Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States in just over a month.Throughout his campaign, Trump laid out a list. Things he plans to accomplish in a second term — some on day one. They include: closing the border...imposing tariffs... and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.Trump also campaigned on bringing down food prices...in fact, he told NBC's Kristen Welker, it's the reason he won.President-elect Trump has a long to-do list for his first days in office. How much of it can he actually get done? A lot says senior Trump advisor Jason Miller.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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For many of us, Christmas songs are dominating our playlists this week. There's the one you start hearing in October, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby," and the Christmas banger that went to number one last year, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."Lee, now 80, recorded the song when she was 13. The living legend talked to NPR last year when her song — finally — hit number one. We revisit that conversation. 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The brutal regime of Bashar al Assad fell over the weekend with dizzying speed. Syrians within the country and around the world burst into celebration. Now, the rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al Sham, or HTS has to govern. They are designated a terrorist organization by the US.And some worry that HTS could slide into its own kind of autocratic regime.That fear is not unfounded. Across the Middle East and North Africa, many revolutions have overthrown autocrats, only for those countries to descend back into chaos or a more oppressive rule.The Syrian revolution began amid a wave of uprisings in the region that led to new, undemocratic regimes. Can Syria avoid a similar fate today? 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced yesterday that he will resign before President-elect Trump takes office. This comes after Trump announced he would appoint loyalist Kash Patel to lead the Bureau.President-elect Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, held several national security positions in the first Trump administration. Since then, he's found money and attention as a pro-Trump influencer promoting conspiracy theories. What can that tell us about his plans for the FBI?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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

One of the triumphs of modern medicine is that children diagnosed with cancer today have an 85 percent chance of surviving at least five years.That is up from a rate of about 50 percent a generation ago.But survival brings new challenges.NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports on the unique needs of young people as part of the series, Life After Diagnosis.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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan, police arrested 26 year old Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania. He's facing charges including murder, the illegal possession of a firearm, and lying about his identity.Authorities believe they have arrested the person responsible for gunning down the CEO of a health insurance company. What have we learned about Luigi Mangione, and his possible motivations? 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For half a century, one family has brutally ruled Syria. Nearly overnight, that reign ended. Syria is not only a home to millions of people. It's also a crucial piece in a geopolitical chess game.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You never know if president-elect Donald Trump is bluffing, but when you have billions of dollars on the line, you have to take him seriously. So car companies took notice, when Trump announced a plan for huge new tariffs in a social media post before Thanksgiving.A 25 percent tax on imports from Canada and Mexico would have a major impact on the car industry, which depends heavily on cross border trade.Trump's tariffs could have huge consequences for the people who make cars, and the people who buy them. Even if he's bluffing, he has other big plans to shake up the auto industry.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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An epic poem and an epic reunion come to the big screen. The Return looks for new meaning in Homer's ancient story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca — and to his wife Penelope. We talk to co-stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Syrian anti-government insurgents claim they have entered the city of Hama — a major Syrian government stronghold.This continues their momentum over the last week, when they also seized Syria's second largest city, Aleppo. Since the war started in 2011, half a million people have been killed and many millions of others displaced.The Syrian Civil War has been locked in a stalemate for years. Now, rebel forces are gaining ground against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Will the group ultimately end his control over the country?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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy