Why is it so hard to find a bathroom when you need one?
In the U.S., we used to have lots of publicly accessible toilets. But many had locks on the doors and you had to put in a coin to use them. Pay toilets created a system of haves and have nots when it came to bathroom access. So in the 60s, movements sprung up to ban pay toilets.
Problem is: when the pay toilets went away, so too did many free public toilets.
Today on the show, how toilets exist in a legal and economic netherworld; they're not quite a public good, not quite a problem the free market can solve.
Why we're stuck, needing to go, with nowhere to go.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune and engineered by Cena Loffredo. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
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Music: Audio Network - "Smoke Rings," "Can't Walk Away" and "Bright Crystals."
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Consider This from NPR - A legal architect of Guantanamo questions Trump’s El Salvador plan
The U.S. has sent people it has detained — people it calls terrorists — to a prison overseas — indefinitely.
This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - A legal architect of Guantanamo questions Trump’s El Salvador plan
The U.S. has sent people it has detained — people it calls terrorists — to a prison overseas — indefinitely.
This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - A legal architect of Guantanamo questions Trump’s El Salvador plan
The U.S. has sent people it has detained — people it calls terrorists — to a prison overseas — indefinitely.
This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
This is true in 2025, after the Trump administration deported at least 261 foreign nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
And it was also true two decades ago, following the attacks of Sept. 11, after the U.S. government began to house captured Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the military prison at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
During the George W. Bush administration, John Yoo wrote the legal justification for the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, now widely referred to as "the torture memos."
Yoo argues that there are key legal differences between what the Bush administration did – and what the Trump administration is attempting in El Salvador.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Conservative offers perspective on Trump’s effort to exert authority over history and art
President Trump has accused the Smithsonian and other museums of promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” Previously, Jeffrey Brown spoke with a historian critical of the president’s moves. Now, he has a different view from conservative Christopher Scalia. It's part of our series, Art in Action, and our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Conservative offers perspective on Trump’s effort to exert authority over history and art
President Trump has accused the Smithsonian and other museums of promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” Previously, Jeffrey Brown spoke with a historian critical of the president’s moves. Now, he has a different view from conservative Christopher Scalia. It's part of our series, Art in Action, and our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
Marketplace All-in-One - Supply chain strain, redux
It’s been one month since President Trump raised tariffs on goods from China. Already, the global supply chain is struggling. In this episode, we’ll hear about plummeting container ship traffic to the U.S. and how small retailers are dealing with limited stock. Plus, how the drayage sector is faring and what all these tariff negotiations will mean for the global economy going forward.
The Gist - Funny You Should Mention: Michelle Buteau
Michelle Buteau stops by to talk about getting high in the reptile house and why she caught flak for doing spon-con souptroversy. We also get into her Dutch husband, the spirituality she doesn’t buy into, and whether her socialism can coexist with her ambition to get paid. Plus, we ask: can a Buteau-pian society have luxe throw pillows?
Produced by Corey Wara
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Marketplace All-in-One - Economics on Tap: Airport Edition
On today’s episode, Kimberly joins "Economics on Tap" from the Toronto airport. We’ll unpack President Trump’s elimination of a tariff loophole known as the de minimus exemption that went into effect today, meaning low-cost shipments will no longer enter the United States tariff-free. Without it, Americans could start to feel some serious tariff pain. And, President Trump is renewing threats to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
-"Trump's tariffs come for fast fashion, and the blowback could be fierce." from Politico
-"Harvard President Says Any Move to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status Would Be ‘Highly Illegal’" from The Wall Street Journal
-"Trump aims to cut $6 billion from NASA budget, shifting $1 billion to Mars-focused missions" from CNBC
-"Visit this store for a free iris scan to ‘prove’ you’re human, not AI" from The Washington Post
-"MoviePass’ Next Big Bet: A Fantasy Box Office App" from The Hollywood Reporter
-"A little retirement, as a treat" from Marketplace
Got a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.
The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: We Needed a New President, Not ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’
Why did Joe Biden let 10-12 million illegal aliens into the U.S.?
The Good News:
We’ve gone from over 120,000 people a month coming across the border illegally in April 2024 to fewer than 10,000 in April 2025.
The Bad News:
The Left operates under a simple principle: “It is lawful to be unlawful if you're Joe Biden—according to the courts—but it is unlawful to be lawful if you're Donald Trump. And the result is that we've got these 10 to 12 million people. Are we going to have an immigration hearing for each one of them? Or are we just going to pick people?”
👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1…
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👉He’s also the host of “The Victor Davis Hanson Show,” available wherever you prefer to watch or listen. Links to the show and exclusive content are available on his website: https://victorhanson.com
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