Post Reports

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Inside TikTok's extraordinary almost-deal with the U.S. Jun 03, 2024

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TikTok offered the Biden administration a kill switch. Today on “Post Reports,” why the U.S. government declined.

In 2022, TikTok offered the U.S. government an extraordinary deal.

The social media app – owned by a Chinese company – said it would let federal officials pick its U.S. board of directors, would give the government veto power over each new hire and would pay an American company that contracts with the Defense Department to monitor its source code.

The Biden administration, however, went its own way.

Today on “Post Reports,” tech reporter Drew Harwell takes host Elahe Izadi behind the scenes of the U.S. government’s decision to pass on TikTok’s proposal.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here and check out this story about the health consequences of loud restaurants.

The Campaign Moment: The politics of the Trump guilty verdict May 31, 2024

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It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign.

This week is a special episode dedicated to the questions raised by having a presidential candidate and former U.S. president who is now a felon. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Ashley Parker, his colleague on the politics team, sit down with Post Reports co-host Elahe Izadi.

They talk about the politics of Donald Trump’s guilty verdict, how Republicans and Democrats are reacting to it, and the politicization of the rule of law.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

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

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Donald Trump, convicted felon May 31, 2024

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A New York jury convicted former president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his hush money trial. Tonight on “Post Reports,” the scene in the Manhattan courtroom. And what comes next.

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Donald Trump is now the first former U.S. president to be tried and found guilty of a crime, after a New York jury convicted him on Thursday of falsifying business records in his hush money case.

The trial lasted seven weeks. The 12-person jury unanimously agreed on the verdict after deliberating for two days, finding that Trump falsified records to cover up a $130,000 payment made to an adult-film actress before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with him years earlier.

Politics reporter Isaac Arnsdorf was in the courthouse as the verdict was read. Tonight on “Post Reports,” he talks with host Elahe Izadi about that moment, and what comes next.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski.

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The escalating attacks in Gaza May 30, 2024

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How far-right Israeli settlers are blocking aid to Gaza. And, why humanitarian aid has become politicized.

Right-wing Israeli settlers stepped up their attacks on aid trucks passing through the West Bank this month, blocking food and aid from reaching Gaza as humanitarian groups warn that the enclave is sinking deeper into famine.

The Post’s Loveday Morris went to a border crossing to see these blockades in real time. Today, we break down what this means for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region, and how aid has become so politicized.

Today’s episode was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Erin Cunningham.

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Get ready for a hot AI summer May 29, 2024

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Crypto, AI and clean-tech manufacturing are pushing America’s power grid to the brink. Aging utilities can’t keep up. On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we look into who will be left to pay the price.

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Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power this summer, as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories eat up what the country’s aging power grid churns out.

Today on “Post Reports,” business reporter Evan Halper explains what’s putting the power grid under so much strain, what solutions the government and Big Tech are proposing, and who will foot the bill.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Peter Bresnan, with help from Monica Campbell. It was mixed by Sean Carter.

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India’s historic election May 28, 2024

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India’s general election ends this weekend, with Prime Minister Nerendra Modi leading the polls. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack where Modi’s support comes from and what a win for his party would mean for the world’s largest democracy.

For more than a month, people across India have been voting in this year's general election. It’s the largest the world has ever seen, and Prime Minister Nerendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party are ahead in polls by a wide margin. A lot of Modi’s support is coming from women – largely because they are in favor of his Hindu nationalist platform and because his party has encouraged women to work. He has also been able to reach young voters through his social media campaigning.

But many see India’s struggling economy and his Hindu nationalism as reasons to vote him out – particularly because attacks against Muslims have increased during his time in office. An alliance of more than two dozen parties is running against him, but they’ve struggled to stay organized and make gains.

Correspondent Karishma Mehrotra reports from New Delhi on what it’s been like on the campaign trail and what it could mean to have Modi lead for a third term.

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon and Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter.

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Deep Reads: In Milwaukee, a patio becomes a battleground for Black public housing tenants May 27, 2024

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A community organizer and several residents of public housing in Milwaukee are trying to get attention from their representatives in government. Low-income Black voters, like those at College Court, are often discussed by political pundits as key to President Biden’s reelection campaign against former president Donald Trump. The residents are facing issues like bedbugs, violence, public spillover of mental illness and backlogged maintenance issues, which are all seemingly intractable toan overwhelmed housing authority. The promise of public housing, where rent was typically capped at 30 percent of tenants’ incomes, appears tono longer include safety. The reasons lie in a tangle of acronyms and funding streams, regulations and deputy directors, good intentions followed by fine print and excuses.

This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Jose A. Del Real. Audio narration comes from our partners at Noa, an app offering curated audio articles.

The Campaign Moment: Down-ballot Dems try to lift Biden May 24, 2024

Show notes

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign.

Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, is out sick this week, so national political reporter Michael Scherer and White House reporter Tyler Pager join Martine Powers this week.

They talk about how the Biden campaign may need more popular Democratic candidates down ballot to boost turnout in key battleground states, Donald Trump’s claims that President Biden was prepared to “take me out” when the Department of Justice raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022, and the controversy swirling around political-flag-flying at Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s homes.

Today’s show was produced by Ted Muldoon and Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy.

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

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The ripple effects of the coup in Niger May 23, 2024

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Niger has been a key U.S. ally in West Africa in the fight against growing threats from Islamist extremist groups. But a military coup last July soured that relationship. Now, the U.S. says it will withdraw from the country by mid-September.

For more than a decade, the U.S. military presence in Niger has enabled U.S. intelligence gathering, monitoring and support to Niger, as it works to contain extremist groups.

After last year’s coup, many Nigeriens support their country’s new leadership, hoping they can better fight violence from these groups. But discussions between the United States and Niger’s military junta have broken down.

Today on “Post Reports,” West Africa bureau chief Rachel Chason shares what she learned in an exclusive interview with Niger’s prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, and what this could all mean for Nigerien and American national security interests.

U.S. lays out plans for withdrawing troops from Niger

U.S. threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader says

Why the Islamic State is surging in Africa

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter.

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A vote for the soul of the Republican Party May 22, 2024

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In a place with a long history of hate, a rebel Republican bloc mobilizes against far-right extremism within the local party.

A generation ago, community activists were able to bankrupt and push out a white supremacist hate group that took root among the tall pines and crystal lakes of North Idaho. It was a hard-fought triumph — one North Idaho residents took pride in.

But today, some of those activists and residents worry that hateful ideologies are returning to their region.

This time, they say, the threat is no longer on the fringes of society, dressed in Nazi garb at a hideout in the woods. Instead, they say they see it in the leadership of the local Republican Party, which has mirrored the lurch to the right of the national conservative movement during the Trump era on matters of race, religion and sexuality. The bigotry of the past, they say, now has mainstream political cover.

Today on “Post Reports,” extremism and domestic terrorism reporter Hannah Allam talks with host Martine Powers about the self-described “traditional” Republicans who spent the past two years planning to wrest back control from leaders they accused of steering the local GOP toward extremism — charges those officials vehemently denied. And Hannah gives an update on their plight.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the episode.

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