Subscribe
Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we talk about the benefit of hearing birdsongs for our well-being.
Read more:
Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds. Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being.
Today on “Post Reports,” neuroscientist and Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
The Coast Guard said Thursday that the missing submersible suffered a catastrophic loss of pressure that killed all five people onboard. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the unregulated industry of deep-sea tourism.
Read more:
The Coast Guard said Thursday that debris was found near the search area for Titan, OceanGate Expeditions’s lost Titanic submersible. All crew members have died.
Post reporter Ben Brasch says that many on shore are wondering whether stricter regulations could have prevented the disaster.
Maritime safety regulation experts and experienced mariners say OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operates the vessel, was working in a regulatory gray area when it launched its crewed submersible.
Today on the show, we explore why there’s no defined agency that regulates expeditions like these.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
This week, President Biden will honor Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state dinner. Today on “Post Reports,” New Delhi bureau chief Gerry Shih explains why Biden is rolling out the red carpet for the controversial world leader.
Read more:
President Biden will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week with a lavish state dinner, a reception that is rarely offered to world leaders. And especially not to leaders like Modi, who was once denied a visa to the United States because of his human rights record.
Today, India is seen as a key global partner for the United States, especially as a counterweight against China. But as Gerry Shih explains, Modi’s visit also comes at a time when India, under Modi’s leadership, is sliding into authoritarianism.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today.
“Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. Coming on June 28th.
Follow the show wherever you listen.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Today on “Post Reports,” we catch up on the cast of characters in the Trump documents case: from his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta to special counsel Jack Smith to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon.
Read more:
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he broke the law dozens of times by keeping and hiding top-secret documents in his Florida home — the first hearing in a historic court case that could alter the country’s political and legal landscape.
Today we have a who’s who of the case — from Trump’s valet and co-defendant Walt Nauta to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, who will play a pivotal role in the trial.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. But as Samantha Schmidt reports from the beleaguered city of Kherson, a push for liberation from Russian occupation is just the beginning.
Read more:
A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. There are signs of small gains for Ukrainian troops, but wins will be difficult as a long battle appears ahead.
Today on “Post Reports,” foreign correspondent Samantha Schmidt explains what is at stake in this critical moment for the war and what she is seeing on the ground in the heavily contested southern region of Kherson.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time. Now, he’s being charged with obstruction and conspiracy in connection with classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which could mean years in prison if he’s found guilty.
Read more:
For the second time in two months, former president Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, has been indicted. As the first former president to face federal criminal charges, Trump has been charged with 37 counts, including illegal retention of government secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Trump must appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
Today on “Post Reports,” national security reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the charges and what Trump’s legal troubles could mean for 2024.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Today, we break down what’s happening with the Canadian wildfires, the smoke enveloping parts of the United States, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Read more:
While the United States has grown accustomed to increasingly devastating wildfires ravaging the West Coast, the country is facing a new challenge: intense wildfire smoke hitting the East Coast from fires burning through Canadian forests. This week, the smoke has blanketed the East Coast corridor and is spreading to the Midwest. With the air quality at hazardous levels, we talk to Amudalat Ajasa, a weather and climate reporter for The Washington Post, about how people can protect themselves from breathing wildfire smoke, and whether the changing geography of wildfires could impact clean air initiatives.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
We’re more than a year away from the 2024 presidential election and there are already 12 republican candidates. The question, as it’s been since 2016: Can anyone beat Trump?
Read more:
Michael Scherer is a national political reporter for The Post. He says even though 2024 is a ways away, this is still a pivotal time. Large donors are figuring out who to back and candidates are trying to make themselves stand out in a crowded field.
Scherer will tell you all you need to know at this point in the GOP race. Who are the candidates? What are they promising? And is any of it enough to unseat the front-running Trump?
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Today, a conversation with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on how loneliness is posing a profound public health threat in the United States.
Read more:
Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, says loneliness is a serious threat to the mental and physical health of the nation. Studies show half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, and the consequences can be devastating; from a greater risk of depression and anxiety, to heart disease, stroke and dementia.
In an advisory issued in May, Murthy called for Americans to spend more time with each other, especially in an increasingly divided and digital society. Today, we talk to Murthy about what loneliness looks like in America, how technology is a double-edged sword, and how we can strengthen our social connections with each other.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
The United States won’t default on its debt payments, that’s the good news. The bad news? A lot of Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with the agreement that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy crafted.
Yet, both men say the deal represents a win for their respective parties. So, who actually got what they wanted out of this deal? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain.
Read more:
Here’s what’s in the debt ceiling bill
The new SNAP work requirements in the debt bill, explained
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won reelection, beating a challenge from a united opposition movement and cementing his tenure at the country’s helm into a third decade.
Read more:
Erdogan’s victory affirmed his political survival and his support among loyal supporters, many of them conservative Muslims. Turkey’s overseas allies, including the United States, must now navigate their relationship with Erdogan and his relations with international actors, including Russia.
Istanbul bureau chief Kareem Fahim explains what Erdogan’s win means for people in Turkey and globally.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis created an election police unit to crack down on voter fraud. But actual convictions by this unit are rare — and the toll on Florida’s voters is climbing higher.
Read more:
In its first nine months, the Office of Election Crimes and Security referred hundreds of alleged illegal voting cases to local law enforcement for possible charges — but few resulted in any arrests.
Lori Rozsa covers Florida for The Washington Post. She explains why DeSantis wants more money for a department that isn’t bringing in convictions.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Across the life span, the risk of death is higher for men and boys than women and girls. The longevity gap is the greatest it’s been in years. It’s a health crisis that’s largely silent because men are largely silent about their health.
Read more:
The crisis in men’s health goes beyond men not going to the doctor enough. Men are dying, on average, nearly six years sooner than women — and the numbers for men of color are even worse.
Tara Parker-Pope is the editor of The Post’s “Well+Being” section. She joins guest host Chris Velazco to talk about why men are dying sooner than women, and what we can do about it.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Ever since the 2020 election, Arizona election official Bill Gates has struggled with PTSD. He’s one of many election workers who are still coping with the barrage of death threats and harassment they endured in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
As the country braces for another presidential election cycle, in which Trump is the Republican front-runner, Gates is coming forward with his story about the psychological toll disinformation about the last election has taken on him and other elections officials.
Reporter Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez joins us to explain.
Read more:
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
A Title 42 border policy has expired. The public health measure allowed the U.S. to turn away many migrants and asylum seekers at the border because of the pandemic. But what does the end of the policy mean for migrants now?
Read more:
For many migrants hoping to enter the United States, a Title 42 border policy was a big boundary. It was a Donald Trump-era pandemic policy that made it easier for the administration to turn away migrants at the border. The policy expired May 11.
On today’s “Post Reports,” immigration reporters Arelis Hernández and Nick Miroff talk about people at the border waiting to cross and the promises President Biden made that have soured.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Today on “Post Reports,” what could happen if the United States government fails to raise the debt limit by the deadline.
Read more:
Yesterday, President Biden met with congressional leadership to talk about the “X date”; that’s the date after which the Treasury projects the U.S. government would no longer be able to pay its bills. The “X date” is June 1, and if a deal isn’t struck by then, the United States would default on its debt.
If the United States were to default, that could mean a variety of catastrophic economic consequences: millions of federal workers furloughed; Social Security and Medicare payments suspended; a stock market collapse; an economic recession.
White House economics reporter Jeff Stein explains these “doomsday” scenarios and breaks down what could happen to the U.S. economy, and even the global economy, if a deal isn’t reached.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
The Discord leaks keep sending shockwaves globally. This week, the slow drip of intelligence has the world’s attention on Ukraine and the Wagner Group. Also, we’ll learn more about Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old allegedly behind the leaks.
Read more:
While fighting for Russia in occupied Ukraine, the Wagner Group has taken heavy losses in the devastated city of Bakhmut. According to U.S. intelligence leaked on Discord, the mercenary army’s head, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, appeared to offer Ukrainian intelligence a deal: Withdraw from Bakhmut and we’ll tell you the position of Russian forces.
National security reporter Shane Harris explains how the leaks have affected the Ukraine war, and he brings us his latest reporting on Jack Teixeira, the accused leaker, and his disturbing behavior, both on and offline.
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Post Reports
• The Washington Post
Family bloggers share their lives, and their kids’ lives, online. But what happens when those kids grow up? New legislation is aiming to make sure children are protected and compensated if their parents make money off sharing their childhoods.
Read more:
Mommy bloggers have been around for more than two decades.. They share everything online, from struggles with postpartum depression to the highs and lows of having toddlers. These blogs have been helpful for parents, but when content is focused on their kids, it can feel like a violation for them.
Now, there’s legislation being put forth that might make it possible for children of family vloggers to get paid for their labor. Online culture columnist Taylor Lorenz talks with producer Jordan-Marie Smith about exactly how this might happen, and what to know about sharing any image of a kid on social media.
