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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.

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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?

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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 [email protected].

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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?

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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 [email protected].

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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.

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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?

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