People who lost their homes last year in the LA wildfires are finding government roadblocks to rebuilding, due to systems put in place by progressives. And nothing will change.
In this episode, Nathan Pinkoski joins R. R. Reno on The Editor's Desk to talk about his recent review, “Hegemon or Empire?” from the January 2026 issue of the magazine.
203 years ago, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to powerful countries in Europe. Fast forward, and President Trump is reviving the Monroe Doctrine to justify intervening in places like Venezuela, and threatening further action in other parts of Latin America and Greenland. On today’s show, how is Trump redefining the Monroe Doctrine and what does it mean for the world?
Trump ways he wants to spend half a trillion more dollars on military spending, even as federal spending persists at Biden-Era levels and interest on the debt climbs ever upward.
What began two weeks ago as a demonstration against an economic crisis has become a broader antigovernment movement, in cities and towns across Iran.
Iran’s authoritarian government has responded with violent repression. More than 2,500 people have been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. NPR has not been able to independently verify that number.
Many who watch Iran now believe the current round of protests feels different.
We hear from the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, who was imprisoned by the Iranian government while serving as a foreign correspondent for the newspaper. His op-ed this week is titled: “I’ve waited for this electrifying moment in Iran for 10 years.”
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad with engineering support from Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
An interesting day at the Supreme Court as the justices discussed two cases involving the issue of transgenderism in girls' sports—with some of the justices pretty badly embarrassing themselves and others punching holes the size of the Marianas Trench in the arguments of the ACLU. Also: the difference between 1960s civil rights protests and what we're seeing now from the left. Give a listen.
This feud is little more than two factions within the Federal government fighting over how exactly to use the Fed’s many powers to inflate, exploit, and help fund an ever expanding federal government.
The current Washington tiff between Donald Trump and Jerome Powell is being reframed as Powell heroically defending the Fed’s “independence.” In truth, the Fed has always done the administration’s dirty work and pursued inflation when it might temporarily boost the economy.
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: A headline in the Mail says more than 100 private schools have closed since Labour came to power and ended the VAT exemption for private schools. Is that number right?
Is it true that when Covid hit the UK, a one-week delay in imposing lockdown led to 23,000 deaths?
Do 10 million families rely on X as their main source of news? That’s what government spokesperson Baroness Ruth Anderson said in the House of Lords, but is it correct?
s there really a “quiet revival” of Christian worship? Two YouGov polls found churchgoing had gone up by 50% between 2018 and 2024 in England and Wales. New polling data suggests otherwise.
If you’ve seen a number in the news you want the team on More or Less to have a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Contributors:
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Professor Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research
Credits:
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporters: Tom Colls and Nathan Gower
Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Lizzy McNeill
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon
Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-world examples of “narrative economics” like how the Suez Canal ended up getting built. And we ask: why do narratives sometimes matter more than truth or data?