One Moscow poet is making rare criticism of the Russian war on Ukraine. The Russian assault on Ukraine is now in its fifth year. For ordinary Russians, dissent against the war is dangerous. Poet Vadim Dzyuba is speaking out anyway. It’s cost him his job, and he faces an ongoing threat of jail.

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When a 9,000 year-old grave of a shaman was discovered in 1930s Germany, the discovery was quickly politicized to support Nazi propaganda. But new analysis shows those assumptions were all wrong.

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It’s been three months since the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Ordinary Venezuelans reflect on what that night of the Maduro capture was like, and on what may be ahead for their country. They say they’re now able to openly talk politics and demonstrate in the streets. Still, the most difficult part of transforming their country may lie ahead.

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Israel has invaded Lebanon as the war in Iran expands in the region. Israel says the move is in pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters— Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel last month in support of Iran. Israel’s invasion has caused a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon with over a million civilians displaced and more than 1,300 killed in Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon’s government. And among the dead are at least 53 paramedics. Human rights groups say some of those first responders were targeted. We go to Beirut to examine that claim.

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On Monday, President Trump threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure across Iran, including the country’s desalination plants, vital for drinking water in the arid Gulf. Kuwait authorities said Iran had attacked one of their desalination plants earlier that day. Deliberately attacking essential civilian infrastructure is a war crime under international law. Yet both sides have hit civilian infrastructure in this conflict. We ask a legal expert about accountability in war.

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A conversation with an advocate for the regulation of Artificial Intelligence. He has thought a lot about what it could mean for the future of the the global economy, the working lives of people and how it’s use or misuse on the battlefield could change war in frightening ways.

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For almost a month now, a twenty-eight-year old Iranian writer in Tehran has been sharing her diary entries with NPR. The entries give us a view of the war from inside Iran as it is being lived. This is her second dispatch and she expresses the complicated emotions some Iranians have about this war.

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It’s been a month since the U.S. and Israel began the war on Iran. President Trump pointed to what he said has been progress in talks when he extended his deadline for Iran to open up the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping channel. He has threated to destroy Iran’s energy facilities if ships aren’t allowed to pass.

Meanwhile attacks continue in Iran, Israel, Gulf States and Lebanon. Israel’s Defense Minister vowed to intensify strikes against Iran… while Iran’s Ambassador to the UN accused the U.S. and Israel of deliberately targeting civilians.

In today’s episode, we look at a month of this war, by hearing from the people experiencing it. We meet weary Iranians, fearful Israelis, shaken residents of what was a safe haven in the Gulf, and Lebanese citizens enduring massive displacement. 

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Southeast Asia is among the areas hardest hit by Iran’s cutoff of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, with many nations there almost entirely dependent on foreign energy — and quickly running out. We hear how the effects are being felt.

And Iran has been not only launching missiles around the region but also firing off memes around the internet. We hear that although war propaganda has a long history, it now travels faster and to a wider audience than ever before. 

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Britain’s upper house of parliament is known as the House of Lords and it’s has a lot of old traditions: powdered wigs, a gold throne, lawmakers addressing each other as “noble lord” or “baroness”. But one tradition has recently received scrutiny— dozens of the legislators inherit their seats. We go to London to learn about the practice that has been in place for nearly a thousand years.

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After weeks of war with Iran, Israeli support for the conflict is high but waning. Israel has endured frequent airstrikes from Iran disrupting lives and killing at least fifteen so far. We hear from some Israelis about how they’re feeling.

And while more than one thousand ships are idle, unable to go through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian attacks on vessels, a few are getting through the economically vital waterway. We hear about which ships are getting through and why.

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