Post Reports

As the Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, we talk to an economist about the long-term consequences for someone denied an abortion. Read more:What can economic research tell us about the effects of abortion access on women’s lives? As the Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, we talk to economist Caitlin Myers at Middlebury College, who has been asking this question in her research. Myers says there is a lot we can learn from the data about how being denied an abortion affects people’s economic futures and opportunities, even decades later.Myers, along with more than 150 other economists, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the Mississippi abortion case currently under consideration, to call attention to this long-term impact. She also wrote an op-ed for The Post about how restricting abortion access restricts women’s lives.

The Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe v. Wade. Today, we unpack the leaked draft opinion that has spurred intense reaction from both sides of the issue. Plus, we hear about the implications for red states, blue states and the Supreme Court.Read more:Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. confirmed on Tuesday that the draft opinion is authentic, and that he is opening an investigation into how it became public. Roberts also stressed that the draft opinion was not final, and the ultimate decision of the court or any particular justice could change before the official ruling is released.“What you see … is one of the justices trying to provide an explanation to the country of why the court was taking this step at this time,” says Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes,“And that doesn't mean it will be a final decision.”Still, the opinion has been a shock to activists on both sides of the battle over the future of abortion rights. Some of them spoke to national politics reporter Caroline Kitchener, who heard firsthand how abortion providers have been scrambling to make plans for a world after the fall of Roe v. Wade – and how antiabortion activists plan to push to ban abortion completely in the United States.

This Tuesday, Ohioans will vote in the primary ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. Today on “Post Reports,” we’re talking about the transformation of one candidate from never-Trumper to Trump’s pick for Ohio’s open Senate seat. Read more:Back in 2016, commentator and venture capitalist J.D. Vance was known for his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” about the ravages of poverty and drug use in his Ohio town. He made the rounds on talk shows like “Charlie Rose” and NPR’s “Fresh Air” explaining the conditions and mindset that had led so many people to support then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. But he himself decried Trump’s rise.Fast forward to today. Vance is now the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for Ohio’s empty Senate seat. He’s a staunch member of a splinter group of the Republican Party called national conservatism, that advocates for tighter borders and cracking down on big business. He’s grown a beard. And he’s embraced Trump and his values, earning him the former president’s endorsement.Magazine writer Simon van Zuylen-Wood followed Vance for weeks to try to understand his transformation and what his candidacy says about the state of the Republican Party. Today on “Post Reports,” we take you inside Vance’s campaign.If you’re curious to learn more about the Ohio primary, read The Trailer from The Post’s Dave Weigel.

Today on “Post Reports,” we meet a carpet cleaner who speaks two dozen languages — and we have an update on what’s happened to him since this story was first published in print.Read more:In a city where diplomats and embassies abound, where interpreters can command six-figure salaries at the State Department or the International Monetary Fund, where language proficiency is résumé rocket fuel, Vaughn Smith was a savant with a secret.He speaks 24 languages well enough to carry on lengthy conversations — and has basic understanding of more than a dozen others — and yet he works as a carpet cleaner. Today on Post Reports, enterprise reporter Jessica Contrera and audio producer Bishop Sand bring us the remarkable story of a hyperpolyglot with a special brain and a history that has kept him a secret for so long. We also have an update about how his life has started to change since Jessica’s story was first published.Plus, one more thing: Thanks to your support, we won the 2022 People’s Voice Webby for business podcasts! The winning episode is “A tax haven in America’s heartland.”

Why college enrollment numbers are down. And how one solution to climate change could threaten an endangered species.Read more:May 1 is college decision day, which is the last chance students have to submit the deposit that secures their spot at the university or college of their choice. But colleges aren’t getting as many students as usual. Enrollment has shrunk more than 5 percent since 2019 — that’s a loss of nearly 1 million students. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel explains why enrollment is down and what it means for higher education.Then, we join scientists from the New England Aquarium on an expedition off the coast of Cape Cod in search of the elusive right whale. With only about 300 right whales left, the species ranks as one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals. Nearly annihilated centuries ago by whalers, right whales today face new threats from climate change. Dino Grandoni reports on how rising temperatures are driving them to new seas and how one climate solution – offshore wind turbines – could encroach on their habitat.

On today’s show we take you on the ground in Bucha, where Russian forces have left a trail of devastation. Then we head east, where we hear from refugees who have escaped the embattled port city of Mariupol. Read more:In the suburb of Bucha, Russian forces have left a trail of violent devastation. Post journalists spent a week reporting from the area and counted more than 200 bodies. Foreign correspondent Louisa Loveluck says the actual number of dead is believed to be much higher. “It's very unusual to walk into a scene where the evidence is still fresh on the ground. And it was truly, incredibly shocking.” And to the east in the Donbas region, Loveluck takes us to a center to which Mariupol residents have escaped. We hear some of their stories. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the United Nations he agrees to a humanitarian corridor “in principle,” Loveluck says that, “as someone who's been standing at that evacuation point for days, I can tell you that is not the case.”

What will Elon Musk do with Twitter? Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about what’s next for one of the world’s most influential communication platforms.Read more:Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, will buy social media site Twitter for about $44 billion after weeks of back-and-forth with the company. Musk now holds the future of the platform in his hands, and critics fear his strong belief in free speech could lead to more misinformation and hate speech on the platform. Will Oremus explains what we know about Musk's plans and what this could mean for the rest of us.

What the battle between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney World says about what Republicans are willing to do to win the culture wars. And, how the end of the federal public transit mask mandate will affect vulnerable people who use buses and trains.  Read more:Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been publicly feuding with Disney over a controversial law that limits what teachers can say to kids about gender and sexual orientation. Reporter Hannah Sampson explains how the state’s Republican-led legislature has responded and why the fight is another example of the GOP trying to use the culture war to its political advantage. When a Florida judge ended the federal transit mask mandate last week, there was a lot of focus on how it would affect air travel. But the end of the mandate also affects public transit such as subways and buses, leaving many people who have no transportation alternatives with a puzzle. Katie Shepherd reports on what ending the mask requirement on public transit means for the medically vulnerable. 

“Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the U.S. justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.In the third episode of this series, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.After hearing from survivors of no-knock raids and learning about the deadly consequences, we put our questions directly to the sheriff and the judge who had allowed these raids in Monroe County. People in the community still live in fear as Ricky Keeton’s family continues their battle for justice.The next episode is out now wherever you get your podcasts. You can email the “Broken Doors” team with any tips or feedback at [email protected]

Today on “Post Reports,” the Biden administration announces a plan to welcome Ukrainian refugees. Plus, just in time for Earth Day, our corporate accountability reporter helps you decipher what it means when a company claims to be “green.”Read more:The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to expedite the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, creating a new system that will allow citizens and organizations such as churches to sponsor them and warning that Ukrainians attempting to cross via Mexico will be denied entry starting next week. Maria Sacchetti reports.Plus, it’s almost Earth Day, and corporations are eager to tout their environmental progress. Our corporate accountability reporter, Doug MacMillan, has some tips for how to decipher these promises, which sound good but could be “greenwashed.”

In the past two years, a number of major American cities have experienced spikes in homicides and other violent crimes. Mayors and police chiefs have been under pressure to respond, and some are turning to a new policing strategy called “place network investigations.” As its name suggests, the strategy focuses on how criminal networks form and thrive in certain geographical places, and it looks at what can be done to try to break up these patterns of crime. Pioneered by academics and now being adopted by cities across the country, it’s the latest in a long line of American policing philosophies that have used data to target crime concentrated in small areas known as hot spots. Washington Post investigative reporter Amy Brittain started looking into this policing strategy after learning That Louisville police had been using the strategy at the time of Breonna Taylor’s death in March 2020. They have since abandoned it, but Amy was surprised to discover that at least nine other cities are now using the strategy.In today’s episode of “Post Reports,” Amy looks at why so many police departments are focusing on geography to fight crime, whether that approach works, and if it does, at what cost.Read more:Read more of Amy Brittain’s investigation into the policing strategy known as place network investigations. Vote for us in the Webby Awards! Here’s the link to vote for Post Reports for best individual news and politics episode:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/news-politicsAnd best individual business episode: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/business

What the end of the transportation mask mandates means for you. And, the key to tracking coronavirus surges across the country could be in your poop. Read more:Yesterday a federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. The Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the mandate, as did major airlines, with some of them informing passengers of the news midflight. The relaxation of the pandemic precaution has raised public health concerns: The decision comes as coronavirus cases are again climbing in the Northeast. Transportation reporter Michael Laris on what the end of the transportation mask mandate means for you.As official case counts become less reliable, public health officials are looking at poop to predict infection rates. Wastewater surveillance – testing the poop in public sewage systems – can capture the presence of coronavirus infection rates earlier than other testing options. National health reporter Lena Sun on why wastewater surveillance can keep the coronavirus under control.Vote for us in the Webby Awards! Here’s the link to vote for Post Reports for best individual news and politics episode:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/news-politicsAnd best individual business episode: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/business

Today on Post Reports, tech reporter Nitasha Tiku breaks down what’s happening with Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter, what his vision of the platform would look like, and why Twitter is putting up a fight.Read more: Elon Musk is already facing pushback on multiple fronts on his plan to buy social media company Twitter. The billionaire launched his takeover bid last week after back-and-forth wrangling with Twitter since he became a major shareholder. First, he was invited to join the board. Then, he decided not to join the board.Now, he wants to buy the whole company and take it private. But Twitter’s board and Musk’s own resources might make his takeover attempt a tough task to complete, and Twitter employees have concerns about his leadership. Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter builds on the company's role as a public town square, but Musk wants to remove restrictions Twitter has developed to keep hate speech, harassment and toxicity off the platform in order to promote Musk's idea of free speech.Vote for us in the Webby Awards! Here’s the link to vote for Post Reports for best individual business episode:https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/businessAnd best individual news and politics episode: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/podcasts/individual-episodes/news-politics

On today’s bonus episode of Post Reports, we bring you a collaboration with NPR’s “Life Kit” about how to deal with mental health issues while on the job.Read more:Being on the clock while experiencing depression, anxiety or another mental health issue can be distracting, difficult and isolating. But you’re not alone. Post Reports producer Jordan-Marie Smith worked with NPR’s how-to podcast “Life Kit” on how to deal with mental health while at work. It doesn’t matter whether you are a barista or a CEO, this episode is a guide for how to get the help you need inside and outside of the workplace.Check out NPR’s “Life Kit” podcast on your favorite podcast app.

A family confronts a sheriff after a deadly no-knock raid.Read more:“Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the U.S. justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.In the second episode of this series, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.Around 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2015, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office hurled a battering ram into the home of Ricky Keeton to carry out a no-knock search warrant. After the raid turned deadly, Ricky’s family confronted the sheriff — and began secretly recording. The next episode is out now wherever you get your podcasts. You can email the “Broken Doors” team with any tips or feedback at [email protected] 

Today on “Post Reports,” how forever chemicals upended the lives of farmers in Maine — and just how widespread the contamination might be.Read more:Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis bought their farm seven years ago. In late 2021, they discovered that their land and water were contaminated with incredibly high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals” or PFAS. After finding out about the contamination, they shut down all of their farm operations.More than 2,800 sites nationwide are contaminated by forever chemicals, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. “And that’s only what’s documented,” journalist Keith O’Brien wrote for The Washington Post. “The real total is unknown, and possibly much higher.”Keith O’Brien’s new book is Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe.If you haven’t voted for Post Reports in the Webby Awards yet - now is the time! We are nominated for best news and politics episode and best business episode. Please support us by voting, and thank you.

Today on “Post Reports,” the battle over misinformation on Facebook in Ukraine. Plus, how TikTok has created an alternative universe, just for Russia. Read more:In Ukraine, Facebook fact-checkers are fighting a war on two fronts: racing to debunk propaganda about the war while also trying to survive it. Naomi Nix reports. With Russia cracking down on social media, the Chinese-owned company TikTok has managed to stay online there by banning all new content, even as loopholes let Russian propaganda through. Will Oremus says this basically means there’s a special, censored TikTok just for users in Russia.“Post Reports” is nominated for two Webby Awards! Please help us win by voting for us for best news episode and best business episode. If you missed these episodes when they were published and want to check out the work that’s nominated, go back and listen to “Four hours of insurrection” and “A tax haven in America’s heartland.”

Could Macron lose? That’s the question we put to Paris correspondent Rick Noack, who has been on the campaign trail with the incumbent and the far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen. Today on Post Reports, what to know about the French presidential election.Read more: French President Emmanuel Macron finished ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of the French presidential election. But far-right leader Le Pen’s close second-place finish set up a competitive runoff election on April 24.If you love “Post Reports,” help us win a 2022 Webby award by casting your votes here and here! We are nominated for best news and politics individual episode and best business individual episode.

On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” what life without federal student loan payments has meant for Black women. Plus, the double life of a WNBA star.Read more:Lamesha Brown bought a house. Alphi Coleman feels like she can finally rest. Lisa Jackson says it “almost feels like a raise.” For millions of Americans who took out loans to pay for college, the past two years have offered a chance to live without the burden of education debt. But Black women like Brown, Coleman and Jackson shoulder a disproportionate share of the $1.7 trillion student debt burden. Reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel talked with women about what they have been able to do while federal student loan repayment has been on pause during the pandemic. Plus, one more thing. It’s not unusual for retired professional athletes to have a second career in sports broadcasting, but Chiney Ogwumike is doing both at the same time. The WNBA star/NBA analyst spoke to sports reporter Ben Golliver. If you love “Post Reports,” help us win a 2022 Webby award by casting your votes here and here! We are nominated for best news and politics individual episode and best business individual episode.

An unusual warrant. A pattern of questionable no-knock raids. A reporting thread that just kept going. Read more:No-knock warrants allow police to force their way into people’s homes without warning. What happens when this aggressive police tactic becomes the rule, rather than the exception? “Broken Doors” is a new investigative podcast series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.In the first episode of this series, sheriff’s deputies burst through the front door of a man’s home as he slept. He said they pointed a gun at his head and ransacked his home in search of drugs and cash. The no-knock search warrant they used was threadbare. But that wasn’t the worst of it.The next two episodes are out now wherever you get your podcasts. You can email the “Broken Doors” team with any tips or feedback at [email protected]

Why prosecutors decided not to charge Minneapolis police officer Mark Hanneman in the killing of Amir Locke. Plus, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson gets confirmed to the Supreme Court. Read more:On Wednesday, prosecutors announced they would not be filing charges against a Minneapolis police officer in the killing of Amir Locke during a predawn no-knock raid in February. In a statement on Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Mark Hanneman, who fatally shot 22-year-old Locke, had violated the state’s use-of-deadly-force statute. Reporter Holly Bailey unpacks the decision not to charge Hanneman, and explains how it has deepened the distrust between the Minneapolis police and the community it is intended to serve. Plus, on Thursday, the Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. She is expected to be sworn in this summer when Justice Stephen G. Breyer retires.Enjoy our podcast? Help us win a 2022 Webby award by casting your votes here and here. We are nominated for best news and politics individual episode, and best business individual episode. 

On Tuesday, Oklahoma lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban most abortions in the state, passing a Republican bill that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If the law is signed — and not struck down by the courts — it will take effect this summer. The state is also weighing two other bills modeled on the restrictive Texas law that has banned most abortions by employing a novel legal strategy that empowers private citizens to enforce the law through civil litigation. Both bills would take effect immediately if signed by the governor. And that could happen within the next few days.National politics reporter Caroline Kitchener has been reporting on these laws. She and audio producer Rennie Svirnovskiy went to a pair of clinics in Tulsa to see how providers and patients were bracing themselves for what could be the last days of legal abortion in the state.Read more:Caroline Kitchener breaks down the bill that passed the Oklahoma state legislature in detail.

How Facebook’s parent company Meta paid one of the biggest Republican consulting firms in the country to orchestrate a nationwide PR campaign against TikTok. And, where we stand with booster shots and covid antivirals.Read more:Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is paying the Republican consulting group Targeted Victory to try to turn the American public against TikTok. They’ve done everything from placing op-eds in major regional news outlets to promoting dubious stories about alleged TikTok trends that are harming kids. Drew Harwell reports on why Facebook is targeting TikTok.And, an update from science reporter Carolyn Johnson on efforts to get another booster to older adults and expand access to covid antiviral medicines.

On today’s episode of Post Reports, grim scenes from the Ukrainian suburb of Bucha renew calls for investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Read more:On Saturday, Ukrainian forces and journalists found mass graves in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew from the region. Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told The Post that about 270 residents had been buried in two graves. He estimated that 40 bodies were left on the street. On today’s episode of Post Reports, foreign correspondent Isabelle Khurshudyan reports on the discovery of these civilians’ bodies, and what it has sparked: international condemnation, calls for an investigation into possible Russian war crimes and vows that sanctions are coming.

As we enter Year 3 of the pandemic, we check back in with intensive care unit nurse Jessica Montanaro, whom we first met in 2021. Now sick with covid and facing a ticking clock on her return to work, she reflects on the past year and the present struggles of her profession. Read More:Last year we brought you the story of Jessica Montanaro, an intensive care unit nurse from New York City who found herself battling exhaustion and grief as New York became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and she cared for wave after wave of patients. Today, we’re going back to Montanaro. Producer Bishop Sand reached out to her earlier this year to see how she was faring as we approached Year 3 of the pandemic. He discovered that Montanaro was sick with covid. Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York state had shortened their recovery recommendations for health-care workers sick with the coronavirus, Montanaro was expected back at work after just five days — something she was not happy about. During her recovery, she talked to Sand daily. She shared stories of her struggles as a nurse over the past year and described her efforts to address the critical staffing shortages that have affected her team and profession as a whole.

Russia announced earlier this week it would scale back its offensive around Kyiv. We take you in and around the capital city to see whether that’s true. Plus, how videos of impromptu concerts around Ukraine have become the soundtrack of hope in the face of war. Read more:On Tuesday, Moscow announced that it would “drastically reduce” its military assault around Kyiv. But U.S. officials are leery of Russia’s promise to shift away from the capital city. Post foreign correspondent Siobhan O’Grady has been in Kyiv since the start of the war. She tells us that Russia doesn’t seem to be telling the truth based on accounts from the city and its surrounding areas, and explains how life in Kyiv has changed since the start of the war. Plus, how videos shared online of musicbeing made in the face of war have become a soundtrack of hope in the midst of despair.

How Peloton became a victim of its own success, and what the parasocial relationship with its instructors tells us about our relationships to ourselves. Plus, what happens when two cosmonauts and an astronaut return to earth.Read more:Peloton saw a meteoric rise at the start of the pandemic. But as normal life has resumed, sales of the stationary bike have plummeted and the company has been plunged into crisis. Business reporter Aaron Gregg explains. And writer Anne Helen Petersen, author of the newsletter Culture Study, talks about the general obsession with Peloton and its instructors — and what those relationships might reveal about ourselves and our connection with others. Plus, a dispatch from the International Space Station: An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely returned back to earth Wednesday after a historic mission. But there’s a conflict brewing over U.S.-Russia relations in space, and the future of the ISS is at stake.

On today’s episode of Post Reports, we bring you the latest news from Istanbul, where Russian and Ukrainian delegates are negotiating a de-escalation of the war. Read more:After a day of talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have laid out their terms for a potential end to the war.Moscow has said it would “drastically reduce” military activity near Kyiv and Chernihiv “to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations.” Kyiv has proposed that countries such as Israel, Turkey and France “guarantee” Ukraine’s security in the future, in exchange for Kyiv’s neutrality and pledge not to host foreign military bases or forces — in other words, Kyiv would make a promise to not seek NATO membership.Reporter Shane Harris describes the state of negotiations, and what a path to the end of the war could look like.

As more and more states move to restrict abortion rights, and the Supreme Court weighs whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, we look at how clinics in blue states are preparing for an influx of patients from across state lines. Read more:On today’s episode of Post Reports, national politics reporter Caroline Kitchener takes us inside a clinic on the Illinois side of the Illinois-Missouri border, where abortion providers are working to build a blue-state abortion refuge for patients from across the South and Midwest. Many of the more conservative states surrounding Illinois are moving to restrict abortion access as the Supreme Court considers whether to limit or overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade.The Post is tracking legislation that aims to restrict abortion across the country — 15-week bans, Texas-style bans, trigger laws and abortion pill bans — as well as what’s happening in the Democratic-dominated states moving to protect access to abortion.

On today’s Post Reports, what we can learn from texts between President Donald Trump’s top aide and the wife of a Supreme Court justice. Plus, why protesters in the Caribbean have not been charmed by William and Kate’s royal “charm offensive.”  Read more:In text messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News, Virginia Thomas — a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — repeatedly pressed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to keep up the relentless effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, calling Joe Biden’s victory “the greatest Heist of our History.”The messages, 29 in all, reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Virginia Thomas, who goes by Ginni, and President Donald Trump’s top aide at a time when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to negate the election’s results. Despite these ties, Justice Thomas chose not to recuse himself in a case deciding whether the former president could block the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol from obtaining certain records, including these text messages between Ginni Thomas and Meadows. On today’s episode of Post Reports, CBS’s Robert Costa tells us about the process of reporting out this story with The Post’s Bob Woodward and shares the questions he’ll be asking next. Critics say Ginni Thomas’s activism is a Supreme Court conflict. Under court rules, only her husband can decide whether that’s true. Michael Kranish reports on the criticism that Justice Thomas has exploited a hole in the court’s rules to ignore the conflict of interest created by his wife’s activism.Plus, Karla Adam explains why Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Catherine, have been met with anti-colonial protests and demands for reparations on their first official overseas visit together since the start of the pandemic.

The United States and the E.U. announced new sanctions on Russia on Thursday as President Biden held emergency talks with NATO leaders in Brussels. Today we talk about the geopolitical moment, and hear from the families of people trapped in Mariupol. Read more:President Biden said on Thursday that the United States will take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and will commit more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s continued invasion in Ukraine. As the war reached the one-month mark, Biden joined leaders from the European Union in projecting a unified front against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while announcing additional measures to isolate the Kremlin. We talk to Missy Ryan about how the geopolitical dynamics have changed over the past month, and how significant it is that the United States has accused members of Russia’s military of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that assessment is based in part on U.S. intelligence and pointed to the suffering of civilians in Mariupol, a key port city that Russian forces cut off early in their invasion and then bombarded. Russian forces have also cut off communications and electricity in the city. Reporters Siobhán O'Grady and Kostiantyn Khudov speak to Ukrainians who are desperately searching for their relatives trapped in Mariupol.

Today, what we know about the BA.2 coronavirus variant and whether the United States is prepared for a possible rise in cases. Plus, why the war in Ukraine has had an unexpected impact on sushi prices in Japan.Read more:The BA.2 variant is now the most common variant among new coronavirus cases in the United States. And while experts say it’s unlikely to lead to a big surge, dropped mask mandates across the country could lead to more spread. Meanwhile, the federal government is running out of money for booster shots and other covid responses. Health policy reporter Yasmeen Abutaleb brings us the latest from Anthony S. Fauci on the new variant and the government response.Thousands of miles away from Ukraine, people in Japan are experiencing a trickle down effect of the war: a spike in sushi prices. That’s because a lot of the cheap fish eaten in Japan actually comes from Russia. The Japanese government had imposed sanctions on that fish – but the effects on local markets are looking too severe to bear. Tokyo bureau chief Michelle Ye Hee Lee explains how these seemingly distant markets are actually closely intertwined.

Today on Post Reports, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, and how Republicans are weighing the costs and benefits of opposing Jackson’s nomination.Read more:The Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have begun. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first African American woman to be seated on the Supreme Court bench. While Jackson’s confirmation hearing is expected to be less contentious than those for other recent Supreme Court nominees, such as Amy Coney Barrett and Brett M. Kavanaugh, her path to the highest court still faces challenges. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake explains the political calculus Republicans are making in the Senate, held by a razor-thin Democratic majority, and how Jackson’s seat on the bench could affect future Supreme Court cases.

Today on Post Reports, a journey deep into the Amazon to uncover how the planned redevelopment of a highway could go hand in hand with deforestation and violence. Read more:Highway BR-319 slices through the heart of the Amazon. Built in the 1970s, it has slowly deteriorated, giving way to muck and mud. Many people who rely on the road are calling for its repair. But scientists warn that easier access to the rainforest will inevitably lead to illegal deforestation, which will soon tip the forest past a point of no return.Washington Post Rio de Janeiro bureau chief Terry McCoy and photographer Raphael Alves traveled the length of the broken highway to observe the destruction. They also looked at how criminal groups operate in the region, seizing land, razing trees and defending the seized territory with violence.

This week, a sleepy Senate voted unanimously to end “spring forward” and “fall back” and make daylight saving time permanent. Read more:The Senate surprised everyone in Washington this week by voting unanimously to end clock-switching in the United States and make daylight saving time permanent. Our health policy and politics reporter Dan Diamond got to take a break from covering the coronavirus to talk about the bipartisan legislation, which would need to get through the House and be signed by President Biden to become law. While there’s broad agreement among sleep experts that the country should abandon its twice yearly, seasonal-time changes, many sleep experts think standard time is better for our circadian rhythms. Check out how permanent daylight saving time would change sunrise and sunset times across the United States. Brighter winter evenings would come at the expense of darker mornings.

Today on Post Reports, we talk to our colleague Jason Rezaian about WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia. Rezaian, who was unjustly held in Iran for 544 days, fears that Griner is being held as a geopolitical bargaining chip. Read more:Post opinions writer Jason Rezaian is very concerned about Brittney Griner. When he heard of her arrest, he says, his first thought was, “This sounds a lot like what happened to me.” Rezaian was arrested in 2014, and his case became a bargaining chip in nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran.Given the timing of Griner’s arrest, Rezaian says it could be tied to sanctions from the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His opinions, he says, are informed by a new reality: More Americans are being wrongfully detained abroad, especially in moments of tension or conflict.Watch The Post’s short documentary “Bring Them Home,” an intimate look at one family in this situation.

On today’s show, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeal to Congress. Why U.S. sanctions on Russian oil aren’t the only thing raising gas prices. Plus, how the White House is enlisting TikTok influencers in the information war with Russia.Read more:On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Congress, calling on the United States to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. While President Biden has resisted calls to create a no-fly zone, he and other world leaders have been moved by Zelensky’s appeals and the plight of Ukrainians. Biden this week pledged billions of dollars in aid to the war-torn country, and announced on Wednesday afternoon that the United States would be sending drones, anti-aircraft systems and other weapons to Ukraine. Western countries have also taken other drastic steps to punish and isolate Russia – including steps to wean the west off Russian oil and gas. Former energy reporter and Moscow Correspondent Will Englund reports on what sanctions on Russian oil could mean for Russia, for Europe, and for gas prices in the United States. The White House recently briefed TikTok creators and influencers on the war in Ukraine, as a way to combat disinformation from Russian propagandists on the popular platform. Taylor Lorenz is a tech columnist at The Post. She got a scoop on the Zoom call and explains what happened, if this is the right move, and what Russian disinformation about the war looks like.

Since the omicron outbreak began a few months ago, 10 times as many people have died in Hong Kong as in the previous two years. Today on Post Reports, how Hong Kong’s “zero covid” policy led to a devastating surge.Read more:Body bags, overflowing morgues and chaotic hospitals. Hong Kong — a wealthy financial center — now has the highest covid-19 death rate in the developed world. More than 4,000 people have died since the start of the city’s most recent outbreak, compared with just 213 in the two years prior. Those dying are overwhelmingly elderly, unvaccinated residents, but they also include toddlers and children too young to be immunized.Shibani Mahtani reports from Hong Kong on how the city has gone from “zero covid” to a catastrophe.

Many experts predicted that Russia would take Ukraine in a matter of days –– but fighting is now in its third week. Today on Post Reports, the failures of Russia’s military strategy, the surprising strength of Ukrainian forces, and how this could end. Read more:Almost three weeks into the Russian assault on Ukraine, Kyiv remains under Ukrainian control, to the surprise of many onlookers. “I think, broadly, there are two big reasons,” says national security reporter Shane Harris. “First, the Ukrainian people’s will to fight is, I think, greater than a lot of people had anticipated –– particularly Vladimir Putin. The second is that this ferocious, feared Russian military has turned out to be a lot less, maybe, than people had thought it was.”On today’s episode of Post Reports, Shane and Martine discuss the mistakes of the Russian military apparatus and the strength of the underestimated Ukrainian forces and game out scenarios for the end of the war. Plus, we hear from reporter Sudarsan Raghavan in Kyiv about the local orchestra playing in the city’s Independence Square. “Fortunately, it was extremely quiet during the performance,” Sudarsan says. “We didn't hear any shells landing. A few moments afterwards, air raid sirens went off and people moved away from the square.”

Two years in, many Americans are ready to leave the pandemic behind. But some people don’t have that luxury — like the immunocompromised, parents of small children and covid “long-haulers.” Today on the show, what it means to “live with covid.”Read more:It’s been two years since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Today on Post Reports, we take stock of how far we’ve come … and how far we still have to go.For many around the country, the pandemic is starting to feel like a thing of the past. In red and blue states alike, masks are coming off and vaccine requirements are relaxing. But for some — including the immunocompromised and parents of young kids — the pandemic is far from over.Health reporter Fenit Nirappil explains what it means for the virus to become endemic, and how the United States is looking to return to normalcy after two years of covid-19 mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, potentially hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing symptoms of long covid, months — or even years — after they were first exposed. And as the world tries to move on, they’re trying not to fall through the gaps in the social safety net. Business reporter Chris Rowland talks about the covid “long-haulers” struggling to get the disability benefits they — and their doctors —think they’re due. 

After blocking media access, the Russian government banned what it calls “fake” news on its war with Ukraine. Journalists are now fleeing the country. Today on Post Reports, what that means for the truth and Russians’ access to it. Read more:Independent journalists in Russia have been fleeing since Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on “fake news,” which bars reporters from calling the war in Ukraine a “war” or referring to the “invasion.” (The preferred language is “special military operation.”) As foreign media outlets decide what that means for their coverage and staff, The New York Times this week became the first major American news organization to announce that it will pull its staff out of Russia in response to the new law.Media reporter Elahe Izadi reports on the consequences — for Russians’ access to good information, and for the rest of the world’s understanding of what’s happening in Russia.  “I think the biggest risk here is it obscures the truth,” Elahe says. “We need to know the truth of the facts of the situation in order to assess an appropriate response. That’s the same for people within Russia.”This new law is also creating challenges for social media platforms. Nitasha Tiku explains how TikTok has responded, and what other platforms might do. As The Post has reported, TikTok has long tried to stay out of politics, but Russia’s invasion is making that harder.

Today on Post Reports, we explore the hidden cost of police misconduct. Cities around the country spent more than $1.5 billion between 2010 and 2020 to settle claims involving thousands of officers repeatedly accused of misconduct – and often left taxpayers in the dark.Read more:A warning to listeners: Today’s episode of Post Reports includes a story about police violence that may be disturbing to some people, especially animal lovers.When we hear about lawsuits against police departments, it’s often in cases involving fatal police shootings, like Breonna Taylor’s or George Floyd’s, that result in multimillion-dollar settlements.“Those cases, they make the headlines, they make the news,” says Washington Post reporter Keith Alexander. “But there are other cases where officers are the subject of numerous lawsuits — 10, 12, 13 — for much smaller offenses, but they're happening repeatedly.”In a new investigation from The Post, Keith and fellow reporters tallied nearly 40,000 payments made by 25 major cities and counties around the country to settle repeat allegations of misconduct involving thousands of officers. What they found was the hidden cost of police misconduct: the staggering amount that’s been paid over the past decade and the way that taxpayers are often kept in the dark.Steven Rich and Hannah Thacker contributed to this report. If you want to learn more about how The Post reported on the hidden billion-dollar cost of repeated police misconduct, check out this video.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, one question has loomed large: What does Putin want? Nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada went looking for clues in the Russian leader’s 2000 book and other writings. Today on Post Reports, he shares what he learned. Read more:Reporters Siobhan O’Grady and Whitney Shefte have been reporting from the Ukrainian city of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv, where people are desperately trying to escape a Russian attack. As the invasion of Ukraine goes on, so many of us around the world are asking: Where is this headed? What does Russia want? Or, maybe, a better question: What does Vladimir Putin want? “What Putin really wants” is a perennial topic for cable news debates and big-think magazine covers; the current invasion of Ukraine has prompted questions about the Russian leader’s mental health and pandemic-era isolation. But his motives can also be gleaned in part from his book and his frequent essays and major speeches, all seething with resentment, propaganda and self-justification. In light of his writings, Carlos Lozada says, Russia’s attack on Ukraine seems less about reuniting two countries than about challenging the United States and NATO. 

How Ukrainians are documenting the destruction of their country. And, why the international community may struggle to hold Russian officials accountable for alleged war crimes.Read more:As Russia continues its artillery assault of major population centers in Ukraine, Western officials have begun accusing Russian military officials of committing war crimes. “We've seen these really gruesome images of civilian casualties, of the shelling and the complete destruction of Ukrainian cities,” says foreign affairs reporter Claire Parker. “And mounting evidence of the use of weapons that have triggered serious alarm among international observers and raised allegations that Russia could be committing war crimes.”On today’s Post Reports, Sudursan Raghavan reports from the rubble of a village near Kyiv, where a team was collecting evidence of possible war crimes. Then, Parker walks us through the accusations against the Russian military and why it may be difficult for the International Criminal Court to hold anyone accountable.

A team of Danish filmmakers spent more than two years following Trump confidant and adviser, Roger Stone. Their footage — and an investigation from The Washington Post — shed new light on Stone’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Read more:As a mob ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Roger Stone, Donald Trump’s longtime political adviser, hurried to pack a suitcase inside his suite at downtown Washington’s Willard hotel. Before leaving the city on a private jet, he told an aide he feared prosecution by the incoming attorney general, Merrick Garland. “He is not a friend,” Stone said.On today’s Post Reports, how two documentary makers gained extraordinary access to a member of Trump’s inner circle — and what their footage reveals about the campaign to overturn the 2020 election.Their footage, along with other reporting by The Post, provides the most comprehensive account to date of Stone’s involvement in the former president’s effort to overturn the election and the Jan. 6 insurrection.For months, he coordinated with far-right leaders and urged allies to join the “Stop the Steal” movement. When it all fell apart, he lobbied the former president for a pardon for himself and “the entire MAGA movement,” up until the day Trump left office.Their film, “A Storm Foretold,” is expected to come out later this year. You can watch excerpts here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s improbable journey — from an actor who played the president on TV, to the real president of Ukraine, to the center of an American impeachment, to a war hero. Plus, an interview with the director of “The Batman.”  Read more:The world has been captivated by videos from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the past week. The TV president turned wartime leader has a habit of turning up center stage in global events. Producer Ted Muldoon talked to reporters from around the newsroom about Zelensky’s unlikely path from entertainer to wartime president. David Betancourt has been guest hosting Post Reports the past couple of days — but his day job is reporting on comic book culture for The Post. He says the new Batman movie marks a return to greatness for DC after a decade dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Today on Post Reports, David interviews the film’s director, Matt Reeves.

Today on Post Reports, how the U.S. is imposing sanctions on Russia’s elite. Plus, why Major League Baseball is canceling games. Read more:On Thursday, the White House announced new sanctions against more Russian elites and their family members. Reporter Jeff Stein explains the strategy behind seizing yachts, jets and luxury apartments.  This week, Major League Baseball announced that roughly 90 games would be canceled amid a labor dispute between the players union and team owners. Baseball reporter Chelsea Janes explains why the two parties can’t come to an agreement and why the lockout is so aggravating to fans. 

Nearly 900,000 people have fled Ukraine for safety. On today’s show, the refugees of the war in Ukraine. Read more:Hundreds of thousands of refugees have left Ukraine for neighboring countries, and many are now waiting in holding centers across the region. Many are women and children; Ukrainian authorities have told men ages 18 to 60 to stay in the country to fight the invasion.Almost 900,000 people have fled Ukraine and are looking to places like Poland, Moldova, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary for safety. Traffic data shows severe backups at nearly every border crossing over the weekend, particularly at crossings into Poland. Officials warn that the flow of refugees is likely to escalate into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Today on the show, the refugees fleeing Ukraine to escape the war. Katya Merezhinsky is one of those people. She was in Lviv when the war began, and she recounts her harrowing journey out of Ukraine.  Foreign correspondent and Berlin bureau chief Loveday Morris reports on the ground from the Ukraine-Poland border, where busloads of refugees are arriving in Poland. She says, “Hordes of people are [arriving] with real tales of horror.” Video journalist Jon Gerberg is also on the Ukraine-Poland border and reports on the discrimination some refugees of color have faced as they’ve tried to cross it.“What starts on paper as a policy of national priority in the end effectively translates into a two-class process,” Gerberg says.Follow our coverage on the war in Ukraine here. 

Today on Post Reports, we bring you the latest from the war in Ukraine. How sanctions from the West are tanking Russia’s currency. Plus, a dire new climate report from the United Nations.Read more:Six days into the invasion of Ukraine, fierce fighting continued in Kharkiv as Russian forces closed in on the second-largest Ukrainian city. A convoy seemed to be stalled outside Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon. Follow the latest on the war from our reporters on the ground. The United States and Europe have responded to Russia’s aggression with historic sanctions. But are they working? Paul Sonne reports on the impact on Russia’s economy and how much this changes things for ordinary Russians. Meanwhile, on Monday a newly released report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the window is closing to prevent catastrophic climate change. “Frankly, I don't think that I've ever seen a report so dire,” says climate reporter Sarah Kaplan. “The language is just incredibly bleak.”There is, however, a glimmer of hope: Humanity still has time to shift Earth's warming trajectory, scientists say. But averting the world’s worst-case scenarios will require nothing less than transformational change on a global scale.

Today, on the ground in Kyiv, where the battle for control continues. And NATO 101: how NATO came to be, how its mission has evolved since the end of the Cold War, and why two nonmembers are challenging the way the security organization is seen.Read more:Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the military alliance of mainly Western countries united by a mutual defense treaty. But post-Cold War tension between the West and Russia over NATO is at the heart of the current crisis. On today’s episode of Post Reports, we ask where NATO fits into global conflict, and how the history of the organization informs geopolitical relations today.Since 1999, 14 nations have joined NATO, including Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and the Baltic states. Russia has demanded that the alliance stop expanding eastward — and that it bar Ukraine from joining. Ukraine’s government has said that it would like to enter the alliance, along with other nations that were once part of or allied with the former Soviet Union.In speeches this month, President Biden has vowed that the United States would meet its commitments under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which says that an attack on one is an attack on all. But, since Ukraine isn’t a member, what does that even mean for the country? And for the rest of the world? “As these countries have grown in number, it’s even more questionable whether we would send our troops to defend these countries,” says Sarah Kreps, professor of government, law and public policy and director of the Tech Policy Lab at Cornell University. “We would need some real leadership to help the public understand what the issue is, and explain the consequences of inaction.” Follow the latest from Ukraine here.