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More than 300,000 federal workers have left government service since the start of the second Trump administration.
Some were laid off by the administration. Some took buyouts. Some walked out. The cuts hit every major agency — from the State Department to the Justice Department.
That doesn’t mean things have been easy for those still working for the government. Last week, the Office of Personnel Management proposed requiring all federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements that would prevent them from sharing internal government information.
We sit down to talk about how those cuts are affecting the workers who remained.
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Smart phones. Smart cars. Smart speakers. Web browsers. Social media. Artificial Intelligence.
Technologies we rely on every day generate a massive amount of information about what we do, where we go, what we like, and who we are. That data can make life very convenient — your rideshare app knows where you want go before you enter an address, you only see ads for products you’re already interested in buying, videos on subjects you enjoy are already auto-populated in your feed.
But at what cost? What’s the tradeoff?
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson is a professor of law at the George Washington University School of Law and a national surveillance expert. He says that the rise of the self-surveillance state has big ramifications for Americans’ personal freedoms and America’s democratic values.
We sit down with him to talk about how are data is being used against us and about his books, “Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance.”
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Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has fashioned the Department of Justice into a tool he can wield against his enemies.
So far, Trump has installed his personal lawyer as the top official. He’s culled the ranks of career prosecutors. And he’s pressured U.S. attorneys into bringing cases against people he considers political enemies.
In recent months, grand juries have acted as the last line of defense against his full weaponization of the justice system — refusing to indict in cases where the government hasn’t proven a crime has been committed.
In this latest installment of our weekly politics series, “If You Can Keep It,” what do recent high-profile grand jury proceedings tell us about accountability at the Justice Department?
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The US and Iran appear to be close to a peace deal. That’s according to US officials, but it’s still awaiting President Trump approval. He’s reviewing the details today.
The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and open talks over the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
We unpack the other big news of the week: Is the U.S ready for the Ebola outbreak? Conflict also erupted outside an ICE detention center in New Jersey, where detainees are on a hunger and labor strike. And major results out of the Texas runoff election.
And for this week’s global news, we have some special guests from the BBC and The Global Story podcast from the BBC to take us through some international news.
The Trump administration is continuing to squeeze Cuba’s communist regime with sanctions as it prepares for the possible collapse of the island’s totalitarian government as early as this summer, according to U.S officials.
And in another week of whiplash in the negotiations between the US and Iran, the countries appear on the cusp of a peace deal. The agreement would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and commit to negotiating Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Though it still needs President Trump’s approval.
We also talk Europe, and how the E.U is dealing with multiple diplomatic challenges from the far right to Russia to the Trump administration.
We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.
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The official start of summer movie season is here. As the temperatures heat up, the box office is already off to a blazing start.
Already in 2026, the film industry is experiencing its strongest theatrical rebound since the pandemic, after years of bad news. That’s thanks to films like The Devil Wears Prada 2 and the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.
We hear from movie critics what films they’ll be watching, in the theater and at the box office.
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Chronic pelvic and vulvovaginal pain is surprisingly common among women of all ages. In fact, 1 in 3 women will experience a pelvic floor disorder at some point in their lifetimes.
So, why is it so difficult to receive diagnosis and treatment for these conditions? And why don’t we talk about our pain ‘down there’ in general?
In this installment in our series, “In Good Health,” we sit down with a panel of experts to talk about it.
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The U.S. is facing a steep healthcare worker shortage. A 2025 federal analysis projected that by 2038, 30 out of 35 physician specialties will be hurting for practitioners, with over 140,000 roles left unfilled. And for nurses, that shortage is projected to be over 108,000.
And last week, 25 states plus the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education over new federal student loan limits on graduate degrees. Those caps apply to programs that could graduate workers into these threatened health care fields.
But Education Secretary Linda McMahon says these worries are overblown and that these new rules aim to force colleges to lower tuition rates.
So, what do these changes really mean for the future of our healthcare workforce in the U.S.?
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What does it mean to matter — to loved ones, to your community, at your job?
Feeling like we have value and purpose in life is something humans inherently crave. But recent work on the topic takes this a step further – arguing that it is critical to our very existence. As critical as our need for sleep, food, and air.
Why does it matter if we matter? We sit down with two experts to try and answer that question.
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Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lost his state’s GOP primary to a Trump-backed candidate this week. The seven-term congressman became a target for the president over the former’s desire to release the files related to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thomas Massie and Bill Cassidy are now lame-duck Republicans after losing their primaries to Trump-backed challengers. Where does that leave razor-thin margins in Congress?
President Donald Trump’s seemingly doomed lawsuit against the IRS has resolved itself in an unprecedented way this week. A settlement in the case includes a clause that precludes the agency from investigating the president, his family, and his businesses ever again.
And Trump allies get a $1.8 billion boost in the form of a new so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund paid for by taxpayers. That money could be giving pardoned January 6 insurrectionists payouts – and is drawing bipartisan ire.
And, in global news, Iranian officials are accusing the U.S. of getting ready to start a new war as the American military makes moves in the Middle East. Both parties mull a new proposal, and familiar messaging from the White House. Also this week, Iran formalizes a plan to make money on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself in a precarious political situation this week as Knesset, votes to dissolve itself ahead of another election. Now, Netanyahu must find a way to keep his right-wing coalition from collapsing amid pressure from his nation’s ultra-orthodox parties.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China to meet with its president, Xi Jinping, a week after President Donald Trump made the same trip.
We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.
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A war the president promised would last weeks is now in its third month. And the ripple effects are rocking the global economy.
The Strait of Hormuz is still closed to most ships. Iran, the U.S., and Israel don’t look ready for a peace deal. Iran’s air force and navy are severely damaged. But recent intelligence reports say the regime has control of more missiles and weapons systems than the Trump administration has acknowledged, and that it’s taking advantage of the ceasefire to rearm.
Meanwhile, Iranians are living under a blockade. Gulf states are absorbing the shock of Iranian missiles and of economic uncertainty.
What does the Middle East look like now? Who wins, who loses, and what happens to American influence in a region it just turned upside down? Luckily, we know just the man to ask.
Gregg Carlstrom’s is a name that might be familiar to listeners of the News Roundup. He’s been The Economist’s Middle East correspondent since 2010. He’s also the author of the book, “How long will Israel survive? The threat from within.” We sit down with him to talk through the latest in the region.
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