Épisodes

  • Lessons from Iraq, as Trump teases attacks on Iran

    Lessons from Iraq, as Trump teases attacks on Iran
    Jun 18 2025
    In 2003, the U.S. launched a war in Iraq based on what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons programs, then spent years mired in a conflict with no clear end.

    Today, President Trump is threatening to bring the U.S. military into another Middle East conflict. As with Iraq, the justification for a potential attack on Iran is the alleged threat of a nuclear weapon.

    We talk to journalist Steve Coll, author of The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq about how this moment echoes the run-up to the war in Iraq and how it differs.

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    10 min
  • What's at stake in the conflict between Israel and Iran?

    What's at stake in the conflict between Israel and Iran?
    Jun 17 2025
    The United States has worked for decades to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Now Israel says it is attacking Iran to remove that threat. What are the stakes in this conflict, not only for the two nations directly involved, but for the US and the world?

    Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Aaron Stein, the President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute about those stakes and the history of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

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    13 min
  • The big SCOTUS decisions looming

    The big SCOTUS decisions looming
    Jun 16 2025
    Around this time every year, the U.S. Supreme Court ends its term with a bang. The Justices typically save their biggest rulings for June.

    Outstanding cases include the president's birthright citizenship executive order, a Tennessee law blocking gender-affirming care and a Texas law requiring age verification for porn sites.

    NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg walks through the cases that may define this term.

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    8 min
  • Is this the end of the rule of law in America?

    Is this the end of the rule of law in America?
    Jun 15 2025
    Since the start of his second term, President Trump has been at odds with the federal courts.

    The protests in Los Angeles are just the latest series of events to raise huge questions about presidential power: in this case, whether the president can use military force to control protests.

    NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge who has a stark warning: that Trump's actions signal of the end of the rule of law in America.

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    9 min
  • The spending cuts one state could face if Trump's massive bill becomes law

    The spending cuts one state could face if Trump's massive bill becomes law
    Jun 14 2025
    Kentucky is one of the poorest states and is likely to see billions of dollars cut from Medicaid and other government benefits if Trump's spending bill becomes law.

    For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series we hear from Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman and Joe Sonka. The two reporters traveled through rural eastern Kentucky to gauge how cuts could impact people who rely on federal assistance and what that means for the health clinics that serve them.

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    9 min
  • Israel struck Iran. What's next?

    Israel struck Iran. What's next?
    Jun 13 2025
    Early Friday local time, Israel finally did what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to do for years: It launched a massive attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, killing top military commanders, nuclear scientists and — according to Iran — dozens of Iranian civilians.

    The attacks have once again plunged the volatile region into uncharted waters.

    NPR correspondent Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv and NPR's National Security Correspondent Greg Myre discuss what this could mean for the region and for U.S. hopes of a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.

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    10 min
  • What's next in the case that symbolizes Trump's immigration crackdown?

    What's next in the case that symbolizes Trump's immigration crackdown?
    Jun 12 2025
    Kilmar Abrego Garcia: a name that's become near-synonymous with the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown.

    Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE agents on March 12th, as he was leaving his job in Baltimore. In the days and months that followed, the fate of the 29-year-old father of three was in the hands of the Trump administration and El Salvador's President.

    At the time of his arrest the administration alleged he was an active member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13.

    His family and his legal team deny this. He was deported to a supermax prison in El Salvador despite a protective order that he should remain in the U.S.

    But then – less than a month after his arrest, a federal judge and then the Supreme Court ruled the government should facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.

    Now nearly three months after Abrego Garcia was sent to a prison in another country... he's back on US soil.

    What happens now?

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    8 min
  • Is Trump's immigration bet working?

    Is Trump's immigration bet working?
    Jun 11 2025
    The White House's message on what's happening in Los Angeles is simple: this is what President Trump was elected to do.

    It is true that polls have found people trust the Republican Party more to handle immigration. A CBS poll taken last week found that 54% approve of Trump's deportation policies.

    Trump is making a big bet on how far Americans want him to go. He mobilized National Guard and active-duty troops that the mayor and governor say they don't need.

    The administration says its immigration efforts are focused on criminals. But California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted other people swept up in workplace raids.

    "A U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, was arrested; a 4-year-old girl, taken; families separated; friends, quite literally, disappearing."

    Trump is doubling down in Los Angeles. We hear from a conservative immigration analyst who thinks it will work.

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    7 min