Year: 2023

Former President Donald Trump has always embraced dehumanizing rhetoric, but now as he tries to capture the presidency again, he’s making even more extreme statements.

It’s a strategy that gets him lots of attention and that fuels his base.

NPR’s Juana Summers talks to White House correspondent Franco Ordonez and domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef about Trump’s use of increasingly autocratic statements and social media posts.

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For Russian President Vladimir Putin, 2023 began with his war against Ukraine stagnating. It went on to deliver one of the most public challenges to his leadership, ever.

Now as 2023 comes to a close, the man who lead the rebellion against Putin Yevgeny Prighozin is dead. US aid to Ukraine is on the Congressional chopping block, and Putin is getting ready to embark on a fifth campaign for the presidency of Russia. Odds are, he’ll win.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks to Russia correspondent Charles Maynes about Putin’s year that was, and how things are looking for 2024.

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On January 15, Iowa will take center stage as the first leg of the Republican primary race to the presidential nomination.

Usually, the caucuses signal the kickoff to primary season. But this year, there isn’t a lot that is usual about the Republican race so far.

Former President Donald Trump is vying for his party’s nomination – against an increasingly smaller pool of challengers.

And despite the fact that Trump is currently facing 91 felony charges from state and federal jurisdictions, and has not attended a single debate, he continues to lead the pack.

The most recent Iowa polls show him at over 50%. If that number sticks, it would be impossible for any of his four challengers to pull ahead in any significant way.

NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks to Iowa Public Radio’s Clay Masters and J. Ann Selzer, president of the Iowa based polling firm Selzer and Company, on what the candidates numbers say about the race and the overall state of the Republican party.

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Today we’re sharing an episode of NPR’s podcast Trump’s Trials, hosted Scott Detrow with regular analysis from Domenico Montanaro. They are joined by former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman.

This week’s focus: the January 6th federal election interference case. Prosecutor, Special Counsel Jack Smith, made an unusual move, and sidestepped the appeals court and went straight to the Supreme Court to answer a fundamental question at the heart of the case:. Can presidents be criminally prosecuted for crimes they are allegedly committed while in office?

Topics include:
– Presidential immunity
– Does presidential immunity apply to Trump’s actions on January 6th
– Predictions on how the Supreme Court may respond
– New case timeline
– An update on the New York Civil Fraud trial

Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for new episodes each Saturday.

Sign up for sponsor-free episodes and support NPR’s political journalism at plus.npr.org/trumpstrials.

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The auto industry, along with the Biden administration, has bet billions on the electric vehicle industry, but as 2023 comes to a close the auto industry is scaling back on its investment in EVs, prices are higher than many consumers can afford and charging stations can be hard to find.

NPR’s Scott Detrow digs into the state of EVs in the United States with Biden administration Infrastructure Czar Mitch Landrieu and Keith Barry senior writer with Consumer Reports.

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Protests by students supportive of Israeli and Jewish communities, and protests by students supportive of Palestinian communities, have reignited the debate over free speech on college campuses.

That debate only intensified when the Presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT testified before a Congressional committee last week about antisemitism.

NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with NPR education correspondent Elissa Nadworny and first amendment lawyer Greg Lukianoff about the climate on college campuses and the tension between protecting students and supporting free speech.

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Hanukkah’s origin story has been a moving target since the beginning says Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, but throughout its evolution, it’s been associated with bringing and sustaining light.

NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks to Lau-Lavie about the how the lights of Hanukkah can be a tool for those trying to find peace amidst the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent Tuesday in Washington pressing American lawmakers to approve a new funding package for his country’s war with Russia.

Zelenskyy’s lobbying effort comes as the current U.S. aid package is rapidly dwindling, and the fight between Ukraine and Russia has all but stalled.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks to NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman about the state of the war, what new funding would be used for, and what the country can – and can’t – do without more money.

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Anyone who spends time on social media has seen it — the post from someone about a current event, or issue that’s dividing people — abortions, mask wearing, the election. But do those posts change minds?

Researchers have been gathering data on this question for years. They’ve found that social media affects opinions on these issues, but probably not the way you think.

NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with researchers, who’ve studied the relationship between social media posts and opinions, and outlines their findings.

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If Donald Trump is elected next November, he’s promising to use the power of the presidency to go after political enemies and perceived rivals.

In a recent interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity, the former President said he’d only be a dictator on “day one.” At other moments, he’s pledged to “root out the communists,” and said he’d have his Attorney General go after people who run against him.

Consider This host Scott Detrow and NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson breakdown what a second Trump term would mean for the Justice Department.

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