It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and national political reporter Michael Scherer join Martine Powers this week. There is a lot to dig into about the debates agreed to this week by President Biden and former president Donald Trump. Also on the must-chat list: the latest from the hush money trial in New York, the reporting by Michael and Post colleagues on the Trump campaign’s “leaner” ground strategy and the implications of some of the latest polling. You can now also follow The Campaign Moment in a new feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and Sean Carter. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

Today, what’s really happening with inflation in the United States. And what the public perception of the economy could mean for the 2024 presidential election. Read more: While inflation in the United States is still higher than normal, a streak of discouraging data finally broke in a report released Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation is now slowing — from 3.5 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April — after months of hotter-than-expected reports. But it’s too early to know whether this trend will continue. Economics reporter Rachel Siegel has been tracking what has felt like roller coaster inflation over the past few years and breaks down where the economy is at now — and how it may affect the 2024 presidential election. She also dives into how the latest economic numbers are playing out in terms of interest rates and their knock-on effect on America’s housing market.   Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Peter Bresnan. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

As trust in institutions plummets and as many people search for shared values, what is the state of American identity? Today, in a special episode of “Post Reports,” we feature a live discussion about the importance of identity in a changing world. Read more:In a live podcast taping, “Post Reports” hosts Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi sit down in Seattle at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival with Post Opinions columnists Shadi Hamid and Jason Willick. They rethink American identity and whether, during these fractured times, we are creating more opportunities to understand each other – or becoming more distant?For more from our Post Opinions colleagues, listen to their podcast “Impromptu.” Each week, columnists get into it, with conversations about ideas and debates they can’t stop thinking about. Listen and follow here.  Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Monica Campbell. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

People are turning to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight – but where do they fit in the body-positivity movement? Today on Post Reports, what some fat activists think of these drugs and how one doctor is talking about these medicines with her patients.Read more:Some companies are marketing GLP-1 drugs to body-positive influencers in the hopes that they’ll market their products to their followers. Shane O’Neill is a style reporter at the Post and writes the Style Memo newsletter. When he heard about this marketing push, he reached out to some of these influencers and activists to get their take on whether these drugs had a place in their messaging.At the same time, many doctors are busy fielding questions from patients who are interested in taking these drugs to lose weight. Mara Gordon is a physician in New Jersey who is trying to stop weight stigma by practicing a size-inclusive approach to medicine – meaning she doesn’t offer these drugs for weight loss. She doesn’t think that these drugs can cure fatphobia, and so she tries to talk through patients' goals with them and orient the solutions away from weight loss.“So let's say I have a patient who doesn't have diabetes, but they say they want to lose weight. So we try to explore that – what are you hoping to achieve? What feels wrong in your life that feels related to, related to your body size?”Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Monica Campbell and Ariel Plotnick. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Google is changing the way its search feature works, feeding users AI-generated replies to their questions rather than directing them to other websites. Read more:At its annual developer conference this week, tech giant Google is expected to tout big changes to its signature product, search. Instead of directing users to a list of websites or showing them an excerpt, Google’s AI will craft paragraphs of text that tries to answer users’ questions directly. AI reporter Gerrit De Vynck says the change could have huge consequences for the internet. Because AI chatbots are still unreliable, and because the information feeding the generative answers comes from a range of sources, users will need to watch out for false information. And the new format means that sources across the web –  bloggers, businesses,  newspapers and other publishers – are likely to see a huge loss of traffic.Gerrit joins us to break down what the changes to Google search mean for users, and why the company is moving in this direction.Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Heather Kelly. Also on the show: The Climate Solutions team at the Post has an eye-opening story about the benefits of leaving your lawn unmowed and letting nature do its thing. Read it here.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In today’s bonus episode, we break down Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud, the biggest beef in recent rap history.Read more:In the past few weeks, a long-standing feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake has boiled over. The two artists have released songs taking shots at each other at a rapid clip, astonishing fans with salacious allegations.On today’s show, The Post’s Joseph Ferguson explains the beef that caused the recent frenzy and how this moment has reignited the hip-hop industry.Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson and Sean Carter. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and national political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf join Elahe Izadi this week. They talk about how Stormy Daniels’s testimony this week could affect former president Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial and voters’ perception of him. Also, they’ll dig into the new questions around the latest move by the judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case, why the House pushed back against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s efforts to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, and the political effect of President Biden’s threat to Israel that he’ll stop the shipment of U.S. weapons if the country goes forward with a plan to invade the city of Rafah in Gaza. Be sure to also follow The Campaign Moment show feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

Tensions are rising between the United States and Israel over the war in Gaza. President Biden has threatened to withhold arms if Israel advances into Rafah in southern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then vowed that Israel would “stand alone.” Read more:This week, Israel began its long-promised military operation in Rafah, a city that houses upwards of a million displaced Gazans. Israel has taken control of the Gazan side of the border crossing, blocking aid deliveries amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. In response, the Biden administration paused a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel. President Biden also publicly threatened to withhold military aid to Israel if it moves forward with the Rafah operation. Cease-fire talks remain ongoing, and U.S. officials have signaled optimism about securing a deal.Loveday Morris is reporting on the Israel-Gaza war from Jerusalem. She joins “Post Reports” to explain what Israel’s military operation in Rafah looks like on the ground and what impact a pause in U.S. military aid could have on the war. One other big story we are following: an exclusive Post investigation revealed that former president Donald Trump promised oil executives that, if re-elected, he would scrap many of Biden’s clean energy policies. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan with help from Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks also to Joe Snell.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

This week in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, Stormy Daniels gave explicit and disturbing testimony and sparked an angry reaction from Donald Trump.Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, testified against the former president Tuesday. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, recounted details of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Her testimony was met with muttered profanities from the former president. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan called over Trump’s lawyer to warn that Trump’s cursing was audible and could be intimidating.  Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records to disguise a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in 2016 so that she would keep quiet about what she says happened between them. Today on “Post Reports,” reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the significance of Daniels’s testimony on Tuesday and how that might complicate the outcome of the trial.Read more:Stormy Daniels testifies, Trump curses in an angry day in courtWhy Stormy Daniels’s account of sex with Trump may be problematic, and other takeawaysRead and subscribe to The Trump Trials newsletterToday’s show was produced by and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins. Thanks to Elana Gordon.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

When Francis became pope in 2013, it was clear that he would be an unconventional pope. He was more casual than his predecessors, and often rejected the fineries of his office. In particular, he made a splash when, early on in his papacy, he responded to a question about gay priests by declaring, “Who am I to judge?”Since then, Francis has moved to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, including approving the blessing of same-sex couples, and allowing transgender people to be baptized. At the same time, the Church continues to argue that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered,” and that “sex-change intervention” could poses a threat to human dignity. But in spite of this, Francis has begun to regularly invite transgender women, many of them current or former sex workers, to meet him at the Vatican. Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola met a number of these women, and joins “Post Reports” to talk about how these meetings came about and the resulting backlash Francis has face from conservative clerics. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today, whether the U.S.’s long-delayed aid to Ukraine will impact the outcome of the war.Read more:After months of stalled negotiations, Congress passed a foreign aid package that included $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. With low supplies and exhausted soldiers, the war-torn country is in desperate need of funding and weapons. U.S. officials hope the aid will buy time for Kyiv to replenish its military ranks and strengthen battlefield defenses, but The Post’s Missy Ryan reports that even the large aid package is unlikely to enable a major Ukrainian offensive anytime soon. Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Allison Michaels and mixed by Sean Carter.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In a time of rising anger and threats, one man in Endicott, N.Y., in the throes of a mental health crisis threatened Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene, telling her “You spread hatred, and you’re gonna pay for it.” Here’s what happened to him. This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Ruby Cramer. Audio production and original music composition by Bishop Sand.

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments during the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and White House reporter Cleve Wootson join Martine Powers this week. They talk about how President Biden responded this week to the campus protests over the war in Gaza and what that could mean for his support, whether voters are paying attention yet to former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York related to a hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, and what a story South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem reveals in her new book about killing a dog could mean for her prospects to be Trump’s running mate. You can now also follow The Campaign Moment in a new feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and Sean Carter. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

In February, a massive cyberattack nearly brought down the entire U.S. health system. Doctors are still reeling, and many patients don’t even know their data has been exposed. Today, Dan Diamond traces what went wrong and the new scrutiny in Congress.Read more:Even if UnitedHealthcare isn’t your health insurer, the company has probably interacted with you or your data in some way. UnitedHealth Group is both the nation’s largest insurer and its largest employer of physicians. It owns pharmacies and home health agencies. One of its subsidiaries, Change Healthcare, processes more than 40 percent of the country’s medical claims, acting as a kind of “information superhighway,” explains the Post’s national health reporter, Dan Diamond.  In February, hackers broke into that system and led to what is being described as the largest cyberattack ever in American health care. Behind the scenes, the attack froze health payments and compromised patient information. It spread pain across doctors and hospitals nationwide, especially in rural communities. It’s still unclear how many people have been impacted, and the breach has yet to be fully resolved.   The chaos and fallout brought UnitedHealth Group’s CEO, Andrew Witty, to testify this week before Congress for the first time in more than 15 years. During separate House and Senate committee hearings, representatives grilled Witty on why basic security safeguards were lacking and, more broadly, whether UnitedHealth Group might have become too big, raising bigger questions about how U.S. health care operates. Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Stephen Smith.  Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Six months after becoming speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson’s job is on the line. Today on “Post Reports,” we explore Johnson’s rise to power and his potential ouster at the hands of his Republican colleagues.Read more:Mike Johnson became House speaker following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy in October. After three weeks of infighting among Republicans, Johnson emerged as the only viable candidate, in part because Johnson was relatively unknown. Before becoming speaker, Johnson was best known for leading the charge to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election. Johnson’s short tenure has been tumultuous. Last week, Johnson helped pass a bill that provides billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over the objections of Republican colleagues. Now, in response, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has vowed to introduce a motion that could see Johnson kicked out of the speakership. The House will probably take up the motion once she reintroduces it next week.Congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor joins “Post Reports” to talk about Johnson’s politics, how he has changed since becoming speaker and the chances that Johnson could soon lose the speakership. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Rachel Van Dongen.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

India is rising as a competitive global power. It is also joining a club of nations that aggressively target dissidents on foreign soil. Today on “Post Reports,” we dive into India’s assassination plots.Read more: It was a split-screen moment: As the Biden administration hosted a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022, an officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying instructions to a team hired to kill one of Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States. The assassination plot was part of several repressive acts targeting Indian diaspora populations in Asia, Europe and North America, according to officials in the United States and in India. Greg Miller, a Washington Post investigative foreign correspondent, breaks down how a team of Post reporters have probed a global surge in aggression against dissident groups.Amid shifting geopolitical forces, Miller explains how the United States and other Western governments have struggled to stem this repressive tide. India, for example, has faced few consequences for its use of violence against dissident groups, in part because the United States and its allies want closer ties with India in a new era of competition with China. Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Peter Finn and Ellen Nakashima.  Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

For the first time, a virulent strain of bird flu has been detected in U.S. dairy cows. Fragments of the virus have also been found in commercial milk. Today, health reporter Lena Sun shares the latest on the outbreak and why the risk to humans remains low. In recent years, H5N1 bird flu has become widespread among wild birds around the world and has spread to mammals like seals and squirrels. It can be fatal and has resulted in the deaths or cullings of tens of millions of chickens in the United States alone. Then in March, another concerning development caught the attention of scientists around the world: H5N1 was found in a herd of dairy cows for the first time in the United States. The virus has since been identified in cows in at least nine states, and preliminary testing of the virus fragments in commercial milk indicate the outbreak may be more widespread than previously thought. While the cases in cows appear to be mild so far, a dairy worker also became sick last month with mild symptoms, marking the second known U.S. case of this type of bird flu in a human. Today, national health reporter Lena Sun joins “Post Reports” to share the latest on what is known and not known about the growing outbreak, and the precautions people can take to stay healthy. Read more: As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covidBird flu explained: How it spreads, milk and egg safety and moreHow prepared the U.S. is for a bird flu pandemic Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Rachel Roubein and Tracy Jan.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Elahe Izadi chats with Aaron Blake, author of the Post newsletter The Campaign Moment, and national politics reporter Colby Itkowitz. They delve into the most important political moments of this past week. Listen for these conversations most Fridays during the 2024 campaign. It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, Post Reports co-host Elahe Izadi and national politics reporter Colby Itkowitz sit down to talk about Tuesday’s congressional primaries, the latest presidential polling, the right’s reckoning with Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the potential effect on the presidential campaign from the protests on college campuses. Follow “The Campaign Moment” podcast feed as well to catch bonus episodes from Aaron. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Allison Michaels.

A young woman in Texas desperately tried to terminate her pregnancy before ultimately choosing adoption. Today on "Post Reports," how abortion restrictions and fate collided to entwine two women’s lives. Read Amber Ferguson's story and watch the video here. Today’s show was produced by Charla Freeland. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today, a look inside the pro-Palestinian protests taking root on college campuses and why universities have been struggling to respond to them.Read more:Over the past week, protests over the Israel-Gaza war have spread and intensified on college campuses across the country. Pro-Palestinian student demonstrators across the country, including at Yale and Columbia University, have been arrested and removed from tent encampments on their campuses. Other encampments have been set up at many schools, including the University of California at Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The demonstrations have put pressure on university leaders — coming from lawmakers, faculty, alumni and families concerned about antisemitism on campus, and from those who say some institutions have been too aggressive and are shutting down students’ rights to free expression.Today on “Post Reports,” education reporter Susan Svrluga takes us through the students’ demands, the universities’ responses, the reactions of pro-Israel counterprotesters, and the future of this building movement. Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson and Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Special thanks to Hannah Natanson, April Bethea and Angelica Ang.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.