In her novel "Demon Copperhead," author Barbara Kingsolver tells the story of poverty and addiction in contemporary Appalachia. Here & Now's Scott Tong spoke with her back in 2022 when the book came out. Tong caught up with Kingsolver in western Virginia to talk about the power of home, poverty and addiction.

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Prominent evangelical Christian thinker Ed Stetzer talks about a legal settlement reached this week between the Internal Revenue Service and the National Religious Broadcasters organization that allows houses of worship and other nonprofits to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status. Then, Ricky Pruitt of the Kerrville Church of Christ in Texas spoke at a vigil on Wednesday night to remember the more than 120 people who were killed during last week's floods. He shares how the community is helping one another. And, Russia's hours-long assault on Ukraine overnight left at least two people dead. We get the latest from NPR's Joanna Kakissis and hear about Trump's changing policies from NPR's Tom Bowman.

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Flooding in central Texas turned deadly in a matter of minutes. Erik Nielsen, assistant professor at Texas A&M University, explains how warning systems can make a difference in extreme weather events. And, the Trump administration's new spending bill includes changes to Medicaid that will play out over the next few years. Todd Eppler, the CEO of a rural hospital in Louisiana, explains how they are preparing for possible changes. Then, the debate over whether listening to audiobooks counts as reading draws a lot of hot takes. NPR's "Book of the Day" podcast host Andrew Limbong weighs in.

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Katie Wagner, the supply chain director of an Iowa-based computer hardware maker, talks about how her company expects its bottom line to be affected if the U.S. follows through on threats to impose retaliatory tariffs on trading partners starting Aug. 1. Then, we speak with NPR's Anthony Kuhn about what the leaders of Asian nations are saying about the deadline. And, Amazon's Prime Days are running into unease about trade and tariffs. "Full Disclosure" host Roben Farzad talks about how tariffs may affect the sale.

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The Guadalupe River in Central Texas rose more than two feet in less than an hour, according to state officials. We speak to Rice University professor Avantika Gori about why the storm was so intense and what can be done to better warn people ahead of such intense weather. And, the sweeping domestic policy bill that President Trump signed into law last week ends incentives for wind and solar energy. Reporter Matthew Daly unpacks the future of U.S. energy. Then, government statistics show the number of people taking second jobs is almost as high as it was during the Great Recession. Wall Street Journal columnist Callum Borchers explains why.

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Being an American means something different to everyone. We hear from listeners across the U.S. on what patriotism means to them. And, ALS hasn't stopped John Driskell Hopkins from making or performing music. Hopkins — a founding member of the Zac Brown Band — explains why singing is like breathing. Then, this year's Poetry Out Loud winner, Isavel Mendoza, a high school senior from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, shares what he loves about performing and his dreams for the future.

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House Republicans approved President Trump's tax and spending bill. It now heads to Trump's desk. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican representing Colorado's 8th District, joins us to explain why he supports it. Then, KFF's Larry Levitt talks about how the bill will result in the biggest rollback in federal support for health coverage ever. And, the Trump administration is withholding $7 billion in funding for schools that was approved by Congress and set to be distributed this week. The Washington Post's Justine McDaniel tells us more.

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Congress is racing to pass President Trump's big domestic policy bill by July 4. Yale Budget Lab Martha Gimbel explains the potential long-term impacts of the tax cuts and spending provisions. And, the bill includes roughly $150 billion for immigration enforcement, a third of it for new detention centers. The Intercept's Matt Sledge joins us to talk about what this means for Trump's deportation policies. Then, child care costs continue to climb for families with young children. There is bipartisan support for making child care more affordable, but it's still too expensive. The 19th's Chabeli Carrazana explains why this is and what possible solutions exist.

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Dr. Adil Husain, an American emergency medicine physician, talks about what sorts of injuries he treated while volunteering in Gaza. He described the scenes he witnessed as "apocalyptic." Then, the U.S. is in the middle of hurricane season, but key data used to track the intensity of these storms may soon go offline. We hear from climate scientist Daniel Swain. And, as the Supreme Court finishes up its term, we look at the expected lasting implications of the court's decision to limit the power of lower courts, with law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center Stephen Vladeck.

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Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News explains where things stand as Senate Republicans race to pass President Trump's tax and spending bill by July 4. And, the Supreme Court's ruling last week on birthright citizenship is causing confusion as Trump's ban is expected to take effect in some parts of the country in less than 30 days. Martha Jones, a historian of citizenship at Johns Hopkins University, explains more. Then, a no-buy period can help you get your finances in order. The Washington Post's Michelle Singletary explains how to reset your financial goals and your relationship to spending so that you can reach those goals.

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