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
How AP African American studies became so controversial
March 02, 2023 22:00Why did the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement classes, change certain parts of the AP African American studies course framework? Post Reports digs into the latest controversy about the new AP course, still in its pilot stages. Read more: After Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis came out against the new AP African American studies course, it sparked a controversy. The state said it wouldn’t allow students to take the class because it lacked educational value. Then the Co...
A new era of extremism in Israel and the West Bank
March 01, 2023 22:10Violence has been mounting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for months, but the situation is already reaching a new level of escalation in 2023. “Everything is falling apart,” The Post’s Miriam Berger explains to guest host Libby Casey, referring to the fragile dynamics between Palestinians and Israelis in the region. At least 60 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have been killed in recent weeks in the occupied territories, a level that is on track to be the bloodiest in two decades. T...
Revelations from the defamation case against Fox News
February 28, 2023 22:56In the wake of the 2020 election, Fox News aired false claims about election fraud promoted by Trump allies. A lawsuit, however, reveals that top executives and hosts privately doubted the legitimacy of those claims. Reporter Jeremy Barr joins us to explain. Read more: In recently revealed texts and emails, Fox News hosts privately disparaged election theories being aired on their shows. Rupert Murdoch, chair of Fox News’s parent company, acknowledged in a lawsuit that he wishes the net...
The push for the four-day workweek
February 27, 2023 22:24Today on Post Reports, we look at how the boundaries between work and life are potentially changing, from the feasibility of a four-day workweek to protections for workers when they're off the clock. Read more: The five-day workweek is the standard in the United States, and in many other countries across the world. But advocacy groups, and employees themselves, have been dreaming about the possibility of a four-day workweek. Recently, dozens of companies in the United Kingdom finished a fo...
A message from Martine
February 25, 2023 16:58 - 1.77 MBToday from "Post Reports," a quick message from Martine about what she’s working on and why she won’t be in your ears as much for the next few months. (We promise, it’s good news!)
The war in Ukraine, one year later
February 24, 2023 17:00It’s been one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The Post’s Ukraine Bureau Chief reflects on the war, its impacts and what the future might look like for these countries. Read more: Europe’s biggest land war since World War II just entered its second year, with no clear end in sight. The losses are unimaginable – estimates suggest there have been hundreds of thousands of casualties, as well as mass evacuations and family separations. According to the United Nations, the war has forced o...
They still love Trump. But will they vote for him again?
February 23, 2023 21:02Today, we look at how former Donald Trump voters are feeling about his 2024 presidential run, and whether Trump’s grip on the Republican base is slipping. Read more: Over the past several months, a team of reporters at The Washington Post traveled to five swing states to ask former Trump voters about their feelings toward the former president ahead of the 2024 election. After more than 150 interviews, they found tension within the Republican base, and a growing range of Trump supporters w...
Should we still be worried about a recession?
February 22, 2023 21:04For months, economists warned that the U.S. economy may enter a recession. Instead, the economy appears to be growing. Rachel Siegel joins us to explain why economists were worried, and what led this economy to defy predictions. Read more: A good jobs report complicates the Fed’s fight against inflation Inflation has gone down for seven months, but still remains at an overall high
‘What if Yale finds out?’
February 21, 2023 20:43“Post Reports” looks at why students were asked to leave Yale University while they were having mental health crises. Read more: Nicolette Mántica was having a tough time at Yale. At the end of her freshman year, she started struggling with her mental health. She eventually was taken to a hospital for help. While there, college officials gave her no other choice but to withdraw, she said, and she went back to her home in rural Georgia. Reporter William Wan talked to Nicolette and other st...
Beyoncé’s Renaissance
February 17, 2023 22:20Today on Post Reports, culture writer Helena Andrews-Dyer breaks down our current Beyoncé moment: After breaking the record for Grammy wins and ahead of her upcoming world tour, we talk about why Beyoncé is more relevant than ever. Read more: Beyoncé is having a moment. She just broke the record for winning more Grammys than any other artist, and her fans are clamoring for tickets to her Renaissance concert tour. But institutions like the Grammys are still not giving her the highest awar...
Living next to a chemical disaster in Ohio
February 16, 2023 22:35Nearly two weeks ago near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed, forcing residents in East Palestine to evacuate. But as cleanup continues, many residents still have questions about whether it’s safe to keep living there. Read more: A Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3. Fifty cars derailed, 20 of which contained hazardous materials. The dangerous chemicals released as a result of the accident have forced many to evacuat...
Nikki Haley has entered the presidential chat
February 15, 2023 23:24Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley announced that she’s running for president. Today on “Post Reports,” we hear from her supporters about why they’re choosing her over former president Donald Trump, and what her entrance means for the 2024 race. Read more: Nikki Haley kicked off her campaign with a rally in Charleston, S.C., where she pitched a wider-tent approach to GOP politics. The former South Carolina governor and ex-U.N. ambassador is counting on Republican voters who are “t...
The race against the clock in Turkey and Syria
February 14, 2023 23:29Early last week, earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The death toll had surpassed 41,000 people by Tuesday. As rescuers continue the search for survivors in both countries, many people are sleeping in cars or tents. Read more: Last week, we talked with Post reporter Sarah Dadouch about the fatal earthquake that had just hit the Turkish and Syrian border. Now, we look at the aftermath in the wake of what’s being called Turkey’s biggest disaster. Middle East bureau chie...
The AI arms race is on
February 13, 2023 23:54Big Tech was moving cautiously on AI. Then came ChatGPT. As tech reporter Nitasha Tiku explains, the surge of attention around ChatGPT is pressuring tech giants to move faster, potentially sweeping safety concerns aside. Read more: Google, Facebook and Microsoft helped build the scaffolding of AI. Smaller companies, like OpenAI, are taking it to the masses, forcing Big Tech to react. Microsoft is trying to push its search engine Bing into the future with OpenAI technology. The company hel...
What ‘The Last of Us’ means for TV
February 10, 2023 18:36HBO’s new show “The Last of Us,” which is based on a 2013 video game, has won acclaim from critics and gamers alike for its unusual twist on a zombie story. Gene Park joins us to explain why the show has resonated with viewers. Read more: Read Gene Park’s review of HBO’s “The Last of Us” Read about the real science behind the zombie plague in “The Last of Us”
The antiabortion movement at a crossroads
February 09, 2023 21:48 - 21.4 MBThe antiabortion movement spent nearly 50 years organizing around one goal: overturning Roe v. Wade. With that success, what’s next? We go inside the movement’s biggest annual event to examine its diverging paths and possible futures. The annual March for Life is the antiabortion movement’s biggest event of the year, bringing tens of thousands of protesters to the National Mall in D.C. But this year’s march was different. With Roe v. Wade now overturned and the constitutional right to an ab...
A ballooning interest in China's spy program
February 08, 2023 21:28Today on Post Reports, we talk to national security reporter Shane Harris about exclusive reporting from The Washington Post on the vast aerial surveillance program behind the Chinese spy balloon. Read more: The U.S. intelligence community has linked the Chinese spy balloon shot down on Saturday to a vast surveillance program, and U.S. officials have begun to brief allies and partners who have been similarly targeted. Why balloons? The technology is old but effective, according to Shane’...
Sifting through the rubble in Turkey and Syria
February 07, 2023 22:59Why the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria was so deadly and how rescue efforts are going. Read more: Early Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The shock was felt as far as Egypt, leveling buildings and killing more than 7,000 people as of Tuesday afternoon. So far, rescue efforts have been complicated by frigid temperatures, and the earthquake has compounded other crises in war-torn Syria. Beirut-based correspondent Sar...
The future of Kamala Harris
February 06, 2023 22:33President Biden will outline his goals for the next year at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Today on Post Reports, we look at how the White House has deployed Vice President Harris over the past two years. Read more: On Tuesday, President Biden will deliver the State of the Union address. While the 2024 election is more than a year away, this moment has prompted questions from Democrats about future leaders of the Democratic party. Vice President Harris has long been considered to...
Need financial advice? Call your mother.
February 04, 2023 14:00 - 22.2 MBAt every age and stage of life, we’re faced with making tough financial decisions. Am I ready to buy a house? Should I start saving for retirement? And what the heck is FICA? For nearly 30 years, Michelle has answered these questions for Washington Post readers. Now, she has compiled her most frequently asked questions in a new project, Michelle Singletary’s money milestones for every age. But, do her own children take her advice? On this bonus episode of “Post Reports,” personal finance ...
And the Oscar (should) go to...?
February 03, 2023 21:45With the Oscars on the horizon, The Washington Post’s chief film critic and a culture writer share their hot takes on the movies they loved and who may win the golden statues. Read more: This year’s Oscars are already notable: Angela Bassett became Marvel’s first performer to be nominated, and a controversy surrounding an unlikely best actress nomination kicked up concerns about social media campaigning. That doesn’t mean that all of the movies were memorable, but they were surprising, a...
Who’s in charge in the 118th Congress?
February 02, 2023 21:32The new Republican House majority is off to a shaky start. We’ll unpack the drama over committee assignments, the debt ceiling fight and a House speaker who has a very precarious hold on power. Read more: The 118th Congress started with a long and contentious vote for House speaker. After 15 rounds of voting, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won that fight, but he’s still struggling to seize control of an unruly party with a slim House majority. McCarthy is now negotiating committee assi...
The FDA is ready for gay and bisexual men to donate blood
February 01, 2023 22:05After years of protest, the FDA is easing the blood donation ban for gay and bisexual men. Today on the show, what this means for LGBT rights and the nation’s blood supply. Read more: Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will no longer be forced to abstain from sex to donate blood under federal guidelines announced last week. The proposed relaxation of restrictions follows years of pressure from blood banks, the American Medical Association and LGBT rights organizations to aban...
Pandemic rents soared. Now what?
January 31, 2023 21:34For many Americans, it’s almost time to pay the rent, and prices are soaring. The Biden administration has stepped in to help renters, but will it have an impact? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain. Read more: Read about the Biden administration’s plan to help tenants
Tyre Nichols and the promise of police reform
January 30, 2023 21:56After Tyre Nichols —a young Black man — was beaten to death by police in Memphis, the fact that the five officers charged are Black has prompted activists to grapple with the complex pervasiveness of institutional racism in policing. Read more: Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man who died after sustaining injuries from a police beating in early January. Five officers were fired and charged with second-degree murder. A sixth officer, who is White, has been suspended, the police departm...
The case of the missing workers
January 27, 2023 22:38Despite recent headlines about layoffs, the story of many industries is still too many jobs and not enough workers. Today on “Post Reports,” we do a deep dive into the restaurant industry and ask – where did all the workers go? Read more: A little over a year ago, “Post Reports” Executive Producer Maggie Penman reported on quitters – the millions of Americans who left their jobs during the pandemic. Now, more than a year later, she’s puzzled by the continued worker shortages and “help want...
Jacinda Ardern is burnt out
January 26, 2023 22:21New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surprised many when she announced her decision not to run for reelection. Though she enjoyed global popularity as a feminist icon, her reputation at home was more mixed. Ishaan Tharoor explains why. Read more: Ishaan Tharoor’s column on Ardern’s legacy Jacinda Ardern didn’t make mothering look easy. She made it look real.
The power – and limits – of California’s gun laws
January 25, 2023 22:27Despite having some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, California has experienced three mass killings in the past 10 days. Today, we examine what any state could do to stop these tragedies in a country awash in guns. Read more: California has a reputation as a tough place to buy a gun. The state’s patchwork of gun laws has been judged the strongest in the nation by one gun-control advocacy group. But recent mass killings in the state, including in Monterey Park and Half Moon...
Domestic violence cases rise with extreme weather
January 24, 2023 21:06Floods, wildfires, droughts and other extreme weather events can lead to more domestic violence around the world. Today’s show looks at why this happens and how advocates and emergency responders can extend a helping hand. Read more: The Washington Post partnered with The Fuller Project, a nonprofit news organization, to unpack evidence that domestic violence cases often rise wherever extreme weather events take place. The Fuller Project’s editor in chief, Eva Rodriguez, joins the show tod...
How to be smart with your money at every age
January 23, 2023 19:50Today on “Post Reports,” personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary offers up some of her time-tested, conventional financial wisdom. At every age and stage of life, we’re faced with making tough financial decisions. Am I ready to buy a house? Should I start saving for retirement? And what the heck is FICA? For nearly 30 years, Michelle has answered these questions for Washington Post readers. Now, she has compiled her most frequently asked questions in a new project, Michelle Singlet...
Friendship: It’s good for your health
January 20, 2023 17:44HTML SHOW NOTES: It’s time to rethink our friendships. Research shows that strong friendships are essential to a healthy life. Read more: Have you ever neglected your friendships for romantic love? It may be time to rethink your priorities. A growing body of research shows that friends are essential to a healthy life. Cultivating strong friendships may be just as important for our well-being as healthy eating habits or a good night’s sleep. Platonic love may even be more important than ...
Who is George Santos, anyway?
January 19, 2023 21:00Who is George Santos, and why does it seem as though everyone on Capitol Hill is talking about him? Today, we have the story of the embattled lawmaker and why some voters in his district want him removed from his seat. Read more: Freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has an interesting biography, littered with untruths. He claimed he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks claimed his mother’s life. And he mentioned that four of his employee...
Isolated Putin
January 18, 2023 23:30Today on “Post Reports,” we cover the latest news from the war in Ukraine – and talk about why Putin is increasingly isolated, even among Russia’s elite. Over the weekend, a Russian missile struck a nine-floor apartment complex in central Ukraine. The timing, on a weekend afternoon, meant many people were at home at the time of the strike. Dozens of people were killed. The move seems to signal a new level of desperation from Russia – and reporter Catherine Belton says Russian President Vla...
Climate trauma is real. Could nature be the cure?
January 17, 2023 21:30As California works through the devastating consequences of catastrophic flooding, today on “Post Reports” we look back at another climate disaster and ask if survivors can find healing on the very land that holds the scars of climate change. Read more: From deadly flooding to destructive wildfires, Californians have been coping with the perils of climate change for years. More than four years after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, one study on the fire’s aftermath said surviv...
Help! My family is royally messed up!
January 14, 2023 17:00Today, Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax offers some guidance to the splintered British royal family. Read more: Lately, there’s been a lot of news about the British royal family. There’s a Netflix documentary series about Harry and Meghan, and this week Harry released his new memoir, “Spare.” Both are packed with surprisingly intimate details about the lives of the former royals, including Harry taking magic mushrooms at a celebrity party as well as intentional palace leaks to the tabloid...
What we know about the Biden documents
January 13, 2023 23:05What we know about the classified documents found in President Biden’s possession. How will a new special counsel investigation by the Justice Department work? And what are the similarities — and differences — with the investigation into former president Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents? Read more: Amid new revelations of classified documents in his possession after the vice presidency, President Biden now faces a special counsel investigation. In November, a small batch ...
America’s fragile aviation system
January 12, 2023 22:28What was behind the sudden halt to thousands of domestic flights yesterday morning? Today on Post Reports, a conversation with transportation reporter Lori Aratani about a highly unusual aviation system failure and the deeper flaws it exposed. Read more: More than 4,600 flights arriving in and out of the U.S. faced unusual delays yesterday morning, as aviation staff sought answers to an unexpected overnight outage of its airspace alert system. Preliminary reviews traced the problem to...
Covid whiplash in China
January 11, 2023 21:55It came as a complete surprise. Last month, the Chinese government dropped most of its “zero covid” restrictions. Today on Post Reports, we find out what’s behind the shift and a massive covid outbreak that has since swept the country. Since the start of the pandemic, China has kept in place rigid policies in hopes of eliminating the spread of covid-19. That all changed last month, amid outbreaks of the highly transmissible omicron variant and in the wake of unprecedented protests. In a sud...
Why Biden is restricting border crossings
January 10, 2023 21:40President Biden promised a different approach to immigration than his predecessor, but he is still relying on some Trump-era tools. Today, a look at what Biden’s new strategy will mean for migrants and border communities. Read more: President Biden announced new immigration policies that would expand legal entry into the United States for thousands of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, while continuing to rely upon a controversial Trump-era policy that would block access ...
Brazil’s insurrection
January 09, 2023 22:39Why thousands of supporters of the far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro trashed key government buildings in the country’s capital. And what’s next for the country’s new president and Brazil’s democracy. Read more: On Sunday, thousands of rioters destroyed key government buildings in Brasília, Brazil’s capital, to protest the election of the country’s new leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Most were supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost to Lula in...
Trump, two years after Jan. 6
January 06, 2023 21:29On the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, we have a conversation about the political and legal consequences former president Donald Trump faces and how they are affecting his presidential campaign. Read more: Former president Donald Trump’s sphere of influence appears to be waning: Many of the candidates he supported publicly in the midterms lost races, and despite his recent announcement to run for the presidency again in 2024 his campaign has garnered little public support. N...
A Brazil without Bolsonaro
January 05, 2023 23:16Where in the world is Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president? Today’s Post Reports examines why Bolsonaro left the country ahead of the ceremonial handover of power, and what his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, could mean for a divided Brazil. Brazilian elections were razor-thin: Lula won just 50.9 percent of the vote. But the country’s young democracy was put to its biggest test yet when incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro questioned the election process and never formally conceded...
Tinder in the trenches
January 04, 2023 23:30Marriages, breakups and dates are still happening in Ukraine, even during the war against Russian forces. Read more: Reporter Jeff Stein recently reported on what love and intimacy look like during the war with Russian forces. What he found was that Tinder and sex shops still persist as cities in Ukraine continue to see airstrikes and hear sirens. Sometimes, when it doesn’t seem like either side is winning, love just might be.
What happened to Kevin McCarthy?
January 03, 2023 23:05Who will be the new speaker of the House? Republican leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to whip up the votes. Read more: The House met for the first day of the 118th Congress on Tuesday to swear in members and elect a speaker for the new Republican majority. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) needs 218 votes to become the speaker of the House; he can afford to lose only four GOP votes. While an overwhelming number of Republicans want McCarthy to be speaker, several have remain...
Check out The 7 for Friday, December 30
December 30, 2022 12:29 - 5.81 MBThis week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. Read today's briefing here.
The 7 for Thursday, December 29
December 29, 2022 12:22 - 5.01 MBThis week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. You can also read today's briefing here.
The 7 for Wednesday, December 28
December 28, 2022 12:25 - 5.81 MBOn The Post’s new podcast, "The 7," host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories of the day. It's a way to get caught up in just a few minutes. It comes out every weekday at 7 a.m. Check it out today, then find and follow "The 7." You can also read today's briefing here.
Check out The 7 for Tuesday, December 27
December 27, 2022 12:37 - 5.53 MBThis week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. You can also read the briefing here.
Will the real ‘Queen of Christmas’ please stand up?
December 24, 2022 17:00 - 8.65 MBWho is the real Queen of Christmas? Not Mariah Carey, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Today on a bonus episode of Post Reports, we explain the legal battle for the Christmas throne. Read more: Read more about the legal battle over the “Queen of Christmas” title here. Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Right now, you can save over 70 percent on a new premium subscription to The Washington Post — and that new premium subscription comes with a bonus subscription to s...
How to ‘Eat & Flourish’ in 2023
December 23, 2022 18:28Today on “Post Reports,” the way what we eat – and how we eat it – affects our mental health, not just our physical health. Plus, how to eat for your emotional well-being in the new year. Read more: Washington Post journalist Mary Beth Albright has been fascinated by the connection between food and mood for years. “What I began to realize is that food and emotions are inextricably entwined,” Mary Beth told Martine Powers. “We can either get to know the biology and the connection and how...