Can’t-miss interviews: Mohsen Mahdawi, Steve Bannon and Maura Healey on Harvard cuts

A lot happened this week, and NPR has you covered. Catch up on the big news and culture moments you might have missed.

Mohsen Mahdawi — the Columbia student arrested at his citizenship appointment — speaks

Speaking to NPR in his first media interview since his detention, lawful permanent U.S. resident Mohsen Mahdawi finds peace in meditation and hopes “America will fulfill its promise.”


Steve Bannon praises Trump’s strategy, wants DOGE’s receipts

NPR’s Steve Inskeep spoke with the Trump ally and sometime presidential adviser about the president’s agenda at home and abroad.

Steve Inskeep interviews Steve Bannon

Trump’s Harvard funding cuts don’t put “America first,” says Massachusetts governor

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey argues President Trump’s funding cuts to Harvard University and other universities are detrimental to the economy.


Weird Al keeps dorkiness close to his heart

“Weird Al” Yankovic has no trouble tapping into his dorkiness. Perhaps that’s the secret to his decades-spanning appeal. On this week’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin, he talks about aging into his weirdness.

Wild Card: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic ( (NPR | NPR))

Ford Motor CEO “welcomes” Trump’s move to ease tariffs on automakers

President Trump is easing some of his tariffs on the U.S. auto industry. But what will the overall impact of these economic policies mean for the nation’s biggest carmakers? Ford Motor CEO weighs in.


GOP blocked Hegseth Signal probe because he is “indefensible,” says Rep. Adam Smith

House Republicans blocked a resolution that could have forced an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., says it’s because the GOP knows it can’t defend him.


Heritage Foundation president on Trump’s first 100 days

NPR’s Juana Summers talks with Kevin Roberts — president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025 — about the Trump administration’s recent actions.


Ada Limón reflects on her tenure as the poet laureate

U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón reflects on her term and the urgency of connecting to nature through poetry.


Hungry for more? Check out the NPR App for more great interviews, the latest news, music and our favorite podcasts from across the NPR Network.

 

A man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart is in Michigan authorities’ custody

Eleven people were stabbed at a Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday — with six in critical condition — in what a Michigan sheriff said appeared to be a random act.

Israel’s military says aid airdrops will begin in Gaza as hunger grows

Israel's military said the airdrops would begin Saturday night in Gaza, after mounting accounts of starvation-related deaths. Israeli officials also said humanitarian corridors will be established.

Taiwanese political gridlock endures as China-friendly party survives recall vote

A months-long recall effort to oust lawmakers considered pro-Chinese has failed in the self-governing island's legislature.

‘Scotland is already great.’ Protesters troll Trump on his golfing trip

The U.S. president is spending a long weekend in his late mother's birth country of Scotland. There, he's been confronted by protesters waving photos of Jeffrey Epstein.

Southwest aircraft takes a dive to avoid midair collision

The Southwest Boeing 737 dropped almost 500 feet to avoid another aircraft.

Remembering David Nabarro: ‘a great champion of global health and health equity’

That's how the head of the World Health Organization paid tribute to Nabarro's lifelong public health leadership. A physician, Nabarro was a leading voice in the effort to quash the COVID-19 pandemic.

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