Until his final days, the late Pope Francis had regularly spoken to the priest at Gaza's Catholic church about the situation in the war-ravaged territory.

Israel launched airstrikes Wednesday on Syria's capital of Damascus, saying it targeted the Syrian military headquarters and near the presidential palace in response to attacks on the Druze minority. This segment originally aired July 16, 2025.

Edward Said brought the question of Palestine into the American mainstream. He taught at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, and today, more than two decades after his death, pro-Palestine student protesters on that campus and others have invoked his name. Meanwhile, his interviews circulate on social media and his books are taught at universities around the world. On this episode: the story of the man who pushed for recognition of the Palestinian perspective, the pushback he faced, and the dangers he foresaw. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

Lesotho, a tiny mountain kingdom in Southern Africa, has just declared a two-year state of disaster after being threatened with the highest U.S. tariffs in the world.

It's been over three months since President Trump announced very big across-the-board tariffs on imports from nearly every territory on Earth–including uninhabited islands. It's a move he said would revitalize the U.S. economy. Since that splashy White House announcement, the tariff rates have been a wildly moving target. Ratcheted up - then back down - on China, specifically. Overlaid with global product-specific tariffs on categories like automobiles and copper. Partially paused after the stock market tanked. Through it all, the tariff rate has remained at or well-above 10 percent on nearly every good imported to the U.S. And if you've listened to NPR's reporting since April, you'll have heard many voices make one particular prediction over and over again – that American consumers will pay the price. If American consumers are going to pay for the tariffs, the question is: when ? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The British government hid a billion dollar plan to rescue Afghans who assisted its troops after a data leak compromised exposed them to Taliban retaliation.