The United States Postal Service has delivered mail for 250 years, from the busiest cities to the most remote parts of the country. But decades of money troubles have left the USPS billions of dollars in debt.
Now, the postmaster general warns that the agency could run out of money by October – and is urging Congress to save it.
We explore the uncertain future of USPS with a panel of experts.
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Up First from NPR - 82nd Airborne Deployment, Israel Threatens Lebanon Invasion, DHS Funding Negotiations
NPR has confirmed the U.S. is sending thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East, raising questions about whether this is an escalation in the war or a pressure tactic to force Iran to the negotiating table.
Lebanon expelled Iran's ambassador as Israel threatens to move the country's border northward and use the "Gaza model" in the south of Lebanon, with more than a million people already displaced.
And Congress is inching toward a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but President Trump says he's probably not going to be happy with it, leaving TSA workers still without pay.
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, Kelsey Snell, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:53) 82nd Airborne Deployment
(05:55) Israel Threatens Lebanon Invasion
(09:39) DHS Funding Negotiations
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Lebanon expelled Iran's ambassador as Israel threatens to move the country's border northward and use the "Gaza model" in the south of Lebanon, with more than a million people already displaced.
And Congress is inching toward a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but President Trump says he's probably not going to be happy with it, leaving TSA workers still without pay.
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, Kelsey Snell, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:53) 82nd Airborne Deployment
(05:55) Israel Threatens Lebanon Invasion
(09:39) DHS Funding Negotiations
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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The Indicator from Planet Money - Your next flight doesn’t have to be so expensive. Here’s why
Why are flight tickets so expensive right now? Increased oil prices seems like it’d be the obvious answer. That’s mostly right. Airlines used to do some financial magic to help keep airfare down as oil prices increased, a strategy called “fuel hedging.” But they stopped. And now fliers are on the hook for a lot of the difference.
On today’s show, the lost art of fuel hedging. How it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
A lot of gas trapped, oil reserves tapped, and Live Nation gets a (tiny) cap
Will Trump’s shipping insurance plan work?
Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed
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, the lost art of fuel hedging. How it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
A lot of gas trapped, oil reserves tapped, and Live Nation gets a (tiny) cap
Will Trump’s shipping insurance plan work?
Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed
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.
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NPR's Book of the Day - In the novel ‘Black Bag,’ a classroom experiment invites questions about masculinity
The narrator in Black Bag is an unnamed and mostly unemployed actor until a professor offers him the starring role in an experiment. The narrator is asked to zip himself in a black bag and sit in the back of a lecture theater. Luke Kennard’s new novel is based on an experiment from 1967, in which a professor set out to explore “the mere-exposure effect.” In today’s episode, Kennard talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about why the protagonist takes up this non-role – and what the experiment reveals about masculinity.
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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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Short Wave - The world’s freshwater is getting saltier. Why?
Around the world, the planet’s freshwater is getting saltier. And it’s because of people. For decades, salting roads, fertilizer run-off and evaporation driven by human-caused climate change have upped the salinity of lakes, rivers and groundwater. All that salt is detrimental to a lot of aquatic life and can be problematic for drinking water, too. But there’s still time to reverse course. In fact, many people have already started to change their ways. Today, producer Berly McCoy is on the case to see what solutions exist.
This is part of a whole series on the world’s dwindling water supply. Check out part one and part two of this water series!
Email us your questions about water, the wider environment – or anything else to do with science at shortwave@npr.org. We may turn it into an episode in the future!
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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This is part of a whole series on the world’s dwindling water supply. Check out part one and part two of this water series!
Email us your questions about water, the wider environment – or anything else to do with science at shortwave@npr.org. We may turn it into an episode in the future!
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 - What could the role of ICE be at airports?
Airline travelers across the U.S. have been experiencing long wait times because of the partial government shutdown. TSA workers are calling off sick or quitting altogether because they haven’t been paid. Now, ICE agents have been deployed to some airports to mitigate wait times. What role could the agency play as officials in Washington continue to spar over government funding? And what could the next few weeks look like for travelers? A former TSA security chief weighs in.
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 Jordan-Marie Smith and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.
It was edited by John Ketchum.
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 Jordan-Marie Smith and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.
It was edited by John Ketchum.
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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State of the World from NPR - Israeli public opinion on Iran war; what is moving through the Strait of Hormuz?
After weeks of war with Iran, Israeli support for the conflict is high but waning. Israel has endured frequent airstrikes from Iran disrupting lives and killing at least fifteen so far. We hear from some Israelis about how they’re feeling.
And while more than one thousand ships are idle, unable to go through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian attacks on vessels, a few are getting through the economically vital waterway. We hear about which ships are getting through and why.
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And while more than one thousand ships are idle, unable to go through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian attacks on vessels, a few are getting through the economically vital waterway. We hear about which ships are getting through and why.
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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1A - The Evolution Of The American Housing Crisis
Owning a house appears further and further out of reach for many people in the U.S. The problem is a national one. The median price for an American home is now just over $400,000. On average, houses cost five years of the median salary for someone working in the U.S. In some cities on the West Coast and in parts of Florida, that ratio is now eight years of salary to buy a home.
Rents have also gone up significantly. Since 2020, the nation’s average rent is 27 percent higher. Some cities have seen much bigger gains – Miami’s average rent is up 51 percent. Housing policy advocates point to one big cause: the U.S. has not built enough housing for a growing population. But “build more housing” is a complex problem, not a single policy fix.
Congress recently turned its attention to the problem of housing affordability. The Senate passed a bill with a basket of different policies, aiming to bring down the cost of housing and encourage more building.
What’s in the bill specifically? And how could those policies make a dent in the housing crisis? And how has the housing crisis evolved in the past few years?
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Rents have also gone up significantly. Since 2020, the nation’s average rent is 27 percent higher. Some cities have seen much bigger gains – Miami’s average rent is up 51 percent. Housing policy advocates point to one big cause: the U.S. has not built enough housing for a growing population. But “build more housing” is a complex problem, not a single policy fix.
Congress recently turned its attention to the problem of housing affordability. The Senate passed a bill with a basket of different policies, aiming to bring down the cost of housing and encourage more building.
What’s in the bill specifically? And how could those policies make a dent in the housing crisis? And how has the housing crisis evolved in the past few years?
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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 - Negotiations With Iran, Trump On Deal With Iran, ICE Impact On Airport Lines
After postponing attacks on Iranian powerplants, President Trump says a deal with Iran could come within days and NPR has confirmed backchannel efforts are underway through regional allies.
Trump says he believes a deal is possible but is not guaranteeing anything, as the political clock ticks with midterms approaching and gas prices rising. And ICE agents are now in more than a dozen airports across the country to help ease security lines during the partial government shutdown, but passengers in Atlanta's airport are still waiting for hours.
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 Miguel Macias, Rebekah Metzler, Susanna Capeluto, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas/Ava Pukatch.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) Negotiations With Iran
(06:14) Trump On Deal With Iran
(09:55) ICE Impact On Airport Lines
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Trump says he believes a deal is possible but is not guaranteeing anything, as the political clock ticks with midterms approaching and gas prices rising. And ICE agents are now in more than a dozen airports across the country to help ease security lines during the partial government shutdown, but passengers in Atlanta's airport are still waiting for hours.
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 Miguel Macias, Rebekah Metzler, Susanna Capeluto, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas/Ava Pukatch.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) Negotiations With Iran
(06:14) Trump On Deal With Iran
(09:55) ICE Impact On Airport Lines
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
The Indicator from Planet Money - Why hasn’t the Russian economy collapsed?
How has Russia’s economy not completely collapsed after four years of war, sanctions and billions in debt? One economist says it is the war that has been propping up Russia's economy, not the other way around. He calls it smertonomika or death economics.
On today’s show, six reasons why Russia’s economy is still chugging along despite burning money by the billions waging war on Ukraine.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
How your favorite fish sticks might be funding Russia's war
Who’s propping up Russian oil?
The economic war against Russia, a year later
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, six reasons why Russia’s economy is still chugging along despite burning money by the billions waging war on Ukraine.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
How your favorite fish sticks might be funding Russia's war
Who’s propping up Russian oil?
The economic war against Russia, a year later
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