On March 24, 2018, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Washington, D.C. to demand an end to gun violence. That was also the start of the March For Our Lives movement, which continues to call on young people to make their voices heard through the ballot box. Survivors of a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida organized that first march. One of them was David Hogg. NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with Hogg about the triumphs and frustrations of the past five years and the movement's hopes for the future. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

PIMCO founder and legendary investor Bill Gross was known as the "Bond King." People all over the finance world listened to his market calls. He helped change a sleepy bond market into the highly competitive and profitable world we know today. His story is also the story of how American financial markets work, how people game them, and what happens when they implode. NPR's Mary Childs wrote about Gross in her book, The Bond King: How One Man Made A Market, Built An Empire And Lost It All. She reported an episode about Gross for NPR's Planet Money. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

School districts across the country are struggling to fill vacancies among their teaching staff. In addition to stepping up their recruitment efforts, some districts are looking to turn more of their existing staff into teachers. NPR's Cory Turner reports on the Mississippi Teacher Residency program, and on the impact it is having in the state's capital, Jackson. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The Cherokee Nation has been hit hard by opioid addiction and fentanyl-related overdose deaths. But the tribe has a plan to heal. Like many communities around the country, the Cherokee Nation received settlement money from big drug companies and pharmacy chains accused of fueling the opioid crisis. The tribe is investing that $100 million in programs to support treatment, harm reduction and a fight against stigma. Tribal leaders say the funds will save lives and save families. NPR's addiction correspondent Brian Mann traveled to Oklahoma to see how the Cherokee Nation is fighting the opioid crisis. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

On March 20, 2003, the United States launched its invasion of Iraq. We recall how the war started, and the trauma it left behind. NPR's Eric Westervelt was embedded with the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division as it pushed north from Kuwait. He describes what he saw in the first days of the war. We also hear reporting from NPR's Ruth Sherlock, who spoke to young Iraqis who grew up in the years since the invasion and are still trying to realize a better future for their country. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Today, when we hear the word pandemic, most people think of COVID-19. But by 2003, while rates of HIV infections and deaths from AIDS had stabilized and fallen in the US, in sub-Saharan Africa, the rates were at epidemic proportions. In his State of the Union address that January, President George W. Bush announced a massive investment in the global fight against HIV –The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. In the twenty years since, the program has dedicated billions of dollars to HIV prevention and treatment across Africa and other regions, saving tens of millions of lives. NPR's Pien Huang speaks with Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and Dr. Helene Gayle, an epidemiologist and president of Spelman College, who spent 20 years at the CDC focused on HIV treatment and prevention and global healthcare.

When it comes to TV ratings, women's college basketball is trending upward - even as the men's game is losing viewers. When it comes to resources and media coverage? There's still a wide gap between the men and women. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Chantel Jennings, senior writer covering women's basketball for The Athletic, about the factors that contribute to that gap and how the women's game could overcome them. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order that he says can keep more guns out of the hands of dangerous people by increasing the number of buyers who have to submit background checks. The White House says that's the closest the U.S. can get to universal background checks without additional legislation from Congress, where Democrats and Republicans remain divided on any new actions aimed at reducing gun violence. NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports on the order, which Biden announced during a visit to Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and injured nine more in January, one of over 110 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year. And NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice about the order's potential impact and where gun legislation goes from here. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

A group of volunteers is braving artillery barrages to evacuate residents from towns and cities in Ukraine's Donbas region, including Bakhmut, the epicenter of fighting in the eastern part of the country. NPR's Frank Langfitt speaks with two rescuers, Kuba Stasiak, 29, a former journalist from Poland, and Andre West, 22, from Germany, who document their rescues on Instagram In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

A new documentary called Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic has gained attention at screenings hosted by universities, police departments and even the Pentagon. But many of the claims made in the film are poorly supported and overhyped. The film warns parents about the dangers of sexually coercive crimes online and suggests that strangers are targeting potentially millions of minors - pressuring them into sharing revealing content and, often, extorting them for money. But NPR has found the documentary could leave viewers with an incomplete and exaggerated sense of the risk by relying upon statistics that lack context. Experts fear it could hinder harm reduction efforts by skewing public perception. NPR's Lisa Hagen, who covers how false and misleading information spreads, shares her reporting into the documentary and its filmmakers. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The Biden administration took extraordinary measures to protect the accounts of customers at two banks that failed over the past few days: Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Federal regulators said Sunday that they were taking the emergency measures to prevent contagion at other small and regional banks in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's implosion. NPR's David Gura reports that, despite those measures, many bank stocks plunged on Monday. And former Congressman Barney Frank, a Democrat who sponsored new banking regulations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, explains what he thinks went wrong at the banks. Frank more recently also served on the board of Signature Bank. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

In about the last 10 years, the legalized cannabis industry has grown into a $32 billion business. Today, in 21 states, and the District of Columbia, you can legally purchase recreational marijuana if you are 21 or older. And 37 states have legalized medical marijuana programs. While it's easy to feel that cannabis has come a long way from the scare tactics of Reefer Madness, since 1970's Controlled Substance Act, marijuana has been classified as a drug on par with cocaine and heroin - dramatically increasing penalties for possession, sale, and distribution. Those penalties were enforced in ways that continue to disproportionately target people of color, especially black people. While the same states that once prosecuted the sale of weed are now regulating and taxing it, will those most affected by the punitive frameworks of the past be able to profit too? Host Michel Martin speaks with Devin Alexander, owner of the cannabis delivery business, Rolling Releaf, based in Newton Massachusetts. And we hear from Tauhid Chappell, President of the Philadelphia CannaBusiness Association.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he welcomes a bipartisan effort in Congress to push for new rail safety regulations in the wake of the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Buttigieg spoke to NPR's Ari Shapiro a day after Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized for the East Palestine derailment during a Senate hearing, but stopped short of endorsing specific new regulations for his industry. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Some 16 million American households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will get less money this month. During the pandemic, the federal government temporarily increased SNAP benefits. But those extra benefits have now expired. That means recipients will get about $90 less each month on average, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute. Some families may see their benefits cut by more than $250 per month. Dr. Megan Sandel, co-director of the Boston Medical Center's Grow Clinic, which focuses on treating malnutrition issues in kids, explains how children's health can suffer when families are not able to put enough food on the table. And NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports on another worrying trend in Americans' personal finances. Credit card debt is increasing at a record rate, as people struggle to keep up with inflation. This episode also features reporting from NPR's Alison Aubrey. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Before he was the face of a protest movement and a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick was a teenager who was trying to figure out who he was and where he was going. Kaepernick's new graphic novel "Change The Game," written with Eve L. Ewing and illustrated by Orlando Caicedo, is about that time in his life. He talked to NPR about his coming-of-age story, his career, and whether the NFL has changed since his departure. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

He hasn't yet entered the contest, but even so, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is one of the leading Republicans in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. DeSantis has just released a new book that highlights his pugnacious style and hardline stance on issues ranging from education to public health. And he has attracted even more attention as Florida's Republican-led legislature began its session Tuesday. NPR's Greg Allen has this look at how DeSantis became what some believe is the future of the Republican Party. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Tennessee passed a bill last week restricting drag shows. The law specifically bans "adult cabaret performances" in public or in the presence of children. In more than a dozen states, Republican lawmakers have been pushing similar bills. Historian Jules Gill-Peterson of Johns Hopkins University says laws that target drag have a long history in the U.S, and LGBTQ people have fought back before. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

When Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid this week, many people saw the result as a referendum on how she handled crime. But crime is not just a Chicago issue. Nationally, murders, shootings, and thefts are up. Communities that feel under siege are looking to hold elected leaders accountable for their failure to address the problem. But when agreements on how to solve crime break down along party lines -and even within parties- are politics hindering potential solutions? Host Michel Martin talks to Thomas Abt, senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, about non-partisan, research-based solutions. We also hear from Ja'Ron Smith, a fellow with Right on Crime, a conservative criminal justice reform coalition.

Documents released as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit reveal that many Fox News stars knew conspiracy theories about the 2020 election were baseless but invited guests who spewed those claims on air anyway. The documents were released by Dominion Voting Systems as part of its lawsuit against both Fox News and its parent company. They include text messages sent by Fox News personalities and statements made under oath by the network's controlling owner Rupert Murdoch. NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik explains that the lawsuit is the latest in a series of ethical breaches during Murdoch's decades-long reign at the helm of one of the most powerful media companies in the world. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The Supreme Court is weighing whether or not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional based on how it receives its funding. Last fall a panel of three Trump appointees on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals outlined that if funding for a federal agency like the CFPB is not appropriated annually by Congress, then everything that agency does is deemed unconstitutional. While the agency's fate is in limbo, its latest initiative is aimed at cracking down on junk fees that can cost Americans a lot of money. We speak with CFPB's director, Rohit Chopra, on how unnecessary fees impact everyday people. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.