Was this NBA betting scandal inevitable?

A delegation of high-level US officials were recently sent to Israel to try to hold the fragile Gaza truce together. The Israeli press called them the 'BibiSitters,' a nod to the Israeli prime minister's nickname. What does Benjamin Netanyahu's political future look like and how tied is he to the Trump administration's interests?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Gabriel Sanchez, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

U.S. citizens have been arrested in the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. According to ProPublica, at least 170 have been arrested or detained by immigration agents since President Trump took office for his second term.In response, Texas Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — both Democrats — have announced an investigation into these detentions.It is incredibly concerning that now anyone can be targeted,” Rep. Garcia tells NPR. “It’s important that we begin documenting all of this.”For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Michael Levitt, with audio engineeringfrom Damian Herring. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwatananon and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The FBI arrested multiple people tied to the NBA in a wide-ranging illegal gambling probe. The NBA and other major sports leagues have been deepening ties with the lucrative sports-betting industry. Washington Post sports columnist Kevin Blackistone explains the implications of this scandal on the NBA and sports betting in general. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Michael Levitt and Daniel Ofman. Additional reporting in this episode from Becky Sullivan.It was edited by Russell Lewis, Justine Kenin and our executive producer Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For many years, the far right has been the most lethal and persistent source of domestic terrorism in the U.S. But the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk last month and attacks against immigration enforcement efforts have fueled a talking point for Republicans about concerns over left-wing political violence. The political motivations behind these attacks are still unclear, but one study says that violence from the left has been the greater threat so far this year.NPR’s domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef looks into whether this claim is correct.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Damian Herring.It was edited by Andrew Sussman and Sami Yenigun, who is also our executive producer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's getting harder to get away with murder in Philadelphia.Violent crime has fallen sharply -- like it has in many other cities.And Philadelphia police are now solving homicides at the highest rate since 1984.There's a connection there -- but there's also plenty more to the story.Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter Ellie Rushing shows what her team has found.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or atplus.npr.org.Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Simon-Laslo Janssen. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. It features additional reporting by Martin Kaste and WHYY’s Aaron Moselle. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump administration's push to expand immigration enforcement -- as part of its deportation efforts -- has created job opportunities in small towns and cities.We head to one of them -- Folkston, Georgia, a community of about 2,800 residents..That number will soon swell as immigrant detainees fill up a growing ICE detention center at the edge of town. The center is in a old prison run by the private prison corporation, the GEO Group, and is set to become the nation’s largest detention facility.We hear about the hopes and fears of the town's residents.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Liz Baker, Elena Burnett and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Hannah Gluvna.  It was edited by Eric Westervelt and Justine Kenin. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Following repeated U.S attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela, Senator Tim Kaine has partnered with fellow Democrat Senator Adam Schiff and Republican Senator Rand Paul to force a vote to prevent war on Venezuela without approval from Congress. Senator Kaine speaks to NPR about the role he says Congress must play to keep the president from unilaterally leading the country into a military conflict.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Avery Keatley, with audio engineering by Valentina Rodriguez and Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Adam Raney and Anna Yukhananov. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Veteran Middle East correspondent Jane Arraf has seen peace deals fall apart many times in her decades covering the region. She talks about what she is watching for to see if the ceasefire can hold.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Linah Mohammad and Avery Keatley. It was edited by Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

America’s farmers are getting walloped by the federal government shutdown.The closing of government offices means they’ve lost access to data and loans that help keep them afloat — Then there’s healthcare. More than a quarter of the nation’s farmers rely on the Affordable Care Act…along with the subsidies at the heart of the shutdown fight.And add to that — the fact that farmers’ finances are taking a hit from bottom lines are also being slashed due to President Trump’s tariffs.For generations – the federal government has worked to support American farmers. But as they lose access to vital loans and information.. as the trade war cuts into their bottom line… And as many face skyrocketing healthcare costs…that support seems to have all but disappeared.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam, with audio engineering by Simon-Laslo Janssen.It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is the AI boom an AI bubble? Wall Street and Silicon Valley increasingly think so.This week JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said "a lot of assets" appear to be "entering bubble territory."Earlier this month Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the AI market was an "industrial bubble" where stock prices were "disconnected from the fundamentals" of their businesses.But big tech shows little sign of pausing its massive investments in artificial intelligence. So how is it that A-I could change the world ... and is also maybe in a bubble?Stanford economist Jared Bernstein, a former White House chief economic adviser and co-author of a recent New York Times op-ed on the subject, explains.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] episode was produced by Brianna Scott. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy