Brittney Griner didn't know the flight she was taking to Moscow in February 2022 would upend her life. But even before she left for the airport, Griner felt something was off.

It was a premonition that foreshadowed a waking nightmare.

She had accidentally left two vape cartridges with traces of cannabis oil in her luggage. What followed was nearly 10 months of struggle in a cell, and diplomatic efforts from the U.S. to get her home.

Griner reflects on the experience in her new memoir, 'Coming Home' and discusses it in depth with NPR's Juana Summers.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The term "outside agitator" has staying power.

It's been used against protestors throughout history, from the Civil Rights Movement, to the anti-Vietnam War protests and now during the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.

"Outside agitator" was also used to describe some of the people who protested the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri In 2014.

Who exactly are the "outside agitators" and what purpose does it serve to call them out?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

On Friday, China launched its Chang'e-6 mission carrying a probe to the far side of the moon to gather samples and bring them back to Earth. If successful, it would be a first, for any country.

The race to get astronauts back on the moon is in full swing. The U.S. has serious competition. China wants to put astronauts on the moon by 2030. Other countries are in the race, too.

If the U.S. stays on schedule it will get humans back on the moon before anyone else, as part of NASA's Artemis program. That's a big if. But NASA is making progress.

The space agency's making a bit of a bet, and mostly relying on private companies, mainly Elon Musk's SpaceX .

With limited resources and facing a more crowded field, it's unclear if the U.S. will dominate space as it once did.

Host Scott Detrow talks to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson about what he is doing to try to keep the U.S. at the front of the race back to the moon.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Welcome to Wild Card with Rachel Martin. In this first episode, Rachel talks to Jenny Slate, known for her roles in Obvious Child, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Parks and Recreation. Jenny opens up about whether fate brought her to her husband, what she's sacrificed for motherhood and what's so special about margarine and white bread sandwiches.

Subscribe to Wild Card here.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Larry Demeritte is the first Black trainer participating in the Kentucky Derby in 35 years. And while the betting-books have his colt West Saratoga running at long odds, Demeritte, who is battling chronic illness and cancer, is feeling confident.

For the 70-something veteran trainer, this is his first time at the Derby, but he is part of a rich history of Black horsemen who helped shape the Kentucky Derby into the iconic race it is today.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

If you go by headlines, the last 12 months have delivered major wins to organized labor.

But despite well publicized victories the rate of U.S. union membership fell to a record low in 2023. Just 10%.

And in southern states, the push to unionize can still be a grinding, uphill battle.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

From New York — to Illinois — to Los Angeles — encampments in support of Palestinians dot campuses across the country.

And over the last couple of days the tension has only increased as police have intervened on several campuses, including Columbia University, UCLA and the University of Texas. Hundreds of protestors have been arrested.

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses are growing in scope and intensity, and colleges are calling on law enforcement to help. Is it the right decision, and what happens next?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Dame Judi Dench has played everyone from the writer Iris Murdoch to M in the James Bond films. But among the roles the actress is most closely associated, are Shakespeare's heroines and some of his villians.

Amongst those roles are the star-crossed lover Juliet, the comical Titania and the tragic Lady Macbeth. Now she's reflecting on that work, and Shakespeare's work in Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent.

The book is comprised of Dench's conversations with her friend, the actor and director Brendan O'Hea.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Protests against Israel's war in Gaza on college campuses have expanded across the country. They're the biggest student protests, since college students demonstrated against the Vietnam war in the late sixties and early seventies.

What do the campus protests of today have in common with those of the sixties? How might they affect the policies of their universities and the US government?

Thirty years ago, South Africa became an emblem of a multiracial democracy. Decades on, how is that legacy holding up?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Three decades ago, South Africa held its first democratic election, closing the door on the apartheid era.

And Nelson Mandela was elected its first Black president.

Today, the country is still led by Mandela's political party - the African National Congress. But polls show that voters are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the party's leadership, and next month's national elections could lead to the ANC having to share power with opposition parties.

Thirty years ago, South Africa became an emblem of a multiracial democracy. Decades on, how is that legacy holding up?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at [email protected].

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy