Episodes

  • The News Roundup For January 31, 2025

    The News Roundup For January 31, 2025
    Jan 31 2025
    An American Airlines plane collided with a helicopter on Wednesday in Washington D.C., sending both crashing into the Potomac River. There are no survivors.

    Donald Trump ordered a freeze of all federal grants, disrupting vital national processes.

    Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinians are making their way back into the northern parts of Gaza. Israel's ban on working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency goes into effect this week.

    A new Chinese AI app, called DeepSeek, has upended the tech industry and Wall Street. Industry watchers note the country's programmers can deliver a product on par with that of the West, for a fraction of the cost and without access to similar hardware.

    We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • The Debate Over Fluoride In American Drinking Water

    The Debate Over Fluoride In American Drinking Water
    Jan 30 2025
    Fluoride in American tap water is nothing new. We've been safely adding it to our drinking water for decades and staved off tooth decay in our population.

    But new skepticism has some Americans wondering about the benefits of the practice. This is in large part thanks to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

    We discuss why fluoride is added to our water supply, the risks and benefits.

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    35 mins
  • America's Relationship With The World Health Organization

    America's Relationship With The World Health Organization
    Jan 29 2025
    It was instrumental in coordinating global action during the pandemic. However, that meant became a target for the president of then and now.

    The World Health Organization helps to protect and maintain the health of the world's population. It receives about 10 percent of its budget from the United States. President Donald Trump, however, doesn't see a lot of value in its work, signing an executive order Monday to withdraw America from the membership of the agency.

    He called the organization "corrupt" and has accused it of taking more from the U.S. than it gives.

    We discuss the future of global health without America at the table of one of its greatest proponents.

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    36 mins
  • The Movement To Restrict Minors' Social Media Use

    The Movement To Restrict Minors' Social Media Use
    Jan 29 2025
    Social media bans for minors have been making the rounds internationally. Now, Congress is looking to follow that lead.

    In November, Australia imposed a sweeping ban on social media for users under 16 years old. The ban holds social media companies responsible for enforcing age restrictions on their sites and prohibits minors under that age limit from using those platforms or creating new accounts.

    The law doesn't name specific apps or websites, but companies could face fines of up to $32 million if they violate the ban.

    We discuss how social media bans like Australia's are enforced and what it would take to pass similar measures in the U.S.

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    11 mins
  • Tech Critic Nicholas Carr On Why Social Media Hurts More Than It Helps

    Tech Critic Nicholas Carr On Why Social Media Hurts More Than It Helps
    Jan 28 2025
    Humans love to connect. We're social like that. Whether we're sending telegrams, calling each other on the telephone, or DM'ing each other on the social media platform of our choosing, we're interacting.

    Whether or not that constant connection is a good thing is another matter entirely. Writer and author Nicholas Carr spends a lot of time thinking about that very question (and others like it). His new book, "Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart," tells a story of the parallel rises of mechanical, efficient electronic communication and mass confusion.

    But it's not just the fault of tech giants and social media companies. Carr encourages us to look inward and consider how our own psyches play a role. He joins us to talk about the realities of social media and constant connection.

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    32 mins
  • ICYMI: Bishop Budde On Faith And Politics

    ICYMI: Bishop Budde On Faith And Politics
    Jan 28 2025
    It's a moment that's run through President Donald Trump's first week in office — a bishop in Washington imploring the incoming commander in chief to show mercy to the less powerful during a national prayer service.

    This simple claim meant a lot to million worrying for the future of their country. It also offended many more who think it's on the right track.

    But that hasn't caused Bishop Marian Budde to waver in her convictions.

    She joins us to discuss her faith, what that moment meant to her, and what she hopes for the future of the U.S.

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    18 mins
  • 'If You Can Keep It': Trump's Early Moves And The Constitution

    'If You Can Keep It': Trump's Early Moves And The Constitution
    Jan 27 2025
    The first week of President Trump's new term ended with a late-night purge of around 17 federal inspectors general on Friday.

    The exact total is still unclear. Trump said the move was a, quote, "very standard thing to do." But federal law requires a 30-day notification to Congress before inspectors general can be removed from their posts.

    Also, in the first week of his second term – four Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. On Thursday a federal judge in Seattle temporarily halted the implementation of the order, calling it, quote, "blatantly unconstitutional."

    Our series, "If You Can Keep It," cuts through political noise to consider the state of our Democratic Republic and what matters to you.

    We discuss the IG purge, take a closer look at the legal challenges to Trump's early moves, and how the Constitution guides our understanding of executive power today.

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    33 mins
  • The News Roundup For January 24, 2025

    The News Roundup For January 24, 2025
    Jan 24 2025
    Donald Trump's first week back in office has been frenetic. The 47th president issued a slew of executive orders and actions on subjects ranging from immigration to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

    And a Bishop made a heartfelt plea directly to the president and Vice President JD Vance, asking them to show mercy towards immigrants and LGBTQ youth.

    Friday marks five days since the beginning of the first stage of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And this week the Israeli Defense Force launched renewed raids into the city of Jenin in the Occupied West Bank, killing at least 12 Palestinians.

    Pope Francis had strong words for Donald Trump as the president began to implement plans to target immigrants living in the U.S.

    Despite campaign trail promises, the war in Ukraine did not end on the first day of Donald Trump's presidency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pondered this week whether Trump would even pay Europe much notice.

    We get into all this and more during this week's News Roundup.

    Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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    1 hr and 23 mins