Here & Now

“NBA Jam” was beloved by players and served as an introduction to basketball for many of them. The game didn’t mirror the sport, though, allowing users to do crazy moves and trick shots. But what really helped capture audiences was the game’s sound design. Commentator Tim Kitzrow became iconic with catch phrases like “He’s on Fire!” and “Boom Shakalaka.”This episode of “Hidden Levels,” a podcast from 99 Percent Invisible and Endless Thread, explores the importance of game sound design and how Kitzrow helped define the sports game subgenre.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Starting in 1978, the Boston-based band The Cars had a series of hit songs and videos before breaking up 10 years later. Now, musician and author Bill Janovitz tells their story in the new book "The Cars: Let the Stories be Told."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chicago resident and environmental activist Gina Ramirez explains what's happening in the city’s Southeast Side as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents try to take more people into custody.And, analysis by ProPublica found that immigration agents have detained at least 170 U.S. citizens in recent months, though that’s predicted to be an undercount. ProPublica's Nicole Foy shares more details about the cases.Then, 16-year-old American Mohammed Ibrahim has been detained in Israel for eight months. His family says he’s developed scabies, and they’re pleading for his release. Ibrahim’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur, details what the family has heard about Ibrahim’s condition in prison.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Furloughed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worker Peter Farruggia talks about how he will pay his bills if the government shutdown continues much longer. His last paycheck was last Friday. Then, the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could further erode the Voting Rights Act. George Washington University professor Spencer Overton tells us more. And, R&B singer D'Angelo died on Tuesday. He had pancreatic cancer and was just 51. Writer, producer and filmmaker Nelson George talks about D'Angelo's music and legacy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

While a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza resulted in celebrations on both sides, the hard work required to maintain it is now getting underway. Hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin was involved in backchannel discussions over the deal. He explains more.And, 20 Israeli hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the ceasefire deal. Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri joins us to unpack what’s next for the region.Then, silica dust is causing coal miners in their 30s and 40s to come down with black lung disease. Black lung clinic leader Lisa Emery joins us to discuss how coal miners are protesting a federal delay in enforcing silica dust rules.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The story of Sacagawea that most of us know is incomplete and not entirely correct. The Hidatsa tribe and other tribes have a long oral history that tells a different story of her life, including that her name was not pronounced the way many of us were taught, she lived 50 years longer than the history books say and she had more children than the traditional written history tells. We speak with Christopher Cox, who wrote the article "What if Everything We Know About Sacagawea Is Wrong?" in the New York Times Magazine.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Here & Now’s resident romance readers Kalyani Saxena and Hafsa Quraishi discuss their love for the genre and all its tropes, from friends-to-lovers to dark, torrid love affairs.And, Quraishi attended the Romantically Yours Book Convention in Orlando, Florida, to talk with attendees and featured authors about how the genre is growing and what draws readers to it.Then, as “Grey’s Anatomy” turns 20, Deadline’s Lynette Rice and Here & Now’s Micaela Rodríguez unpack how the longest-running primetime medical drama still captivates audiences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Avihai Brodutch's wife and three young children were kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza after the Oct. 7 attacks. They were later freed. We get his perspective on the ceasefire plan that Hamas and Israel have agreed to. Then, some Palestinians have begun celebrating already. Others, however, are more skeptical about whether this agreement will last. We hear from Moureen Kaki, a Palestinian American aid worker from San Antonio, Texas. And, Medicare is not reimbursing doctors for many telehealth appointments after a COVID-era program lapsed when government funding ran out at the end of last month. San Diego dermatologist Abby Tyagi says she is concerned that some of her patients won't receive the care they need during the shutdown.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When can a president invoke the Insurrection Act? The Brennan Center for Justice's Elizabeth Goitein explains. Then, we talk with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona about the government shutdown and why health care is the dividing line between Democrats and Republicans in shutdown negotiations. And, this year’s Nobel Prize-winning chemists designed porous materials that can pull water from the desert air, capture carbon dioxide from factories, and scoop pollution out of water. President of the American Chemical Society Dorothy Phillips joins us.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Two of those hostages were Daniel Lifshitz's grandparents. They were kidnapped from their kibbutz. His grandmother was released in 2023, but his grandfather was killed in captivity. Lifshitz shares more, two years after the attack.In response to the attack, Israeli forces launched a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians. We check in with Mohammed Hatem, who lives in Gaza and uses fitness to cope with the violence around him.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A federal judge in Oregon issued a second order blocking President Trump from deploying any National Guard troops to Oregon. We get the latest on Trump's plan to send federal forces to various American cities from Reuters' Phil Stewart. Then, we get the latest on the power struggle between the Trump administration and Chicago as the administration promises to send the National Guard to the city, following a week of clashes between protesters and immigration officials. The Chicago Sun-Times' Violet Miller joins us. And, the Supreme Court begins its new term on Monday, with a number of major cases testing executive power on its emergency docket. Stephen Vladeck, law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, tells us what to expect.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Statistics show about 60% of inmates have a substance abuse disorder, yet drugs are commonly smuggled inside U.S. jail facilities, contributing to overdose deaths in custody. And when jails have treatment options like methadone and Suboxone, there often aren't enough to go around. Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd reports from a jail in Albuquerque, New Mexico.And, Richard Graham died of an overdose in a Louisville, Kentucky, jail. As his family mourns the loss, they’re looking for answers. And so is the city; In 2022, Louisville Metro Council launched an investigation after a spike in overdose and suicide deaths. O’Dowd talks with Richard Graham’s family and Louisville jail officials about why overdoses are so common and what can be done to curb them.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mario Mason died by suicide in the Oklahoma County jail soon after he was convicted of murder in a dispute over a stolen car. His death wasn’t an outlier — data from the Marshall Project found that suicide is a leading cause of death in U.S. jails. Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd reports from Oklahoma City.And, some U.S. jails are taking measures to reduce suicide risk factors. O’Dowd talks with Jason Knutti, a formerly incarcerated man who experienced thoughts of suicide in jail, and Brown University's Lauren Weinstock, who studies suicide risk for people who have been incarcerated.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Over a four-year period between 2019 and 2023, about 1,000 people died annually in U.S. jails. Nearly one-third of those deaths don't have a cause of death, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project. To kick off our series "Undercounted: The hidden deaths in America’s jail," Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Jay Aronson, co-author of the book "Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It." And, this year, jail officials in Philadelphia started putting digital wristbands on inmates that measure vital signs. They can alert staff when a medical emergency is happening. O’Dowd goes inside the city's jail complex with the Marshall Project’s Ilica Majahan to learn more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are urging Hamas to accept a 20-point U.S. peace deal. The plan calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for an end to the fighting, aid to Palestinians, and the reconstruction of Gaza. Rachel Brandenburg of the Israel Policy Forum shares more.And, Oracle co-founder and chair Larry Ellison is one of the richest people in the world. WIRED's Jake Lahut says he has been described Trump's "shadow president." Lahut explains who Ellison is and how he is influencing the federal government.Then, NPR gaming editor James Mastromarino discusses two indie darlings exciting the world of video games this month: the surprise release of "Hollow Knight: Silksong" and "Hades II."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It was a hard weekend for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Longtime leader Russell M. Nelson died on Saturday at the age of 101. On Sunday, a deadly attack on a Mormon congregation in Michigan killed at least four people. We look back on Nelson's life and leadership with Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon history at Utah State University. Then, a new survey of 60 cities from the U.S. Conference of Mayors finds that most mayors want more funding and support from the federal government to deal with violent crime, but they don't want the deployment of the National Guard. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor joins us to discuss. And, American soybean farmers in the heartland aren't happy about the Trump administration's promise to bail out Argentina's economy. Wailin Wong, co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money, joins us.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If an artificial intelligence bubble is about to burst, could it also pop your 401(k)? Some big voices in AI — including Sam Altman, who co-founded the company that created ChatGPT — suggest AI stock may be overpriced. These AI companies make up a big proportion of many retirement funds. We discuss how to think about managing your money in this moment with investment educator Amanda Holden. Then, AI platforms allow users to create the perfect romantic partner, customizing everything from looks to personality. Dr. Marisa Cohen explains why some are abandoning human dating and turning to chatbots instead. And, earlier this summer, a new band called The Velvet Sundown released two albums back-to-back. But something was unusual about it. The band's entire music catalogue is artificial intelligence-generated. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento joins us to discuss the controversy surrounding the use of AI in music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The median price of a house sold in the United States in the second quarter of the year was the lowest it has been in about three years. But is now a good time to buy? Orphe Divounguy, economist at Zillow, explains the shifting market.And, President Trump has imposed a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, sharply increasing costs for employers sponsoring skilled foreign workers. MSNBC's Ali Velshi details what this overhaul means for industries that rely on foreign workers.Then, in West Virginia, more than 80% of electricity comes from coal power. That's one reason customers have seen their utility bills continue to rise. WVPB reporter Curtis Tate shares more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump now says Ukraine is in a position to win back land taken by Russia, calling Russia a "paper tiger." Here & Now security analyst Jim Walsh joins us to discuss what Trump's new position means for Ukraine and Europe. Then, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) explains why expiring health care tax credits are the main sticking point in negotiations to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month. And, one year since Hurricane Helene devastated the southeast, we look at how Appalachia is recovering, healing and learning after Helene brought extreme landslides and flooding to the area, with Grist reporter Katie Myers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump told pregnant women not to take Tylenol for pain to avoid having children with autism. Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Nisha Verma clarifies the science behind that claim.And, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will be back on the air Tuesday after ABC pulled the show in response to a Federal Communications Commission threat. Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the media drama.Then, Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute former FBI director James Comey, California Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Historian Tim Naftali compares Trump's enemies list to former President Richard Nixon’s during Watergate.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy