Three weeks into the US and Israel's war with Iran, the tensions continue to escalate. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon would seek additional funding for the war -- to the tune of $200 billion.

Despite mixed messaging on the aims of the war, President Trump says he will decide when the conflict is over. 

But not everyone thinks it will be that easy.

Thomas Wright served as senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council under President Biden. In a recent article in The Atlantic, he argues that any off-ramp in Iran is disappearing, and increases the risk that the US will be involved in a prolonged conflict.


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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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In red states and blue states, in suburbs and cities and in rural communities, officials from the Department of Homeland Security are scouting out real estate.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants to significantly expand its detention capacity, to help support President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

NPR’s Jasmine Garsd and Kate Dario of New Hampshire Public Radio have been talking with people in communities slated to host mass detention facilities. They’ve found fierce, bipartisan opposition to the plans.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Eric Westervelt and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has brought his Muslim faith to the center of his political life, but his effort has faced a backlash.


During this Ramadan he’s hosted half a dozen public prayers and celebrations, the latest Monday night when he broke fast with incarcerated men at Rikers Island.

NPR’s Brian Mann reports on how Mamdani’s efforts to celebrate his Muslim faith and the backlash that has accompanied those efforts. 

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This episode was produced by Jason Fuller, Sarah Ventre and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Jason DeRose, Andrea de Leon, Daniel Burke and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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President Trump launched the war against Iran without building a coalition of U.S. allies.

Only now is the president trying to enlist allies to help end Iran’s effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. 


And many of the countries he’s asked – are rejecting Trump’s request.

Can the U.S. get its allies to help after going to war with Iran, and if they do, can the Strait of Hormuz really be secured?

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This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Rebekah Metzler and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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For many Iranians living in the U.S., the war against Iran was initially greeted with hope. Hope that the current regime might fall. But as the war stretches on, the uncertainty around it has also given way to another feeling: fear.


In a recent essay for the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-American writer Nick Mafi wrote about the myriad of emotions that he and millions of others in the Iranian diaspora are feeling as the war continues. 

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This episode was produced by Daniel Ofman and Michael Levitt.

It was edited by William Troop and Christopher Intagliata.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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Experts say foreign conflict and online radicalization are accelerating threats of terrorism. Can anything slow it down?

Even before the war in Iran, the terrorism threat in the U.S. has been evolving. So how do the attacks of the past week fit into that picture? Host Scott Detrow speaks with Domestic Extremism Correspondent Odette Yousef, who is tracking all of this closely. 

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Marc Rivers, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Andrew Sussman, Courtney Dorning and John Ketchum. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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In the opening strike of their war on Iran, the US and Israel killed the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is an exceedingly rare instance of democracies killing a foreign head of state.

It’s not the first time the United States has been involved in the killing of a foreign leader, but it’s something U.S. leaders and the American public have long wrestled with. 

NPR’s Ryan Lucas reports. 

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This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Erika Ryan, with audio engineering by Jay Czys.

It was edited by John Ketchum and Anna Yukhanov. 

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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The Trump administration wants to increase domestic manufacturing.

And in addition to tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation, it wants to increase the supply of skilled labor through apprenticeships – to train up workers on the job.


The goal is to reach one million active apprentices. 


Are the programs in place now doing enough to make that happen? 


NPR’s Andrea Hsu reports.


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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Mia Venkat. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Emily Kopp. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Russian planners and Western intelligence predicted the invasion of Ukraine would be quick and decisive. Of course, Kyiv did not fall quickly - and still hasn’t.

In the four years since Russia first invaded, the Kremlin’s so-called “special military operation” has evolved into the deadliest conflict on the European continent since World War II. According to Western governments and think tanks, more than 1.5 million people are dead.

And throughout the war, one of the biggest questions has been, is this what Russian people want?

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This episode was produced by Christine Arrasmith, Mia Venkat and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Stacey Abbott. It was edited by Nick Spicer and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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Americans are paying more for gas than they were a week ago.

On Sunday, the price of oil hit $118 a barrel. It's since come down from those highs, but remains up sharply from the pre-war price of $70.

The price is being pushed up by disruption to oil supply out of the Persian Gulf – The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, typically handles around 20 million barrels of oil a day –  close to a fifth of global oil consumption. 

But the war has brought tanker traffic in the Strait to basically a standstill. 

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This episode was produced by Mia Venkat.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning, Kara Platoni and Luis Clemens.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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