Do you ever wish you could predict the future? The National Park Service in Washington D.C. does it every year when they forecast when the Capitol’s cherry blossoms will reach peak bloom. People travel from all over the world to enjoy the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival and to glimpse these fragile flowers before they are gone. On this month’s Nature Quest, we learn the ins and outs of cherry tree blossoms, how scientists make that big prediction every year — and why all this focus on blooms can help scientists better understand climate change.
This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment from listeners noticing a change in the world around them. To participate, send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, location and your question about a change you're seeing in nature!
Want to learn more about nature’s calendar? Check out our first Nature Quest episode on whether flowers are blooming early.
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Consider This from NPR - What’s Israel doing in southern Lebanon?
Israel’s invasion in Lebanon is rapidly widening and could outlast the war in Iran.
People in southern Lebanon are living through a war within a war.
The war is of course the U-S Israeli campaign against Iran.
The war within Lebanon started with a series of strikes from the militant group Hezbollah.
They launched rockets and drones from Lebanon into Israel.
Israel responded with strikes in Lebanon.
And with that, a conflict that has flared on and off for decades reignited.
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 Connor Donevan and Alejandra Marquez Janse. It was edited by Gerry Holmes, James Hider and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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People in southern Lebanon are living through a war within a war.
The war is of course the U-S Israeli campaign against Iran.
The war within Lebanon started with a series of strikes from the militant group Hezbollah.
They launched rockets and drones from Lebanon into Israel.
Israel responded with strikes in Lebanon.
And with that, a conflict that has flared on and off for decades reignited.
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 Connor Donevan and Alejandra Marquez Janse. It was edited by Gerry Holmes, James Hider and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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State of the World from NPR - A month of the Iran war through the eyes of a writer in Tehran
For almost a month now, a twenty-eight-year old Iranian writer in Tehran has been sharing her diary entries with NPR. The entries give us a view of the war from inside Iran as it is being lived. This is her second dispatch and she expresses the complicated emotions some Iranians have about this war.
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1A - ‘If You Can Keep It’: Privacy Protections Under The Trump Administration
Is the Trump administration creating a centralized database that tracks the activities Americans? Americans who are not suspected of committing a crime?
That’s the question at the heart of a new lawsuit filed against the administration by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. That’s an organization advocating for press freedoms.
These allegations stem from an executive order signed by Donald Trump last year encouraging data sharing between federal agencies and the elimination of “information silos.” In the last year, the Trump administration has loosened restrictions around the Central Intelligence Agency’s access law enforcement data. It has also allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access Medicaid data and given ICE access to data from the Internal Revenue Service.
These instances of data sharing between agencies have led to court battles and raised concerns over the amount of access the federal government has to our personal data and what they’re doing with it.
We discuss the erosion of privacy protections under the Trump administration and what it means for you.
A statement from Flock…
“Flock does not share data on behalf of customers – agencies own and control their data and decide how it’s shared. As is made clear in our Terms & Conditions, “all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data belong to and are retained by Customer.” Agencies can opt to share 1:1, within a geographic radius, across statewide or nationwide networks, or not at all. All searches on the platform are logged in an unalterable audit trail.
Any sharing with federal law enforcement must be done on a 1:1 basis; federal agencies are not part of statewide or nationwide networks. In order for an agency to establish a sharing relationship with federal law enforcement, the local agency must explicitly allow federal law enforcement to discover that they exist within the Flock system (a setting that is opt-in only and off by default); federal law enforcement must then request access to that system; and the local agency must then accept federal law enforcement’s share request.
Flock does not have any contracts with ICE or any DHS subagency. You can read more here.On contract renewals: law enforcement agencies nationwide use Flock to help solve serious crimes. When a tool that is actively helping solve violent crimes is removed, public safety moves backward. That has real consequences: cases will take longer to solve, organized retail theft crews will operate with fewer obstacles, an Amber Alert may not be returned home, and victims may wait longer, or indefinitely, for justice. You can read more here.”
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That’s the question at the heart of a new lawsuit filed against the administration by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. That’s an organization advocating for press freedoms.
These allegations stem from an executive order signed by Donald Trump last year encouraging data sharing between federal agencies and the elimination of “information silos.” In the last year, the Trump administration has loosened restrictions around the Central Intelligence Agency’s access law enforcement data. It has also allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access Medicaid data and given ICE access to data from the Internal Revenue Service.
These instances of data sharing between agencies have led to court battles and raised concerns over the amount of access the federal government has to our personal data and what they’re doing with it.
We discuss the erosion of privacy protections under the Trump administration and what it means for you.
A statement from Flock…
“Flock does not share data on behalf of customers – agencies own and control their data and decide how it’s shared. As is made clear in our Terms & Conditions, “all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data belong to and are retained by Customer.” Agencies can opt to share 1:1, within a geographic radius, across statewide or nationwide networks, or not at all. All searches on the platform are logged in an unalterable audit trail.
Any sharing with federal law enforcement must be done on a 1:1 basis; federal agencies are not part of statewide or nationwide networks. In order for an agency to establish a sharing relationship with federal law enforcement, the local agency must explicitly allow federal law enforcement to discover that they exist within the Flock system (a setting that is opt-in only and off by default); federal law enforcement must then request access to that system; and the local agency must then accept federal law enforcement’s share request.
Flock does not have any contracts with ICE or any DHS subagency. You can read more here.On contract renewals: law enforcement agencies nationwide use Flock to help solve serious crimes. When a tool that is actively helping solve violent crimes is removed, public safety moves backward. That has real consequences: cases will take longer to solve, organized retail theft crews will operate with fewer obstacles, an Amber Alert may not be returned home, and victims may wait longer, or indefinitely, for justice. You can read more here.”
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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Up First from NPR - Lebanese Warfront, US Troops Deployed To Middle East, TSA and Travel
Israeli airstrikes killed three journalists in southern Lebanon this weekend, as Netanyahu orders the military to expand its offensive as millions are displaced by the war.
Iran agreed to let 20 Pakistani-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz as a diplomatic gesture, but thousands more U.S. troops are arriving in the region, raising questions about whether a deal is close or the war is widening.
And TSA workers are now past 40 days without pay, as President Trump says he has a plan to pay them but it is not clear how it will work.
Want more 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 Gerry Holmes, Andrew Sussman, Alfredo Carbajal, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Adriana Gallardo.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Ava Pukatch.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) Lebanese Warfront
(05:37) U.S. Troops Deployed To Middle East
(09:54) TSA and Travel
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Iran agreed to let 20 Pakistani-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz as a diplomatic gesture, but thousands more U.S. troops are arriving in the region, raising questions about whether a deal is close or the war is widening.
And TSA workers are now past 40 days without pay, as President Trump says he has a plan to pay them but it is not clear how it will work.
Want more 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 Gerry Holmes, Andrew Sussman, Alfredo Carbajal, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Adriana Gallardo.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Ava Pukatch.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) Lebanese Warfront
(05:37) U.S. Troops Deployed To Middle East
(09:54) TSA and Travel
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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NPR's Book of the Day - Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind ‘Project Hail Mary’
In Project Hail Mary, amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say the least. But author Andy Weir was intentional about centering hope in his bestselling novel, which inspired the recent blockbuster film starring Ryan Gosling. In today’s episode, Andy Weir joins Here and Now’s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss his creative world-building process, and why he remains optimistic about our ability to collaborate in the face of existential threats.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Do school lunches really need an overhaul?
School lunch has been revamped a ton over the last two decades. Now, the Trump administration wants to rejigger the menu once more to align with its Make America Healthy Again agenda. That means more meat. More dairy. But do schools really need another menu overhaul? And could they even afford it?
On today’s show, we join a school lunch line in South Carolina to find out what kids are actually eating.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! Twelve cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
A food fight over free school lunch
How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid
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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On today’s show, we join a school lunch line in South Carolina to find out what kids are actually eating.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! Twelve cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
A food fight over free school lunch
How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid
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.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Short Wave - Space news: Project Hail Mary, Artemis, data centers
Short Wavers, we hear your requests. You want MORE! SPACE! So this is the first installment of a new segment focusing only on space news. First, we talk about the new sci-fi film Project Hail Mary and the accuracy of the science in the movie. Then, we move on to data centers in orbit, if they are better for the environment and why even send them up into space. Finally, we round out the conversation with a quick update about the upcoming Artemis II launch. The space nerds assembled for this conversation are host and astrophysicist Regina G Barber, known space enthusiast and host of All Things Considered Scott Detrow and NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel.
Interested in more on space? Check out our whole summer series, Space Camp. Or email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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Interested in more on space? Check out our whole summer series, Space Camp. Or email us your question 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.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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Consider This from NPR - Why some Iranian Americans back the war on their country of origin
At the heart of the war against Iran is a question about the fate of the Iranian government. Adrian Ma speaks with Ramtin Arablouei, host of the NPR podcast Throughline, about what Iranians in the United States want from regime change in Iran - and the history of why.
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 Henry Larson and Michael Levitt. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas and Sarah Robbins. 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 Henry Larson and Michael Levitt. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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Up First from NPR - RFK Jr lauds Italy’s addiction treatment. Can it work here?
As many as 50 million people in the United States are thought to struggle with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. The majority don’t get treatment for it, and of those who do seek treatment, about half relapse within the first year.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has his own story of addiction and credits Alcoholics Anonymous with keeping him sober. But Secretary Kennedy has said that a treatment program in Italy that has shown great success in keeping people sober should serve as the vision for what addiction treatment could be here in the US. On this episode of The Sunday Story, WBUR’s Deborah Becker travels to Italy to see firsthand how a treatment program at an Italian vineyard has created so many success stories.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has his own story of addiction and credits Alcoholics Anonymous with keeping him sober. But Secretary Kennedy has said that a treatment program in Italy that has shown great success in keeping people sober should serve as the vision for what addiction treatment could be here in the US. On this episode of The Sunday Story, WBUR’s Deborah Becker travels to Italy to see firsthand how a treatment program at an Italian vineyard has created so many success stories.
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See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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