Admit it - you've fantasized about what you would do if you hit the lottery and exactly how you would spend your millions - or billions.  

Spending a few dollars for a chance at a massive jackpot seems irresistible. Roughly half of all Americans buy at least one lottery ticket per year, despite the nearly impossible odds of winning. But some people take it much further.  

Unlike casino games and sports betting, messaging around playing the lottery can make it seem much less like actual gambling and more like a fun way to chase a dream of luxury and wealth.

But some critics feel that the lottery uses predatory practices to disproportionately target low-income communities and people of color.  

Host Michel Martin talks to Jonathan D. Cohen, author of  For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries In Modern America.  

NPR reporter Jonathan Franklin contributed to this episode.

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Despite Billion-Dollar Jackpots, Critics Say the Lottery Is a Losing Game

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Salman Rushdie is probably most closely associated with his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, a book inspired by the life of the prophet Muhummad. The book was notorious not just for its contents but because of the intense backlash, and the threat it posed to his safety and wellbeing. 

While Rushdie saw it as an exploration of Islamic culture, some Muslims saw it as blasphemous.  The year after it published, Iran's supreme leader issued a fatwa, ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.

Rushdie moved to New York in 2000, and was able to resume the public life of a popular author, but that all changed on August 12th, 2022 when a young man charged at Rushdie while he was on stage at an event, stabbing him at least a dozen times.

After two years, he has chronicled his brush with death, and the aftermath in his new memoir 'KNIFE'. 

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What happened when the threat of danger became Salman Rushdie's reality?

In 1994, the world watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda. Nearly one million people died as neighbors brutally killed their neighbors. Paul Rusesabagina is credited for keeping more than 1,200 people safe in his hotel through weeks of violence. His life and story inspired the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda. 

In 2021, Rusesabagina says he was kidnapped, tried and imprisoned in Rwanda for two years and seven months over his ties to the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), a group that opposes President Paul Kagame's rule. 

After intervention from the U.S. and other countries, Rusesabagina was eventually released from prison. At the time he was released, he says he electronically signed a letter promising not to criticize the government. Ultimately, he decided to disregard that promise.

Many allies of President Kagame would argue that he has been responsible for shepherding an era of what they say is relative peace in the country. His critics say he leads an oppressive government that leaves no space for dissent. We hear from Paul Rusesabagina and his daughter Anaïse Kanimba, who are still speaking out against the Rwandan government.

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The man who inspired 'Hotel Rwanda' is still taking risks for his country

Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel over the weekend, saying it was in response to an airstrike earlier this month that hit Iran's consulate in Syria and killed seven Iranian military officials, including two generals.

Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the Syria strike, though the Pentagon said Israel was responsible.

Sima Shine is a former senior Israeli intelligence official. She now runs the Iran desk at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. She says this attack is "crossing the Rubicon" from the point of view of Iran, and explains what Israel's retaliation could be.

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Iran's attack on Israel is a major escalation. What comes next for the region?

On Monday, former President Donald Trump will enter a Manhattan courtroom for his first criminal trial. But before a verdict can be rendered a jury must be selected. And for Trump's legal team that is going to be a challenge. 

A small number of attorneys have faced a similar challenge — how do you select an impartial jury when your client is famous? 

Host Scott Detrow speaks with attorney Camille Vasquez for insight into the art of jury selection in such a case. She represented Johnny Depp in his defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. 

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How do you select an impartial  jury when your client is famous?

For months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insisting that the goal of Israel's bombardment in Gaza is to "destroy Hamas."

But in the path of that destruction, more than 33,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed. Regular people, entire families, and more than 13,000 children. 

Yet, it's not clear if Israel is any closer to its stated goal of destroying Hamas. In fact, is it possible that the horrors of this war could ignite a cycle of radicalization in the region?

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Despite Billion-Dollar Jackpots, Critics Say the Lottery Is a Losing Game

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