Americans Feel the Shutdown Squeeze; Olympian Red Gerard marks 100 days until Milan Olympics

Summary

Podcast Summary: Here's the Scoop (NBC News)

Episode: Americans Feel the Shutdown Squeeze; Olympian Red Gerard Marks 100 Days Until Milan Olympics

Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Yasmin Vesugian
Main Guests: Melanie Zanona (NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent), Red Gerard (Olympic Snowboarder)

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Overview

This episode of "Here's the Scoop" tackles the persistent federal government shutdown, now in its 29th day, focusing on the very real impacts felt by ordinary Americans—including potential lapses in SNAP (food stamp) benefits, rising health insurance premiums, and federal worker hardships. The episode then makes a lively pivot to mark 100 days until the 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring an energetic interview with Olympic snowboarder Red Gerard about his preparation, mindset, and hopes for Milan.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Shutdown: The Squeeze Tightens

Segment Timestamps: 01:12–09:33

• SNAP Benefits at Risk:

  • On November 1st, unless Congress intervenes, 40 million low-income Americans risk losing their food assistance.

    "Without congressional action, 40 million low income Americans could go without enough to eat."
    — Yasmin Vesugian (01:20)

  • Recipients are already anxious—some food banks are turning away first-time federal worker applicants as states begin pausing new signups.

    "Some of them were trying to get on benefits for the first time ever, but were already being denied because some of these states were already pausing, even last week new signups."
    — Melanie Zanona (02:41)

  • This pain isn't ideological—rural, red, and blue states alike stand to lose vital support.

• Controversy Over Emergency Funds:

  • There's a $5–6 billion SNAP contingency fund meant for disasters; Republicans resist tapping it, arguing the shutdown is "manufactured" and Democrats should end it by negotiating.

    "The USDA is arguing that this is not an emergency, this is a manufactured crisis and that Democrats could solve it immediately by reopening the government."
    — Melanie Zanona (04:30)

  • Legal battles are underway; 25 state attorneys general are suing for continued benefits.

• Health Care Fears: Open Enrollment Uncertainty

  • Obamacare premium subsidies, enhanced during COVID, are expiring. With open enrollment starting Nov 1st, Americans could see dramatic premium hikes—double, triple, or even quadruple in some cases.

    "Already there is some window shopping going on. People are experiencing sticker shock."
    — Melanie Zanona (06:36)

  • Democrats are stalling for a deal that restores subsidies to avoid mass coverage losses.

• Federal Worker Hardship: Could TSA & Air Traffic Staff Force a Resolution?

  • Air travel slowdowns contributed to the end of the 2019 shutdown. Again, TSA and air traffic controllers are about to miss more paychecks—this could be a turning point, especially if Thanksgiving travel melts down.

    "I ultimately do think that travel is one of those things that could be the straw that breaks the camel's back, especially if it is still going on during Thanksgiving..."
    — Melanie Zanona (08:14)

• Stalemate & Lack of Urgency:

  • The Capitol feels eerily quiet; negotiations are stalled, with Congress focusing more on how to pay select federal workers than on reopening.

    "There's just no sense of urgency right now. And in fact, they're not even talking about trying to reopen the government..."
    — Melanie Zanona (09:02)

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2. Olympic Hopes: Red Gerard Preps for Milan

Segment Timestamps: 11:03–18:31

• Looking Back: Winning Gold at 17

  • Red recalls his surprise and naiveté at the 2018 Games: he was so young, he didn’t fully grasp the Olympics’ scope.

    "When I was 17 going there, I really didn’t...know how big...the Olympics were necessarily even, and I definitely didn't know how big it was."
    — Red Gerard (12:17)

• Learning from Setbacks: Missing the Podium in 2022

  • Red finished fourth in Beijing, despite a strong run; discusses the subjectivity of judged sports and making peace with results.

    "I do think it was a really good run. I think it probably should have been on the podium, but ... that's what we signed up for, and you kind of got to be good with it at the end."
    — Red Gerard (13:36)

• Training & Mindset

  • Red describes his summer regimen as "average"—gym three times a week, healthy eating; in winter, actual snowboarding is the best prep.

    "For snowboarding during the winter, the best thing you can do, or at least from my perspective, is just go snowboarding."
    — Red Gerard (15:01)

  • He’s not superstitious; his pre-run ritual is a simple mantra to himself.

    "Right before I drop in for a contest run, I just, like, bend down, touch my board, and say a couple words, and then just kind of go."
    — Red Gerard (15:32)

• Family & Support

  • Red is one of eight siblings. His sister, Tiegan, is behind the popular food blog Half Baked Harvest. His family plans to attend Milan en masse.

    "Yeah. Oh, there's gonna be, like, 30 of them. It'll be insane."
    — Red Gerard (16:06)

  • On family at the Olympics:

    "I always think of it like they're there on vacation and I'm just a part of their vacation at some point."
    — Red Gerard (16:24)

• Goals and Experience for 2026

  • Red wants not just medals, but to absorb the Olympic atmosphere—a chance he missed as a teen champ and then amid pandemic restrictions.

    "More than that, I would love to, you know, go there and kind of get that Olympic experience that I don't really think I've had."
    — Red Gerard (16:48)

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3. News Headlines & Quick Updates

Segment Timestamps: 18:39–21:48

• Federal Reserve Cuts Rates:

  • Another quarter-point drop in interest rates; layoffs continue, inflation remains high, but Wall Street and Nvidia hit record highs.
  • Next Fed rate call: December 10th.

• Trump–South Korea Trade Deal:

  • Trump finalizes a trade pact with South Korea: $350 billion investment, mutual tariffs holding at 15%, auto tariffs lowered.

• Hurricane Melissa:

  • Devastating Jamaica and Cuba, with the storm now headed for the Bahamas. Massive power outages and concerns for children’s welfare.

• Changing Broadway Traditions:

  • Broadway to swap cast-change paper slips for QR codes, ending an era for theater enthusiasts and understudies.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "SNAP benefits are going to be one of the things that runs out. So they're continuing to hold on to certain pain points."
  — Melanie Zanona (05:49)

• "The Capitol feels strange...there's barely anyone here. The House is out of session. They’re taking votes sometimes to reopen the government. And even when they do, those are failing..."
  — Melanie Zanona (08:58)

• "When I got there, I was...I mean, I just kind of treated it the same as I treated all the other..."
  — Red Gerard, on competing at 17 (12:26)

• "I always think of it like they're there on vacation and I'm just a part of their vacation at some point."
  — Red Gerard, on his large family attending the Olympics (16:24)

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Episode Structure & Flow

• Opening (01:12–01:53): Immediate focus on the shutdown’s impact, skipping long introductions and ads.
• Shutdown Deep Dive (01:53–09:33): Interview with Capitol Hill correspondent, touching on food security, bureaucracy, and political gamesmanship.
• Olympic Segment (11:03–18:31): Uplifting switch to sports, highlighting Red Gerard’s story, training, and family support.
• Fast Headlines (18:39–21:48): Quick roundup of the day's remaining key stories—economics, international affairs, weather, and arts.

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Final Thoughts

This episode delivers essential context and on-the-ground emotion about the government shutdown, highlighting real-life consequences and political inertia. The Red Gerard segment brings warmth, showing a grounded Olympian focused on personal growth as much as podiums. The episode balances urgency, expertise, and relatability throughout.

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For listeners:
If you want a comprehensive, human-focused breakdown of the shutdown—and a taste of Olympic spirit—this episode is for you.

Transcript

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[Yasmin Vesugian]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugian. Coming up on the show, President Trump cuts a deal with South Korea. The Fed cuts interest rates, and it is 100 days until the Winter Olympics. We are talking with the youngest ever snowboarding champ about how he's gearing up at first though. Our top story today, no end in sight for the federal government shutdown. It is day 29, by the way, but we are coming up on a series of deadlines that could ramp up the pain for everyday Americans. One of the biggest examples, SNAP benefits, food stamps. They are set to run out on November 1st. Without congressional action, 40 million low income Americans could go without enough to eat.

[Melanie Zinona]

I'm only down to one pack of chicken and I don't even know what I'm gonna do for the next months. My son won't have his milk and we won't have food. I haven't even gotten to the first of November and I'm already shaking in my boots.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Others could see their health insurance premiums rise and government workers like air traffic controllers and TSA agents may have to go without another paycheck. I want to bring in now our Capitol Hill correspondent, Melanie Zinona coming to us from the Capitol.

[Melanie Zinona]

Hi, Mel. Hi. Thanks for having me.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Great to have you on. Let's start with those SNAP benefits. 40 million Americans impacted by this. Have you talked to people? Have you heard, anecdotally, folks that could be impacted by this?

[Melanie Zinona]

You know I was actually at a food bank last Friday. It was specifically a food bank for federal workers that are impacted by the shutdown. Some of them already are concerned about their benefits going away. Some of them were trying to get on benefits for the first time ever, but were already being denied because some of these states were already pausing, even last week new signups. So yes, there is a huge concern about Americans who are about to lose their SNAP benefits. We at NBC News are hearing from a lot of SNAP recipients who say they're worried about being able to have a Thanksgiving dinner, which sounds crazy because it's three weeks away. But the parlor game in Washington right now is is the shutdown still gonna be going on when Thanksgiving hits? And the reality is it very well could be. There are no signs of movement on Capitol Hill right now. And so this critical social safety net program is at risk. We're really gonna start to see the rubber meet the road over the next week or so. That's when cards, EBT cards would be reloaded. It depends on the state. Some people get em on the 5th, some people get em later in the month. But this is something that to hit lots of states, including red states, including red districts. It's not just liberal cities where people rely on these food benefits. So this is about to be a huge, huge pain point that millions of Americans are about to suffer from.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

You do though have some lawmakers now that are trying to free up some money amidst the SNAP benefits running out, for instance, putting pressure on the USDA to keep SNAP benefits going so long as they have contingency funding. Is there a possibility that this could actually happen? Is there enough support from these lawmakers to get it done?

[Melanie Zinona]

At this moment, Republicans are really resistant to that idea initially in their view, you know, privately, this is what they'll say. It would take too much of the pressure off of Democrats to come to the table and cut a deal with them and reopen the government publicly. What they'll say is there are legal reasons. There is a SNAP contingency fund that has about 5 to 6 billion billion in it. It was congressionally appropriated for disasters, for emergencies. The USDA is arguing that this is not an emergency, this is a manufactured crisis and that Democrats could solve it immediately by reopening the government. This is now being challenged in court. 25 states are suing, AGs are suing. But there is a real debate right now about whether Republicans are going to try to free up this money, which we should point out the last time there was a prolonged shutdown The Trump administration, under his first term, did move to ensure that SNAP funds did not run dry. This has just never happened before.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

But I think it's important to note, when you mentioned the last shutdown, correct me if I'm wrong, one of the reasons why the president, at the time, President Trump moved to do that was because the shutdown was actually happening. Because he wanted border wall funding.

[Melanie Zinona]

Exactly right.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So the Republicans would make the argument now that this is not them, this is the Democrats.

[Melanie Zinona]

That's exactly right. And it goes back to the political question that, you know, I was getting at earlier. The reason why Republicans in this instance don't wanna free up that SNAP funding is because they want Democrats to come to the table and reopen the government. It was a different situation. They were the ones pushing for the shutdown. It was over a different issue. It was over border wall funding, which they did not ultimately get, but they were actually trying to alleviate pain points so that they could prolong the shutdown. And now the shoe is on the other foot here.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

And they could. Because they were in charge.

[Melanie Zinona]

Exactly. They were in charge. Trump administration is in charge now. They are finding ways to pay the troops. For example, I asked J.D. vance, the Vice president, yesterday, he was up here on Capitol Hill, are the troops gonna get pa? And he said, yes, we believe we found a way to pay them, but not everybody's gonna get paid. And then he went on to say, SNAP benefits are gonna be one of the things that runs out. So they're continuing to hold on to certain pain points.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So November 1st is obviously this big day for SNAP benefits. It's also a day when open enrollment starts for folks that are on Obamacare, which is one of the reasons why the Democrats are trying to hold out here and continue with the government shutdown, is because they don't wanna see these premiums go way up.

[Red Gerard]

Right.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Walk us through what happens with open enrollment and how this kind of plays into the narrative of the shutdown.

[Melanie Zinona]

Yeah, so these Obamacare subsidies, they were enhanced back in Covid. They expire at the end of this year, technically. But because open enrollment starts on November 1st, we're going to start to see those premiums skyrocket. Already there is some window shopping going on. People are experiencing sticker shock. There are reports that some people's premiums are going up double, triple, quadruple in some cases, and they have to start making their healthcare selections starting on November 1st. And so the concern for Democrats who are pushing to enhance these subsidies, extend these subsidies, is that some people are gonna ultimately make the choice that they can't afford their health insurance, and they're just gonna walk away and not get health insurance at all. That's why they've been fighting and attaching this funding fight to the healthcare fight, because they knew November 1st was the real critical deadline, not actually at the end of the year, despite. That's when technically the subsidies expire.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So you mentioned the shutdown back in 2019, right? 34 days. One of the reasons why eventually that sh came to pass was because of air traffic controllers and NTSA agents. Right. At a certain point, the president said, all right, we're gonna come back to the table and open back up the government. Because they were missing so many paychecks, and you had a lot of TSA workers at the time and air traffic controllers that were calling in sick. We have now missed a full paycheck for these TSA and air traffic controllers. Could they be the reason why this government gets back open if it continues on?

[Melanie Zinona]

It could be. And the thing with air travel is that it's something that members of Congress are experienced in. They travel every day, every week, although the House isn't, because they are out of session indefinitely throughout this shutdown. But most members are flying every single day. And when life starts to get inconvenienced for them, that's usually when you start to see the calculus change. And I ultimately do think that travel is one of those things that could be the straw that breaks the camel's back, especially if it is still going on during Thanksgiving because it is such a trap travel holiday already. You know, you see a spike in travel, you see a spike in delays and wait times at the airports. That could be an absolute meltdown if we are still in a shutdown weeks from now.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

My gosh, this thing feels like it's never ending.

[Melanie Zinona]

Tell me about it.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

There's just no movement. I mean, are there just the. Are the halls of the Capitol quiet? It's just. It just feels endless.

[Melanie Zinona]

It's really strange. I've covered a lot of these shutdowns before. Usually you're working around the clock. There's meetings all hours of the night. You know, I'm ordering food. I'm telling my husband I'm not going to be home in time because we're working so much. It is not the case. It is. There's barely anyone here. The House is out of session. They're taking votes sometimes to reopen the government. And even when they do, those are failing. So there's just no sense of urgency. Right now. And in fact, they're not even talking about trying to reopen the government. They're talking about whether and how to pay certain groups of federal workers. But it appears that Republicans don't even want to do that.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Melzanona, thank you.

[Melanie Zinona]

Thank you.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Let's take a quick break. And when we're back, how a snowboarding champion preps for the Olympics. Stay with us.

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[Yasmin Vesugian]

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[Yasmin Vesugian]

And we are back with here's a scoop from NBC News. Cue the music. We are officially 100 days out from the 2026 Winter Olympics. But before the Olympians pack up their skis, their snowboards, their skates and head to Milan, the hopeful athletes are here around NBC studios, including American snowboarder Red Gerard. At just 17 years of age, Red became the youngest ever Olympic snowboarding champ when he won gold at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. And the kid from Silverthorne is in gold medal position. Now at 25 years old, Red is gearing up for his third Olympics where he's going to compete in slopestyle and big air. And Red is here in studio. Hi, Red.

[Red Gerard]

Hey, how's it going?

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Thanks for being in studio.

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, I appreciate it. It's cool to see everything. Cool to be around here.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So I was watching your 2018 run in slopestyle. When you won gold, you were 17 years old. So you're the youngest ever to win to medal in that event, which is bananas. But Also, just your mindset at 17 years of age.

[Red Gerard]

Right.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Where was your head at going into it? Because I saw at the very beginning you were hugging people, which doesn't always seem to happen. Do you remember who you were hugging at that moment?

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, yeah, I hugged my team manager at the time for the snowboard company I was riding, and then maybe my coach as well. But, yeah, I mean, I think that's kind of what helped me. When I was 17, going there, I really didn't. Didn't really know how big. What the Olympics were necessarily even, and I definitely didn't know how big it was. The snowboard contest is what I grew up watching, not necessarily Olympics. So when I got there, I was. I mean, I just kind of treated it the same as I treated all the other. And, yeah, I mean, it ended up working out, and I quickly realized how much bigger and how many more people are watching the olympics.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So then 2022 comes around, right? You're, like, favored to win, to pull through, and you get fourth. You just miss the podium. And you also had some really good runs. It's not like you had. It's not like you. You didn't do well at that Olympics.

[Red Gerard]

Yeah.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Was. Was your head in a different space?

[Red Gerard]

No.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Do you feel like that there was other riders that had risen to the occasion?

[Red Gerard]

No. I mean, yeah, there's definitely a little bit of that. You know, I. The sport I picked is a judge sport, so it's not a race where you won the event that day. It's up to someone else. It's up to a panel. Judges. Yeah. So, you know, for me, like, I came there, I did that run. Whether I was. Won the event or whether I got fourth place, that was the run I was doing, and I came there and I did it. So, yeah, like, after it, I was obviously bummed, and there was, you know. Yeah, there was a lot of calls and a lot of people speculating about the judging and all that, but it's like, that's what we signed up for, and you kind of got to be. You kind of got to be good with it at the end, and it took me a second to get over it because they're definitely. You know, I do think it was a really good run. I think it probably should have been on the podium, but it's always hard for you to say that.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Yeah.

[Red Gerard]

But like I was saying before, like, I came there. Yeah. I was riding, you know, at that time for where I was at. I was riding the best I've ever ridden. And you know, I did the run I wanted, so I was really happy with it.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So you're a little older now. You're 25, still very. Let me ask you a question. Is 25, like, still young for your sport? Is it old? Where are you at in the range of riders?

[Red Gerard]

It's a thing. It is. It's like, it's young. But compared to other riders now, like, our sport has just gotten younger and younger and younger.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Now, what does training look like for an Olympian preparing to wanting to take gold?

[Red Gerard]

My summer training's a little bit different than, like, my winter training. My summer training, I try. I mean, it's really pretty much. Well, it's kind of the same as your average person. I try to go to the gym three days a week and try to stay healthy, eat healthy, and do all these things. I think other Olympians, where maybe your muscles and all that, are a lot more physically demanding, they might train a lot more in the gym or have a lot of things. But for snowboarding during the winter, the best thing you can do, or at least from my perspective, is just go snowboarding.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Are there any superstitions that you have going into this thing that you feel like you have to do to make sure that you're at your best? No shirt you wear. Is there. Are there things that you do when you get to the Olympic Village?

[Red Gerard]

Is there definitely none of that? No, definitely none of that. Like, my one little superstition. And it's not. I mean, it's like. But right before I drop in for a contest run, I just, like, bend down, touch my board, and say a couple words, and then just kind of go.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Can you share what you say?

[Red Gerard]

No, I just. I'm just like, let's land this run. It's, like, super mellow.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Yeah. What about your family? You're one of eight kids. You have a huge family. Are you guys close?

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, we're all, like, this close.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

And one of your siblings is a celebrity chef?

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, my sister Teagan, she runs a. I always forget it's a food blog. Cause it's turned into way more than that now. But she started out a food blog called Half Baked Harvest. Oh, wow.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

So do they all show up to the Olympics? Do they all come?

[Red Gerard]

Yeah. Oh, there's gonna be, like, 30 of them. It'll be insane.

[Melanie Zinona]

Really?

[Red Gerard]

It's not just the immediate family. It'll be everyone. It's. Yeah.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

And does everybody want a PCU at the Olympics? Is your mom, like, texting you like, Red, where are you?

[Red Gerard]

Are you okay? Yeah, she's gotten way. I love having my family there. I think everyone understands that I need my space and I can do my thing. But they're also just like. I always think of it like they're there on vacation and I'm just a part of their vacation at some point.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Going into this Olympics, if you were to imagine, best case scenario, walking out, what medals do you have around your neck?

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, I mean, I would definitely love to have one of the three. It'd be awesome to have the. The gold one. But obviously walking out on the podium is super ideal. But more than that, I would love to, you know, go there and kind of get that Olympic experience that I don't really think I've had. You know, I went to Pyeongchang at a really young age and won right from the start and went on a media tour and really the Olympics was over before it even started for my experience wise, which was sweet, but. And then going back to 2022, there's a pandemic going on and there was no visitors, no fans, and it was really, really hard, if not like, almost impossible to go watch other events. So, yeah, going into Milan, I really want to just try to do the best snowboarding I can and then also really just have that Olympic experience that I feel like I haven't had.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Are you at the beginning or the end?

[Melanie Zinona]

Both.

[Red Gerard]

There's Big Air will be in the beginning and slopestyle will end it off.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Oh, man. So you have to kind of wait it out.

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, right.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Do you have the nervous energy waiting it out?

[Red Gerard]

Like, I just probably a little bit. So it's kind of the last two Olympics I've gone to. Slopestyle has started it and Big Air has ended it, which I look at myself as more of a slopestyle rider. So it was always nice to get the slopestyle over with. And then you're like, all right, I can have some fun. And yeah, at some point, lock back in for Big Air. So, yeah, it'll be different going to this one and just kind of being.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Like, well, also knowing that that's your event and you have to wait for it. So what do you do to calm the anxiety?

[Red Gerard]

Hang out with friends? Play card games? Yeah, just really go average, average style. Like, I feel there's a lot of athletes and Olympians that have these crazy things they do. I couldn't be more of your average person for what I do. I try to treat my day to day as average as I can.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Red Gerard, we wish you the best of luck. I'm really pumped that you were able to come in and do this. Thank you.

[Red Gerard]

Yeah, thank you for having me.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

All right, let's get to some headlines. The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point this afternoon, the second time this year. The move might ease the pressure for some borrowers, but it comes as the US Economy battles a slowdown in hiring and inflation that just won't quit. Major companies have announced thousands of layoffs. Government workers are still furloughed, and prices in September hit their highest mark since January. And yet, Wall street, they're flying high. The boom keeps fueling record gains, with chip maker Nvidia becoming the first company ever worth $5 trillion. What happens next? Your guess is as good as the Fed's. Their next rate call comes December 10th. President Trump landed in South Korea today, where he announced that a trade deal with the country was pretty much finalized. South Korea's senior secretary for policy laid out further details of the plan. The deal would include a $350 billion investment package that President Trump had been vying for. Mutual terrorists between the US and South Korea will remain at 15%. And the tariffs on South Korea's cars and auto parts will also be cut to 15%. This is the third stop on President Trump's tour across Asia ahead of his high stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tomorrow, the leaders are expected to discuss those massive US Tariffs on Chinese imports. Hurricane Melissa threads on. After making landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, Melissa has slammed into Cuba as a Cat 3 and is now in the Atlantic Ocean with its sights on the Bahamas. Jamaican officials are still assessing the damage. 77% of the island is without power. And the Black River Hospital has been devastated by the storm. A UNICEF representative in Kingston has warned that at least a quarter million children will suffer with sanitation, with. With food and with water insecurity due to the hurricane's impact. It will be some time before the full extent of the storm's damage is known. Jamaican government officials said they were, quote, not in a position to speak about any deaths as they have not received any reports so far. Imagine this. You step into a theater for a Broadway musical. You find your seat, you get your playbill booklet in hand, then you open it and there has been a cast change. Usually a little leaflet slips out telling you that, let's say Trisha Paytas is out sick for her role as Maxine Dean in the Beetlejuice musical, so her understudy's gonna fill in. But that could all change as Broadway plans to replace these cast change slips with QR codes for understudies. These slips are their 15 minutes of fame and one of the rare opportunities they get recognition. While there are environmental benefits to this change, many theater enthusiasts are mourning the loss of this Broadway tradition. All right, that is gonna do it for us at Here's a scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, then like us, back wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator/Announcer]

This week on Meet the Press. As the government shutdown continues with no end in sight, Kristen Wilker sits down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, plus Senator Ruben Gallego and a Meet the Moment conversation with Marcus Samuelson this week on Meet the Press. Listen to the full episode now. Wherever you get your podcasts.