Accessibility links

NPR Transcripts

Recently-published stories may not immediately appear in this index of transcripts. Transcripts are typically completed and published 10-48 hours after audio stories are published. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. If you're having trouble finding a transcript for a story published prior to the past 48 hours, you can review the tips on our help pages or contact us for assistance. For more information on Transcripts and other accessibility tools visit NPR’s Accessibility Page.

Hackers are after your water. How this town defends against them.

Published on September 8, 2025

Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant.Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory.  But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks.  The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real.Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water. And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country.Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow. 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 Alejandra Marquez Janse.It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

President Trump asks Supreme Court to uphold tariffs

Published on September 8, 2025

President Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold his authority to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. We discuss the implications of a possible ruling — if the court strikes down his tariffs and if it says Trump’s tariffs are legal.This episode: political correspondent Ashley Lopez, White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell & Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

Trump and Chicago, Trump Assassination Attempt Trial, Russia Ukraine Drone Attacks

Published on September 8, 2025

President Trump walks back a weekend social media post warning Chicago is “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” while the city braces for possible immigration crackdowns and National Guard deployment. Jury selection begins for Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump, as he represents himself in court. And Russia launches its largest drone assault of the war, striking a government building in Kyiv and testing the limits of U.S. mediation.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Gigi Douban, Russell Lewis, Miguel Macias, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woefle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Morning Edition

Trial begins for man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump

Published on September 8, 2025

Ryan Routh was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted him holding a gun and fired on him when Trump was golfing at his West Palm Beach golf club in September. He faces up to life in prison.

Morning Edition

Israel cracks down even further on incoming aid to Gaza

Published on September 8, 2025

Israel is increasing restrictions on aid to Gaza, as aid organizations call on the country to flood Gaza with food and medicine to avert further catastrophe.

How AI slop is clogging your brain

Published on September 8, 2025

Bizarre videos, uncanny photos, and Luigi Mangoine's likeness on Shein...? AI slop is taking over the web. It's putting money in people's pockets, and driving them offline, too. This is AI + U. Each Monday this month, Brittany is exploring how you are already seeing the impacts of AI. Artificial Intelligence has become a constant in ways we can and can't see...and for the next few weeks we're zeroing in on how AI affects our daily lives.Brittany chats with Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell and freelance writer Emma Marris about the limits of AI creativity and what this 'slop' is doing to us on and offline.

In the quest to maximize hydration, do you really need extra electrolytes?

Published on September 8, 2025

U.S. consumers spend more than $10 billion a year on sports drinks, according to Beverage Industry, a trade publication. And we can’t lie that sometimes a Gatorade or electrolyte tablet sounds really appealing in the quest to hydrate daily – especially since it’s been a very hot, long summer. But the question is: Are we even sweating enough to warrant all these sugary electrolyte-filled drinks? NPR health correspondent Pien Huang has been on the case, and she brings us answers she’s racked up in her reporting today.Read more of Pien’s reporting on electrolytes and hydration.Interested in more consumer health or human biology stories? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we may feature it in an upcoming episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Teamwork actually does make the dream work

Published on September 8, 2025

Behavioral scientist Jon Levy’s new book — Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius — argues that, in the workplace, leadership is overrated and teamwork is underrated. Today on the show: How super chickens and NBA All-Stars demonstrate the perils of individual performance.Related episodes: Why women make great bosses The Virtual Office The Science of HoopsFor sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

‘The Paper’ is an ‘Office’ spinoff where journalism takes the lede

Published on September 8, 2025

The Paper is a spinoff of The Office, and like its predecessor, it’s a mockumentary about a workplace that's facing financial and cultural headwinds. The Peacock series focuses on a local newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, and stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, and Chelsea Frei – and brings back a familiar face from The Office, Oscar Nuñez.

What happens when democracies use military force to occupy their own territory?

Published on September 7, 2025

Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same post, seemingly threatened “WAR” in Chicago; later, the president indicated that sending in troops would be to clean up cities, not to go to war. But weeks of talk of sending federal troops into Chicago has set the city on edge.NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied political violence for 30 years, and who worries his city could be a powder keg.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 and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

All Things Considered

Why the recent unemployment numbers matter

Published on September 7, 2025

The Labor Department released another disappointing jobs report this past week. A month ago, a government number cruncher got fired for that. How much faith should be put in the government's economic data?

All Things Considered

Key tips for getting along with roommates

Published on September 7, 2025

Sharing your living space with roommates is not easy. NPR's Life Kit has tips for keeping relationships with your roommates copacetic.

Weekend Edition Sunday

Colombia's lone Amazon port faces drying river and rising tensions with Peru

Published on September 7, 2025

Colombia's only Amazon port town could soon be cut off from the river that keeps it alive. As drought and a shifting river spark a tense border dispute with Peru, locals are scrambling to adapt—and politicians are raising flags, literally.

Weekend Edition Sunday

Solar flares are hotter than previously thought

Published on September 7, 2025

Solar flares can be many times the size of Earth and can damage things like satellites. A new study suggests that eruptions from the sun can be even hotter than researchers thought.

Weekend Edition Sunday

'The Long Walk' brings Stephen King's first novel to the movies

Published on September 7, 2025

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with director Francis Lawrence about adapting Stephen King's first completed novel "The Long Walk" into a film, six decades since the story was written.

Weekend Edition Sunday

Sunday Puzzle: Common denominator

Published on September 7, 2025

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz along with listener Cynthia Rose of Littleton, Colorado.

When the Oil Runs Dry

Published on September 7, 2025

Drilling for oil has been going on in the US for over 150 years. Across the country we have bored millions of holes in the ground to pump the liquid gold that has fueled the country's energy appetite. But those wells don’t last forever. When the oil begins to dry up, wells are supposed to be plugged to prevent toxic, climate-altering chemicals from escaping. So why then is there, by some estimates, more than 2 million unplugged abandoned wells around the country? Today on The Sunday Story, NPR correspondent Camila Domonoske joins to talk about the lingering effects of these old wells and why it's so hard to find a long-term fix.

All Things Considered

Massachusetts makes progress on regional health care coalition

Published on September 6, 2025

The Boston Globe's Jason Laughlin explains how Massachusetts and other states are forming independent healthcare coalitions to fill in the gap on healthcare policy left by sweeping federal changes.

All Things Considered

A week in Beijing shows Putin is keeping China very close

Published on September 6, 2025

Russian president Vladimir Putin spent the week in China, attending a summit and very publicly aligning himself with Xi Jinping. Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, explains why this matters to the US and Ukraine.

Feds Eye More Cities, Hyundai Plant Raid, Influential Pastor

Published on September 6, 2025

The Trump administration is eying more cities even as it builds up a National Guard presence near Chicago and fights a lawsuit by Los Angeles. Federal immigration authorities arrested nearly 500 workers they said were in the U.S. illegally at a South Korean battery maker's Georgia construction site. An Idaho pastor is gaining influence among national Republicans and expanding his presence in Washington, D.C.