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WSJ Minute Briefing - Trump Says U.S. and China Approve TikTok Deal

Plus: The House passed a stopgap measure ahead of government shutdown. Blackstone names a new CEO for its real-estate megafund after the fatal shooting of their previous Chief Executive. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts.

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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.

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African Tech Roundup - April Long of Pyxis: Why serving bulk traders beats saving SMEs in Africa-China trade

Episode overview: April Long spent two years fighting reality. The co-founder and CEO of "Afro-Asia Cross-border payment infrastructure" startup Pyxis was so determined to serve Africa's small merchants - the "bottom of the pyramid" she'd read about in Harvard Business Review - that she nearly bankrupted her fintech ignoring the bulk traders actually driving Africa-China trade. In conversation with Andile Masuku, Long delivers uncomfortable truths about impact theatre versus impact reality. Her journey from receiving President Xi Jinping in Tanzania at 23 to finally accepting who actually moves goods between Africa and China at 35 offers a masterclass in entrepreneurial humility. Key insights: -On impact delusions: "I used to defend, I was like, 'No, no, no, no, no. It's that you don't get to this market.'" Long admits she lived in a bubble, desperately wanting to believe SMEs were ready for direct China trade. The truth? "90% of African trade is still happening in a more traditional way" - through the aggregators she'd dismissed as insufficiently mission-driven. - On the cost of stubbornness: Despite zero demand after six months embedded in Nairobi's wholesale markets, Long refused to pivot. "I was quite stubborn. I was like, no, we have to work with SMEs." The result: burning 90% of her time on unprofitable small traders whilst the 10% spent on bulk traders kept her company alive. - On acceptance as strategy: "The future is not here yet. And we need to build the future by serving who is there currently." Long's breakthrough came from accepting that Chinese trading companies scaling from $0 to IPO in a decade were the real infrastructure of Africa-China trade - not the romantic vision of empowered individual merchants. - On being un-fundable forcing clarity: Without millions to burn on market education, Long had to face reality faster than her funded competitors. "I'm grateful I didn't have money to burn, or else I could have burned myself." Notable moments: 1. The marketplace wake-up call: Walking through Nairobi's famous Gikomba market as a Chinese woman, traders shouted "China, China, what are you selling?" They wanted products, not payment rails. Long built the wrong solution for the right market. 2. The Eric Simanis paradox: The same Harvard Business Review article that inspired her Africa move warned against oversimplifying "bottom of pyramid" markets. Long spent years learning what she'd initially misread. 3. The three Aprils: Long describes fragmenting into Chinese April, Western April, and African April - "these narratives are so vastly different" that keeping them separate became exhausting. Building Pyxis became about reconciling these selves. The aggregator revelation: Long's former Standard Chartered clients - the Chinese trading companies she'd tried to convince to take loans in 2015 - transformed from traders to manufacturers to near-IPO giants in under a decade. They were the real story of Africa-China trade, moving containers whilst she chased individual merchants moving parcels. "These Chinese trading companies making impacts in Africa, making products super affordable... because of the storytelling, they are not recognised." Her role shifted from trying to bypass them to helping them operate more efficiently. The present tense: Long's current focus on settlement infrastructure for bulk traders isn't the sexy SME empowerment story she'd imagined. But with a 12-person team across four countries and actual revenue, she's building what the market needs today whilst preparing for the SME future she still believes will come. Image credit: Pxyis
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Short Wave - Untangling The Science of Octopus Arms

Octopuses and their arms are a bit of a mystery.  Not because scientists don’t know how they work; they’re boneless hydrostats, made up of groups of muscles working together and capable of bending, twisting, elongating or shortening — like a frog’s tongue, or an elephant’s trunk. But because scientists are still figuring out how most octopuses use those arms in the wild. 

Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and the marine lab at Florida Atlantic University wanted to answer that question. By analyzing videos taken in the wild, they found that octopuses seemed to prefer doing certain tasks with certain arms… and that the majority of the time, they used their front arms to explore and their back arms to get around. Researchers on the project hope that furthering our understanding of octopus behavior and movement will be useful for developing things like soft robotics.

Interested in more science discoveries? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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Marketplace All-in-One - Get got by Insta-scammers?

If you have, you're not alone. American consumers lost more than $1 billion to fraud on social media in the first six months of this year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s almost ten times what it was five years ago. Today, we'll hear how consumers can protect themselves. But first, we know what the Federal Reserve did with short-term interest rates this week. What's driving long-term interest rates right now?

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The Daily Signal - Selective Outrage and Political Spin: The Charlie Kirk Vigil Fallout

There seems to be an ironic discordance among folks that, let’s just say, didn’t share Charlie Kirk’s points of view. They claim that ‘it’s time to move on’ even when faced with a vigil being held by co-workers. Such was the case of the US House of Representatives minority party leader Hakeem Jeffries who, when asked why he didn’t attend a Congressional vigil quipped; “I had a meeting.” Or take combative positions like Virginia Speaker Don Scott who responded to Governor Youngkin who echoed a question we asked on these pages. “Is Abigail Spanberger going to denounce the ‘Nazi’ comment made by one of her supports, Chesterfield School Board Member ‘Dot’ Heffron. Scott’s social media response has since been edited but the original still exists and reads: “Spare us the sanctimonious selective outrage — you should be ashamed of yourself. You said nothing when a sitting GOP member of the Va House of Delegates said ‘Democrats killed [Charlie] Kirk’ — a blatant lie that was never corrected even after learning a Trump supporter actually killed him. Thank God, this Governor and his hateful politics will be gone in 120 days.”


The edited version now reads; “…. a blatant lie that was never corrected even after learning he was shot by a man from a family of Trump supporters.” Certainly much better. The member of the House he was referring to was Delegate Nick Freitas who posted “the other side murdered him” Delegate Freitas joins us to take us much further into this and what needs to happen next.


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Focus on Africa - Guinea: Why the constitutional referendum matters

Guineans will vote in a referendum on a new constitution on Sunday, that would permit junta leader Mamady Doumbouya to run for president, despite his promise not to do so when he seized power four years ago. Political analyst Renna Hawili explains the other major proposals.

Also, will a new World Trade Organisation agreement help protect the livelihoods of fishing communities off the coast of Africa?

And hear why an Ivorian musician's performance at a festival in Paris, was cancelled.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Makuochi Okafor, Yvette Twagiramariya, Ayuba Iliya, Madina Maishanu and Stefania Okereke Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi, Samuel Murunga, Maryam Abdalla and Andre Lombard

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The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Late Night With Jimmy Who?

The fallout from the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel continues, with the revelation that, basically, no one watches his show—so why should Disney and ABC keep it on the air if he's more trouble than he's worth? That goes to the question of what to do when a heavy-handed government starts interfering in private business and going after someone who was exercising his free speech. The issue is more complicated than both left and right are willing to acknowledge. Give a listen.


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Newshour - Trump says TV networks opposed to him should ‘maybe’ lose licence

The remarks come after pressure from the administration led ABC to suspend late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel. Mr Kimmel made comments about the Charlie Kirk murder suspect, saying Trump supporters had tried to "characterise this kid as anything other than one of them".

Also, we speak to Omar Barghouti who co-founded the worldwide movement to isolate Israel, through boycott, sanctions and divestment; and we head to Moscow to meet some of the musicians competing in Intervision, the Kremlin's counterpoint to Eurovision.

(Photo: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from a state visit in Britain, 18 September, 2025. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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Newshour - Emir of Qatar criticises Israel as ‘cowardly’

The emir of Qatar has called last week's Israeli attack on his country a cowardly act of terrorism intended to derail peace talks. For his part, the Israeli prime minister has refused to rule out more attacks on Hamas leaders. Newshour hears from Qatar and Israel.

Also in the programme: China and the US secure a possible deal on TikTok; and Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov condemns Israel's actions in Gaza.

(Picture: Journalists watch on a screen as Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, speaks during the opening of the emergency Arab-Islamic summit, to discuss the Israeli attack on Hamas on the Gulf country's soil, in Doha, Qatar. Credit :Reuters)