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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

The last five pennies were minted in Philadelphia last week. Over the 232 years of its existence, the penny became culturally significant through music, fashion and movies. But recently, many have argued for it to be discontinued because of how much the coin costs to produce.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with White House economic policy correspondent Jacob Bogage about how prices could be affected by this change and what this could mean for other forms of U.S. currency.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and Peter Bresnan, and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The death of the penny

This week, President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At a grand White House dinner, an investment summit at the Kennedy Center and a sit-down in the Oval Office, the leaders appeared to be in lockstep.

It was a stark contrast to 2018, when the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Mohammed had approved the killing and dismemberment of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Lawmakers condemned the crown prince and withdrew support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. 

Today, Elahe Izadi speaks to White House correspondent Michael Birnbaum about how the crown prince was welcomed back into the fold — and why the U.S. refuses to cut ties with Saudi Arabia. 

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Annah Aschbrenner.

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Why the U.S. won't quit Saudi Arabia

Last month the FBI arrested Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier for their involvement in two separate illegal gambling cases. Now star MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been charged for their role in an unrelated case involving allegedly throwing balls to benefit bettors.

Today on “Post Reports,” host Elahe Izadi is joined by longtime Washington Post sports reporter Rick Maese to talk about why legal sports gambling in the United States has exploded over the past few years and how the landscape continues to change for leagues, players, coaches and fans. Then Rick dives deep on the two scandals, and why they matter for the present and future of sports betting.

Today’s episode was produced by Lucas Trevor. It was mixed by Sam Bair, and edited by Peter Bresnan, with help from Reena Flores and Thomas Lu. Special tanks to Joe Tone.

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Is the gambling explosion ruining sports?

When the conservative organization Blexit announced it was going to visit HBCU campuses this fall, it received backlash from students, administrators and alumni. But when it made a stop at Howard University – during the university’s celebratory homecoming weekend – the reception felt mixed.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Features reporter Samantha Chery about Blexit’s strategy and how people reacted to its visit to Howard. Then, national politics reporter Sabrina Rodriguez speaks with Itkowitz about where the Black vote stands nationally.

Today’s show was produced by Zoe Cummings, Sabby Robinson and Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and Laura Benshoff. It was mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The conservative group courting young Black voters

Friendship is vital for our health and happiness, but we don’t always prioritize it. The Optimist’s Maggie Penman goes on a journey to make new friends and learn why so many of us are craving connection.

Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman, with help from Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Allison Klein. 

For more stories from The Optimist, subscribe to our newsletter. If you want to hear more stories like this on the weekend, send Maggie an email at maggie.penman@washpost.com. 

﻿If you want to check out Billy Baker's book, it's called We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How to make – and keep – friends

The House Oversight Committee released a tranche of emails from the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that give us more information about his relationship to President Donald Trump. Today on the politics roundtable, we’ll unpack what these emails say and how the White House has responded.

And, after 43 days, the federal government is back open for business. As the dust settles on the longest shutdown in history, we’ll talk about what lawmakers learned – and whether another shutdown could be right around the corner.

Colby speaks with Dan Merica and Matthew Choi, who are co-anchors of our politics newsletter The Early Brief. 

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Trump's renewed Epstein problems, plus takeaways from the shutdown

For months, the relationship between the United States and Latin America has been fraught. President Donald Trump has targeted enemies in the region and propped up MAGA-friendly allies. We’ve now reached an inflection point, and the world is watching for what’s next.

Today, two of The Post’s experts on the region, national security correspondent 

Karen DeYoung and Mexico City bureau chief Samantha Schmidt, join host Colby Itkowitz to unpack the latest developments in Latin America, and the throughline of the Trump administration’s ultimate policy objectives.

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick. Special thanks to Ben Pauker.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

What's behind Trump's moves in Latin America?

It’s an improbable path, from al-Qaeda to the West Wing. The U.S. had once designated Ahmed al-Sharaa a terrorist. He fought U.S. forces in Iraq and was even imprisoned. Sharaa spent years in northwest Syria leading an Islamic militant group that was affiliated with al-Qaeda until he cut those ties. 

Last year, al-Sharaa led rebel forces that took down Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of repression. As Sharaa looks to gain international favor and trust while rebuilding the country and its security, the 43-year-old met with President Trump on Monday, in the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House. Afterward, Sharaa sat down with The Washington Post for an exclusive interview to discuss the historic meeting, the future of Syria and his plans to work with Americans he once fought. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with the Post’s international correspondent Susannah George about Syria, al-Sharaa and their conversation. 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Alan Sipress. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

From al-Qaeda to the White House

Kathryn Bigelow has been thinking about the threat of nuclear war ever since she was a kid. “I come from the era of duck and cover,” she says, “where when I was very little, we had to hide under the desk in the event of an atomic bomb blast.”

Over the last 40 years, she’s been directing tightly-paced thrillers such as “The Hurt Locker” (which won her the Academy Award for best director) and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Her latest film, “A House of Dynamite,” takes on a question that has been on her mind for decades: What would happen if the U.S. were targeted by a nuclear missile? 

The film, which is out on Netflix, has struck a nerve with audiences, becoming the streamer’s most-watched movie in the world and igniting conversation about the accuracy of its depiction of the U.S. missile defense system. 

Today on Post Reports, Elahe Izadi speaks with Kathryn Bigelow and with the film’s screenwriter, Noah Oppenheim, about why they chose to make this film in this moment, and about how they responded when they saw news that the U.S. could restart nuclear testing for the first time in decades. 

Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan and Josh Carroll, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Kathryn Bigelow on ‘A House of Dynamite’ and the nuclear ‘elephant in the room’

After weeks of holding out, a small group of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans over the weekend to start the process of reopening the government. Since the U.S. government closed its doors on Nov. 1, services like federal food assistance have suffered, and Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service help lines have paused as those workers face furloughs. 

But Democrats had maintained that the pain was worth it, in order to extract more money from Republicans to fund health care subsidies for people who access insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Now, that demand has fallen by the wayside.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with national political reporter and Senate expert Liz Goodwin about what it will still take to reopen the government, and why this funding compromise has further divided Democrats.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Laura Benshoff with help from Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Why some Democrats defected to end the shutdown

Chris Davenport on The Washington Post’s project for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing: 50 astronauts on what it’s like to be in space. And art critic Sebastian Smee on Frida Kahlo, after the release of a recording thought to be her voice.

Get unlimited access to The Washington Post’s website and apps for less than $1 a week. Go to PostReports.com/offer to access a special offer for podcast listeners.

“I had a teardrop that floated in front of me.” Astronauts on what it’s like to be in space.

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