The homestretch of the presidential campaign means huge rallies, a final barrage of campaign ads, and massive multi-state get out the vote efforts. All of that costs money. And it seems like every successive presidential election ends up being the most expensive election in history. Open Secrets, a group that tracks election spending, estimates the 2024 federal election cycle will cost nearly $16 billion. It was around $15 billion in 2020. Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign raised a...

Quincy Jones, the famed music producer who helped artists dominate popular music for half a century, has died. NPR's Walter Ray Watson described Jones' talent as one that produced music that hooked ears, warmed hearts and moved feet to dance. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In these closing days of the presidential election, polling across the board has nearly every swing state in a statistical tie, meaning the election may come down to just a couple thousands votes. No matter who wins, in the coming days we're going to hear a lot more from Donald Trump and his allies about the results. And if history is any guide we can expect a mix of misleading information, rumors and outright lies For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+...

When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one. Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956. We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful,...

There are plenty of ways to encourage people to vote, as the presidential candidates and their supporters are demonstrating in this final stretch of the campaign. We dig into each campaign's voter turnout operation. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

On Tuesday night, one week before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris made her closing argument to the American people. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

North Carolina has more rural voters than any other 2024 presidential swing state. As early voting continues across the state, canvassing groups are working to turn out voters — including in Nash County, a purple county President Biden won in 2020 and former President Trump won in 2016, both by razor-thin margins. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor...

At a recent Trump rally, many speakers leaned into racist, misogynistic and vulgar rhetoric. So what could it do for his campaign in the final days of election season? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Evangelical and Pentecostal conservatives are a powerful force in Republican politics. They've stuck by former President Donald Trump for three presidential elections in a row. That's despite Trump's long list of criminal charges, sexual harassment and assault allegations, and regular brutal, personal attacks on political opponents — all of which wouldn't fit many people's definition of Christian. Conservative Christian support for former President Donald Trump seems to be unwavering. A...

Election day is almost here, and we could soon find out who will become our next president. But winning doesn't only happen at the ballot box, and the results of this election are already being litigated in court. Trump and his allies filed a slew of lawsuits alleging widespread fraud. These efforts failed. But four years later, they are already trying to employ the same strategies again. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at...

This week and next, world leaders are gathering in Colombia for the 16th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to check up on their collective progress in slowing biodiversity loss. Can they successfully turn those plans into action against what the United Nations is calling "humanity's senseless and suicidal war with nature?" For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn...

If you had any doubts, we can clear them up now. Emo music not only still exists — it's thriving. A new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame focuses on Hopeless Records and its history. The independent record label has had an impressive roster over the last 30 years, featuring some of pop punk and emo music's biggest names from Sum 41 to All Time Low to Avenged Sevenfold. NPR's Juana Summers travels to Cleveland, Ohio to visit the exhibit and dives into why emo music remains...

In his posthumous memoir, Patriot, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote - "If they do finally whack me, the book will be my memorial." Though his voice has fallen silent, his wife Yulia Navalnaya is sharing his message. She now leads the movement her husband started, fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more...

An NPR investigation has found more than 100 times when former president Donald Trump has said his rivals, critics and even private citizens should be investigated, prosecuted, or put in jail, or otherwise punished. So, could he act upon those threats if reelected? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy...

Millions of ballots are tabulated at the Maricopa County Tabulation Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Inside and out, the building is a fortress. It's the legacy of the 2020 election when armed protestors gathered outside the building on election night. After Arizona was called for Joe Biden there were months of allegations about voter fraud. At a time when election results are routinely challenged, candidates cry foul and protesters threaten violence...what does it take to run an election? ...

Two decades ago, only a third of Latinos believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Today, that number has risen to 62 percent. So why are Latino voters in this country changing their minds about abortion? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Today, Israel announced that they had killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. Sinwar came to power in the wake of the death of hiss predecessor, as well as the head of Hamas's military wing – leaving him ss the leading figure of the militant group. What will Sinwar's death mean for Hamas and for Israel's war in Gaza ? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor...

"Israel has a right to defend itself and its people." It's a phrase that's been spoken by Israel's allies – and American presidents – for decades, especially in the days after Israel launched its war in Gaza after the October 7th attack by Hamas. But what do those words actually mean in a historically, politically and in the midst of Israel's incursions into Gaza and Lebanon. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at...

Legendary journalist Bob Woodward's new book War, like so many of his books about the American presidency over the last half century, is generating headlines. But Woodward's work is about a lot more than juicy nuggets that rocket around cable news and social media. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy...

Vice President Harris' multiracial identity has not been a major focal point during her short campaign. But what do members of her communities think? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

If you eat salmon, there's a good chance that it comes from a salmon farm in Norway. The country has been farming salmon for over 50 years. The industry is touted as a key producer of sustainable, low carbon footprint protein. But there are still negative environmental impacts. Each year, an average of 200,000 farmed salmon escape from their open net pens and breed with wild salmon. Interbreeding with these escaped salmon passes on significant genetic changes to wild salmon, changes that...

For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers. This is despite its own research validating many child safety concerns. The confidential material was part of a more than two-year investigation into TikTok by 14 attorneys general that led to state officials suing the company on Tuesday. The lawsuit against the popular video sharing platform claims it was designed to keep young...

Hurricane Milton tore a path of destruction through Florida late Wednesday, leaving multiple dead and wrenching buildings apart. Many across the southeastern U.S. were still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which hit less than two weeks ago. Now, residents and officials must again navigate the clean up rescue and recovery efforts. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at...

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida's central west coast, residents are preparing for the worst. The storm exploded into a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week, and now threatens to be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state. Like Hurricane Helene, which slammed into Florida and the Southeastern United States nearly two weeks ago, Milton is predicted to bring with it massive storm surges, destructive winds, heavy rain and the risk of death for those in its path. The damage...

In the span of one day, a Category 1 hurricane headed for western Florida escalated to the highest intensity there is: Category 5. Since then, the predicted wind intensity for Hurricane Milton has ebbed and flowed ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall in Florida on Wednesday. But for now, experts are calling it an "extremely life-threatening situation." NPR spoke to a meteorologist who broke down the triple threat Hurricane Milton poses. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This,...