The Sunday Story

Up First
Up First
  • 4.4 (11)
  • Politics
  • Updated Daily

“The Sunday Story” from Up First is where storytelling meets the issues of the day. Hosted by Ayesha Rascoe, “The Sunday Story” is NPR’s weekly news and culture magazine exploring one topic in depth through conversations, interviews and deeply-reported narrative journalism. Publishing every Sunday in the Up First feed. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for The Sunday Story.

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  1. 6d ago

    ‘We want to ride’: the 1978 protest that sparked the disability rights movement

    Thirty-six years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, guaranteeing civil rights for millions of Americans. But the movement that made that day possible began years earlier. One pivotal victory was won by a small, often-forgotten group of activists in Denver known as the "Gang of 19." On The Sunday Story, NPR’s Joseph Shapiro and Colorado Public Radio’s Stephanie Wolf trace the history of the disability rights movement—from the protests that secured accessible public transit to the modern-day fight to protect the hard-won right to live independently.  See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    ‘We want to ride’: the 1978 protest that sparked the disability rights movement

  2. Jul 19

    Infertility doctor secretly fathered dozens of children: how strangers became family

    What defines a family? For a group of strangers, that question took on a profound, unexpected meaning after DNA tests revealed a hidden, decades-old deception. They discovered they were all half-siblings conceived through artificial insemination in the mid-20th century. Their biological father was not the man who raised them, but Dr. Charles Charny, a Philadelphia fertility specialist. In this week's episode of The Sunday Story, Frank Langfitt follows this unique family as they piece together their strange creation tale and decide to become a family. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    Infertility doctor secretly fathered dozens of children: how strangers became family

  3. Jul 12

    Should we worry about the end of the world?

    From climate change to the rise of AI - it’s hard not to feel like human civilization could be nearing the end. What threats are really worth worrying about? And what can we do to survive a global catastrophe? Today on The Sunday Story, Ben Bradford, host of the new NPR Network podcast Are We Doomed?, tells us what he’s learned about the end of the world. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    Should we worry about the end of the world?

  4. Jul 5

    The growing movement to secede from Illinois and become the 51st state

    Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed, marking the birth of a new nation. But if you read the Declaration closely, it’s not just about creating something new;  it’s about ridding itself of something unwanted. It’s a break-up text, announcing secession from the British Crown. Today, that same spirit is fueling a modern-day movement in Illinois. A growing number of rural counties want to secede from Illinois and create a  51st state called “New Illinois.”  Driven by frustration over the dominance of Chicago politics,  they are organizing for a new future. This week on The Sunday Story, reporter Connor Towne O'Neill takes us inside the movement to split Illinois, and the challenges facing a modern secessionist movement in the land of Lincoln. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    The growing movement to secede from Illinois and become the 51st state

  5. Jun 28 • Up First+ Only

    The secret life of a stolen Van Gogh

    What happens to famous works of art when they are stolen from museums and private art collections? In the Netherlands, museums and collectors reach out to Arthur Brand, a self-styled art detective who works to track down art that has gone missing and fallen into the criminal underworld.   This week on The Sunday Story, when a famous Van Gogh painting is stolen from a museum, Brand teams up with an unlikely partner – art thief Octave Durham. Together, the pair work to rescue a masterpiece from the underground market and return it to its museum home. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    The secret life of a stolen Van Gogh

  6. Jun 21 • Up First+ Only

    Caught in Cambodia’s Scam Machine: Part 1

    Who are the workers behind the global scam industry?  In Cambodia, more than 200,000 scam workers have been released from fortified compounds, where many of them had been trafficked, held against their will, and forced to work for little pay. The Cambodian government’s recent crackdown has enabled reporters to get a closer look at an industry responsible for defrauding Americans of at least 20 billion dollars in 2025. But how did these workers end up in Cambodia, and what was the promise that drew them there? In this two-part series for The Sunday Story, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani dives into the previously hidden world of the global scam industry. And she follows the story of one Ugandan man, who traveled far from home for a job that was “too good to be true.”  Listen to Part 2 here. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    Caught in Cambodia’s Scam Machine: Part 1

  7. Jun 21 • Up First+ Only

    Caught in Cambodia’s Scam Machine: Part 2

    PART 2: With the Cambodian government’s ongoing crackdown on the scam industry, tens of thousands of former scammers are stranded on the streets of Phnom Penh. Are they being treated as criminals or as victims themselves of a global industry designed to extract their labor? In part 2 of our series on The Sunday Story, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani continues the story of one Ugandan scam worker as he tries to make his way home. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    Caught in Cambodia’s Scam Machine: Part 2

  8. Jun 14 • Up First+ Only

    How an anti-police violence protest ended in a teen’s death

    In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to be part of the racial justice movement. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved. Today on The Sunday Story, we bring you the first episode of a new series from NPR’s Embedded podcast that investigates Mays’ death. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

    How an anti-police violence protest ended in a teen’s death
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Ratings & Reviews

4.4
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

“The Sunday Story” from Up First is where storytelling meets the issues of the day. Hosted by Ayesha Rascoe, “The Sunday Story” is NPR’s weekly news and culture magazine exploring one topic in depth through conversations, interviews and deeply-reported narrative journalism. Publishing every Sunday in the Up First feed. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for The Sunday Story.

Information

  • Channel
    Up First
  • Creator
    NPR
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    191
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2015-2026 NPR - For Personal Use Only
  • Show Website
    The Sunday Story
  • Provider
    NPR

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