Post Reports

Thousands are journeying to the border, motivated by complicated personal and practical reasons. Plus, the sound of Mars.
Read more:
Migrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in large numbers. Arelis R. Hernández rode along with Constable Roque Vela on a dusty road along the Rio Grande in South Texas to talk to some of the people trying to navigate the complicated policies at the border — and learn about why they’re trying to cross it. 
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is recording sound. Martian wind might not sound exciting, but hearing it stopped producer Bishop Sand in his tracks. The rover is continuing to record sounds, and NASA releases them in weekly files at https://soundcloud.com/nasa.

How scammers raked in millions of dollars in pandemic relief fraud schemes. Advice for vaccinated parents about what to do with their unvaccinated kids. And, what we know about the origin of covid-19.
Read more:
Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had charged hundreds of scammers who targeted the trillions of dollars made available through federal aid programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. Reporter Matt Zapotosky explains how the thieves worked, how they were caught and what the consequences have been — for the scammers and the scammed. 
As more adults become vaccinated against the coronavirus, some vaccinated parents might find themselves in a quandary — while they may be protected, allowing for more freedom in socializing or engaging in other routine activities, their children are not. Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu discusses what that means for summer camp and play dates.
The World Health Organization has released its findings into the origin of the coronavirus. Foreign affairs reporter Emily Rauhala explains the controversy around the report and the answers it has left unanswered.

After telling the world about the brutality he experienced in a Damascus prison, Mazen al-Hamada mysteriously returned to Syria, into the arms of his tormentors. His story goes to the heart of the Syria tragedy — a decade after the hopeful Arab Spring. 
Read more:
After escaping from Syria to the Netherlands, Mazen al-Hamada shared his story about the horrors he had endured in a Damascus prison with audiences across the United States and Europe. 
Then — mysteriously, inexplicably — just over a year ago, he returned to Syria, to risk again the cruelties of the government he had so strenuously denounced. He hasn’t been heard from since. 
In an interview with audio producer Linah Mohammad, Post Beirut bureau chief Liz Sly paints a portrait of a man so haunted by the horrors he endured that he was unable to adapt to a new life in Europe, and explains how his story speaks to the post-Arab Spring Syria:
“Everything has changed and then nothing has changed, in the worst possible ways on both counts.”

The economic cost of racism for Asian businesses. And Tunisia a decade after the Arab Spring.
Read more:
There’s an economic cost to racism as Asian business owners reduce hours and shell out for security in the wake of the Atlanta shootings, says business reporter Tracy Jan. 
Tunisia is often considered the biggest “success” of the Arab Spring. A decade later, Claire Parker reports on the people still fighting for democracy in a Tunisia battered by crises.

Biden gives his first news conference as president. The NCAA’s problem with women’s basketball. And how a movie studio gave new life to a box office flop.
Read more:
On Thursday, President Biden fielded questions from the press about the immigration surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, whether he wants to kill the filibuster and what he plans to do about the war in Afghanistan. Power Up newsletter author Jacqueline Alemany reports on the president’s first formal grilling from reporters.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association says that women’s college basketball does not turn a profit. If that’s true, it’s a result of either incompetence or indifference on the part of the NCAA, says sports columnist Sally Jenkins.
Four years ago, DC Comics’ “Justice League” tanked at the box office. So when fans clamored, years later, for the version initially imagined by its original director, Zack Snyder — a darker, grittier epic of a superhero movie — the studio released it. Comics reporter David Betancourt explains the movement behind the new four-hour “Snyder cut” of “Justice League.”

President Biden is pushing for new gun-control measures after the mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder. Plus, what relaxed rules for art sales mean for the future of museums. 
Read more:
Biden is urging Congress to immediately pass stronger gun laws after two mass shootings in less than a week. Reporter Sean Sullivan lays out Biden’s agenda on guns and discusses the challenge he faces in seeing that agenda through. 
Museums have begun using the money from art sales to help them survive the pandemic, but critics say that sets a dangerous precedent. Reporter Peggy McGlone explains. 

Though mass shootings have happened less often during the pandemic, gun deaths remain high in the U.S. And, an independent panel says the AstraZeneca vaccine trial data is misleading.
Read more:On Monday afternoon, a man walked into a Boulder, Colo., grocery store and started shooting. Ten people were killed, including a responding police officer. Reporter John Woodrow Cox lays out what we know about the second mass shooting in a week and addresses the misconception that gun violence has stalled during the pandemic.
After AstraZeneca announced that trials determined the vaccine it produced with Oxford University was 79 percent effective, an independent panel says the company used outdated and misleading data. William Booth reports on the ramifications. 

What we know about the AstraZeneca vaccine. And, the fractured relationship between Google and historically Black colleges and universities. 
Read more:
Science reporter Carolyn Y. Johnson breaks down the results of the U.S. trial for the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine — and its challenges.
Google’s failing approach to recruiting historically Black schools helps explain why there are few Black engineers in Big Tech. Reporter Nitasha Tiku says the pipeline for recruiting Black technical talent needs to be reexamined.

The fate of the Senate filibuster will decide the future of the Biden presidency. Today, we dive deep into the filibuster’s origins and myths — and we talk to people who say that killing this arcane procedural roadblock is the only way to save the Senate.
Read more:
President Biden and Senate Democrats are faced with the question of whether to reform the rules of the filibuster — or even to terminate it altogether. In the view of many Democrats, it’s the only thing holding Biden back from executing ambitious plans on climate change, voting rights, immigration and the minimum wage.
“The disconnect between having a majority — which the Democrats now do — and needing 60 votes, which the Democrats can't get,” says national politics correspondent Philip Bump, “that disconnect really is shaping up to be one of the defining power struggles of the Senate.”
Today, Post Reports looks at the history of the filibuster — and why the myths about its origin obscure a more dismal story about its use to preserve slavery and prevent civil rights for Black Americans. 
“They basically created a de facto supermajority standard for the passage of civil rights bills — and only civil rights bills,” says Adam Jentleson, author of a new book called “Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.” His research explores the question of whether the Founding Fathers ever intended for a powerful tool like the filibuster. “The evidentiary record is very clear on this,” he says. “They were anti-obstruction.”
The repeated failure of the Senate to defeat filibusters that blocked civil rights was an “institution-wide failure,” according to U.S. Senate historian Daniel Holt, who explains the repeated attempts to bring the filibuster under control. “There was a reluctance to use the mechanisms at hand to force adoption of these bills — much to the detriment of the African Americans in the country.”
Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, recently penned an opinion piece for USA Today about the need to end the filibuster. The legacy of the obstruction of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he argues, is a dark stain on the Senate and its traditions. “People were literally being lynched, beaten and killed in order for that legislation to happen,” he says. “Blood was spilled in the streets in order to get to 60-plus votes.”
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 postreports.com/offer.

A look at the unique vulnerability of spa workers in the wake of the deadly shootings in Atlanta. And how to handle your Zoom fatigue.
Read more:
Eight people have died after a gunman opened fire in Asian-run spas in and around Atlanta. Six of the victims were Asian women. Anne Branigin, a staff writer for The Lily, looks at the unique vulnerability of spa workers through the lens of race, class and gender. 
Zoom fatigue is real. Paulina Firozi reports on what you can do about it.