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There already was an affordability crisis in the U.S. How the war with Iran is making life more expensive. 

President Trump says the economy is “roaring.” 

That as Americans are paying an average price of $4.48 a gallon for gas on Tuesday. 

A year ago it was $3.17.  

The reason for that increase — the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which resulted in the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

Gas prices are just one measure of the cost of living in the United States. But they’re a significant one. 

Martha Gimbel, executive director at the Budget Lab at Yale, weighs in on how the war with Iran is affecting American’s bottom line. 

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.

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.

It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Trump is once again threatening NATO allies. What would a reduction of U.S. troops in Germany mean for security and the U.S. military?

Today, about 36-thousand U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, and they’re a key part of the U.S. military ecosystem and the NATO alliance.

Now, President Trump plans to reduce that number.

Trump has grown increasingly and publicly frustrated with NATO allies. 

This time he’s taking it out on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the U.S. has been humiliated by Iran.

Among the many questions raised by this: What are U.S. troops doing in Germany anyway?

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.

This episode was produced by Fio Geiran, Tyler Bartlam and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Sarah Handel and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The war with Iran is in a deadlock. Despite a back and forth of peace plans, there is no permanent ceasefire. 

President Trump has oscillated between a willingness to engage in diplomacy and threats to resume the American bombing campaign if he doesn’t get a deal.

All this has complicated negotiations, which the U.S. and Iran are holding through intermediaries.

So, how do leaders try to negotiate with countries they’re in conflict with?

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.

This episode was produced by Henry Larson. 

It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Tinbete Ermyas. 

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. 

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Covering a war isn’t easy and it takes a whole team working both on the air and behind the scenes to bring you accurate, independent reporting from the frontlines. 

For this week’s Reporter’s Notebook we speak with two journalists about the challenges of covering the war in the Middle East. Durrie Bouscaren has been reporting from the Turkish-Iranian border and NPR reporter Kat Lonsdorf has been covering the war in southern Lebanon.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Henry Larson. 

It was edited by Adam Raney.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Trump administration has paused immigration applications for people from 39 countries, and for those already living in the U.S. the impact has been catastrophic.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in the country were thrown into limbo after the Trump administration paused their immigration applications in recent months.

They were students, engineers, teachers and others living and working legally in the U.S.

The pause affects those who were born in one of 39 countries the U.S. says pose a national security risk. 

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HHS Secretary RFK Jr. thinks he has the answer to addiction treatment. The experts say otherwise.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks he’s cracked the code for addiction treatment. 

Kennedy, who used heroin for more than a decade, believes wellness, work and abstinence like the methods practiced in a rural Italian facility are the keys to sobriety. 

But Kennedy is facing new criticism over his proposal to open government-run farm and work camps. NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann traveled to Italy to see things up close.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.

This episode was produced by Kai McNamee and Tyler Bartlam. 

It was edited by Andrea de Leon and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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A New Hampshire Republican. A German Holocaust denier. A suspicious bottle of baby oil. An NPR investigation reveals how the alarming rise of antisemitic conspiracy theories reached a state capitol.

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.

This episode was reported and produced by Tom Dreisbach, with help from Karen Zamora. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon with help from Monika Evstatieva, Bob Little, and Kristian Monroe. Audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley.

Tony Cavin is NPR’s Managing Editor for Standard and Practices. 

Legal support from Johannes Doerge.

Thanks also to Dan Barrick and our colleagues at New Hampshire Public Radio.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Illinois state government has been investigating the United States government.

Specifically, a panel called the Illinois Accountability Commission has been conducting interviews and reviewing footage from last year’s federal immigration enforcement crackdown in Chicago, known as Operation Midway Blitz.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker established the commission late last year to create a public record of the weeks-long immigration crackdown throughout the Chicago area. 

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.

This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Within minutes of the news of a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, people claimed on social media that the incident was “STAGED.” To be clear — these were conspiracy theories, not supported by what we know about the suspect. 

The most common of these theories claim the shooting was orchestrated in an effort to boost President Trump’s plans for a new White House ballroom.

It isn’t surprising that rampant speculation would instantly surround an act of apparent politically-motivated violence, but this incident suggests that voices on the left are increasingly engaged with conspiracy theories. 

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.

This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Hours after a gunman attempted to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, details are slowly emerging about who he is, and how he was able to get into the Washington Hilton where the dinner was held.

Two sources familiar with the matter say Cole Allen has been identified as the alleged gunman, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press that Allen is believed to have been targeting administration officials.

The incident shocked Washington — and led to the safe evacuation from the scene of the president, much of his Cabinet, and members of Congress.

NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben and Ryan Lucas have more on the investigation into the shooting, while reporter Steve Futterman learned more about the suspect in his suburban-Los Angeles hometown.

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Ashley Brown, Alfredo Carbajal, and Krishnadev Calamur. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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