The 2022 midterm elections saw the Democrats break records on the federal and state levels.

Both Republican and Democratic parties will be facing busy legislative sessions this year, with access to abortion, spiking gas prices, an opioid epidemic, and parental choice all expected to be on the docket.

We assemble a panel of reporters from Washington, Texas, and California to better understand the key issues in state government this year and how they could influence national politics.

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We live a lot of our lives on autopilot, moving through daily routines, obligations, or habits.

But with a new year comes a new opportunity to pause, reset, and make a change.

Once we decide what changes, or resolutions we want to make in the new year, how do we stick with them?

We discuss our habits and how we can be successful at sticking to those New Year's resolutions.

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It's been 25 years since the release of The Spice Girls' second album, "Spiceworld." The record, released on November 1, 1997, went five times platinum.

The group that popularized the phrase "Girl Power," the Spice Girls are the best-selling girl group of all time.

But before the Spice Girls, there were many others. From The Andrew Sisters to The Supremes, we can trace the evolution of the girl group throughout music's history.

In this episode the 1A Record Club takes a look at the influence of "Spiceworld" and the cultural phenomenon of girl groups.

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The end of the year is a fertile time for reflection to look back on where we've been. The books we've read and loved in a year can tell us all kinds of things—what we've learned, how we've felt, and how we were changed when the story was over.

We round up some of the best books of the year and more with Andrew Limbong, reporter for NPR's Arts and Culture desk and host of the Book of the Day podcast; and book influencer Hunter McLendon.

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In the 1979 novel "Kindred," author Octavia Butler sent her main character – a Black woman – back to the antebellum south of the 1800s.

The sci-fi book is a modern classic – a cornerstone of afro-futurism that made waves in a genre dominated by white men. "Kindred" is still being discovered by new readers today – and by viewers. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins adapted "Kindred" into a new FX series of the same name on Hulu.

We speak with Jacobs-Jenkins about making the first on-screen adaptation of the late, and pioneering Octavia Butler's work and why it still resonates with readers, and now viewers, decades later.

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Multigenerational living is by no means a new arrangement. But it has become more common in recent years. The number of Americans living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since 1971, according to Pew Research Center.

Financial issues were cited as the top reason people chose to live in multigenerational households. It can also benefit older adults who need assistance, parents in need of childcare, and young adults not yet ready to strike out on their own.

We talk about the joys, pains, and economic gains of multigenerational households.

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You might know him from the television program "Downtown Abbey" Or the film adaptation of the beloved children's story Paddington. Or maybe from the time he played Robert DeNiro's leg.

Well, however you know Hugh Bonneville, chances are you're a fan.

He's had a long and successful career as an actor. And now, he's sharing memories from life in a new book titled "Playing Under the Piano: From Downtown to Darkest Peru."

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The House Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the Capitol released its final report this week, recommending that Donald Trump be prosecuted by the Justice Department on four criminal counts.

A massive winter storm is moving its way through the country and affecting holiday travel for millions of Americans.

Meanwhile, also this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the U.S. this week to address a special joint session of Congress asking for continued support in his country's war against Russia.

We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.

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The Biden Administration announced plans to reduce homelessness in the U.S. by 25 percent by 2025.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a state of emergency on homelessness as her first act in office. She also announced a program launching next week that will move people off the street and into hotels and motels.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams began allowing officials to involuntarily hospitalize people they deemed to be in a psychiatric crisis.

We discuss the best way to address unhoused populations, and dig into the administration's plan.

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More than 100,000 people died last year in America from a drug overdose, most of which involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Fentanyl is deadly and it's winding up in street drugs of all kinds: heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and counterfeit Adderall.

We discuss the dangers of fentanyl and harm reduction solutions, like naloxone and fentanyl testing strips, that can keep everyone safer.

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