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There’s a growing fight in Hollywood over some of the biggest characters on screen, like Tony Soprano, Daenerys Targaryen and Harry Potter. All feature in shows and films owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, and now two companies are fighting to get a piece of the action. 

First, on Friday, Netflix struck an $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Brothers Studios and HBO. Then, just days later, Paramount upped the ante with a higher bid of $108 billion for Warner Brothers Discovery – which includes not just the movie studios and HBO, but also WBD’s cable channels, like CNN.

As corporate giants vie to take over Warner Brothers, we ask: What are the stakes for Hollywood and the news business? 

Editor’s note: Warner Bros. Discovery is a financial supporter of NPR.

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This episode was produced by Jordan-Marie Smith, Mia Venkat and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Pallavi Gogoi and Christopher Intagliata. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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New research from the Aspen Economic Strategy Group argues that the subsidies-or-no-subsidies approach to the Affordable Care Act debate is too narrow. Co-author of the paper ‘Coverage isn’t Care: An Abundance Agenda for Medicaid’ Professor Craig Garthwaite tells NPR’s Miles Parks that solutions to make healthcare both more efficient and more affordable at scale are right in front of us.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Avery Keatley, Jeffrey Pierre and Henry Larson. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Students are using AI tools more than ever. 

An Angelo State University professor designed a way to figure out if his students were using artificial intelligence on a recent paper.

We speak with Will Teague, who says students are sacrificing their own agency to artificial intelligence. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at 
considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Karen Zamora, with additional reporting by Ayana Archie and Lee V. Gaines. It was edited by Justine Kenin and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Fifty years ago, special education in America was born.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the landmark law known today as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

It guaranteed all children with disabilities the right to a “free appropriate public education.”

Now, amid the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, there’s growing concern that protections for students with disabilities are in jeopardy.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Jeanette Woods and Nicole Cohen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Roughly 80,000 people of Somali descent now live in Minnesota. The vast majority of them are American citizens.

This week, President Trump attacked Somali immigrants in racist and xenophobic terms. 

“I don’t want ’em in our country,” he said at the end of a cabinet meeting. “Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks.”

The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul defended their Somali community – and responded to reports that the Trump administration is targeting that community with extra immigration enforcement.

Minnesota Public Radio’s Matt Sepic has the latest from St. Paul.

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Kwesi Lee. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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President Trump is purging the immigration court system. About 140 immigration judges have been fired by the administration or resigned. Meanwhile, the case backlog is growing. 

What does it mean for immigrants caught in the middle? We speak with one of the judges recently let go.

The firings are part of an ongoing effort by the White House to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. Now, those judges are being replaced by “deportation judges.”

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Daniel Ofman and Karen Zamora, with additional reporting by Ximena Bustillo and Anusha Mathur. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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More than 80 people have now been killed by U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats.

There are growing questions about an order to kill two of those people — whether it amounts to a war crime.

Here’s what we know: on September 2, the U.S. carried out two strikes on a boat in the Caribbean. The second, subsequent strike killed two remaining survivors.

Details of that second strike were first reported by The Washington Post last week.

Today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “authorized” Admiral Frank Bradley to conduct both strikes, and that Admiral Bradley issued the order and, quote — “worked well within his authority and the law.” 

But on Capitol Hill, both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees are asking for a full accounting. 

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Jay Czys. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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At the recent Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, summit – which was attended by the U.S. Secretary of Health and the Vice President – the agenda showed a shift toward alternative medicine, wellness and nutrition and away from conventional medication. Most of the speakers were not academic researchers or doctors. To discuss what happens when government guidance moves away from scientific consensus, Miles Parks speaks with Dr. Sandro Galea, a Distinguished Professor in Public Health, and Dean of the Washington University School of Public Health in St Louis, Missouri.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Jordan-Marie Smith. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. 

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When the Missouri legislature began to redraw maps mid-decade, it reminded a reporter of a very specific movie scene. 

The film was Air Bud, and although the plot focuses on a loophole that allows a dog to play basketball, some in Missouri say there are similarities to the battle over gerrymandering, and the result could have a lasting impact on the state’s government. Miles Parks speaks with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad. It was edited by Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. 

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From building homes to ushering theater-goers to re-enacting medieval history for middle-schoolers – yes, you read that right – acts of volunteerism have remained vital for communities across the country. And not just for people in need.

This year, many volunteers have also reported seeing an increased need for food assistance across the country, as a temporary pause on the federal program known as SNAP left millions of Americans unable to buy food during the recent government shutdown. Ransom Miller, who co-founded a project that distributes food ahead of Thanksgiving for the past three decades, says he received more calls than ever this year.

In this episode, Miller and others featured this past year as part of NPR’s Here to Help series explain why they’re motivated to give back to their communities. 

This episode was produced by Matt Ozug, Jason Fuller and Jonaki Mehta. It was edited by Ashley Brown. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

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