Consider This from NPR

The first day of President Trump’s historic trip to the UK was dominated by ceremony. A carriage procession around the grounds of Windsor Castle with the royal family. Inspection of the guards. Exhibits from the Royal Collection. A lavish banquet preceded by a joint US- UK military flypast. All the royal pomp and pageantry that might be expected for the first ever second state visit by an elected politician to a British monarch. But the sights and sounds beyond the castle were far different. Thousands of protestors filled London’s streets with chants, signs and Trump baby blimps. Protestors told us they were demonstrating over what’s happening in the United States over what’s happening in Gaza and over Trump’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The U.K.'s response to Trump is like America's: divided Coming up, opposing perspectives on President Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom. This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Beth Timmins in London and by Tyler Bartlam and Elena Burnett in Washington. It was edited by Courtney Dorning, Nick Spicer, Roberta Rampton and Nadia Lancy. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Robert Redford died early Tuesday morning, according to his publicist. He was 89 years old. Redford was a golden child of Hollywood, starring in dozens of movies. But he was never content just being an all-American matinee idol. He became an Oscar-winning director, founded the Sundance Institute and grew the Sundance Film Festival, and advocated for environmental causes before activism became a Hollywood cliche. Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and film critic Bob Mondello look back on Robert Redford’s work and legacy. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jay Cyzs and Ted Mebane. It was edited by Clare Lombardo and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

With the assasination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, there’s a great deal of speculation about who will fill his seat, literally and metaphorically. Vice President JD Vance hosted the Charlie Kirk Show on Monday. He talked with a variety of Trump administration heavyweights and conservative media figures, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and political commentator Tucker Carlson. The guests reflected on their personal and professional relationships with Kirk, and his many contributions to the second Trump presidency. NPR Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro and NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik share what they learned from the show about how Charlie Kirk’s legacy is being shaped in real time. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Kira Wakeam, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Megan Pratz, Emily Kopp and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for federal immigration enforcement agents in Los Angeles to use race and other profiling factors in deciding who to stop and potentially detain. NPR’s Scott Detrow and Jasmine Garsd discuss how the expansion of ICE operations around the country has changed the way people interact with law enforcement, and their community. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Erika Ryan and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Adam Raney and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Sometimes the stories that help us understand the full impact of war are told through a child’s voice. And sometimes the most powerful stories of war are not just of destruction and rising death tolls, but also of humanity, optimism and hope. Reporter Ari Daniel visited a clinic and captured a moving scene between a doctor and his patient, a young girl from Gaza. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Michael Levitt. It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Rebecca Davis. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

HIV has been in retreat around the world. Fewer people are dying of the disease. New infections are decreasing. More HIV positive people have access to life saving medicine. Those trend lines have been moving in the right direction for decades. And US investment is one big reason. The Trump Administration dismantled foreign assistance through USAID, it continued PEPFAR — the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief — but much of the work is either no longer happening or happening at a very reduced capacity. For decades, the United States led global efforts to end HIV/AIDS. That's no longer happening. Where will the trend lines go from here? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre. You also heard reporting in this episode from NPR’s Gabrielle Emanuel from Zambia. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Rebecca Davis. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

For many young conservatives, Charlie Kirk was more than just another political activist or online personality. He was the face of their movement -- a glimpse at how life for their generation could look by embracing a more hard-right, MAGA worldview. Charlie Kirk's followers are in shock and grief over his assassination. As they try to make sense of his killing, many are also asking what's next for the movement he started. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kai McNamee and Mia Venkat. It was edited by John Ketchum and Courtney Dorning. . Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The 9/11 terrorism case has been in legal limbo for more than a decade and many doubt the case will ever make it to take to trial. That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible. Meanwhile, the accused men are at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and thousands of 9/11 family members wait for a resolution. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with two young people whose fathers died in the World Trade Center attacks, as they debate whether the 9/11 defendants should get plea deals. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva and Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Becky Brown. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Six years after his death in prison, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to dominate the news. A House committee has released a suggestive note sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday that is signed "Donald J. Trump." The White House continues to deny now President Trump wrote or signed it. Separately, a New York Times investigation tracked Epstein's relationship to the country's leading bank, JPMorgan Chase. It concludes that the bank enabled his sex crimes, even as evidence against him piled up. Times reporter Matt Goldstein explains. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by J. Czys and Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job. He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont. On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant. Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory. But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks. The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real. Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water. And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country. Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same post, seemingly threatened “WAR” in Chicago; later, the president indicated that sending in troops would be to clean up cities, not to go to war. But weeks of talk of sending federal troops into Chicago has set the city on edge. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied political violence for 30 years, and who worries his city could be a powder keg. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump has vowed to abolish the Department of Education. He’s pressured schools to end DEI initiatives and protections for transgender students. He's rescinded guidelines that barred immigration enforcement at schools. So what could Trump’s policies mean for kids in public schools? We get answers from NPR education correspondent Cory Turner and NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode features reporting by Frank Langfitt. It was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Hannah Gluvna. It was edited by William Troop, Nicole Cohen, and Kelsey Snell. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a scathing line of questioning from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday. Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic and is using his position as Secretary of Health and Human Services to radically change vaccine policy. In recent weeks, there have been a number of public health officials who have resigned or been fired, creating chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies. Federal employees are also speaking out, including more than 1,000 former and current HHS employees who penned a letter urging Kennedy to resign. Now, some states are taking vaccine policy into their own hands For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Marc Rivers, and Manuela Lopez Restrepo, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Jonaki Mehta, Diane Webber, and Scott Hensley. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The one thing certain about the COVID vaccine right now is that everything about it is changing. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season, but it’s significantly changed just WHO can get it. That move comes amidst a broader effort by the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to change policy and guidance around many vaccines. At this point — we’re guessing you have lots of questions about vaccination in general, but especially around COVID shots. That’s why we asked our NPR listeners to submit their questions about the FDA’s new COVID vaccine guidance. UCSF infectious disease doctor Dr. Peter Chin-Hong answers your questions. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Brianna Scott. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

“Chief diversity officer” was once Corporate America’s hottest job. Now corporate America has retreated from DEI and slashed thousands of jobs. So where does that leave the people who’ve built careers around that work? Hear the story of one veteran executive who’s been job-hunting for more than a year. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Christine Arrasmith. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Rafael Nam. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

So many movies are made about the beginning of a relationship. That first spark of attraction. That first kiss. The new dark comedy “The Roses” is about the other end – when it's all falling apart. Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman star as Theo and Ivy, a couple who was once very much in love. Two children and a transatlantic move later, they’re now struggling to save their marriage. No one thinks it’s going to work – including their therapist. Cumberbatch and Colman sit down with host Mary Louise Kelly to discuss how they leveraged their real-life friendship to play two people who love to hate each other. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This holiday episode was produced by Kira Wakeam and Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Trump Administration has made significant changes to the departments in charge of public health. So what does that mean for the health of average Americans and to the future of public health research? NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine physician who also teaches public health policy at Brown University. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam. It was edited by John Ketchum. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans twenty years ago this week, leaving a trail of destruction across the city and the Gulf Coast. NPR journalists were on the ground covering the developing story of what became the costliest storm in U.S. history. NPR’s Greg Allen reflects on covering the catastrophe and digs into the archives to remember the feel of the city after the storm. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or atplus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kai McNamee, Daniel Ofman and Tyler Bartlam. It was edited by Adam Raney and Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Before he entered politics, most Americans knew Donald Trump as an entertainer. As the host of the hit show “The Apprentice” he was catapulted to a new level of fame. That persona has carried over to Trump’s political life as he embraces his role as entertainer-in-chief. In this term, unlike the first, Trump has taken aim at cultural institutions. He initiated a takeover of the Kennedy Center, has declared that Smithsonian exhibits must submit to White House scrutiny, and he’s successfully sued – and won settlements from – multiple broadcasting giants. Throughout Trump’s second term, he’s dramatically expanded the authority of the executive branch. Now, he’s using his power to reshape American culture. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Kai McNamee. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Justine Kenin. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The war in Gaza is approaching the 2 year mark. As it does, Israel continues to launch new attacks on a territory that is already in ruins. And the humanitarian situation for Gaza’s Palestinian residents continues to worsen. A team of NPR reporters has been focusing on one question: how did we get here? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Mia Venkat and Daniel Ofman. It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Courtney Dorning and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy