On the eve of negotiations in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian military struck targets hundreds of miles inside Russian territory. Small drones, smuggled into Russia over many months, carried out the attacks. This show of force – one of the biggest Ukrainian attacks since the war started three years ago – boosted morale within Ukraine. But the path to a ceasefire remains murky.

Host Elahe Izadi speaks with Ukraine bureau chief Siobhan O’Grady about whether these strikes could change the balance of power in the war in Ukraine. Plus, updates from a day of peace talks between the two powers. Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. 

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Today we’re going to listen to a conversation between our colleague Lizza Dwoskin and her friend Aisha Bowe, an aerospace engineer who was on the all-female Blue Origin flight that went to space in April. It’s about navigating what happens when a dream comes true — and then sparks public outrage. Blue Origin, the space company, is owned by Jeff Bezos. He also owns The Washington Post and is the co-founder of Amazon. 

Some of the other crew members were celebrities, including pop star Katy Perry and broadcast journalist Gayle King.The flight became a flash point for anger from the political left directed at billionaires associated with the Trump administration. Bezos was among the tech moguls who attended Donald Trump’s second inauguration. 

Now that some time has passed, Aisha was ready to sit down and talk about what this has all been like for her. 

Today’s show was edited by Renita Jablonski, Maggie Penman and James Graff. It was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon.  

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The government is about halfway through calling its witnesses in the racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking case against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. This week, Style reporter Anne Branigin gives an update on the big takeaways from the trial this week, including testimony from several of Combs’s former employees who claim he assaulted them. Combs has pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing.

Court reporter Shayna Jacobs also breaks down what the government has to do to prove these charges – and why racketeering conspiracy is a charge that’s broadly used today.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Carla Spartos and Efrain Hernandez.

Follow our coverage of the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Spotify here.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s skepticism of vaccines and mainstream medicine is making waves in the agency he oversees. 

Host Colby Itkowitz talks with The Post’s national health reporter Lena Sun and health and science accountability reporter Lauren Weber about how Kennedy’s recent vaccine announcement and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement are shaping health policy for all Americans.  

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff with help from Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks also to Leonard Bernstein. 

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Last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued an order barring Harvard from enrolling foreign students, claiming that Harvard had created an unsafe environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault students on campus. The order said that students enrolled at Harvard must transfer schools or lose their legal status.

A federal judge has blocked the effort for now, but thousands of international students are unsure if they will be able to return to Harvard in the fall. Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with higher education reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel about why the Trump administration has put Harvard University in its crosshairs, and how the university is pushing back.

You can read the Letter to the Editor co-written by three Harvard international students in The Washington Post’s Opinion section here. 

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Peter Bresnan. It was mixed by Sean Carter. And edited by Ariel Plotnick. Thanks to Alyssa Rosenberg and Chastity Pratt.

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Arizona, New Hampshire, Louisiana and Wyoming have all passed laws requiring voters to prove they are citizens. Texas has been considering one. But critics are raising alarm bells that such laws could make it harder for eligible citizens to vote – in particular, women who have changed their names after marriage or divorce.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair. 

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Summer is the perfect time to dive into a new book, and the Post’s Book World section has compiled recommendations for every type of reader. 

Today, Book World editors Jacob Brogan and John Williams talk to host Elahe Izadi about the new releases and old titles they suggest digging into this summer. 

Here’s the list of books mentioned in today’s episode: 

“The Death and Life of August Sweeney” by Samuel Ashworth

“Bleak House” by Charles Dickens

“Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow

“Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America” by Sam Tanenhaus

“Is a River Alive?” by Robert MacFarlane

“King of Ashes” by S.A. Cosby

“Spent” by Alison Bechdel

“Crush” by Ada Calhoun

“The Book of Records” by Madeleine Thien

“The Dry Season” by Melissa Febos

“Sloppy” by Rax King

“Flashlight” by Susan Choi

“Second Life” by Amanda Hess

“Mood Machine” by Liz Pelly

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Lucas Trevor. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick, and mixed by Sean Carter.

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George Floyd’s murder sparked massive protests for racial justice around the country. There were calls for police reforms, reparations and closing the racial wealth gap.

But five years later, it seems like the pendulum has swung back the other way. President Donald Trump is dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives. And just this week, the Justice Department announced it was abandoning efforts to reshape law enforcement in cities where there have been high-profile killings by police officers.

In light of all of this, we wanted to share a special episode of “Post Reports” from fall 2020. It’s called “The Life of George Floyd.” Martine Powers and our colleagues here at The Post looked at who George Floyd actually was — and what his story can tell us about being Black in the United States.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon with help from Linah Mohammad. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Martine Powers. 

“George Floyd’s America” was reported by Arelis Hernández, Tracy Jan, Laura Meckler, Toluse Olorunnipa, Robert Samuels, Griff Witte and Cleve Wootson. 

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Federal prosecutors called a slew of witnesses this week to bolster their racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking case against Sean “Diddy” Combs. Many of them corroborated incidents that Combs’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura described in her testimony last week – but others added details that pushed against her narrative that he was controlling and coerced her into sex acts. And musician Kid Cudi took the stand to talk about the molotov cocktail he said was thrown into his Porsche.  

Style reporter Anne Branigin breaks down the key testimony from this week and how the trial is going for each side so far.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Carla Spartos and Shayna Jacobs.

Follow our coverage of the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Spotify here.

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President Donald Trump has had a busy week. The House passed a legislative package containing much of his agenda early Thursday morning after Trump met with factions of the House GOP earlier this week.

Congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor walks through how overnight negotiations led to the bill’s passage. And Colby Itkowitz talks with The Post’s White House bureau chief Matt Viser and White House reporter Emily Davies about what they make of Trump’s role in getting his “big, beautiful bill” through the House.

They also make sense of Trump’s Oval Office confrontation with the president of South Africa on Wednesday and talk through former president Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sam Bair. 

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