The U.S. has been policing bribery all over the world for nearly half a century using a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But now, President Trump has said that this anti-corruption law is crippling American businesses. Since taking office, his administration has reduced the number of investigators, killed some cases, and changed the rules.
In this episode, we look at the FCPA case against Glencore, a large commodity trading company, found guilty in 2022 for paying cash bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts all over the world.
And we go back to the inception of the law, a time when using bribes to pay off foreign officials was considered "grease in the wheels" - a reasonable (if unethical) way to get business done.
This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Erika Beras. It was produced by Willa Rubin. It was fact-checked by Emily Crawford with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was engineered by James Willetts. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
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1A - The Effect Of Climate Policy Changes On Your Life
In his first six months back in the Oval Office, President Trump rolled back decades of U.S. climate policy.
So far, he's scaled back regulations that help keep our air and water clean, delayed critical protections for endangered species, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement for a second time, and cut staffing and federal spending on critical environmental agencies and programs – among other changes.
Trump's commitment to increase oil and gas production will escalate the effects we're already seeing from global warming as humans continue to burn fossil fuels.
We discuss what changes to U.S. environmental policy could have the greatest impact on the fight to curb climate change.
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So far, he's scaled back regulations that help keep our air and water clean, delayed critical protections for endangered species, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement for a second time, and cut staffing and federal spending on critical environmental agencies and programs – among other changes.
Trump's commitment to increase oil and gas production will escalate the effects we're already seeing from global warming as humans continue to burn fossil fuels.
We discuss what changes to U.S. environmental policy could have the greatest impact on the fight to curb climate change.
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 - What Does the Israel-Iran War Mean for the Middle East?
As Israel and Iran continue missile attacks against one another, we look at how countries in the Middle East are viewing the conflict. Whether that war could spread and if other powers in the region are bracing for a wider conflict. And we hear from some residents of Tehran weighing the decision of fleeing the Iranian capital as President Trump commanded or staying and taking their chances.
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Consider This from NPR - How Gabby Giffords is grappling with the rise in political violence
Last weekend, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home by a man impersonating a police officer.
The attack comes amid a rise in political violence. Last year alone, Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against members of the U.S. Congress.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords knows the horrors of gun violence only too well. The Arizona Democrat was shot at a constituent event in Tucson in 2011.
Now a leading gun safety advocate, Giffords speaks with host Mary Louise Kelly about how she is handling this moment and her thoughts on addressing the problem of gun violence.
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The attack comes amid a rise in political violence. Last year alone, Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against members of the U.S. Congress.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords knows the horrors of gun violence only too well. The Arizona Democrat was shot at a constituent event in Tucson in 2011.
Now a leading gun safety advocate, Giffords speaks with host Mary Louise Kelly about how she is handling this moment and her thoughts on addressing the problem of gun violence.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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NPR's Book of the Day - New books by Carl Hiaasen and John Seabrook tell distinctly American stories
Carl Hiaasen and John Seabrook are out with new books that draw from their personal experiences in order to tell distinctly American stories. First, many of the scenarios in the novel Fever Beach were inspired by Hiaasen's experience living in Florida. The book satirizes the white nationalist movement, following a ragtag militia that forms when its leader is kicked out of the Proud Boys. In today's episode, Hiaasen speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about striking a balance between satire and reality. Then, New Jersey's Seabrook Farms was once called the biggest vegetable factory on earth. But the family that ran it – according to John Seabrook – was backstabbing, alcoholic, and ruthless. In The Spinach King, Seabrook tells the true story behind his family's empire. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about the man behind Seabrook Farms, the violence that underlies large fortunes, and family betrayal.
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
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Up First from NPR - National Guard Ruling, Divisions On Iran, EU and Iran Diplomacy
A court says President Trump can keep control of the National Guard in Los Angeles, for now. Differences of opinion about whether to join Israel's war against Iran are dividing the MAGA movement, and EU Ministers are seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict at a meeting with their Iranian counterparts in Geneva.
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 Krishnadev Calamur, Ryland Barton, Alex Leff, Miguel Macias, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Claire Murashima and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacy Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
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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 Krishnadev Calamur, Ryland Barton, Alex Leff, Miguel Macias, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Claire Murashima and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacy Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - SALT-n-pessimism
It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today's episode: the Senate passes the GENIUS Act, the SALT cap might be DOA in the OBBB, and a gender split on the state of the economy.
Related episodes:
How stable is Stablecoin? (Apple / Spotify)
Feeling inflation in the grocery store
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 Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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On today's episode: the Senate passes the GENIUS Act, the SALT cap might be DOA in the OBBB, and a gender split on the state of the economy.
Related episodes:
How stable is Stablecoin? (Apple / Spotify)
Feeling inflation in the grocery store
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 Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Short Wave - What Makes South Korea’s ‘Super Divers’ Special?
For generations, the all-female Haenyeo divers have routinely dove into frigid waters off the coast of South Korea, holding their breath for minutes at a time, as they collect seafood to eat and sell. These women start diving as girls and continue well into old age. And recent research suggests that it's not just years of training that makes this feat possible – it's also a set of special genetic adaptations. Science reporter Ari Daniel brings us the story.
Read more of Ari's reporting here.
Have another story about biology and genetics for us to consider? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Read more of Ari's reporting here.
Have another story about biology and genetics for us to consider? Email us 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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Consider This from NPR - Afghans in the US have lost protected status. What happens now?
Many Afghans who helped the US military or who were persecuted by the Taliban for other reasons found refuge in the United States. They were granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, by the US government.
Now the Trump administration has revoked TPS for Afghans. So what happens now?
NPR's Monika Evstatieva reports that for thousands of Afghans in the United States, and many stuck in limbo abroad, the available options are dwindling.
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Now the Trump administration has revoked TPS for Afghans. So what happens now?
NPR's Monika Evstatieva reports that for thousands of Afghans in the United States, and many stuck in limbo abroad, the available options are dwindling.
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 - Who Gets To Decide What School Means For Students?
What's your most vivid school memory? Do you remember it as a time of exploration? Was it a place where you could figure out who you were and what you wanted to become?
Or did it feel like it wasn't made for you? Did it feel constricting, or like a place with lots of rules about how you had to act and what you couldn't do?
Your experience of schools likely depended on the administrators, who your teachers were, how your city or state set up the curriculum, and the resources your school received. Writer Eve L. Ewing argues that experience could also be shaped by who you are.
What has school meant for students, and who influenced how schools function the way they do? And what are alternatives for how school could work for students?
We sit down with Ewing to talk about her new book, "Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism."
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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Or did it feel like it wasn't made for you? Did it feel constricting, or like a place with lots of rules about how you had to act and what you couldn't do?
Your experience of schools likely depended on the administrators, who your teachers were, how your city or state set up the curriculum, and the resources your school received. Writer Eve L. Ewing argues that experience could also be shaped by who you are.
What has school meant for students, and who influenced how schools function the way they do? And what are alternatives for how school could work for students?
We sit down with Ewing to talk about her new book, "Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism."
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.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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