In this NPR investigation, we take a close look at the brutal violence that took place on Jan. 6, 2021, the investigation that followed, and the campaign Trump has waged to whitewash it.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
In this NPR investigation, we take a close look at the brutal violence that took place on Jan. 6, 2021, the investigation that followed, and the campaign Trump has waged to whitewash it.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
We’ve been checking in on the economic conditions in Venezuela for about a decade now. In response to the U.S. strike and the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro this weekend, we’re re-surfacing this episode with an update.
The original version ran in 2016, with an update in 2024.
Back in 2016, things were pretty bad in Venezuela. Grocery stores didn’t have enough food. Hospitals didn’t have basic supplies, like gauze. Child mortality was spiking. Businesses were shuttering. It was one of the epic economic collapses of our time. And it was totally avoidable.
Venezuela used to be a relatively rich country. It has just about all the economic advantages a country could ask for: Beautiful beaches and mountains ready for tourism, fertile land good for farming, an educated population, and oil, lots and lots of oil.
But during the boom years, the Venezuelan government made some choices that add up to an economic time bomb.
Today on the show, we run through the decisions that foreshadowed the collapse, and we hear from people in Venezuela in 2016 at a particularly low point for the economy, then again and in 2024 after a bounce back and a stabilization, in part due to the unlikely impact of the U.S. dollar.
This original episode was hosted by Robert Smith and Noel King. It was produced by Nick Fountain and Sally Helm. Our update in 2024 was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk, produced by Sean Saldana, fact checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Neal Rauch. Today's episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and produced by James Sneed. Alex Goldmark is our Executive Producer.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator and Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or atplus.npr.org.
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Host: Tom Gardner, Andy Cross, Gaspare Boventre, Jeff Lovett
Guest: Jay Chaudhry
Producer: Bart Shannon, Mac Greer
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is in a federal prison in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial on charges of narcoterrorism, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges. The operation to capture Maduro happened in the middle of the night as U.S. troops enjoyed the element of surprise. The U.S. says Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela and accuse him of being the leader of a violent drug cartel.
The US will "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" can be ensured, Donald Trump has said, after US strikes led to the capture of the Latin American country's president and his rendition to New York.
What happens next in Venezuela? There's been celebration and condemnation of America's intervention. We'll hear from in Caracas and also the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Also in the programme: We also hear from a former Trump insider who worked with him on Venezuela, ask a leading international criminal lawyer about the legality of the situation; and we'll hear about weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.
(Photo shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York. Credit: White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com)
A US woman whose bone marrow saved a father of three in Australia has spent Christmas with him and his family. Gennaro Rapinese, whose leukaemia was cured by the donation, greeted Cassidy Feeney at the airport in Perth with the words 'you saved my life'. Cassidy, who'd never met Gennaro before, says she decided to donate because she'd want someone to do the same for her loved ones - and believes everyone should care more about others and less about themselves.
Also: How a community rallied around to help after customers left a restaurant in Montreal without paying a large bill. The owner of Mama Khan's uses his profits to run a soup kitchen and deliver free meals to those in need.
The company in Sweden that's tackling loneliness by giving employees time off dedicated to working on their friendships.
A chance encounter and a small act of kindness that led to a couple getting engaged.
Plus a very rare pink platypus, and why millions of people around the world sing the Scottish folk song, Auld Lang Syne, to mark the new year.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Presenter: Oliver Conway. Music composed by Iona Hampson
The United States captured Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, over the weekend in a swift and overwhelming military operation. Mr. Maduro was pictured blindfolded, handcuffed and later brought to New York to face criminal charges.
Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story of how the operation unfolded, and discusses what comes next.
Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times based in Washington.
Background reading:
President Trump said at a news conference that the United States would “run” Venezuela.
The Trump administration wants NASA to land astronauts on the moon by 2027. They also want them to do it with their budget slashed, a leadership carousel and competing views that Mars is more important.
Guest: Joel Achenbach, freelance journalist and author of Moondoggle
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