Consider This from NPR Folgen

This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money."And it's doing that by having federal agencies make new business rules. There are actions to simplify health insurance paperwork, crack down on fake product reviews, streamline parent-teacher communications in schools and circumvent those automated customer service calls that the White House labels "doom loops."It's all part of a wider economic mission to eliminate modern business practices that the Biden administration believes exploit Americans.Neera Tanden, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, breaks down why this is happening and how it will work in reality.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

By most measures, the new Democratic ticket has had an impressively smooth launch.But there is one caveat to that — controversy over how vice presidential nominee Tim Walz described his military service.A spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign has said in a statement that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee "misspoke" when talking about his military service. Walz, who served for 24 years in the National Guard, had made a comment that sounded like he had been to war. Walz's Republican opponent, JD Vance, pounced on that comment to accuse Walz of what's called "stolen valor," a serious charge among veterans. But there's also a history of playing politics with military service – one that's been used in past elections. Is Tim Walz guilty of deliberately misrepresenting his military record or the victim of a familiar political smear tactic?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it.Notably there's Narcan.It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose.Are college campuses and their students prepared?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy