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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

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

After a five-day manhunt, authorities have arrested and charged a man with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Today on “Post Reports,” we bring you the latest in the case — and a look at why some on the internet cheered the killing.

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Authorities have charged 26-year-old Luigi Magione with murder in the shooting of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare chief executive who was killed in New York City last week. 

New York police say Mangione killed Thompson, 50, with a fatal shot to his torso. According to a complaint made public Tuesday, police say Mangione is the person who killed Thompson based on evidence that includes “written admissions about the crime” as well as surveillance footage.

Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Dan Diamond takes host Martine Powers through the multiday search for Mangione and the charges he faces. Dan also breaks down the reputation of UnitedHealthcare, and explains why so many on social media celebrated the health-care executive’s death. 

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Sabby Robinson and Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Reena Flores with help from Monica Campbell, and mixed by Justin Gerrish. Thanks also to Stephen Smith. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The killing of a CEO

Two years ago, President Biden and congressional Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at stimulating clean energy production and reducing carbon emissions. Since then, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created and Americans have claimed over $8 billion in tax credits to spend on climate-friendly technologies for their homes. The biggest winners have been more conservative areas, where more investments have been made because of lower tax barriers and more incentives for companies to build there. But despite this, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to stop efforts to boost clean energy, calling it the “green new scam.” 

“Post Reports” co-host Elahe Izadi speaks with reporter Maxine Joselow about how he could do this and what the lasting effects of the Inflation Reduction Act might be.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Justin Gerrish and edited by Lucy Perkins with help from Maggie Penman. Thank you also to Roger Hodge.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Can Biden's climate law survive Trump?

Americans are being conned every day by increasingly sophisticated scams. Today, we hear the story of one woman who lost her life's savings to a government impersonation scam.

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According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans were scammed out of more than $10 billion in 2023. And that’s just what’s been reported.

Most scam victims never report the crime because they feel shame and embarrassment.

In “Scammed,” a seven-part series, personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary explains how con artists exploit human nature and technology to manipulate their victims. She joins “Post Reports” to tell the story of how Judith Boivin lost her life’s savings to a government impersonation scam. 

Today’s show was produced by Charla Freeland. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. Thank you to Joshua Carroll and Amber Ferguson. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The ‘FBI’ called. Then she got scammed.

Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author of The Campaign Moment newsletter, sits down with senior congressional correspondent Paul Kane and White House reporter Matt Viser to talk about what Biden is trying to do with his last few weeks in office. They also talk about Time magazine’s person of the year interview with Trump and what two GOP Senate appointments could mean for Trump’s ability to get his agenda through Congress.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Justin Gerrish. 

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The Campaign Moment: Biden races to protect his legacy

Dean DeSoto has been teaching his driving class for aggressive drivers over the past 26 years. During that time, he has come to believe several things. One is that what goes on in the country will play out on its roadways. Another is that anger on the roads is getting worse. Across the country, the number of people injured or killed in road rage incidents involving a gun has doubled since 2018, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. There is no uniform definition of aggressive driving across law enforcement agencies and no national database to track it, but DeSoto has been keeping his own tally, including cases in Texas involving guns, knives, ice picks, 2-by-4s, tire tools, PVC pipe, plumbing pipe, bats, hammers, shovels, hatchets, ball bearings, marbles, frozen water bottles, bricks, stones and, in at least one instance, a spear.

This story follows attendees of DeSoto’s class as well as a police officer who encounters rage from motorists in Texas. The piece was reported, written and read by Ruby Cramer. Audio production and original music by Bishop Sand.

Deep Reads: Guns. Knives. Bats. Hammers. Hatchets. Spears.

Hundreds of thousands of protestors celebrated in Seoul over the weekend as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Parliament. 

Yoon, who was elected by a narrow margin in 2022, oversaw deepening political divisions and a population increasingly frustrated by income inequality. His tenure was marked by scandals and unpopular choices. But his administration reached a breaking point when Yoon declared martial law in early December, outraging many Koreans who saw the move as an unwelcome return to the authoritarian rule of decades past.

Washington Post Tokyo bureau chief Michelle Ye Hee Lee was among the crowd celebrating outside the National Assembly, talking to protestors about why they were so excited to see the president impeached. She joins “Post Reports” to explain how Yoon fell from power, who will lead the country next and what lessons other countries can take from a tense 11 days in South Korea. 

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff with help from Elana Gordon and Sabby Robinson.

It was edited by Maggie Penman with help from Lucy Perkins, and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

A stunning two weeks in South Korea

Since he last held office, President-elect Donald Trump’s business interests have evolved. The real estate mogul launched the social media company Truth Social, and — in the height of this year’s presidential campaign — he announced a cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial. 

Both of these industries could be targeted with efforts at regulation during Trump’s second term. So what could it mean for Trump to oversee an administration that also plays a role in these regulations? This dynamic sets up what ethics experts have described as unprecedented potential conflicts of interest for his second term.

“Post Reports” host Elahe Izadi speaks with investigative reporter Jonathan O’Connell about how Trump became involved in these new businesses, what potential conflicts of interest they present, and what we might learn from how Trump approached potential conflicts in his first term. 

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff with help from Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Alison MacAdam and Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Trump’s new businesses — and new potential conflicts of interest

When Francesca Ebel, a Russia correspondent for The Post, returned to one of Moscow’s most popular nightclubs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, she noticed differences. The physical structure was there, but there were fewer young artists. Something had changed.

What Ebel noticed that night was just one example of a bigger shift. Her reporting has since found that young Russians are increasingly embracing a culture of ultranationalist patriotism and Orthodox Christian values. Online influencers and Kremlin-sanctioned artists are changing the narratives on war and identity. An independent poll this year found a majority of Russians ages 18 to 24 support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Conforming can bring rewards and career advancement. Defiance can mean jail – or worse. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Ebel speaks with host Elahe Izadi about her reporting inside Russia on how Putin’s propaganda strategies toward Russian youth are working – and creating a new generation to carry forward the Kremlin’s anti-Western ideology. 

Read more from The Post’s “Russia, Remastered” series:

We reported for months on changes sweeping Russia. Here’s what we found.A wartime generation of youth molded by Putin’s propaganda Artists say Putin’s push for patriotism is killing Russian cultureTo please Putin, universities purge liberals and embrace patriotsHave babies for Russia: Putin presses women to embrace patriotism over feminismWashington and the West struggle for a way forward with Putin’s Russia
Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy, who also helped with translation. It was edited by Monica Campbell, with help from Maggie Penman. Thanks to David Herszenhorn, Paul Schemm and Jenn Amur. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Club raids, influencers: How Putin’s playbook is pushing young Russians toward ultranationalism

Today on “Post Reports,” Washington scrambles to avoid a government shutdown. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have fanned the flames. 

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On Wednesday, Republicans scrapped House Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial bipartisan plan to avoid a government shutdown. That’s after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk condemned the bill online. Musk called it “terrible,” “criminal,” “outrageous,” “horrible,” “unconscionable,” “crazy” and, ultimately, “an insane crime.”

Today on “Post Reports,” host Elahe Izadi and congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor discuss what Trump and Musk found so objectionable about that first plan, and why some are seeing it as a preview of the kind of power Musk – who’s not even a government official – could soon have over Washington. 

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy and Laura Benshoff, with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores, with help from Lucy Perkins, and mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks also to Emily Rauhala. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Musk and Trump bring shutdown chaos to Congress

After half-a-century in a tank, a beloved orca named Tokitae was about to be freed. Then her life ended, and a moment of reckoning began.

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Most of the nearly 50 southern resident orcas taken from the Pacific Northwest during the 1960s and ’70s died within the first years after their capture. One endured. Tokitae spent more than 50 years performing in the Miami Seaquarium’s “whale bowl” – the smallest orca tank in North America.

 

In March, a plan was announced to move her to a 10-acre netted sanctuary in the San Juan Islands, where she could live out her life in her natal waters. But months before she was due to return home, Tokitae died. What followed was a moment of reckoning.

Today on “Post Reports,” feature writer Caitlin Gibson shares Tokitae’s story and what it reveals about us.

The last endangered whale in captivity

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