Start the Week - Breakage and repair

When society, financial systems and human beings fall short, how can we repair the damage? Tom Sutcliffe hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, exploring the social, moral and political contradictions of the world we face today, with US novelist George Saunders, Turkish writer Ece Temulkuran and investigative journalist Oliver Bullough,

The Booker Prize winning novelist, George Saunders new book Vigil deals with the moral ambivalence of a greedy oil executive; the death bed reckoning of a man who resists facing his life and legacy. The Turkish writer, Ece Temulkuran's new book Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding a Home in the 21st Century explores the rising global displacement of people who will need to forge stronger connections amid political and social upheaval.

In an investigation of money laundering, Oliver Bullough's Everybody Loves Our Dollars sets out the scale of the problem and why we are failing to tackle the global systems that allow illicit money to move freely using sites as varied as Bicester Shopping Village in Oxfordshire and a casino in Vancouver, Canada.

Producer: Ruth Watts

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Kids Sports Are Now Adult Driven—And Incredibly Expensive

Youth sports have grown into a $40-billion dollar per year industry, where eager parents shell out for private coaches, off-season practice, and travel leagues, in the hopes of giving their child a competitive edge. 


Guest:  Anna North, senior correspondent at Vox. She writes Kids Today, a newsletter about kids.


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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The Daily Detail - The Daily Detail for 2.16.26

Alabama

  • Sen. Tuberville warns about mass migration to US and the chaos it causes
  • Sen. Britt talks about negotiations between Dems and WH over DHS funding
  • Governor Ivey to sign bill that increases penalties for fatal DUI cases
  • A 3rd civil lawsuit filed re: Madison childcare center and sex abuse 
  • House Majority Leader Scott Stadhagen on leave of absence for a few weeks

National

  • SoS Marco Rubio delivers impassioned speech to European leaders in Munich
  • TN Senator says SAVE Act has 51 votes: work underway to get to floor vote
  • Border Czar says defends ICE policies of masking agents during raids
  • Thomas Massie of KY says Epstein files/names not going away

Strict Scrutiny - S7 Ep19: Is Sam Alito On His Way Out?

The legal news just kept coming this week, and Melissa, Leah, and Kate break it all down. Could Friend of the Pod Sam Alito be retiring? Possibly! Can Pete Hegseth retaliate against Senator and veteran Mark Kelly for free speech? No! Just how wild was Pamela Jo Bondi’s Epstein files testimony in Congress? Pretty flippin’ wild! They also cover the latest out of Minnesota, Democratic representatives tearing the head of ICE a new one, some very bad news for humans who enjoy clean air, the Heritage Foundation’s crusade against birth control, and other legal flotsam and jetsam. Finally, Kate speaks with Elliot Williams about his new book, Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation.

Favorite things:

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 


  • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
  • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Short Wave - Could this vaccine trial mean a future without HIV?

Early last year, a hundred researchers, clinicians and other experts on HIV discussed the development of an innovative vaccine that could prevent the disease. But just as the meeting was about to wrap up, the mood darkened. A new executive order signed by President Trump on Inauguration day had frozen all foreign aid, pending a review. Soon, DOGE would begin its decimation of USAID — and with it, this vaccine trial. That is – until the South African researchers came up with a new plan. 

Read more of freelance science reporter Ari Daniel’s story here.

Interested in more on the future of science? 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 - After 100 years of Mount Rushmore, its biographer says the landmark is incomplete

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first drilling at Mount Rushmore, the iconic American landmark in South Dakota. But Matthew Davis, author of the new book A Biography of a Mountain, says the project is actually unfinished. In today’s episode, he joins NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer for a conversation about the original vision for Mount Rushmore, which was intended to diversify a struggling South Dakota economy after World War I.


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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Opening Arguments - Election News Is Great! Election LAW News Is… Mixed.

OA1236 - Elections grab bag! Election news has been accumulating, so Jenessa helps us get caught up on what’s going on. Who’s winning elections? What’s going on with redistricting? Heard something confusing about the mail? Trump back on his bullshit again? Good news, mixed news, debunking alleged bad news, bad news with plans for how to turn things around; we’ve got it all.

Updates since we recorded: The SAVE America Act passed the House. Also the affidavit for the warrant in Georgia was unsealed. We’ll talk about it soon, but the short version is these people really still believe in election conspiracy theories. It’s gross. We’ll survive.

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Global News Podcast - Israel lays out conditions for any Iran nuclear deal

Israel's prime minister has demanded the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as part of any deal on Tehran's nuclear programme. Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking as Iran's foreign minister travelled to Switzerland for the latest round of indirect talks with the US. Also: In a new Instagram video the American celebrity news host, Savannah Guthrie, has addressed the kidnappers of her eighty- four year old mother, Nancy. She said she and her family still had hope their mother would be returned safely. The alleged gunman of the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia, has appeared via video link at a Sydney court for the first time. Nigerians welcome the return of the celebrated Argungu fishing festival. And how artificial intelligence is changing agriculture.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk