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Up First from NPR - Coast Guard Pursues Tanker, Epstein Files Release, Immigration Court No-Shows

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in the Caribbean that it says has links to Venezuela. The Department of Justice has released a limited number of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And, an analysis by NPR finds thousands of immigrants without legal status aren’t showing up to immigration court, leading to a rise in deportation removals.

(00:00) Cold Open
(01:37) Introduction
(02:34) Coast Guard Pursues Tanker
(06:53) Epstein Files Release
(10:42) Immigration Court No-Shows

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 Tara Neill, Anna Yukhanonov, Lisa Thomson and Adriana Gallardo.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.

We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett

With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure? 

Related episodes: 
Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds & The Bet
Brilliant vs. Boring 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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NPR's Book of the Day - Mahmood Mamdani’s ‘Slow Poison’ centers politics of belonging in postcolonial Uganda

Mahmood Mamdani — a professor of government at Columbia University and the father of Zohran Mamdani, NYC’s next mayor — has spent decades researching colonialism and its effects on the African continent. His work is both political and personal, influenced by his own experience in Uganda as an exiled citizen deemed nonindigenous by colonial structures. In today’s episode, Mamdani talks to NPR’s Leila Fadel about his newest book, Slow Poison, an account of colonial legacy in Uganda, the rise of the country’s modern autocrats, and the politics of belonging that surround it all.


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Short Wave - No, Raccoons Aren’t Pet-Ready (Yet)

Dogs are man’s best friend. And it’s no secret that we at Short Wave love cats (Regina has four)! Both of these iconic pets have been domesticated – evolved and adapted to live alongside humans – for millennia. And a recent study suggests that the common raccoon may be on its first steps towards joining them.

So how do scientists look for signs of domestication and what do those signs mean? And could you have a litter box trained raccoon in your lifetime? We talk to the study’s lead author, Raffaela Lesch, to find out.

Interested in more animal science stories? 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.

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Consider This from NPR - We use our smartphones for just about everything – why not voting?

Entrepreneur, political strategist and philanthropist Bradley Tusk argues his new online voting tech could revolutionize participation in American elections. He is hellbent on making online voting a reality - even at a time when much of the election establishment thinks that is a very bad idea. NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Tusk about how Tusk's organization, the Mobile Voting Project, is pushing a major technology makeover for American democracy.


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 Avery Keatley. It was edited by Ben Swasey and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Up First from NPR - Where Kids Play

During the holidays, the kids are off from school, so they might be enjoying some extra screentime. It’s a reality many parents begrudgingly accept. But is time spent playing online games always a cause for concern? On The Sunday Story, host Ayesha Rascoe (whose kids are spending a lot of time lately playing Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite) sits down with researcher Eli Stark-Elster to clear up some misconceptions around the harms of screentime.

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Consider This from NPR - The U.S. spent billions to rebuild Afghanistan. Was it successful?

A new report from U.S. government watchdog SIGAR gives us the fullest accounting yet of U.S. efforts to rebuild Afghanistan.

In short, they call it "a two-decade long effort fraught with waste.”

Each week, Consider This hosts interview newsmakers, experts, and artists for NPR — conversations we don’t always have time to share fully in the podcast or on the radio. So every other week we share one here, for our NPR+ supporters.

Sign up to hear our bonus episodes, support public radio, and get regular episodes of your favorite NPR podcasts without sponsor messages at plus.npr.org.



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Up First from NPR - Epstein Files Release, Health Care Subsidies, Surviving The Holiday Season

The Justice Department releases a vast trove of documents relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Also, Congress left Washington D.C. for its holiday break without reaching a deal on health care. Millions of Americans will face price hikes on their insurance premiums. And surviving the holiday season, we’ll have tips on what can be a stressful time of the year. 

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NPR's Book of the Day - Revisiting ‘Waiting to Exhale’

As the film adaptation of ‘Waiting to Exhale’ celebrates its 30th anniversary, B.A. Parker and Andrew Limbong, along with It’s Been a Minute host, Brittany Luse, revisit its source material about four friends, Savannah, Gloria, Robin, and Bernadine, as they make their way through the 30s, in love and in life. Later on, special guest, Tia Williams, speaks to Andrew about how Terry McMillian paved the way for her career path as a romance novelist. 


Brittany’s Recommendation: ‘Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs’ by Pearl Cleage

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Wilderness’ by Angela Flournoy

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Where I’m Coming From’ by Barbara Brandon-Croft 


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Planet Money - What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill

As a country, we are spending more to get data centers up and running than we spent to build the entire interstate highway system. (Yes, that’s inflation-adjusted.) With tech companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI, data centers have kind of become the thing in the US economy. 

But along with that growth have come a lot of questions. Like where is all the electricity to run these data centers supposed to come from? And how much are residential customers’ electric bills increasing as a result?

On today’s episode, we go to Ohio to trace one electric bill back to its source, to see what exactly is causing the big price increases people are seeing. We take a tour of a data center hot spot, and get to the bottom of how prices are set from inside the power company.

Related episodes:
- Asking for a friend … which jobs are safe from AI? 
- No AI data centers in my backyard! 
- What $10 billion in data centers actually gets you 
- Is AI overrated or underrated? 
- Green energy gridlock

Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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Today's show was hosted by Keith Romer and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang and fact checked by Sierra Juarez and Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. 

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