Being the Republican House leader is a little like marrying Henry VIII. At some point, you’re getting your head cut off.
But for now, Mike Johnson remains not just physically intact—but in a position of incredible power.
Two weeks ago, Johnson was reelected Speaker of the House on the first ballot. Despite having only the narrowest of House majorities—the Republicans control the House by four votes, 219 vs. 215 Democrats—Mike Johnson was able to unite the Republican Party’s warring factions—moderates, the Freedom Caucus, the Raw Milk caucus, libertarians, hawks, doves, and whatever Lauren Boebert is—behind him.
It was tough to pull off, as it would’ve taken only a couple of No votes to send him off to that Republican Valhalla where John Boehner chain-smokes and chugs merlot, Paul Ryan does push-ups, and Kevin McCarthy throws darts at a photo of Matt Gaetz.
Now, Donald Trump will become president of the United States and Mike Johnson will have the task of shepherding his agenda through Congress. And because the Republicans control the House by only four seats, the Speaker might have to get very close to some moderate Democrats—particularly those with constituents itching for a tax cut.
Today on Honestly, Speaker Johnson breaks down this challenge. He talks about how the party moves forward with two different visions for America; why he thinks Biden was “the worst president ever”; he recalls an eerie experience with Biden in the Oval Office; and he even gives us a taste of his uncanny Trump impression.
If you liked what you heard from Honestly, the best way to support us is to go to TheFP.com and become a Free Press subscriber today.
Located in Northern China is not only one of the largest cities in the world but also the capital of the largest country in the world, Beijing.
Like many great cities, Beijing has had its ups and downs. It has gone from a sleepy village to a global city. It has seen its share of wars, revolutions, and historical events.
Not only has it had a front-row seat to history, but it has also changed its name multiple times in multiple languages.
Learn more about Beijing and how it has evolved over the centuries on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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OA1114 - “We are now faced, my friends, with the fact that tomorrow is today.” --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4, 1967)
We begin the second Trump administration exactly where we intend to remain for the next four years: in dissent.
Today’s Inauguration Day counter-programming features two of the most powerful dissenters in modern American history: Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We begin with commentary on Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s defiantly inspiring July 1, 2024 dissent as read from the bench in the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, and conclude with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s powerful call for a “revolution of values” to end “power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.”
Following Overwhelmed, Brigid Schulte's groundbreaking examination of time management and stress, the prizewinning journalist now turns her attention to the greatest culprit in America's quality-of-life crisis: the way our economy and culture conceive of work. Americans across all demographics, industries, and socioeconomic levels report exhaustion, burnout, and the wish for more meaningful lives. This full-system failure in our structure of work affects everything from gender inequality to domestic stability, and it even shortens our lifespans.
Drawing on years of research, Schulte traces the arc of our discontent from a time before the 1980s, when work was compatible with well-being and allowed a single earner to support a family, until today, with millions of people working multiple hourly jobs or in white-collar positions where no hours are ever off duty.
She casts a wide net in search of solutions, exploring the movement to institute a four-day workweek, introducing Japan's Housewives Brigade--which demands legal protection for family time--and embedding with CEOs who are making the business case for humane conditions. And she demonstrates the power of a collective and creative demand for change, showing that work can be organized in an infinite number of ways that are good for humans and for business.
Brigid Schulte is the author of the bestselling Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time and an award-winning journalist formerly for the Washington Post, where she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize. She is also the director of the Better Life Lab, the work-family justice and gender equity program at New America.
After years of research, journalist Kathleen Lippa has written about the shocking crimes of a trusted teacher who wrought lasting damage on Inuit communities: Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North (Dundurn Press, February 2025). In the 1970s, a young schoolteacher from British Columbia was becoming the darling of the Northwest Territories education department with his dynamic teaching style. He was learning to speak the local language, Inuktitut, something few outsiders did. He also claimed to be Indigenous — a claim that would later prove to be false. In truth, Edward Horne was a pedophile who sexually abused his male students. From 1971 to 1985 his predations on Inuit boys would disrupt life in the communities where he worked — towns of close-knit families that would suffer the intergenerational trauma created by his abuse. In this book, Kathleen examines the devastating impact the crimes had on individuals, families, and entire communities. Her compelling work lifts the veil of silence surrounding the Horne story once and for all.
More about Kathleen Lippa:
Kathleen Lippa is a Canadian journalist, born in Toronto and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Kathleen trained as a professional dancer at The Quinte Ballet School and The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre before embarking on a journalism career. At Memorial University, from which she graduated with a BA (English) in 1998, she worked on the student newspaper, the muse. Following graduation, she worked at a number of Canadian newspapers including The Express (St. John’s) where she won a Canadian Community Newspaper Association award for arts reporting, The Hanover Post (Ontario), a number of newspapers under the corporate umbrella of the Northern News Services, 24 Hours (Toronto), and the Calgary Sun. For Northern News Services, after a short stint in Yellowknife, Kathleen served as Bureau Chief in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Her experience includes writing, editing, page layout and design, and photography. Her Northern experience was in a cross-cultural setting primarily reporting news from Inuit communities. After spending many years in Iqaluit, Kathleen now lives with her husband in Ottawa and St. John’s.
About Hollay Ghadery:
Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children’s book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League’s BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com.
Leah, Melissa and Kate cover some breaking news, including Biden’s last-minute declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. Then, it’s a rollicking ride through Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, one of the more entertaining oral arguments of late. Come for the hosts’ sharp legal analysis, stay for Justice Alito’s questions about whether Pornhub features longform journalism.
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Today is Inauguration Day in DC. As of around noon ET, we will officially be living under a Donald Trump administration. Again. The president-elect's inaugural committee has raised a record $170 million for the ceremony and accompanying festivities — a huge jump from the then-record $107 million raised for Trump’s first inauguration. We talk to reporter Ilya Marritz, former co-host of the WNYC podcast ‘Trump Inc.,’ to explore the parallels between today’s inauguration and 2017.
And in headlines: TikTok restored service to its more than 170 million users in the U.S, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect, and the federal government is rushing to develop a bird flu vaccine.
***Correction: In this episode we stated, "Inaugurating a president doesn't cost $170 million." This needs more context. It is true that, prior to 2017, a president's inaugural committee had never spent more than $100 million on inauguration events. Inaugural committees raise money from private donations. But a second pot of federal money covers the cost of services like security and cleanup. The Washington Post estimated the combined total for Trump's first inauguration likely cost between $175 million and $200 million.
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sodas, sweets and snacks. Recently, it and other dyes were linked to behavior issues in children. But high levels of Red No. 3 were linked to cancer in rats decades ago. So why is the ban happening now?
Senior editor and science desk correspondent Maria Godoy answers our questions about Red No. 3 and other dyes that may replace it. Plus, how should parents think about feeding their kids products that may contain Red No. 3 before the ban takes affect.
Questions, story ideas or want us to dig into another food science issue? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history when she performed at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. Her poetry often deals with topics like gender, race and politics. She continues to explore these themes in a new picture book Girls on the Rise, which is a poem illustrated by Loveis Wise. In today's episode, Gorman speaks with NPR's Eric Deggans about drawing inspiration from the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, the importance of creating a welcoming dialogue with children, and the mantra she recites before each performance.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
As Donald Trump and his coterie return to the White House, everyone seems confident they know what levers to pull to get Trump to do what they want. The only issue, then, is what other members of Trumpworld want.
Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilly, senior writer at Slate
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
