Suleiman al-Youssef’s son, Shadi, has been missing since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. After the Assad regime was overthrown, Suleiman found new hope when he discovered a video of a man who looked like his son outside the country’s most notorious prison. WSJ’s Ben C. Solomon on Suleiman’s search for his son and Syria’s thousands of other missing loved ones like him. Kate Linebaugh hosts.

Further Listening:

- Assad’s Regime Falls. What’s Next For Syria? 

- Ten Days That Shifted Power in Syria 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy Wirth and Tony Harris moved halfway across the world to help build Neom: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s futuristic new city in the Saudi desert. But what they found wasn’t the desert utopia of Neom’s marketing. Instead, they found a project bleeding cash, led by a screaming CEO, where very little was actually being built. 

WSJ’s Rory Jones and Eliot Brown explain how Neom fell years behind schedule – and went billions of dollars over-budget – thanks to a culture of runaway spending and never telling the boss “no.” Hosted by Ryan Knutson. 

Further Listening:

- Neom, Pt 1: Skiing in the Desert 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2017, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious, young leader, Mohammed bin Salman, unveiled Neom: a futuristic new city Saudi Arabia would build in the desert. Neom would be a hotspot for tourism like the French Riviera, a center of innovation like Silicon Valley, and a global melting pot like Dubai. It would help transform the Saudi economy. But over the years, that already bold plan grew even more ambitious.  

In the first of two episodes about Neom, WSJ’s Rory Jones and Eliot Brown explain how an effort to pivot the Saudi economy away from oil grew to encompass plans for a desert ski resort and skyscrapers the length of Connecticut. Plus we hear from two people who uprooted their lives and moved to Neom to help make MBS’s dream a reality. Hosted by Ryan Knutson. 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump’s deportations, tariffs, federal layoffs and funding suspensions have generated nonstop headlines and frayed confidence, yet left surprisingly little trace on the economy. Hiring, spending and inflation look a lot like they did under Joe Biden. As Trump’s first 100 days draw to a close, Kate Linebaugh and Molly Ball explore the state of the U.S. economy with Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip and try to understand what might be coming next. 

Further Listening:

- Taking Stock of the ‘Sell America’ Trade 

- Inside the Harvard vs. Trump Battle 

- How Frog Embyros Landed a Scientist in ICE Detention 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something strange happened in the US financial system earlier this week: the stock market, the bond market, and the value of the dollar all slumped. This volatility andrecent threats to fire Fed chief Jerome Powell are unnerving foreign investors, who are flocking to a new phenomenon called the Sell America trade. WSJ’s Chelsey Dulaney explains what Sell America means for decades of American finance primacy. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening:

-Trump’s Tariffs Force a New Era in Global Trade 

-Trump Allies Draft Plans to Rein in the Fed  

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has been on an escalating campaign to reorder elite higher education. The administration’s Anti-Semitism Task Force has frozen billions of dollars in federal funding after Harvard refused to comply with their demands. WSJ’s Douglas Belkin on the showdown between America’s most prominent university and the U.S. president. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening:

- Trump's College Crackdown 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this year, Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova landed at Boston Logan Airport with samples of frog embryos in her luggage. Those samples cost Petrova her visa and kickstarted an asylum claim that landed her in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. WSJ’s Michelle Hackman explains that Petrova’s case represents an aggressive shift in the Trump administration’s stance towards immigrants with visas. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening:

-Trump 2.0: Trade Wars and Deportation Battles  

-A New Phase in Trump’s Immigration Fight 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter . 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday morning, Pope Francis died at 88. The first South American to hold the office, he was known for his commitment to social and economic justice. WSJ’s Margherita Stancati discusses Francis’ legacy and explains what happens next for the Catholic Church. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening: 

- The Return of Religious Films to Hollywood 

- The Mormon Church's $100 Billion Secret Fund 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Colorado became one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, a community called Pueblo stepped forward hoping to become the 'Napa Valley of Cannabis'. WSJ’s Julie Wernau visited the town to explore the cannabis boom that promised new jobs and tax revenue, and found an industry that had gone bust, with local residents struggling to find a way forward. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening:

-The Highs and Lows of Diversifying the Cannabis Industry 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Zuckerberg is in court defending Meta against a Federal Trade Commission case that alleges the company wields an illegal monopoly in social media. It's a trial that could force the tech giant to potentially break itself up by selling Instagram and WhatsApp. WSJ’s Dana Mattioli explains how Zuckerberg’s efforts to get close to President Donald Trump hasn’t kept the company safe, while Jan Wolfe is in D.C. court watching the play-by-play. Jessica Mendoza hosts.

Further Listening:

- FTC Chair Lina Khan on Microsoft Merger, ChatGPT and Her Court Losses 

- 'The Facebook Files' from The Journal. 

- Why the FTC is Challenging a $25 Billion Supermarket Merger 

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices