If you've been following the news lately — including with 1A — it can be a lot to take in.
We've heard from many of you about how the news makes you feel. But what can we do in chaotic moments of history to build a sense of control in our lives? Maybe it's organizing in your community, starting a new hobby, or picking up that TV show from 10 years ago that you promised you'd get around to watching.
We talk about what finding agency in the chaos can look like, and why we should actively focus on something rather than simply react to what's happening.
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Short Wave - The Algae That Thrive in Arctic Darkness
Microalgae are tiny organisms that convert energy from sunlight into fuel. The arctic ecosystem depends on them. In springtime, the algae bloom brilliant shades of green and draw tiny crustaceans, fish, birds and more to arctic waters. But what happens in wintertime, when the sun goes down and darkness reins for months? In the depths of the polar night, biogeochemist Clara Hoppe has found evidence that some microalgae are still ready to photosynthesize. Today on the show: how tiny microalgae limbo for their lives and come out more powerful than scientists ever imagined.
Want to hear more stories of nature pushing the boundaries of what scientists previously thought possible? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!
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Want to hear more stories of nature pushing the boundaries of what scientists previously thought possible? Let us know by emailing 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 - Chuck Schumer’s ‘Antisemitism in America’ warns of a resurgence in antisemitic views
Sen. Chuck Schumer received major backlash from his party after supporting a Republican spending bill earlier this month – and some Democrats have called for him to resign from his position as minority leader. Schumer recently spoke with NPR's Scott Simon about that budget measure, prior to the ballots being cast, as part of a conversation about his new book, Antisemitism in America: A Warning. In the book, Schumer warns of an acceleration in antisemitism since 2017, a trend he says he's observed among the political right and left. In today's episode, Schumer joins Simon for a discussion that touches on the senator's criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the federal funding fight at Columbia University, and the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil.
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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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
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Can Europe stand without the US?
As relations between the US and Europe continue to sour, European countries are working to lower their reliance on the U.S. for weapons and security. Today on the show, we ask what Europe needs to do to become independent militarily and what potential barriers could stand in the way.
Related episodes:
Europe's NATO members take an economic hit (Apple / Spotify)
Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Related episodes:
Europe's NATO members take an economic hit (Apple / Spotify)
Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Ologies with Alie Ward - Domestic Phytology (HOUSEPLANTS) with Tyler Thrasher
Fungus gnats. Overloved cacti. Fiddle fig failures. $20,000 specimens. It’s house plants — and it’s wild, folks. Widely beloved author, artist, house plant expert and Domestic Phytologist Tyler Thrasher joins to talk about root rot, what to grow in a dark basement, the rarest plants in the world, the punishments for poaching them, grow lights for people and plants, houseplant ethics, how to keep your cats from taking whizzes in them, if you should name your plants, how often to repot them, how to keep an orchid out of your trash can, pet-safe, plants, if one should use their own surplus blood to feed them, and what botany crimes I have committed against my own plants.
Visit Tyler Thrasher’s website and follow him on Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok
Buy his book, The Universe in 100 Colors, at Bookshop.org or Amazon, and his journal, Grow a Damn Plant Journal
See Tyler at San Diego’s Oddities Flea Market March 29 & 30, 2025
A donation went to The Loveland Foundation
More episode sources and links
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Other episodes you may enjoy: Cycadology (RARE PLANT DRAMA), Dendrology (TREES), Indigenous Pedology (SOIL SCIENCE), Mycology (MUSHROOMS), Pomology (APPLES), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY), Zymology (BEER), FIELD TRIP: I Go France and Learn Weird France Stuff, Carnivorous Phytobiology (MEAT-EATING PLANTS), Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS), Carobology (NOT-CHOCOLATE TREES), Cicadology (CICADAS), Chronobiology (CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS), Tiktokology (THE TIKTOK APP) with Hank Green, Erethizonology (PORCUPINES), Coffeeology (YEP, COFFEE), Foraging Ecology (EATING WILD PLANTS) with @BlackForager, Alexis Nikole Nelson
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!
Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky
Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok
Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Slate Books - Outward: Renaissance Trans Theologies and History with Colby Gordon
In this episode of Outward, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Colby Gordon to talk about his new book, Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature. Gordon digs into early modern religious texts that, instead of rejecting trans existence, actually provided ways to think about gender transformation—socially, surgically, and theologically. They explore what Shakespeare, Milton, and other writers had to say about gender, how history challenges today’s assumptions about transition, and why the right-wing war on trans people gets the past all wrong.
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - What Happens To My Student Loans Now?
Trump’s attempted elimination of the Department of Education has left more than 40 million Americans with student loans wondering how their repayment plans will be affected—and future college students wondering what options will exist when it’s time to go to school.
Guest: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, higher education reporter at the Washington Post.
Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.
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What Could Go Right? - DOGE, Democracy, and Everything Between with Matthew Yglesias
Is Trump’s massive government reform necessary? Can the U.S. build better after DOGE? How efficient are government programs like food stamps and Medicaid? Zachary speaks with Vox co-founder and author of the Slow Boring Substack Matthew Yglesias. They discuss current Republican strategies, ideas for a Democratic response, American and Canadian relations, and the many changes that the federal government has seen in Trump’s second term. With an eye on both challenges and opportunities, they examine how political turmoil can spark meaningful reform, the complexities of policy continuity, and the need for fresh strategies and coalitions to navigate an evolving political climate.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theprogressnetwork
And follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2408: Roman Political Invective
Episode: 2408 Roman Political Invective. Today, a look at Roman mudslinging.
It Could Happen Here - Should You Flee the United States?
Robert, James, and Gare discuss the question of fleeing the country, various demographics under threat, and the politics of escape.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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