Episodes

  • Your guide to financial self-care in 2025

    Your guide to financial self-care in 2025
    Dec 27 2024
    The holiday season is joyous – and also expensive.

    From steep flight prices to a laundry list of presents to buy, when January 1st rolls around, you might feel like your bank account is hurting.

    Luckily, our friends at the "Life Kit" podcast have an answer for everything – including what they call "financial self-care."

    Today, we're bringing you one of their episodes that's all about creating routines for a healthy bank account in 2025 and beyond.

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    17 mins
  • For a happier new year, rethink your resolutions.

    For a happier new year, rethink your resolutions.
    Dec 26 2024
    It can be hard to resist jumping on the whole "New Year, New You" bandwagon. But if you've decided 2025 is your year to make some changes, we have tips to help you succeed.

    "Life Kit" host Marielle Segarra joins us to share the best ways to approach New Year's resolutions.

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    12 mins
  • What makes a true Christmas movie?

    What makes a true Christmas movie?
    Dec 25 2024
    What makes a movie a Christmas movie?

    When the movie Die Hard was released on Blu Ray a few years back, the studio called it "the greatest Christmas story ever told!"

    It does take place at an office Christmas party, but is that fact enough to make it a Christmas movie?

    What about "Elf," "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Eyes Wide Shut" are those Christmas movies? Yes, right? NPR producer Marc Rivers says, "not so fast."

    Just what makes any Christmas movie a true Christmas movie?

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    10 mins
  • What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?

    What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?
    Dec 24 2024
    Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a permanent fixture of the Christmas song canon.

    But the holiday song canon is big, and a number of other pop artists have made their own Yuletide jingles since 1994 including John Legend, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

    But not even the woman who shattered records with her Eras tour has given us a holiday song that has had staying power worthy of The Canon.

    For 30 years Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" has dominated the holiday music charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson explains what makes it a lasting hit?

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    13 mins
  • The numbers were good, but feelings were bad: The US economy in 2024

    The numbers were good, but feelings were bad: The US economy in 2024
    Dec 23 2024
    By most objective measures, the US economy is in good shape. Employers added about 2 million jobs this year. Unemployment is low. In much of the country, gasoline is now selling for less than $3 a gallon.

    The Economist has called the United States' performance "the envy of the world."

    But even as the U.S. is outperforming most other countries, many Americans remain frustrated by the high cost of living. And that's fueled a lot of unhappiness, and a political comeback for President-elect Donald Trump.

    Trump will soon take the reins of an economy that's bounced back strongly during the four years he was out of office. For many families, though, that rebound was overshadowed by soaring prices for food, housing, and other necessities.

    Will his policies bring costs down? Or rekindle inflation?

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    9 mins
  • In a year of global elections, what did we learn about the state of democracy?

    In a year of global elections, what did we learn about the state of democracy?
    Dec 22 2024
    It was a hectic election season in America, to put it lightly, and we're not alone. What do this year's elections across the world say about the state of democracy at large? Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondents about some of the most consequential global elections of 2024.

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    12 mins
  • Is "The Godfather: Part II," the perfect sequel?

    Is "The Godfather: Part II," the perfect sequel?
    Dec 20 2024
    Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now.

    Some sequels are pretty darn good, but many believe the perfect movie sequel came out 50 years ago this month.

    Of course, we're talking about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II. It's not only considered the greatest sequel of all time, it's also considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

    So why does Godfather II work, and where so many other sequels fall short?

    NPR producer Marc Rivers weighs in.

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    11 mins
  • How Netanyahu survived another tumultuous year

    How Netanyahu survived another tumultuous year
    Dec 19 2024
    At the start of this year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing a crisis. Just a few months before, Hamas had breached Israel's border with Gaza, killing some 1200 people in Israel on October 7th.

    As the year ends, Netanyahu is spending some of it in a courtroom to fight corruption charges that have dogged him since 2019. The Israeli Prime Minister has called the charges absurd.

    You might think that would be detrimental to his political career, but instead Netanyahu looks stronger than he has since the war began.

    This — despite that trial, an international arrest warrant and a grinding war.

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    7 mins