Post Reports

Harvard’s first Black president, Claudine Gay, resigned this week amid pressure over plagiarism allegations and her comments about antisemitism on campus. For conservative activists, though, her downfall was a victory over diversity initiatives.

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The conservative victory laps began moments after Harvard University President Claudine Gay announced her resignation.

Gay has faced growing pressure since her much-criticized comments about antisemitism on campus during testimony on Capitol Hill. Then came allegations of plagiarism.

For conservative activists, however, her fall was first and foremost a victory over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, a battleground where such activists have recently seen wins against universities, private companies and federal programs. Business reporter Julian Mark explains. 

Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick, with help from Sabby Robinson. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman.

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A Hamas leader killed in Beirut. U.S. strikes in Baghdad. This week, tensions in the Middle East have been rising – and with them, the specter of a widening Israel-Gaza war. Our correspondent in Beirut joins us to explain what happened this week.

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On Tuesday, senior Hamas leader Saleh Arouri was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in a Beirut suburb called Dahieh. Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Lebanese militant and political group, holds sway in the densely packed neighborhood.

In an anxiously anticipated speech the next day, Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, promised there would be a “response and punishment” to the assassination of Arouri and warned Israel against a wider war in Lebanon. 

Also on Wednesday, at least 95 people were killed in two blasts that struck the central Iranian city of Kerman, where thousands of mourners had gathered to commemorate Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination in a U.S. drone strike in 2020. The Islamic State has since taken credit for the blasts. 

Then on Thursday, the U.S. killed an Iran-linked militia commander with an airstrike Baghdad.



All of these attacks have raised questions about the conflict in Gaza expanding into the kind of wider war that Israel, Iran and its allies have so far avoided. Sarah Dadouch reports from Beirut.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman. It was mixed by Sam Bair. Thank you to Jesse Mesner-Hage, Monica Campbell and Sabby Robinson.

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A record number of migrants have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, as war and poverty push people from their homes worldwide. The Post’s Nick Miroff reported from the border and saw how the Biden administration is grappling with migration as we enter a pivotal election year.

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In recent weeks, a historic number of people have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s a rise happening as Democratic lawmakers push for aid to Ukraine and Israel, while Republican negotiators want a border crackdown tied to foreign funding.

The Post’s Nick Miroff recently spent time in southern Arizona, now one of the busiest places for unauthorized crossings. He saw how migrants hike along the border for miles, hoping to find U.S. officials to take them in. Often, they are brought to facilities that are already maxed out. 

“The last six months have shown, as the numbers continue to rise higher and higher, that the administration's approach is really kind of nearing a point of exhaustion,” Miroff said. 

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Debbi Wilgoren. 

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It’s a new year and the economic forecast for 2024 is looking strong – but that doesn’t quite align with how many Americans feel. What does that mean for the president heading into an election year? 

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After years of historic inflation, price hikes are finally getting back under control and wages are catching up. Unemployment is low. The looming recession that was threatened hasn’t materialized, and the Fed has signaled it’s done raising interest rates — and it might even lower them. 

But for many Americans, things still don’t feel great. Rent, groceries, and other basic necessities still haven’t fallen back to pre-pandemic prices, and consumer confidence doesn’t match the sunny economic outlook for 2024. Washington Post economics reporter Rachel Siegel breaks down how we got to this place of mismatched feelings and indicators, and what it could mean in this election year.

Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman.

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Today we join Lillian Cunningham on a “Field Trip” to one of the most remote and least-visited national parks as she confronts the question facing its future: whether a portion of this untouched wilderness will soon include a path for industry.

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Established in 1980, Gates of the Arctic marked a radically different way of thinking about what a national park should be. Compared to previously established parks, it’s hard for the public to access. This park is truly undeveloped — there are no roads or infrastructure. And it’s immense. You could fit Yosemite, Glacier, Everglades, White Sands, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon within its borders and still have room to spare.

But even here, in one of the most remote and least-visited of the national parks, the outside world is finding its way in. 

Ten miles west of the park, mining companies are drilling for copper. The metal is necessary for a number of green technologies, including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. The mines could support President Biden’s goals to reduce the use of fossil fuels and beef up domestic sources of critical minerals. 

To access these mines, the state has proposed an access road that would cut through 211 miles of Arctic tundra. Twenty-six miles of the road would cross through Gates of the Arctic. Biden has pledged to conserve nearly a third of U.S. land and water by 2030, and his administration has stopped similar mining projects. Environmentalists and some Native American groups are also fighting to have the wilderness preserved.

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“Try This” from The Washington Post is a series of audio courses designed to jump-start the parts of life where we can all use a few pointers — with pithy, snackable solutions you can easily use. The first course is about how to get better sleep.

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In the first class of our course on how to sleep better, learn why worrying about not falling asleep can make things worse. There are steps you can take during the day that can help lessen the anxiety at night.

To hear more, check out “Try This” wherever you listen to podcasts.

The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? Today on “Post Reports,” Martine Powers shares an episode of one of her favorite podcasts, “Throughline.”

Find “Throughline” here, or wherever you’re listening to this podcast. 

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The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based affirmative action in college admissions sent counselors scrambling and students worrying about their chances. For two seniors, it made them totally rethink their applications – in very different ways. 

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When high school senior Demar Goodman found out that the Supreme Court had struck down race-based affirmative action, he immediately called his best friend. 

“So,” Demar said. “Safe to say Harvard is out, right?”

Thousands of miles away in Tennessee, another high school senior, Cole Clemmons, was at an international summer program. When he heard the news, the opposite crossed his mind – that the decision may help his chances. 

Education reporter Hannah Natanson followed both teens over the following months as they rethought where to apply and reworked their essays. 

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovsky. It was edited by Maggie Penman. 

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Some people said Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste” was unadaptable. The subject matter was too heavy and too academic. But Ava DuVernay had a vision – and she pursued an unusual funding model to get her new film “Origin” made. 

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When filmmaker Ava DuVernay couldn’t get traditional financing to film “Origin,” the Ford Foundation, Melinda Gates and other philanthropists stepped in. National arts reporter Geoff Edgers says it might be cinema’s new business model.

Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman. 

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Canadian Israeli activist Vivian Silver dedicated her life to peace. When she was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, her sons faced an impossible question: Is peace still worth fighting for? 

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Vivian Silver grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and moved to Israel in 1974 to start a new kibbutz and devote her life to peace. She arranged a solidarity bike ride on both sides of the Gaza border fence. Her friends from Gaza called her on Jewish holidays. Her politics had been unwavering.

But then, Silver was missing after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that left more than 1,200 people dead and nearly 250 kidnapped, and sparked a war that still rages more than two months later. More than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far.

In the weeks that followed the attack, Silver’s sons, Yonatan and Chen Zeigen, tried to square their mother’s moral crusade with their desire for justice.

International investigative correspondent Kevin Sieff was there, too, following the brothers as they asked an impossible question: In the wake of their mother’s murder, is peace still worth fighting for?