Congress has until Friday to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, with negotiations stalled over Democratic demands to overhaul immigration enforcement. Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer is fighting to hold onto power after new revelations show he hired a Washington ambassador with ties to Jeffrey Epstein, triggering calls for him to step down. And Savannah Guthrie issues another emotional plea for her missing mother as a ransom deadline passes and investigators say they still have no suspects in the disappearance.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Kate Bartlett, Miguel Macias, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
Our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.
(0:00) Introduction (01:54) DHS Funding Negotiations (05:40) UK Epstein Fallout (09:27) Latest on Guthrie Investigation
As Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to answer questions from Congress, federal files reveal a new characterization of how much Donald Trump knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s misdeeds. Cuba tells airlines they won’t be able to refuel in Havana, as US sanctions lead to an oil shortage. And drugmaker Novo Nordisk sues compound pharmacy Hims & Hers over copied weight loss drugs.
George Saunders is tired of being the “kindness guy.”
Saunders is one of my favorite fiction writers, and a friend of the pod; I talked to him back in 2021 and 2022. He also has a reputation as a kind of guru of kindness, thanks to a viral commencement speech he gave back in 2013. We talked about kindness on the show before.
But with the publication of his new novel, “Vigil,” I noticed that something about Saunders seemed to have shifted. He was pushing back against that public persona, and wrestling with darker themes.
“Vigil” follows an oil tycoon who, on his deathbed, is visited by angels and people from his past asking him to reassess his life. And you can feel a tension in that book that is also very alive in Saunders himself — between recognizing how much of our lives are conditioned by our circumstances and the need to pass judgment to reckon with the truth.
In this conversation, I discuss that tension with Saunders. I ask him about his relationship not just to kindness but also to anger; how he defines sin; whether he believes in free will; and what he thinks lies beyond kindness.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota, Efim Shapiro and Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Aman Sahota and Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Streamed by millions every day, porn is everywhere. It shapes our culture, our relationships, and even technology. Yet, nobody seems to know who really controls the business. The power brokers tend to lurk in the shadows, while their performers remain quite literally exposed.
In Pushkin's new audiobook, The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Adult Entertainment, two Financial Times journalists, Patricia Nilsson and Alex Barker, start digging into the porn industry and following where the money flows. Their reporting uncovers a shadowy power structure that includes billionaires, tech geniuses, and the most powerful finance companies in the world.
A gripping exposé of how power operates behind the most taboo corner of the internet, Nilsson and Barker unravel a story about control, influence, and an industry with staggering cultural reach that no one really wants to talk about—until now.
Find The Kink Machine on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm, or wherever you get audiobooks.
Epstein revelations continue. New files reveal that the notorious sex offender had closer relationships than previously known with Trump’s inner circle, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth to Congress, while her lawyer says she’s “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if Trump agrees to let her out of prison. While Jon, Tommy, and Lovett are overseas, Alex Wagner and Ben Rhodes discuss how the files are rattling politicians around the world, and why consequences have been more severe abroad than in the U.S. There’s also the fight to put limits on ICE playing out in the courts and Congress, Trump’s scheme to celebrate America’s 250th birthday with a fresh grift, and why RFK Jr. can’t be trusted with the Super Bowl snacks.
Getting justice for Epstein survivors seems impossible in the United States. But in the United Kingdom, the Epstein files could bring down the British government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to resign after admitting he knew the UK's former Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, had ties to Epstein when he appointed him in 2024. To unpack how the United Kingdom is reckoning with Epstein, we spoke to Coco Khan, co-host of Crooked Media’s Pod Save the UK.
Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/
About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.
Watching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, “How do they do that?” The answer is – physics!
That’s why this episode, we have two physicists – Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber – break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what’s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or “skimo” as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men’s ski jump suits.
Also, we’d love to know what science questions have you stumped. Email us your questions at shortwave@npr.org – we may solve it for you on a future episode!
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.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has plenty of dark experiences that he could recount in his new memoir, Where We Keep the Light. In his first term as Pennsylvania’s governor, he investigated abuse within the Catholic Church and was the victim of an arson attack in his own home. But as Shapiro eyes a second term in Pennsylvania, he says he’s choosing to focus on the light. In today’s episode Shapiro sits down with NPR’s Scott Detrow, and the two discuss the power of local civic engagement — including how small communities can produce big change.
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
