Consider This from NPR
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The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday.<br><br><em>Support NPR and get your news sponsor-free with Consider This+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/considerthis</em>
- 11 minutes 12 secondsFour years in, war in Ukraine grinds on. Is that what Russians want?Russian planners and Western intelligence predicted the invasion of Ukraine would be quick and decisive. Of course, Kyiv did not fall quickly - and still hasn’t.
In the four years since Russia first invaded, the Kremlin’s so-called “special military operation” has evolved into the deadliest conflict on the European continent since World War II. According to Western governments and think tanks, more than 1.5 million people are dead.
And throughout the war, one of the biggest questions has been, is this what Russian people want?
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This episode was produced by Christine Arrasmith, Mia Venkat and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Stacey Abbott. It was edited by Nick Spicer and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy10 March 2026, 10:07 pm - 8 minutes 57 secondsWhat's the war in Iran costing American consumers?Americans are paying more for gas than they were a week ago.
On Sunday, the price of oil hit $118 a barrel. It's since come down from those highs, but remains up sharply from the pre-war price of $70.
The price is being pushed up by disruption to oil supply out of the Persian Gulf – The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, typically handles around 20 million barrels of oil a day – close to a fifth of global oil consumption.
But the war has brought tanker traffic in the Strait to basically a standstill.
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This episode was produced by Mia Venkat.
It was edited by Courtney Dorning, Kara Platoni and Luis Clemens.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy9 March 2026, 9:31 pm - 9 minutes 29 secondsNew front in Lebanon as Iran war reshapes Middle EastThe repercussions of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran continue to be felt across the Middle East. However, Lebanon has become the most active second front in the continued conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.
Israel began its military assault on Lebanon after the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel as a show of solidarity with Iran.
The U.S. and Israel's war in Iran is not just a regional crisis. It’s reshaping political dynamics across the Middle East, with global repercussions.
Kim Ghattas, journalist and author of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East, offers her view from inside Lebanon, and the changing dynamics across the region.
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Reporting from NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed to this story. This episode was produced by Daniel Ofman. It was edited by Michael Levitt, Sarah Robbins and Hannah Bloch. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy8 March 2026, 10:43 pm - 10 minutes 18 secondsEpstein used an art camp to prey on girls. An NPR team learned how it worked.Reporters here at NPR noticed the name of a highly respected youth camp popping up repeatedly in the Epstein Files - Interlochen Center for the Arts.
When intern Ava Berger and other reporters started combing through the documents, they learned how Jeffrey Epstein used his wealth to gain access to the campus and prey on girls.
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This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy8 March 2026, 12:18 am - 12 minutes 25 secondsHow is the Iran war reshaping the world and politics here at home?For the last week, Israeli and US bombs have devastated Iran. And the conflict has widened to include multiple countries in the Gulf.
How is the conflict reshaping the world order and impacting Trump’s popularity here in the United States?
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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, Elena Burnett, Alejandra Marquez Janse and Erika Ryan. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon, Tara Neill, Dana Farrington, Jeanette Woods and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy6 March 2026, 10:56 pm - 8 minutes 3 secondsWhat it’s like to get caught in ICE’s surveillance webImmigration and Customs Enforcement is using a variety of tools to surveil folks they want to intimidate and apprehend.
That web helps federal agents find people to deport. But it also allows them to identify U.S. citizens who criticize the federal government and its policies.
NPR has compiled dozens of stories of people caught up in the surveillance web. Some were monitoring ICE activities and found themselves in interactions with agents who identify them by their names and home addresses. NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with Meg Anderson and Jude Joffe-Block who have been collecting the stories, and tracking ICE’s surveillance tactics.
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Reporting from NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf contributed to this story. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Alina Hartounian, John Ketchum and Sarah Handel.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy5 March 2026, 9:41 pm - 7 minutes 10 secondsIn Trump’s U.S., are there any presidential norms anymore?
This past weekend, the United States went to war.
The president didn’t present his case in a primetime speech from the Oval Office or the White House’s East Room, but rather, in an edited video posted at 2:30 a.m. on the social media platform he owns.
And that video post came between others where President Trump has falsely claimed that elections were rigged and stolen, called for the prosecution of people who have opposed him, and lobbied to put his face on U.S. currency.
The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser has been tracking it all, week by week, since 2018. She talks about the myriad ways the presidency, and the norms surrounding it, continue to change under Trump.
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This episode was produced by Erika Ryan, with audio engineering by Becky Brown and Damian Herring. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy4 March 2026, 10:02 pm - 10 minutes 28 secondsWho will be Iran's next leader?
The future of Iran hangs on an important question: Who will be its next leader? We'll look at how succession could unfold.
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This episode contained reporting from NPR’s Ruth Sherlock. It was produced by Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Becky Brown. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy3 March 2026, 11:01 pm - 10 minutes 31 secondsWhy is the U.S. at war with Iran?Regime change, nuclear weapons, terrorism …Why is the U.S. at war with Iran?
In the days since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, the Trump administration has given a wide range of reasons why the US is now at war. On Saturday, Trump seemed to indicate the U.S. and Israel were trying to clear the way for regime change. On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the conflict in Iran was not about regime change. A couple of hours later in Trump's first public comments, not prerecorded on video, he listed four objectives. Regime change wasn't among them.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected].
This episode was produced by Lauren Hodges and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy2 March 2026, 10:56 pm - 9 minutes 37 secondsWas there an imminent threat from Iran? Senator calls for Trump to explain war goals
Senator Mark Warner tells NPR that the families of sailors in the conflict area that he has met with "have no idea why their sons and daughters are being put in harm's way." Warner says that the president should appear before Congress and ask for a declaration of war.
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This episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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NPR Privacy Policy2 March 2026, 12:01 am - 12 minutes 22 secondsIranian supreme leader killed in airstrike, Trump says
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khemenei is dead, according President Donald Trump. This comes after US and Israeli forces bombarded targets across Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching attacks throughout the Middle East.
Given these historic events, we’re dropping our National Security Podcast “Sources & Methods” into the feed today.
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This episode was produced by Erika Ryan, Karen Zamora, and Kai McNamee, with audio engineering by Neil Tevault. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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