Becoming the queen of England wasn’t in the plan for Lexi Villiers, the heroine of The Heir Apparent. But when tragedy strikes Lexi’s family and she discovers that she’s next in line for the throne, she finds herself forced to choose between her own modernity and the crown’s antiquity. Is the best option to just leave the monarchy entirely? In today’s episode, author and journalist Rebecca Armitage talks with NPR’s Miles Parks about her debut novel, and the process of turning her real reporting on the British crown into a fictionalized narrative.
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Short Wave - Is The Quantum Future Here?
This year, quantum science and computing came up a lot. There have been broad claims that quantum science and engineering could one day help cure diseases, design new materials, optimize supply chains -- or help in other ways not yet fathomable. And, while the Trump administration has made strides to cut scientific funding, quantum research is one of two things they’ve pledged to continue investing in – along with artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, scientists have been hard at work, pushing the research to move quantum engineering from sci-fi to real-world usefulness. All of this got science correspondent Katia Riddle wondering: When will all of this effort actually pay off? She talked to a lot of scientists to figure it out -- and to figure out how much scientist really understand about quantum science. She brings everything she learned onto the show today.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?
Cities like Austin and Atlanta used to top lists of places people moved to looking for relatively affordable places to live. Until, one day, they weren’t that affordable. On today’s show, how a low cost of living is threatened by growth, and how one sunbelt city in Alabama is planning ahead.
Related episodes:
Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore
How to build abundantly
How big is the US housing shortage?
The highs and lows of US rents
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Related episodes:
Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore
How to build abundantly
How big is the US housing shortage?
The highs and lows of US rents
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Consider This from NPR - ‘She’s going to return to Venezuela,’ says daughter of Maria Corina Machado
Venezuelan leader and activist Maria Corina Machado’s perilous journey to Oslo made headlines this week, but that was just the start of a new phase of international campaign to bring pressure on the Nicolas Maduro regime in her home country. NPR’s Miles Parks speaks with Ana Corina Sosa, Machado’s daughter, who accepted the Nobel Peace prize on her mother’s behalf, and talked about the future of Venezuela.
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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Daniel Ofman. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Up First from NPR - Best Friends and Life Partners
What was the biggest thing that changed for you this year? We’ll go first: our host Ayesha Rascoe bought a house with her best friend! Now the two of them are living together and platonically coparenting five kids under the same roof. The seed of this idea actually came from a conversation Ayesha had last year, when she sat down with NPR producer and editor Rhaina Cohen to talk about her book, "The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center." In the book, Rhaina shares stories about friends who own homes together, raise kids with each other, and care for each other in old age. At the end of the year, when so many of us are reflecting on personal milestones and relationships, we’re sharing Ayesha and Rhaina’s conversation again. Because so much is possible when you choose to put friendship at the center of your life.
This interview originally aired on February 11, 2024.
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This interview originally aired on February 11, 2024.
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Consider This from NPR - Why some U.S. citizens are being kicked off voting rolls
Trump’s SAVE tool is looking for noncitizen voters. But it’s flagging U.S. citizens too. Host Miles Parks speaks with NPR reporter Jude Joffe-Block about tracking down citizens who are now having to prove they have a right to vote.
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This episode was produced by Linah Mohammed and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Brett Neely, Ben Swasey and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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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.
This episode was produced by Linah Mohammed and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Brett Neely, Ben Swasey and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Up First from NPR - Health Care Subsidies, Flooding In Washington, DOJ Under President Trump
Health care subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year. Millions of Americans face price hikes but can Congress reach a deal to alleviate the pain? Historic flooding hits part of the Pacific Northwest, we’ll have the latest from Washington. Plus, a look at the U.S. Justice Department under President Trump.
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NPR's Book of the Day - Revisiting ‘Kitchen Confidential’
Anthony Bourdain published his memoir Kitchen Confidential in 2000 as a little-known chef. In the 25 years since its publication, his writing – and subsequent work in TV and entertainment – has shaped the way we talk about restaurants and food. In today’s Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Eric Deggans, critic-at-large at NPR. They discuss Bourdain’s documentation of a particular time in the restaurant industry, the book’s impact on dining culture, and Bourdain’s personal legacy. Then, special guest Samin Nosrat shares her perspective on what’s changed in the culinary world in the years since.
Eric’s Recommendation: ‘Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets’ by David Simon
Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang
Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ by Lizzy Goodman
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Eric’s Recommendation: ‘Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets’ by David Simon
Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang
Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ by Lizzy Goodman
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Planet Money - When Chicago pawned its parking meters
In 2008, Chicago’s budget was in a bad place. The city needed money. One way to raise money was to increase property taxes, but what politician wants to do that? So instead, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration looked around at the resources the city had, and thought, ‘Any of this worth anything?’ They opted to lease out the city’s metered parking system — to privatize all 36,000 of its parking meters.
The plan: have private companies bid on operating the meters, modernizing the system, and keeping the profits for a certain number of years. In exchange, they would give Chicago a big lump sum payment. The winning bid was $1.16 billion dollars for a 75-year lease.
Today’s episode is the story of how that bid got put together, and how it came to be hated. There are kidnapped parking meters, foot chases through City Hall, and trashbags filled with secret documents.
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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from Luis Gallo and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Vito Emmanuel and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio - “Smoke Rings,” “Reverend,” and “Sniffin Glue.”
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1A - The News Roundup For December 12, 2025
Democrats were on the receiving end of some midterm election momentum this week. In Indiana, Republicans lawmakers defied intense pressure from President Donald Trump rejecting his demands for a newly gerrymandered Congressional map.
In Miami, residents elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history. She’s also the first Democrat to hold the office in 28 years. And a Georgia state House seat flipped in a district Trump won by double digits.
And Congress is considering limiting the Pentagon’s travel budget after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to release footage of a “double-tap” strike he ordered on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, can the United States legally seize a Venezuelan oil tanker or is it an act of “international piracy.”? What does this latest move by the Trump Administration towards Nicolas Maduro mean for escalating the ongoing pressure campaign? President Donald Trump says the vessel was taken “for a very good reason.”
Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 600 trucks per day carrying aid must be allowed into Gaza. This week, an analysis by the Associated Press showed an average of only 459 are crossing into the territory daily. This comes as torrential rain from Storm Byron swept across the Strip flooding overcrowded tents sheltering tens of thousands of families displaced by the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is sounding the alarm about the role China is playing in helping Russia beef up its military industry.
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In Miami, residents elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history. She’s also the first Democrat to hold the office in 28 years. And a Georgia state House seat flipped in a district Trump won by double digits.
And Congress is considering limiting the Pentagon’s travel budget after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to release footage of a “double-tap” strike he ordered on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, can the United States legally seize a Venezuelan oil tanker or is it an act of “international piracy.”? What does this latest move by the Trump Administration towards Nicolas Maduro mean for escalating the ongoing pressure campaign? President Donald Trump says the vessel was taken “for a very good reason.”
Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 600 trucks per day carrying aid must be allowed into Gaza. This week, an analysis by the Associated Press showed an average of only 459 are crossing into the territory daily. This comes as torrential rain from Storm Byron swept across the Strip flooding overcrowded tents sheltering tens of thousands of families displaced by the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is sounding the alarm about the role China is playing in helping Russia beef up its military industry.
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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