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The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday.

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Consider This from NPR

2025 was a hard year for science. The Trump administration upended federal funding for all kinds of scientific pursuits, slashing budgets across agencies like NASA, NIH and NOAA. 

NPR's Rob Stein and Katia Riddle spoke to scientists and officials who worry that those cuts could cause the United States to lose its competitive edge as a global hub for research and innovation, and steer future generations away from careers in science. 
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This episode was produced by Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Zo vanGinhoven. It was edited by Sarah Handel, Scott Hensley and Amina Khan. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Science funding was hit in 2025. What does that mean for the future?

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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How the Trump administration stripped legal status from 1.6 million immigrants

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.

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

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We use our smartphones for just about everything - why not voting?

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.

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The U.S. spent billions to rebuild Afghanistan. Was it successful?

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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The cream of the slop: this year's AI highlights

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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Rob Reiner loved America. He thought it could be better

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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What's Trump's Venezuela endgame?

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.

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 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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The U.S. is interested in Venezuelan oil, but that's not all

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? 

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 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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What we know about the rise in antisemitic attacks in Australia and around the world

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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'She's going to return to Venezuela,' says daughter of Maria Corina Machado

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated billions of dollars to Puerto Rico to help it rebuild from Hurricane Maria with more resilient infrastructure. Five years after the storm, only a tiny fraction of it has been spent, and Hurricane Fiona has again left much of the island in the dark.

NPR's Adrian Florido explains how Fiona has left some Puerto Ricans feeling like their recovery has gone "back to zero."

Sergio Marxuach, with The Center for a New Economy, a Puerto Rican think tank, explains why the island's power grid is so fragile, despite dedicated federal funding to improve it.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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An Unfinished Recovery From Hurricane Maria Left Puerto Rico Vulnerable to Fiona

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