“The Sunday Story” from Up First is where storytelling meets the issues of the day. Hosted by Ayesha Rascoe, “The Sunday Story” is NPR’s weekly news and culture magazine exploring one topic in depth through conversations, interviews and deeply-reported narrative journalism. Publishing every Sunday in the Up First feed. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org . You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for The Sunday Story.
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Supporters of Democrat senatorial candidate James Talarico react to early election results during a midterm election night watch party at Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas on November 3, 2026. RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images hide caption
November 8, 2026 • What drove the Democratic blue wave at the polls and what happens now? This week on The Sunday Story, we dive into the lessons from the midterms and talk about where the country goes from here.
People arrive at a polling location during early voting in the midterm election, in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 13, 2026. Photo by Erik S. Lesser/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
November 1, 2026 • Millions of Americans have already cast their votes early ahead of Tuesday’s midterms. On this episode of The Sunday Story , NPR’s senior political correspondent Tamara Keith discusses the turbulent and unpredictable political landscape of this years’ midterm election. Rising costs and unpopular foreign policy decisions have some experts anticipating a blue wave. President Trump is predicting the opposite. But voters on both sides of the aisle share one commonality: they’re not happy. How will a dissatisfied electorate decide the future of America?
Chuck Martens, 77, doing yard work in exchange for reduced rent Noelle Annonen for Nebraska Public Media hide caption
October 25, 2026 • The Midwest used to be known as an affordable place to live. Lately, though, many people there are having a hard time making ends meet. In this episode of The Sunday Story , Holly Edgell and Daniel Wheaton from NPR’s Midwest Newsroom bring us the voices of Midwesterners. We hear about how people in the region are struggling financially, and how the affordability crisis is impacting their votes in the midterms.
An Israeli woman holds a national flag next to campaign posters of the Yashar party as she and others call on people to vote near Shtulim on October 15, 2026. Israel heads to the polls on October 27 in its first election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, in what is seen as a referendum on the prime minister. Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 18, 2026 • Israelis will vote in national elections next week. It’s the first vote since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the Gaza war. Many Israelis call it the most important vote in their country’s history.
Incarcerated women walk through a Receiving and Release (R&R) yard at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California, on June 30, 2026. The prison is the largest women's correctional facility in California, and the R&R yard is used to process incarcerated people entering and leaving the facility. Beth LaBerge/KQED hide caption
October 11, 2026 • Aliksandria Prout had only been at the Central California Women’s Facility for a few days when a male officer stopped her at a checkpoint. “You have beautiful lips and beautiful eyes,” he said. That was just the beginning. On this episode of The Sunday Story, we feature the first episode of a new three-part series from KQED’s Snap Judgment called “We Are Jane Doe.” It follows thirteen women and their fight for justice against the jailers who sexually assaulted them.
October 4, 2026 • Fox News Correspondent Benjamin Hall had been accused by a colleague of taking unnecessary risks when reporting in Syria. Later, Fox News assigned Hall to cover the war in Ukraine.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally at the Cailloux Theater on August 31, 2026 in Kerrville, Texas. Talarico continues campaigning across the state in a close race with Republican candidate, state Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of the November 3 general elections. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption
September 27, 2026 • This November, a notable number of Democrats are running for Congress who all have one thing in common: they are members of the clergy. In a moment when the party is counting on every seat it can flip, will these clergy members be able to win over the party’s secular base? NPR’s religion correspondent Jason DeRose followed four of the candidates who are running competitive races in Texas and Iowa.
Debra Tice, mother of missing US journalist Austin Tice (displayed on screen), speaks during an event at the National Press Club "to address his case one year after the fall of Damascus" on December 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. Tice was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in August 2012. Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images hide caption
September 20, 2026 • This is the story of one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time. It’s been more than fourteen years since American journalist Austin Tice vanished in Syria. There have been many stories about what happened to him. His disappearance has reached the highest levels of power and yet, so little is actually known. BBC’s award-winning investigative journalist Josh Baker brings us Where is Austin Tice?, a new series from NPR’s Embedded and BBC Radio 4.
September 13, 2026 • Last week, a judge declared a mistrial in the murder case of Lindsay Clancy, leading the public to wonder: What really went on in the jury room?
Beach-goers apply sunscreen to each other at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Marianna Massey/Getty Images hide caption
September 6, 2026 • Sunscreen may seem simple: slather it on, stay protected. But the science is more complicated than the label suggests. Why is it so hard to stay safe in the sun?
