We look back at some stand out numbers of 2025. How significant were Trump’s import tariffs? China sets the pace for solar power installation across the globe. We also look upwards to a particularly speedy comet - 3i Atlas.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Katie Solleveld
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon
We’re sharing another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules, hosted by fellow Pushkin podcast host Michael Lewis. The Big Short is now 15 years old and to mark the occasion, Lewis narrated a new audiobook version of The Big Short and is looking back on how the 2008 financial crisis still affects the world today. To make sense of Wall Street’s hangover from the crash described in The Big Short, Lewis calls up Matt Levine, author of the Money Stuff newsletter for Bloomberg Opinion. He’s also a former investment banker who was working at Goldman Sachs during the market crisis of 2008. He and Lewis talk about Bitcoin, bank regulation, and new forms of risk-taking—all ways Wall Street has changed since the crisis.
On the night of his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order that froze almost all international assistance.
What followed was the termination of billions of dollars in aid programs — and the dismantling of the U-S Agency for International Development. Now, the future of U.S. foreign assistance looks very different.
NPR global health correspondents Fatma Tanis and Gabrielle Emanuel have been following this all year and break down the impact of this move both on the ground and for the U.S.
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 Mallory Yu, with additional reporting by Jonathan Lambert. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Rebecca Davis. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, a brief history of Nintendo and how a small playing card company in Japan became a gaming juggernaut.
In the months after World War I erupted, young men in Europe were killing each other by the tens of thousands. Yet on a frozen Christmas Eve in 1914, the guns briefly fell silent.
On the 100th anniversary of the truce, former All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro set out to reconstruct the events of that day using the accounts of the people who were there. We bring you that story. 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 Elena Burnett. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
This Living Planet takeover will take you on a magical journey into the world of fungi, the largely invisible organisms that are essential for our ecosystems but can also be dangerous. Then: How Norway has built a reputation as a climate leader while investing more than ever in its oil and gas industry.
Historically, it has been very poor manners in Washington to admit that keeping home prices high is a deliberate policy. High prices are not the "unintended consequence" of good intentions.
Shortly after hearing about the birth of Jesus, Herod the king tried to have the child murdered. Indeed, Herod's oppressive rule and the predations of the Roman state play a huge role in the Christmas story.
The surprising things we learn when we count everyone - a tour of the UK census through time.
We also figure out just how many parking officers there are versus soldiers in the British army.
Who really does all the housework? Plus - 20 years of ‘Freakonomics’ with Stephen Dubner.
And finally - were there really three wise men who visited baby Jesus? And were they kings as the Christmas hymn would lead us to believe?
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Lizzy McNeil
Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower and Katie Solleveld
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Mix: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon