Post Reports

How civilian oversight is undermined by politicians and police. And how economic inequality has worsened the pandemic in Venezuela.Read more:Civilian oversight agencies are touted as ways that ordinary citizens can hold police accountable. But an investigation into these agencies by reporter Nicole Dungca shows that they often fail at doing so — in part because they are undermined by law enforcement itself.Severe economic equality is worsening the coronavirus outbreak in South American countries. Anthony Faiola reports on the pandemic in Venezuela, where only the wealthy can afford care for sick loved ones.

Facebook’s Oversight Board bars Donald Trump from rejoining the site –– at least for now. How far-right extremists are recruiting new members in chat rooms and on gaming platforms. And, a farewell to empty middle seats on Delta flights.Read more:Facebook’s 20-member Oversight Board has upheld the decision to ban Donald Trump from the social media platform. Silicon Valley correspondent Elizabeth Dwoskin discusses what that means for other political leaders online.Far-right groups that blossomed during Trump’s presidency have created enduring communities online by soft-pedaling their political goals and entertaining potential recruits with the tools of pop culture. Marc Fisher reports.For a year, empty middle seats were a silver lining of pandemic air travel — but no more.Vote for Post Reports in the Webby Awards. Our episode "The Life of George Floyd" was nominated in the News & Politics podcast category.

The Justice Department is investigating police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville for misconduct. If they are in violation, what can the feds really do? And two new airlines hope to get Americans flying again.Read more:Justice Department probes will investigate police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville. Georgetown Law professor Christy Lopez has firsthand knowledge of what that kind of investigation can really accomplish.It’s been 14 years since a new airline has launched in the United States, and many have failed since then. Lee Powell reports on two entrepreneurs trying to beat the odds.Vote for Post Reports in the Webby Awards. Our episode "The Life of George Floyd" was nominated in the News & Politics podcast category.

India continues to set world records as it faces the worst surge in cases since the start of the pandemic. And, how two decades of war have reshaped Kabul.Read more:Coronavirus cases are surging across India, leading to mass cremations and a scramble for vaccines. Joanna Slater reports on the crisis.As U.S. troops formally withdraw from Afghanistan, Philip Kennicott and photographer Lorenzo Tugnoli look at how two decades of conflict have reshaped Kabul.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

The key role children played in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and why it matters today. Read more:Janice Wesley Kelsey was 16 when she faced White police officers in the Children’s Crusade of 1963 in Birmingham, Ala. The Black youths ages 7 to 17, marching peacefully in the name of civil rights, were met with billy clubs, German shepherds and fire hoses. News crews flocked to the place nicknamed “Bombingham,” and the footage helped prompt President John F. Kennedy to urge Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.On the 58th anniversary of the Children’s Crusade, Post Reports producer Jordan-Marie Smith reports on the impact of the march and how its tactics are reflected in the modern civil rights movement.You can find more resources on the Children’s Crusade at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, at the National Civil Rights Museum and in the archives at Alabama Public Radio.

Today, we’re re-airing this special episode of “Post Reports,” where we tell the story of George Floyd’s life, his upbringing and how racism hobbled his ambition. Plus, an update from Floyd’s family members after the trial of Derek Chauvin.Read more:Last fall, the Post Reports staff and a team of reporters at The Post worked on an exhaustive telling of George Floyd’s life, about this one man and his family and the forces of systemic racism that shaped their experiences over the course of more than a century. This week, in the aftermath of the Chauvin trial verdict, we are re-airing this story about George Floyd, to remind people about the real three-dimensional person whose life and death were at the center of the trial. We also went back to some of the people interviewed in the original episode to find out what they think about the verdict, and how they have been processing their grief almost a year after his death. This story is part of The Washington Post’s series “George Floyd’s America.” The reporting explores the institutional and societal roadblocks Floyd encountered as a Black man from his birth in 1973 until his death, and the role systemic racism played throughout his life.  The series is based on a review of thousands of documents and more than 150 interviews with Floyd’s friends, colleagues, public officials and scholars. The picture that emerges is one that underscores how systemic racism has calcified within many of America’s institutions, creating sharply disparate outcomes in housing, education, the economy, law enforcement and health care. Read more in this Special Report from The Washington Post: George Floyd’s America.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer Credits  Reporting for this episode from Ted Muldoon. “George Floyd’s America” was reported by Arelis Hernández, Tracy Jan, Laura Meckler, Tolu Olorunnipa, Robert Samuels, Griff Witte and Cleve Wootson. This “Post Reports” episode was produced by Ted Muldoon and Linah Mohammad and edited by Maggie Penman and Martine Powers. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

What the CDC’s updated mask guidance means for you. And, what to expect at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read more:The CDC says fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks outdoors, except in crowded settings. Lena H. Sun reports on how these new guidelines may change the social norms of mask-wearing.The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo are on — for now. Correspondent Rick Maese reports on how they’re being organized and how they’ll look different because of the pandemic. 

What President Biden did — and didn't do — in his first hundred days in office. And, the United States takes cautious steps toward rejoining the Iran nuclear deal.Read more:As President Biden nears 100 days in office, he can say he made good on his promise to speed up the country’s vaccination efforts. But White House reporter Cleve Wootson explains that other issues, such as immigration, haven’t been so easy for him to address.This week, Iran and the United States engage in another round of indirect negotiations to get the United States back in the Iran nuclear deal. Both countries say they want in, so what’s the holdup? National security reporter Karen DeYoung explains.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

What the initial results of the 2020 Census might mean for the political future of the country. And, how “canceled” went from a Black-culture punchline to a watchword of White grievance.  Read more:The first batch of 2020 Census results were released Monday. Tara Bahrampour explains the biggest changes, and what that will mean for the country’s politics. The theme of this year’s meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee was “America Uncanceled.” Clyde McGrady explores the strange journey of the word canceled — from Black culture to a White grievance watchword.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

How India is driving the surge in global coronavirus cases. Plus, how countries are reacting to the United States’ abundance of vaccine. Read more:A devastating second wave of coronavirus is sweeping India. The country is setting daily records for case numbers, and, as Joanna Slater reports, the health-care system is buckling under the immense demand. While the few countries with high vaccination rates are seeing coronavirus numbers decrease, globally, cases are rising. Emily Rauhala reports on how nations with lower supplies are calling for policy changes to prevent wealthy countries from hoarding vaccine.Vote for Post Reports in the Webby Awards. Our episode "The Life of George Floyd" was nominated in the News & Politics podcast category.

How a protest in a North Carolina farming town sparked a national movement for environmental justice.Read more:"I can't breathe" were George Floyd's dying words under a White police officer's knee. They eerily echo what Black, Latino, Native American and other non-White environmental-justice activists have said for decades about choking pollution in their communities. Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis report on how a protest in a North Carolina farming town sparked a national movement.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

The Biden nominee who wants to shake up Amazon. And a volcanic eruption meets a pandemic.Read more:Lina Khan’s nomination hearing signals a new era of tough antitrust enforcement for the tech industry. If confirmed, she would be the youngest-ever commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. Anthony Faiola reports on a volcanic eruption in St. Vincent that displaced thousands. Now, the island is grappling with how to keep evacuees safe as the pandemic rages on.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners - one year of unlimited access to everything the Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

Some Black Americans are reluctant to believe that Chauvin’s conviction will impact social justice on a larger scale. Biden’s backtrack on refugee admission caps. And, the legacy of Walter Mondale.Read more:Many police reform advocates throughout the country celebrated what they saw as a rare moment of accountability on Tuesday. But Arelis Hernández spoke with Black Americans who are nervous that the conviction of Derek Chauvin might buoy misguided beliefs that racial justice has been achieved in America. The Biden administration last week announced that it was going to maintain President Donald Trump’s historically low refugee admission cap. Then, it abruptly reversed itself, insisting it had been misunderstood. White House reporter Sean Sullivan digs into the backtrack and explains what it means for the migrants left waiting. Former vice president Walter Mondale died Monday. He was 93. Correspondent Dan Balz reflects on his long-lasting contributions to the vice presidency.From the archives: We all know about the death of George Floyd. But what about his life? In “The Life of George Floyd,” we tell the story of Floyd’s family, his upbringing and how racism hobbled his ambition — a story reflecting the lives of so many Americans.

Derek Chauvin is convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd. And the promise to defund the police in Minneapolis, and what happened instead.Read more:Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. Mark Berman reports. What do communities do when police retreat? Reporter Robert Klemko explains how a Native American neighborhood in Minneapolis found itself without a police force, and what the new model of public safety that took the force’s place looks like. From the archives: We all know about the death of George Floyd. But what about his life? In “The Life of George Floyd,” we tell the story of Floyd’s family, his upbringing and how racism hobbled his ambition — a story reflecting the lives of so many Americans.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

How Indiana gun laws failed to prevent a mass shooting last week. And conflicting views on Brexit spur violence in Northern Ireland.Read more:Police say existing gun laws should have prevented a mass shooting in Indiana last week. Instead, the shooter was able to legally purchase firearms. Paulina Firozi reports. In Northern Ireland, Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists have faced off in riots fueled by anger over Brexit trade deals. Amanda Ferguson reports from Belfast on some of the worst violence in Northern Ireland in more than a decade.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

Protests continue in the Minneapolis area after the police killing of Daunte Wright. And the defense rests in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Read more:Tim Craig reports on how the suburbs of Minneapolis are dealing with fallout from the killing of Daunte Wright.On Thursday, after two days of witness and expert testimony, the defense rested its case in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, with Chauvin declining to testify. Holly Bailey reports. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

The United States imposes sweeping new sanctions against Russia. And, how former Trump allies are faring in the private job market.Read more:On Thursday, the Biden administration imposed the first significant sanctions to target the Russian economy in several years. Shane Harris reports on the administration’s effort to punish the Kremlin for a cyberespionage campaign against the United States, and for its attempts to influence the 2020 presidential election.Former Trump administration officials are struggling to find private sector jobs. Tory Newmyer reports on the former president’s allies who may be paying the price for aligning themselves with a leader mired in controversy. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

A deadline to end the war in Afghanistan. Biden’s vision for the future of infrastructure. Plus, how Native communities are tackling vaccinations. Read more:Biden announced that the United States will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021. Missy Ryan explains that the decision tells us a lot about the administration’s priorities. “Nobody is going to say that the situation in Afghanistan is what anybody would have wanted in 2001 or 2011 or 2020. The government is incredibly fragile. The Taliban is very powerful, and the prospects for peace are very dubious,” she says. President Biden’s infrastructure plan calls for the federal government to take on a vast new role in funding the nation’s transportation networks, seeking to rebuild roadways and transit while battling climate change, racial injustice and traffic deaths. Transportation reporter Ian Duncan says the plan is not quite the easy bipartisan victory some may have hoped.Native Americans were vaccinated against smallpox and then pushed off their land. Reporter Dana Hedgpeth says this history has created generational trauma that tribes are working hard to counteract in their drive to vaccinate Native communities.

Correction: In a previous version of this episode, we misstated a Brooklyn Center Police Department policy about guns and tasers. According to the former police chief, tasers are kept on the non-dominant hip, and guns on the dominant hip.Why the CDC and FDA are recommending a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Another police killing in Minnesota. And, remembering DMX.Read more:The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six women developed extremely rare cases of blood clots. Health-care reporter Paige Winfield Cunningham explains. On Sunday, an officer of the Brooklyn Center Police Department fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. Wright was unarmed. Kim Bellware reports that his death has prompted a renewed outcry over police use of force in Minneapolis, where the highly watched murder trial of Derek Chauvin is reaching its close.Earl Simmons, the rapper known as DMX, died April 9. Pop culture reporter Bethonie Butler says his contributions to rap and hip-hop are still felt today.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

How surveillance networks are helping federal authorities track down the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters. And, the legacy of Prince Philip.Read more:A Washington Post review of hundreds of pages of court records has revealed how federal law enforcement officials are using license plate scanners, facial-recognition software and other controversial surveillance technologies to hunt down Jan. 6 Capitol rioters. Post tech reporter Drew Harwell analyzes their use in one of the biggest criminal investigations in American history. Prince Philip, the former naval officer and husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, died last Friday. He was 99 years old. Reporter Adrian Higgins discusses the prince’s life and legacy.The Post is asking listeners to reflect on their mementos from different homelands. Drop us a line at [email protected] with your story about the object you brought when you immigrated to the United States. Or visit our submission form here to tell us more.

This week in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, officers and medical experts testified on the cause of George Floyd’s death. And why it’s so hard to prosecute police officers. Read more:During the second week of the Derek Chauvin murder trial, prosecutors focused on two subjects: how the former officer’s tactics, denounced by fellow police officers on the stand, did not align with his training; and what was happening biologically to George Floyd in the key moments before his death. Holly Bailey reports from Minneapolis. Brown University associate professor Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve on the interdependence between prosecutors and police officers – and why it means that officers rarely face consequences in excessive-use-of-force cases. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

What’s at stake in the biggest union battle this country has seen in decades. The future of community colleges. And, facing the prospect of “vaccine passports.”Read more:Jay Greene reports on Amazon workers’ fight for a union in a warehouse in Alabama — and the drive’s potential to inspire other workers. Normally during an economic downturn, higher-education reporters like Nick Anderson expect to see a rise in enrollment in community colleges. This time, that didn’t happen. Nick explains what that means for these schools and the students they serve, at a time when community colleges are being given increased political attention. The scramble to develop vaccine passports — and the potential problems they pose — from health reporter Dan Diamond. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners: one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

Understanding Georgia’s controversial new voting law. And, how to tell if it’s allergies … or covid. Read more:Georgia just passed a new voting law. Amy Gardner reports on the background of the controversial law and what actually ended up in it. As spring reaches full bloom, some allergy sufferers are wondering: Are their stuffy noses and itchy eyes actually symptoms of the coronavirus? Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu allays those fears and answers other reader questions about allergies and vaccines.

Why some prominent economists and Republican lawmakers are worried the economy might recover too quickly. And, what it’s like to be a teenager while lawmakers debate your right to exist.Read more:The Federal Reserve has emerged as a White House ally in rejecting concerns about overdoing the stimulus. But Rachel Siegel reports that some economists and market analysts are raising alarm bells about the risks of overstimulating the economy and triggering inflation. In other words — could we be recovering too quickly?What used cars tell us about the risk of too much inflation hitting the economy.On Tuesday, the nation's first ban on medical treatments for transgender youths passed in Arkansas. Similar bills are being considered in at least 17 other states. Samantha Schmidt reports from one of those states, Missouri, where a transgender girl is struggling to find her voice as legislators attack her right to exist. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

Experts warn that the United States may be entering a fourth surge of coronavirus cases. And, the things we take when we leave home. Read more:Some scientists are warning that the United States is entering a “fourth wave” in the pandemic. Others are questioning that conclusion. Reis Thebault reports. When Post community editor Yu Vongkiatkajorn left Chiang Mai at 18, she tried to bring with her a veritable library — books collected over the years, journals she treasured. But when making her home in the United States, the object that stayed with her through her cross-continental moves was an unexpected one: a traditional silk shirt from Thailand that she never wears but lives permanently in her closet. For Post Reports producer Linah Mohammad, she also holds on to clothing, with two scarves that represent the Jordanian and Palestinian parts of her cultural identity. The Post is asking listeners to reflect on their own mementos from different homelands. Drop us a line at [email protected] with your story about the object you brought when you immigrated to the United States. Or visit our submission form here to tell us more.

As more vaccines become available in the U.S., the problem stops being supply and starts being how you get everyone to take one. Ariel Plotnick reports on the public health effort to bring the vaccine-hesitant around to getting a shot.Read more:“We want to be educated, not indoctrinated,” say Trump voters wary of coronavirus vaccines. Dan Diamond reports on the findings of a focus group he sat in on last month with vaccine-hesitant Trump voters.“We can do this”: Biden unveils pro-vaccine TV ads and a network of grass-roots leaders to push vaccinations. The administration plans to spend more than $10 million on the ad campaign in April.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners -- one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

Emotional testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd. And, Biden’s massive infrastructure plan. Read more:The murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin began in Minneapolis this week, with emotional testimony from witnesses to George Floyd’s death. National correspondent Holly Bailey lays out what the jurors heard.Follow The Post’s live coverage of the Chauvin trial here. On Wednesday, President Biden unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure plan. Economics reporter Rachel Siegel explains what’s in the sprawling proposal and the challenges Biden will face in garnering congressional support.

Thousands are journeying to the border, motivated by complicated personal and practical reasons. Plus, the sound of Mars.Read more:Migrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in large numbers. Arelis R. Hernández rode along with Constable Roque Vela on a dusty road along the Rio Grande in South Texas to talk to some of the people trying to navigate the complicated policies at the border — and learn about why they’re trying to cross it. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is recording sound. Martian wind might not sound exciting, but hearing it stopped producer Bishop Sand in his tracks. The rover is continuing to record sounds, and NASA releases them in weekly files at https://soundcloud.com/nasa.

How scammers raked in millions of dollars in pandemic relief fraud schemes. Advice for vaccinated parents about what to do with their unvaccinated kids. And, what we know about the origin of covid-19.Read more:Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had charged hundreds of scammers who targeted the trillions of dollars made available through federal aid programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. Reporter Matt Zapotosky explains how the thieves worked, how they were caught and what the consequences have been — for the scammers and the scammed. As more adults become vaccinated against the coronavirus, some vaccinated parents might find themselves in a quandary — while they may be protected, allowing for more freedom in socializing or engaging in other routine activities, their children are not. Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu discusses what that means for summer camp and play dates.The World Health Organization has released its findings into the origin of the coronavirus. Foreign affairs reporter Emily Rauhala explains the controversy around the report and the answers it has left unanswered.

After telling the world about the brutality he experienced in a Damascus prison, Mazen al-Hamada mysteriously returned to Syria, into the arms of his tormentors. His story goes to the heart of the Syria tragedy — a decade after the hopeful Arab Spring. Read more:After escaping from Syria to the Netherlands, Mazen al-Hamada shared his story about the horrors he had endured in a Damascus prison with audiences across the United States and Europe. Then — mysteriously, inexplicably — just over a year ago, he returned to Syria, to risk again the cruelties of the government he had so strenuously denounced. He hasn’t been heard from since. In an interview with audio producer Linah Mohammad, Post Beirut bureau chief Liz Sly paints a portrait of a man so haunted by the horrors he endured that he was unable to adapt to a new life in Europe, and explains how his story speaks to the post-Arab Spring Syria:“Everything has changed and then nothing has changed, in the worst possible ways on both counts.”

The economic cost of racism for Asian businesses. And Tunisia a decade after the Arab Spring.Read more:There’s an economic cost to racism as Asian business owners reduce hours and shell out for security in the wake of the Atlanta shootings, says business reporter Tracy Jan. Tunisia is often considered the biggest “success” of the Arab Spring. A decade later, Claire Parker reports on the people still fighting for democracy in a Tunisia battered by crises.

Biden gives his first news conference as president. The NCAA’s problem with women’s basketball. And how a movie studio gave new life to a box office flop.Read more:On Thursday, President Biden fielded questions from the press about the immigration surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, whether he wants to kill the filibuster and what he plans to do about the war in Afghanistan. Power Up newsletter author Jacqueline Alemany reports on the president’s first formal grilling from reporters.The National Collegiate Athletic Association says that women’s college basketball does not turn a profit. If that’s true, it’s a result of either incompetence or indifference on the part of the NCAA, says sports columnist Sally Jenkins.Four years ago, DC Comics’ “Justice League” tanked at the box office. So when fans clamored, years later, for the version initially imagined by its original director, Zack Snyder — a darker, grittier epic of a superhero movie — the studio released it. Comics reporter David Betancourt explains the movement behind the new four-hour “Snyder cut” of “Justice League.”

President Biden is pushing for new gun-control measures after the mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder. Plus, what relaxed rules for art sales mean for the future of museums. Read more:Biden is urging Congress to immediately pass stronger gun laws after two mass shootings in less than a week. Reporter Sean Sullivan lays out Biden’s agenda on guns and discusses the challenge he faces in seeing that agenda through. Museums have begun using the money from art sales to help them survive the pandemic, but critics say that sets a dangerous precedent. Reporter Peggy McGlone explains. 

Though mass shootings have happened less often during the pandemic, gun deaths remain high in the U.S. And, an independent panel says the AstraZeneca vaccine trial data is misleading.Read more:On Monday afternoon, a man walked into a Boulder, Colo., grocery store and started shooting. Ten people were killed, including a responding police officer. Reporter John Woodrow Cox lays out what we know about the second mass shooting in a week and addresses the misconception that gun violence has stalled during the pandemic.After AstraZeneca announced that trials determined the vaccine it produced with Oxford University was 79 percent effective, an independent panel says the company used outdated and misleading data. William Booth reports on the ramifications. 

What we know about the AstraZeneca vaccine. And, the fractured relationship between Google and historically Black colleges and universities. Read more:Science reporter Carolyn Y. Johnson breaks down the results of the U.S. trial for the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine — and its challenges.Google’s failing approach to recruiting historically Black schools helps explain why there are few Black engineers in Big Tech. Reporter Nitasha Tiku says the pipeline for recruiting Black technical talent needs to be reexamined.

The fate of the Senate filibuster will decide the future of the Biden presidency. Today, we dive deep into the filibuster’s origins and myths — and we talk to people who say that killing this arcane procedural roadblock is the only way to save the Senate.Read more:President Biden and Senate Democrats are faced with the question of whether to reform the rules of the filibuster — or even to terminate it altogether. In the view of many Democrats, it’s the only thing holding Biden back from executing ambitious plans on climate change, voting rights, immigration and the minimum wage.“The disconnect between having a majority — which the Democrats now do — and needing 60 votes, which the Democrats can't get,” says national politics correspondent Philip Bump, “that disconnect really is shaping up to be one of the defining power struggles of the Senate.”Today, Post Reports looks at the history of the filibuster — and why the myths about its origin obscure a more dismal story about its use to preserve slavery and prevent civil rights for Black Americans. “They basically created a de facto supermajority standard for the passage of civil rights bills — and only civil rights bills,” says Adam Jentleson, author of a new book called “Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.” His research explores the question of whether the Founding Fathers ever intended for a powerful tool like the filibuster. “The evidentiary record is very clear on this,” he says. “They were anti-obstruction.”The repeated failure of the Senate to defeat filibusters that blocked civil rights was an “institution-wide failure,” according to U.S. Senate historian Daniel Holt, who explains the repeated attempts to bring the filibuster under control. “There was a reluctance to use the mechanisms at hand to force adoption of these bills — much to the detriment of the African Americans in the country.”Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, recently penned an opinion piece for USA Today about the need to end the filibuster. The legacy of the obstruction of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he argues, is a dark stain on the Senate and its traditions. “People were literally being lynched, beaten and killed in order for that legislation to happen,” he says. “Blood was spilled in the streets in order to get to 60-plus votes.”If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything the Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

A look at the unique vulnerability of spa workers in the wake of the deadly shootings in Atlanta. And how to handle your Zoom fatigue.Read more:Eight people have died after a gunman opened fire in Asian-run spas in and around Atlanta. Six of the victims were Asian women. Anne Branigin, a staff writer for The Lily, looks at the unique vulnerability of spa workers through the lens of race, class and gender. Zoom fatigue is real. Paulina Firozi reports on what you can do about it. 

What we know about the shootings Tuesday night at three Atlanta-area spas. Plus, a closer look at the AstraZeneca vaccine controversy. Read more:Shootings at three Atlanta-area spas on Tuesday have left eight people dead, including six Asian women, prompting widespread concern that the killings could be the latest in a surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans. Paulina Firozi reports. In Europe, several countries have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Berlin bureau chief Loveday Morris says reports of life-threatening blood clots have brought the vaccine under review by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency, though the WHO has said the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks. Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu explains how scientists are determining whether there’s a connection between the rare blood clots and the vaccine, or if it’s just a coincidence.

Calls for Andrew Cuomo to step down grow as the New York governor faces allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women. The billionaires whose wealth ballooned during the pandemic. And, what the fencing around the Capitol means for our democracy.Read more:White House reporter Josh Dawsey discusses the controversy surrounding Cuomo and his refusal to resign.A handful of tech titans made more than $360 billion during the pandemic. Tech culture reporter Nitasha Tiku discusses how the past year is shattering the myth of the benevolent billionaire.Art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott writes that the danger of right-wing mobs is real. Fencing at the U.S. Capitol won’t help.

The influx of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. And, medical professionals taking on covid-19 — and misinformation. Read more:President Biden plans to send FEMA to help with the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration enforcement reporter Nick Miroff explains who is arriving at the border and why. Meet the doctors and nurses who fight covid all day at work. Then, they go online and fight misinformation. Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu reports. 

Reflecting on the anniversary of the pandemic, from the eyes of a nurse on New York’s front lines.Read more: Jessica Montanaro thrives in a high-stakes, high-pressure world. As a nurse at an intensive care unit in New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Montanaro is accustomed to leaping into action when patients’ lives are at stake. And when the coronavirus hit the U.S., Montanaro, like so many health-care workers, found herself at the center of the chaos. One year after the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Montanaro reflects on her experiences caring for an influx of covid-19 patients and battling exhaustion and grief in her ICU. In this episode, producer Bishop Sand brings us into Montanaro’s world, as the virus drastically — and permanently — changed it.Nearly a year ago, Post Reports did another story about Mount Sinai as doctors and nurses braced themselves for the worst of the surge in New York City. Listen back to “A New York hospital transformed by the pandemic.

The search for the students who have gone missing during the pandemic. And, listeners share what has brought them joy this year. Read more:Many students have failed to show up for online school since classrooms closed one year ago. Even before the pandemic, districts had to track down children who had stopped showing up or failed to return for a new school year. But this year, such cases are happening in unprecedented numbers, forcing districts to employ extraordinary efforts to track down students, to ensure they are safe and have the resources to learn.Education reporter Moriah Balingit rode around Detroit with one of the many people tasked with tracking these missing students down. And March 11 marks one year since the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic. We wanted to know: What has brought you joy in the last year?

Jury selection for the trial of Derek Chauvin begins. And, tips for hunting vaccine appointments online. Read more:Proceedings have begun for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd. National reporter Mark Berman talks about what to expect at the beginning of what will be a lengthy and highly contentious trial. Outside the Hennepin County courthouse, Joshua Lott describes what it’s like to photograph a city on edge.Check out The Post’s award-winning special report, George Floyd’s America. Also, tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler with tips for nabbing an appointment online for a vaccine. 

The CDC guidelines on what fully vaccinated people can — and can’t — do. What we can learn from Israel’s mass vaccination program. And, the risk of plummeting birth rates in France. Read more:New guidelines have emerged for fully vaccinated people in the United States. The Post’s Lena H. Sun walks us through what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday about what fully vaccinated people can now do safely. Israel has inoculated over half of the population. Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix reports on the country’s mass vaccination rollout — its successes and shortcomings.Early in the pandemic, many were predicting the extra time at home could lead to a baby boom. Foreign correspondent Rick Noack says that in France, at least, it’s been just the opposite: a sharp drop in birth rates since the pandemic started.

What’s in the coronavirus relief bill — and what’s not. The story of a Syrian spy. And the royal fallout from that Oprah interview. Read more:Economic policy reporter Rachel Siegel lays out what made it into the Senate’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, what didn’t, and how soon Americans could be receiving financial relief.Joby Warrick covers national security and weapons proliferation for The Post. In his latest book, “Red Line,” he looks at how a spy working for Syria’s chemical weapons program ended up delivering secrets to the CIA. Meghan and Harry sat down for a blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on CBS. The Post’s Jennifer Hassan reports that this isn’t the first time British royals or British tabloids have been accused of racism and sexism.

The future of voting rights — in state legislatures across the country and before the Supreme Court.Read more:In recent weeks, Republican state legislators across the country have been proposing and voting on a variety of voting restrictions. Politics reporter Amy Gardner examines the onslaught of legislation intended to limit mail-in ballots, early-voting periods and ballot boxes — and the motivations behind the proposals. On Tuesday, a key part of the Voting Rights Act was stress-tested before the Supreme Court. Gilda Daniels, a former deputy chief in the Justice Department and the author of “Uncounted: The Crisis of Voting Suppression in America,” breaks down the arguments before the court. 

How the conspiracy theories that fueled “Pizzagate” were a harbinger of QAnon. Texas in the aftermath of the devastating winter storms. And, a remembrance of Vernon Jordan.Read more:The “Pizzagate” gunman has been released from prison. After Edgar Maddison Welch entered a popular D.C. pizzeria and fired shots in December 2016, he told law enforcement that he had gone there to investigate a conspiracy theory. Reporter Mike Miller explains how Pizzagate signaled the deepening of violence linked to conspiracy theories that would later lead to the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6. The power is back on, but millions of Texans wonder what it will take to fully recover — and who will help them. National correspondent Arelis Hernández reports on the Lone Star State two weeks after the deadly winter storms led to a near-collapse of the state’s power grid. Robin Givhan on the legacy and life of Vernon Jordan, and how he made being a Black man in America look effortless.

Texas lifts its coronavirus measures requiring masks and allows businesses to reopen. President Biden’s first failed Cabinet nomination. And the building that reminds people of … the poop emoji.Read more:Politics reporter Philip Bump breaks down Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s decision to reopen the state’s businesses and lift its mask mandate — and why it’s not an opportune time to do it. White House reporter Seung Min Kim explains why Neera Tanden, President Biden’s controversial pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, withdrew her nomination after facing opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. The strangely shaped Helix is a distraction, art and architecture critic Phillip Kennicott writes. There’s a lot more to Amazon’s new D.C.-area headquarters than meets the eye.

Generation Z is breaking with binary notions of gender and sexuality. And, how the first season of “The Bachelor” to feature a Black man has only highlighted the show’s racism problem.    Read more:Recent surveys show that a growing percentage of the U.S. population identifies as LGBT. What’s less clear is why. Is it because of a real shift in sexual orientation and gender identity? Or is it because of a greater willingness among young people to identify as LGBT? Samantha Schmidt reports. The “Bachelor” franchise is facing a public reckoning after revelations about a contestant’s racist past. Style reporter Emily Yahr and Vulture writer Ali Barthwell explain what happened, and what this episode can tell us about Bachelor Nation and reality television as a whole.The pandemic has been dragging on for almost a year now, and we want to hear from listeners about how you’re coping. Record a voice memo telling us who you are, where you live and what you’ve been doing in the past year to find joy. Send it to [email protected].

The U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is finally released. And, how Donald Trump took a wrecking ball to U.S. relations in the Mideast, and whether President Biden will be able to recalibrate foreign policy in the region.Read more:The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved the operation that led to the death of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi. National security reporter Karen DeYoung explains what we know from the long-awaited intelligence report. Foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor discusses the Mideast problems piling up for Biden, and whether the new administration will be able to accomplish its ambitious agenda in the region. “After four years of what's been perceived as kind of wrecking-ball diplomacy by Trump when it comes to the Middle East, it's a pretty thorny set of challenges that await President Biden, having to both think through what these challenges mean for his American interests, but also having to undo some of the work that Trump did,” Tharoor says.The pandemic has been dragging on for almost a year now, and we want to hear from listeners about how you’re coping. Record a voice memo telling us who you are, where you live and what you’ve been doing in the last year to find joy. Send it to [email protected].