Year: 2022

At one point, over 90% of African Americans with a college degree obtained it from an HBCU. But in the decades following the legal dismantling of segregation, enrollment declined at HBCUs.

Recently, some HBCUs have seen a significant rise in applications. The boost could be due to more funding, celebrity students, or famous HBCU grads like Vice President Kamala Harris.

But informal conversations with Black students and their families point to something even more powerful: HBCUs are a safe and nurturing space to learn in a time of increasing anti-Black racism.

Host Michel Martin speaks with Walter Kimbrough, the past president of two historically Black institutions – Philander Smith College and Dillard University – and the interim executive director of the Black Men’s Research Institute at Morehouse College.

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Former President Donald Trump is dominating headlines yet again.

Earlier this week, the FBI took several boxes of secret and top secret documents from Mar-a-Lago during a search of Trump’s home. And on Friday, a federal judge unsealed the warrant for the search – plus a list of what was taken from the property.

NPR’s Carrie Johnson explains what the unsealed warrant reveals, and what comes next.

But the news from Mar-a-Lago is just the latest in a litany of legal battles entangling the former president. From the civil and criminal cases in New York, to the Georgia election interference case and the Jan 6th DOJ investigation – it can be hard to keep track of it all.

Barbara McQuade is a professor at University of Michigan Law School and a former U.S. attorney, she helps us understand where these cases stand.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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Up until a few weeks ago, meaningful climate legislation was sidelined in the U.S. Senate. But after months of wrangling votes — and adding concessions to oil and gas companies — Democrats in the Senate have finally passed the Inflation Reduction Act.

The bill includes more than $300 billion in climate investments — the highest amount ever allocated by the federal government to tackle climate change. This episode lays out what the bill does, what it doesn’t, and tracks the ups and downs of the legislation as it wound its way through Congress.

This episode also features reporting by NPR’s Laura Benshoff looking at the ways the legislation incentivizes individuals to fight climate change in their everyday life.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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In Republican politics, one of the biggest issues in the 2022 election is the 2020 election. In at least 8 states so far, Republicans have picked candidates for Secretary of State who deny the results of the last presidential election. This is despite the fact that not a shred of evidence calls President Biden’s victory into question. If elected, they would become the chief elections officer in their states.

In some of the same swing states where election deniers will be on the statewide ballot in November, there’s another effort underway, backed by key figures in former President Trump’s orbit. Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked on Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, is working to mobilize an “army” of poll watchers.

NPR’s Tom Dreisbach reports on what he learned from leaked audio of one of her summits.

This episode also features reporting from NPR’s Miles Parks, who covers voting and election security.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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Researchers at an American national laboratory spent years developing cutting-edge vanadium redox flow batteries. But now, a Chinese company is making those batteries in a factory in northeastern China.

An investigation from NPR’s Laura Sullivan and Northwest News Network’s Courtney Flatt shows how the U.S. federal government gave away American-made technology to China.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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All eyes are on Kherson. In Ukraine’s first major offensive of the war, soldiers are pushing towards the city, trying to retake it from Russian troops. It’s a transport hub and key river crossing, and reclaiming it would be a huge victory for Ukraine.

NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf brings us the story of Vitaly, a 22-year-old college student in Kherson. Since the city first fell, he has sent NPR voice memos detailing life under the Russian occupation. Now, he’s decided he has to get out.

And NPR’s Brian Mann travels near the front lines with Ukrainian forces pushing towards Kherson. It’s a vast stretch of half-abandoned villages and farms fields, old industrial sites and dense forests, where the exact point of contact between Russian and Ukrainian troops is often unclear day by day.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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Bashar Murad’s danceable riffs and live concerts and videos – filled with bubbles, enormous hats, and layers and layers of veils – have earned him the nickname “Palestinian Lady Gaga” from his fans. And much like Born This Way is an anthem of equality, Murad’s songs challenge conservative social norms and push for LGBTQ rights while also challenging the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Earlier this summer, Murad’s concert in the West Bank city of Ramallah was cancelled under threats by anti-LGBTQ activists. As an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights, Murad is challenging both the external conflict Palestinians face with Israel and the internal conflicts imposed by a conservative society.

This week, NPR’s Daniel Estrin speaks with Bashar Murad about his music, his activism, and how anti-LGBTQ events that unfolded during the summer have added to the complexities that can come with being a voice for both the Palestinian and the LGBTQ communities.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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This week the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.

And as the number of cases in the U.S. continues to climb, there’s a lot of confusion about the disease, how it spreads and who’s most at-risk.

NPR health correspondents Pien Huang and Michaeleen Doucleff join us to discuss the current outbreak.

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With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the U.S. airstrike that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, there’s a lot to talk about with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan these days.

He weighs in on all three in a sit-down interview with NPR.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a dozen states have implemented laws banning or severely restricting abortion. Those laws have consequences for wanted pregnancies, too.

NPR’s Carrie Feibel brings us the story of a woman in Texas whose pregnancy took a sudden turn. Because of the state’s abortion law, her case became a medical crisis.

This episode also includes reporting from NPR’s Sarah McCammon and Melissa Block

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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