Immerse yourself in the most compelling and consequential stories from around the globe. The world is changing in big ways every day. State of the World from NPR takes you where the news is happening — and explains why it matters. With bureaus spanning the globe, NPR reporters bring you facts and context from the ground so you can cut through the noise of disinformation. NPR's State of the World, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, incl...
Latest episodes
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7 min
Surprising election results in Brazil and Serbia
We look at unexpected election results in different parts of the globe, in which the youth vote played a major role.In Brazil, the leftist incumbent in his 80’s cinched a stunning…
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7 min
Drones make the Russia-Ukraine war front line a ‘kill zone’?
The Russia-Ukraine war is sometimes compared to the static, deadlocked, trench warfare of World War I. Yet it’s also been the defining conflict of the 21st century, dominated by dr…
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5 min
Why a game gaining popularity in the U.S. is giving Chinese factories a needed boost
Chinese manufacturers have not had it easy these past few years, with U.S. tariffs as well as the wars in Ukraine and Iran pushing up their costs and shrinking profits. But there i…
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12 min
Our reporter witnesses the largest detention of West Bank activists in a decade
In the Israeli occupied West Bank, dozens of Americans have been detained, including a politician running for Congress. Settler violence and detentions by the Israeli military have…
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9 min
Why workers in India are training their AI robot replacements
Sometimes it feels like when we aren’t worried about AI destroying humanity — we worry about it replacing white collar jobs like lawyers, accountants, coders. But tech companies ha…
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6 min
Israel prepares for a high-stakes election
Israel holds an election on October 27th, electing members of the Knesset, their parliament. And this election will decide the future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.It is the…
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14 min
A conversation with President Volodmyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine
Ukraine finds itself in a difficult situation. It has endured increased airstrikes from Russia, especially in the capital Kyiv.One way the country fights back is by hitting Russian…
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9 min
A Gaza war documentary sparks outrage in Israel
In the new documentary “NAZA”, two dozen anonymous Israeli military and intelligence officers describe how they used an AI-powered system to kill Palestinians in Gaza. The film’s p…
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5 min
A German intelligence scandal
The arrest last week of Germany’s former intelligence head, August Hanning, has left the country in shock. He’s suspected of sharing state secrets with other governments. That’s al…
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6 min
Desperate Iranians head to Turkey in search of work
With a battered economy made worse by war, many Iranians are looking for ways to provide for their families. Some decide to travel days over land to make their way to Turkey where…
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7 min
Encore: What 9,000 year old remains in Germany tell us about human development
In this encore episode, we learn about our evolving understanding of an ancient find. When a 9,000 year-old grave of a shaman was discovered in 1930s Germany, the discovery was qui…
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7 min
The roots of the Mexican music known as fandango
We go to Mexico’s gulf coast to learn about fandango. It is a joyous musical tradition born in the Mexican state of Veracruz that’s been going on for more than 300 years and whose…
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7 min
Gaza, three years after the war there began
It has been three years since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that led to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. It’s a war that has yet to end, despite a ceasefire.On yesterday’s episode we h…
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7 min
3 years after the Hamas-led attacks, Israelis are returning to areas near Gaza
Three years after the October 7th attacks, Israel’s southern border with Gaza is undergoing a dramatic rebound. That region was nearly abandoned after thousands of Hamas-led milita…
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7 min
Afghanistan 25 years after the U.S. invasion
This week marks twenty five years since the United States invaded Afghanistan, on October 7th, 2001. It was less than a month after the September 11th attacks and President George…
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5 min
Russia changes what it is attacking in Ukraine’s capital
Russia's jet-powered drones are targeting bridges in the Ukrainian capital, an escalation after more than a month of day-and-night strikes that have left Kyiv feeling almost like a…
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6 min
Brazil’s election turns on the fight against crime
Crime is at the top of voters’ concerns in Brazil heading into Sunday’s national elections. Many are calling for tougher measures — part of a broader rightward shift across Latin A…
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6 min
Remembering London’s Pearly King of Peckham
In mother-of-pearl suits, the Pearly Kings used to canvass East London for charity. The tradition of the Pearly Kings stretches back to the 1800s, when this area of the city was gr…
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6 min
U.S. military officially leaves Iraq
American forces made a formal exit from Iraq with a low-key ceremony. It marks the end of an era that began over 23 years ago with President George Bush’s “shock and awe” invasion.…
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4 min
U.S. demands action on Nicaraguan decision to end elections
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega made a bombshell announcement this summer that he’s ending national elections. Now, the U.S is pushing leaders in the Americas to confront Nicara…