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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.

Support NPR and get your news sponsor-free with Consider This+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/considerthis

Consider This from NPR

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.

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 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

Trump’s SAVE tool is looking for noncitizen voters. But it’s flagging U.S. citizens too. Host Miles Parks speaks with NPR reporter Jude Joffe-Block about tracking down citizens who are now having to prove they have a right to vote.

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 Linah Mohammed and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Brett Neely, Ben Swasey and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Why some U.S. citizens are being kicked off voting rolls

They survived some of the Afghanistan war's most grueling and treacherous missions. 

But once they evacuated to the U.S., many Afghan fighters who served in "Zero Units" found themselves spiraling.

Among their ranks was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged with killing one National Guard member and seriously injuring a second after opening fire on them in Washington, D.C., on Thanksgiving Eve.

NPR's Brian Mann spoke to people involved in Zero Units and learned some have struggled with mental health since coming to the U.S. At least four soldiers have died by suicide. 

A previous version of this episode incorrectly says that more than 100,000 Afghan civilians died in a 2021 attack at a checkpoint outside the Kabul airport. More than 100 Afghan civilians died.

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 Erika Ryan and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Alina Hartounian and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Afghan CIA fighters face stark reality in the U.S.

The Trump administration is leaning into the once fringe idea of "reverse migration." 

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 Kathryn Fink and Brianna Scott.

It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Justine Kenin and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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How a once fringe idea became a Trump administration mantra

The Catholic Church is wading into a deeply partisan issue. The Archbishop of Chicago weighs in.

This fall, the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz – an aggressive immigration crackdown campaign in Chicago.

It was met with outcry from many communities around the city including the Catholic Church, and that sentiment goes all the way to the very top of the Church with Pope Leo calling on the government to treat undocumented people humanely. 

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 Kathryn Fink, featuring reporting from NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Patrick Jarenwattananon.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Chicago's Archbishop weighs in on immigration enforcement

Venezuela dominates the headlines, but very little attention is paid to what life is like inside the country.

In September, the Trump administration began a series of strikes targeting what U.S. officials call "narcoterrorists" in small vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. 

Those strikes are ongoing and have killed more than 80 people. Then, in October, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

She's been in hiding since last year, when Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory in an election widely seen as fraudulent.

Machado is expected to receive her award on Wednesday, in Oslo. And if she does, she might not be let back into her country. 

Machado, who supports the Trump administration’s campaign in the region, says the end of the Maduro regime is imminent.

While the world is focused on Oslo and María Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize. We wanted to get the view from inside her country. We speak with a journalist in Venezuela about what daily life is like. 

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 Karen Zamora & Matt Ozug with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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View from Venezuela

Social media platforms have helped fuel political polarization and incitements to violence across the globe, from the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

This is because algorithms consistently select content that evokes anger and outrage from its users to maximize engagement. And sometimes, those extreme emotions turn into extreme actions.

New York Times reporter Max Fisher took a deep dive into the impact of social media in his book, "The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World." He shares with us how platform leaders have prioritized profit and growth over safeguards and how the polarizing effect of social media is only speeding up.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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Does Social Media Leave You Feeling Angry? That Might Be Intentional

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