Author: Matt

All eyes are on Kherson. In Ukraine’s first major offensive of the war, soldiers are pushing towards the city, trying to retake it from Russian troops. It’s a transport hub and key river crossing, and reclaiming it would be a huge victory for Ukraine.

NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf brings us the story of Vitaly, a 22-year-old college student in Kherson. Since the city first fell, he has sent NPR voice memos detailing life under the Russian occupation. Now, he’s decided he has to get out.

And NPR’s Brian Mann travels near the front lines with Ukrainian forces pushing towards Kherson. It’s a vast stretch of half-abandoned villages and farms fields, old industrial sites and dense forests, where the exact point of contact between Russian and Ukrainian troops is often unclear day by day.

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

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Bashar Murad’s danceable riffs and live concerts and videos – filled with bubbles, enormous hats, and layers and layers of veils – have earned him the nickname “Palestinian Lady Gaga” from his fans. And much like Born This Way is an anthem of equality, Murad’s songs challenge conservative social norms and push for LGBTQ rights while also challenging the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Earlier this summer, Murad’s concert in the West Bank city of Ramallah was cancelled under threats by anti-LGBTQ activists. As an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights, Murad is challenging both the external conflict Palestinians face with Israel and the internal conflicts imposed by a conservative society.

This week, NPR’s Daniel Estrin speaks with Bashar Murad about his music, his activism, and how anti-LGBTQ events that unfolded during the summer have added to the complexities that can come with being a voice for both the Palestinian and the LGBTQ communities.

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.

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This week the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.

And as the number of cases in the U.S. continues to climb, there’s a lot of confusion about the disease, how it spreads and who’s most at-risk.

NPR health correspondents Pien Huang and Michaeleen Doucleff join us to discuss the current outbreak.

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

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With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the U.S. airstrike that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, there’s a lot to talk about with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan these days.

He weighs in on all three in a sit-down interview with NPR.

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

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Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a dozen states have implemented laws banning or severely restricting abortion. Those laws have consequences for wanted pregnancies, too.

NPR’s Carrie Feibel brings us the story of a woman in Texas whose pregnancy took a sudden turn. Because of the state’s abortion law, her case became a medical crisis.

This episode also includes reporting from NPR’s Sarah McCammon and Melissa Block

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

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Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend. For years, al-Zawahiri was Osama Bin Laden’s deputy — and was known as the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks.

NPR’s Greg Myre and Diaa Hadid discuss the implications of al-Zawahiri’s death for the U.S., Afghanistan, and America’s decades-long war on terror.

This episode also features reporting from NPR’s Steve Inskeep.

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

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Dee Davis remembers watching his grandmother float by in a canoe during the 1957 flood that hit Whitesburg, Ky. The water crested at nearly 15 feet back then–a record that stood for over half a century, until it was obliterated last week.

The water was more than six feet higher than the 1957 mark when floodwater destroyed the gauge.

The flooding took out bridges and knocked houses off their foundations. It had claimed at least 35 lives as of Monday afternoon.

And it was just the latest record-breaking flooding event to hit the U.S. this summer.

NPR’s Rebecca Hersher explains that climate change is making extreme floods more frequent. A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, which means, when it rains, it rains harder.

This episode also features reporting from NPR’s Kirk Siegler, KJZZ’s Michel Marizco and St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Fentem.

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

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You may have never heard the phrase abortion doula, but for years they have been working to support people navigating the process and experience of ending a pregnancy.

With Roe overturned, depending on where you live, figuring out how to obtain an abortion has gotten much harder. This could make the role of abortion doulas more critical than ever — and more risky.

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Vicki Bloom. She refers to herself as a full service doula and provides a range of reproductive health support services, from helping clients create a birth plan, to being present at abortions, to providing information and emotional support.

We discuss what a abortion doula does and how that role might change in a post-Roe world.

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

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This week, Pope Francis has been in Canada, on what he calls a “Pilgrimage of Penance”. He’s been going around the country to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system.

These schools – funded by the Canadian government and administered by the Catholic Church – were aimed at erasing the culture and language of indigenous people.

The apology from Pope Francis this week comes after years of allegations detailing abuse and neglect at these residential boarding schools. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2008 to document what happened at these schools – and the lasting trauma that has followed.

Stephanie Scott is a member of the Anishinaabe from Roseau River First Nation. She’s executive director of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation – and has been part of a years-long effort to gather the testimony of survivors. She shares with us the mixed feelings about the Pope’s apology, and the work that still has to be done towards reconciliation.

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

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A heads up to listeners: we recorded this episode Thursday afternoon, before the Biden administration announced that it will hold off on offering boosters for people under 50 this summer.

The BA.5 variant is the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s highly transmissible and it’s driving up COVID cases and hospitalizations.

This week NPR learned that the Biden administration may scrap plans to let more younger adults get second COVID-19 boosters this summer. Instead, officials are trying to speed up availability of the next generation of boosters in the fall — boosters that specifically target the new subvariant.

We talk to Dr. Robert Wachter, the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, about the administration’s booster strategy and how people can protect themselves in the midst of the latest surge.

This episode also features reporting from NPR’s Rob Stein.

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

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