Short Wave

In New York City, more than 90,000 migrants or people seeking asylum have sought refuge since spring 2022. The city's Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, has asked for more federal assistance, and in the meantime, has cut back on services for those coming to his city. The Biden administration blames Congressional inaction.

This podcast: White House correspondents Tamara Keith and Franco Ordoñez, and criminal justice correspondent Jasmine Garsd.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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Workers in Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. Reactors at the plant began melting down after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the area. To stop the meltdown, plant workers flooded the reactors with water. But even now, when the plant is offline, the reactors need to be cooled. All that water—about 350 million gallons—is being stored on-site in over 1,000 tanks. And now, these tanks are almost full.

Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to NPR reporters Geoff Brumfiel and Kat Lonsdorf about the official plan for the radioactive wastewater, the science behind the release and why some are unhappy about it.

What science story do you want to hear next on Short Wave? Email us at [email protected].

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Wisconsin's diverse geography and intense state politics have kept it a closely-fought presidential battleground for years — but abortion politics and the GOP's slipping grasp on the state's evolving suburbs might be changing things.

And a family's journey to find care for their daughter — from Afghanistan to Mexico and then across the U.S. southern border — exposes the complicated state of affairs for Afghan immigrants and other migrants in the United States.

This episode: White House reporter Deepa Shivaram, senior political editor and correspondent Ron Elving, WUWM reporter Maayan Silver, and Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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A journey through some of the latest science stories catching our eyes. This time, we consider the Russian and Indian lunar landing attempts, how scientists are reconstructing music from people's brains and lessons from wildfires that contributed to a mass extinction of North American land mammals 13,000 years ago.

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Former President Donald Trump was processed through a county jail in Georgia on 13 charges that he was part of an illegal conspiracy to change the 2020 election results in Georgia. He has yet to enter a plea in the case.

This episode: White House reporter Deepa Shivaram, national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, and WABE reporter Sam Gringlas.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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All the candidates except former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson said they would support Donald Trump if he secures the nomination — even if he is criminally convicted on any of the charges he is facing.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former vice president Mike Pence held much of the focus during the debate.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, national political correspondent Sarah McCammon, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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One name has been on millions of minds — and all over the news — in the past week: Hilary.

It's been decades since a storm like this has hit Southern California, so even some scientists were shocked when they heard it was coming. In today's episode, Regina Barber talks to Jill Trepanier, who studies extreme climatic events — like hurricanes and climate change — at Louisiana State University. She tells us how we use science to predict events like this, and what Hilary and future storms may or may not tell us about the changing climate.

Have an interesting science story to share? Email us at [email protected].

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, former vice president Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will participate in the first Republican primary debate tomorrow in Milwaukee. Trump, in lieu of participating, sat for an interview with broadcaster Tucker Carlson.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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The president's visit to the state is a fresh reminder of the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather in the United States — and of his fraught reputation among climate-conscious voters.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

The podcast is produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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It's no secret that our electric grid is a flaming hot mess — and in order to reduce emissions, the U.S. needs to get a lot more renewables onto the grid. But there's a problem: Our electric grid is too old and outdated to handle this new technology. In fact, many of the copper wires on transmission lines are using technology from as far back as the early 1900s!

Because of this, thousands of wind and solar projects are waiting for years to get online. The Inflation Reduction Act is incentivizing a big transition to things like electric cars, heat pumps and other devices, which means we'll need even more electricity that will further push the limits of existing infrastructure.

Now more than ever, we need this new power. With this in mind, some tech companies are finding solutions to make the existing grid work better.

Aaron Scott talks with NPR's climate solutions reporter Julia Simon about these solutions and how they might be a whole lot quicker — and cheaper — than you'd think.

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