Post Reports

Today on “Post Reports,” the story of Ashraf Omar Alakhras and his family farm and an exclusive investigation into the destruction of food and agriculture in Gaza. Read more: Since Israel’s invasion of Gaza more than seven months ago, Gaza’s food and agricultural system is on the brink of collapse. Airstrikes and bulldozers have razed farms and orchards across the region, according to a Washington Post investigation comparing satellite imagery before and after the start of the war. Experts say that it could take decades to reconstruct what had already been a vulnerable but dynamic food system. But beyond those satellite images is the story of Ashraf Omar Alakhras and his family’s farm. For months, the Post’s visual forensics reporter, Nilo Tabrizy, has been corresponding with Alakhras about what has happened and what it will take to rebuild. Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Reem Akkad, Peter Finn, Leila Barghouty and Elyse Samuels. Additional reporting from Imogen Piper and Miriam Berger, with help from He Yin of Kent State University. Find The Post’s latest coverage of the Israel-Gaza War here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

11 Jun 202426min

Housing has become increasingly expensive around the country. And while it’s traditionally seen as a local issue, housing could be a major factor in the 2024 presidential election.Read more:In polls, voters often say the economy is one of the top issues they’ll consider when voting in the 2024 presidential election.But what exactly does that mean? For a lot of people, the cost of housing — rent or a mortgage payment — is the main way they feel fluctuations in the economy. That cost can also be the most stressful.Today, host Elahe Izadi speaks with politics reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell about why housing has gotten so expensive in Nevada and other swing states— and how that could sway the presidential election.Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sam Bair.Two projects from the Post Reports team were just honored with Peabody awards. You can listen to “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop” here; and Part One of “Surviving to Graduation” here.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

10 Jun 202427min

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.This week, we hear directly from some undecided voters about how Donald Trump’s criminal conviction lands with them. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Washington Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Isaac Arnsdorf, who covers Trump and the MAGA movement for The Post, sit down with co-host Martine Powers. They also discuss Stephen K. Bannon’s upcoming stint in prison, as well as President Biden’s executive order curtailing asylum and its implications for the campaign.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

7 Jun 202433min

Eight months into Israel’s war in Gaza, a string of standoffs, schisms and ultimatums have brought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet to the brink of collapse and raised the prospect that his own coalition could follow, possibly leading to new elections.Externally, the embattled prime minister is under growing pressure from the public to bring home Israel’s remaining hostages and from the Biden administration to reach a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. Within his unity government, formed less than a week after the deadly militant attacks on Oct. 7, he is contending with rebellions by allies and opponents alike.Today, “Post Reports” host Martine Powers speaks with Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix about the external and internal pressures Netanyahu faces during is facing amidst a critical moment in the war in Gaza.Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Lior Soroka.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

6 Jun 202429min

In Hunter Biden’s 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” he writes: “I’ve bought crack cocaine on the streets of Washington, DC, and cooked up my own inside a hotel bungalow in Los Angeles. I’ve been so desperate for a drink that I couldn’t make the one-block walk between a liquor store and my apartment without uncapping the bottle to take a swig.”Federal prosecutors this week used these words and other excerpts from Biden’s memoir against him, as they attempted to convince a jury that he lied about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in Delaware in 2018.The president’s son faces three felony charges related to the gun purchase. Today on “Post Reports,” Justice Department reporter Perry Stein and host Martine Powers break down the charges Biden faces in his federal trial, why the prosecution is using his memoir as evidence and what impact the case could have on his father’s reelection campaign. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

5 Jun 202420min

On Monday, Anthony Fauci – a former health adviser in the Trump and Biden administrations – testified in front of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, a panel devoted to investigating the federal response to covid-19. The contentious hearing came amid a battle between the panel’s Republican and Democratic leaders over how to understand Fauci’s legacy in shaping the U.S. response to the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the popular understanding of the virus’s origin.Host Martine Powers speaks with health reporter Dan Diamond about why this hearing catapulted a retired Fauci back into the headlines.Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick and Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

4 Jun 202428min

TikTok offered the Biden administration a kill switch. Today on “Post Reports,” why the U.S. government declined.Read more:In 2022, TikTok offered the U.S. government an extraordinary deal. The social media app – owned by a Chinese company – said it would let federal officials pick its U.S. board of directors, would give the government veto power over each new hire and would pay an American company that contracts with the Defense Department to monitor its source code. The Biden administration, however, went its own way. Today on “Post Reports,” tech reporter Drew Harwell takes host Elahe Izadi behind the scenes of the U.S. government’s decision to pass on TikTok’s proposal. Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here and check out this story about the health consequences of loud restaurants.

3 Jun 202429min

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. This week is a special episode dedicated to the questions raised by having a presidential candidate and former U.S. president who is now a felon. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post's new Campaign Moment newsletter, and Ashley Parker, his colleague on the politics team, sit down with Post Reports co-host Elahe Izadi. They talk about the politics of Donald Trump’s guilty verdict, how Republicans and Democrats are reacting to it, and the politicization of the rule of law. Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

31 Mai 202431min