Across the country, colleges and universities are struggling to figure out how to incorporate AI into the classroom. ChatGPT debuted almost exactly three years ago. And very quickly, students began to see its potential as a study buddy, an immense research tool and, for some, a way to cheat the system.
This week on The Sunday Story we look at the rapid growth of AI in higher ed and consider what it means for the future of teaching and learning.
Russia's long-standing requests are predominant in a peace deal for Ukraine brokered by American and Russian envoys. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., says she will resign her Congressional seat in January. Pill versions of the obesity drugs now requiring injections are on the way. BONUS: 2025's best plot-driven books.
Amy and Nick Dunn have the perfect life and are the perfect couple until they reach a breaking point, revealing their true selves. The book that spawned dozens of imitators but few peers, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is this week’s read on the latest Books We’ve Loved. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker are joined by Greta Johnsen to divulge how this suspense thriller continuously brings fans back to this story. Special guest, Andrea Bartz, shares how being from the Midwest, like Flynn, is your best tool to write a mystery.
Greta’s Recommendation: ‘Fates and Furies’ by Lauren Groff
Parker’s Recommendation: ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Liars’ by Sarah Manguso
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
Wherever consumer sentiment goes, consumer spending usually goes too. They’re like buddies that do everything together. Consumer sentiment wants a hair cut, its buddy consumer spending does too.
But lately, these friends are drifting apart.
While consumer sentiment about the economy is down … spending remains strong.
And not just that… Interest rates are still high, inflation is growing, tariffs have made the prices of goods go up. And yet, consumer spending looks good. What gives?
Today - a consumer spending mystery. Is the economy actually healthy? Or is something distorting our view of the economy?
This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Meg Cramer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Debbie Daughtry and Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
When President Trump nominated Linda McMahon as education secretary, he told her to put herself out of a job. She moved one step closer to that this week when the Trump administration shifted the responsibility of several departments to other federal agencies.
NPR's Juana Summers speaks with former Obama education secretary John King about what this could mean for public education in America and some of the most vulnerable students.
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 Lauren Hodges, with audio engineering by Simon Laslo-Janssen and Tiffany Vera Castro.
During the more than decade-long civil war in Syria, millions were displaced in the country and millions more fled abroad as refugees. It’s been almost a year since the war ended and many Syrians are starting to come home.
Some have found their houses destroyed but others have found strangers have been living in their homes, sometimes for years. We go to Syria to see how locals are dealing with the thorny issue of ownership after war.
Congress voted overwhelmingly to authorize the release of the Epstein files. President Donald Trump welcomed the decision, signing the bill on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added 119,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4%. It is the only jobs report the BLS will release until December. On Wednesday, the agency canceled the October jobs report for the first time in 77 years.
And, in global news, US President Donald Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing” about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in direct contradiction of U.S. intelligence. The president welcomed the kingdom’s de facto ruler to the Oval Office where they announced military and investment deals between the two nations.
The CDC quietly rewrites its vaccine guidance online to suggest shots might cause autism, raising new questions about political influence over public health. President Trump unveils a 28-point Ukraine peace plan that leans on territorial concessions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. And New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani heads to the White House for a meeting with a president who has labeled him a radical threat.
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 Jane Greenhalgh, Rebekah Metzler, Megan Pratz, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
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.
Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty much heard it all. In Michelle’s new book Nightmare Obscura, she explores the science of dreams, nightmares – and even something called dream engineering, where people influence their own dreams while they sleep. Today on Short Wave, co-host Regina G. Barber dives into the science of our sleeping life with Michelle Carr.
Interested in any upcoming science books? 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.
Two new books examine how sex fits into suburban and small-town life, respectively. First, Erin Somers explores marriage and desire in her novel The Ten Year Affair. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about combining a multiverse plot with domestic fiction. Then, Robyn Royle knits a dozen short stories together in Sex of the Midwest, in which the residents of a small town receive an email inviting them to participate in a sex survey. In today’s episode, Royle tells NPR’s Scott Simon about the many misconceptions surrounding small-town life.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday