Post Reports

Latest Episodes:

Prince Harry's tabloid saga Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

On Wednesday, Rupert Murdoch’s British media group agreed to pay “substantial damages” and apologized to Prince Harry as part of a settlement agreement over claims that the paper illegally intruded into the prince’s life. Harry is one of many celebrities and politicians who have sued Murdoch’s papers for illegally obtaining private information – the claims stretch back to 2011, when it was first revealed that journalists at the tabloids might be hacking phones.

Martine speaks with democracy reporter Sarah Ellison about why Prince Harry finally decided to settle and what this outcome means for the Murdochs.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How Trump resurrected TikTok Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

It’s not over for TikTok. Or is it? Today on “Post Reports,” why the app went dark in the United States, how it came back and who controls its fate.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law banning TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sold to an American buyer.

On Sunday, the popular video-sharing app went dark, only to come back later that night. And on Monday, Trump signed an executive order to halt the ban.

Today on “Post Reports,” tech reporter Drew Harwell digs into the national security arguments that swayed the court’s decision, why Trump’s opinion on the app has flip-flopped and why users of the platform might still feel like they’re in purgatory.

And, we hear from Dave Jorgenson, the face of The Washington Post’s TikTok team, about how TikTok users are feeling amid the turmoil.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy and Bishop Sand. It was mixed by Sam Bair and edited by Lucy Perkins and Monica Campbell. Thanks also to Alexis Fitts.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Check out a live podcast taping that will be hosted by Martine on Jan. 25 about the enduring legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump returns Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Crowds of Trump supporters in Washington were supposed to watch the inauguration on the National Mall. But when plans changed last-minute because of freezing temperatures, the president’s fans crowded instead into indoor space at Capital One Arena and nearby bars.

At the same time, Trump was getting sworn in at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, flanked by tech billionaires and members of his proposed Cabinet.

On today’s episode, host Martine Powers talks with chief correspondent Dan Balz about the unusual inauguration, Trump’s plans for his presidency and what he’s already doing to make them a reality.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Reena Flores. Thanks to Annah Aschbrenner.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Check out a live podcast taping that will be hosted by Martine on Jan. 25 about the enduring legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Retropolis: The presidential inauguration that made everyone sick Jan 18, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode of “Post Reports,” columnist Petula Dvorak reads her first installment of The Post’s revealing history column, Retropolis.

James Buchanan barely won the presidency. The nation was roiling in the debate over slavery. So when Buchanan became gravely ill before his inaugural address, it wasn’t a stretch to suspect an assassination attempt. The presidential entourage all stayed at the posh National Hotel on Capitol Hill and they fell ill, too. It hit more than 400 guests of the hotel and more than 30 died. It became known as the mysterious National Hotel Disease and confounded Washington for months.

This column details the story of the sickness and the doctors and detectives who searched for the cause.

The piece was reported, written and read by Petula Dvorak. Audio production and original music by Bishop Sand.

The Campaign Moment: Hegseth and Bondi go to Washington Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author of The Campaign Moment newsletter talks with national security reporter Abby Hauslohner and national politics reporter Hannah Knowles about the most heated exchanges that Trump’s picks for defense secretary and attorney general, Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi, faced during their Senate confirmation hearings. They also talk about what to expect if the historic ceasefire deal goes into effect over the weekend and what to watch for at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Rennie Svirnovskiy, who also mixed the episode. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Rachel Van Dongen.

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

A ceasefire hangs in the balance Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

After months of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. But its fate is already in doubt.

If the agreement takes effect as planned Sunday, an initial 42-day ceasefire would bring Gaza’s residents some relief from Israeli attacks that have killed more than 46,700 people there, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry’s toll does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

In exchange, Hamas has agreed to release 33 of the hostages it kidnapped during its Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

The status of the deal is not certain: On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office cast doubt on whether it would be formally approved. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have killed at least 77 people in the Gaza Strip since the deal was announced, according to Gaza’s civil defense spokesman. At least 25 women and 21 children were reported to be among the dead.

Today on “Post Reports,” correspondent Claire Parker joins us from Jerusalem to talk about the factors that finally led to a ceasefire agreement – and what the road ahead could look like.

Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Monica Campbell with help from Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair.Thanks to Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Miriam Berger, Erin Cunningham and Alan Sipress.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How to reset your relationship with your phone Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

The 2024 election pushed some people to put down their phones more and tune out of the news. But author Catherine Price started thinking about breaking up with her phone years ago, after realizing she was focusing on it instead of her newborn daughter.

“Our devices and their apps are designed to fragment our attention, whether it is taking us out of our real-life experience and getting us to focus our attention even momentarily on the phone itself or it's what we do within apps where we are looking at different pieces of content in a particular feed,” Price told “Post Reports” co-host Elahe Izadi.

After realizing how detrimental her phone was to her life, she wrote “How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life.” The book details the negative impact our phones can have on our attention and mental health and provides advice for how to create a healthier relationship with them.

“It really has made me feel more alive,” Price said. “It encouraged me to ask questions that have resulted in me tapping into this broader community of people I never would have met and discovering this joy.”

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair.

You can find more writing by Price at her Substack here.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Arrested by AI Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

After two men brutally assaulted a security guard on a train platform in St. Louis, police detectives faced a daunting challenge: identifying the attackers. Police turned to facial recognition technology, feeding a blurry image from a small surveillance camera into the software.

The software gave them the mugshot of a man who says he had nothing to do with the crime. Christopher Gatlin spent over a year in jail awaiting trial before the case was dropped.

Gatlin is one of at least eight people in the United States who have been wrongfully arrested after being identified by facial recognition technology. All of those cases were eventually dropped by prosecutors – but only after the suspects fought to clear their names.

Business and tech investigations reporter Doug MacMillan unpacks his research into how police are using AI-driven facial recognition and how people like Gatlin have been wrongfully arrested as a result.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff and Trinity Webster-Bass. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Evelyn Larrubia. Thank you to David Ovalle and Aaron Schaffer.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Grief (and love) in L.A. Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

Today, when disaster hits home. Weather editor Paulina Firozi and Brianna Sacks, an extreme weather and disaster reporter, are Post colleagues. We'll hear how they and others are grappling with the devastation in L.A.

When several wildfires began ripping through parts of Los Angeles County on Jan. 7, The Post’s Brianna Sacks, an extreme weather and disaster reporter, began documenting the destruction. Then the story turned personal as her own father’s house in Pacific Palisades burned down.

Since Tuesday, the Palisades Fire has burned over 23,000 acres. The Eaton Fire, which erupted to the northeast, has burned more than 14,000 acres, according to Cal Fire, while the Hurst Fire, burning in the north, has spread to over 700 acres.

At least 24 people have been killed in the fires.

Today on “Post Reports,” Brianna speaks with weather editor Paulina Firozi, also from Los Angeles, about the wildfires and what it has meant to see their childhood neighborhoods erased. We also hear from other Angelenos about how they are grappling with loss — and finding hope.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was mixed by Sam Bair and edited by Monica Campbell and Renita Jablonski. Thanks also to Zach Goldfarb, Juliet Eilperin, Maggie Penman and Allison Michaels.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The Campaign Moment: Trump, the unpunished felon Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

Senior political reporter Aaron Blake talks with The Post’s White House editor, Naftali Bendavid, and national political reporter Maeve Reston about the politics of Trump’s sentencing in the New York hush money case. They also dig into how Trump is trying to pin the Los Angeles wildfires on Democrats and look ahead to next week’s Senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Rachel Van Dongen and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy.

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected