The news you need to know today — and the stories that will stick with you tomorrow. Plus, special series and behind-the-scenes extras from Here & Now hosts Robin Young and Scott Tong with help from Producer Chris Bentley and the team at NPR and WBUR.

On a recent reporting trip, Here &amp; Now's Peter O'Dowd and Chris Bentley stopped in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a town known as the birthplace of the blues. They speak with Mayor Orlando Paden, who runs the blues club Red's, and Shelley Ritter, executive director of the Delta Blues Museum. Then, music journalist Betto Arcos goes to Bentonia, Mississippi, to get a music and history lesson from a storied musician and owner of one of the region's remaining juke joints.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Exploring the birthplace of the blues

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Americans consume more than half of their calories from ultra-processed food. Cleveland Clinic dietitian Julia Zumpano explains the health implications.And, President Trump’s new round of tariffs took effect Thursday, with more on the way. MSNBC’s Ali Velshi unpacks what this means for global trade.Then, a new alert system in Arizona, called Turquoise Alerts, works to address a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the state. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio shares what this means for tribal communities.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Americans get most of their calories from ultra-processed foods, new study shows

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cutting nearly $500 million in funding for the development of mRNA vaccines that are used to fight COVID-19 and the flu. Dr. Paul Offit joins us to discuss what the move could mean for vaccine research and development. Then, the Department of Transportation is raising concerns about airlines using artificial intelligence to set ticket prices based on customers' personal information. Transportation analyst Seth Kaplan talks about how AI could show up in ticket prices. And, Microsoft watches over the data of government agencies like the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Last month, Microsoft announced a Chinese state-sponsored hack on those accounts. ProPublica's Renee Dudley tells us more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How RFK Jr.'s cuts to mRNA vaccine funding could hurt public health

Democratic lawmakers in Texas left the state to prevent a vote on redrawing the state’s congressional maps. The redrawn maps would create five more winnable U.S. House districts for Republicans. Democratic Texas state Rep. Armando Walle talks about where Democrats go from here.And, as the school year is about to start back up, Michigan’s education budget and federal funding changes are creating uncertainty for districts in the state. Katy Xenakis-Makowski, superintendent of Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, shares more about how uncertainty is impacting her district.Then, Martha Barnette — co-host of “A Way with Words” — joins us to talk about her new book “Friends with Words,” where she explores word origins and her own love of language.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Texas Democrats stalled an attempt to redraw voting maps. What's next?

Texas House Democrats fled the state in a bid to block a new congressional district map. The proposed redistricting would create five new Republican-leaning seats in the House. Texas Newsroom's Lauren McGaughy tells us more. Then, on Friday, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the July jobs report showed job growth had stagnated. We speak with former BLS Commissioner under Trump's first term, William Beach, who believes the move undermines credibility in the government's economic statistics. And, the first several seasons of "The Simpsons" revolutionized primetime TV, blazed a trail for animated comedy. Alan Siegel talks about his new book, "Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television — and America — Forever."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Republicans want to redistrict Texas. Could other states respond with their own maps?

AI is fueling the stock market, sending the value of tech companies like Nvidia and Microsoft into the stratosphere. This week, Microsoft's market valuation surged past $4 trillion. That's nearly the GDP of India.   Roben Farzad, host of the podcast "Full Disclosure," explains Microsoft's role in the competition. And, Nvidia — which makes microchips for AI — recently hit the same valuation milestone of $4 trillion. Chris Miller, author of the book "Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology," explains why Nvidia is gaining so much traction so fast and what it says about the value of chips.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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