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 NFL after George Floyd
June 17, 2020 20:30 - 28.1 MBJerry Brewer on the NFL’s moment of reckoning over Black Lives Matter. Amber Phillips on the policing bill unveiled by the Senate GOP. And, Sarah Kaplan on the most famous skyscraper in New York going green. Read more: At the lowest moment of my life, I rediscovered sports’ greatest gift: Hope. Senate GOP unveils policing bill that would discourage, but not ban, tactics such as chokeholds and no-knock warrants. New York’s most famous skyscraper shrank its planet-warming emissions by 40 ...
How BLM is challenging Big Tech
June 16, 2020 20:30 - 27.3 MBGeoffrey Fowler describes the questions Black Lives Matter is raising for Big Tech. Ben Golliver considers the future of professional sports. And Marisa Iati, on how one data scientist is pushing back against faulty coronavirus stats in Florida. Read more: Black Lives Matter could change facial recognition forever – if Big Tech doesn’t stand in the way. The NBA has a plan for the playoffs. But players and fans have questions. Florida fired its coronavirus data scientist. Now she’s publ...
SCOTUS rules in favor of LGBTQ workers
June 15, 2020 20:15 - 23.6 MBRobert Barnes walks through the Supreme Court decision that protects gay and transgender people in the workplace. Karla Adam explains why minority and immigrant doctors are feeling the brunt of the coronavirus burden in Britain. And Eugene Scott describes how it feels to be a Black journalist right now. Read more: The Supreme Court has said that gay and transgender workers are protected by federal law, forbidding discrimination on the basis of sex. Minority doctors are among the worst hi...
Why Hollywood loves cop stories
June 12, 2020 19:14 - 31.5 MBAlyssa Rosenberg on 100 years of police in pop culture and why we need to rethink cop stories on TV. And, fashion critic Robin Givhan on the symbolism of clothing on Capitol Hill this week. Read more: Shut down all police movies and TV shows. Now. Dragnets, Dirty Harry and dying hard: 100 years of the police in pop culture. Congress’s kente-cloth spectacle was a mess of contradictions. George Floyd’s brother came to Washington to speak. But his power was in the silences. Subscribe to ...
What it means to ‘defund the police’
June 11, 2020 20:40 - 30.4 MBKatie Mettler and Georgetown’s Christy Lopez delve into the movement to “defund the police.” Michael Kranish looks into Joe Biden’s complicated history on criminal justice. And Lenny Bernstein reports on a new hope for patients whose lungs have suffered from covid-19. Read more: Defund the police? Here’s what that really means. Joe Biden let police groups write his crime bill. Now, his agenda has changed. Surgeons perform the first known lung transplant for a coronavirus patient in the ...
Why a vaccine won’t be a silver bullet
June 10, 2020 20:00 - 24.9 MBJoel Achenbach tracks the rising coronavirus caseloads in some parts of the country. William Wan explains how the virus could become the next measles or chickenpox. And Ben Guarino talks us through a time-tested method for disease containment. Read more: As the economy reopens, coronavirus transmission remains high in much of the U.S. Coronavirus may never go away — even with a vaccine. Reopening the country safely means deploying “disease detectives” — contact tracers — as soon as pos...
A funeral, and a call to justice
June 09, 2020 20:45 - 23.7 MBGeorge Floyd is laid to rest in Texas. We hear from some of the people who knew him. President Trump and federal law enforcement vs. Washington, D.C. And how a black police officer responded to protests.
Why police convictions are so rare
June 08, 2020 20:45 - 26.7 MBMarissa Lang and Clarence Williams report from Washington, D.C., as protests continue across the country. Georgetown University’s Paul Butler explains why it’s so difficult to prosecute police. And Heather Long looks at why black Americans have been left out of the economic recovery. Read more: Protesters gather on the streets of Washington, D.C., and around the world. Filing charges in George Floyd’s death was the easy part. Now comes the hard part. Digging deeper into the latest jobs...
The legacy of American riots
June 05, 2020 18:38 - 19.6 MBKellie Carter Jackson on the double standard that guides who can protest – and how – in the United States. And, Rachel Chason and Rebecca Tan examine what nursing home residents are experiencing during the pandemic. Read more: “There needs to be much more honesty about how we look back at the past and decipher what is violence, and what is a response to violence.” Nursing homes have been hard-hit by the coronavirus. Hear from residents in these facilities. Subscribe to The Washington Pos...
The failure to protect black Americans from covid-19
June 04, 2020 20:25 - 24 MBReporter Robert Samuels talks about how disastrous and present coronavirus has been in the black community. Emily Rauhala on President Trump’s decision to sever ties with the World Health Organization during a pandemic. And Rachel Lerman on the pros and cons of surveillance for racial injustice protesters and police. Read more: Blacks are suffering from covid-19 at an alarming rate. Here’s how U.S. cities failed one of their most vulnerable populations. President Trump pledges to divert ...
Racism, protests and the challenge for Joe Biden
June 03, 2020 20:30 - 24.7 MBHow Joe Biden is responding to protests across the United States, from political reporter Cleve R. Wootson Jr. How President Trump uses religion as a political tool, from White House reporter Toluse Olorunnipa. And we hear from the protesters in their own words. Read more: Protests pose a challenge for Biden: Appealing to older and younger black voters. Trump’s naked use of religion as a political tool draws rebukes from some faith leaders. We’ve been hearing a lot about the protests i...
Protesters vs. a presidential photo-op
June 02, 2020 20:45 - 24 MBWhy gas was used on peaceful protesters outside the White House, from Ashley Parker. How the U.S. has scaled back police reform efforts, according to Matt Zapotosky. And, one young woman says “Let it burn” after her family’s business gets caught up in the destruction. Read more: Police cleared the path for President Trump to take a photo, using gas and rubber bullets on a peaceful crowd. The Trump administration abandoned Obama-era police reform efforts. Now critics want them restored. ...
Anger and anguish across America
June 01, 2020 20:51 - 29.1 MBDevlin Barrett on how police tactics may be exacerbating tensions. Shane Harris on the officials who are trying to blame outsiders. And Christian Davenport talks about a historic launch into space. Read more: How police are feeding into the violence that erupted over the weekend. Who is actually attending these protests? Also, over the weekend: The historic SpaceX launch. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
One hundred thousand.
May 30, 2020 21:00 - 18.5 MBThe U.S. death toll has reached a stark milestone: 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus. The pandemic has exposed the nation’s vulnerabilities and dangerous divide. Read more: The U.S. death toll has reached 100,000. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
‘We woke up to a city of ash’
May 29, 2020 19:57 - 30 MBHolly Bailey reports from Minneapolis, where anger and violence are boiling over in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing by police. Errin Haines explains what really happened in Central Park. And Sebastian Smee with an appreciation for a powerful painting that captures another unsettling time in America. Read more: Protests in Minneapolis raged through the night, following the tragic killing of George Floyd. On Friday, the police officer was charged with third-degree murder and manslaug...
Trump vs. Big Tech
May 28, 2020 20:00 - 21.5 MBCat Zakrzewski reports on Trump’s expected executive order, which takes aim at a law that protects big tech companies. Tracy Jan reports that Asian American health-care workers are fighting racism as well as the coronavirus. And, Natalie Compton on what to expect next time you take a flight. Read more: On Thursday, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order that could fundamentally change free speech regulations on social media. Asian American health-care workers are facing i...
It’s not normal for so many Americans to feel depressed
May 27, 2020 20:00 - 23.4 MBWilliam Wan reports on the staggering numbers of Americans experiencing depression and anxiety during the pandemic. National reporter Reis Thebault on how the pandemic is shifting away from cities and gaining a foothold in rural America. And writer Ellen McCarthy on why we can’t bring ourselves to do the dishes. Read more: One-third of Americans show signs of clinical depression amid coronavirus pandemic, according to new census data. The pandemic is making its way into rural America. ...
Will Hong Kong be changed forever?
May 26, 2020 20:55 - 27 MBShibani Mahtani and Emily Rauhala explain what Beijing’s new security laws could mean for the future of Hong Kong. Steven Zeitchik on summer cinema in 2020. And a New York bus driver on the dangers such workers face. Read more: Hong Kong police use tear gas against thousands protesting Beijing’s new law The fate of the summer movie season rests on one Christopher Nolan film NYC bus drivers risk their health to keep city moving through pandemic Subscribe to The Washington Post: postrepo...
Why the need to go might prevent us from going out
May 23, 2020 21:00 - 15.1 MBAmericans are making it clear: They won’t be ready to go out to their favorite destinations until they feel confident about being able to go. To the bathroom, that is. Read more: The need to go is a big barrier to going out. Why public bathrooms are a stumbling block for reopening. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Who is Hillary without Bill?
May 22, 2020 16:00 - 23.2 MBNovelist Curtis Sittenfeld imagines another life for Hillary Rodham –– one without Bill Clinton. And, what we’re missing when we’re missing human touch. Read more: Some readers are calling Curtis Sittenfeld’s new book a work of ‘Pantsuit Nation fanfiction.’ She doesn’t mind at all. Skin-to-skin contact is often suggested for newborns. But we all need touch. Subscribe to The Washington Post: postreports.com/offer
The end of retail as we know it?
May 21, 2020 20:00 - 26.6 MBAbha Bhattarai and Damian Paletta unfold the retail bankruptcies weighing down the greater financial system. Chris Davenport explains the stakes of the first launch of NASA crews from the United States in nearly a decade. And, Hira Qureshi on the online community that’s breaking the fast together, each night of Ramadan. Read more: After years of debt, major department store chains are running out of cash –– and fast. SpaceX faces its toughest test. Millennials can’t celebrate in person ...
Vote by mail? Harder than it sounds.
May 20, 2020 20:00 - 25.6 MBJoseph Marks describes the challenges of preparing for massive mail-in voting. Juliet Eilperin breaks down why people aren’t getting tested, in places that have plenty of tests. Plus, Min Joo Kim explains how a new outbreak in South Korea has pushed its LGBTQ community into the spotlight. Read more: Two primaries underscore dueling paths to holding elections during coronavirus pandemic As coronavirus testing expands, a new problem arises: Not enough people are getting tested Tracing Sou...
Fighting covid-19: A tale of two countries
May 19, 2020 20:00 - 24.9 MBLinah Mohammad reflects on the strict lockdown in Jordan. Ishaan Tharoor unpacks how the “Swedish model” for battling coronavirus is not quite what it seems. Plus, Amanda Coletta explains why expanding your household’s bubble could be a headache. Read more: Jordan uses its army to put its capital, Amman, on lockdown. Sweden’s coronavirus strategy is not what it seems. Canadian provinces allow locked-down households to pair up – threatening hurt feelings all around. Subscribe to The Was...
What happens when the watchdog gets fired
May 18, 2020 20:33 - 22.8 MBPhil Rucker reports on Trump’s dismissal of the State Department’s inspector general. George Washington University’s Kathryn Newcomer on why these positions matter in overseeing the executive branch. Plus, Faiz Siddiqui investigates the pandemic-time deliveries of alcoholic beverages. Read more: The State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands and chores. According...
What comes after reparations
May 15, 2020 16:01 - 17.6 MBIn 1923, an all-white mob burned down the small mill town of Rosewood, Fla., killing at least six people and driving out black residents. Decades later, the survivors won reparations from Florida legislators, including a scholarship that allowed any Rosewood descendants to attend any of the state’s public universities. Robert Samuels reports on a conversation around the complicated legacy and effects of those reparations. Read more: How a scholarship helped — and didn't help — descendants...
Choosing between a paycheck and your health
May 14, 2020 20:45 - 31.9 MBToday on Post Reports, Holly Bailey and Tony Romm report that as some states begin to reopen, people returning to work face life-or-death decisions. Aaron Davis explains how an ousted U.S. health official testifies that 2020 may be “the darkest winter in modern history.” And, author Mary Beard on what she’s reading during this pandemic — she recommends Rebecca Solnit’s “Recollections of My Nonexistence.” Read more: People returning to work in states that are beginning to ease social distan...
Is dining out officially dead?
May 13, 2020 20:00 - 26.3 MBToday on Post Reports, investigative reporter Amy Brittain on the truth about Project Airbridge, a White House program set up to deliver badly needed personal protective equipment. Food reporter Laura Reiley explains the long road to recovery for restaurants. And Rachel Lerman says bartering is back in the time of the coronavirus. Read more: Trump promised that Project Airbridge would deliver essential supplies to medical workers, but a Post investigation reveals the emergency program is ...
Bill Barr’s attempt to undo the Mueller investigation
May 12, 2020 20:15 - 22.1 MBMatt Zapotosky reports on the Justice Department’s recent moves to undercut the Mueller investigation. Aaron Gregg on the small-business loans that are going to large companies instead. And Monica Hesse on the power and popularity of Purell. Read more: Why the Justice Department moved to erase Michael Flynn’s guilty plea in the Russia investigation. Are Small Business Administration loans — part of coronavirus relief efforts — actually getting to small businesses? Delving into the histor...
What happened with Ahmaud Arbery’s case?
May 11, 2020 20:29 - 25.3 MBCleve Wootson on why it took so long for the suspects to be charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s death. William Wan on the coronavirus’s toll on mental health. And Jacqueline Alemany on the young people left out of the virus relief efforts. Read more: It took 74 days for suspects to be charged in the death of a black jogger. The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental-health crisis. Young people are being left out of coronavirus economic relief efforts. That could be a big problem. ...
The sound of silence
May 09, 2020 20:30 - 11.7 MBWhat does the pandemic sound like? Mostly, silence, according to critic Robin Givhan. Read more: What does a pandemic sound like? For many of us at home, it’s a heartbreaking silence. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
‘You have all the jobs’: Motherhood during the pandemic
May 08, 2020 18:30 - 28.4 MBWhat being a working mom is like during a pandemic from Helena Andrews-Dyer. And how learning Bach could be an expression of grief from Philip Kennicott. Read more: This Mother’s Day, stories of women balancing careers and kids concede that thriving is out of reach. Surviving is enough in the time of the coronavirus. How one reporter found solace in Bach after losing his mother. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Your money and the pandemic
May 07, 2020 20:00 - 26.8 MBAdvice for managing your money, from personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary. What happens when people are too scared to seek medical care, from Frances Stead Sellers and Jessica Contrera. And what we wear when we’re stuck at home, and what it says about us, from fashion critic Robin Givhan. Read more: Your money and the pandemic: We answer your most pressing personal finance questions on the economic fallout of covid-19. Patients with heart attacks, strokes and even appendicitis ...
A pandemic playbook for political campaigns
May 06, 2020 20:00 - 21 MBMichael Scherer describes how candidates have rewritten their campaigns during the pandemic. Jessica Contrera asks how we weigh risk against necessity, longing and fear. And Emily Heil on the anxiety-filled hellscape that is the grocery store. Read more: Political candidates – and not just the presidential ones – are reinventing how they campaign in the age of the pandemic. As the country moves to reopen, Americans weigh risk against necessity, longing and fear. Grocery shopping used t...
The deaths that haven’t been counted
May 05, 2020 20:45 - 26.7 MBEmma Brown on which deaths count toward the covid-19 death toll. Jeff Stein reports on the $500 billion the Federal Reserve plans to lend big corporations with little restrictions. Plus, Reed Albergotti explores what happens when cannabis is deemed an essential service. Read more: U.S. deaths soared in early weeks of the pandemic, far more than previously known. The U.S. plans to lend $500 billion to large companies. It won’t require them to preserve jobs or limit executive pay. Weed is...
The changing face of grief
May 04, 2020 19:30 - 21.8 MBHow people are dealing with grief and loss during the pandemic. And Melinda Hunt, the director of Hart Island in New York explains the challenges of burying the city’s dead. Read more: The coronavirus is rewriting how we grieve. Unable to gather in person, people are finding new ways to mourn. An island in New York that has historically housed the city’s dead is being stretched by the coronavirus. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
The rise of sourdough bread baking
May 02, 2020 20:00 - 18.1 MBIn the pandemic times, sourdough bread is king. Post Reports producer Reena Flores goes on a journey to find out why, with King Arthur Flour co-chief executive Karen Colberg and ancient bread maker Seamus Blackley. Read more: People are baking bread like crazy, and now we’re running out of flour and yeast. Now is the ideal time to learn to make sourdough bread. Here’s how. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Two thousand hours of Louis Armstrong
May 01, 2020 16:00 - 27.3 MBGeoff Edgers on how the Louis Armstrong Museum is finding a new life online during the coronavirus pandemic -- and, just a warning, this segment contains explicit language. From The Post’s podcast “All Told,” how one blues musician is changing his act under self isolation. And Reena Flores on a new kind of romantic comedy on Netflix. Read more: Jazz legend Louis Armstrong is being honored in a new way at a nonprofit museum that’s going digital during the pandemic. Blues in self isolation,...
What is Tara Reade accusing Joe Biden of?
April 30, 2020 20:45 - 25.2 MBMatt Viser on the allegations against the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. Rick Noack on how nations that had a robust response to the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to cautiously reopen. Read more: Nations around the world that were praised for their robust responses to the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to reopen. Allegations against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. If you love Post Reports, vote for us for a Webby Award! https://vot...
What we know — and still don’t — about the coronavirus
April 29, 2020 20:30 - 25 MBLeonard Bernstein on what we know (and still don’t) about the coronavirus. Laura Meckler explains the changes schools might have to make to reopen in the fall. And Anna Fifield on Kim Jong Un, missing in action. Read more: What you need to know about the coronavirus. Alternating schedules. Lunch in the classroom. Students in masks. No football. School districts will have to change things up if they want to reopen in the fall. Where is North Korea’s leader? Vote for Post Reports in the W...
The pandemic at sea
April 28, 2020 20:00 - 23.5 MBRosalind Helderman explains how the cruise industry carried the coronavirus around the globe. Greg Miller on the virus briefings Trump skipped. And, how young caregivers are impacted by social distancing, from Tara Bahrampour. Read more: Cruise ships kept sailing for weeks after the coronavirus was first detected, carrying the virus around the globe. President’s intelligence briefing book repeatedly cited the coronavirus threat. He skipped them. Young caregivers are used to social isola...
The mysterious clotting in covid-19 patients
April 27, 2020 20:00 - 24.6 MBTwo doctors on the mysterious blood-clotting complication killing coronavirus patients. Heather Long explains why the economy won’t just bounce back in a “V-shaped” recovery. Plus, Lindsey Sitz on why washing your hands a lot doesn’t mean you’re “so OCD.” Read more: Doctors say that a blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients. What is a W-shaped economic recovery? (Hint: It’s scary.) If you wash your hands a lot, it doesn’t mean you’re “so OCD.” Here’s what it’s really...
The history of American antipathy toward masks
April 25, 2020 21:00 - 17 MBEven as governors, mayors and the federal government urge or require Americans to wear masks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the nation is divided about whether to comply. Read more: Will Americans wear masks to prevent coronavirus spread? Politics, history, race and crime factor into tough decisions. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
A coronavirus crisis in the Navy
April 24, 2020 16:59 - 21.2 MBDan Lamothe explains how the Navy tried and failed to control a coronavirus outbreak -- and a crisis of confidence -- on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Plus, child psychiatrist Matthew Biel on how to talk to kids about the global pandemic. Read more: How an outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt became a defining moment for the U.S. military. Parents are the filter for how kids understand the pandemic. Tips on how to talk to them about the coronavirus. Subscribe to The Washington Post: htt...
Why reopening states is a ‘deadly mistake’
April 23, 2020 20:19 - 18.2 MBGeorgia will begin reopening businesses Friday, against the advice of experts and the White House. William Wan reports on what will happen next. For survivors of AIDS, an eerie deja vu, from reporter Jada Yuan. And, what Trump’s new immigration policy actually means, from Nick Miroff. Read more: States rushing to reopen are likely making a deadly error, coronavirus models and experts warn. They survived the HIV crisis. Now New York’s aging gay population is confronting another plague. T...
Can we all be better Earthlings?
April 22, 2020 20:00 - 17.7 MBOn Earth Day, Sarah Kaplan asks how we can be better Earthlings. Seung Min Kim analyzes the new coronavirus response bill working its way through Congress. And Monica Hesse explains why we’re all having extra-weird dreams. Read more: What does it mean to be a good Earthling? The Senate has passed a $484 billion bill that would expand small-business aid and boost money for hospitals and testing. Will it be enough? You’re not the only one having weird dreams. Being trapped in our homes has...
What’s slowing down coronavirus testing
April 21, 2020 20:30 - 23.9 MBJuliet Eilperin explains the delays in widespread testing. Young people aren’t as vulnerable to the coronavirus, but the crisis is affirming their political frustrations, Hannah Knowles reports. And Michelle Lee on campaign fundraising in a pandemic. Read more: Why is it taking so long to ramp up coronavirus testing? Generation Z is fed up with the status quo. Coronavirus could affirm their beliefs. Joe Biden posted the biggest monthly fundraising haul of his campaign in March. Will the ...
Why shelves are empty at the grocery store
April 20, 2020 20:15 - 25.6 MBLaura Reiley explains the kinks in the food supply chain leaving grocery shelves bare. Grocery workers share their well-founded fears with Abha Bhattarai. Erin Patrick O’Connor hears from sanitation workers on the pandemic’s front line. Read more: The industry says we have enough food. Here’s why some grocery store shelves are empty anyway. The grocery workers on the front line of the pandemic never thought of their jobs as risky. Now, they’re scared to go to work. Sanitation workers are...
Finding solace in paintings of parties
April 18, 2020 18:01 - 8.46 MBOver the past few weeks, many people have said they feel like figures in an Edward Hopper painting. On this bonus episode of Post Reports, art critic Sebastian Smee has a reminder from Renoir and Manet that the good times will return. Read more: We’re all alone. So let’s get lost in these paintings of parties. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer
Life for a medical worker in a pandemic
April 17, 2020 18:00 - 23.1 MBAlaa Daghlas, a physician assistant at a Bronx hospital, grapples with her decision to return to work after recovering from covid-19. And Jon Gerberg reports from an ICU in Brooklyn scrambling to keep up with the influx of coronavirus patients. Read more: Alaa Daghlas prepares for her first day back on the front lines of a Bronx hospital after contracting covid-19. Inside a Brooklyn ICU, health-care workers risk their lives to care for coronavirus patients in critical condition. Follow...
The coronavirus is killing Americans under age 50
April 16, 2020 19:45 - 24.2 MBChris Mooney reports on the science of why some younger people are getting better, while others are dying of covid-19. Griff Witte reports on how parties and gatherings became clusters. And Annie Gowen on coronavirus deniers. Read more: The medical mystery of why some people under age 50 are dying of covid-19. The coronavirus had already reached the United States, but the parties went on. Experts say the inconsistent manner that social gatherings shut down across states gave the illness ...