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Channel • 4 Shows

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News Commentary

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Sport

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True Crime

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Society & Culture

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01/12/2025

The Harvard Plan: The Endless Frontier

Universities were not always so vulnerable to the whims of politics. The whole system of taxpayer-funded, university-led scientific research came about at the end of World War II, and was the brainchild of a man named Vannevar Bush. He felt the partnership of government and academics had to be equal in order to yield breakthroughs. Today, the Trump administration is proposing a new “compact” that would make the President the dominant partner. We speak with one of the authors of the Trump compact, May Mailman. Find On the Media every week, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715 Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

01/12/2025

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50 min
17/11/2025

The Harvard Plan: And so it begins…

The Harvard Plan, a collaboration between On the Media and The Boston Globe, is about the fight for the soul of America’s oldest and most prestigious university. In the new season, they explore what has unfolded at Harvard since Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025. Three main characters, inside Harvard, tell the story from their perspective: politics professor Ryan Enos, genetics professor and cancer researcher Kamila Naxerova and campus conservative Kit Parker, lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve and Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics. Find more On the Media every week, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

17/11/2025

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47 min
24/11/2025

The Harvard Plan: Jay & Alan

Harvard president Alan Garber and National Institutes of Health head Jay Bhattacharya are two main characters at the heart of the national fight over the future of academia. Alan Garber has been cast as the defender of academic freedom and democracy; Jay Bhattacharya is Donald Trump’s pick to lead the NIH, the agency withholding billions of dollars in research grants from Harvard. Oddly enough, the two men go way back: Garber was Bhattacharya’s undergraduate thesis advisor and mentor in the late 1980s. This episode tells the story of how the two men found themselves adversaries — and what it means for the future of science. Find more On the Media every week, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715 Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

24/11/2025

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51 min
23/12/2025

Alternate Realities: Double or Nothing

As soon as Alternate Realities publishes, Zach Mack calls his dad to hear his reactions to the series. The conversation takes an unexpected turn, launching them into another year-long experiment. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

23/12/2025

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31 min
09/10/2025

Alternate Realities: A Question for Listeners

After we released Alternate Realities, hundreds of listeners reached out, sharing stories about friends and family members who had also fallen under the spell of conspiracy theories. Many of them had tried everything they could think of to get that person back... and failed. Has anyone had success with this? If you or anyone you know has come up with an intervention or experiment or strategy that actually worked — please email us at embedded@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

09/10/2025

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2 min
21/02/2025

Alternate Realities: A Strange Bet

Episode 1: Reporter Zach Mack thinks his dad has gone all in on conspiracy theories, while his father thinks that Zach is the one being brainwashed. In 2024, after the latest round of circular arguments, they decided to try something new, an attempt to pull each other out of the spell each of them thinks the other is under. Can one family live in two realities? To listen to this series sponsor-free and get early access, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

21/02/2025

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27 min
08/04/2016

The Bikers

A shootout last year in Waco, Texas between rival biker groups the Cossacks and the Bandidos ended with nine people dead, 20 injured, and a lot of questions. Hear bikers give eyewitness accounts of the shootout and their predictions for what's next in this "war." Find Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers. Email us at embedded@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

08/04/2016

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35 min
27/06/2018

The Red Line

From 2011-2013, Kelly covered the war in Syria, where people would ask, "Why won't the U.S. intervene?" Then came a chemical attack, ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, that killed more than 1,000 people, and the U.S. almost intervened, but didn't. Now, a new book tells why. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

27/06/2018

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37 min
21/02/2025

Alternate Realities: Facing the Facts

Episode 3: After a year of waiting, the bet is finally over. Reporter Zach Mack takes stock of his father's predictions and confronts him about the future of the family. To listen to this series sponsor-free and get early access, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

21/02/2025

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28 min
02/06/2016

The Arctic

Reporter Rebecca Hersher spent three months in Greenland trying to understand why that country has the highest suicide rate in the world. And then, the story came to her. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @KellyMcEvers and Rebecca Hersher @rhersher. Email us at Embedded@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

02/06/2016

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27 min

Immersive journalism from the inside-out. An NPR Original long form series. Want to listen sponsor-free? Get Embedded+ at plus.npr.org/embedded

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Top Shows

The Harvard Plan: The Endless Frontier

The Harvard Plan: And so it begins…

The Harvard Plan: Jay & Alan

Alternate Realities: Double or Nothing

Alternate Realities: A Question for Listeners

Alternate Realities: A Strange Bet

The Bikers

The Red Line

Alternate Realities: Facing the Facts

The Arctic

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