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When companies need a loan, traditionally they turn to a bank.

But increasingly they’re turning to financial firms that are not really banks, but do have a lot of cash. This is called the “private credit” market. It has exploded in the past 15 years. It’s now valued at around $2 trillion.

Natasha Sarin, president of the Yale Budget Lab and former Biden administration official, argues that these private credit firms are making risky loans. So risky, that they’ve got her thinking about the 2008 financial crisis. 

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This episode was produced by Erika Ryan and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Andie Huether and Josephine Nyounai. It was edited by Adam Raney and John Ketchum. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Ashley and Nick Evancho say raising their 3-year-old, Sophia, is one of the most joyous things they’ve ever done. But the Evanchos also made a decision that’s increasingly common for families in the U.S. and around the world: One is enough. The trend is leading to populations that are dramatically older, and beginning to shrink, in many of the world’s biggest economies.

Experts say a rapidly aging and gradually shrinking population in the world’s wealthiest countries could force sweeping changes in people’s lives, causing many to work longer before retirement, making it harder for business owners to find employees and destabilizing eldercare and health insurance programs.

This story is part of NPR’s Population Shift series.

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This episode was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was edited by Andrea de Leon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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In a public roundtable, President Trump asked his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to apply the designation to Antifa.

NPR’s Ryan Lucas reports that it could have enormous consequences, including making it illegal to provide something as meager as a bottle of water to what the Trump administration deems to be Antifa.

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This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Josephine Nyounai. It was edited by Justine Kenin and Krishnadev Calamur. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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A delegation of high-level US officials were recently sent to Israel to try to hold the fragile Gaza truce together. The Israeli press called them the ‘BibiSitters,’ a nod to the Israeli prime minister’s nickname. What does Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future look like and how tied is he to the Trump administration’s interests?

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 Gabriel Sanchez, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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U.S. citizens have been arrested in the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. According to ProPublica, at least 170 have been arrested or detained by immigration agents since President Trump took office for his second term.

In response, Texas Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — both Democrats — have announced an investigation into these detentions.

It is incredibly concerning that now anyone can be targeted,” Rep. Garcia tells NPR. “It’s important that we begin documenting all of this.”

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This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Michael Levitt, with audio engineeringfrom Damian Herring. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwatananon and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The FBI arrested multiple people tied to the NBA in a wide-ranging illegal gambling probe. The NBA and other major sports leagues have been deepening ties with the lucrative sports-betting industry. 

Washington Post sports columnist Kevin Blackistone explains the implications of this scandal on the NBA and sports betting in general. 

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This episode was produced by Michael Levitt and Daniel Ofman. Additional reporting in this episode from Becky Sullivan.

It was edited by Russell Lewis, Justine Kenin and our executive producer Sami Yenigun.

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For many years, the far right has been the most lethal and persistent source of domestic terrorism in the U.S.

But the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk last month and attacks against immigration enforcement efforts have fueled a talking point for Republicans about concerns over left-wing political violence.

The political motivations behind these attacks are still unclear, but one study says that violence from the left has been the greater threat so far this year.

NPR’s domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef looks into whether this claim is correct.

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This episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Damian Herring.
It was edited by Andrew Sussman and Sami Yenigun, who is also our executive producer.

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It’s getting harder to get away with murder in Philadelphia.

Violent crime has fallen sharply — like it has in many other cities.

And Philadelphia police are now solving homicides at the highest rate since 1984.

There’s a connection there — but there’s also plenty more to the story.

Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter Ellie Rushing shows what her team has found.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Simon-Laslo Janssen. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. It features additional reporting by Martin Kaste and WHYY’s Aaron Moselle. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Trump administration’s push to expand immigration enforcement — as part of its deportation efforts — has created job opportunities in small towns and cities.

We head to one of them — Folkston, Georgia, a community of about 2,800 residents..

That number will soon swell as immigrant detainees fill up a growing ICE detention center at the edge of town. 

The center is in a old prison run by the private prison corporation, the GEO Group, and is set to become the nation’s largest detention facility.We hear about the hopes and fears of the town’s residents.

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This episode was produced by Liz Baker, Elena Burnett and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Hannah Gluvna.  It was edited by Eric Westervelt and Justine Kenin. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Following repeated U.S attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela, Senator Tim Kaine has partnered with fellow Democrat Senator Adam Schiff and Republican Senator Rand Paul to force a vote to prevent war on Venezuela without approval from Congress. 

Senator Kaine speaks to NPR about the role he says Congress must play to keep the president from unilaterally leading the country into a military conflict.

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This episode was produced by Avery Keatley, with audio engineering by Valentina Rodriguez and Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Adam Raney and Anna Yukhananov. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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