After the leaders of Japan and South Korea ended their summit with the two participating in a drumming duet, we’re marching to the beat of our own drum and exploring some rhythmic science.
First, we look at nature’s drummer, the woodpecker, and why their pecking doesn’t give them a concussion. We also discuss how the rhythm of your brain waves impacts your sense of ownership over your own body.
Then, we’re joined by Daniel Levitin, author of Music as Medicine, who tells us all about using rhythm in the treatment of neurological conditions.
Next, we hear about a new claim to the title of the world’s oldest computer, and how flying affects your body’s natural rhythms.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia, with Sandy Ong and Edd Gent
Producers: Sophie Ormiston, with Ella Hubber, Lucy Davies and Imy Harper
There’s so much more happening than what you see in online video clips.
Congress gave Trump a staggering, military-size budget for immigration enforcement. And it’s hard to keep the scale of what the administration is building in your mind all at once. There are all the additional boots on the ground, as well as a lot of things that are less visible.
I wanted to talk to someone who has followed closely how the whole immigration system is changing under President Trump. Caitlin Dickerson is a journalist at The Atlantic. She’s been covering immigration closely since Trump’s first term, and she won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for reporting on his family separation policy. In this conversation, we discuss what the country’s new immigration enforcement infrastructure looks like, what it is being used to do now and what it might mean for the future.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sarah Stillman and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about the steps President Donald Trump and his allies took to overturn the 2020 election and to foment the January 6th insurrection. Smith did this knowing that he is already at the top of Trump’s enemies list — which the President is increasingly using the Department of Justice to prosecute. For more on the Trump administration’s latest investigations, we spoke with Ken White. He’s a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney who hosts the legal podcast, “Serious Trouble.”
Donald Trump announces that he's reached a "concept of a deal" on Greenland, agreeing to drop his tariffs for … well, the details aren't exactly clear. Jon and Dan discuss what we know, Trump's invitation to Vladimir Putin to join his Board of Peace, and the most insane coverage of Trump's trip to Davos. Then, they break down Vice President Vance's appearance in Minneapolis—where he defended ICE's detention of a 5-year-old—House passage of additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security, Jack Smith's Capitol Hill testimony, and a New York Times/Siena poll that's so bad for Trump he's threatening to sue.
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Automaker BYD is the leader in a group of Chinese car companies whose global exports have risen beyond expectations, with BYD replacing Tesla as the world’s biggest electric vehicle seller. WSJ’s Stephen Wilmot explains the political challenges that could slow BYD’s growth. Plus, WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen discusses Google’s new AI email rollouts — including features that attempt to summarize Gmail inboxes and write responses. Peter Champelli hosts.
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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.
January is the month for people to take stock of their habits and routines – and two new books offer unconventional approaches to shaking up our lives. First, Mark Medley’s Live to See the Day is about the pursuit of far-fetched goals. He spoke with NPR’s A Martínez about what we can learn from no-hope political candidates, amateur creature-hunters, and dreamers. Then, comedian Chris Duffy’s Humor Me asks readers to find the funny alongside the grim. In today’s episode, he tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about the inspiration for the book, which came from his experience as a teacher.
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A new study shows penguins are breeding earlier than ever in the Antarctic Peninsula. This region is one of the fastest-warming areas of the world due to climate change, and penguins time their breeding period to environmental conditions. That’s everything from the temperature outside and whether there’s ice on the ground to what food is available. Changes in those conditions could contribute to mating changes. Plus, answers to a debate about how ice melts and how dirty diapers train parents in the art of disgust.
Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Jason Fuller and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Kwesi Lee and Hannah Gluvna.
