Episodes

  • When old oil wells become 'orphans,' that's a problem

    When old oil wells become 'orphans,' that's a problem
    Jul 11 2025
    All across the U.S., there are aging oil and natural gas wells no longer in use.

    A lot of them don't have anyone on the hook to seal them up. Some estimate over a million such "orphan wells" still exist.

    Because they haven't been plugged, they're still leaking greenhouse gases and other chemicals into the atmosphere and into the land around them.

    What would it take to plug them — or even just one of them?

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    8 mins
  • A harrowing journey to find food in Gaza

    A harrowing journey to find food in Gaza
    Jul 10 2025
    Israel bans international journalists from independent access to Gaza. But NPR's Anas Baba is from Gaza, and in the 21 months he has been reporting on the war, he's also been living it. Over the course of the war, he has lost a third of his body weight, and until his food supplies ran out several weeks ago, he was getting by on just one small meal a day.

    Israel still tightly restricts the entry of food into Gaza. The food it does allow in is mostly distributed through new sites run by private American contractors with a group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. GHF operates under protection from the Israeli military, and the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said this new system "is killing people."

    According to health officials and international medical teams in Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli troops as they approach these food sites. U.S. officials have accused American media of spreading Hamas misinformation.

    In this episode, Anas Baba takes us on the perilous journey he made to one of these new GHF distribution sites, in an attempt to secure food.

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    11 mins
  • After devastating floods a Central Texas community comes together

    After devastating floods a Central Texas community comes together
    Jul 10 2025
    It's been nearly a week since devastating flooding tore through Kerr County, Texas killing more than a hundred people.

    Now, after unimaginable tragedy, residents are coming together to help each other move forward.

    NPR's Juana Summers and producers Erika Ryan and Tyler Bartlam visited the City West Church, which has transformed from a house of worship into a pop up food distribution site serving thousands of meals to the community and first responders.

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    11 mins
  • The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated

    The U.S. birth rate is falling fast. Why? It's complicated
    Jul 8 2025
    The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.

    It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.

    In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it.

    The thing is, beneath that demographic data point are millions of families making intimate decisions about kids. NPR's Sarah McCammon and Brian Mann dug into the politics and personal stories behind America's shrinking birthrate.

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    10 mins
  • Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different

    Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different
    Jul 7 2025
    Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials.

    Twenty-six feet in less than an hour.

    That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more survivors will be found. But in a press conference today, officials warned the death toll will continue to rise.

    In the Texas Hill Country, climate change and geography conspired to create one of the worst floods in generations.

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    11 mins
  • When it comes to vaccines, how are pediatricians restoring trust?

    When it comes to vaccines, how are pediatricians restoring trust?
    Jul 6 2025
    If you're a parent, decisions about vaccines have gotten a lot more confusing recently. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s health department is walking back longstanding recommendations.

    NPR's Pien Huang speaks with a pediatrician and a vaccine researcher to discuss how the changes may affect public health - and how frontline conversations are going between pediatricians and families.

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    12 mins
  • The songs that define America

    The songs that define America
    Jul 4 2025
    Independence Day means different things to each of us. On this 249th birthday for America, we spend some time looking at different definitions of America by revisiting NPR's 2018 series: American Anthem — which had the simple goal of telling 50 stories about 50 songs that have become galvanizing forces in American culture.

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    13 mins
  • The Trump domestic policy megabill is set to become law

    The Trump domestic policy megabill is set to become law
    Jul 3 2025
    President Trump put essentially his entire domestic agenda in one bill.

    It would significantly cut clean energy incentives, Medicaid and food assistance programs — and double down on tax cuts, immigration enforcement and national defense.

    Despite opposition from Democrats, and divides within the Republican Party, it passed through Congress.

    How did that happen? And what does it mean for American taxpayers? NPR correspondents explain.

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    9 mins