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Analysis

Tuesday

Here's How Presidents Have Responded To Terrorism

Sydney Robison, center, looks on during a vigil for U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover Sunday in Salt Lake City. Hoover was among the 13 U.S. troops killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption

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Rick Bowmer/AP

Here's How Presidents Have Responded To Terrorism

Presidents' reactions have consistently combined outrage with promises of revenge. The language is remarkably similar. But there has been far less consistency in the delivery of actual retaliation.

Thursday

What We Know About ISIS-K, The Group Behind The Kabul Attack

Medical and hospital staff carry an injured man on a stretcher for treatment outside the Kabul, Afghanistan, airport after blasts Thursday. U.S. service members and Afghan civilians were among those killed and injured. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

World

What We Know About ISIS-K, The Group Behind The Kabul Attack

A regional Islamic State affiliate is a major rival to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The U.S. says ISIS-K has long planned attacks on its personnel in the country.

What We Know About ISIS-K, The Group Behind The Kabul Attack

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Tuesday

Here's How Democrats Get Their Domestic Agenda Through — And It's Not Easy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are attempting to maneuver two spending bills through Congress. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Politics

Here's How Democrats Get Their Domestic Agenda Through — And It's Not Easy

The resurgent coronavirus and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan have likely made an already-difficult path for President Biden's big-spending legislative agenda even tougher.

Monday

The Taliban's Rise Is Complicating Biden's Efforts To Close Guantánamo's Prison

Marines transport a detainee in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002. Nearly 800 detainees have passed through the prison since it opened that year. Today, 39 men are still being held there. Chris Hondros/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Investigations

The Taliban's Rise Is Complicating Biden's Efforts To Close Guantánamo's Prison

Afghanistan's fall and the Taliban's resurgence have raised fears that if President Biden releases additional Guantánamo prisoners, they may join the militant group or return to the battlefield.

The Taliban's Rise Is Complicating Biden's Efforts To Close Guantánamo's Prison

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Saturday

Zalmai Yawar is a Ph.D. candidate in geology at Indiana University. He was Scott Simon's translator during a reporting trip in Afghanistan in 2002.

Zalmai Yawar is a Ph.D. candidate in geology at Indiana University. He was Scott Simon's translator during a reporting trip in Afghanistan in 2002. Zalmai Yawar hide caption

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Zalmai Yawar

Opinion

Simon Says

Opinion: Numb From Afghanistan's Losses

Host Scott Simon shares the reaction of Zalmai Yawar, an Afghan who first served as a translator for NPR 20 years ago, to the country's return to Taliban control. Yawar now lives in the U.S.

Opinion: Numb From Afghanistan's Losses

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Friday

The Afghan Army Collapsed In Days. Here Are The Reasons Why

Taliban fighters mobilize to control a crowd during a rally for Afghanistan's independence day in Kabul on Aug. 19. The Taliban seized control of the city this week, effectively capturing the country in a matter of weeks. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images hide caption

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Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Investigations

The Afghan Army Collapsed In Days. Here Are The Reasons Why

The U.S. military spent years training Afghan soldiers to fight insurgents. Yet in a matter of days, the Afghan National Army collapsed, and the Taliban captured the country. What went wrong?

The Afghan Army Collapsed In Days. Here Are The Reasons Why

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Texas Democrats Return Home To A New Battle: Redistricting

A plane pulls the message 'Don't Mess with Texas Voter Y'all' over the Texas Capitol on July 13 in Austin, Texas. Democrats left the state to block sweeping new election laws and began to return this week. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

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Eric Gay/AP

National

Texas Democrats Return Home To A New Battle: Redistricting

KUT News

Texas grew more than any other state in the last decade. Tasked with adding two congressional districts, some political watchers say redistricting could be a "blood bath" between the state parties.

Texas Democrats Return Home To A New Battle: Redistricting

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Thursday

Our Film Critic Explores Why The Harrowing Afghanistan Images May Feel Familiar

U.S. soldiers stand guard along the perimeter at the international airport in Kabul Aug. 16, 2021. Shekib Rahmani/AP hide caption

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Shekib Rahmani/AP

Opinion

Movies

Our Film Critic Explores Why The Harrowing Afghanistan Images May Feel Familiar

Bob Mondello reflects on the portrayal and the despair of Afghanistan's story, as shown on film for decades — in The Man Who Would Be King, Rambo III, Charlie Wilson's War, Zero Dark Thirty and more.

Our Film Critic Explores Why The Harrowing Afghanistan Images May Feel Familiar

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Federal Trade Commission Refiles Suit Accusing Facebook Of Illegal Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission has accused Facebook of stifling competition when it bought Instagram and WhatsApp and cut off other would-be rivals from its data. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

Technology

Federal Trade Commission Refiles Suit Accusing Facebook Of Illegal Monopoly

The regulator is taking another swing at Facebook after a judge tossed out its initial effort in June. It accused the social media giant of illegally maintaining a monopoly.

Taliban Mark Afghanistan's Independence Day As Challenges To Their Rule Rise

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan Tuesday seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed. Rahmat Gul/AP hide caption

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Rahmat Gul/AP

World

Taliban Mark Afghanistan's Independence Day As Challenges To Their Rule Rise

The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day by declaring they beat the U.S. but face running a country short on cash where the possibility of an armed opposition is beginning to emerge.

Wednesday

The Taliban Destroyed An Enemy's Statue. It Adds Doubt Over The Claims Of Moderation

Taliban fighters patrol in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021 as they seek to convince a wary population that they have changed. Rahmat Gul/AP hide caption

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Rahmat Gul/AP

World

The Taliban Destroyed An Enemy's Statue. It Adds Doubt Over The Claims Of Moderation

The insurgents' every action is being watched closely. They insist they have changed and won't impose the same restrictions they did when they last ruled, but many remain skeptical.

Withdrawing From Afghanistan May Be The One Thing Biden And Trump Agree On

President Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, agree that American troops should leave Afghanistan. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Politics

Withdrawing From Afghanistan May Be The One Thing Biden And Trump Agree On

The last four U.S. presidents have found themselves mired in Afghanistan. The last two saw the war as an unwanted inheritance and an albatross, and they were determined to end the American role.

Who Runs The World? Kids.

High schoolers Ethan Lincoln, Kaylee King and Jamin Crow's podcast about their experiences subsistence hunting is a finalist in the NPR Student Podcast Challenge. The students are pictured here at the KYUK radio transmitter site in Bethel, Alaska. Katie Basile/KYUK hide caption

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Katie Basile/KYUK

Code Switch

Who Runs The World? Kids.

OK, they're not all kids. But they're all students, they're all amazing, and frankly, we're concerned that they might be coming for our jobs. That's right — the Student Podcast Challenge is back, and this year, the stories are more powerful than ever.

Who Runs The World? Kids.

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Tuesday