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The Washington Post

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Post Reports

Are you happy? How would you answer that question if a stranger with a camera asked?

Five years ago, filmmaker Atdhe Trepca quit his job and drove across the country with a camera, asking hundreds of people that question.

His videos reach millions on TikTok and Instagram, and now he’s made a documentary.

Today, Optimist reporter Maggie Penman shares what Trepca has learned – and the research that backs up his observations.

If you want to hear more stories like this, please let us know. You can reach the whole team at podcasts@washpost.com or email Maggie at maggie.penman@washpost.com.

Today’s episode was reported and produced by Maggie Penman, with help from Ted Muldoon, Emma Talkoff, Reena Flores, and Sean Carter, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Allison Klein. 

The Optimist has a newsletter! Subscribe here.

And, subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Can you choose to be happy?

As the federal government shutdown stretches on, Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on a path to reopening. One major sticking point is the Democrats’ demand to include renewed health care subsidies for ACA marketplace enrollees as a part of any vote to end the shutdown.

Host Colby Itkowitz sits with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) to ask about how Republicans view that demand, how the politics of health care are playing in this moment, and the White House’s moves to fire federal workers during a shutdown.

Today’s show was produced by Josh Carroll, Laura Benshoff and Elana Gordon. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch the video on YouTube here.

Top GOP leader on shutdown: ‘This could go on for quite some time’

For over a quarter-century, Tom Sietsema has eaten at and reviewed thousands of restaurants. Now, he’s hanging up his fork and knife. Today, we dip into our archives and bring you a delightful night out at a restaurant with The Post’s longtime beloved food critic. He talks about his love for the theater of dining out, and why he cares so much about guiding readers toward truly delicious food.

Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here, or give someone a gift subscription.

Dinner with The Post’s food critic

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, its effects are starting to ripple across the country. National parks are closed, flights are delayed, and this week, some federal workers will miss their first paychecks. 

For some of those workers, things are even more stressful: President Donald Trump is making good on his threat to use the shutdown to shutter government programs and offices he disagrees with. Thousands of workers have received notices that they may lose their jobs.

The Trump administration has claimed the cuts will help them keep the lights on during the shutdown. But experts say that’s not true – and the action may not be legal.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with reporter Hannah Natanson about Trump’s attempt to close swaths of the federal government – permanently.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And tell us a ghost story here!

Trump is trying to use the shutdown to lay off workers

A crop of Silicon Valley startups offers the hope of eradicating disease by testing embryos for genetic abnormalities and the potential for future illness. But those tests come with a high price tag and ethical questions about the use of predictive technology to decide who gets born – or not.

Host Elahe Ezadi speaks with Silicon Valley correspondent Elizabeth Dwoskin about the cutting-edge science driving fertility startups, what families who use them say, and how this trend fits into Silicon Valley’s obsession with hacking our health.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Arjun Singh. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Inside Silicon Valley’s push to breed super-babies

On Monday, Israelis celebrated the return of all 20 living hostages still held by Hamas. Palestinians welcomed back hundreds of prisoners and detainees held in Israel. For the first time in months, humanitarian aid began to surge into war-torn Gaza.

The swap was part of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement that President Donald Trump brokered between Israel and Hamas – a step he touted as the beginning of a new era of peace across the region. 

But many unanswered questions remain about how the fragile peace negotiations will continue to develop.

Colby Itkowitz speaks with Middle East reporter Abbie Cheeseman about how this deal came to be – and what questions remain for the future of Gaza.

Today’s show was produced by Thomas Lu with assistance from Rennie Svirnovskiy and Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Will peace in Gaza hold?

The municipal animal shelter in Huntington, West Virginia, was euthanizing 50 to 75 percent of the animals that came in because they didn’t have the funding or space to care for them. Enter Courtney Proctor Cross. She was named director of the shelter in August 2018, and through hard work and fundraising she transformed the shelter into a place of hope. 

This episode was produced by Ted Muldoon. The Optimist’s editor is Allison Klein.

If you want more stories from The Optimist, check out our newsletter. And let us know what you think of these stories on “Post Reports.” You can email me at maggie.penman@washpost.com or reach the whole team at podcasts@washpost.com.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And check out the YouTube video of this episode here.

How to save an animal shelter: “If you care about something just do it”

The Senate remains far apart on resolving the ongoing government shutdown. But the battle for public opinion on who’s to blame has shifted. Republicans appear split on whether to negotiate on health-care costs, as Democrats are demanding. And polling shows voters blame the GOP just as much as Democrats, if not more, for failing to fund the government.

Plus, what Attorney General Pam Bondi’s combative hearing before the Senate Oversight Committee this week signals about her place in the Trump administration, the text messages blowing up a statewide race in Virginia and the peace deal for Gaza that President Donald Trump helped broker. 

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with national politics reporter Liz Goodwin and Dan Merica, the co-anchor of The Post’s flagship politics newsletter, The Early Brief.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. You can find this episode on YouTube here.

Shutdown cracks, Jay Jones’s texts, Trump’s Gaza deal

Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny is having a phenomenal year. His seventh album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” came out in January and spent weeks at the top of the charts. He sold out a musical residency in Puerto Rico. And now, he’s set to headline one of the biggest stages for a musical artist: the Super Bowl halftime show. But that performance has ignited a political firestorm on the right. MAGA influencers are criticizing the choice because Bad Bunny, born Benito Ocasio Martinez Ocasio, sings in Spanish, and because he expressed fears this year that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could pursue fans at his shows. 

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with national politics reporter Sabrina Rodriguez about this right-wing backlash and how it fits into ongoing culture war battles.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Bad Bunny, the Super Bowl and a MAGA meltdown

Tensions have been escalating in Chicago since the Trump administration began a widespread immigration enforcement operation across the city in early September. Officers have ransacked homes and detained children during raids. Local and state officials have loudly denounced the move and are pushing back against the effort, while residents have banded together to keep neighbors safe. But over the weekend a woman was shot by a Border Patrol agent, and after protests flared the president authorized National Guard troops to go into Illinois.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with reporter and Chicago resident Kim Bellware about what it’s felt like to be there and how the city has been responding.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Rennie Svirnovsky. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The National Guard arrives in Chicago

After more than a decade of destructive civil war in Syria, it was widely assumed that the Assad regime would keep its grip on power. Instead, lightly armed rebels were able to launch an offensive that succeeded in toppling the regime in less than two weeks. Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow.

Louisa Loveluck spoke with Martine Powers as she prepared to cross into Syria.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, with help from Ted Muldoon, Emma Talkoff and Ariel Plotnick. It was mixed by Justin Gerrish and edited by Monica Campbell, with help from Maggie Penman and Reena Flores. Thanks to Naomi Schanen, Lior Soroka, Mohamad El Chamaa, Jesse Mesner-Hage, Jenn Amur and Andrew Golden. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

What’s next for Syria

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