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The Washington Post

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Post Reports

Friendship is vital for our health and happiness, but we don’t always prioritize it. The Optimist’s Maggie Penman goes on a journey to make new friends and learn why so many of us are craving connection.

Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman, with help from Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Allison Klein. 

For more stories from The Optimist, subscribe to our newsletter. If you want to hear more stories like this on “Post Reports,” send Maggie an email at maggie.penman@washpost.com. 

If you want to check out Billy Baker's book, it's called “We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends.”

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How to make – and keep – friends

At a time of year when many of us are reflecting on our lives and setting goals, we look at the research into what makes for a good life – and share some advice on how to get there.

Here’s what science considers a path to a good life. Plus, some tips and advice on how to get there.

Are you living a good life? Take this quiz to find out.

7 simple ways to be a bit happier each day

Doing good is good for you, research shows

Boredom is a warning sign. Here’s what it’s telling you.

If you want to hear more stories like this on “Post Reports,” please let us know. You can reach the whole team at podcasts@washpost.com or email Maggie at maggie.penman@washpost.com.

The Optimist has a newsletter! Subscribe here.

Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and Allison Klein. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How to live a good life

This week, the FBI raided the home of a Washington Post journalist, sparking First Amendment fears. At the same time, the Justice Department has opened an investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, drawing concerns from bigwigs on Wall Street and questions as to how the administration treats its perceived political enemies. 

Colby speaks with Dan Merica, co-anchor of our politics newsletter The Early Brief, and Matt Viser, White House bureau chief, about President Donald Trump’s playbook for intimidating his critics, the chilling effects of his administration’s probes and why his coarse response to a heckling auto worker has drawn both criticism and praise.

Today’s show was produced by Thomas Lu and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Martine Powers and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Trump’s intimidation playbook and a presidential middle finger

Early Wednesday, FBI agents raided the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation of a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. 

The reporter – Hannah Natanson – was at her home in Virginia at the time of the search. She covers the federal government for The Post and spent the past year connecting with sources while reporting on the Trump administration’s efforts to fire federal workers. 

Investigators said neither Natanson nor The Post are the focus of the probe, but many saw the search as a jarring new step aimed at limiting news organizations’ ability to gather information. 

Today on “Post Reports,” democracy reporter Sarah Ellison joins host Elahe Izadi to discuss the unusual move by federal law enforcement and the lengths journalists go to to keep sources safe. 

And, in the second half of the show, we bring you an excerpt from an April 2025 conversation with Natanson – about how she became The Post’s “federal government whisperer.”

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Dennis Funk and mixed by Sam Bair.

The April 23 episode was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Peter Bresnan.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The FBI raid on our reporter's home

For years, President Donald Trump has complained about Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell. He’s called him names, said he should be fired and has tried to pressure the Fed leader into lowering interest rates.

Trump’s feud against Powell escalated over the weekend, when Powell revealed that the Justice Department launched a criminal inquiry against him, alleging that Powell lied about the cost of renovations to the Federal Reserve buildings.

Host Elahe Izadi speaks to banking reporter Andrew Ackerman about what this probe could mean for Powell, the Fed and whether Trump’s consistent pressure on Powell could undermine America’s central bank forever.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Why Fed Chair Jerome Powell isn't backing down

Conflicting narratives of Renée Good’s killing in Minneapolis have quickly emerged – federal officials claim the ICE officer who shot her was acting in self-defense, while others believe her death was easily avoidable and that ICE’s tactics are overly aggressive. 

Host Martine Powers speaks with immigration reporter Maria Sacchetti about how law enforcement officials are scrutinizing the shooting and what accountability in this case could look like.

Are ICE officers doing what they’re trained to do?

The turmoil started in late December, when some Tehran merchants closed up shop to protest the free fall of Iran’s currency. 

That initial outcry sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators demanded not just economic reform, but a total overhaul of Iran’s government and an end to repression. Some called for the ouster of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Now the government has cracked down, and there are reports that hundreds of protesters have been killed. The country has been under a communications blackout since Thursday, making it nearly impossible to assess the extent of the bloodshed.

Elahe Izadi speaks with Iran correspondent Yeganeh Torbati about how things boiled over - and what might be happening inside the country.

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. 

You can learn more about Torbati's forthcoming book on Iran here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Will these Iran protests bring the government down?

Decades after a brazen art theft drove Merry White’s father to despair, federal agents closed in on the missing work. For White, the search is personal.

Read more:

Merry White is the daughter of a Harvard professor who was close friends with painter Jackson Pollock. White’s parents came to own several of the painter’s artworks, and one hung over White’s bed when she was a child. It was stolen in 1973, along with two other paintings by Pollock. The theft destroyed White’s father's peace of mind, and left White with complicated feelings.

On this weekend episode of “Post Reports,” art critic Sebastian Smee reconstructs the provenance and theft of these precious works of art. Audio production and original music by Bishop Sand, with help from Sean Carter.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The hunt for a stolen Jackson Pollock painting

This week, the shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis has drawn new scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement push, and reactions have become something of a political Rorschach test. Meanwhile, Democrats such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. Mark Kelly (Arizona) are facing new challenges as they navigate attacks from Republican leaders. And the Trump administration continues to project defiance in the aftermath of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s removal.

“This is just one expression of raw American power after another,” says White House reporter Michael Birnbaum on this week’s “Post Reports” politics roundtable.

Michael spoke with host Colby Itkowitz and Dan Merica, co-anchor of the Early Brief newsletter, to unpack a jam-packed week of political news. 

Today’s show was produced by Thomas Lu and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Martine Powers with help from Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Minneapolis ICE shooting, Tim Walz and 'America First' after Venezuela

Go to sleep earlier. Read more books. Eat better. Exercise. 

Changing our behavior is hard, but what if some simple – and dare we say fun – tricks could help us keep our resolutions for the new year?

From temptation bundling to buddying up, Optimist reporter Maggie Penman shares the science on how to make your New Year’s resolutions, whatever they are, stick in 2026. Plus, on the eve of national “Quitters Day,” we explore why making resolutions can actually be beneficial – even if you don’t stick to them perfectly. 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Dennis Funk and mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks to Allison Klein and Theresa Tamkins.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

The trick to making New Year’s resolutions stick

The new live-action Barbie movie is highly anticipated … among adults. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack the business decisions behind Mattel’s move.

Read more:

Can nostalgia make the Barbie movie a win for Mattel? A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. dropped a full-length trailer for the highly anticipated film from Greta Gerwig and her co-writer and partner Noah Baumbach. 

Since the trailer dropped, it has gone viral – among young adults – making business reporter Rachel Lerman wonder why a toy-maker is making a movie for grown-ups. 

Rachel talked to industry analysts and Barbie fans about Mattel’s strategy and what this movie can tell us about the cultural moment we’re in.

This Barbie is a business decision

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