
How the Trump administration stripped legal status from 1.6 million immigrants
22.12.2025 | 9 min.
The Trump administration has removed over 600,000 people without legal status from the U.S. through deportation this year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.The Trump administration has also been busy revoking legal status for immigrants who entered the country through legal pathways -- affecting at least 1.6 million people -- by canceling programs and protections like CBP One, Temporary Protected Status, humanitarian parole and student visas.That legal limbo means they too now fear the constant threat of deportation.NPR's Sergio Martinez-Beltran and Ximena Bustillo recap the largest effort to delegalize immigrants in U.S. history.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] episode was produced by Vincent Acovino, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon, Eric Westervelt and Anna Yukhananov. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We use our smartphones for just about everything - why not voting?
21.12.2025 | 11 min.
Entrepreneur, political strategist and philanthropist Bradley Tusk argues his new online voting tech could revolutionize participation in American elections. He is hellbent on making online voting a reality - even at a time when much of the election establishment thinks that is a very bad idea. NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Tusk about how Tusk's organization, the Mobile Voting Project, is pushing a major technology makeover for American democracy.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] episode was produced by Avery Keatley. It was edited by Ben Swasey and Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. spent billions to rebuild Afghanistan. Was it successful?
20.12.2025 | 9 min.
A new report from U.S. government watchdog SIGAR gives us the fullest accounting yet of U.S. efforts to rebuild Afghanistan.In short, they call it "a two-decade long effort fraught with waste.”Each week, Consider This hosts interview newsmakers, experts, and artists for NPR — conversations we don’t always have time to share fully in the podcast or on the radio. So every other week we share one here, for our NPR+ supporters.Sign up to hear our bonus episodes, support public radio, and get regular episodes of your favorite NPR podcasts without sponsor messages at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The cream of the slop: this year's AI highlights
19.12.2025 | 10 min.
2025 has proved that artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping online reality and that the “slop” is here to stay. NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel and Shannon Bond have spent much of the year rolling around in that slop and join host Scott Detrow to break down some of the highlights and how to sort the real from the fake.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 Elena Burnett and Daniel Ofman. It was edited by Brett Neely, John Ketchum and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rob Reiner loved America. He thought it could be better
18.12.2025 | 11 min.
Rob Reiner spent his life trying to fix what he saw as America’s shortcomings. In an interview shortly before his death he explained why he was optimistic America could be better.The actor and director was found dead on Sunday along with his wife Michelle Singer Reiner.Their son has been charged with their murders.And those tributes – they’ve centered on Reiner's acting, the movies he’s directed, but also on his political activism.It’s something he talked to the journalist Todd Purdum about shortly before he died. Purdum wrote about that interview in the New York Times this week, and joins Scott Detrow to discuss what he learned about Reiner's work and view of America's future. 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] episode was produced by Elena Burnett.It was edited by Courtney Dorning.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy



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