Author: Matt

Diplomat and former US Ambassador Manuel Rocha is facing charges related to secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government.

Rocha is the latest in a long line of spies, who have worked for the federal government while spying for other countries. Some for decades at a time.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks to former CIA officer Robert Baer about the charges against Rocha and how he might have managed to go undetected for four decades.

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Keffiyehs, checkered scarves most closely associated with Palestinians, have been in the news lately. In Vermont, three men of Palestinian descent, two of whom were wearing keffiyehs, were shot.

NPR’s Ailsa Chang speaks with Wafa Ghnaim, a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and curator for the Museum of the Palestinian People, about the history of the garment, what it means to Palestinian identity and what it means to her.

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Israel has stepped up military operations in Gaza after the temporary ceasefire ended last week. Gaza health officials say several hundred Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more have been wounded since the fighting resumed, complicating how the U.S. maintains its alignment with Israel.

NPR’s Fatma Tanis speaks with analysts who say that U.S. support for Israel is undermining American interests and NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, about how President Biden’s history with Israel is shaping current U.S. policy.

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You probably won’t be surprised to hear that a lot of Americans are worried about the state of democracy in the United States.

According to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after the midterm elections, more than 8 in 10 Americans feel there is a serious threat to Democracy in the U.S.

Ranked choice voting has become the latest political change touted as a way to strengthen democracy.

Instead of choosing one candidate, in ranked choice voting a voter picks a favorite candidate, a second favorite, and so on.

Voters in almost 50 American cities and states have switched to a ranked-choice voting system. So even if you’ve never heard of ranked choice voting, it may be coming to a polling place near you.

NPR’s Miles Parks reports on whether ranked choice will live up to the hype as a cure-all for the country’s deep partisan divides.

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Every year world leaders gather at the Conference of the Parties, or COP, to devise solutions to what amounts to a growing existential crisis for humankind: our rapidly heating planet.

The United Arab Emirates is hosting COP28 this year. The goal of the conference is to decrease emissions and protect the planet. But leading the climate talks is the head of one of the biggest oil companies in the world, in a nation that derives much of its wealth from oil. Are the goals of this meeting truly in sync with the goals of the hosts?

NPR’s Miles Parks speaks with NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy from COP28.

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Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was viewed as brilliant by some and a war criminal by others. The only man to ever hold the jobs of National Security Advisor and Secretary of State at the same time died at his Connecticut home at the age of 100.

NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks to author and historian Jeremi Suri about Kissinger’s complicated legacy.

Listen to Throughline’s deeper dive on Kissinger here.

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Former first lady Rosalynn Carter leaves behind a rich and expansive legacy, including fierce and enduring advocacy for better mental health care in the US.

But her commitment to the issue extended well beyond her role as First Lady.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks to Anne Mahoney Robbins, a friend of the Carters and member of President Jimmy Carter’s mental health commission, about how Rosalynn Carter supported her during her own crippling depression.

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In different places throughout the country, police are pushing back against the policies of progressive prosecutors.

NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer tells the story of one such struggle in St. Louis where a detective wouldn’t testify in a case. That refusal may have helped a man charged with murder walk free.

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Dozens of hostages have been released by Hamas over the last four days. Now after 50 days in captivity, and joyous reunions, the long journey of healing and rebuilding begins.

NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks to Hostage US executive director Liz Cathcart about that process.

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Next year Gen Z and Millennials will make up nearly half of the electorate. What exactly that will mean in the 2024 election is an open question.

Host Scott Detrow talks with NPR political reporter Elena Moore about the different ways new voters approach politics than older voters.

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