Consider This
Work
Consider This is a podcast that explores various topics from the perspectives of the ministry staff at Sunnybrook Christian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. These episodes reflect some of the behind-the-scenes conversations where transparency, humor and theology intersect.
50 episodes featuring Consider This
Consider This from NPR
Sauna science struggles to keep pace with wellness claims
Saunas may affect cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health, but the evidence remains too limited for many confident wellness prescriptions.
Oct 3, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
New York reopens scrutiny of Cornell rape allegations
The episode examines how police coordination, institutional accountability, and recurring misogyny shape the response to sexual-violence allegations.
Oct 2, 2026 · 12 min
Short Wave
Social meals, thunderous birds and Bennu’s clues to life
The episode connects an everyday behavior, a striking animal adaptation and asteroid chemistry to larger questions about how bodies and worlds work.
Oct 2, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Botched execution exposes lethal-injection failures
Christa Pike’s continued breathing after two drug doses raises questions about execution protocols, drug sourcing, secrecy, and staff qualifications.
Oct 1, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
AI agents test the internet’s boundaries of trust
Autonomous software could simplify digital chores while gaining access to the private accounts, data, and systems that make those chores possible.
Sep 30, 2026 · 13 min
Consider This from NPR
Campus accountability stalls as survivors face failed systems
The episode connects a reopened Cornell investigation to the broader gap between campus safety promises and the protections survivors actually receive.
Sep 29, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Prosecutors revisit Cornell assault allegations amid accountability questions
The reopened investigation puts renewed pressure on Cornell to explain how it handled serious sexual misconduct allegations and whether its response provided meaningful accountability.
Sep 28, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Iraq’s U.S. withdrawal tests Washington’s influence
The departure ends a defining chapter of American intervention while leaving Iraq dependent on foreign support and exposed to pressure from Iran, Israel, and the United States.
Sep 27, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
Republicans test how far they can break with Trump
The midterms will show whether Republican candidates can distance themselves from Trump without losing the party’s still-loyal voters.
Sep 25, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Seven-percent mortgages deepen America’s housing squeeze
Higher borrowing costs are limiting home purchases while rising rents and added fees push more middle-income households toward housing insecurity.
Sep 24, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Jensen Huang’s Trump access puts AI policy under scrutiny
The episode examines how NVIDIA’s commercial interests and Huang’s AI optimism may influence U.S. decisions on chip exports, China, and AI safeguards.
Sep 23, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump TV tests whether presidential control can replace the press
The episode examines whether a White House media channel can bypass traditional news organizations without losing reach, scrutiny, or audience interest.
Sep 22, 2026 · 6 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump’s press fight tests White House access
The dispute raises questions about press freedom, collective journalistic action, and whether traditional outlets can retain influence as the White House bypasses them.
Sep 21, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
AI leadership pits American ambition against Chinese reach
The contest over AI leadership could shape cyber resilience, weapons risks, and whether advanced technology remains concentrated or becomes globally accessible.
Sep 20, 2026 · 10 min
Short Wave
Reading may strengthen minds while the Sun tests technological limits
The episode connects everyday reading with lifelong brain health, then measures two very different threats and discoveries: solar super flares and adult T. rex behavior.
Sep 19, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
The UN’s global stage loses influence as crises intensify
The episode connects the spectacle of General Assembly week to a deeper question: whether the United Nations can still shape diplomacy when major powers bypass or paralyze it.
Sep 19, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Russia Tests NATO’s Eastern Flank Below the Threshold of War
The episode examines how NATO can deter covert provocations without misreading them as an attack that demands direct war.
Sep 18, 2026 · 8 min
Consider This from NPR
ChatGPT’s crisis feature may be hardest to use in a crisis
Trusted Contact could connect people at risk with human support, but its hidden setup, limited availability, and uncertain effectiveness expose the limits of chatbot safety tools.
Sep 17, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
The Fed’s inflation fight raises costs and political stakes
The rate increase aims to cool inflation but may deepen financial pressure on households while shaping voters’ views before the midterms.
Sep 16, 2026 · 8 min
Consider This from NPR
Bill Gates urges governments to catch up with AI
The episode tests whether societies can capture AI’s benefits while limiting risks that markets and companies may not manage alone.
Sep 15, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
AI safety collides with Washington’s political limits
The episode examines whether government safeguards can reduce catastrophic AI risks without shielding dominant companies or weakening the U.S. position against China.
Sep 14, 2026 · 13 min
Consider This from NPR
AI leaders urge a pause as lawmakers weigh safety rules
The episode tests whether warnings about frontier AI can produce enforceable safeguards before development outpaces oversight.
Sep 13, 2026 · 6 min
Consider This from NPR
A 2028 trial date tests Guantanamo’s unfinished justice
The delayed 9/11 case shows how military commissions, torture-tainted evidence, and unresolved detention policies continue to shape accountability.
Sep 11, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
AI safety researcher warns the race is outrunning control
The episode examines whether companies can keep advancing powerful AI while developing safeguards quickly enough to prevent catastrophic misuse or loss of control.
Sep 10, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Jurors need care after carrying the weight of traumatic trials
Jurors can leave the courtroom with lasting emotional distress, yet many lack clear access to mental health support after service ends.
Sep 9, 2026 · 7 min
Short Wave
Hurricanes may accelerate evolution in island lizards
The episode shows how sudden environmental shocks can leave measurable biological changes while widening the picture of heat-related risk and artifact fraud.
Sep 8, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
Smithsonian leader defends history as he prepares to leave
Lonnie Bunch’s departure raises questions about how the Smithsonian can preserve its independence while presenting America’s history in full.
Sep 8, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Schools turn first-day nerves into connection
The episode shows how students, families, and educators navigate uncertainty through rituals and designs that make school feel more welcoming.
Sep 7, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Post-9/11 missteps reshaped Russia and China’s view of America
The episode traces how wars, crises, and withdrawals weakened U.S. credibility while strengthening confidence in Russian and Chinese alternatives.
Sep 6, 2026 · 12 min
Consider This from NPR
Santos’s Kalshi bets expose prediction-market risks
The case shows how prediction markets can turn privileged political information into trades while amplifying concerns about election integrity.
Sep 5, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Deadlocked jury leaves Clancy case at a crossroads
The mistrial forces prosecutors to weigh a retrial while reopening difficult questions about evidence, jury deliberations, and postpartum mental health.
Sep 4, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Steinem’s legacy points beyond the singular feminist hero
The episode examines how Gloria Steinem challenged gender stereotypes while arguing that feminism’s power belongs to collective, diverse movements.
Sep 3, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
A Haitian student’s death exposes immigration fear in Springfield
The episode connects one family’s loss to the humiliation, deportation fears, and mental-health strain weighing on Springfield’s Haitian community.
Sep 2, 2026 · 8 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump’s Venezuela oil deal faces partner and production doubts
The proposed agreement could affect U.S. energy expectations while reshaping Venezuela’s political balance and delaying democratic reforms.
Sep 1, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
Postpartum psychosis exposes gaps in maternal mental-health care
The Lindsay Clancy trial raises urgent questions about recognizing psychiatric emergencies, supporting families, and judging mental illness through the criminal courts.
Aug 31, 2026 · 15 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump’s Venezuela oil deal faces years of uncertainty
The agreement could reshape U.S.-Venezuela energy relations, but its legal structure, political legitimacy and commercial viability remain unresolved.
Aug 30, 2026 · 6 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump’s election push collides with state authority
The administration’s unresolved efforts to influence voting rules and election operations could deepen confusion and anxiety before the midterms.
Aug 28, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Himalayan floods expose climate risks beyond rising water
The disaster shows how warming can destabilize mountain terrain while leaving communities dependent on warning systems that may not be ready.
Aug 27, 2026 · 6 min
Consider This from NPR
Meta settlement tests whether social media can protect children
The proposed $17 billion agreement could establish enforceable limits on youth social-media use while shaping how states confront the broader industry.
Aug 26, 2026 · 11 min
Consider This from NPR
Dolly Parton turned Appalachian roots into universal stardom
Parton’s career shows how songwriting, self-invention, and cross-cultural appeal can carry a country artist far beyond genre boundaries.
Aug 25, 2026 · 12 min
Consider This from NPR
Carney rejects Trump’s deal to defend Canada’s independence
Canada’s refusal exposes the economic and political costs of resisting U.S. pressure while trying to loosen a deeply entrenched trade relationship.
Aug 24, 2026 · 7 min
Consider This from NPR
Trump accelerates the unraveling of global rules
The episode examines whether attacks on NATO, the United Nations, and U.S. commitments are weakening the institutions that have organized international cooperation.
Aug 23, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Swing voters sour on Trump over economic insecurity
Their frustrations with prices, debt, and stalled upward mobility reveal why less-engaged voters can reshape elections and deepen distrust in politics.
Aug 22, 2026 · 10 min
Short Wave
Webb’s red dots may reveal how supermassive black holes grow
The episode connects a puzzling cosmic signal with practical findings about dementia risk and an animal’s remarkable seasonal body changes.
Aug 21, 2026 · 12 min
Consider This from NPR
Community care gives disability rights a life beyond the courtroom
The episode shows how legal protections and Medicaid-funded services shape whether people with disabilities can work, learn, form relationships, and avoid institutionalization.
Aug 21, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Debt’s interest costs are reaching American households
The debt’s trajectory could shape taxes, public spending and the interest rates Americans pay on mortgages, loans and credit cards.
Aug 20, 2026 · 8 min
Consider This from NPR
Women’s work retreat exposes an economy built around inflexibility
The decline in women’s labor force participation could signal more than noisy data, revealing how childcare costs, caregiving, workplace rules, and job losses shape economic opportunity.
Aug 19, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
States challenge Meta’s design of addictive platforms
The case could determine whether social media companies face legal and product-design consequences for risks to children.
Aug 18, 2026 · 10 min
Consider This from NPR
Arday’s case tests academia’s standards for scrutiny and accountability
The episode asks whether universities can investigate alleged wrongdoing rigorously without exposing Black scholars to disproportionate punishment or abandoning due process.
Aug 17, 2026 · 9 min
Consider This from NPR
Hungary’s new government confronts Orbán’s democratic legacy
Hungary’s transition tests whether institutions reshaped by 16 years of authoritarian rule can be repaired without sacrificing accountability or political stability.
Aug 16, 2026 · 9 min