India’s general election ends this weekend, with Prime Minister Nerendra Modi leading the polls. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack where Modi’s support comes from and what a win for his party would mean for the world’s largest democracy.Read more:For more than a month, people across India have been voting in this year's general election. It’s the largest the world has ever seen, and Prime Minister Nerendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party are ahead in polls by a wide margin. A lot of Modi’s support is coming from women – largely because they are in favor of his Hindu nationalist platform and because his party has encouraged women to work. He has also been able to reach young voters through his social media campaigning. But many see India’s struggling economy and his Hindu nationalism as reasons to vote him out – particularly because attacks against Muslims have increased during his time in office. An alliance of more than two dozen parties is running against him, but they’ve struggled to stay organized and make gains. Correspondent Karishma Mehrotra reports from New Delhi on what it’s been like on the campaign trail and what it could mean to have Modi lead for a third term.Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon and Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

A community organizer and several residents of public housing in Milwaukee are trying to get attention from their representatives in government. Low-income Black voters, like those at College Court, are often discussed by political pundits as key to President Biden’s reelection campaign against former president Donald Trump. The residents are facing issues like bedbugs, violence, public spillover of mental illness and backlogged maintenance issues, which are all seemingly intractable to an overwhelmed housing authority. The promise of public housing, where rent was typically capped at 30 percent of tenants’ incomes, appears to no longer include safety. The reasons lie in a tangle of acronyms and funding streams, regulations and deputy directors, good intentions followed by fine print and excuses. This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Jose A. Del Real. Audio narration comes from our partners at Noa, an app offering curated audio articles.

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 Campaign Moment newsletter, is out sick this week, so national political reporter Michael Scherer and White House reporter Tyler Pager join Martine Powers this week. They talk about how the Biden campaign may need more popular Democratic candidates down ballot to boost turnout in key battleground states, Donald Trump’s claims that President Biden was prepared to “take me out” when the Department of Justice raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022, and the controversy swirling around political-flag-flying at Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s homes.Today’s show was produced by Ted Muldoon and Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Niger has been a key U.S. ally in West Africa in the fight against growing threats from Islamist extremist groups. But a military coup last July soured that relationship. Now, the U.S. says it will withdraw from the country by mid-September.For more than a decade, the U.S. military presence in Niger has enabled U.S. intelligence gathering, monitoring and support to Niger, as it works to contain extremist groups. After last year’s coup, many Nigeriens support their country’s new leadership, hoping they can better fight violence from these groups. But discussions between the United States and Niger’s military junta have broken down. Today on “Post Reports,” West Africa bureau chief Rachel Chason shares what she learned in an exclusive interview with Niger’s prime minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, and what this could all mean for Nigerien and American national security interests. Read more: U.S. lays out plans for withdrawing troops from NigerU.S. threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader saysWhy the Islamic State is surging in AfricaToday’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In a place with a long history of hate, a rebel Republican bloc mobilizes against far-right extremism within the local party. Read more:A generation ago, community activists were able to bankrupt and push out a white supremacist hate group that took root among the tall pines and crystal lakes of North Idaho. It was a hard-fought triumph — one North Idaho residents took pride in.But today, some of those activists and residents worry that hateful ideologies are returning to their region. This time, they say, the threat is no longer on the fringes of society, dressed in Nazi garb at a hideout in the woods. Instead, they say they see it in the leadership of the local Republican Party, which has mirrored the lurch to the right of the national conservative movement during the Trump era on matters of race, religion and sexuality. The bigotry of the past, they say, now has mainstream political cover.Today on “Post Reports,” extremism and domestic terrorism reporter Hannah Allam talks with host Martine Powers about the self-described “traditional” Republicans who spent the past two years planning to wrest back control from leaders they accused of steering the local GOP toward extremism — charges those officials vehemently denied. And Hannah gives an update on their plight. Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the episode. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Popular rapper Young Thug is on trial in Atlanta on racketeering charges, along with other members of his rap group, YSL. Today on “Post Reports,” why the trial will soon be the longest in state history and how his lyrics are being used against him.Read more:The popular rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, skyrocketed to fame over the past decade, headlining festivals, winning a Grammy, and building up a successful record label and the rap collective YSL. But in May 2022 he was arrested and indicted with more than two dozen other people, accused of “overt acts” such as drug possession and armed robbery. The trial has gone on for almost a year and a half – with jury selection alone taking over 10 months. More than 200 people have been called to testify, and the prosecution is using Young Thug’s social media accounts and lyrics as evidence of being involved in criminal activity. Reporter Ben Brasch has been following the trial closely and explains each side’s arguments and how this case could affect other rappers’ artistic expression. Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, along with other top officials. Today on “Post Reports,” the reactions to his death from within Iran and worldwide – and what it will mean for the country’s leadership.Read more: The deaths of two of Iran’s top officials brought shock and celebrations from within Iran and among the country’s diaspora. Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed along with other officials and crew members when their helicopter crashed traveling from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan. It crashed in thick fog, and search teams struggled to find the crash site for hours because of the weather. In Iran, officials declared five days of mourning, with many Iranians gathering to grieve Raisi’s death. But across social media and at protests in Tehran on Monday, people danced in celebration. Raisi was a polarizing figure during his four-decade career in the country’s government, during which he cracked down on political protests. Yeganeh Torbati is a financial investigative reporter who is following the aftermath of Raisi’s death. She explains his legacy and what Raisi’s death means on a global scale. Today’s show was produced by Bishop Sand, with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Monica Campbell 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 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.