Consider This from NPR

Migrants from faraway countries are stuck in Belarus, just across its border with Poland. They've traveled there to seek asylum in the EU. But Poland has refused to accept them.

How did they get there? They were invited — and in some cases, their travel facilitated — by the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. EU leaders say Lukashenko and his backers in Russia are 'weaponizing' migration in retaliation for sanctions placed on Belarus last year. Those sanctions came after the EU accused Lukashenko of rigging his most recent election.

Now, many hundreds of migrants are stuck on the Belarus side of the border. There have been at least nine recorded deaths, but observers think there have been many more. Migrants were reportedly moved from makeshift camps outdoors to a government-run shelter on Thursday, though it's unclear what Belarus plans to do with them next.

NPR international correspondent Rob Schmitz has seen the crisis up close. This episode is a collection of his reporting. Find more of it here, and see photos from the border on NPR's Picture Show.

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Afghanistan is facing its worst drought in decades, but that's not the only reason it is on the verge of a hunger crisis. After the Taliban took over, much of the country's international development aid was suspended, and the United States froze $9.5 billion in Afghan government assets. The economy has plummeted.

Richard Trenchard, country director for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan, explains what he's heard from farmers and herders.

PBS NewsHour special correspondent Jane Ferguson recently returned from a reporting trip in the country, where she saw hospital wards filling up with malnourished babies and toddlers.

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This week's virtual summit between President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping may have restored a tone of respect between the world's two largest powers, but U.S. intelligence is telling a different story.

NPR's Greg Myre reports on a national security conference held in Georgia last month where former and current U.S. intelligence officers were surprisingly candid about what they see as the biggest growing threat: China.

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The holiday shopping season is basically here. But a lot of things that Americans want to buy are not. Now the race is on to get goods off ships and into stores and warehouses — before it's too late.

NPRs Scott Horsley reports some retailers are already feeling the pinch from less inventory and higher shipping costs.

Even if goods do make it into the U.S., many are sitting in warehouses, which are bursting at the seams. NPR's Alina Selyukh explains why.

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Thousands of youth activists from all over the world gathered in Scotland this week for the COP26 UN climate summit. They say climate change is already transforming their countries — and that their generation has the most to lose if greater action isn't taken.

This episode contains reporting from Ari Shapiro in Glasgow, with production and editing by Mia Venkat, Noah Caldwell, and Ashley Brown.

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Who is to blame for the deaths of nine people at the Astroworld Festival last Friday? Houston police have opened a criminal investigation and concertgoers have already filed more than 20 lawsuits against the event organizers and rapper Travis Scott, who continued to perform for more than half an hour after officials declared a mass casualty event.

Crowd safety expert Keith Still explains the science behind how a concert crowd can transform into an uncontrollable mass that threatens human life.

Houston Chronicle music critic Joey Guerra, who attended the festival, grapples with how music fans are processing the tragedy.

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Following the Columbine shooting in April of 1999, top leaders of the National Rifle Association huddled in private to discuss their public response to the tragedy.

Secret tapes of those deliberations were obtained by NPR investigative correspondent Tim Mak. He explains what's revealed in the tapes: that the group considered a much different stance than the one it ultimately took — a stance that would help set the stage for decades of debate about gun violence in America.

Tim Mak is also author of the book Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA.

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Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse is not just the next chapter of his company: it's the next chapter of the internet. There are a lot of questions about what role Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, should play in building that future.

Meta's Vice President of metaverse, Vishal Shah, argues that the company has learned from its struggle to moderate content on Facebook, and will build safety and privacy into the metaverse.

Jason Moore — Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College teaching television and virtual reality — explains how he uses the metaverse today.

And Benedict Evans, an independent technology analyst, argues that the metaverse may never emerge as one cohesive movement. Read his essay about Facebook's rebrand: Metabrand.

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Now that the hot takes have cooled after Virginia's gubernatorial election, NPR correspondents Anya Kamenetz and Tamara Keith dissect the role of education in the race — and why it was about way more than critical race theory.

Read more from Anya here.

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Waking up at dawn with the bakers and the baristas may not be for everyone — especially night owls. Whether you have to wake up early, or you'd like to become more of a morning lark, here are a few habits that can help you set yourself up for success at that first alarm.

In this episode of NPR's Life Kit, host Kavitha George speaks with early risers who have tips to help adjust one's biological clock.

Listen to more episode's of Life Kit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or NPR One.

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