Surprisingly stable chicken meat prices, a lawsuit threat against the Gulf of Mexico's name change, and the Trump administration's false claims about Social Security beyond the grave are all under the microscope on this edition of Indicators of the Week.
When Illinois legalized recreational use of marijuana five years ago, it came with a goal to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. “We’re addressing the past harms of discriminatory prosecution of drug laws,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said at the time. Many low level cannabis charges would automatically be expunged and legal aid would be made available.
Last episode, we looked at two areas where the state spent the largest share of its $500 million in marijuana sales tax revenue: the state budget and R3 funding, a program to invest in communities that have been harmed by violence, excessive incarceration and economic disinvestment.
Some of that sales tax revenue also goes toward social programs, like legal aid for cannabis record expungement. Today, we’re looking at how well Illinois’ expungement program is working. Advocates and people getting their records expunged tell us that “automatic” doesn’t apply to everything and the process itself is “too complicated.”
Whether it's on the apps or in real life it can be hard to meet romantic partners. We explore what it's like to be dating right now in the Bay Area. This episode is brought to you by the team over on KQED's The Bay podcast.
This story was reported by Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale, with support this week from Brian Douglas. The Bay episode was produced by Jessica Kariisa and Dana Cronin. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.
In the early 20th century, David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife Sydney Bowles had seven children, six girls and one boy.
The sisters all achieved notoriety for entirely different reasons.
They were, how can I say, different from each other. Very different. Several of them found themselves associated with some of the most important individuals of the mid-20th century.
Learn more about the Mitford Sisters and their very different lives on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Federal funding from the National Institutes of Health has driven the biomedical research industry in cities across America including Birmingham, Alabama. It's helped support research into life-saving treatments for cancers, strokes and Parkinson's. But, the Trump Administration says the NIH is getting ripped off in how those grants are calculated. We take a look.
Related episodes: The gutting of USAID (Apple / Spotify) A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
When a young child goes missing at a family gathering, a pack of cousins sets out into the woods to find her. Idle Grounds follows this group of children as they search their late grandmother's property and wonder whether something sinister might lurk there. Krystelle Bamford says her new novel dips into the New England Gothic genre, inspired by the darkness that bubbles underneath the daylight of the adult world. In today's episode, Bamford speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the author's own New England upbringing, the magic and mystery of childhood, and the potential dangers of nostalgia.
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
The state has made about $500 million in marijuana tax revenue since the state legalized recreational use. Social programs have benefited from those funds, but experts say it won’t last forever.
In 1970, one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects opened in Aswan, Egypt.
It was a dam that harnessed the power of the Nile River, the longest river in the world.
The dam provided electricity for half of the country and tamed the annual floods, a regular feature on the Nile.
But the project wasn’t without its drawbacks. It became a point of contention during the Cold War, displaced thousands, and destroyed an unknown number of ancient artifacts.
Learn more about the Aswan High Dam on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.