This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.
The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.
It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.
NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.
The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.
It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.
NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
It's ... Indicators of the Week! We roundup the economic indicators that caught our attention. On this (kinda) spoOoOooky Friday the 13th, we were morbidly curious about higher household incomes, a Keurig K-Cup kerfuffle and, believe it or not, the return of Fyre Festival.
I can scarce believe that I've made 200 episodes of this show, but here we are! To celebrate, here is a quiz about language where all the questions were set by YOU, the beautiful brainy listeners. Play along with me - there's a score sheet you can use over at theallusionist.org/200, plus the episode's transcript and links to more information about some of the topics.
If you want to help me celebrate this podcast making it to 200 episodes, recommend it to someone! Word of mouth/virtual mouth is the best way for a podcast to find new listeners, especially a little independent podcast like this one with no budget for billboard advertising.
If you do want to chip in to my future billboard ad fund, go to theallusionist.org/donate and become a member of the Allusioverse. You get regular livestreams with me and my collection of reference books, inside scoops into the making of this show, watchalong parties eg the new season of Taskmaster which stars my brother Andy, and the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music and editorial assistance from Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Find @allusionistshow on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube etc.
Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk about your product or thing on the show, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Constant Wonder, the podcast that helps you find the wonder in nature (inc human). Listen in the usual places you find podcasts. • Rocket Money, the personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions and monitors your spending. Go to rocketmoney.com/allusionist to save money and lower your outgoings. • Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners eighteen free meals, plus free shipping on your first box, and free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online empire/new home for your cryptic puzzle that takes months to solve. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
In this episode, Dr. Eric Jaffe walks us through the history of CRISPR, how it works, how it's being used currently, and how it could be applied in the future. How quickly will we be able to eradicate mosquitoes? I say let's just do it, but Dr. Jaffe has some concerns.
Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!
Please please pretty please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to get inflation under control. One side effect is that taking out a mortgage to buy a home has gotten very expensive. That's especially a problem for some homeowners who managed to get a lower mortgage rate years ago. They have a sort of... champagne problem. Or, "golden handcuffs" as it's called.
These homeowners may find they are "locked in" to their current home. In order to move to a new home, they have to take out a new mortgage at a much higher rate. It is one of the many problems plaguing the housing market right now.
The Fed is expected to start cutting rates next week. Will the golden handcuff mess finally start to unlock? And what does it mean for people looking to buy their first home?
On today's episode: We go deep into the golden handcuff problem and why it matters for everyone (including non-homeowners). We have FOMO about a big economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And we contemplate how to pronounce one of the most important interest rates in the economy: The IORB.
This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. It was produced by Sean Saldana. It was edited by Jess Jiang and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Engineering by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces a hiring freeze to close a massive budget shortfall. The corruption trial of a former AT&T executive linked to Mike Madigan begins. Chicago’s City Council prepares to issue as much as $15 million in payouts for police misconduct. Plus, a new flag for Illinois? Reset dives into these and other top local stories in our Weekly News Recap with City Cast Chicago executive producer Simone Alicea, Block Club Chicago reporter Quinn Myers and WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalopoulos.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Normally people love reaching a milestone – but Berkshire Hathaway hitting $1T might’ve triggered a different kind of thinking for Warren Buffett and his lieutenants.
(00:21) Jason Moser and Matt Argersinger discuss:
- The signs execs at Berkshire Hathaway believe the market is rich – Ajit Jain reducing his Berkshire stake, and the company winding down its buyback activity.
- Brian Niccol’s vision for returning to Starbucks’ roots as a third place.
- Why the market was up on RH’s results, down on Adobe’s outlook, and still hoping a Kroger/Albertson’s deal will go through.
(19:11) This week was Apple’s annual product event. Dan Barbera from MacRumors gives the scoop on the latest releases, one way the latest iPhones could fuel Vision Pro adoption, and what to expect from Apple in 2025.
(33:54) Jason and Matt break down two stocks on their radar: Top Golf Callaway and Oxford Industries.
Scammers are exploiting retailers’ online return programs like never before, fueled by websites and messaging apps. WSJ’s Liz Young reports on the bind retailers now find themselves in, stuck between helping their customers and stopping the fraud.