As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Karen Russell’s novel The Antidote is set during the Dust Bowl – a period when poor farming practices and drought led to a wave of severe and damaging dust storms. In this bleak setting, we’re introduced to a cast of characters, including a woman who stores other people’s memories and a photographer tasked with documenting the crisis. In today’s episode, Russell speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the inspiration behind The Antitode’s core characters, including the work of photographer Gordon Parks and an image that came to Russell as she finished her first novel.
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Short Wave - Climate Anxiety Is Altering Family Planning
Gen Z and younger millennials are generally the most climate literate generations. As an age cohort that started learning about climate change in school, they're worried about how to plan for their future jobs, houses and, yes, kids. With climate-related disasters and global warming likely to worsen, climate anxiety is giving way to reproductive anxiety. So, what do experts say about how to navigate the kid question?
On this encore episode of Nature Quest, Short Wave speaks to Alessandra Ram, a journalist covering climate change, who just had a kid. We get into the future she sees for her newborn daughter and ask, how do we raise the next generation in a way that's good for the planet?
Here are the resources recommended by the experts we interviewed for this story:
Action Tools and Community Resources
Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, where you live and your question. You might make it into our next Nature Quest episode!
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On this encore episode of Nature Quest, Short Wave speaks to Alessandra Ram, a journalist covering climate change, who just had a kid. We get into the future she sees for her newborn daughter and ask, how do we raise the next generation in a way that's good for the planet?
Here are the resources recommended by the experts we interviewed for this story:
Action Tools and Community Resources
- The High-Impact Climate Action Guide by Kimberly A. Nicholas
- The Climate Mental Health Network and Climate Emotions Wheel
- The Climate Café® Hub - for finding a local group
- Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question: Deciding Whether to Have Children in an Uncertain Future, by Jade S. Sasser
- Parenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for cultivating resilience, taking action, and practicing hope in the face of climate change, by Elizabeth Bechard
- Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World, by Kimberly A. Nicholas
- The role of high-socioeconomic-status people in locking in or rapidly reducing energy-driven greenhouse gas emissions, Nielsen, K.S., Nicholas, K.A., Creutzig, F. et al.
Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, where you live and your question. You might make it into our next Nature Quest episode!
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Planet Money - Why economists got free trade with China so wrong
With the year coming to a close, we're sharing our most popular Planet Money bonus episode of 2025!
As U.S. trade with China exploded in the early 2000's, American manufacturing began to shrivel. Those workers struggled to adapt and find new jobs. It ran counter to how mainstream economics at the time viewed free trade ... that it would be a clear win for the U.S. Greg Rosalsky talks with David Autor about why economists got free trade with China so wrong.
Autor, an MIT economics professor, and his colleagues published a series of eye-opening studies over the last 15 years or so that brought to light the costs of U.S. trade with China. We also hear Autor's thoughts on the role of tariffs and get an update on his research. With better, more precise data, Autor says we have a more nuanced and "bleaker" picture of what happened to these manufacturing workers.
You can read about Autor's research and sign up for The Planet Money Newsletter here.
To hear more bonus content like this and support NPR and public media, sign up for Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Regular episodes remain free to listen!
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As U.S. trade with China exploded in the early 2000's, American manufacturing began to shrivel. Those workers struggled to adapt and find new jobs. It ran counter to how mainstream economics at the time viewed free trade ... that it would be a clear win for the U.S. Greg Rosalsky talks with David Autor about why economists got free trade with China so wrong.
Autor, an MIT economics professor, and his colleagues published a series of eye-opening studies over the last 15 years or so that brought to light the costs of U.S. trade with China. We also hear Autor's thoughts on the role of tariffs and get an update on his research. With better, more precise data, Autor says we have a more nuanced and "bleaker" picture of what happened to these manufacturing workers.
You can read about Autor's research and sign up for The Planet Money Newsletter here.
To hear more bonus content like this and support NPR and public media, sign up for Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Regular episodes remain free to listen!
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Consider This from NPR - Daniel Day-Lewis was retired. His son is just getting started
Eight years ago, Daniel Day-Lewis announced he was retired from acting. He offered no further comment. Retirement notwithstanding, in October, Daniel Day-Lewis appeared in a new movie. He plays a man who long ago left the world he once knew – and then is contacted by a family member to come back.
It was written with and directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. Father and son spoke with host Mary Louise Kelly about their film, Anemone.
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 Kathryn Fink and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley and Neisha Heinis. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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1A - Best Of: How Spending Time In Nature Helps Our Health
Many of us know that being outside feels good.
Maybe it’s for a short walk to the store. Maybe for a hike at a nearby mountain. Or maybe spending time at the beach with loved ones for a holiday.
But did you know that a short walk in nature can improve your attention span by 20 percent? And that even fake plants have been shown to deliver health benefits?
There are real benefits to surrounding yourself with the natural world.
We sit down with the pioneer of environmental neuroscience, Marc Berman. He’s out with a new book all about the science behind the benefits spending time outside called “Nature and the Mind.”
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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Maybe it’s for a short walk to the store. Maybe for a hike at a nearby mountain. Or maybe spending time at the beach with loved ones for a holiday.
But did you know that a short walk in nature can improve your attention span by 20 percent? And that even fake plants have been shown to deliver health benefits?
There are real benefits to surrounding yourself with the natural world.
We sit down with the pioneer of environmental neuroscience, Marc Berman. He’s out with a new book all about the science behind the benefits spending time outside called “Nature and the Mind.”
Find more of our programs online. 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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State of the World from NPR - Looking Back: Making Music from the Sounds of War
As we look back at our international reporters' most memorable stories of the last year we revisit a story about a Ukrainian youth orchestra. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv who are marking the new sounds of their country with a sonic poem.
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Up First from NPR - Trump Zelensky Meeting, Netanyahu Mar-a-Lago Meeting, Rough Year For Poverty Aid
President Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy signal momentum on peace talks, but fighting continues and key disputes remain.
Israel’s prime minister is in Mar-a-Lago today as pressure mounts over Gaza, Iran, and what comes next in Trump's ceasefire deal.
And anti-poverty groups warn funding chaos is forcing cuts just as more Americans need help.
Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Israel’s prime minister is in Mar-a-Lago today as pressure mounts over Gaza, Iran, and what comes next in Trump's ceasefire deal.
And anti-poverty groups warn funding chaos is forcing cuts just as more Americans need help.
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 Dana Farrington, Miguel Macias, Catherine Laidlaw, Mohamad ElBardicy, Adriana Gallardo.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Simon-Laslow Jansen. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
(00:00) Introduction
(03:26) Trump Zelensky Meeting
(07:17) Netanyahu Mar-a-Lago Meeting
(10:53) Rough Year For Poverty Aid
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Short Wave - Why Kratom Is At The Heart Of A Big Public Health Debate
Kratom and 7-OH products are available in many smoke shops. But earlier this year, the FDA recommended certain 7-OH products be scheduled alongside opioids. This isn’t the first time kratom has come under scrutiny. Nearly a decade ago, the DEA wanted to make certain active ingredients in kratom controlled substances. Meaning products would go from being widely available to highly restricted. After a massive wave of protest, the DEA decided not to move forward. Producer Rachel Carlson joins host Emily Kwong to talk about what could happen this time around, and what scientists know – and don’t know – about kratom and 7-OH.
Interested in more of the science behind drugs and supplements? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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Interested in more of the science behind drugs and supplements? 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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NPR's Book of the Day - In Rabih Alameddine’s new novel, a mother and son share a tiny Beirut apartment
As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. First up: Raja teaches philosophy to high schoolers and shares an apartment with his 82-year-old mother, Zalfa. Rabih Alameddine explores their relationship – and other forms of intimacy – in his new novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Raja’s self-deprecation, Zalfa’s relationship with another older woman, and Alameddine’s mother’s memory loss.
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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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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The Indicator from Planet Money - The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Encore)
Seasons greetings from the The Indicator! On today's show, the story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby — and got seriously addicted. We also speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading.
This piece originally aired Jan. 25, 2025.
Related episodes:
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
Invest like a Congress member
This piece originally aired Jan. 25, 2025.
Related episodes:
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
Invest like a Congress member
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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