Month: September 2021

After a year away, Broadway’s lights are back on. Some of the biggest productions have returned for vaccinated and masked audiences. From “Wicked” to “Chicago” to “Hamilton,” theaters in New York are open at 100 percent capacity.

Heatwaves don’t have names or categories like hurricanes and wildfires, but they kill more people each year than any other weather event, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It has been exactly one month since Kabul fell and the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. With U.S. troops gone from the region and the collapse of the Afghan Armed forces, thousands have been fleeing the country for safety.

In India, where arranged marriages are the norm, people typically marry within their religion or caste. But occasionally, some find love on their own and end up with a partner of a different faith.

Last week President Biden announced a six-pronged strategy to combat the newly surging pandemic — including a federal rule that all businesses with 100 or more employees must ensure their workers are vaccinated for COVID-19, or submit to weekly testing for the virus.

This weekend the nation marks 20 years since 9/11 — a day we are reminded to never forget. But for so many people, 9/11 also changed every day after.

In this episode, a special collaboration between NPR and StoryCorps, we hear stories about the lasting toll of 9/11, recorded by StoryCorps in partnership with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. You can learn more about that initiative and find out how you can record your reflections on the life of a loved one at storycorps.org/september11.

Also in this episode: the story of how an Afghan translator’s life was shaped by 20 years of conflict in his home country, culminating in a desperate attempt to help his family escape. Said Noor’s story first aired on Morning Edition and was originally produced by Steve Inskeep, Arezou Rezvani, and Danny Hajek. More here.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This week, women protested in Kabul after the Taliban announced an all-male interim government. One woman who helped organized the protests told NPR “the world should feel” what Afghan women are facing. That woman — and another who was desperately trying to leave the country — spoke to Rachel Martin on Morning Edition. More from their interviews here.

While some women fear the rights they’ve gained in the last 20 years will disappear, other women — particularly in rural areas — are hopeful for a future with less violence and military conflict. Anand Gopal wrote about them for The New Yorker in a piece called “The Other Afghan Women.” He spoke to Mary Louise Kelly.

Special thanks to NPR’s Michele Keleman for production help on this episode.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Last week’s jobs report for the month of August show signs the delta surge is slowing the economic recovery, just as some pandemic safety net programs disappear. The Supreme Court recently struck down a federal eviction moratorium, and supplemental pandemic unemployment benefits expired on Monday.

NPR’s chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley explains what that could mean for the pace of the recovery.

With a federal eviction ban no longer in effect, renters could tap into billions of dollars in federal rental assistance authorized by Congress. But there’s a problem: states have been slow to get that money into programs that can distribute it to tenants and landlords. NPR’s Laurel Wamsley reports on one effort to speed things up in Tennessee.

Additional reporting in this episode from NPR’s Chris Arnold, who’s been covering evictions during the pandemic.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The good news is that firefighters in California have regained control of the Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe and tens of thousands of evacuated residents can now return to their homes. The bad news is the Caldor Fire is the second wildfire this season to burn through the Sierra Nevada Mountains from one side to the other. Something that never happened before this year.

The other fire to do it is the Dixie Fire further north, which is on pace to be the largest California wildfire on record. And while thousands have been impacted with evacuations, millions of people in western states have been living with the smoke for weeks.

The general guidance when living with hazy and polluted air is to stay indoors. But NPR’s Nathan Rott reports on new research that shows the air behind closed doors may not be much better.

And NPR’s Lauren Sommer reports on a region of the country that is leading the way with fire prevention that may surprise you.

Most kids are now in their third year of school during the pandemic. It’s been a time of ups and downs; adjustments and re-adjustments. Some have flourished in online school and want to stay home — others have floundered and are excited to go back.

NPR spoke to a group of kids ages 6 and up about what the pandemic has been like, and how they’re feeling about the new school year.

Two experts in childhood education and development explain how the pandemic has challenged kids and what we can do to help them: Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Education; and Katie McLaughlin, a psychologist at Harvard University.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.