Consider This from NPR

President Trump turned to the Heritage Foundation help pick his appointee to lead a traditionally non-partisan agency. NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with political science professor E.J. Fagan, author of “The Thinkers: The Rise of Partisan Think Tanks and the Polarization of American Politics” to understand why Trump’s close relationship with the conservative think tank matters.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or atplus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jordan-Marie Smith. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Paris has increasingly found itself on the frontline of the climate crisis and covering the city and the rest of France now means regularly reporting on deadly climate events. NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with Eleanor Beardsley about how climate has become core to the Paris beat. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or atplus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and Jonaki Mehta. It was edited by Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This summer, the island of Puerto Rico has been under the thrall of Bad Bunny.His 30-concert residency at a stadium in San Juan is a homecoming for the global superstar.It's also a homecoming for many thousands of people who left home – but are flocking back for the shows.NPR’s Adrian Florido reports on how the concerts are resonating with Puerto Ricans on and off the island.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, Elena Burnett, Liz Baker and Marc Rivers. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Gigi Douban. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

American Presidents have been trying to manage Russian President Vladimir Putin since the beginning of this century.There was George W. Bush, who met with Putin 28 times.Barack Obama and Putin sat down together 9 times.Joe Biden met with Putin only once.Past presidents had hoped to strike deals and push Russia toward a more democratic society.Instead, Russia started wars and tried to expand its borders.Soon, President Trump heads here to Alaska for his seventh meeting with Putin – and like his predecessors – he’s trying to get something out of Putin.This time he’s hoping to finally end the war in Ukraine.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

”The global trading system as we have known it is dead.”Those are the words of former US Trade Representative Michael Froman.He’s now President of the Council on Foreign Relations. If the era of global free trade is over, the question is…what comes next?  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 Tyler Bartlam.It was edited by Courtney Dorning.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two minutes — that’s how long President Trump says it will take him to figure out whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about finding a way to end his war with Ukraine.Details are still scarce — but Putin and Trump are set to meet Friday in Alaska.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t invited.What does Trump hope to achieve, and can he get it from Putin?  Ambassador John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser in his first term, was with Trump the last time Trump met with Putin. Bolton weighs in.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

President Trump said he’s taking over Washington and announced he’s deploying the National Guard to the city.And he made another big promise: that his administration would take control of the D.C. police.The president also mentioned other cities across the country with what he says are high levels of crime.As President Trump pledges to use his executive authority to control law enforcement in the nation's capital, there are questions about what happens now and what this might mean for other cities across 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

The Trump administration announced this past week that it has entered talks with the Cook Islands to research and develop seabed mineral resources. The Polynesian archipelago is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that has begun permitting this type of exploration, called deep-sea mining. Deep-sea mining is not regulated. There's no blueprint for how to do it safely, or responsibly. Which is why, for the last decade, the UN's International Seabed Authority has worked to draw up regulations. But President Trump — and one Canadian company — have posed a question: Why wait? 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 question of whether Russian interference in the 2016 election was a decisive reason Donald Trump won the presidency is one that has dogged Trump for the better part of a decade.It's also been the subject of numerous investigations.But even though that question has been asked and answered, the current Trump administration is launching another investigation in an effort to reach a different conclusion. Last month, Trump's Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents and she leveled an unprecedented accusation: The Obama administration knowingly pushed the idea of Russian interference as false narrative to sabotage Trump's campaign. And this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi has authorized an investigation into the investigation of his 2016 campaign's relationship Russia. What is there left to learn? 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 FBI is investigating at least 250 people who may be tied to online networks that target children.These networks encourage kids to hurt themselves, other minors or even animals. In some countries, they have been tied to mass casualty and terrorism plots.NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef has spoken with a family that experienced this firsthand. 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