Year: 2023

For years, Russell Moore was one of the top officials in the Southern Baptist Convention. But after he criticized Donald Trump, Moore found himself ostracized from many other Evangelical leaders who embraced Trump and Trumpism.

Moore eventually resigned from his post, and found himself on the outside of a denomination that had, up until that point, defined his life.

Today, Moore argues that Christianity is in crisis in America, and he explores a way forward for the faith he loves in his book, “Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call For Evangelical America.”

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. And a member of his legal team told NPR that Trump plans to invoke the right to freedom of speech as part of his defense.

To learn how a free speech defense would work for the former president in court, we hear from Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor at Stetson University’s College of Law in Florida.

And former acting solicitor general of the United States, Neal Katyal, tells us about Tanya Chutkan, the U.S. district judge assigned to Trump’s case.

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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The unions representing actors and writers in Hollywood have some differences in what they want from the big film studios. But one thing they agree on is the threat posed by artificial intelligence to their members’ livelihoods.

The threat of AI is something Hollywood was imagining long before it was real. NPR arts critic Bob Mondello tells the story of how AI became a movie villain.

The threat of AI is something Hollywood was imagining long before it was real. NPR arts critic Bob Mondello tells the story of how AI became a movie villain.

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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Former President Donald Trump was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on four counts related to the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents.

Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.

Special counsel Jack Smith has been leading the investigation into Trump’s conduct after the 2020 election and his role in the insurrection that played out at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

We hear from presidential historian Tim Naftali about the significance of the new charges against the former president.

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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Two years ago, Mohamed Bazoum was elected as president in Niger’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power. He enjoyed the backing of Western governments, including the United States. Then, last week, members of his own presidential guard detained him and seized power.

The coup in Niger is part of a wave of attempted, and successful, power grabs in West and Central Africa, a region gripped by political instability. Now, a group of West African nations imposed sanctions on Niger, and threatened military action if the coup leaders don’t reinstate the president within the week.

NPR’s Emmanuel Akinwotu reports from neighboring country Nigeria, and he brings us the latest developments. We discuss what this means for the Sahel, and for democracies around the world.

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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There’s a labor shortage on farms in the U.S., and that has implications for all of us who enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables.

For farmers across America, finding enough labor has become a top concern. Decades ago, whole families of migrant farmworkers, the majority of them from Mexico, would travel around the U.S. in search of seasonal work. But over time, farmworkers began to settle. Now, many of them are aging out. And their children and grandchildren are finding opportunities in other sectors.

Who will replace them? And what is Congress doing to solve this issue? This summer, two NPR reporters visited some farms to see how this is playing out: NPR’s Ximena Bustillo who reports on food and farm policy, and NPR’s Andrea Hsu who covers labor.

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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Editor’s note: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence.

The U.S. military has consistently maintained that its troops didn’t harm civilians during the 2019 raid on the Syrian hideout of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which lead to Baghdadi blowing himself up.

It stuck to that version of events even after NPR reported on claims from Syrians that civilians were killed and maimed by U.S. helicopter fire during the raid. The Pentagon claimed the men were enemy combatants.

NPR sued the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act to release documentation of the airstrikes, and obtained a redacted copy of the Defense Department’s confidential 2020 report on the incident.

NPR’s Daniel Estrin digs into the document, and finds that it reveals flaws in the Pentagon’s conclusion.

His investigation, in English and Arabic, includes declassified Pentagon documents, photos, maps and videos.

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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The Supreme Court may have ended race-conscious admissions in higher education. But the end of affirmative action seems to have added fuel to another contentious debate around college admissions policies.

For decades, many elite, private institutions have given prospective college students preference if a relative attended the school or, in some cases, when a major donor was involved.

While the practice of affirmative action is dead, legacy admissions continue. But more and more critics of the practice are calling on schools to do away with them, including President Biden.

Host Juana Summers speaks with economist John Friedman, a professor and chair of economics at Brown University. He co-authored a study that quantifies the lasting socio-economic disparities between legacy students and their less affluent peers.

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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When Utah passed a ban on gender-affirming care for people younger than 18, Kat and their family had to make a tough choice. Should they uproot their lives and leave the state?

Kat is 14 and transgender. The Utah law banned the medical care that Kat was considering.

Around 20 states have passed similar laws — meaning many families could face the same tough decision: whether to leave their homes and where to go. Often it’s to a state like Minnesota, where elected officials have protected trans health care for patients and providers.

We speak with reporters Saige Miller from KUER in Salt Lake City and Dana Ferguson, a political reporter with Minnesota Public Radio to hear how this patchwork of laws in both states affects trans patients and their doctors.

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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When a fiery, toxic train wreck forced residents of East Palestine, Ohio to evacuate last February, the crash and its aftermath became a national flashpoint and a hot button issue on both sides of the political aisle.

Alan Shaw, the CEO of Norfolk Southern – the freight railroad responsible – found himself in front of Congress, grilled by bipartisan lawmakers.

Shaw insists the company is continuing its commitment to help East Palestine recover, and that they are at the forefront of improving safety in the rail industry.

Host Scott Detrow speaks with Shaw about how the company hopes to become “the gold standard” in rail safety.

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

Email us at [email protected].