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
The year of the voter
November 02, 2020 21:45How a chaotic year resulted in sky-high voter turnout. And, how Democrats are trying to win back rural votes in the Midwest. Read more: The year of the vote: How Americans surmounted a pandemic and dizzying rule changes so their voices would be heard. Can Biden compete in Trump’s rural strongholds? Democrats hope so. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Keeping up with the Boneses
October 31, 2020 16:26Maura Judkis explains 2020’s peculiar Halloween phenomenon: the mad dash for Home Depot’s decorative 12-foot-tall plastic skeletons. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Will our democracy survive this election?
October 30, 2020 20:00The decline of democracy in the United States. Lessons from 150 books about President Trump and his time in office. And, the rise of Sarah Cooper. Read more: On multiple occasions, President Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if former vice president Joe Biden wins the election. That concerns a lot of people, including Sarah Repucci, vice president of research and analysis at Freedom House, an organization that studies democracies around the world. “Democracy is...
Q-tips, generators and a prayer: How to run an election
October 29, 2020 20:45What it’s like to run an election in a pandemic. Also, the French president’s crusade to reform Islam. Read more: Chris Anderson is a Florida election official. In the weeks leading up to Nov. 3, he has been trying to administer an election safely, securely and as smoothly as possible. The tools of his trade: 101,000 Q-tips from a local Dollar Tree, a phone constantly pinging with text messages, and an election supervisor’s prayer that begs, “We don’t care who wins — just don’t let it be c...
Can we trust polling in battleground states?
October 28, 2020 21:00A snapshot of what’s happening in key battleground states. What we can and can’t learn from polling. And a complicated end to the World Series. Read more: Reporters Jenna Johnson and Amy Gardner have been closely watching the presidential race play out in key states. In some of these states, such as Georgia and Texas, the polls are much closer than expected. The Post’s polling director, Scott Clement, talks about Biden's narrow lead in Michigan, and what we can and can't learn from pollin...
Will your vote count?
October 27, 2020 20:45What we can learn from a Supreme Court decision on mail-in ballots in Wisconsin. The states where most voters still can’t vote by mail. And why it’s easier to vote from space than from your own home. Read more: On Monday night, the Supreme Court rejected a request to extend Wisconsin’s deadline for counting mail-in ballots. Justice Brett M.Kavanaugh wrote a concurring argument that reporter Philip Bump says is riddled with dubious arguments, including an allegation that late ballots are so...
The court that Mitch McConnell built
October 26, 2020 20:30Mitch McConnell’s Supreme Court victory. The future of the Affordable Care Act. And a shift in the White House’s thinking on how to tackle the coronavirus. Read more: Trump’s conservative imprint on the federal judiciary gives Democrats a playbook — if they win. ‘ACB vs. ACA’: Why Democrats keep bringing up Obamacare during Barrett’s confirmation hearing. With just over a week until Election Day, the White House has signaled that it’s done trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus,...
The winners and losers of early voting
October 23, 2020 20:15What record-breaking early-voter turnout means for Democrats and Republicans. How one election official is handling the “tsunami” of ballots in her Texas county. Plus, the latest on foreign election interference. Read more: Across the country, Democratic enthusiasm is propelling an enormous wave of early voting. But reporter Amy Gardner, who covers voting issues, explains that it’s still too early to know what that will mean for Democrat Joe Biden. Meanwhile, election officials such as Da...
545 kids
October 22, 2020 20:30How the government has lost track of hundreds of separated migrant families. Why rural communities still lack reliable access to high-speed Internet. And, forming a ‘pandemic pod’ for the winter. Read more: More than two years after a U.S. district judge ordered that families separated by President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border be reunited, the parents of 545 minors still haven't been found. Reporter Teo Armus explains why it’s been so difficult to track and reunite famili...
The latest on the race for a vaccine
October 21, 2020 20:15The latest on vaccine trials, and who would get a vaccine first. Why personal protective equipment such as the N95 mask is still so scarce. And introducing the mute button to the presidential debate. Read more: As coronavirus cases climb in nearly every state, drug companies are developing prospective vaccines at unprecedented speed. Science reporter Carolyn Y. Johnson has the latest on the search for a vaccine, and she says early data is expected in a matter of weeks. N95 masks are cru...
Can Senate Republicans survive Trump?
October 20, 2020 20:31The Senate seats in danger of flipping parties this election. Facebook and Twitters attempt to tackle disinformation ahead of the election. And a Black man speaks out after his image was used for fake pro-Trump Twitter accounts. Read more: Will the Senate flip parties? Reporter Paul Kane explains the Republican seats to watch this election, and the tightrope that senators who are close to the president have to walk to stay in office. Social media companies like Twitter and Facebook are s...
Election 2020: Lawyers vs. more lawyers
October 19, 2020 20:45There are just over two weeks until Nov. 3. Election-related lawsuits are flooding the courts, but the army of lawyers filing cases shows little sign of stopping. And a conversation with a pro-Trump Muslim voter. Read more: People are voting early across the country, but courts are facing an unprecedented number of election cases. Martine Powers and Post Reports producer Reena Flores explore the variouselection cases before the court, the lawyering-up by both parties, and how that can pla...
The Life of George Floyd
October 16, 2020 20:00“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.” George Floyd has become a symbol, and a rallying cry. But what’s missing in our understanding is the man himself: a figure who was complicated, full of ambition, shaped by his family and his community and a century of forces around him. On this episode of “Post Reports,” we explore the life and experiences of the man...
Tracking a secret outbreak in Iowa
October 15, 2020 20:30How genetic science can help expose, track and contain coronavirus outbreaks. And your voting questions answered. Read more: In a pandemic rife with confusion, where essential data and clear guidance have been difficult to find, clues to controlling coronavirus outbreaks can be found in the virus’s own genetic code. Sarah Kaplan reports on an undisclosed outbreak in Postville, Iowa — and the genetic evidence it left behind. Your voting questions, answered. One listener asks, how do campa...
Everyone wants a stimulus deal. So why isn’t there one?
October 14, 2020 20:45Why we still don’t have a second pandemic relief bill. What the funding holdup means for schools. And how rushing this year’s census could shape our democracy for years to come. Read more: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has announced that the Senate will take up a narrow economic relief bill when it returns to session next week — one that Democrats will probably block. White House economics reporter Jeff Stein reports on the content of the stimulus bill. As talks sour ...
How covid-19 amplified the anti-vaccine movement
October 13, 2020 20:45How Amy Coney Barrett would view her role on the court. How anti-vaxxers are using covid-19 to further their agenda. And when mail ballots get counted. Read more: During the first day of questioning in Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, she told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she has made “no commitment” to the White House or senators on how she would rule on major cases on the Affordable Care Act, abortion and election disputes. Amber Phillips breaks down h...
Introducing Amy Coney Barrett
October 12, 2020 21:00Opening statements in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. How Barrett was involved in litigating the 2000 presidential election. And the political battle that led Oregon to vote by mail. Read more: White House reporter Seung Min Kim unpacks opening statements in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and what we can expect over the following days. Investigative reporter Beth Reinhard discusses Barrett’s role in the contes...
Trump’s loyal base
October 09, 2020 20:50The White men without college degrees who love the president more than ever. How evangelical Latinos could swing the vote for Trump in Florida. And, a bakery in Beirut reopens two months after an explosion. Read more: Polls show Biden with a significant lead over the president, but national political reporter Jenna Johnson says there is still one demographic group that can’t be swayed: White men without college degrees. Johnson talked to some of Trump’s most loyal fans. In the battlegro...
The problem with grand juries
October 08, 2020 20:51What grand jury recordings can tell us about why there was no indictment in Breonna Taylor's death. How the pandemic is scrambling college students’ voting plans. And, how Boris Johnson was affected by contracting covid-19. Read more: During last night’s vice-presidential debate, Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) were asked about justice, and the grand jury decision not to charge several officers for fatally shooting Breonna Taylor. From reporter Marisa Iati, the ques...
With Trump sick, Biden puts the virus front and center
October 07, 2020 20:15How Biden’s presidential campaign is pivoting. The most uneven recession. And, why service industry workers are seeing less in tips. Read more: National political reporter Annie Linskey on how Joe Biden’s campaign for president this year is evolving. From revealing coronavirus testing results to mobilizing Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the way the Democratic nominee approaches the field is changing. On Tuesday, President Trump announced on Twitter that he was stopping negotiations on ano...
When serving the president means risking covid-19
October 06, 2020 20:15How the White House residence staff is responding to the hot spot in their workplace. The owner of a Kansas diner weighs whether to reopen or keep feeding people in need. And the NBA’s push to get out the vote. Read more: National features reporter Jada Yuan reports that as the number of people testing positive for coronavirus at the White House increases, there is growing concern that residential workers are being put at risk. The Ladybird Diner in Lawrence, Kan., has been feeding hung...
Outbreak in the West Wing
October 05, 2020 20:43The White House sends mixed messages about Trump’s condition as at least a dozen people in Trump’s inner circle have tested positive for the coronavirus. The quiet resistance of U.S. Postal workers. And the importance of slow science. Read more: The president says he's leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Centerafter testing positive for the coronavirus. White House reporter Seung Min Kim explains how the White House has been unclear about Trump’s condition, and who in his inner ...
"A secret that she couldn't tell"
October 03, 2020 15:57The second chapter of “Canary: The Washington Post Investigates,” a new seven-part podcast that follows the intertwining stories of two women who came together after one of them publicly shared her story of sexual assault. Lauren Clark is a hair stylist in D.C. When a stranger sexually assaulted her in 2013, it sparked a years-long courtroom saga and a campaign for justice. Her story started The Post’s Amy Brittain on a reporting journey that has lasted for nearly three years — one that pla...
The ultimate coronavirus test for the president
October 02, 2020 20:00President Trump and the first lady tested positive for the coronavirus. What does that mean for the White House, the presidential race and the future of the country? Read more: White House reporter Josh Dawsey reports on contact-tracing efforts out of the White House. Amber Phillips and the Fix navigate the political fallout, including the effects on upcoming presidential debates and campaign rallies. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Introducing "Canary: The Washington Post Investigates"
October 01, 2020 20:00After a sexual assault case in the District of Columbia, one woman’s public warning ricochets all the way to Birmingham, Ala., where another woman gives voice to a devastating allegation. This seven-part investigative series from The Washington Post follows the Alabama woman’s decision to come forward with a claim of sexual assault against a high-ranking figure in the D.C. criminal justice system, and the spiraling effects of that choice. “Canary: The Washington Post Investigates” is about...
Nine months and 1 million lives lost
September 30, 2020 19:00From the first wave in February in China through New York City and on to India’s current surge, the coronavirus has unleashed a worldwide suffering with no evident exit. As we pass a grim milestone, we try to get a sense for a few of the people we’ve lost. Read more: This week, the worldwide death toll of covid-19 has now surpassed 1 million people. That’s 1 million lives lost in just nine months. And as we’ve been hearing about and thinking about this huge number, our colleagues at The ...
Revisiting the 2016 ‘October Surprise’
September 29, 2020 20:15The story behind the FBI’s October Surprise just days before the 2016 election. And, the human cost of ordering online during a pandemic. Read more: Book excerpt: An FBI sex crimes investigator helped trigger 2016’s “October Surprise,” by national security reporter Devlin Barrett. In warehouses across the U.S., workers say they are overworked and fearful of their safety, says retail reporter Abha Bhattarrai. Now, workers are bracing for a holiday frenzy. For a recap of the first presid...
Is Trump actually rich?
September 28, 2020 20:45What we’ve learned from Trump’s tax returns. Who is Judge Amy Coney Barrett? And, what it’s like to moderate a presidential debate — and why it might be a good thing to lose the audience. Read more: President Trump paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017, according to reporting tax records obtained by The New York Times. Reporter David Fahrenthold explains what else we’ve learned from these documents about the president’s business ventures. Over the weekend, President Trump ...
Trapped inside the Star Motel
September 25, 2020 15:40Even before the pandemic, Orlando was plagued by a lack of affordable housing. Then Florida’s tourism economy crashed, leaving hundreds of people trapped in rundown motels on the edge of society. Read more: Greg Jaffe reported on the people trapped at a motel without power just outside of Disney World. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
How policing failed Breonna Taylor
September 24, 2020 20:15Why police are rarely charged for shooting people — and whether police tactics will change. The movement to abolish Greek life on campuses. And, the question of court-packing. Read more: In Louisville, clashes erupted after a grand jury’s decision in the police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Investigative reporter Robert Klemko is in Louisville. He shares why it’s so hard to charge police officers of wrongdoing. Follow The Post’s live updates here. Across college campuses, students are call...
Why Mitch McConnell is unstoppable
September 23, 2020 20:54Republicans leave Senate Democrats with few options to stall a Trump SCOTUS pick. The country’s first U.S. criminal jury trial — on Zoom. And your voting questions, answered. Read more: As the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s body lies in repose at the Supreme Court, Republicans are vowing to forge ahead with a Trump-picked replacement. Congressional correspondent Paul Kane explains how Democrats are largely powerless to stop a Senate confirmation. Justice by Zoom: Courts across the n...
Fall’s here. So is a rise in coronavirus cases.
September 22, 2020 20:56Temperatures are dropping, and that could mean a spike in coronavirus cases. How a Supreme Court vacancy — or replacement — could have an impact on the presidential election. And, pandemic-inspired music you can dance to. Read more: The United States reached a grim milestone: 200,000 deaths from covid-19. Health reporter Lenny Bernstein says that young people are behind the spike in cases — and with the temperature dropping, it will probably get even worse. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death ha...
America after RBG
September 21, 2020 20:59The political battle brewing over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, and the future of the Supreme Court. And, remembering the life and legacy of “the notorious RBG.” Read more: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a pioneer for gender equality and the second woman to reach the Supreme Court, died Friday at age 87 at her home in Washington. Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes discusses Ginsburg’s life and legacy, and how she became a feminist icon. “Folks made her out to be superwo...
“I hired you because you’re Black.”
September 18, 2020 20:45On today’s Post Reports, Michelle Singletary has an honest conversation about affirmative action. And, we take your questions about voting this year, starting with a listener in California. Read more: Introducing Sincerely, Michelle: A personal series by financial columnist Michelle Singletary examining misconceptions involving race and economics. The first topic? Affirmative action. Do you have a question about voting this election? Check out The Post’s How to Vote guide, a resource wit...
The White women turning away from Trump
September 17, 2020 20:00On today’s “Post Reports,” Jenna Johnson reports on the White, suburban women who regret putting Donald Trump in office. Matt Zapotosky explains why Attorney General William Barr lambasting the Justice Department matters. And introducing “Canary,” a Washington Post investigative podcast hosted by Amy Brittain. Read more: National political correspondent Jenna Johnson reports on the growing number of White female voters who regret voting for Donald Trump in 2016 and plan to vote for Democr...
How federal regulators failed meat plant workers
September 16, 2020 20:45On today’s Post Reports, more than 200 meatpacking workers have died of covid-19. Critics say that federal regulators have endangered employees by failing to respond appropriately. How the pandemic is transforming family practice doctors. And the Big 10 turns a 180. Read more: So far, more than 200 meat packing employees have died of covid-19 in the United States. “We’re talking about problems in more than four hundred meat plants,” investigative reporter Kimberly Kindy says, but “two rec...
The 1963 Birmingham bombing’s ‘Fifth Girl’
September 15, 2020 20:44Sarah Collins Rudolph survived the Birmingham bombing 57 years ago today. Now, she wants restitution. And, an update on the criminal case in the death of George Floyd. Read more: The story of Sarah Collins Rudolph, who survived the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. The explosion killed her sister and three other girls. Now, she wants restitution and an apology. “She wants justice for herself,” explains enterprise reporter Sydney Trent. “She feels like she has been overlooked.” The police of...
After Oregon fires, no house to come home to
September 14, 2020 20:45Oregon residents struggle to find shelter away from wildfires and dense smoke. Why a Black autistic man is serving 10 years in prison for a car crash. And U.S. Open winner Naomi Osaka sends a strong message with her masks. Read more: Samantha Schmidt reports from Oregon, where state orders have evacuees sleeping in parking lots and residents find themselves without homes to return to. Video journalist Lindsey Sitz reports on the case of Matthew Rushin, a 22-year-old Black autistic man wh...
Nineteen children and counting
September 11, 2020 18:00How one sperm donor found out he has 19 children -- and learned the promises and perils of online genetic testing. And, how dogs can sniff out diseases, including the coronavirus. Read more: When Bryce Cleary donated his sperm in 1989, he was told he would have five donor children at most and all would be located on the East Coast, his own role hidden behind anonymity. Kyle Swenson reports that with the advent of genealogical websites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe, Cleary realized he one ...
The American West is burning
September 10, 2020 20:45On today’s Post Reports, record-breaking wildfires are already spreading up the West Coast – and the fire season has only just begun. How a Homeland Security whistleblower was told to stop reports on potential Russian interference in the 2020 election. And, the issues with the new “Mulan.” Read more: The Bay Area skies changed basically overnight, says Washington Post reporter Heather Kelly. One day “it was orange. It looked like Mars. It was dark. It was depressing.” As wildfires in th...
E. Jean Carroll v. the United States?
September 09, 2020 20:45The Justice Department seeks to intervene to the benefit of President Trump in a defamation case brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her decades ago. Unemployed Americans say they won’t forget inaction by Congress. Plus, whether there’s a future for karaoke. Read more: Reporter Matt Zapotosky on the Justice Department’s case for defending the president in a year-old defamation suit. People hurting financially in the U.S. say they won’t forget Congress’s lack o...
The postmaster general’s alleged straw-donor scheme
September 08, 2020 20:45The postmaster general faces new allegations of campaign finance violations. Why the pandemic is making it so hard for people to sleep. And your questions about immunity, answered. Read more: Investigative reporter Aaron Davis has discovered that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s prolific campaign fundraising was bolstered for more than a decade by a practice that left many employees feeling pressured to make political contributions to GOP candidates –– money DeJoy later reimbursed through...
Is it okay to laugh at Florida Man?
September 07, 2020 16:00The beginnings of the Florida Man meme, and what it’s like to go viral on the worst day of your life. Read more: Is It okay to laugh at Florida Man? Writer Logan Hill investigates what happens after someone goes viral as the “world’s worst superhero”— and the moral implications of laughing along. Subscribe to The Washington Post: postreports.com/offer
The U.S. is deporting Nicaraguan asylum seekers
September 04, 2020 20:15The story of a Nicaraguan dissident who — in fear for his life and his family’s — sought asylum at the border. U.S. officials sent him back instead. Moises Alberto Ortega Valdivia is a political dissident from Nicaragua who sought asylum in the U.S. He was denied that right. What happened next at the border was “shocking,” says Post correspondent Kevin Sieff. “To them and to basically anyone who follows immigration law.” After the Post published this article, Congress members wrote to Pr...
Why your groceries just got more expensive
September 03, 2020 20:34On today’s Post Reports, how presidential candidates are shifting their focus to the Midwest. How the pandemic is making us pay more for less at the grocery store. And how grocery store workers morale is at an all-time low. Read more: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is shifting his strategy in an attempt to win the Midwest. Matt Viser reports that the intentional contrast with President Trump makes the region the most crucial battleground in the 2020 campaign. What’s on your gr...
The children left behind in online learning
September 02, 2020 18:30On today’s Post Reports, how distance learning widens the digital divide and leaves disconnected students behind. The unique challenges of special education during the pandemic. And, the toxic side of positivity. Read more: Education reporter Moriah Balingit on how schoolchildren are being locked out of virtual classrooms because of poor Internet connections. As many of the nation’s classrooms are moving online, more than 17 million students do not have high-speed Internet at home. As sc...
The TikTok ban, explained
September 01, 2020 20:15Tech reporter Rachel Lerman on why President Trump wants to ban TikTok, and what a ban could mean for users and employees in the United States. Emily Rauhala explains what the pandemic means for international students in America. Plus, Lauren Lumpkin on what it feels like to start college remotely. Read more: ‘45 days of ambiguity’: What a U.S. TikTok ban could mean for users and employees Education, interrupted Freshmen waited for their schools to share reopening plans. Then things got...
What happens when federal workers get political
August 31, 2020 20:30Lisa Rein reports on the Hatch Act and the uneven way the anti-corruption law has been enforced for the past three years. Matt Zapotosky breaks down what we know about Stephen K. Bannon’s arrest. And remembering actor Chadwick Boseman. Read more: As Trump appointees flout the Hatch Act, civil servants who get caught get punished. Steve Bannon has been charged with defrauding donors in a private effort to raise money for Trump’s border wall. Chadwick Boseman praised student protesters in...
Two conventions, two American realities
August 28, 2020 20:45 - 25.2 MBPolitical correspondent Dan Balz looks back at two very different conventions that painted two different portraits of America. Plus, NBA reporter Ben Golliver and sports columnist Jerry Brewer on what happened in the bubble and what it means for the role of sports in protests against racial injustice. Read more: Trump and Biden look to brutal fall campaign over pandemic, race and the economy Most sports leagues pause with second day of protests, some more unified than others NBA players ...
A story on repeat in America
August 27, 2020 20:17 - 31.5 MBToday on Post Reports, Kim Bellware is following protests in Kenosha, Wis., where a Black man was shot multiple times by police. Columnist Eugene Robinson on the civil rights moment we’re in, and why we need Black Lives Matter. Elise Viebeck reports on how voting by mail went in the primaries. And, deputy weather editor Andrew Freedman on what happens when you’re dealing with climate change, a pandemic and a Category 4 hurricane. Read more: Opinion: We need Black Lives Matter. The police ...