State of the World from NPR - How Alaska Went from Russian Colony to U.S. State

All eyes are on Alaska ahead of President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting there on Friday. We revisit the history of Russia’s sale of the Alaskan territory to the U.S.. NPR’s Greg Myre describes how some Russians still question whether Alaska is truly American.

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Consider This from NPR - President Trump is upending global trade as we know it. What comes next?

”The global trading system as we have known it is dead.”

Those are the words of former US Trade Representative Michael Froman.

He’s now President of the Council on Foreign Relations.

If the era of global free trade is over, the question is…what comes next? 

 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 Kathryn Fink and Tyler Bartlam.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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1A - The Push To Exclude Noncitizens From The 2030 Census

The U.S. undertakes the census every 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of Census workers set out to count everyone living in the U.S., regardless of their citizenship status.

That data is used to reallocate seats in the House of Representatives, redraw voting districts on the local level, and decide how federal funds should be allocated in each state. 

The next one is 5 years away, and President Donald Trump wants to make big changes to the 2030 count – by excluding noncitizens. 

Why does it matter who’s counted in the Census? How would making changes to it influence the life of every person living in the U.S.? 

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Planet Money - Summer School 7: Trade blocks and blockages

Tariffs are the favorite tool of our current president, but there are lots of other ways that governments insert themselves into the free exchange of goods and services. Some of these trade barriers are so insidious and have been going on for so long that it may surprise you that they even exist. 

We bring you the classic story of what happens when you try to protect an American industry and end up hurting another American industry. Well intentioned plans turn into trade barriers that make our lives more expensive. 

Check out our Summer School video cheat sheet TikTok.

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Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - Why Trump’s spending bill could close your grocery store

Trump’s tax and spending law makes the largest cut in history to one of the nation’s biggest safety net programs. Today on the show, we explore how cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, impacts families and grocery stores alike. 

Based on the digital story: Independent grocery stores have had a tough five years. SNAP cuts will make it harder

Related episodes:

Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid?

When SNAP Gets Squeezed

The trouble with water discounts

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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Up First from NPR - Trump-Putin Expectations, Trump and D.C. Homelessness, Inflation Check-In

The White House tempers expectations of a breakthrough during the Trump-Putin summit. The Trump administration says unhoused people who refuse to leave "encampments" or accept mental health help could be fined or jailed. And U.S. core inflation remains high.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. 


Today's episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Gigi Douban, Rafael Nam, Olivia Hampton and Adam Bearne. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. 

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NPR's Book of the Day - Jason Mott’s new novel ‘People Like Us’ is metafiction that was almost memoir

In 2021, Jason Mott won the National Book Award for Hell of a Book. Now, he’s out with a new novel called People Like Us, in which two Black writers navigate life in the United States in an era of gun violence. Mott says the book is loosely based on himself – and leans into the audience’s tendency to conflate authors with the stories they write. In today’s episode, Mott talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his personal relationships with American identity, guns, and fiction.


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Short Wave - The Trait That Makes Robots More ‘Human’

Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars' C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but they're not as common in the real world. Most of the time, the chatbots and artificial intelligence "robots" we encounter are programmed to be extraverted, confident and cheerful. But what if that changed?

NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce dives into the world of robot personality research and talks to a team of researchers that are experimenting with a very different kind of robot temperament.

Read more of Nell's reporting on the topic here.

Interested in more science news? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org. 

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.

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Planet Money - Summer School 6: When the markets need a designer

In economics, a market is a place (even virtual) where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods or services. Economists love markets. It's like all of our supply and demand graphs have come to life. Almost everything you buy goes through some sort of marketplace—your cup of coffee came from trading in the bean markets. Your spouse might have come from the dating marketplace on the apps. Even kids will tell you one Snickers is worth at least two Twix.

But sometimes, as we'll see today, markets can go terribly wrong; greed can run out of control; lives can be at risk. That's when the government often steps in and gives the market a little nudge to work better. Today's episode: Market Design.

The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in
Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Always free at these links:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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Consider This from NPR - Trump and Putin are set to meet. Do they want the same thing?

Two minutes —

That’s how long President Donald Trump says it will take him to figure out whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about finding a way to end his war with Ukraine.

Details are still scarce — but Putin and Trump are set to meet Friday in Alaska.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t invited.

What does Trump hope to achieve, and can he get it from Putin?  Ambassador John Bolton, Trump's national security advisor in his first term, was with Trump the last time Trump met with Putin. Bolton weighs in.

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.



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