Today, we're discussing Elon Musk’s trauma-inducing email, Trump blaming Ukraine, Kamala Harris’s “inspiring” speech at the BET Awards, and Rachel Maddow’s callout of MSNBC.
OA 1130 and T3BE60 - We're so excited to kick off this episode with an interview with Amanda Litman, the co-founder and President of an amazing organization called Run for Something. We discuss who they are and how they support folks in state and local races in all 50 states, answer questions for those who may be listening and considering throwing their hat in the ring to run for political office, and get energized from Amanda's contagious hope for what can very much come in 2026 and 2028 if we put in the work now.
After our chat with Amanda, Thomas meets up with Professor Heather Varanini to reveal the answer to T3BE59, and tackle the next question! Be sure to stick around for our T3BE winners and patron shoutouts!
If you're feeling inspired and hopeful after today's show, consider making a donation to Run for Something to help elevate progressive leaders in state and local elections across the country! And if you're thinking you might Run for Something, check out their resources to help you along every step of the way!
If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there!
The evolution of basketball, and much of the social and cultural change in America, can be traced through one powerful act on the court: the slam dunk. The dunk's history is the story of a sport and a country changed by the most dominant act in basketball, and it makes Magic in the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk (St. Martin's Press, 2025) a rollicking and insightful piece of narrative history and a surefire classic of sports literature.
When basketball was the province of white men, the dunk acted as a revolutionary agent, a tool for players like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to transform the sport into a Black man’s game. The dunk has since been an expression of Black culture amid the righteous upheaval of the civil-rights movement, of the threat that Black people were considered to be to the establishment. It was banned from college basketball for nearly a decade―an attempt to squash the individual expression and athleticism that characterized the sport in America’s cities and on its playgrounds. The dunk nevertheless bubbled up to basketball’s highest levels. From Julius Erving to Michael Jordan to the high flyers of the 21st century, the dunk has been a key mechanism for growing the NBA into a global goliath.
Drawing on deep reporting and dozens of interviews with players, coaches, and other hoops experts, Magic in the Air brings to life the tale of the dunk while balancing sharp socio-racial history and commentary with a romp through American sports and culture. There's never been a basketball book quite like it.
Paul Knepper covered the New York Knicks for Bleacher Report. His first book was The Knicks of the Nineties: Ewing, Oakley, Starks and the Brawlers That Almost Won It All. His next book, Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet, will be published in 2025. You can reach Paul at paulknepper@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @paulieknep.
Right now, it feels like President Donald Trump and billionaire ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk are holding all the political cards. While we’re out here just trying to figure out if our local library will still carry books about the Civil Rights Movement, Musk is busy trying to fire every government worker he can find while Trump pitches a golden pathway to citizenship for millionaires. It’s… a lot. And Democrats are understandably upset about it. But what can they actually do about it? Journalist Matt Yglesias, who writes the ‘Slow Boring’ newsletter on Substack, talks about steps we can all take to expand the Democratic Party’s tent.
And in headlines: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans a trip to the White House, the Trump administration has a bad day in court, and new data shows U.S. consumer confidence is plummeting.
The news to know for Wednesday, February 26, 2025!
We’re talking about Republicans’ latest moves to slash government programs and cut taxes.
Also, the White House is changing how news outlets are allowed to cover the president.
Plus, a festival hosted more people than the population of the U.S., an American sports legend is calling it a career, and famous musicians released an album that’s completely silent—we’ll tell you why.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!
First, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here and the continued addition of non-English speaking films getting some of the biggest Oscar buzz. Then we tackle the latest Trump shakeups at the National Endowment for the Arts and The Kennedy Center. Finally, Dana and Julia sit down with the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Bill Kramer.
Our 1st Bonus Pod during our Paternity Week is on 3 of our best business stories on parenting from the last year:
#1. Did you know no US president is an only child?... So we jump into the Only Child Economy.
#2. Apple’s newest product is Apple Watch for kids… because of a 10-year trust campaign.
#3. How should new parents prep financially for having a kid?... We’ve got one answer.
Yetis, share this bonus ep with your buddy with kids… or send it to the kid.
We’ll be back with our usual daily show the week of March 3rd after Jack’s spent some time getting to know his new baby. But look out for more bonus pods from us dropping this week.
And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet” — The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks
How do you tie together the stories of ancient Egypt, Robin Hood, Freddy Kreuger, and Hamlet – on a single stage?
Well, through time travel, of course. But also with the minds and talent of a group of actors at Sing Sing correctional facility in New York.
Such a play – titled "Breakin' the Mummy's Code" – was made possible through a program called RTA: Rehabilitation Through the Arts. It was born in 1996 after a group of incarcerated men at Sing Sing put on a few theater productions. They decided they wanted those productions to be something more – an organized group that could bring the power of theater to people inside prisons.
The program's story is now on the big screen in the film "Sing Sing." We talk to the people who made the movie possible.
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
In 1967 Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized the field of astronomy. She detected the radio signals emitted by certain dying stars called pulsars. This encore episode: Jocelyn's story. Host Regina G. Barber talks to Jocelyn about her winding career, her discovery and how pulsars are pushing forward the field of astronomy today.
Have cosmic queries and unearthly musings? Contact us at shortwave@npr.org. We might open an intergalactic case file and reveal our findings in 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.
Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama cataloged spreadsheets of poems to help create his new anthology, 44 Poems on Being with Each Other. The collection features writing from a variety of poets as well as reflections from Ó Tuama on the nuances of the human condition. Ó Tuama is also out with his own poetry collection, Kitchen Hymns. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about poetry that reflects complex emotions and about his background in theology.
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