More than 50 years of Pride marches, parades, festivals, and now partnership deals with major brands has increased LGBTQ visibility and community. And as a result, it's also made Pride the target of a backlash. Host Scott Detrow speaks with Eric Marcus, the creator of the podcast "Making Gay History" about how Pride has evolved into what it is today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The day after a debate in which he faltered many times, President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail to try and reassure supporters that he is still up for the job and capable of beating former President Donald Trump in November. His performance in the CNN debate on Thursday led many Democrats to panic about his chances of winning reelection. Some commentators who have long supported Biden even called for him to step aside. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with NPR Senior White House Correspondent...

The surgeon general's office has declared gun violence a national public health crisis. It's the first time the body has ever issued a public health advisory about firearms, and for Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, it's a step in reframing the conversation about death by gunfire. According to the CDC, more than 48,000 Americans were killed by gun violence in 2021, and over half of those deaths were by suicide. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR...

Going into the first presidential debate, polls show a close race. A good debate performance could mean a chance for a decisive lead. But the debate also comes with risks. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is designed to provide monthly checks for low income, disabled and elderly Americans. But outdated rules trap recipients in poverty. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

For decades, people seeking abortions went to specialty clinics like Planned Parenthood. But since Roe v. Wade was overturned, more general practitioners are stepping in to provide abortions. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In early June, President Joe Biden severely restricted asylum requests from migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization. Two weeks later, the President struck a more welcoming tone, saying he'd protect hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens. Immigration has become a big issue, for both parties. Policy experts say Biden hopes that in a close election year, these executive actions will sway voters to his side. But will that...

The question of how to reconcile Michael Jackson's musical genius with his alleged misconduct is still fraught. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Polls – and NPR's own reporting – tell a story of many Americans fatigued by the upcoming presidential race. They're not satisfied with the choice between two men who have both already held the office of President. But American allies and partners are watching the race intently, including South Korea, Japan, Ukraine and Israel. The fates of those countries are closely tied to whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden ends up sitting in the White House next year. The NPR correspondents who cover...

This year's college application process was supposed to get easier. That's because last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The problems with the FAFSA form began last fall. And with August and September around the corner, some applicants continue to experience technical issues. Before this year, students would already know how much aid they're getting. But in 2024, not knowing, which is the case for many,...

We are just weeks away from one of the biggest political events of the election campaign season: the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Former President Donald Trump is, of course, the party's presumptive nominee, but he's yet to announce his running mate. The list is long, but the candidates all have one thing in common — they're being considered because they could help Trump get elected in November. NPR's Franco Ordoñez and Jeongyoon Han break down which candidates are...

Vivek Murthy, U.S. surgeon general, has called attention to what he has called the 'youth mental health crisis' that is currently happening in the U.S. This week, he published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for social media warning labels like those put on cigarettes and alcohol. He hopes to warn young people of the danger social media poses to their mental wellbeing and development. On average, teens in the U.S. are spending nearly 5 hours on social media every single day. And it...

As part of his ongoing look at groundbreaking films from 1999, host Scott Detrow speaks with Kimberly Peirce, the writer-director of Boys Don't Cry. The film starred Hillary Swank, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man searching for himself and love in Nebraska. Peirce talks about the challenges she faced in getting the movie made and her efforts to find a transgender man to play the lead role in the film. Detrow also speaks with critic Willow...

As the U.K. gears up for a July election, polls show the liberal Labour Party ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives by a hefty margin. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

After the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed more than 1,100 people, President Joe Biden expressed America's backing for its Middle Eastern ally. But that same month, polls showed that support for Israel among American voters was not unwavering. And that, in fact, support was split across generations. That split between young voters poured out into the streets in November. Two big marches – one organized by pro-Palestinian groups and one by pro-Israeli groups – occurred in...

America is facing two very different futures on the world stage after November. If former President Trump wins, he's promised to fundamentally re-evaluate the NATO alliance, reshape global trade and overhaul the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies. He's largely avoided explaining how he'd handle the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, yet says he can settle the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Meanwhile, if President Biden wins, he's signaled his commitment to fight...

Michael Bommer likely only has a few weeks left to live. A couple years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Then, an opportunity arose to build an interactive artificial intelligence version of himself through a friend's company, Eternos.Life, so his wife, Anett, can interact with him after he dies. More and more people are turning to artificial intelligence to create digital memorials of themselves. Meanwhile Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a research associate at the...

On Saturday, Israeli special forces rescued four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, killing at least 270 Palestinians and injuring hundreds in the process. The rescue of the hostages was a moment of triumph for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he didn't have long to bask in it. Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's unity war cabinet, announced his resignation on Sunday, over Netanyahu's management of the war in Gaza. After Gantz's resignation, Netanyahu will be...

Billions of dollars in federal COVID funding is set to expire for K-12 schools. Educators across the country say the extra money helped students catch up, and plenty of students still need that support. Some schools say losing the the money, received over the last few years, will lead to cancelation of crucial programs, budget cutbacks and possible layoffs. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Wall Street Journal education reporter Matt Barnum about the impact of expiring federal funds on...

With the presidential election approaching, some voters are wondering how we again ended up with Donald Trump and Joe Biden as the presumptive nominees. Recent focus groups with swing voters put into words why some people are turning away from the main candidates, and polling gives us an insight into what this could mean in November. 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...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza can't end until Israel has destroyed Hamas. NPR's reporting from Israel and Gaza suggests that goal is still a long way off. 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

'Ezra' is a road trip movie, a movie about fathers and sons. Bobby Cannavale plays the father Max, and he hasn't quite figured out what his son Ezra's autism diagnosis means for their life together. The movie draws on the real experiences of screenwriter Tony Spiridakis. William A. Fitzgerald, who plays Ezra. And associate producer Alex Plank also has autism, and is the founder of wrongplanet.net. Many members of the cast and crew are neurodivergent, or have neurodivergent family members....

The 12 New Yorkers who served on the jury for former president Donald Trump's trial, and voted to convict him om 34 counts of falsified business records, have not had their identities disclosed publicly to protect their privacy. But now the trial is over, and they are likely returning back to normal life. So, will they reveal themselves to the public? And what risks do they encounter in doing so? In this episode we take a look at what other public figures who have gone up against Trump have...

When the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s, it had been a decade since a full-scale deployment of American troops. That's why when the wars started a lot of the medical corps' experience came from big city emergency rooms. But a few years into the wars, the military was facing hundreds of casualties each month between Afghanistan and Iraq. Military surgeons were seeing wounds requiring double amputations, the kind of thing you might never encounter...

The Rosetta Stone, the Kohinoor diamond, sculptures from Greece's Parthenon known as the Elgin Marbles are all dazzling objects that bear the history of early civilizations. But these objects were also taken by colonizers, and still remain on display in museum galleries far from their homes. Over the past several years museums around the world have been reckoning with the looted treasures they have kept and benefited from. Now one small museum in Nashville, Tennessee is returning...