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
Biden and the tale of the $16 McDonald's meal
December 04, 2023 23:15An irregular $16 McDonald’s order, a viral TikTok, and a growing conundrum for President Biden’s economic platform. The internet has been awash with social media rants lately about the high cost of fast-food. One video in particular keeps making the rounds, nearly a year on. Jeff Stein, The Post’s White House economics reporter – and self-proclaimed fast-food connoisseur – joins “Post Reports” to break down what these reactions do and don’t tell us about the actual state of the economy, an...
The N.Y. law behind high-profile sexual assault cases
December 01, 2023 20:47Today, how a New York law briefly changed how survivors of sexual assault found justice, and the impact it’s had on the legal system. Read more: Over the past month, several sexual assault lawsuits have been filed in New York against high-profile celebrities such as hip-hop mogul Sean P. Diddy Combs, musician Axl Rose and actor Jamie Foxx. Some of the alleged abuse dates back decades, and survivors were only able to file these claims because of the Adult Survivors Act – a New York law that...
Does America have a drinking problem?
November 30, 2023 21:00Many Americans drink more than usual this time of year – as much as double, according to some studies. But drinking more isn’t just happening around the holidays. Today, why alcohol consumption has gone up in recent years, and the deadly consequences. Read more: U.S. consumption of alcohol, which had been increasing in recent years, spiked during the pandemic as Americans grappled with stress and isolation. At the same time, the number of deaths caused by alcohol skyrocketed nationwide, r...
The oil executive leading this year’s climate summit
November 29, 2023 22:24Dozens of world leaders will gather in the UAE Thursday for the start of COP28, the biggest climate summit of the year. But this year’s host country has drawn scrutiny for putting the head of its national oil company in charge of the event. Read more: The stakes are high for this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference: Many countries have exceeded emissions targets set to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, with time running out to change course. As g...
How a strike transformed the auto industry
November 28, 2023 22:14What the end of the UAW strike says about the future of the auto industry. Read more: After six weeks on strike, the United Auto Workers reached a deal this month with the Big 3 automakers: GM, Ford and Stellantis. The union successfully negotiated for major improvements, including wage increases, cost of living adjustments, and larger contributions to retirement plans. Jeanne Whalen, The Post’s global business reporter, says the wins are already changing the wider auto industry. Today,...
Freed hostages and a fragile pause
November 27, 2023 22:46After nearly seven weeks, Israel and Hamas reached a temporary deal: Hamas freed dozens of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. And Israel paused its bombardment of Gaza. Read more: Over the weekend, Israeli families celebrated the return of dozens of the hostages taken by Hamas, after the militant group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7. In exchange, Israel released more than 100 imprisoned Palestinian women and teenagers. The exchange is part of a f...
Deep Reads: Football bonded them. Then it tore them apart.
November 24, 2023 17:00 - 43.4 MBThey were roommates and teammates at Harvard, bound by their love of football and each other. Then the game — and the debate over its safety — took its toll. This Deep Reads episode is part of a collection of occasional bonus stories from “Post Reports.” Read more: This story is part of a collection of occasional bonus episodes you’ll be hearing from “Post Reports.” We’re calling these stories “Deep Reads,” and they’re part of The Post’s commitment to immersive and narrative journalism. T...
A holiday message from ‘Post Reports’
November 23, 2023 18:00 - 2.46 MBA surprise in our studio – and a thank you to our listeners. Read more: Our sincerest thanks to our listeners this holiday season! We don’t have a show this Thanksgiving, but we do have a message with some good news. And while you’re here, you can subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple podcasts and get our latest Black Friday deal.
How to be a financially savvy holiday shopper
November 22, 2023 21:25Today on “Post Reports,” personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary gives advice on how to avoid overspending on gifts this holiday season. Read more: Last year, retail sales during the November to December holiday season were $936.3 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Americans are predicted to spend even more this year. Adobe Analytics projects the best discounts will land on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But a flashy red sale sign doesn’t always mean you’re getti...
Sam Altman and the chaos at OpenAI
November 21, 2023 22:24When the board of the world’s leading artificial intelligence company abruptly ousted its popular CEO, it threw the entire tech industry into flux. Today, the rise and removal of Sam Altman and what OpenAI’s shake-up means for the future of AI technology. Read more: Just weeks ago, Sam Altman was on top of the world, the star of the artificial intelligence community and the leader of the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT. Then, without notice last week, the board of OpenAI voted h...
Trapped in Gaza
November 20, 2023 23:03An American family who visited Gaza for a reunion found themselves trapped in the territory for nearly a month as Israeli rockets rained down. How they got out - and the desperate situation for the vast majority of civilians who cannot escape Gaza. Read more: In September, a Boston-area couple traveled to Gaza, hoping to introduce their 1-year-old son to his grandparents. War shattered their plans: For almost a month, the family was trapped in Gaza as Israel ratcheted up its air and ground...
Deep Reads: The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore
November 18, 2023 22:00Tania Galiñanes had planned to spend the rest of her career in the Osceola County School District. She was 51. She could have stayed for years at Tohopekaliga, a school she loved that had only just opened in 2018. That was before the school board meeting on April 5, 2022, when Tania watched parents read aloud from books they described as a danger to kids. It was before she received a phone call from the district, the day after that, instructing her to remove four books from her shelves. It ...
Surviving to graduation, Part 3
November 17, 2023 20:54In Part 3 of our series on schools and gun violence, audio producer Sabby Robinson chronicles the tragic outcome of Huguenot High School’s graduation – which was supposed to mark a moment of cathartic celebration for the school but ended in gunfire. Read more: Graduation was supposed to be a sweet moment of celebration after a difficult year. Instead, gunfire broke out just after the ceremony, killing a graduate and his stepfather and wounding five others. A former Richmond public school s...
Surviving to graduation, Part 2
November 16, 2023 21:31In Part 2 of our series on how schools address gun violence, reporter Moriah Balingit dives into the life and death of Huguenot student Jaden Carter and how school officials in Richmond try to save students like him. Read more: It took months to find out more about what happened the night Jaden Carter was fatally shot behind Huguenot High School’s baseball fields. In that time, The Post learned how and why school officials, from his teacher to a Huguenot police officer, tried to intervene...
Surviving to graduation, Part 1
November 15, 2023 20:27Gun violence is reshaping U.S. education. The Washington Post spent a year inside a Richmond high school facing a surge in shootings and deaths to learn what schools are doing to stop students from dying – and whether their efforts are working. Read more: Youth gun violence is soaring nationwide, and schools are on the front lines dealing with the fallout. Three Washington Post reporters were embedded inside Richmond's Huguenot High School for one year to find out what that looks like. D...
Why it took so long to get a postpartum depression pill
November 14, 2023 21:25How the first-ever postpartum depression pill could change the landscape of maternal health. Read more: In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved Zurzuvae, the first pill to treat postpartum depression. This is a huge milestone for the serious and potentially life-threatening condition, which can afflict about 1 in 7 women following childbirth. Unlike other commonly recommended treatments such as talk therapy and antidepressants, the drug is meant to act quickly, working to ea...
Netanyahu: The man leading Israel's war against Hamas
November 13, 2023 22:45Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister – and one of its most scrutinized. Now, with Israel at war with Hamas, The Washington Post’s Griff Witte breaks down Netanyahu’s political history and his fragile future. Read more: It’s been over a month since Hamas militants attacked Israel, leaving at least 1,200 people dead and 239 people kidnapped. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza S...
The soft power of China’s pandas
November 10, 2023 22:10Today, why the United States is saying goodbye to its pandas. And how the bears became a powerful diplomatic symbol of U.S.-China relations. Read more: For decades, China has deployed its giant pandas as a diplomatic tool to shore up alliances and woo new partners, including the United States. In 1972, China first gifted the United Statestwo pandas. Since then, it has leased pandas to zoos across the country. Now, after American zoogoers have come to adore the bears, China is taking all of...
Portugal's secret to living longer
November 09, 2023 22:14Life expectancy is dropping in the United States, despite the nation spending more per person on health care than any other country. So what is a place like Portugal — where people live longer with far fewer resources — doing right? And what is the United States missing? Today on “Post Reports,” we bring you a tale of two sisters, two countries and two health systems. Lurdes and Lucilia Costa share a lot in common. They’re sisters, and they both have rheumatoid arthritis, a complex chroni...
Why are so many Americans dying early?
November 08, 2023 21:07Despite spending more per person on health care than any other nation, the United States has a crisis of premature deaths. The Post’s health team has been investigating why that is, and today we learn how politics, stress and chronic illness play a role. The United States was once on a track to reach an average life expectancy of 80, but after decades of progress, we’re falling further and further behind. The Washington Post spent the past year examining why this is happening. Our reporter...
Trump on the witness stand
November 07, 2023 23:38 - 16.2 MBIt was a historic scene: In a Manhattan courtroom Monday, former president Donald Trump took the stand in a civil trial that threatens his real estate empire. We break down the case, one of many court battles facing Trump as he runs for president again. Read more: It has been more than a century since a former U.S. president has testified, under oath, as a defendant in a court trial. That all changed on Monday, when former president Donald Trump took the witness stand in a civil trial bro...
What Tuesday’s election could mean for abortion in 2024
November 06, 2023 22:12How tomorrow’s elections could show the political power behind abortion rights. Read more: On Tuesday, voters across the country will head to the polls for Election Day. And while the elections – and the issues on the ballots – cover a lot of ground, there’s one big theme running through the elections: abortion. In a state such as Ohio, abortion is explicitly on the ballot. Ohio voters will determine abortion access on a ballot measure called “Issue One.” If it passes, the measure would g...
The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop: ‘We all had great expectations’
November 04, 2023 21:00How does a revolution implode? Martine Powers traces the rise and fall of Maurice Bishop and the origin of the mystery left behind. Read more: Maurice Bishop was a charismatic leader who captured the imagination of many Grenadians. But the revolution he helped spark began to buckle under pressure within his party. Martine Powers tries to understand the life of Bishop and what propelled him into the position of prime minister, the promise of the beginning of the revolution and the events th...
The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop: ‘Somebody knows’
November 03, 2023 20:00Forty years ago, the body of a prime minister went missing. The Post’s Martine Powers asks: Who’s responsible? Read more: Every 19th of October, Grenadians mark a somber anniversary: the 1983 execution of the country’s former prime minister and revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, and others who died alongside him. The people of this Caribbean nation still have no closure 40 years later. The remains of Bishop and his supporters were never returned to their family members and are missing t...
A family torn apart by a Trump-era policy
November 02, 2023 21:57In 2017, Magdalena Hernández Pérez was separated from her children by the Trump-era family separation policy. Reunification would take nearly six years. The Post’s Kevin Sieff followed their story. Read more: When Magdalena Hernández Pérez and her daughters crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2017 to request asylum, it would be the last time they would be together for years. Like thousands of families, they were broken apart under the Trump administration’s family separation policy. Eventua...
Why the U.S. gives so much aid to Israel
November 01, 2023 22:04For decades, Israel has been the number one recipient of U.S. foreign aid. As the conflict in Gaza intensifies, we explore that long history of support and what it says about America’s foreign policy. Read more: Since Oct. 7, attacks by Hamas have prompted requests for millions of dollars in security aid from the United States to Israel. It’s the continuation of a long-established relationship: one where the United States has bolstered Israel’s defense budget with additional support. Mi...
A night with the rat hunters
October 31, 2023 19:30Late at night, in parts of Washington, a group of people and their small dogs walk the alleyways and trash bins hunting rats, in a city that’s filled with them. The Post’s Maura Judkis and Bishop Sand report on the hunt and what it says about our relationship with animals. Read more: The Ratscallions hunt rats with terriers and small hounds in different parts of Washington. Linda Freeman, the group’s leader and a Bedlington terrier breeder, began rat hunting five years ago after being hou...
The “second phase” of Israel’s war with Gaza
October 30, 2023 21:08Israel plunged Gaza into a communications blackout Friday that left more than 2 million people without cell service or internet access for almost two days. On Saturday, it began a major ground assault on territory, ushering in a new phase of the war. Read more: In a televised address Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the goals for the new phase of Israel’s war with Hamas were clear: “To beat the enemy and guarantee our existence.” Since then, Israeli troops ha...
How Taylor Swift became her own economy
October 27, 2023 17:34Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour is projected to rake in billions of dollars, becoming the highest grossing concert tour in history. But her economic impact doesn’t stop there. Today, we break down the economy (Taylor’s version). Read more: Pop powerhouse Taylor Swift has been in the music business for nearly two decades. But 2023 is turning out to be her most remarkable – and highest-earning – year. Swift is on pace to earn billions of dollars from her Eras Tour, more than any other touring...
A family taken by Hamas
October 26, 2023 22:09More than 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. On today’s “Post Reports,” we hear about one family’s ordeal, and what the hostage crisis means for Israel’s possible ground invasion of Gaza. Read more: More than 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. Moshe Leimberg’s wife, Gabriela, and 17-year-old daughter, Mia, are among them. On today’s “Post Reports,” we hear about Leimberg’s family before war br...
The new House speaker is Mike Johnson. Who?
October 25, 2023 22:37Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated where Rep. Tom Emmer is from. The audio has been updated to remove the error. After three long, chaotic weeks, the nation finally has a new House speaker – U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana. So who is he? And how did Congress get here? Read more: On Wednesday, 220 Republicans finally chose their new House leader: a congressman from Louisiana named Mike Johnson. But the man who’s second in line for the presidency i...
The Trump allies pleading guilty
October 24, 2023 21:10What to know about the many guilty pleas rolling into the Georgia case charging former president Donald Trump and his allies with election interference. Read more: The Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta has become the epicenter of one of the most-watched criminal cases in the country right now, charging former President Donald Trump and his allies with interfering with Georgia’s 2020 election results. This week, reporters and politicians alike have been shocked by a windfall of guilty pl...
Mexico’s migration challenge
October 23, 2023 20:53A fast-rising number of people, including families, are approaching the U.S.-Mexico border. Many seek asylum. Now, President Biden wants Mexico to crack down on migrants, but Mexico is reaching its limits to do so. Read more: When President Barack Obama faced a steep rise in people migrating toward the southern U.S. border in 2014, he pressured Mexico to curb migration at its southern border with Guatemala. President Donald Trump did the same years later. Now, Mexico is once again facing ...
Deep Reads: A trans woman’s journey to acceptance
October 21, 2023 21:00 - 29.3 MBAfter seeking community and sisterhood in a sorority, Artemis Langford faced death threats and an attempt to kick her out because of her identity. This Deep Reads episode is part of a collection of occasional weekend stories from “Post Reports.”
How Lunchables ended up on school lunch trays
October 20, 2023 19:10Today, “Post Reports” goes back to school, to the cafeteria, where something has changed. Reporters Lenny Bernstein and Lauren Weber bring us the backstory of how ultra-processed foods ended up on lunch trays, amid growing concerns about child nutrition. When students in Robeson County, N.C., returned to school this fall, a new choice appeared on the lunch line: Lunchables. Kraft Heinz reformulated the grocery-store favorite so it would meet school nutrition requirements — and now, school d...
Will there ever be a new House speaker?
October 19, 2023 22:37Why the House can’t elect a speaker to lead it. And the temporary solution some Republicans are proposing in the meantime. Read more: For two weeks, the House of Representatives has had no speaker. After the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, Republicans tried to push a replacement through. First, there was Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and then a second choice emerged: firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). But after two votes, Republicans failed to get behind Jordan, a conservative best known as...
Searching for safety in Gaza
October 18, 2023 22:02The Post’s Gulf bureau chief Susannah George walks us through the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the uncertainty for people on the ground there. Read more: It’s been nearly two weeks since Hamas militants attacked dozens of border communities in Israel, killing at least 1,400 people and taking 199 people back to Gaza as hostages, Israeli officials said. In Gaza, roughly 3,000 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, according to Palestinian officials. Finding safety is inc...
The threat of saltwater in the Mississippi River
October 17, 2023 19:47For months, saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico has crept up the Mississippi River, contaminating the area’s water supply and putting residents of Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish on the front lines of a slowly unfolding environmental disaster. Read more: For months now, saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico has crept as far as 70 miles up the Mississippi River, contaminating the area’s freshwater supply. Millions of Americans draw their drinking water from the Mississippi River, including around...
The Wild West of off-brand Ozempic
October 16, 2023 20:55Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared Ozempic and Wegovy in shortage. That has given rise to an unprecedented parallel market for imitations of the drugs made by specialized pharmacies, while unregulated websites offer their own, cheaper versions. Read more: Many people who have used injectable diabetes drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss say they have been life-changing. But the drugs are expensive, and can be hard to access: They have proved so effective ...
The cost of India’s unbearable heat
October 13, 2023 21:13The Post’s Annie Gowen walks us through the immediate effects of climate change on India’s megacities and what the future looks like for residents of Kolkata facing record-breaking heat. Read more: After three days of no power this April, the people of Kasia Bagan had had enough. Temperatures were reaching record highs, with no AC to help. Yet down the main lane of the neighborhood, the Quest Mall towered, humming with electrical power. Residents such as Sana Mumtaz, a divorced mother o...
Bracing for what comes next in the Israel-Gaza war
October 12, 2023 23:10Israel is still reeling from horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas – and now in Gaza, there’s nowhere to hide from airstrikes. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to our colleagues in Israel and Gaza about what’s happening on the ground and what comes next. Read more: Rubble and razed buildings are common in Gaza, including on Hazem Balousha’s street. Balousha, a Palestinian journalist reporting in Gaza for The Post, recounts what it’s like to live through the Israeli airstrikes and as he, at ...
Introducing “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop”
October 12, 2023 16:36 - 3.74 MBGrenada’s Black revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, was executed in a coup in 1983, along with seven others. The whereabouts of their remains are unknown. Now, The Washington Post’s Martine Powers uncovers new answers about how the U.S. fits into this 40-year-old Caribbean mystery. “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop” is an investigative podcast that delves into the revolutionary history of Grenada, why the missing remains still matter and the role the U.S. government played in shaping the...
The scars of Native American boarding schools
October 11, 2023 21:23Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland began her listening tour. Haaland started the listening tour last summer, and the tour has lasted for longer than one year The audio has been updated to remove the error. In a moment of reckoning, survivors of the U.S.-run Indian boarding schools are speaking out and trying to hold the U.S. government accountable. Read more: For almost a century, the U.S. government took Native American c...
The “urban doom loop” could be coming to a city near you
October 10, 2023 20:42The Post’s Rachel Seigel takes us on an economic journey through the “urban doom loop” and explores this threat to midsize cities. Then, Teo Armus shows us a creative way we could try to avoid it. Read more: According to Columbia economics professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, cities across the country could be heading for an "urban doom loop" that starts with vacant office spaces and spreads through downtowns. Later, Rachel Seigel joins The Post’s Teo Armus in Northern Virginia to experience...
Understanding the Israel-Hamas war
October 09, 2023 22:05Today, we unpack how the war in Israel started, what this conflict means for civilians on the ground and scenarios for how it could possibly end. Read more: More than 1,000 people in Israel and Gaza have been killed and thousands more injured after Palestinian gunmen from Hamas infiltrated Israel this Saturday. Hamas launched attacks on troops and massacred civilians in the most brazen militant operation in years. Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war agains...
Deep Reads: Inside the unfolding recovery of the Fetterman family
October 07, 2023 21:00 - 26 MBAfter the stress of a senatorial campaign, a stroke and the auditory processing disorder that followed, depression became severe for Sen. John Fetterman. Then came the hospitalization Now, the Fetterman family’s daily lives revolve around mental health. When people aren’t asking about Sen. John Fetterman, they’re inquiring about his wife, Gisele. Some offer their condolences, but many want to thank her. She’s become a safe space for those who are struggling with mental health crises in the...
It's Fat Bear Week. Yes, that's a thing.
October 06, 2023 19:14Travel reporter Natalie Compton ventures to Katmai National Park to meet the chonky stars of Fat Bear Week up close. Today, we dig into this wild tradition and what it teaches us about tourism, conservation and, of course, fat bears. Read more: It’s impressive that anyone makes it to Katmai. Getting to the motherland of fat bears requires the kind of time and money Taylor Swift fans put into attending the Eras Tour. First there are the flights to Alaska. Then a floatplane or water taxi to...
A breakthrough in Tupac Shakur’s case – 27 years later
October 05, 2023 21:18In 1996, the legendary rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Now, nearly three decades later, police have charged a man in Shakur's death. We talk with The Post’s Keith McMillan about Shakur’s life, legacy and what this new charge means. Read more: It’s been nearly three decades since hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at the age of 25. Now, police have charged a man in his death: Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who has publicly claimed to h...
The brief, chaotic tenure of Speaker Kevin McCarthy
October 04, 2023 21:51The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to remove Kevin MCarthy as speaker after just nine months on the job. Today, how things got so bad between McCarthy and the GOP’s far-right wing, and what his historic ouster means for Congress. Read more: On Tuesday, eight House Republicans joined Democrats in an unprecedented vote to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. McCarthy lost his job despite having the support of most Republican lawmakers. With the government potentially running...
Why the U.S. government is suing Amazon
October 03, 2023 20:43Is Amazon an illegal monopoly? The Federal Trade Commission is arguing yes — and it’s taking that argument to court. We take a look at what’s behind the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon and the implications for your everyday online shopping experience. Read more: The lawsuit tech policy nerds like Cat Zakrzewski have been waiting for is finally here. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a landmark antitrust suit against the online retail giant Amazon. And the consequences for the futu...