Was there ever life on Mars? Planetary scientists think there could have been but there hasn’t been any direct evidence. After years of roaming Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover saw spots on Mars rocks. These spots could be the most likely clue that Mars had organic life millions of years ago. Host Regina G. Barber speaks with recent PhD graduate and planetary scientist Hemani Kalucha. She explains why the size, shape and color of these spots – as well as the location of these rocks on Mars – point to ancient life.
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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 concept of capitalism is cooling in American minds; the U.S. policies behind the Hyundai ICE raid; and an influential family’s succession saga comes to a thrilling (and expensive!) conclusion.
Today’s episode features two books that dissect very different case studies in politics: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and the anti-abortion movement. First, in July 2024, Harris’ presidential campaign launched like a rocket – but it seemed to stall shortly after. 2024 goes behind the scenes of the Harris team as they leapt into the race months before the election. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two of the book’s authors, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, about how Harris’ inner circle saw crucial campaign moments. Then, Carol Mason’s new book From the Clinics to the Capitol breaks down the political strategy of the anti-abortion movement. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about ties between the movement and white nationalism.
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The nation’s patchwork system of abortion laws is once again being challenged.
This time, opponents are targeting telehealth abortions. That’s when a provider in a state where abortion is legal meets virtually with a patient and sends them pills to take at home.
Now, attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana are suing a doctor in New York for prescribing pills to patients in their states, where abortion is almost completely banned. New York is one of several states that’s enacted shield laws after Roe was overturned. These statutes ban cooperation with other states’ attempts to enforce abortion bans.
For many young conservatives, Charlie Kirk was more than just another political activist or online personality.
He was the face of their movement -- a glimpse at how life for their generation could look by embracing a more hard-right, MAGA worldview. Charlie Kirk's followers are in shock and grief over his assassination.
As they try to make sense of his killing, many are also asking what's next for the movement he started.
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In the early 1960s, U Thant, a practicing Buddhist from a remote town in Burma, became the first non-Western secretary-general of the United Nations. He immediately faced unfolding crises around the world. We talk with U Thant’s grandson about his new book “Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World.”
Police are still searching for the gunman who killed right-wing activist Charlie Kirk during a speech at a Utah college campus. We look back at Kirk’s rise in conservative politics through Turning Point USA and the controversies that defined him. And in Europe, Russian drones crossing into Poland are testing NATO’s limits and raising fears of a wider war.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Eric Westervelt, Megan Pratz, Kate Bartlett, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woefle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
We’ll never leave your messages unread. On today’s show, we open the inbox to hear from Indicator listeners about why seasoned software developers might have more AI-proof jobs, and an idea for how to improve accreditation for crime labs.
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Meg Medina’s new young adult novel begins with a fall: Graciela, a 13-year-old-girl, is blown off a cliff and sucked into the bottom of the sea. A century later, she awakens and her afterlife begins. Most of the characters in Graciela in the Abyss are ghosts and spirits, but Medina says the story is really about life. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the author’s “graveyard” of ideas, death as a constant, and her role as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
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The 9/11 terrorism case has been in legal limbo for more than a decade and many doubt the case will ever make it to take to trial. That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible. Meanwhile, the accused men are at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and thousands of 9/11 family members wait for a resolution.
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with two young people whose fathers died in the World Trade Center attacks, as they debate whether the 9/11 defendants should get plea deals.
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This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva and Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Becky Brown. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.