Consider This from NPR - Critics hated ‘The Phantom Menace.’ It might be time to reconsider

When Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace hit screens across the country in 1999, Return of the Jedi felt like ancient history to Star Wars fans. But after 16 long years, the movie let down fans and critics alike. Twenty-five years have changed how a lot of people feel. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Planet Money - Zombie mortgages are coming back to life

Karen McDonough of Quincy, Mass., was enjoying her tea one morning in the dining room when she saw something odd outside her window: a group of people gathering on her lawn. A man with a clipboard told her that her home no longer belonged to her. It didn't matter that she'd been paying her mortgage for 17 years and was current on it. She was a nurse with a good job and had raised her kids there. But this was a foreclosure sale, and she was going to lose her house.

McDonough had fallen victim to what's called a zombie second mortgage. Homeowners think these loans are long dead. But then the loans come back to life because they get bought up, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, by debt collectors that then move to collect and foreclose on people's homes.

On today's episode: An NPR investigation reveals the practice to be widespread. Also, what are zombie mortgages? Is all this legal? And is there any way for homeowners to fight the zombies?

You can read more about zombie second mortgages online at: npr.org/zombie

Correction: An earlier version of this episode description misspelled Karen McDonough's last name as MacDonough.

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The Gist - A Drug That Kills Drink’s Thrills With Andy Mills

Andy Mills and Matthew Boll are out with a new podcast Reflector. Now available. Episode 1 concerns Naltrexone, a drug that actually works to stop alcohol cravings, and yet 12-Step programs are much more popular, despite being much less effective. We are joined by Andy to also talk about media capture and the great podcast fake enthusiasm epidemic.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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The Indicator from Planet Money - A new gold rush and other indicators

Indicators of the Week is back! This time, we dig into why gold prices are spiking, why the Biden administration has only spent a small portion of money pledged to infrastructure projects, and what the spurt of streaming consolidations means for you.

Related episodes:
Gold Rush 2.0
The semiconductor shortage (still) (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
The secret entrance that sidesteps Hollywood picket lines (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)

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Big Technology Podcast - Apple’s Bad iPad Ad, AI Assistant Hype, Netflix’s Big Live Ambitions

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) Apple's bad iPad ad 2) Is the backlash largely due to the creative, of people's feelings about Apple as a company 3) Asking Claude about the reaction to the ad 4) Apple's big moment at WWDC 5) Apple building server-side AI compute 6) Better Siri 7) OpenAI teases GPT-5 8) AI assistant buzz 9) AI as a dating concierge 10) AI news creating a zombie internet 11) Netflix's Tom Brady roast 12) Netflix's big bet on live TV, including the NFL.

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State of the World from NPR - Election in Indonesia Presents a Challenge for the U.S.

Prabowo Subianto will become the president of Indonesia in the Fall. Critics worry that the former general under a previous authoritarian government will roll back democracy. That presents a challenge for the U.S., which once trained and supported Prabowo, then subsequently banned him from entering the U.S. for twenty years.

And a TV song contest in Venezuela in which every song is about the authoritarian president.

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - COINDESK DAILY: TON, RNDR Surge; Kraken Asks Court to Dismiss SEC Claims

Host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry from the surge in TON and RNDR tokens to Kraken asking a court to dismiss the SEC claims against the exchange.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

"CoinDesk Daily" host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the biggest headlines impacting the crypto industry today, as TON, and RNDR tokens have rallied over 13% in 24 hours. Plus, Kraken's lawyers have asked a court to dismiss the SEC's claims against the exchange. And, Binance and KuCoin became the first offshore crypto-related entities to be approved by India's anti-money laundering unit.

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Consensus is where experts convene to talk about the ideas shaping our digital future. Join developers, investors, founders, brands, policymakers and more in Austin, Texas from May 29-31. The tenth annual Consensus is curated by CoinDesk to feature the industry’s most sought-after speakers, unparalleled networking opportunities and unforgettable experiences. Register now at consensus.coindesk.com.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “First Mover” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez and edited by Victor Chen.

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: May 10, 2024

What a week in news! University of Chicago launched a pre-dawn raid on a pro-Palestinian encampment. President Biden comes to town. And 95 adults file a lawsuit alleging physical and sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers. Reset breaks down these stories and much more with Block Club Chicago’s Mick Dumke, Washington Post’s Kim Bellware, and Fox 32’s Paris Schutz. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Motley Fool Money - It’s Always About the Forecast

Relatively strong earnings results from Shopify and Roblox were overshadowed by questions about the outlook for the rest of the year and whether consumers will keep up the online shopping and in-game spending..


(00:21) Ron Gross and Andy Cross discuss:


- Disney’s path to streaming profitability, and the warnings from Shopify and Roblox that growth in the back half of 2024 might be a bit lighter.

- Trade Desk’s relative strength in a tough earnings environment, and Airbnb bracing for some travel slowdown.

- How drinkmaker Celsius continues to find the energy for growth.


(19:11) Motley Fool Co-founder David Gardner provides some timeless advice for college grads.


(27:27) Ron and Andy break down two stocks on their radar: Toast and Trex.


Stocks discussed: DIS, SHOP, RBLX, TTD, ABNB, CELH, TREX, TOST


Host: Dylan Lewis

Guests: Andy Cross, Ron Gross, David Gardner, Mary Long

Engineers: Dan Boyd

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CrowdScience - Why are people still dying from malaria?

Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal. These tiny creatures transmit many diseases, but the most devastating is malaria. It kills over half a million people every year, most of them children.

So why are people still dying of malaria in such large numbers, when so much time and money has been invested in trying to eradicate it? What do we know about mosquitoes and malaria, and what do we still need to learn? CrowdScience visits Malawi, one of the African countries leading the way against malaria, with the rollout of the world’s first malaria vaccine programme.

Presenter Caroline Steel is joined by a live audience and a panel of experts: Wongani Nygulu, Eggrey Aisha Kambewa and Steve Gowelo. Together they explore questions from our listeners in Malawi and around the world, like why female mosquitoes feed on blood while males drink nectar; why some people are more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes than others; and how we might modify the insects’ DNA to stop them spreading diseases.

About half a million children across Malawi have been vaccinated since 2019. We visit a clinic in nearby Chikwawa to meet the staff involved in the vaccination programme there, and the mothers embracing the opportunity to protect their babies against this deadly disease.

Recorded at Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust (MLW), Blantyre, Malawi.

Contributors: Dr. Wongani Nygulu, Epidemiologist, Malaria Alert Centre Eggrey Aisha Kambewa, MLW entomologist, MLW Dr. Steve Gowelo, University of California San Francisco Malaria Elimination Initiative

Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Jeremy Grange Researcher: Imaan Moin Additional Recording: Margaret Sessa Hawkins & Sophie Ormiston Editor: Cathy Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Liz Tuohy

(Photo: A mosquito, that is silhouetted against the moon, bites a human arm. Credit: LWA/Getty Images)