The Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to derail the government of President Nicolas Maduro, which he has accused of turning Venezuela into a "drug-running regime". The leader of the country's opposition, Maria Corina Machado, travelled to Norway in secret to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. We ask if her influence could wane now that she is out of the country.
Also in the programme: intense rain is wreaking havoc on thousands of Gazans living in displacement camps; and UNESCO declares Swiss yodelling a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
(Photo: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado attends the opening of the official Peace Prize exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center, in Oslo. Credit: Lise Åserud / NTB)
Plus: a sharp decline in Oracle stock dragged down the Nasdaq composite. And Disney stock rises after announcing new investment and partnership with OpenAI. Danny Lewis hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
P.M. Edition for Dec. 11. Disney announces a $1 billion investment and licensing deal with OpenAI that lets users put their characters in AI-generated videos. WSJ entertainment reporter Ben Fritz discusses why Disney came to terms with OpenAI and what risks it faces. Plus, Oracle shares fall nearly 11% as investors worry the company is overspending on AI, dragging the Nasdaq down with it. And in an effort to break its dependence on China, the U.S. is developing its own critical minerals industry—and, as Journal reporter Heather Somerville explains, Silicon Valley is giving it a boost. Alex Ossola hosts.
Physical maps might feel out of date in our smartphone and GPS age but maps aren’t just for navigation. They are windows into history, culture and how we perceive the world. We visit a map library in Maine to see what maps can tells about the planet and ourselves.
Plus: Ford Motor and SK Group end their partnership to produce EV batteries in the U.S. And regular companies are finally beating tech stocks. Julie Chang hosts.
OpenAI kickstarted the AI race, but is it now at risk of falling behind Google? As the company behind ChatGPT releases its latest update to fend off Google's Gemini, WSJ’S Berber Jin explains OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's urgent "code red" memo to all employees and why the strategy will come at a cost. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
2025 has been an above-average year for stocks. And over 300 publicly-traded companies have increased in value by 100% or more. This has our team asking the question: Which of these upward moves are legit and which could be doomed to revert back in 2026? This episode features discussions on energy, technology, real estate, and more. And our analysts aren't in perfect agreement on the outlook for these stocks in the coming year.
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Subsidies for the ACA are set to expire at the end of the year. Today, Congress is voting on a Democratic bill that would extend subsidies for three years and a Republican bill that would give those eligible up to $1,500 in health savings accounts. If a decision isn’t made, monthly premiums for many people could double next year. In the Loop hears from Volumes Bookcafe owner Rebecca George and Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans executive director Krystle Able who both rely on ACA Marketplace for their coverage and how expiring subsidies could mean the difference between taking control of their health or not.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Republican disunity is being obscured by affection for Trump, but just below the surface, MAGA is being pulled apart at the seams. At the same time, the administration is busy committing war crimes while conducting an illegal, nonsensical war, and the FBI is investing progressive groups for their views. The state of free speech protections may be worse than during the Red Scare. Meanwhile, SCOTUS keeps shaping the power of the presidency, Tucker and Candace’s conspiracies and Israel fear-mongering are way past an act, and the Andrew Tates of the manosphere are giving cover to men who just want to be a**holes.
A CDC panel recently reversed a decades-old recommendation that all babies in the U.S. receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Medical groups, including the Chicago-based American Medical Association, have denounced the new recommendations, calling them “reckless.” In the Loop talks about what this means for Illinois kids and families with Dr. Steven Flamm, hepatologist and professor of Medicine at Rush University and Dr. Marielle Fricchione, pediatrician and chair of the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
