It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It grows our food, regulates our climate, and makes our planet habitable. "What stands between life and lifelessness on our planet Earth is this thin layer of soil that exists on the Earth's surface," says Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil scientist at the University of California-Merced.

Just ... don't call it dirt.

"I don't like the D-word," Berhe says. Berhe says soil is precious, taking millennia to regenerate. And with about a third of the world's soil degraded, according to a UN estimate, it's also at risk. Prof. Berhe, who is also serving as Director of the U. S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Science, marks World Soil Day by telling Aaron Scott about the hidden majesty of soil and why it's crucial to tackling the climate crisis.

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The Democratic National Committee is meeting this week in Washington to decide whether Iowa should still have the first caucus in the party's presidential nominating contest. President Biden and others favor switching to a different state, arguing Iowa's population isn't representative of America as a whole.

Also, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a trial related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. What do the results of this and other related trials mean for the Justice Department's ongoing investigations?

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, political correspondents Susan Davis & Barbara Sprunt, and justice correspondent Ryan Lucas.

This episode was produced and edited by Eric McDaniel, Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

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Julia Ruth's job takes a lot of strength, a lot of balance, and a surprising amount of physics. She's a circus artist — and has performed her acrobatic Cyr wheel routine around the world. But before she learned her trade and entered the limelight, she was on a very different career path — she was studying physics. Julia talks with Emily (who also shares a past life in the circus) about her journey from physicist to circus artist, and how she learned her physics-defining acts.

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All eyes are on Georgia's Senate runoff election as Democrat Raphael Warnock fights for his first full term. He's up against Republican Herschel Walker, a former college football celebrity and political newcomer who faced a number of allegations of abuse and personal misconduct. The race, which concludes on Tuesday, won't determine control of the Senate, but will determine how much influence more conservative senators like Joe Manchin have in crafting legislation.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, WABE politics reporter Rahul Bali, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

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An exhibit that blended science and technology for an immersive art experience went on display in Washington, DC and New York City in 2021 and 2022. It invited visitors to explore the cells in their brain. The installation was a partnership between the Society for Neuroscience and technology-based art space, ARTECHOUSE. In this encore episode, producer Thomas Lu talks to neuroscientist John Morrison and chief creative officer Sandro Kereselidze about the Life of a Neuron.

Curious about other ways science intersects with art? Email us at [email protected].

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Railroad unions rejected a Biden-brokered deal to prevent a national strike over concerns that it did not include paid sick leave. Now, the president is pushing Congress to implement it anyway. Biden — who has described himself as the most labor-friendly president in U.S. history — is worried that a rail workers' strike during the holiday season would devastate the economy.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, political correspondent Susan Davis, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

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New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, which is now more than 20 years old. In today's encore episode, NPR arts correspondent Neda Ulaby tells Emily how one doctor at Bellevue Hospital decided a literary magazine is essential to both science and healing.

As always, you can reach the show by emailing [email protected].

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GOP candidates there embraced "bipartisan" messaging and capitalized on redrawn maps to flip four House seats from Democratic control in New York. Democratic hopefuls also didn't benefit as much as candidates elsewhere from an enthusiasm boost among voters concerned about access to abortion because of the strong protections enshrined in state law. Coupled with Gov. Kathy Hochul's struggling top-of-the-ticket bid, Republicans found a perfect opportunity to secure narrow victories in the deep blue state.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, national correspondent Brian Mann, and political correspondent Susan Davis.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

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Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatments that rely on music, poetry or visual arts haven't been backed by rigorous scientific testing. Now, artists and brain scientists have launched a program to change that. NPR's brain correspondent Jon Hamilton tells us about an initiative called the NeuroArts Blueprint in this encore episode.

If you want to know more about the neuroaesthetics research Aaron mentioned participating in, you can read the paper The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network: https://bit.ly/3Vfqk9k

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In Pennsylvania, Democratic candidates managed to turnout their rural supporters while many rural Republicans stayed home. And long-term under-investment in Latino voter engagement by Democrats continues to stymie the party's statewide hopes in places like Florida and Texas.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Ximena Bustillo, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, and political correspondent Ashley Lopez.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

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