Post Reports
1,462 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★ - 4.7K ratingsPost Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.
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Episodes
"Broken Doors," Episode 4
May 30, 2022 16:01Today on “Post Reports,” the fourth episode of “Broken Doors,” about the minutes between approval for a no-knock warrant and a deadly raid. Read more: “Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the U.S. justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. In the fourth episode of this series, we head to Port Allen, La. On July 25, 2019, a Black ...
Depp v. Heard
May 27, 2022 16:31After six weeks, the contentious defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is set to wrap up Friday. Today on “Post Reports,” what happened in the courtroom and online, and why it matters. Read more: After six weeks of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial, the jury is hearing closing arguments Friday. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abus...
What comes after the NRA
May 26, 2022 22:07The NRA faces critics from all sides, with infighting among its executives and, after the Uvalde, Tex., school shooting, renewed pressure from gun control advocates. And then there are the radical gun groups that say the NRA hasn’t gone far enough. Read more: Tomorrow, the National Rifle Association will kick off its annual meeting. Just a few hours from the site of Tuesday’s school shooting, the convention will feature a 14-acre gun show and headliners including former president Donald Tr...
‘It started in the fourth grade building’
May 25, 2022 21:42The deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade, and what’s changed in the years since the massacre in Newtown, Conn. Read more: Washington Post reporter Arelis Hernández is on the ground in Uvalde as children and families try to make sense of the violence that tore through Robb Elementary School on Tuesday. According to a Post database,last year was the deadliest year for school shootings in America since at least 1999, the year of the Columbine massacre. This year is on track to be e...
Monkeypox: Should we be worried?
May 24, 2022 21:20Today on Post Reports, what to know about monkeypox and how prepared the United States is for future pandemics. Plus, in New Orleans, the return of a beloved Mardi Gras tradition. Read more: What is monkeypox, and how concerned should we be about the virus? Cameron Wolfe, an infectious-disease expert at Duke University, explains what we know about the rare virus, now confirmed in the United States and Europe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert late last week, ...
Georgia's Trump question
May 23, 2022 21:37On Tuesday Republican voters in Georgia will choose between candidates who supported Donald Trump’s claims that the election was stolen and those who did not. The results may say a lot about election integrity in 2022 — and the state of the GOP nationwide. Read more: In 2020, the fate of the presidency and which party would control the U.S. Senate hinged on what happened in Georgia. The state emerged as a contentious battleground, and it quickly drew the attention of President Donald Tru...
‘His Name Is George Floyd’
May 20, 2022 20:45After the murder of George Floyd, reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa spent months learning everything they could about Floyd’s life. The story they reveal in a new book shows how systemic racism shaped and shortened it. Read more: “He's everywhere — but he's not here. He's on somebody's wall. He's on somebody's billboard. … He's in a newspaper, but he's not here. He's here in spirit. But he's not here.” In the summer of 2020, after George Floyd was murdered, he became a s...
The untold story of the Texas abortion ban
May 19, 2022 22:28A year ago today, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Texas Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act. The law bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy — before many people even know they’re pregnant. It also employed a novel legal strategy that empowered ordinary people to enforce the law by suing anyone who may have helped facilitate the abortion. Many observers thought the law would be blocked from taking effect or overturned after passing. That didn’t happen. ...
‘Un-retiring’
May 18, 2022 20:12Today on Post Reports, an estimated 1.5 million retirees have reentered the U.S. labor market over the past year. What’s bringing them back? Read more: Millions of Americans who retired during the pandemic are returning to the workforce. Many are being lured back to work by more flexible, hybrid work arrangements and declining concerns over covid. And, yes, some of it is also being driven by high inflation. But there’s good news, too: Ageism might be less of a problem for older workers. C...
Why Putin is the best thing to happen to NATO
May 17, 2022 21:04Finland and Sweden are applying for NATO membership, ending decades-long policies of military neutrality. We take a look at what this means for global security. Plus, why some NATO leaders are worried about Vladimir Putin being humiliated in Ukraine. Read more: Finland and Sweden’s leaders announced in recent days that they would be seeking membership in NATO, the military alliance among the United States, Canada and many European countries. Sweden and Finland historically have remained ne...
The forces shaping the 2022 midterm story
May 16, 2022 22:39With key states holding primaries this week, we ask the big question for the 2022 midterms: Will Republicans take back control of Congress? And, the GOP lawmakers who have echoed the racist conspiracy theory used to justify the mass shooting in Buffalo. Read more: The 2022 midterms are ramping up. On Tuesday, voters in five states, including Pennsylvania and North Carolina, will vote in primary elections. Meanwhile, in races around the country, Republicans are pushing anti-immigrant senti...
Black in Time: The Gilded Age, Bridgerton & Beyond
May 15, 2022 16:44 - 10.8 MBA few weeks ago, Martine Powers appeared on the Black culture podcast “For Colored Nerds” to discuss her love of period dramas and what does and doesn't work as these shows try to be more inclusive in their casting. To hear the rest of Martine’s discussion with Eric Eddings and Brittany Luse, check out “For Colored Nerds” wherever you get your podcasts, and listen to the episode “Black in Time.”
‘Pregnant? Don’t want to be? Call Jane.’
May 13, 2022 21:25In the years before Roe v. Wade, the group known as Jane helped more than 11,000 Chicago women get abortions. We look back at the group and talk with one of its members as activists and health advocates mobilize in anticipation of the end of Roe. Read more: In the years before Roe v. Wade guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion, a group of women banded together in Chicago to help others access the procedure illegally. Their fliers read things like: “Pregnant? Don’t want to be? C...
The baby formula crisis
May 12, 2022 22:11For months, parents have been scrambling to feed their children amid a nationwide baby formula shortage. Today, why the supply is so short, and how parents are coping. Read more: Three-quarters of American parents with infants rely on baby formula. For many, it’s the only option to keep their babies alive and healthy. But since the winter, shortages have left caregivers scrambling to find enough food. Last week, supplies in stores were down more than 40 percent. Parenting editor Amy Joyc...
The ‘kingpin’ of opioid makers
May 11, 2022 20:54A cache of more than 1.4 million newly released records exposes the inner workings of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturer. Today on “Post Reports,” we go inside the sales machine at Mallinckrodt. Read more: The largest manufacturer of opioids in the United States once cultivated a reliable stable of hundreds of doctors it could count on to write a steady stream of prescriptions for pain pills. But one left the United States for Pakistan months before he was indicted on federal drug c...
What we can learn from vaccinated covid deaths
May 10, 2022 21:53Nearly 1 million people in the United States have died of covid-19, and the toll is growing among vaccinated people as the virus gets harder and harder to dodge. Today on Post Reports, what we can learn from looking at vaccinated deaths. Read more: According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinated people made up a shocking 42 percent of covid deaths in January and February during the peak of the omicron surge, compared with 23 percent during delta’s surge in...
Atul Gawande on why we still need covid funding
May 09, 2022 21:11Today on “Post Reports,” the head of global health at the U.S. Agency for International Development, Atul Gawande, on the state of the pandemic and why global vaccination efforts are at risk. Read more: Today on the show, we hear from national health reporter Dan Diamond about his interview with Atul Gawande, who leads global health at USAID and co-chairs the Biden administration’s covid-19 task force. He is also an endocrine surgeon, health-care researcher and writer. Gawande explains...
One of the deadliest places on Earth to have a baby
May 06, 2022 20:00Today on Post Reports, we go to Sierra Leone, where having a baby can mean risking your life. Read more: Today, we follow the story of Susan Lebbie. Lebbie is 17 and has just given birth to her son, Evan. Throughout her pregnancy she was terrified of facing the same fate as her mother, who died while giving birth to Susan. Susan’s fears are not unfounded: One in 20 women in Sierra Leone die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, according to the latest United Nations estimate, most oft...
The power of language in the abortion fight
May 05, 2022 21:47In the ‘90s, Buffalo was ground zero for the battle over abortion rights. Today we revisit that time with media columnist Margaret Sullivan — who served as managing editor of the Buffalo News — and talk about how media has shaped the abortion debate. Read more: In 1998, in Buffalo, NY, OB/GYN Barnett Slepian was murdered in his own home by anti-abortion extremist, James Kopp. We hear from media columnist Margaret Sullivan about how she remembers this volatile time and how the media has ...
The economics of abortion access
May 04, 2022 22:09As the Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, we talk to an economist about the long-term consequences for someone denied an abortion. Read more: What can economic research tell us about the effects of abortion access on women’s lives? As the Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, we talk to economist Caitlin Myers at Middlebury College, who has been asking this question in her research. Myers says there is a lot we can learn from the data about how being denie...
Drafting the end of Roe v. Wade
May 03, 2022 21:32The Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe v. Wade. Today, we unpack the leaked draft opinion that has spurred intense reaction from both sides of the issue. Plus, we hear about the implications for red states, blue states and the Supreme Court. Read more: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. confirmed on Tuesday that the draft opinion is authentic, and that he is opening an investigation into how it became public. Roberts also stressed that the draft opinion was not final, and the ultimate deci...
The changing face of J.D. Vance
May 02, 2022 21:34This Tuesday, Ohioans will vote in the primary ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. Today on “Post Reports,” we’re talking about the transformation of one candidate from never-Trumper to Trump’s pick for Ohio’s open Senate seat. Read more: Back in 2016, commentator and venture capitalist J.D. Vance was known for his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” about the ravages of poverty and drug use in his Ohio town. He made the rounds on talk shows like “Charlie Rose” and NPR’s “Fresh Air” explaining ...
The carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages
April 29, 2022 10:00Today on “Post Reports,” we meet a carpet cleaner who speaks two dozen languages — and we have an update on what’s happened to him since this story was first published in print. Read more: In a city where diplomats and embassies abound, where interpreters can command six-figure salaries at the State Department or the International Monetary Fund, where language proficiency is résumé rocket fuel, Vaughn Smith was a savant with a secret. He speaks 24 languages well enough to carry on lengthy...
Why fewer kids are going to college
April 28, 2022 22:04Why college enrollment numbers are down. And how one solution to climate change could threaten an endangered species. Read more: May 1 is college decision day, which is the last chance students have to submit the deposit that secures their spot at the university or college of their choice. But colleges aren’t getting as many students as usual. Enrollment has shrunk more than 5 percent since 2019 — that’s a loss of nearly 1 million students. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel explains why enrollment ...
On the front lines in Ukraine
April 27, 2022 21:52On today’s show we take you on the ground in Bucha, where Russian forces have left a trail of devastation. Then we head east, where we hear from refugees who have escaped the embattled port city of Mariupol. Read more: In the suburb of Bucha, Russian forces have left a trail of violent devastation. Post journalists spent a week reporting from the area and counted more than 200 bodies. Foreign correspondent Louisa Loveluck says the actual number of dead is believed to be much higher. “It's...
The $44 billion question
April 26, 2022 20:00What will Elon Musk do with Twitter? Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about what’s next for one of the world’s most influential communication platforms. Read more: Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, will buy social media site Twitter for about $44 billion after weeks of back-and-forth with the company. Musk now holds the future of the platform in his hands, and critics fear his strong belief in free speech could lead to more misinformation and hate speech on the platform. Will Oremus e...
Disney vs. DeSantis
April 25, 2022 20:42What the battle between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney World says about what Republicans are willing to do to win the culture wars. And, how the end of the federal public transit mask mandate will affect vulnerable people who use buses and trains. Read more: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been publicly feuding with Disney over a controversial law that limits what teachers can say to kids about gender and sexual orientation. Reporter Hannah Sampson explains how the state’s Republ...
“Broken Doors,” Episode 3
April 22, 2022 20:57“Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the U.S. justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca. In the third episode of this series, we return to a rural county in Mississippi. After hearing from survivors of no-knock raids and learning about the deadly consequences, we put our questions directly to the sheriff and the judge who had allowed...
What ‘greenwashing’ means for climate change
April 21, 2022 21:29Today on “Post Reports,” the Biden administration announces a plan to welcome Ukrainian refugees. Plus, just in time for Earth Day, our corporate accountability reporter helps you decipher what it means when a company claims to be “green.” Read more: The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to expedite the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, creating a new system that will allow citizens and organizations such as churches to sponsor them and warning that Ukrainians attempting to cross ...
The trouble with policing ‘hot spots’
April 20, 2022 18:30In the past two years, a number of major American cities have experienced spikes in homicides and other violent crimes. Mayors and police chiefs have been under pressure to respond, and some are turning to a new policing strategy called “place network investigations.” As its name suggests, the strategy focuses on how criminal networks form and thrive in certain geographical places, and it looks at what can be done to try to break up these patterns of crime. Pioneered by academics and now b...
Planes, trains & poop: the future of coronavirus
April 19, 2022 21:27What the end of the transportation mask mandates means for you. And, the key to tracking coronavirus surges across the country could be in your poop. Read more: Yesterday a federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. The Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the mandate, as did major airlines, with some of them informing passengers of the news midflight. The relaxation of the pandemic precaution has raised public health co...
Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter
April 18, 2022 21:45Today on Post Reports, tech reporter Nitasha Tiku breaks down what’s happening with Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter, what his vision of the platform would look like, and why Twitter is putting up a fight. Read more: Elon Musk is already facing pushback on multiple fronts on his plan to buy social media company Twitter. The billionaire launched his takeover bid last week after back-and-forth wrangling with Twitter since he became a major shareholder. First, he was invited to join the ...
Life Kit: Dealing with mental health at work
April 16, 2022 18:00 - 20.2 MBOn today’s bonus episode of Post Reports, we bring you a collaboration with NPR’s “Life Kit” about how to deal with mental health issues while on the job. Read more: Being on the clock while experiencing depression, anxiety or another mental health issue can be distracting, difficult and isolating. But you’re not alone. Post Reports producer Jordan-Marie Smith worked with NPR’s how-to podcast “Life Kit” on how to deal with mental health while at work. It doesn’t matter whether you are a ba...
“Broken Doors,” Episode 2
April 15, 2022 17:57A family confronts a sheriff after a deadly no-knock raid. Read more: “Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the U.S. justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca. In the second episode of this series, we return to a rural county in Mississippi. Around 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2015, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office hurled a battering ram in...
The danger of forever chemicals
April 14, 2022 21:19Today on “Post Reports,” how forever chemicals upended the lives of farmers in Maine — and just how widespread the contamination might be. Read more: Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis bought their farm seven years ago. In late 2021, they discovered that their land and water were contaminated with incredibly high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals” or PFAS. After finding out about the contamination, they shut down all of their farm opera...
The misinformation war in Ukraine
April 13, 2022 21:30Today on “Post Reports,” the battle over misinformation on Facebook in Ukraine. Plus, how TikTok has created an alternative universe, just for Russia. Read more: In Ukraine, Facebook fact-checkers are fighting a war on two fronts: racing to debunk propaganda about the war while also trying to survive it. Naomi Nix reports. With Russia cracking down on social media, the Chinese-owned company TikTok has managed to stay online there by banning all new content, even as loopholes let Russian...
Will France elect its first far-right president?
April 12, 2022 21:58Could Macron lose? That’s the question we put to Paris correspondent Rick Noack, who has been on the campaign trail with the incumbent and the far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen. Today on Post Reports, what to know about the French presidential election. Read more: French President Emmanuel Macron finished ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of the French presidential election. But far-right leader Le Pen’s close second-place finish set up a competitive runoff elect...
How the student loan freeze helped Black women
April 11, 2022 21:15On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” what life without federal student loan payments has meant for Black women. Plus, the double life of a WNBA star. Read more: Lamesha Brown bought a house. Alphi Coleman feels like she can finally rest. Lisa Jackson says it “almost feels like a raise.” For millions of Americans who took out loans to pay for college, the past two years have offered a chance to live without the burden of education debt. But Black women like Brown, Coleman and Jackson sho...
“Broken Doors,” Episode 1
April 08, 2022 19:14An unusual warrant. A pattern of questionable no-knock raids. A reporting thread that just kept going. Read more: No-knock warrants allow police to force their way into people’s homes without warning. What happens when this aggressive police tactic becomes the rule, rather than the exception? “Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at ...
Is accountability possible for Amir Locke's killing?
April 07, 2022 22:05Why prosecutors decided not to charge Minneapolis police officer Mark Hanneman in the killing of Amir Locke. Plus, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson gets confirmed to the Supreme Court. Read more: On Wednesday, prosecutors announced they would not be filing charges against a Minneapolis police officer in the killing of Amir Locke during a predawn no-knock raid in February. In a statement on Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said they...
In Oklahoma, a closing window to access abortion
April 06, 2022 22:56On Tuesday, Oklahoma lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban most abortions in the state, passing a Republican bill that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If the law is signed — and not struck down by the courts — it will take effect this summer. The state is also weighing two other bills modeled on the restrictive Texas law that has banned most abortions by employing a novel legal strategy that empowers private citizens to enforce the law thr...
A secret campaign against TikTok
April 05, 2022 21:53How Facebook’s parent company Meta paid one of the biggest Republican consulting firms in the country to orchestrate a nationwide PR campaign against TikTok. And, where we stand with booster shots and covid antivirals. Read more: Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is paying the Republican consulting group Targeted Victory to try to turn the American public against TikTok. They’ve done everything from placing op-eds in major regional news outlets to promoting dubious stories about alleged Tik...
‘How many more Buchas are there?’
April 04, 2022 21:12On today’s episode of Post Reports, grim scenes from the Ukrainian suburb of Bucha renew calls for investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Read more: On Saturday, Ukrainian forces and journalists found mass graves in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew from the region. Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told The Post that about 270 residents had been buried in two graves. He estimated that 40 bodies were left on the street. On today’s episode of Post Report...
An ICU nurse confronts Year 3 of the pandemic
April 01, 2022 18:30As we enter Year 3 of the pandemic, we check back in with intensive care unit nurse Jessica Montanaro, whom we first met in 2021. Now sick with covid and facing a ticking clock on her return to work, she reflects on the past year and the present struggles of her profession. Read More: Last year we brought you the story of Jessica Montanaro, an intensive care unit nurse from New York City who found herself battling exhaustion and grief as New York became the epicenter of the coronavirus pa...
The view from Kyiv
March 31, 2022 21:50Russia announced earlier this week it would scale back its offensive around Kyiv. We take you in and around the capital city to see whether that’s true. Plus, how videos of impromptu concerts around Ukraine have become the soundtrack of hope in the face of war. Read more: On Tuesday, Moscow announced that it would “drastically reduce” its military assault around Kyiv. But U.S. officials are leery of Russia’s promise to shift away from the capital city. Post foreign correspondent Siobhan...
The rise and fall of Peloton
March 30, 2022 21:33How Peloton became a victim of its own success, and what the parasocial relationship with its instructors tells us about our relationships to ourselves. Plus, what happens when two cosmonauts and an astronaut return to earth. Read more: Peloton saw a meteoric rise at the start of the pandemic. But as normal life has resumed, sales of the stationary bike have plummeted and the company has been plunged into crisis. Business reporter Aaron Gregg explains. And writer Anne Helen Petersen, aut...
How the war in Ukraine could end
March 29, 2022 21:38On today’s episode of Post Reports, we bring you the latest news from Istanbul, where Russian and Ukrainian delegates are negotiating a de-escalation of the war. Read more: After a day of talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have laid out their terms for a potential end to the war. Moscow has said it would “drastically reduce” military activity near Kyiv and Chernihiv “to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations.” Kyiv has propo...
Preparing for a post-Roe America
March 28, 2022 19:38As more and more states move to restrict abortion rights, and the Supreme Court weighs whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, we look at how clinics in blue states are preparing for an influx of patients from across state lines. Read more: On today’s episode of Post Reports, national politics reporter Caroline Kitchener takes us inside a clinic on the Illinois side of the Illinois-Missouri border, where abortion providers are working to build a blue-state abortion refuge for patients from acros...
What’s the deal with Ginni Thomas?
March 25, 2022 20:30 - 17.2 MBOn today’s Post Reports, what we can learn from texts between President Donald Trump’s top aide and the wife of a Supreme Court justice. Plus, why protesters in the Caribbean have not been charmed by William and Kate’s royal “charm offensive.” Read more: In text messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News, Virginia Thomas — a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to keep up the re...
Mariupol, war crimes, and NATO’s limits
March 24, 2022 21:18 - 21.6 MBThe United States and the E.U. announced new sanctions on Russia on Thursday as President Biden held emergency talks with NATO leaders in Brussels. Today we talk about the geopolitical moment, and hear from the families of people trapped in Mariupol. Read more: President Biden said on Thursday that the United States will take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and will commit more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s continued invasion in Ukraine. As the wa...