansing. Despite domestic and international concerns that the U.S. is empire building, Trump continues to double down on his plans for the U.S. to "own" Gaza. Trump says the U.S. is going to take over Gaza, though he offers few specifics. What could the proposal mean for Palestinians and the broader Middle East? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:20

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Are we in a constitutional crisis?

2/11/2025
President Trump's blizzard of executive orders has run into a snowplow of legal challenges. There are dozens of cases challenging the White House's actions. Judges all over the country have found that the White House acted illegally. The challenges, and the rulings, continue to pour in. But Trump's team is punching back. After a judge blocked Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing personal data and other Treasury department systems, Musk referred to him as "a corrupt judge protecting corruption" and called for his impeachment. Vice President JD Vance made the controversial claim on Sunday that quote, "judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power." Comments like these suggest Trump's circle may be willing to ignore court orders and defy judicial authority. So what happens if the executive branch ignores the judicial branch? Is that a constitutional crisis? Is the United States already in one? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:11:55

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What DOGE could mean for Medicare and Medicaid?

2/10/2025
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is quickly expanding its reach through the federal government. It recently accessed systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Musk and his team now are looking at key payment and contracting systems for Medicare and Medicaid. That was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. On X, Musk said he believes quote "big money fraud is happening." Medicare insures older people. Medicaid offers insurance to low income people and those with disabilities. These two health insurance programs serve tens of millions of people, and they consume a huge part of federal and state budgets. So how could DOGE impact these services? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:33

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Trump 2.0 or Project 2025?

2/9/2025
Project 2025, is a 900-plus page blueprint for a conservative President. It was unveiled in the spring of 2023, well before Donald Trump had won the republican presidential nomination. It outlined a suite of very conservative policies that would, for example, outlaw the mailing of abortion pills and abolish the department of education. It even suggests a return to the gold standard. It became a democratic talking point, so much so that Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the plan and the authors. But now that Trump is in office, releasing his own detailed plans. A lot of them are strikingly similar to the ones laid out in Project 2025. And one of its chief architects is now the head of the critical Office of Management and Budget. Trump disavowed Project 2025 during the campaign. Now, as President, is he using it as a playbook? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:48

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Bonus Episode: "Margery," the medieval memoirist

2/9/2025
For centuries, scholars only had one version of the life of Margery Kempe, an English mystic who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries — until a ping pong match revealed her story in her own words. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:57

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Is there a Trump Doctrine for Foreign Policy?

2/7/2025
A lot of labels have been applied to Trump's foreign policy approach. America First, Isolationist, transactional, imperialist, protectionist. "I'm a nationalist and a globalist" he told the Wall Street Journal during his first term. In his inaugural address last month, Trump made comments suggesting his foreign policy will be characterized by restraint, saying, in part, success should be defined by the "wars we never get into." Yet in the same address, he also said, the United States will take back the Panama Canal. In his first campaign, Trump ran on the idea that the cycle of the United States intervening in the Middle East should come to an end. And on Tuesday of this week, he said that the U.S. will "take over" the Gaza Strip, after relocating the Palestinians, who live there. Trump has promised a new approach to American foreign policy. Is there a Trump Doctrine? And what is it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:11:27

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The wider impact of DEI changes under the Trump administration

2/6/2025
As President Trump dismantles Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices at the federal level, organizations across the country are also shifting their approach to diversity. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:10:24

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Trump's Plan for Gaza: American intervention and mass relocation

2/5/2025
President Trump floated two stunning ideas about Gaza on Tuesday. The first is he said the U.S. would take over the territory, which has been devastated by the recent war. And, he said the entire population of Gaza would be relocated to other countries. Trump offered no specifics for his plans sending Palestinians and Israelis scrambling to understand what he means. President Trump's vague plan to "Make Gaza Beautiful Again" could signal the largest shift in US-Middle East policy in decades and could upend widespread hope for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:11:49

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What does Elon Musk get out of remaking the government?

2/4/2025
In Washington these days, Elon Musk seems to be everywhere. In the 15 days Donald Trump has been back in the White House, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been moving to change every corner of the federal government. The billionaire entrepreneur and his team have gained access to a sensitive government payment system in the Treasury Department. They're pushing to drastically reduce the number of federal employees. How did the world's richest man come to have such a big role in the federal government? And why does he want it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:10:20

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The people and the waterway at the center of the Panama Canal

2/3/2025
The Panama Canal has sat at the center of global trade for more than a century, connecting two oceans. The things Americans use every day pass through here, from gas to food. And now, this spot is also at the center of President Trump's global expansionist agenda. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just wrapped up a trip to Panama where he told the President that if China's influence over the canal isn't curbed the United States will take measures to protect its rights. Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal has the potential to reshuffle global politics. We're meet the people and the 51-mile waterway in the middle of it all. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:12:00

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Is Trump testing limits or trying to eliminate them?

2/2/2025
Most presidents want as much power as they can get. And it's not unusual to see them claim authority that they don't, in the end, actually have. We saw it just last term, when former President Biden tried to unilaterally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student loans. Or when he announced, days before leaving office that the 28th Amendment, on gender equality, was now the law of the land. So are the opening moves of Trump's presidency just a spicier version of the standard playbook or an imminent threat to constitutional government as we know it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:11:35

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A pastor's sermons on social justice causes conflict among congregation

1/31/2025
Schools, corporations, even churches, are wrestling with how to approach issues of racial and social justice in a highly polarized U.S. But what happens when people with shared political views disagree on how much is too much? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:10:57

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Investigators look for answers in worst U.S. airline crash in two decades

1/30/2025
What went wrong in the midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet over Reagan National Airport, outside of D.C.? As officials search for clues the country mourns those lost. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:11:30

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What would RFK Jr. mean to HHS?

1/29/2025
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced senators today in a contentious confirmation hearing to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Trump. He's a former Democrat — turned independent presidential candidate — turned Trump loyalist. He's also someone who has pushed vaccine misinformation, something he was repeatedly questioned about during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. HHS is a massive system that oversees everything from the Food and Drug Administration to vaccine funding to the Affordable Care Act. What do we know about how Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. would run it? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:10:50

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Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett

1/28/2025
Country music singer Charley Crockett was born and raised in Texas, grew up in a single-wide trailer with his mom and says his family lineage traces all the way back to the frontiersman Davy Crockett. This Sunday is the music industry's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. And Crockett is up for an award for the first time — Best Americana Album — for his record "$10 Cowboy." For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:46

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Can Susie Wiles keep Trump on track?

1/27/2025
Susie Wiles is doing something no woman has done before. She is the first in history to hold the position of White House Chief of Staff. Now, we will find out if she can do something that no one — man or woman – has ever done before: Impose discipline and order on a Trump White House that was rife with leaks, drama, and by many accounts – chaos – during his first term. A chief of staff can be the difference between a ground-breaking presidency and chaos. Is Susie Wiles up to the task? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:09:43

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Trump's dismantling of DEI

1/26/2025
Former President Joe Biden championed DEI programs–initiatives aimed at diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility in recruiting, hiring and retention of federal government employees. In a matter of days – and a few pen strokes – President Donald Trump brought it all to an end this week. NPR's Pien Huang speaks with Timothy Welbeck, the director of Temple University's Center for Anti-Racism, to understand more about the history of DEI and how it became targeted by President Trump, For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:09:40

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Their home survived the fires, but there's still danger everywhere

1/24/2025
As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes--if their homes survived. But the disaster doesn't end when the fire stops. A single block and a half separates the Altadena home of Jennifer and Ed Barguiarena from complete destruction. Just down the street lies charred, flattened debris. But for families like the Barguiarenas — the seemingly lucky ones, whose houses survived — an altogether different ordeal is just beginning. The water still isn't safe to drink, cook or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people's homes and yards. And families like the Barguiarenas are also worried about what they can't see – the possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their homes. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:08:52

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When Oscar got it wrong

1/23/2025
What do Babygirl, Singing in the Rain and Apocalypse Now have in common? They've all been overlooked by Oscar voters. Some Oscar blunders fall into the category of snubs - others show a failure to recognize films that will endure. Now sometimes, these critiques are a matter of movie taste. Sometimes, they're a broader matter of representation – raising questions about who the movie industry chooses to celebrate or ignore. The Academy Awards have made some truly epic misses over their long history. Two of NPR's film regulars dig into those times when the Oscars got things very wrong, and what that tells us about the art, culture and business of the movies. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org Email us at considerthis@npr.org Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Duration:00:12:01