NPR's Book of the Day - Aided by new sources, Clay Risen’s ‘Red Scare’ brings McCarthyism back to life

Journalist Clay Risen is out with a new narrative history of the Red Scare, based in part on newly declassified sources. In Red Scare, Risen depicts McCarthyism as a cultural witch hunt against all kinds of people, not just potential communist spies. And he argues that the Red Scare was part of a broader cultural backlash against New Deal progressivism and an increasing sense of cosmopolitanism in the United States. In today's episode, Risen joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for a conversation about Senator Joseph McCarthy's personal and political opportunism, the enduring power of conspiracy theories, and how the Constitution did – and didn't – stand up to protect American civil liberties.

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Marketplace All-in-One - China cautions countries over making deals with the U.S.

From the BBC World Service: China has warned that it will hit back at countries that make deals with the U.S., which it fears will hurt Beijing's interests. It's a sign that the trade war between the world's two biggest economies threatens to drag in other nations. What does this all mean? And we also learn about the economics of carpet-weaving, one of the only jobs women in Afghanistan are now allowed to do.

Bad Faith - Epsiode 467 Promo – Weapons Sales Over Human Rights (w/ Annelle Sheline)

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Last year Annelle Sheline resigned from Biden's State Department in protest of the administration's support for Israel's genocide in Gaza. She returns to Bad Faith podcast to provide new insight into how the State Department routinely deprioritized or flat out ignored reports about human rights abuses so that it would not have to contend with domestic laws prohibiting weapons sales to countries that failed to meet human rights standards. In her new piece for the Quincy Institute she breaks down the mythology around America's role as global peacekeeper, and exposes how weapons sales drive US foreign policy.

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - What’s Next For Northwestern Researchers In The Face Of Funding Cuts, Work Stoppages?

Many research projects at Northwestern University are coming to a stop. The Trump administration is cutting $790 million dollars in federal funding for the university. That money would go toward a variety of research projects from developing new technologies to disease research. On top of those cuts, the U.S. Department of Defense sent more than 100 stop-work orders to university research staff. To learn more, we spoke to a Northwestern researcher being affected by cuts and work stoppages. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Up First from NPR - Pope’s Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America

Pope Francis has died at age 88. He was one of the most popular popes in decades and lent his voice to almost every modern issue facing the world, often taking the side of the marginalized and vulnerable. A look at funeral plans, the selection process for the next Pope, what happens next in Rome, and the reaction from South America.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, James Doubek, Miguel Macias, Arezou Rezvani and Janaya Williams.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.

We get engineering support from Damian Herring. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.


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Headlines From The Times - LAX Falls in Rankings, RFK Assassination Files Released, Gold Prices Surge, and Trader Joe’s Expands

LAX drops out of the top 10 busiest airports in the world as regional airports like Long Beach and Burbank break records. Newly declassified documents on the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy are being released by President Trump, fueling renewed interest in the case. As gold prices hit record highs, more people are melting down old jewelry for fast cash, though experts warn against selling heirlooms. And Trader Joe’s announces five new stores in California, part of a larger national expansion effort.


 

Marketplace All-in-One - Mobile apps are failing users with disabilities

Developers of mobile apps have "room for improvement" in making their platforms fully accessible for disabled users, according to a new report from the software company ArcTouch and the digital research platform Fable.


It looked at fifty popular apps and assessed them for features that improve accessibility like screen reading, text size adjustability, voice controls and multiple screen orientations. The apps were tested by disabled users who reported a poor or failing experience almost three-quarters of the time.


Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Ben Ogilvie, head of accessibility at ArcTouch, to learn more about why so many apps are behind.