Medical debt soared during the pandemic as people lost jobs, lost health insurance, and spent weeks in hospitals recovering from COVID-19.

ProPublica reporter Marshall Allen spent years investigating high healthcare costs. Now he wants to convince everyone they do have the power to fight the system. We ask him how.

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How One Reporter Wants To Change The Way We Pay For Health Care

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Jen Psaki wants everyone to work on their communication skills.

She's the former press secretary for the Biden administration. She's out with a new book called "Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World."

In it, she points to deteriorating communication skills as one source of our intractable political disagreements.

We talk to Psaki about talking, politics, and talking politics.

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Jen Psaki On Talking, Politics, And Talking Politics

For the last 50 years, the government has classified Marijuana as a schedule one drug.

Last Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland did initiate the process to reclassify marijuana as a schedule three drug. Those substances are considered by the Drug Enforcement Agency to have moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.

This recommendation does not make marijuana legal at the federal level. But for the first time, the government is acknowledging marijuana's potential medical benefits.

We discuss what this move means for marijuana research, and drug policy more broadly.

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What Reclassifying Marijuana Could Mean For Research And Drug Policy

In less than two months, two whistleblowers who came forward about Boeing's unsafe production standards have died. Then on Tuesday, an emergency slide that fell off a plane mid-air was found near the residence of a lawyer who was already suing the company.

While flying over Oregon, a piece of a Boeing 737 MAX came off mid-flight. There were no fatalities, but an audit by the Federal Aviation Administration found dozens of issues in the manufacturing process. This led to two senate panel hearings on Boeing's safety culture, where more whistleblowers came forward.

So, how concerned should consumers be about airplane safety? What is being done to prevent further incidents? And can Boeing turn things around?

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Boeing, Whistleblowers, And Consumer Concern Over Airplane Safety

Third parties and third-party candidates are not a new phenomenon in American politics. But this year, the stakes of their candidacies are especially high.

The list of third-party candidates running this year includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, both of whom are running as Independents. Jill Stein returns to the campaign trail as a representative of the Green Party.

What role do third parties play in elections? And how could they influence this year's presidential one—even if they don't win it?

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'If You Can Keep It': The Role Of Third-Party Candidates In The 2024 Election

University administrations' responses to students staging protests in support of Palestinians have varied wildly from campus to campus across the country. 

The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 in response to the protests. The bill attempts to codify a definition of antisemitism. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas this week to negotiate a deal for a ceasefire in its conflict with Israel. However, Hamas leaders don't want to accept the deals that have been offered as none guarantee an end to Israel's bombardment of Palestinian-occupied areas.

And in Australia, President Anthony Albanese is taking a stand against domestic violence, describing the crime as a "national crisis."

We cover the most important stories from around the world in the international hour of the News Roundup.

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How One Reporter Wants To Change The Way We Pay For Health Care

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