Post Reports

Five years after the debut of “Insecure,” the acclaimed HBO comedy-drama is finally coming to a close. Creator and star Issa Rae discusses the characters’ journeys, personal growth and “betting on herself.”

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For a certain generation of Black women, Issa Rae’s volume of work is like the Harry Potter books — stories about characters who grow and mature alongside their fans.

“In shooting this final season, we've been very nostalgic and thinking about where we came from and imagining what our impact would be like,” says Rae, the creator and star of HBO’s “Insecure.” “Maybe people will hold on to this show as part of their lives in that way, and we may go down in history, you know, if we stick the landing. … And that makes me feel really good.”

“Insecure” debuted on HBO in 2016, focusing on the lives of two late-20s best friends in Los Angeles who are trying to navigate messy romances, social lives and professional aspirations. But Rae has been the voice of millennial Black women for more than a decade, all the way back to her hit Web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.”

“I used to binge-watch this show in my dorm cafeteria on Fridays,” says Martine Powers, “Post Reports” host. “I'd be like, ‘Oh, all my essays are done, getting ready for the weekend. I'm going to watch “Awkward Black Girl.” This is going to be amazing.’”

As Rae reflects on the final season of her show, her characters’ trajectory, and her own personal growth, she says that she’s learned to trust the choices she’s made along the way that have led to greater artistic freedom — and power. 

“One of the scariest things to me … is just, like, the fork-in-the-road choice,” Rae says. “There's something so terrifying about knowing that this is a decision that I could make that could change the course of my life. And I just have to make it.”

Ahmaud Arbery’s killing changed his Georgia community. Now, as the state grapples with a judicial legacy shaped by racism, three White men stand trial for murder.

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This week, the trial began for Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan. It hinges in part on Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law, which helped codify White vigilante violence for 150 years. The law was repealed in May 2021, but its legacy reverberates today.

Margaret Coker, editor of nonprofit investigative outlet The Current, is reporting on the trial for The Washington Post. She shares her insights on the decades-old law that has its roots in the Civil War, and how it might be used as a defense in the murder trial. 

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Health officials are worried about a severe “twindemic” this year, when influenza and coronavirus cases increase at the same time. What parallel surges could mean for an already exhausted health-care system and efforts to end the pandemic.

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Last year, similar warnings were made about a potential “twindemic.” Instead, the flu practically vanished. Health officials say this year could be different: Much of the country is up and running again, and 2020’s mild flu season means population immunity is probably lower. 

That’s why officials are urging Americans to get the flu shot. “The flu shot is proven effective and has been shown year after year to save lives,” says health reporter Fenit Nirappil. “And that's going to be particularly acute this year when we're also dealing with a new strain of coronavirus.”

The commercial pipeline is clogged. Every year, this supply chain brings $1 trillion worth of toys, clothing, electronics and furniture from Asia to the United States. And right now, no one knows how to unclog it. 

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For months, consumers have confronted shortages of goods such as clothing, toys, groceries and cars. And those shortages aren’t going away any time soon. 

Reporter David J. Lynch visited the ports of Southern California— where giant container ships are waiting up to two weeks to unload their berth – and several of the country’s crammed rail yards and warehouses to figure out what’s clogging the global supply chain.

Correction: A previous version of this episode description incorrectly stated where the reporter visited. He visited ports in Southern California, not shipyards.

If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners – one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

The legacy of Colin Powell, the first Black secretary of state, is complicated — by his role in the Iraq war, by the evolution of the Republican Party and by how he lived his life after public office.

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Former secretary of state Colin Powell died Monday of complications from covid-19. His long career in the public eye — as a decorated military officer and statesman — was marked by choices he made leading up to the Iraq War. But Powell’s life is also characterized by a shift away from the Republican Party, and his adherence to the old guard of American conservatism. 

The Post’s Karen DeYoung, who wrote a biography of Powell, reflects on Powell’s life and the complex lessons of his legacy. 

If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes, for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe. 

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has been benched over his decision not to get vaccinated. Today on Post Reports we discuss what responsibilities famous athletes bear and why this story is resonating beyond the basketball world.

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Kyrie Irving has been benched indefinitely because of his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. His team, the Brooklyn Nets, has been favored to win the NBA title this year, but that is now being thrown into question.

Irving has long been a controversial figure in the league, because of his outspokenness and his espousing of baseless conspiracy claims. But the stakes and implications of his stance are high, with hundreds of millions of dollars and a championship on the line.

NBA reporter Ben Golliver says that beyond the court, the situation raises questions about the social responsibility public figures bear and the collective impact of one individual’s choice. 

In recent days, record numbers of Chinese warplanes have flown into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, signifying a deteriorating relationship between Taiwan and China — and putting the United States in an awkward position.

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Last week, China flew nearly 150 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Taiwan responded by scrambling to engage its fighter jets and missile systems. 

Meanwhile, the United States is in an increasingly awkward spot. While the United States may technically recognize Beijing over Taipei, it is deepening its ties to the island, says foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor.

Today on the show: how the situation has escalated, and what it means for geopolitics. 

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In a predominantly Black Chicago neighborhood, how one affordable housing program is addressing inequality by enabling homeownership. 

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Over the years, rows of two-story stone houses and small buildings have fallen into disrepair in the Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale. The neighborhood was made famous in 1966, when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — hoping to turn the focus of the civil rights movement on housing inequalities in the North — moved his wife and four children into a dilapidated apartment there. 

Decades later, much has stayed the same in North Lawndale, where crime and poverty rates remain high. Last year, more than 2,000 empty lots dotted the neighborhood. 

But a group of local developers and activists are pushing to change things. They’re planning to build 1,000 standalone affordable homes for people who already live in the neighborhood as renters, so they can buy homes and start building equity and generational wealth through homeownership.

The approach aims to end poverty by focusing not on rental subsidies, but on finance classes and helping people buy their own homes. But according to reporter Kyle Swenson, it’s an approach that will need federal government buy-in to really succeed. 

The “benefit of the doubt” portion of Joe Biden’s presidency is over. His poll numbers are down, especially among Black voters. Today on the show, we return to some of the voters we talked to in Georgia during the state’s runoff election and hear how they’re feeling now.

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A little over nine months into Joe Biden’s presidency, the infrastructure bill is languishing in Congress and his poll numbers have fallen, especially among key Democratic constituencies, including Black Americans. We’re still a year away from the midterms, but it made reporter Cleve Wootson wonder: Are the same people who worked so hard to turn Georgia blue in 2020 willing to do it again?

“If midterms are about enthusiasm and turnout, who do you think is excited to vote on November 2 at this moment?” said Nsé Ufot, chief executive of the New Georgia Project, which has registered more than a half-million voters. “Because it ain’t Democrats. It ain’t Black folks. It ain’t young people.”

Today on Post Reports, we revisit Georgia.

Listen here to our episode from December ahead of the two Senate runoffs in Georgia.

If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.