Consider This from NPR Folgen

China and the US were supposed to hold diplomatic talks over the weekend. Instead they sparred over a Chinese balloon that entered American airspace before it was shot down. Where do relations between Washington and Beijing go from here?This wasn't the first time a Chinese surveillance balloon flew into into U.S. airspace. NPR's Greg Myre talks us through past incidents.Then we speak with Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor of China and Asia Pacific Studies at Cornell University, about where U.S. and China relations now stand.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Football is the most watched sport in the US - and one of the most profitable. The NFL reported that last year, the Super Bowl was watched by two-thirds of Americans. But for some, the popularity and success of the sport are overshadowed by its continuing problems around race - from its handling of players kneeling in protest against the killing of unarmed Black people, to lawsuits over racially biased compensation for concussed Black players, to the NFL's inability –or is it unwillingness?--to hire and retain Black coaches in a league where a majority of the players are black. On Tuesday, the Houston Texans announced that they have hired a new head coach - DeMeco Ryans. He becomes one of three Black coaches among the 32 teams in the NFL. The league is also touting a historic first in the upcoming Super Bowl – two Black starting quarterbacks. Are these hopeful signs or progress, or, as some critics contend, too little, too late? Host Michel Martin talks to Justin Tinsley, who writes about sports and culture and appears on ESPN.And Carron Phillips, of Deadspin, explains why 20 years of the NFL's Rooney Rule failed to diversity football's leadership roles.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More than three years since the start of the COVID pandemic, infectious disease experts are studying other viruses with pandemic potential. Their goal is to understand how pandemics begin and how they can be prevented.This is the focus of the NPR series "Hidden Viruses: How Pandemics Really Begin." In this episode, NPR's Ari Daniel takes us to Bangladesh, where researchers studied a dangerous virus called "Nipah" and how it spreads. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy