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Analysis

Thursday

Russia and the West are vying for influence in Africa and Ukraine is a big reason why

Secretary of State Antony Blinken sits with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as they meet with African ministers at U.N. headquarters, May 18, 2022. Eduardo Munoz/AP hide caption

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Eduardo Munoz/AP

World

Russia and the West are vying for influence in Africa and Ukraine is a big reason why

Russia's foreign minister and France's president are visiting this week along with visits by U.S. officials in what some say is the most intense competition for influence there since the Cold War.

Tuesday

Facebook is making radical changes to keep up with TikTok

Facebook is revamping its default feed to include more recommended posts and videos from strangers, picked by artificial intelligence. Facebook hide caption

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Facebook

Technology

Facebook is making radical changes to keep up with TikTok

Facebook is overhauling its flagship app and Instagram to be more like the video platform that's so popular with Gen Z. Some people, like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, say it's trying too hard.

Facebook is making radical changes to keep up with TikTok

Listen · 4:24
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Friday

What women truckers can tell us about living and working alone

Brandie Diamond describes herself as a "transgender truck driver/chef/Jill-of-all-trades." But her career in trucking began in the mid-1980s, and she hadn't come out as trans back then. Meg Vogel for NPR hide caption

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Meg Vogel for NPR

Rough Translation

What women truckers can tell us about living and working alone

American long-haul truckers share wisdom from the road on living where you work

What women truckers can tell us about living and working alone

Listen · 7:11
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Wednesday

Who belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

Marilyn Vann, President of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association and the African Indians Foundation Courtesy of Marilyn Vann hide caption

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Courtesy of Marilyn Vann

Code Switch

Who belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

In 1866, the Cherokee Nation promised citizenship for Black "freedmen" and their descendants. But more than a century later, the descendants of the freedman are calling foul on that promise being fulfilled. This episode, from our friends at The Experiment podcast (produced by WNYC and the Atlantic) gets into the messy history and fraught present.

Who belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

Listen · 38:13
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Tuesday

Wednesday

Black gun owners have mixed feelings about the Supreme Court's concealed-carry ruling

Marchelle Tigner, a firearms instructor, teaches a student how to shoot a gun during a 2017 class in Lawrenceville, Ga. Tigner's goal is to train 1 million women how to shoot a gun in her lifetime. She is among the nation's Black women gun owners who say they are picking up firearms for self-protection. Lisa Marie Pane/AP hide caption

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Lisa Marie Pane/AP

Race

Black gun owners have mixed feelings about the Supreme Court's concealed-carry ruling

The United States has often been hostile toward Black gun ownership, but African Americans are the fastest growing demographic of armed weapons buyers in the country.

Tuesday

Monday

Friday

Elon Musk wants out of the Twitter deal. It could end up costing at least $1 billion

Elon Musk arrives for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022, in New York. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Technology

Elon Musk wants out of the Twitter deal. It could end up costing at least $1 billion

The billionaire Tesla CEO has changed his mind about buying Twitter, but it's not so easy to walk away from the legal agreement he signed with the social network.

Elon Musk wants out of the Twitter deal. It could end up costing at least $1 billion

Listen · 3:48
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Tuesday

The fight to fund abortions in post-Roe America

Abortion rights activists protest in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2022, two days after the US Supreme Court scrapped half-century constitutional protections for the procedure. Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

The fight to fund abortions in post-Roe America

In post-Roe America, money is even more determinative of who can get an abortion and who can't. Abortion funds are trying to close the gap, but they are now forced to navigate a murky legal landscape.

Thursday

Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every state

Map: NPR tracked four key influencers who appeared at least 308 events in 45 states and the District of Columbia, often with elected officials, candidates, and grassroots organizations. Nick McMillan/NPR hide caption

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Nick McMillan/NPR

Investigations

Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every state

Even as the Jan. 6 hearings play out, election misinformation keeps spreading. NPR tracked four leaders preaching false information about election fraud at hundreds of grassroots events nationwide.

Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every state

Listen · 8:14
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It's been a vicious 6 months for stocks. Here's what the grim markets are signaling

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Business

It's been a vicious 6 months for stocks. Here's what the grim markets are signaling

All that whipsawing on Wall Street in the first half of the year reflects real nervousness. Investors are worried the Fed may tip the economy into a recession.

It's been a vicious 6 months for stocks. Here's what the grim markets are signaling

Listen · 3:45
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Monday

What's happening with Russia's 1st default on foreign debt in a century

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with the head of Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Yury Chikhanchin, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday. Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP hide caption

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Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Ukraine invasion — explained

What's happening with Russia's 1st default on foreign debt in a century

The clock ran out on Russia's payments. But there's a twist: Russia does not consider itself in default because the country has the money, just its payments have been blocked by Western sanctions.

What's happening with Russia's 1st default on foreign debt in a century

Listen · 3:24
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