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After weeks of competition, the World Cup final is set: Argentina and Spain will face off for the coveted title.Sunday's match will be the culmination of the biggest World Cup tournament to date.What has it taught us?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre and Tyler Bartlam, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by William Troop and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Todd Blanche is President Trump's pick for Attorney General. He's currently in that role in an acting capacity and hopes to convince lawmakers to give him the job officially.But Blanche's nomination is facing pushback over criticisms that the Department of Justice has become politicized and over his handling of the Epstein files.What did we learn after the first day of his confirmation hearings?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam, Megan Lim, and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Maureen Pao and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

There have been at least 9 deaths tied to immigration enforcement actions since President Trump returned to the White House. Four of them have been this year. What's going on - and can anything be done to keep people safe?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino, Kadin Mills and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

By now, you've probably felt it: prices are up.The spike in gas prices have helped push annual inflation to its highest levels in three years — around 4.2 percent.With prices creeping up, how are Americans coping?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.NPR's Scott Horsley contributed reporting to this episode. It was produced by Kai McNamee and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Zo van Ginhoven. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

The nation continues to react to the unexpected death of South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham was a veteran politician, a dealmaker and military hawk. He was also one of President Trump’s staunchest critics before his election, only to become one of Trump’s close allies on Capitol Hill after his victory.Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake served alongside Graham from 2013-2019, and said he and Graham were "friends to the end," despite moments of tension and disagreement. Flake weighs in on what will be Sen. Graham's legacy. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Henry Larson, with audio engineering by Peter Ellena.It was edited by Michael Levitt.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

For this week’s Reporter’s Notebook, we’re listening back with Jackie Northam, one of NPR’s longest-serving international correspondents, about how she became a journalist, what kept her going, and why some stories never really left her.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

July has brought a lot of changes to how the federal government handles student loans.They include how much students are able to borrow.And now, the government is assessing loans through a test: Based on how much money students make after graduating.Could this change what students plan to study and the professions they enter?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre, Zephyr Weinreich and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Nicole Cohen, William Troop and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

What a difference three weeks makes.It’s been about that long since the US and Iran agreed on a framework to end their war, but this week that changed.President Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire is 'over' - and both sides have expressed deep mistrust in one another. Is diplomacy still possible?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Tyler Bartlam.It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Tinbete Ermyas.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Heading into this week's NATO summit, the big agenda item was the future of the defense alliance and how President Trump would engage with it.But on Tuesday, the US struck Iran dozens of times, with President Trump saying that the ceasefire between the US and Iran is "over."At a meeting that was supposed to be about the unity of the transatlantic alliance, a conflict that’s further strained US-European relations has flared up again. How did we get here? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Jason Fuller, Zephyr Weinreich and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Hannah Gluvna. Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

US Senate candidate Graham Platner's campaign has been thrown into chaos.On Monday, Politico reported an allegation of sexual assault from Platner's former girlfriend. Platner has denied the claim.The accusations have led to cratering support from prominent Democrats for his candidacy, in a race that is important for Democrats' ambitions to take back the Senate in November.What's next for Platner and this key Senate race?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.Our director is Jonas Adams.It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy