President Trump is feuding with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. This all comes as Americans are feeling gloomier about the economy. Also, a judge found probable cause to find the government in criminal contempt, ruling that the Trump administration willfully disregarded an order to turn back airplanes carrying deported migrants to El Salvador, and President Trump says he is looking into whether the U.S. can detain citizens who commit crimes in overseas prisons.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Gerry Holmes, Eric Westervelt, Rafael Nam, Janaya Williams and Mohamad ElBardicy. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is David Greenburg.
A lot of things in the South Bay, specifically around Cupertino and Mountain View, are named after somebody called Stevens. There’s Stevens Creek Boulevard, the Stevens Creek watershed, and Stevens Creek Reservoir, to name a few. Our question asker, Pete Smoot, wants to know: Who exactly was Stevens? Turns out we should really be asking: "Who was Stephens?" with a P-H! We've been misspelling the name of Elisha Stephens for decades. In this episode we learn more about the man behind the name, and his adventurous pioneer life in early California.
This story was reported by Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Olivia Allen-Price and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Gabriela Glueck, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.
Folk music surged in popularity across America in the late 1950s through the ‘70s, including here in the Chicago area. Last episode, we looked at how a few area coffeehouses catered to many patrons in their teens and early twenties. These were alcohol-free spaces where people could listen to live music and hangout for hours.
Curious City host Erin Allen looks at one of those beloved coffeeshops of the 1970s: AmazinGrace, which was born out of Vietnam War protests on the campus of Northwestern University and later moved to the heart of downtown Evanston. She was joined by a panel of AmazinGrace founders, performers and patrons at last year’s Evanston Folk Festival.
WBEZ is a programming partner of the Evanston Folk Festival, which is taking place this year Sept. 6-7, 2025. A pre-sale is happening now through April 22. Enter the code EFFWBEZ to access the sale.
You may have noticed on this show that Bari Weiss is always asking her guests, “Do you believe in God?,” “What is your favorite biblical character?,” or “Do we need a religious revival?”
And you might be wondering why she keeps knocking on this door?
It’s partly because we’re curious about people’s metaphysical beliefs. But it’s also because we think something profound has gotten lost in our society, as we’ve lost traditional religion.
You can argue that we are starting to see the beginnings of a religious revival, and even if you don’t believe in God, many think that the practice of religion—keeping Shabbat, going to church—has clear benefits like a community or a moral code. Religion, in other words, is a good program.
Our guest today, Ross Douthat, has a different perspective. Ross makes the case that we should be more religious—not in order to cure society’s many ills—but because it is the best way—the most accurate way—to understand the world around us. Belief in God, he says, is entirely rational.
Ross is a best-selling author, a columnist at The New York Times, and the host of a new podcast called Interesting Times. His newest book is Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. The release is perfectly timed to our strange moment of “plagues, populism, psychedelic encounters, and AI voices in the air,” as Ross writes.
Ross says it’s not enough to argue that religion is simply good for society, or that we must be religious to sustain our civilization. Ross argues that it’s time for people to actually become religious. Bari presses him about this distinction.
And this week, as billions of Christians gather for Holy Week—the sacred days leading up to, and including, Easter—we are wondering if this return that Ross suggests is even possible. And if yes, will it fix our problems?
Today on Honestly, Bari sits down with Ross to understand why he thinks belief in God is the most logical way to understand our world, how he rationalizes and justifies faith, and how he thinks readers can move from doubt to belief.
Go to fastgrowingtrees.com/Honestly and use the code HONESTLY at checkout to get 15% off your first order.
Modern society is completely dependent on a set of technologies that include computer chips, fiber optic cables, lasers, video screens, electric motors, and batteries.
All of those things are dependent on a small category of chemicals called rare earth elements.
Their importance in technology has made them a focal point of international trade and politics.
Learn more about rare earth elements and how the world has become completely reliant on them, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
For this Easter episode, we’re doing the journalism few dare attempt: taste-testing every bizarre Peeps flavor we could find. From classic yellow to Dr. Pepper (why?), we rank them all so you don’t ruin your holiday. Tune in!
In this episode, Ericka Andersen joins Rusty Reno at The Editor’s Desk to talk about her recent essay, “Who Owns the Embryos?” from the April 2025 issue of the magazine.
Please subscribe at www.firstthings.com/subscribe in order to access this and many other great pieces!
We’re talking about a high-stakes legal battle that pits the White House against the courts, with millions of undocumented immigrants caught in the middle.
Also, a new development in President Trump’s efforts to keep federal money and support away from the leading research university.
Plus, what’s already getting more expensive in the face of tariffs, how bookclubs are becoming the new nightclubs for Gen Z, and who made Time Magazine’s list of most influential people for 2025.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!
During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events.
The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com.
Music
Hallway Rug and a bit of Watering Plants by Omni Gardens
Dripping Icicles from Lalo Schiffrin's great score to The Fox.
Girl Talk by the Howard Roberts Quartet
Jules et Therese from the score to Jules et Jim
Franz Waxman's main title theme to Woman of the Year
Your Love from the legend, Frankie Knuckles
Then we go back and forth between Joe Morello's Timeless and Lara Downes playing Leonard Bernstein's Big Stuff.
