Consider This from NPR

The Justice Department says their review into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is done, with the release of millions of documents and thousands of images and videos last Friday.

Annie Farmer is one of many people who testified in court about Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell. She says they sexually abused her when she was 16 years old. 

She's also been a leading voice in calling on the DOJ to release all records related to Epstein.

The release included pictures of nude women, or possibly girls, and the names of victims, all of which should have been redacted. A DOJ spokeswoman subsequently told the New York Times the department was addressing victim concerns and making additional redactions.

Farmer tells NPR she's "really upset," saying the release of victims' names and images is "really disgusting." However she adds that, "what I do feel clear about is the fact we still believe transparency is important."

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Sarah Handel. 

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Stephen Cook, the senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Memphis, has become friends with Latif Salar, the leader of the Christ Community Afghan Church - and since the Trump administration halted asylum processing for all immigrants from Afghanistan last Fall, the two have been working closely together to support members of Salar's congregation who fear deportation. 

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Tensions remain high in Minnesota. Despite the Trump administration signaling a willingness to de-escalate tensions in the state earlier this week, Minnesota’s governor is now skeptical.

“I know who I'm dealing with. I know that they're not going to keep their word,” Walz told NPR.

Walz, a Democrat, sat down with All Things Considered host Juana Summers on Friday following weeks of protests, and the deadly shootings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Megan Lim, Matt Ozug and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Andie Huether. It was edited by Ashley Brown and William Troop.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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After the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Trump administration is making a leadership change in Minneapolis. Will anything change?

A new Trump administration official has taken over the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Tom Homan, the  White House’s so-called border czar, takes over after the departure of Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino, who has been the public face of the operation, including encounters that left two American citizens dead.

NPR's Scott Detrow talks to The Atlantic investigative journalist Caitlin Dickerson about Homan's background and what it will mean for Minneapolis.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora and Vincent Acovino. 

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Sarah Handel. 

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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It was edited by Sarah Handel.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.




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Tensions escalate in Minneapolis after a second U.S. citizen is killed by immigration officers.

It was a deadly weekend in Minneapolis. 

On Saturday, federal immigration officers fatally shot a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen — Alex Pretti.

Multiple videos captured the moments before, during and after the shooting.

Federal officials claim Pretti “brandished” a weapon and tried to assault officers as they conducted an immigration enforcement operation.

There is no evidence in the videos, which NPR has verified, that Pretti was ever brandishing his handgun. 

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Henry Larson, Vincent Acovino and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Damian Herring.

It was edited by Justine Kenin, Rebekah Metzler, Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Even before this latest war in Gaza, NPR’s Jerusalem-based Correspondent Daniel Estrin and Gaza reporter Anas Baba had spent years working together in challenging circumstances. Once war broke out, they had to adapt to a situation that made reporting together even more difficult.

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This episode was produced by Linah Mohammed.. It was edited by Adam Raney and James Hider. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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It’s been nearly two months since ICE descended on the streets of Minneapolis.  In that time, Renee Macklin Good has been shot and killed, children have been detained, and the federal government’s campaign to arrest undocumented immigrants has only grown bigger, more aggressive, and more intense.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Each step of the way, Minnesotans have protested what’s been happening in their state.

This episode was produced by Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Eric Westervelt.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Scientists say research into a vaccine for HIV is further along than it’s ever been.

But Trump administration cuts to scientific research have set that effort back.

Including a promising trial for an HIV vaccine in Africa – which was shut down altogether.

NPR’s Ari Daniel has the story of how researchers there refused to give up.

Ari’s reporting for this story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center. The Gates Foundation is a financial supporter of NPR. 

This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Kira Wakeam.

It was edited by Rebecca Davis and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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In the first year of his second term, President Trump has repeatedly said and done things that were previously assumed to be unacceptable to voters.

Whether on Greenland or Gaza, federal prosecutions or federal spending, immigration enforcement or sending the U.S. military to protests of immigration enforcement, the Trump administration appears undeterred on almost all of its agenda.

As Ashley Parker wrote in The Atlantic this week — the Trump administration has pushed the window of what’s possible in American politics so far that his opposition seems exhausted.

She discusses her essay, “Trump Exhaustion Syndrome.”

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This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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President Trump’s insistence that the U.S. acquire Greenland could become a major international crisis.

He's now threatened tariffs on eight NATO allies who have expressed their opposition to the idea, and that is shaking up the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week. 

And more tariffs would increase costs for American businesses at a time when American voters are talking about affordability at home.

Willem Marx reports from Davos, and NPR’s Scott Horsley and Mara Liasson recap the economic and political fallout.

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This episode was produced by Marc Rivers and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Hannah Gluvna. It was edited by Kelsey Snell, Rafael Nam, Nick Spicer and Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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A week after an arson fire at Mississippi's oldest synagogue, Rachel Myers, a leader of the congregation's religious school, talks about how the congregation is doing and how it will rebuild. It’s not the first time the congregation has been attacked. In the late 1960s, the synagogue and the rabbi’s home were bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in retaliation for the congregation’s work on behalf of civil rights.

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This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Henry Larson, with additional reporting from Shamira Muhammad of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Under the Trump administration, federal prosecutors have been sent to investigate federal lawmakers, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the widow of Renee Macklin Good.

The Department of Justice is once again at the center of the news.

At least five federal lawmakers say they have been contacted for questioning from federal prosecutors. So has the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

And in Minnesota, career federal prosecutors resigned after being asked to investigate not the shooting that killed Renee Macklin Good, but her widow’s potential ties to activist groups.

NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro and NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson break down the week in Justice Department news.


For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Megan Lim and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Kelsey Snell, John Ketchum and Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Vice President J.D. Vance says the ICE officer who shot and killed Renee Macklin Good last week has "absolute immunity." Some legal experts have pushed back.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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What began two weeks ago as a demonstration against an economic crisis has become a broader antigovernment movement, in cities and towns across Iran.

Iran’s authoritarian government has responded with violent repression. More than 2,500 people have been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. NPR has not been able to independently verify that number.

Many who watch Iran now believe the current round of protests feels different.

We hear from the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, who was imprisoned by the Iranian government while serving as a foreign correspondent for the newspaper. His op-ed this week is titled: “I’ve waited for this electrifying moment in Iran for 10 years.”

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This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad with engineering support from Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Trump Justice Department has subpoenaed the Federal Reserve for information related to its multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed's headquarters in Washington.

The move comes on the heels of months of President Donald Trump trying to influence Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.

And while he told NBC News he doesn’t know anything about the Department of Justice investigations, members of Congress, including some Republicans, say they’re concerned the independence of the Federal Reserve is now at risk.

The Federal Reserve decides monetary policy across the United States. Its decisions help shape the global economy. What happens if that independence is threatened?  President Trump has been trying to influence Federal Reserve policy, since his first term.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Henry Larson. Audio engineering by Ted Mebane.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and John Ketchum.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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What do we know about what's happening in Iran?

The country has been rocked by days of large antigovernment protests. First, sparked by the crippling economy, now anger at the theocratic regime. 

More than 500 people have been killed, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. NPR is unable to independently confirm that figure.

And now President Trump is considering whether to weigh in – and how. 

Sanctions. Cyber attacks. Military strikes. 

President Trump keeps suggesting the United States may get involved. If so, when and how? 

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or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Becky Brown and Josephine Nyounai.

It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Rebekah Metzler and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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As the deputy chief of staff for policy and one of President Trump’s longest-serving aides, Stephen Miller has been the driving force behind many of Trump’s core policies. Ashley Parker, staff writer for The Atlantic, explains why Stephen Miller has President Trump’s ear.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. 

This episode was produced by Mia Venkat. It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Rebekah Metzler. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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President Trump raised eyebrows when he told the New York Times that there was only one thing that could stop him on the global stage: his own morality.

So what do Americans think about the moral standing of the United States? Well, a new NPR-Ipsos poll finds Americans still want the U.S. to be a moral leader in the world — but far fewer think it actually is. 

Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro shares more from the poll, and Senior International Affairs Correspondent Jackie Northam helps make sense of what it means globally.

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This episode was produced by Kai McNamee. It was edited by Vincent Ni, Nick Spicer and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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"Make America great again."

That phrase has been in our political ecosystem for 10 years now.

But it's never been clear what time period in American history President Trump was referencing?

Is it the 1980s? Or maybe the 1950s?

What about further back, say the 1890s?

As we enter the second year of Trump’s second term, is a 19th century presidency emerging? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam, with audio engineering from Tiffany Vera Castro. 

It was edited by Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.




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For almost three years, a civil war has decimated Sudan’s Darfur region.

Bob Kitchen, who leads emergency humanitarian programs for the International Rescue Committee, just returned from the region. He described what he saw in a series of audio diaries that he shared with NPR.

A warning — the audio you are about to hear contains graphic descriptions of violence and rape against women and children.

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This episode was produced by Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Jay Czys. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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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.

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This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva, with audio engineering by Robert Rodriguez.

It was edited by Barrie Hardymon.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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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.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva, with audio engineering by Robert Rodriguez.

It was edited by Barrie Hardymon.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

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This episode was produced by Michael Levitt. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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This summer, the island of Puerto Rico was under the thrall of Bad Bunny. His 31-concert residency at a stadium in San Juan was a homecoming for the global superstar.

It's also a homecoming for many thousands of people who left home – but are flocking back for the shows.

NPR’s Adrian Florido reports on how the concerts resonated with Puerto Ricans on and off the island.

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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Elena Burnett, Liz Baker and Marc Rivers. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Gigi Douban. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Hollywood had another quiet year at cinemas. Box office income hasn’t bounced back to pre-pandemic highs. But ticket sales aren’t always an indication of quality. As proof, critic Bob Mondello shares his top movies that are worth the watch.

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This episode was produced by Chloee Weiner, Marc Rivers and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Zo vanGinhoven and Ted Mebane.
It was edited by Clare Lombardo and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Eight years ago, Daniel Day-Lewis announced he was retired from acting. He offered no further comment. Retirement notwithstanding, in October, Daniel Day-Lewis appeared in a new movie. He plays a man who long ago left the world he once knew – and then is contacted by a family member to come back.

It was written with and directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis. Father and son spoke with host Mary Louise Kelly about their film, Anemone.

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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley and Neisha Heinis. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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President Trump is using his position to access sporting events across the country and embed himself with teams and fans. And he’s leveraging sports and American sports culture to build up and amplify his political brand. NPR’s Tamara Keith speak with Christine Brennan, a longtime sports columnist and author, about the president and the significance of his strong ties to sports.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre and Henry Larson. It was edited by Sarah Robbins, Dana Farrington and Rebekah Metzler. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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On the night of his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order that froze almost all international assistance.

What followed was the termination of billions of dollars in aid programs — and the dismantling of the U-S Agency for International Development. Now, the future of U.S. foreign assistance looks very different.

NPR global health correspondents Fatma Tanis and Gabrielle Emanuel have been following this all year and break down the impact of this move both on the ground and for the U.S.

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This episode was produced by Mallory Yu, with additional reporting by Jonathan Lambert. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Rebecca Davis. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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It was edited by Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Trump administration has removed over 600,000 people without legal status from the U.S. through deportation this year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Trump administration has also been busy revoking legal status for immigrants who entered the country through legal pathways -- affecting at least 1.6 million people -- by canceling programs and protections like CBP One, Temporary Protected Status, humanitarian parole and student visas.

That legal limbo means they too now fear the constant threat of deportation.

NPR's Sergio Martinez-Beltran and Ximena Bustillo recap the largest effort to delegalize immigrants in U.S. history.

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This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon, Eric Westervelt and Anna Yukhananov. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Entrepreneur, political strategist and philanthropist Bradley Tusk argues his new online voting tech could revolutionize participation in American elections. He is hellbent on making online voting a reality - even at a time when much of the election establishment thinks that is a very bad idea. NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Tusk about how Tusk's organization, the Mobile Voting Project, is pushing a major technology makeover for American democracy.

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This episode was produced by Avery Keatley. It was edited by Ben Swasey and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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A new report from U.S. government watchdog SIGAR gives us the fullest accounting yet of U.S. efforts to rebuild Afghanistan.

In short, they call it "a two-decade long effort fraught with waste.”

Each week, Consider This hosts interview newsmakers, experts, and artists for NPR — conversations we don’t always have time to share fully in the podcast or on the radio. So every other week we share one here, for our NPR+ supporters.

Sign up to hear our bonus episodes, support public radio, and get regular episodes of your favorite NPR podcasts without sponsor messages at plus.npr.org.

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2025 has proved that artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping online reality and that the “slop” is here to stay. 

NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel and Shannon Bond have spent much of the year rolling around in that slop and join host Scott Detrow to break down some of the highlights and how to sort the real from the fake.

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This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Daniel Ofman.

It was edited by Brett Neely, John Ketchum and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Rob Reiner spent his life trying to fix what he saw as America’s shortcomings. In an interview shortly before his death he explained why he was optimistic America could be better.

The actor and director was found dead on Sunday along with his wife Michelle Singer Reiner.

Their son has been charged with their murders.

And those tributes – they’ve centered on Reiner's acting, the movies he’s directed, but also on his political activism.

It’s something he talked to the journalist Todd Purdum about shortly before he died. 

Purdum wrote about that interview in the New York Times this week, and joins Scott Detrow to discuss what he learned about Reiner's work and view of America's future. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Elena Burnett.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.




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The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Venezuela and its leader.  What is the ultimate goal?

President Trump says he’s imposing a ban on all ‘sanctioned’ oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

Venezuela’s government is calling this an ‘outrageous threat’ intended to rob the country of its oil wealth. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam, with audio engineering from Ted Mebane. 

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Christopher Intagliata.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

  

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Tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. have been growing over the past few months. And last Wednesday, the pressure point was oil. 

The U.S. government seized a tanker it says was filled with illegal oil headed to the black market, in violation of sanctions.

The seizure was an unprecedented move. And it represents an escalation in the standoff between the two countries. In recent months, the U.S. has struck nearly two dozen suspected drug boats in nearby waters, issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela, and increased its naval presence in the Caribbean.

The U.S. has long had economic and political interests in Venezuela. And the oil industry there has been a key part of that relationship. Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at the Baker Institute at Rice University, explains how the two nations got to this point.

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This episode was produced by Ava Berger and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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On Sunday, during a celebration for the first day of Hanukkah, a father and son opened fire on Bondi Beach near Sydney. Killing or wounding dozens of people. 

Officials are calling it a terrorist incident. Even though the Jewish community in Australia is small, with just over 115,000 people in a country of more than 25 million, antisemitism is a persistent and rising threat. The spike in Australia comes amidst a rise in antisemitic attacks globally.

What do we know about this trend and what does it mean for the Jewish community around the world? 

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This episode was produced by Michael Levitt and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Venezuelan leader and activist Maria Corina Machado’s perilous journey to Oslo made headlines this week, but that was just the start of a new phase of international campaign to bring pressure on the Nicolas Maduro regime in her home country. NPR’s Miles Parks speaks with Ana Corina Sosa, Machado’s daughter, who accepted the Nobel Peace prize on her mother’s behalf, and talked about the future of Venezuela.

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This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Daniel Ofman. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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