Diane Rehm: On My Mind

Will Biden and Trump take the stage? Last week President Biden said he would be willing to debate Donald Trump ahead of this year’s election in November. This came after months of back and forth between the candidates. Biden’s answers had been coy regarding a face off, citing the “behavior” of the former president. This was likely referencing Trump’s frequent interruption

Last year was the hottest on record. 2024 is predicted to be another record year. Meanwhile, we are seeing the very real effects of our changing climate in more intense forest fires, and more severe and unpredictable weather. This has pushed the idea of geoengineering -- or deliberately intervening in climate systems -- closer to reality. Christopher Flavelle is a reporter for the

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. has a message for Americans: it is time for ordinary people to take charge of our democracy. An African American Studies professor at Princeton, Glaude argues that we have outsourced our responsibility for creating a just society to the political class for too long -- and it hasn’t worked. Glaude explores these ideas in a new book titled “We are the Leader W

Once a taboo topic, menopause has recently come out of the shadows. Media headlines declare it is “having a moment,” as celebrities like Michelle Obama, Drew Barrymore and Oprah have shared their experiences with “the change.” Even Washington is paying attention. In March, President Biden signed an executive order that funds research into women’s health – including midl

Donald Trump has enjoyed strong support from white Evangelical Christians since his first run for the presidency. But recently, he has made a specific brand of Christianity a centerpiece of his campaign. He repeatedly casts himself as a messiah figure, even comparing his legal troubles to the persecution of Christ. He regularly ends his rallies with prayer. And last week he started

Donald Trump has made cognitive decline a major issue in this year’s presidential race. On the campaign trail he accuses Biden of impairment, while boasting of his own brilliance. Yet, this line of attack is nothing new. He has long accused rivals of mental frailty, weaponizing the issue of dementia for his own gain. Washington Post investigative reporter Michael Kranish says Tru

Donald Trump owes the state of New York almost half-a-billion dollars in fines. This stems from a civil fraud suit that found the Trump Organization engaged in a decades-long conspiracy to lie about the value of their assets. A deadline to pay is looming and his lawyers say the former president does not have the cash, nor can he find a company to cover the bond. This comes on top o

How old is too old to be president? It’s a question many Americans are asking as Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off for the office. President Biden is 81. Over the last four years, his hair has thinned, his gait has stiffened. And the media, not to mention his opponent, have pounced on his verbal gaffes, like when he mixed up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico, or when he seemed

Those who see Donald Trump as a threat to democracy have taken solace in the cases piling up against him. There were civil cases that carried massive financial penalties. There were four criminal cases whose trials were set to take place before the November election. And there was the question of the Fourteenth Amendment that could have barred trump from the ballot. But two recent

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, the level of human suffering in the Gaza Strip has come into clearer focus. The death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000 this week, according to the Gazan health ministry. The United Nations estimates that 2 million Palestinians in the territory have been internally displaced by war. New reports say nearly all of the 2.3 million people