app_store_button

google_play_button

Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Step into an infinite world of stories

Listen and read

Immerse yourself in the most compelling and consequential stories from around the globe. The world is changing in big ways every day. State of the World from NPR takes you where the news is happening — and explains why it matters. With bureaus spanning the globe, NPR reporters bring you facts and context from the ground so you can cut through the noise of disinformation. NPR's State of the World, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. State of the World was previously State of Ukraine. You'll continue to hear Ukraine coverage here, along with other international stories.

Support NPR's reporting by subscribing to State of the World+ and unlock sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/stateoftheworld

State of the World from NPR

President Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea amid a tense tariff war between the two countries. Trump was upbeat after the meeting in which both sides agreed to trade concessions. We take a look at the state of U.S.-China relations with a former U.S. ambassador to China.

And ahead of that meeting, President Trump signed several rare earth agreements with Asian countries to reduce America's reliance on China. We hear why the U.S. is anxious to find other sources for these minerals and ask if it’s too little too late.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Trump, Xi and the U.S.-China Relationship

The Darfur region of Sudan because known to the world as the site of a genocide twenty years ago. The U.S. and U.N. say there is a genocide happening in Darfur again and now the violence there has reached a new level of horror. A paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces took control of the city of El Fasher, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents trapped under RSF control and there is evidence of atrocities being committed. We hear about what is happening in the city and a Sudanese-American poet who grew up in El Fasher and is watching from afar.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan Deepens

Isolated indigenous tribes deep in the Amazon rainforests of Peru are seeing the crop used to make cocaine spread into their lands from drug traffickers seeking more territory for cultivation. With the incursion comes deforestation and violence. We go to the rainforest and meet the self-defense force patrolling the jungle to stop the destruction. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Fighting Drug Traffickers Deep in the Peruvian Amazon

The small island country of Trinidad and Tobago is in the middle of an American military buildup. The U.S. has deployed warships and attacked alleged drug boats nearby, leaving residents on edge. We hear from fishermen who see drones in the sky and go to the funeral of someone presumed to have been killed by a U.S. strike.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The Impact of U.S. Strikes in the Caribbean

China’s fast fashion mega-seller Shein is opening its first permanent Paris boutique in the iconic Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville department store. Parisian purists say the move betrays the artistry and craftsmanship of France’s tradition of couture. Some are boycotting the store and others have even started a petition in opposition of Shein’s Paris arrival.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Furor over Fast Fashion in France

The automotive industry in Germany, once the backbone of Europe’s biggest economy, is in a rapid decline. In the past year, the German car industry shed more than 51,000 jobs – about 7% of its total workforce. We go to some companies that are now turning to manufacturing weapons as part of the country’s boost in military spending to keep their factories running.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Struggling German Industry Turns to Defense Manufacturing

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has been hit with more than 50,000 drone strikes. The constant threats of war have changed many things about life in Ukraine, including the way the night time sounds. We meet members of a youth orchestra outside Kyiv who are marking the new sounds of their country with a sonic poem.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Making Music from the Sounds of War

In just seven minutes, in broad daylight, millions of dollars worth of jewels that once belonged to French royalty were stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. We hear about what was stolen, how the French people are reacting and what it might take to catch the thieves who did it.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

A Brazen Theft from France’s Most Famous Museum

As a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems to hold and Gaza starts to emerge from war, the immense challenges facing the territory in its eventual recovery are becoming clear. Around ninety percent of buildings damaged or destroyed, there are no funds for reconstruction and unexploded bombs are buried beneath debris. We hear from the U.N. program that has a team on the ground working to clear rubble and rebuild infrastructure about the challenges that lie ahead.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

How to Deal with Mountains of Rubble in Gaza

When Oscar Wilde was jailed for, "gross indecency," a 19th century euphemism for gay sex, his library card was revoked. 130 years later, the British Library has re-issued it to his grandson.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Author Oscar Wilde Gets Back His Library Card Over A Century After His Death

Authorities in Lebanon are blaming Israel for an apparent attack in which pagers, used by Hezbollah in Lebanon, exploded simultaneously. At least nine people were killed, more than 2,700 were injured. Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese paramilitary group backed by Iran, had already been high and there were fears their frequent attacks on each other could escalate into all-out war. We hear about what this all could mean from our correspondent in the region.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Exploding Pagers in Lebanon, Raising Tensions between Hezbollah and Israel

Listen and read

Other podcasts you might like ...