The Indicator from Planet Money - How states are scooping up federal workers

It's Jobs Friday and all eyes are on government workers. Will the Trump administration's layoffs finally show up in the latest jobs report? Today on the show, we look at the numbers for federal workers and who's trying to hire them.

Related listening:
Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report (Apple / Spotify)
The last time we shrank the federal workforce (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market

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Up First from NPR - Tariffs Hit At Midnight, Small Business Reactions, National Security Firings

Steep new tariffs are set to take effect at midnight on nearly everything the U.S. imports. Big businesses are losing market value and small businesses feel like they're caught in the middle of something they can't control. And, a number of National Security Council staffers have been fired after President Trump met with a far-right activist.

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 Pallavi Gogoi, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Damian Herring. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange and our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Authors of two new novels draw inspiration from history in wildly different ways

Today on the show, we hear from authors who were inspired by history in wildly different ways. First, when Emma Donoghue encountered a famous photo of the 1895 Montparnasse derailment, she says she couldn't believe no one had written a novel about it. Donoghue's The Paris Express imagines what life was like for passengers on the old-fashioned steam locomotive. In today's episode, she talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the extensive historical research she conducted in order to write the book. Then, Bob the Drag Queen has called Harriet Tubman "the first Black superhero." In Bob's debut novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, Tubman returns to continue her work as an abolitionist through hip-hop. In today's episode, Bob speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of freedom, Tubman's military service, and a recent appearance on The Traitors.

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Short Wave - Could Running Change Your Brain?

Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run 18 of them. He wondered how runners' bodies get the energy they need to make it to the finish line.

His new research in the journal Nature Metabolism may be the first step in answering the question – and suggests their brains might be (temporarily) depleting a fatty substance that coats nerve cells called myelin.

Have other questions about the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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Consider This from NPR - Trump takes aim at trade deficits. Are they actually bad?

Whatever you think of President Trump's tariffs, there's one point you have to concede: his interest in them is not a passing whim.

He noted that on Wednesday, in the Rose Garden, when he was announcing the latest, massive round of tariffs. "I've been talking about this for 40 years," he said.

The use of tariffs are a core belief for Donald Trump. Trade deficits are bad, other countries take advantage of the U.S. and tariffs are the way to fix this.

Since the Rose Garden announcement, markets have plunged, other countries have promised to retaliate, and members of his own party have spoken out against the tariffs.

Trump's tariff plan is designed to eliminate U.S. trade deficits. Are trade deficits actually bad?

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Consider This from NPR - Trump takes aim at trade deficits. Are they actually bad?

Whatever you think of President Trump's tariffs, there's one point you have to concede: his interest in them is not a passing whim.

He noted that on Wednesday, in the Rose Garden, when he was announcing the latest, massive round of tariffs. "I've been talking about this for 40 years," he said.

The use of tariffs are a core belief for Donald Trump. Trade deficits are bad, other countries take advantage of the U.S. and tariffs are the way to fix this.

Since the Rose Garden announcement, markets have plunged, other countries have promised to retaliate, and members of his own party have spoken out against the tariffs.

Trump's tariff plan is designed to eliminate U.S. trade deficits. Are trade deficits actually bad?

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.

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Consider This from NPR - Trump takes aim at trade deficits. Are they actually bad?

Whatever you think of President Trump's tariffs, there's one point you have to concede: his interest in them is not a passing whim.

He noted that on Wednesday, in the Rose Garden, when he was announcing the latest, massive round of tariffs. "I've been talking about this for 40 years," he said.

The use of tariffs are a core belief for Donald Trump. Trade deficits are bad, other countries take advantage of the U.S. and tariffs are the way to fix this.

Since the Rose Garden announcement, markets have plunged, other countries have promised to retaliate, and members of his own party have spoken out against the tariffs.

Trump's tariff plan is designed to eliminate U.S. trade deficits. Are trade deficits actually bad?

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.

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1A - What Detainments At Universities Mean For The First Amendment

The arrest and detainment of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil by Immigration and Customs Enforcement garnered national attention.

Last week, the video of the arrest of a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, by masked federal agents received similar attention.

In addition to Ozturk and Khalil, nearly a dozen international students and faculty at universities across the country have been detained for possible deportation as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on those who've voiced pro-Palestinian views.

The arrests have raised questions — not just about the rights of immigrants with legal status in the U.S. — but about the right to dissent, regardless of citizenship, under the Trump administration.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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State of the World from NPR - Global Reaction to the U.S. Tariff War

The world is reacting to President Trump's announcement of new tariffs on nearly every country on the planet. The move is meant to re-shape the global trading order and some countries are being hit harder than others. NPR correspondents around the world are hearing anger, dismay, threats of retaliation and bewilderment.

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1A - ICYMI: A Quarter Of HHS Workforce Lost Due To Cuts

The Trump administration's cutbacks to the federal workforce continued this week at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Thousands of staffers were fired at agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the layoffs last week, an additional "reduction in force" of 10,000 people on top of the 10,000 who've already left the department this year. This amounts to one of the largest government departments losing a quarter of its workforce.

One of the agencies affected is the National Institutes of Health. The network of research centers funds much of the country's biomedical research.

We discuss what the layoffs at the NIH mean for the country's ability to research and develop medical treatments.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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