Reveal

Before her historic Speakership, even before she got to the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi worked for years outside the spotlight as an official in the California Democratic party while she raised her family in San Francisco. That
was until 1987, when tragic circumstances led her to do something she hadn’t considered before: run for Congress. Her first hurdle? A city in crisis and a motivated opponent from a community impacted by a deadly epidemic.

Dig Deeper at kqed.org/podcasts/thespeaker

Donate today at Revealnews.org/more

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Revealnews.org/weekly

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Last year, arts organizations and cultural institutions across the US received an alarming message: Their federal grants had been canceled.
The letters said their projects no longer aligned with new federal priorities and that money was being redirected toward the Trump administration’s agenda. The grants had funded museum exhibits, public art programs, historical research, and community arts initiatives. 
Angela Sutton and a team of archaeologists were in the middle of excavating a long-forgotten Black neighborhood in Nashville when she got the news: “Just got an email out of the blue saying, ‘Please stop. You're done.’”
This week on Reveal, reporter Jonathan Jones travels to Nashville and beyond to meet the people living with the fallout of arts funding cuts. Some organizations are scaling back their work. Others worry artists will censor themselves just to survive. But many are fighting back.
Since this show first aired in March 2026, federal courts ordered the National Endowment for the Humanities to reverse mass grant cancellations and struck down the National Endowment for the Arts’ restrictions on “gender ideology.” While some NEH funds have resumed, no retroactive NEA money was restored, and the Trump administration has appealed both rulings.

Support Reveal’s journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly

Connect with us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

More To The Story: President Donald Trump’s second term has often felt like an exercise in mass distraction. As soon as he’s directing people to pay attention to one issue like the Iran war or immigration, he’s already moved on to false claims about widespread voter fraud, taking over Greenland, or building a massive arch in the nation’s capital. In the new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, New York Times reporter and co-author Jonathan Swan has tried to make sense of Trump’s unprecedented tenure by bringing readers inside the room where major decisions happen. And Swan says the loyalists Trump has surrounded himself with in his second term have made Trump’s overwhelming and exhausting presidency possible. On this week’s More To The Story, Swan talks about the immense challenges of covering the Trump administration, how the Jeffrey Epstein scandal sent the White House into crisis mode behind closed doors, and why he’s not eager to write another book about the president anytime soon. 
Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Vincent Sherry | Digital producer: Artis Curiskis | Intern: Joni Binder | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson
Listen: The Secrets Behind “The Talented Mr. Epstein” (More To The Story)
Read: Trump is Growing Desperate on Iran (Mother Jones)
Listen: A New Year, a New War (Reveal)
Read: Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files (The New York Times Magazine)
Read: Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump (Simon & Schuster)

Donate today at Revealnews.org/more

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Revealnews.org/weekly

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

After Mother Jones senior reporter Julia Lurie had her IUD removed, she was surprised to find that she felt happier and calmer than she had in years. 

Her experience made her wonder: What does the science say about how hormonal birth control affects mood? And in a moment when contraceptives are so politicized and misinformation is rampant, is it possible to talk about the side effects of birth control without giving ammunition to those who want to get rid of it altogether?

In talking with scientists, doctors, and public health experts, Lurie learns that for years, research has found that people on hormonal contraceptives are much more likely to experience depression, suicidality, anxiety, insomnia, and other effects rarely discussed by the doctors who prescribe them. 

“For some women, it can be an almost overnight change,” says OB-GYN and contraceptive researcher Dr. Ojvind Lidegaard.

This week on Reveal, we explore the gaps in women’s reproductive health, from contraceptives to menopause.

Support Reveal’s journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly

Connect with us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

More To The Story: The 2016 election that put Donald Trump in the White House the first time was defined in many ways by the role of America’s longtime adversary Russia. Over the years, multiple investigations have concluded that Russia meddled in the election to boost Trump over Hillary Clinton and create political discord among voters. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly called the Russia investigations a “hoax.” As the 2026 midterms approach, experts warn that Russia could interfere in US elections once again. Because as Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn lays out in his new book, How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America, Russia has been waging a continuous campaign against the US. On this week’s More To The Story, Corn talks about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “twilight war” against the US and Western democracies, argues that the infamous Steele dossier ultimately helped Trump, and examines how the Trump White House has dismantled government agencies tasked with finding and fending off Russian disinformation campaigns.
Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Nikki Frick | Digital producer: Artis Curiskis | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson
Listen: Trump’s Impulsive Foreign Policy Is Tearing Apart the Global Order (More To The Story)
Read: Why Is Trump’s DOJ Still Helping the Russian-Linked Liar Who Smeared Biden? (Mother Jones)
Read: How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America (Harper)

Donate today at Revealnews.org/more

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at Revealnews.org/weekly

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices