All Things Considered for October 21, 2021 Hear the All Things Considered program for October 21, 2021

All Things Considered

In this photo illustration, a container of Johnson's baby powder sits on a table in 2019. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

National

J&J is using a bankruptcy maneuver to block lawsuits over baby powder cancer claims

Johnson & Johnson spun off liabilities — including roughly 38,000 lawsuits — linked to claims of asbestos contamination in its baby powder to a new firm, which then declared bankruptcy.

In this photo illustration, a container of Johnson's baby powder sits on a table in 2019. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

J&J is using a bankruptcy maneuver to block lawsuits over baby powder cancer claims

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Zahra Nealy (left) and Victoria Chamberlin both stand to benefit from recent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Roxanne Turpen and Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for NPR hide caption

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Roxanne Turpen and Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for NPR

Student loan forgiveness is a lot closer for some borrowers, and they are pumped

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Karen Watkins is vice chair of the school board of Gwinnett County, a suburban county north of Atlanta. She is surprised that she has become a target for a political culture war. "I just didn't realize that it would impact the local school board," Watkins says. "Our main focus is towards student achievement and ensuring that we are producing children that are thriving." Johnathon Kelso for NPR hide caption

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Johnathon Kelso for NPR

What it's like to be on the front lines of the school board culture war

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China's DF-17 missile is a medium-range hypersonic weapon capable of traveling over five times the speed of sound. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption

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Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Behind murky claim of a new hypersonic missile test, there lies a very real arms race

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Frances Haugen; Janneke Parish; Chelsey Glasson Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Janneke Parish; Chelsey Glasson hide caption

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Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Janneke Parish; Chelsey Glasson

Tech workers recount the cost of speaking out, as tensions rise inside companies

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