Consider This from NPR

Robert Redford died early Tuesday morning, according to his publicist. He was 89 years old.Redford was a golden child of Hollywood, starring in dozens of movies. But he was never content just being an all-American matinee idol.He became an Oscar-winning director, founded the Sundance Institute and grew the Sundance Film Festival, and advocated for environmental causes before activism became a Hollywood cliche.Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and film critic Bob Mondello look back on Robert Redford’s work and legacy.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jay Cyzs and Ted Mebane. It was edited by Clare Lombardo and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With the assasination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, there’s a great deal of speculation about who will fill his seat, literally and metaphorically.Vice President JD Vance hosted the Charlie Kirk Show on Monday. He talked with a variety of Trump administration heavyweights and conservative media figures, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and political commentator Tucker Carlson. The guests reflected on their personal and professional relationships with Kirk, and his many contributions to the second Trump presidency.NPR Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro and NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik share what they learned from the show about how Charlie Kirk’s legacy is being shaped in real time. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Kira Wakeam, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Megan Pratz, Emily Kopp and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for federal immigration enforcement agents in Los Angeles to use race and other profiling factors in deciding who to stop and potentially detain. NPR’s Scott Detrow and Jasmine Garsd discuss how the expansion of ICE operations around the country has changed the way people interact with law enforcement, and their community. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Erika Ryan and Avery Keatley.It was edited by Adam Raney and Sarah Robbins.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sometimes the stories that help us understand the full impact of war are told through a child’s voice.And sometimes the most powerful stories of war are not just of destruction and rising death tolls, but also of humanity, optimism and hope.Reporter Ari Daniel visited a clinic and captured a moving scene between a doctor and his patient, a young girl from Gaza. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Michael Levitt. It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Rebecca Davis. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

HIV has been in retreat around the world. Fewer people are dying of the disease.New infections are decreasing. More HIV positive people have access to life saving medicine.Those trend lines have been moving in the right direction for decades. And US investment is one big reason.The Trump Administration dismantled foreign assistance through USAID, it continued PEPFAR — the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief — but much of the work is either no longer happening or happening at a very reduced capacity.For decades, the United States led global efforts to end HIV/AIDS. That's no longer happening. Where will the trend lines go from here? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre. You also heard reporting in this episode from NPR’s Gabrielle Emanuel from Zambia.It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Rebecca Davis.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For many young conservatives, Charlie Kirk was more than just another political activist or online personality.He was the face of their movement -- a glimpse at how life for their generation could look by embracing a more hard-right, MAGA worldview. Charlie Kirk's followers are in shock and grief over his assassination.As they try to make sense of his killing, many are also asking what's next for the movement he started.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Kai McNamee and Mia Venkat. It was edited by John Ketchum and Courtney Dorning. .Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The 9/11 terrorism case has been in legal limbo for more than a decade and many doubt the case will ever make it to take to trial. That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible. Meanwhile, the accused men are at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and thousands of 9/11 family members wait for a resolution.NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with two young people whose fathers died in the World Trade Center attacks, as they debate whether the 9/11 defendants should get plea deals.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva and Michael Levitt, with audio engineering by Becky Brown. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Six years after his death in prison, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to dominate the news.A House committee has released a suggestive note sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday that is signed "Donald J. Trump." The White House continues to deny now President Trump wrote or signed it.Separately, a New York Times investigation tracked Epstein's relationship to the country's leading bank, JPMorgan Chase. It concludes that the bank enabled his sex crimes, even as evidence against him piled up.Times reporter Matt Goldstein explains.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by J. Czys and Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant.Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory.  But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks.  The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real.Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water. And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country.Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse.It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same post, seemingly threatened “WAR” in Chicago; later, the president indicated that sending in troops would be to clean up cities, not to go to war. But weeks of talk of sending federal troops into Chicago has set the city on edge.NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied political violence for 30 years, and who worries his city could be a powder keg.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy