app_store_button

google_play_button

Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Step into an infinite world of stories

Listen and read

NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays at 6:30 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays at 9 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on "The Sunday Story," available by 8 a.m. ET. Subscribe and listen, then support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Support NPR's reporting by subscribing to Up First+ and unlock sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/upfirst

Up First

What does it mean to live through war? And can someone who’s experienced
 war ever get over it? These are questions NPR’s Quil Lawrence has been 
asking himself for years. A decade ago, Lawrence did a story on David 
Carlson, a veteran who’d excelled at being a soldier but struggled at 
home with PTSD, drugs and finally incarceration. Could Carlson find a 
way out or would the trauma of war come to define his life?
Listen to Part 2 here.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Carlson’s War: Part 1

Part 2: In part two of Carlson’s War, we find Dave Carlson locked up in prison while tormented by PTSD from his time serving in Iraq. Alone and in pain, Carlson reverts back to a combat mindset and finds himself in a dark place. From here, Carlson sets out on a mission to turn his life around. What can we learn from one veteran’s journey to recovery?

If you haven’t heard Part 1, listen here. 

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Carlson’s War: Part 2

U.S. consumers have not borne the full brunt of President Trump's tariffs but that may change if they are held up, all or in part, by the Supreme Court. The Department of Homeland Security is employing powerful new tools to surveil foreigners. A Floridian, arrested by Israel earlier this year at age 15 in a rock-throwing incident, faces 20 years in prison.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Who's Been Paying Tariffs, DHS Surveillance Tools, Israel Holds Florida Teen

The FAA directs airlines to cut flights by ten percent as the government shutdown strains the nation’s air traffic system. A federal judge orders the Trump administration to fully restore SNAP food benefits by today, blasting it for ignoring the harm to millions of Americans who rely on them. And President Trump hosts Hungary’s Viktor Orbán at the White House, while some of his allies say he should be paying more attention to the economy at home.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Catherine Laidlaw, Dana Farrington, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Lindsay Totty. 

We get engineering support from David Greenburg. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor

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

NPR Privacy Policy

FAA Cuts Flights, SNAP Ruling, Trump Focused Abroad

President Trump calls on Senate Republicans to end the government shutdown by scrapping the filibuster, even as he admits the standoff hurt the party in this week’s elections. The Supreme Court hears arguments on whether Trump overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs under a decades-old emergency powers law. And in Chicago, federal judges side against the administration in immigration enforcement cases, ordering cleaner detention centers and tighter limits on the use of force.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Krishnadev Calamur Cheryl Corely, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is David Greenburg.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

State Of The Shutdown, SCOTUS Tariff Arguments, Chicago ICE Ruling

Democrats won two governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, victories they call a rejection of President Trump’s policies and a sign that economic issues are resonating with voters. New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as its first Muslim mayor, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in a race that drew record voter turnout. And California voters approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats up to five more House seats in next year’s midterms.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Larry Kaplow, Acacia Squires, Miguel Macias, Ben Swasey, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

VA NJ Governor Races, Mamdani Elected NYC Mayor, California Redistricting

Voters in New York, Virginia and New Jersey choose new leaders today, and a redistricting vote in California could reshape the balance of power in Congress. The Trump administration says it will restart SNAP benefits, but only partially, leaving millions of families uncertain about how they’ll eat this month. Aid groups warn of a deepening crisis in Sudan after a paramilitary force accused of genocide seized the last major city in Darfur, killing thousands of people and trapping many more without food or water. And former Vice President Dick Cheney has died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a statement from his family. He was 84 years old.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Ben Swasey, Catherine Laidlaw, Kate Bartlett, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Four Big Races To Watch, Partial SNAP Funding, Sudan Famine, Dick Cheney Dies at 84

President Trump returns to Washington D.C. after a week of international travel and a weekend at his resort in Florida while the government shutdown enters its second month. SNAP benefits ran out over the weekend, leaving millions without food aid as courts press the administration to use emergency funds. And New York City voters head to the polls tomorrow in a heated mayoral race between Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomo that could shape the future of the Democratic Party.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calamur, Russell Lewis, Andrea de Leon, Mohamad ElBardicy and Martha Ann Overland.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Trump's Shutdown Travel, SNAP Benefits Gap, NYC Mayoral Race

Across the globe, there is a shift in the size of families as birthrates decline. Communities, schools, and workforces are all shrinking at an alarming rate. Even in the wealthiest countries populations are aging and straining key social systems. How are smaller families changing the world and what does it mean for our future? Explore the full series at npr.org/populationshift.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

How Smaller Families are Changing the World

Two judges rule that it’s unlawful for President Trump to suspend SNAP food benefits. With higher premiums and a government shutdown, open enrollment for health insurance is different this year. Higher electricity prices are factoring into who voters in New Jersey and Virginia pick as their governors.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

SNAP decision, Open Enrollment, Electricity Prices Increase

The government shutdown enters its second week with no negotiations underway, as President Trump threatens permanent layoffs. The impact of the shutdown is spreading to the skies, where staffing shortages have forced some air traffic control towers to close and ground flights across the country. And former FBI Director James Comey appears in court to face felony charges, a case driven by pressure from President Trump.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Russell Lewis, Krishnadev Calamur, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Shutdown Politics, Air Traffic Control Issues, Comey Arraignment

Listen and read

Other podcasts you might like ...