Episodes
-
Two years ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the most ambitious climate measures in the U.S. to date. It contains tax credits for electric vehicles, and his administration has taken subsequent action forcing automakers to shift production away from gas-powered vehicles by capping allowable carbon emissions from the auto industry.
But many consumers remain skeptical of the technology, and its adoption is largely concentrated in areas where Democrats are in the majority.
All of this has become fodder for former president Donald Trump. At a recent rally in Las Vegas, he vowed to end the “mandate on electric” and complained that batteries are too heavy to power trucks and boats.
And now, vulnerable Senate Democrats, such as Ohio’s Sherrod Brown and Montana’s Jon Tester, who helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, find themselves under attack for their party’s climate policies. Host Elahe Izadi speaks with Senate reporter Liz Goodwin about how one of Biden’s signature accomplishments turned into a liability for Democrats and could affect which party controls the Senate next year.
Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
American sports have changed from a unifying bond to a platform for division. Is there any going back?
Sports columnist Jerry Brewer has been thinking about the state of sports for decades. In the past few years, it has soured in his mind. In his new series of essays titled “Grievance Games,” Brewer set out to explore why he believes the unifying power of sports has been ruptured through grievance politics. And how many of those grievances are racially charged.
Today on Post Reports, Brewer narrates the first piece in the series, which serves as an introduction to his thinking.
You can find this column, and the next three in the series, here.
This story was written and narrated by Jerry Brewer. It was produced and mixed with original music by Bishop Sand.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Missing episodes?
-
The U.S. men’s cricket team’s win against Pakistan shocked the world – not just because they beat a titan of the sport, but also because many of the team’s players play cricket while juggling full-time jobs.
“I’m focusing on my work and completely switched on [to] my work,” said Saurabh Netravalkar, an engineer for Oracle and a star player for Team USA. “And if I'm on the field, I’m completely on the field, so that really helps me – switching on and switching off.”
Netravalkar spoke with The Post’s Pranshu Verma, a tech reporter and a huge cricket fan. He’s been following Team USA and Netravalkar’s historic rise. He discusses the attention that this tournament has brought to the sport in the United States and what it would take for it to become more widely popular in the country.
Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
With every breath you take, you could be inhaling microplastics. Today, we talk about where they come from, how they impact our health and what we can do to avoid them in our daily lives.
Read more:
For years, scientists on the hunt for microplastics have found them almost everywhere. First, they spotted tiny pieces of plastic in the ocean, in the bodies of fish and mussels. Then they found them in soft drinks, in tap water, in vegetables and fruits, in burgers.
Now researchers are discovering that microplastics are floating around us, suspended in the air on city streets and inside homes. One study found that people inhale or ingest on average 74,000 to 121,000 microplastic particles per year through breathing, eating and drinking.
Today on “Post Reports,” climate reporter Shannon Osaka answers host Elahe Izadi’s questions about these plastic particles that humans are taking in in much larger quantities than previously thought. And she gives some advice on how to get microplastics out of our lives as much as possible.
Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign.
In a district that overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2020, Ohio voters almost elected a Democratic congressman this week. But are such special election results representative? Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Washington Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Toluse Olorunnipa, White House bureau chief for The Post, sit down with host Elahe Izadi. They also discuss Hunter Biden’s conviction on felony gun charges, how family matters impact presidential campaigns, and polling that shows voters are checked out when it comes to major campaign stories.
Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Mary Jo Murphy.
Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Dietary supplements are enormously popular in the United States. A new federal survey found that a majority of Americans are taking them, with many consuming multiple kinds on a regular basis.
And yet, supplements are shrouded in misconceptions. Supplements have less oversight than pharmaceutical drugs and are regulated differently. While people may take them to be healthier, we often don’t think about possible side effects or interactions. We also assume we know what we’re getting.
Today, host Martine Powers talks with the Post’s Well+Being columnist, Anahad O’Connor, about how to be smarter about the supplements we take to improve our health.
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Since Lina Khan was appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission in 2021, the FTC has become more ambitious in its efforts to curb alleged unfair business practices. The agency has banned most non-compete agreements, has begun to scrutinize the proliferation of AI and has initiated lawsuits against massive tech companies like Meta, Microsoft and Amazon. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post).The FTC under Khan’s leadership has drawn bipartisan support in Congress, but also the ire of some pundits and business leaders.
Elahe Izadi sat down with Khan in The Washington Post studio this week for a wide-ranging conversation about Khan’s tenure at the FTC, how the government should be regulating AI, why the FTC is going up against Amazon and what it means to be doing this work in an election year.
Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Allison Michaels and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Today on “Post Reports,” the story of Ashraf Omar Alakhras and his family farm and an exclusive investigation into the destruction of food and agriculture in Gaza.
Read more:
Since Israel’s invasion of Gaza more than seven months ago, Gaza’s food and agricultural system is on the brink of collapse. Airstrikes and bulldozers have razed farms and orchards across the region, according to a Washington Post investigation comparing satellite imagery before and after the start of the war. Experts say that it could take decades to reconstruct what had already been a vulnerable but dynamic food system.
But beyond those satellite images is the story of Ashraf Omar Alakhras and his family’s farm. For months, the Post’s visual forensics reporter, Nilo Tabrizy, has been corresponding with Alakhras about what has happened and what it will take to rebuild.
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Reem Akkad, Peter Finn, Leila Barghouty and Elyse Samuels. Additional reporting from Imogen Piper and Miriam Berger, with help from He Yin of Kent State University.
Find The Post’s latest coverage of the Israel-Gaza War here.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Housing has become increasingly expensive around the country. And while it’s traditionally seen as a local issue, housing could be a major factor in the 2024 presidential election.
Read more:
In polls, voters often say the economy is one of the top issues they’ll consider when voting in the 2024 presidential election.
But what exactly does that mean? For a lot of people, the cost of housing — rent or a mortgage payment — is the main way they feel fluctuations in the economy. That cost can also be the most stressful.
Today, host Elahe Izadi speaks with politics reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell about why housing has gotten so expensive in Nevada and other swing states— and how that could sway the presidential election.
Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sam Bair.
Two projects from the Post Reports team were just honored with Peabody awards. You can listen to “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop” here; and Part One of “Surviving to Graduation” here.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign.
This week, we hear directly from some undecided voters about how Donald Trump’s criminal conviction lands with them. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Washington Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Isaac Arnsdorf, who covers Trump and the MAGA movement for The Post, sit down with co-host Martine Powers. They also discuss Stephen K. Bannon’s upcoming stint in prison, as well as President Biden’s executive order curtailing asylum and its implications for the campaign.
Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon.
It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.
Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Eight months into Israel’s war in Gaza, a string of standoffs, schisms and ultimatums have brought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet to the brink of collapse and raised the prospect that his own coalition could follow, possibly leading to new elections.
Externally, the embattled prime minister is under growing pressure from the public to bring home Israel’s remaining hostages and from the Biden administration to reach a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. Within his unity government, formed less than a week after the deadly militant attacks on Oct. 7, he is contending with rebellions by allies and opponents alike.
Today, “Post Reports” host Martine Powers speaks with Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix about the external and internal pressures Netanyahu faces during is facing amidst a critical moment in the war in Gaza.
Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Lior Soroka.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
In Hunter Biden’s 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” he writes: “I’ve bought crack cocaine on the streets of Washington, DC, and cooked up my own inside a hotel bungalow in Los Angeles. I’ve been so desperate for a drink that I couldn’t make the one-block walk between a liquor store and my apartment without uncapping the bottle to take a swig.”
Federal prosecutors this week used these words and other excerpts from Biden’s memoir against him, as they attempted to convince a jury that he lied about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in Delaware in 2018.
The president’s son faces three felony charges related to the gun purchase.
Today on “Post Reports,” Justice Department reporter Perry Stein and host Martine Powers break down the charges Biden faces in his federal trial, why the prosecution is using his memoir as evidence and what impact the case could have on his father’s reelection campaign.
Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
On Monday, Anthony Fauci – a former health adviser in the Trump and Biden administrations – testified in front of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, a panel devoted to investigating the federal response to covid-19. The contentious hearing came amid a battle between the panel’s Republican and Democratic leaders over how to understand Fauci’s legacy in shaping the U.S. response to the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the popular understanding of the virus’s origin.
Host Martine Powers speaks with health reporter Dan Diamond about why this hearing catapulted a retired Fauci back into the headlines.
Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick and Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
TikTok offered the Biden administration a kill switch. Today on “Post Reports,” why the U.S. government declined.
Read more:
In 2022, TikTok offered the U.S. government an extraordinary deal.
The social media app – owned by a Chinese company – said it would let federal officials pick its U.S. board of directors, would give the government veto power over each new hire and would pay an American company that contracts with the Defense Department to monitor its source code.
The Biden administration, however, went its own way.
Today on “Post Reports,” tech reporter Drew Harwell takes host Elahe Izadi behind the scenes of the U.S. government’s decision to pass on TikTok’s proposal.
Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here and check out this story about the health consequences of loud restaurants.
-
It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign.
This week is a special episode dedicated to the questions raised by having a presidential candidate and former U.S. president who is now a felon. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Ashley Parker, his colleague on the politics team, sit down with Post Reports co-host Elahe Izadi.
They talk about the politics of Donald Trump’s guilty verdict, how Republicans and Democrats are reacting to it, and the politicization of the rule of law.
Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.
Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
A New York jury convicted former president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his hush money trial. Tonight on “Post Reports,” the scene in the Manhattan courtroom. And what comes next.
Read more:
Donald Trump is now the first former U.S. president to be tried and found guilty of a crime, after a New York jury convicted him on Thursday of falsifying business records in his hush money case.
The trial lasted seven weeks. The 12-person jury unanimously agreed on the verdict after deliberating for two days, finding that Trump falsified records to cover up a $130,000 payment made to an adult-film actress before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with him years earlier.
Politics reporter Isaac Arnsdorf was in the courthouse as the verdict was read. Tonight on “Post Reports,” he talks with host Elahe Izadi about that moment, and what comes next.
Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
How far-right Israeli settlers are blocking aid to Gaza. And, why humanitarian aid has become politicized.
Read more:
Right-wing Israeli settlers stepped up their attacks on aid trucks passing through the West Bank this month, blocking food and aid from reaching Gaza as humanitarian groups warn that the enclave is sinking deeper into famine.
The Post’s Loveday Morris went to a border crossing to see these blockades in real time. Today, we break down what this means for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region, and how aid has become so politicized.
Today’s episode was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Erin Cunningham.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
Crypto, AI and clean-tech manufacturing are pushing America’s power grid to the brink. Aging utilities can’t keep up. On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we look into who will be left to pay the price.
Read more:
Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power this summer, as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories eat up what the country’s aging power grid churns out.
Today on “Post Reports,” business reporter Evan Halper explains what’s putting the power grid under so much strain, what solutions the government and Big Tech are proposing, and who will foot the bill.
Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Peter Bresnan, with help from Monica Campbell. It was mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
India’s general election ends this weekend, with Prime Minister Nerendra Modi leading the polls. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack where Modi’s support comes from and what a win for his party would mean for the world’s largest democracy.
Read more:
For more than a month, people across India have been voting in this year's general election. It’s the largest the world has ever seen, and Prime Minister Nerendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party are ahead in polls by a wide margin. A lot of Modi’s support is coming from women – largely because they are in favor of his Hindu nationalist platform and because his party has encouraged women to work. He has also been able to reach young voters through his social media campaigning.
But many see India’s struggling economy and his Hindu nationalism as reasons to vote him out – particularly because attacks against Muslims have increased during his time in office. An alliance of more than two dozen parties is running against him, but they’ve struggled to stay organized and make gains.
Correspondent Karishma Mehrotra reports from New Delhi on what it’s been like on the campaign trail and what it could mean to have Modi lead for a third term.
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon and Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
-
A community organizer and several residents of public housing in Milwaukee are trying to get attention from their representatives in government. Low-income Black voters, like those at College Court, are often discussed by political pundits as key to President Biden’s reelection campaign against former president Donald Trump. The residents are facing issues like bedbugs, violence, public spillover of mental illness and backlogged maintenance issues, which are all seemingly intractable to an overwhelmed housing authority. The promise of public housing, where rent was typically capped at 30 percent of tenants’ incomes, appears to no longer include safety. The reasons lie in a tangle of acronyms and funding streams, regulations and deputy directors, good intentions followed by fine print and excuses.
This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Jose A. Del Real. Audio narration comes from our partners at Noa, an app offering curated audio articles.
- Show more
