Consider This from NPR

The Trump administration wants to increase apprenticeships

The Trump administration wants to increase domestic manufacturing. And in addition to tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation, it wants to increase the supply of skilled labor through apprenticeships – to train up workers on the job. The goal is to reach one million active apprentices.  Are the programs in place now doing enough to make that happen?  NPR’s Andrea Hsu reports. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org].  Email us at considerthis@npr.org [considerthis@npr.org]. This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Mia Venkat. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Emily Kopp. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Four 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? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org].  Email us at considerthis@npr.org [considerthis@npr.org]. 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. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

What'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.  For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org]. Email us at considerthis@npr.org [considerthis@npr.org]. This episode was produced by Mia Venkat. It was edited by Courtney Dorning, Kara Platoni and Luis Clemens. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

New front in Lebanon as Iran war reshapes Middle East

The 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. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org].  Email us at considerthis@npr.org [considerthis@npr.org]. 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. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Epstein 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. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/].  Email us at considerthis@npr.org [considerthis@npr.org]. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]