In principle, Democratic lawmakers support the local Washington, D.C., government's power to make laws for the city's residents — who don't have voting representation in Congress.

But, facing the political risk of seeming weak on crime, a huge majority Senate Democrats voted to overturn a local criminal code reform that was unanimously approved by the elected city council.

This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, 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 Devin Speak.

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Have you ever wondered how biologists choose what animal to use in their research? Since scientists can't do a lot of basic research on people, they study animals to shed light on everything from human health to ecosystems to genetics. And yet, just a handful of critters appear over and over again. Why the mouse? Or the fruit fly? Or the zebrafish?

Cassandra Extavour, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard, talked with Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott about her favorite new model critter on the block: crickets. (Well, "favorite" might be a strong word. As Cassandra concedes, "to be honest, my opinion about crickets is sort of neutral to slightly grossed out.")

On today's episode we leave the mouse to its maze, and instead consider the cricket and all the amazing things it can teach us.

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A billion-dollar defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against the broadcaster is tied to the outlet's full-throated embrace of former president Donald Trump's election lies and conspiracy theories — deceptions that forced one former Dominion executive into hiding.

This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, media correspondent David Folkenflik, and Colorado Public Radio reporter Bente Birkeland.

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 Devin Speak.

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The whitebark pine is a hardy tree that grows in an area stretching from British Columbia, Canada south to parts of California and east to Montana. It's a keystone species in its subalpine and timberline ecosystems and plays an outsized role in its interactions with other species and the land — feeding and providing habitat for other animals, and providing shade to slow glacial melt to the valleys below. But it's increasingly threatened — by more intense fires, by mountain pine beetle infestations and by a deadly fungus called blister rust. Today, producer Berly McCoy takes the microphone to share the ongoing efforts by reforestation forester ShiNaasha Pete and others to save this important species.

Check out the Headwaters Podcast: https://glacier.org/headwaters/

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Black farmers have long struggled with discrimination, inequities that persist today despite federal efforts to address them. Now, the USDA is out with a new equity report with a number of recommendations.

This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, political reporter Ximena Bustillo, and congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales.

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 Devin Speak.

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Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of coal for electricity. And it's also an emerging economy trying to address climate change. The country recently signed a highly publicized, $20 billion international deal to transition away from coal and toward renewable energy. The hope is the deal could be a model for other countries. But Indonesian energy experts and solar executives worry much of this deal may be "omong kosong" — empty talk. Today, NPR climate solutions reporter Julia Simon breaks down the realities and limitations of Indonesia's renewable aspirations.

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The U.S. attorney general traveled to Ukraine to discuss war crimes investigations with top justice officials from around the globe. In an exclusive conversation, NPR interviewed Garland about why this work is personal to him.

This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, international correspondent Deb Amos, and national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.

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 Devin Speak.

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The Roman Colosseum is a giant, oval amphitheater built almost two thousand years ago. Despite its age and a 14th century earthquake that knocked down the south side of the colosseum, most of the 150-some foot building is still standing. Like many ancient Roman structures, parts of it were constructed using a specific type of concrete. Scientists and engineers have long suspected a key to these buildings' durability is their use of this Roman concrete. But exactly how this sturdy concrete has contributed to the architecture's strength has been a mystery to researchers across the globe.

A team of interdisciplinary researchers have recently discovered one answer to why these ancient Roman buildings have weathered the test of time — while many modern, concrete structures seem to crumble after a few decades.

The answer: self-healing concrete.

Curious about other new discoveries or potential climate solutions scientists are researching? Email us at [email protected].

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Democratic lawmakers and Republican activists both met for messaging conferences this week. The Supreme Court's conservative majority appears poised to strike down President Biden's order cancelling some student debt.

This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt, political reporter Elena Moore, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, and legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

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 Devin Speak.

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist at the University of New Hampshire. It's her job to ask deep questions about how we — and the rest of the universe — got to this moment.

Her new book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, does exactly that. It's an examination of the science that underpins our universe and how the researchers seeking to understand those truths, in turn, shape the science.

As we close out Black History month, we revisit this conversation between Chanda and former Short Wave host, Maddie Sofia. Chanda explains that what she wants most is for every single person to have equal access to the same night sky that has mesmerized her all these years.

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