There's a promise that all Marines make to defend the Constitution. After Sgt. Joshua Abate participated in the events on January 6, the Corps has to decide: Did he break his oath when he entered the Capitol that day? And what does his case say about the changing narrative around January 6? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

"Have you ever tried to overthrow the U.S. government?" Marine Sgt. Joshua Abate was in the middle of a routine polygraph test to receive top-secret clearance when he made an extraordinary admission: He had followed the crowd that broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This admission leads to a different kind of January 6 story. Abate says he's not an insurrectionist. So why did it take him so long to talk openly about that day? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR,...

Sergeant Joshua Abate says that he's not a rioter or an insurrectionist. Those closest to the active-duty Marine call him "a good guy." But he was part of the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. On the eve of a new presidential election, what does his case tell us, as the nation still grapples with the legacy of that day? As they look into the military's reckoning with extremism in the ranks, NPR's Tom Bowman and Lauren Hodges examine Abate's main line of defense: Don't focus...

Episode 6: Christine and Max are some of the most recent female athletes in this century-long history to face tests, stigma, and restrictions. But they are unlikely to be the last. In this episode, we find out whether Christine qualifies for the Paris Olympics, as well as the fate of Max's court case. And we explore the broader implications of the sex binary in sports. Is there a better way for sports to be categorized? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for...

Episode 5: A battle over science and ethics unfolds. World Athletics releases and then tweaks multiple policies impacting DSD athletes, while critics cry foul. In this episode, World Athletics doubles down on its claims, Caster Semenya challenges the rules again, and we dig deep on a big question: what constitutes an "unfair" advantage on the track? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor...

Episode 4: In 2009, South African sprinter Caster Semenya won gold at the World Championships. But instead of a celebration, she endured endless speculation about her body, her biology, and her gender. And soon, sports organizations would launch a new round of regulations, lead to multiple court cases, and require sporting organizations to justify their claim that DSD athletes have an unfair advantage. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Episode 3: We meet Kenyan sprinter Maximila Imali, who—like Christine Mboma—has been sidelined by DSD policies. She makes a different choice from Christine: to fight the regulations in court. And we learn about a previous fight, when scientists, athletes, and journalists spent thirty years trying to end an earlier version of sex testing. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message...

Episode 2: We go back almost 100 years, to the beginning of women's inclusion in elite sports. It turns out that men had an odd variety of concerns about women athletes. Some doubted these athletes were even women at all. And their skepticism resulted in the first policies requiring sex testing. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy...

Episode 1: Would you alter your body for the chance to compete for a gold medal? That's the question facing a small group of elite athletes right now. Last year, track and field authorities announced new regulations that mean some women can't compete in the female category unless they lower their body's naturally occurring testosterone levels. You'll meet one of those runners, Christine Mboma, a reigning Olympic silver medalist, and hear about the difficult choice she faces. To listen to this...

Who gets to compete? Since the beginning of women's sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women's category. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology. As the Olympics approach, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. To understand how we got here, we trace the surprising, 100-year history of sex...

The end of the 113th General Assembly of Tennessee is fast approaching. Melissa Alexander, Mary Joyce and Sarah Shoop Neumann have reached a new stage in their understanding of the statehouse. But they also face a new challenge: how to square their long-held conservative beliefs with the new politics they've picked up in the year since the shooting at their kids' school. When two of the women make a controversial decision, it threatens to upend everything they've worked for and splinter the...

Melissa Alexander came to the Tennessee statehouse to convince members of the Republican party – her party – to adopt gun control measures after a mass shooting at her son's school. A year later, she doesn't feel like she's gotten through to many lawmakers. But there's at least one Republican senator who's made Melissa and the other Covenant moms feel welcome: Richard Briggs. Briggs has been in office for about a decade. He's a doctor and an army veteran. And recently, he's had to navigate a...

It's been four months since the Covenant moms – lifelong conservatives Melissa Alexander, Mary Joyce and Sarah Shoop Neumann – pleaded with their lawmakers to pass gun control measures during a special session at the Tennessee statehouse. Now they're back – for months, not days – and this time, they feel prepared to face the GOP-dominated legislature. But when the 2024 legislative session begins, the mothers realize that the Republican majority's new bills may be more complicated than they...

In 2023, a mass shooter attacked The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, and three mothers were compelled to act. Their mission: help pass some kind of gun control in one of the reddest states in the country, a state where the Republican Party has a supermajority in the legislature. But these women aren't your typical gun control activists. They're lifelong conservatives, believers in the Second Amendment and – at first – sure that their own party will...

Supermajority is a new 4-part series from NPR's Embedded, in partnership with Nashville Public Radio. As Americans focus on national politics this election year, we zoom in on one state and its political majority. Host Meribah Knight has been following three conservative moms in Tennessee over the course of a year as they learn to navigate their Republican-controlled state legislature. These political newcomers will confront powerful lawmakers, a dizzying legislative process and most...

The second in a two-part special series featuring conversations between Embedded host Kelly McEvers and NPR reporters who have been on the ground during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas In this episode, Morning Edition's Leila Fadel paints an intimate portrait of displacement in Gaza. She shares voice memos she's been receiving from a college student trying to survive and the story of a family that escaped the war only to find that it had followed them home. Learn more about...

The first in a two-part special series featuring conversations between Embedded host Kelly McEvers and NPR reporters who have been on the ground during the current conflict in Gaza. In the first episode, NPR's Daniel Estrin talks about the challenges of reporting on the Israel-Hamas war and the work of his colleague Anas Baba from inside Gaza. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Since activist Karima Baloch's mysterious death in 2020, her family has been searching for answers. Journalist Mary Lynk has, too. The documents Mary gets and the people she talks to will lead her closer to the truth of what happened that day. But is the truth enough closure for a family? For the people Karima was fighting for back home in Balochistan? For other dissidents like her, in exile or hiding across the globe? The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series,...

As her native Balochistan mourns activist Karima Baloch's death, we dive deeper into what Karima was fighting for and why – and learn about the intense history of the Baloch people and the state of Pakistan. Also – the story of what happens to dissidents who disappear... and then come back alive. The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

We talk to the people closest to Karima Baloch, including some who are opening up for the very first time, to try to understand what could have led to her death. The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

Critics of the Pakistani government, like Karima Baloch and Sajid Hussain, find themselves in this kind of nightmarish club of exiles who flee to far away countries in the West but still fear the reach of Pakistan's intelligence agency. In this episode, we meet some members of that club and ask: could Pakistan be targeting exiles in the West? The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for...

Before Karima's death, another prominent Baloch dissident was found dead in Sweden. The two deaths bear a striking resemblance. Could they be connected? The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

Karima Baloch was forced to flee to Canada because of her work fighting for human rights in her home of Balochistan, a province of Pakistan. But when Karima's body washes ashore on Lake Ontario, it raises questions about the disappearances and deaths of other Pakistani dissidents. The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.