Pop quiz: How closely have you been paying attention to the news?

Plus, how schools can make sports accessible for all students. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by Suzanne Nuyen June 11, 2023 Good morning. This week, former President Trump was [indicted for a second time]( Canadian wildfires [cast a smoky haze]( over the U.S., and the Supreme Court said [no to racial gerrymandering](. Plus, Scott Simon has some ideas for making political debates more exciting. Best of NPR Have I been paying attention to the news? I ponder this question every time I attempt NPR's weekly news quiz. Despite writing this newsletter six days a week, I have yet to get a perfect score. This week, [I got a 9/10](. The quiz called me "competent." It haunts me. [A diptych depicting Margot Robbie as Barbie on the left and soccer player Lionel Messi on the right. ]( Warner Bros. Entertainment; Martin Meissner/AP Journalism trainer Holly J. Morris is the diabolical author behind the quizzes. All Things Considered senior producer Pat Wood wanted a distinctive voice that could compete with other publications with quizzes of their own — and Morris delivers. Morris says she wrote her first quiz in high school and considers this her calling. "I write what I think is funny and hope other people do too. I am a sad person by nature, and maybe that gives me a greater sense of the world’s absurdity." If you haven't taken any of NPR's news quizzes yet, you can [test your knowledge of the last four weeks]( of news here. Morris says she hopes you'll "find the quiz an oasis in the unrelenting darkness of the news cycle," and encourages you to send screenshots to your friends. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Week That Was [An illustration depicting kids holding hands in a circle over a tennis court.]( Samuele Recchia for NPR High school sports can be an intense, high-pressure experience. Kids who aren't star athletes can get left behind — meaning they miss out on benefits like spatial awareness, physical activity and team skills. 🎧 Listen to sports educators and health care workers talk about how schools can [make sports work for all children]( or [read the story](. For decades, courts have trusted that K-9, drug-sniffing dogs are impartial based on testimony from their handlers and credentials from local organizations. Now, [police bodycams]( threaten that trust. Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag that has come to represent support and pride for the LGBTQ+ community. He describes being bullied growing up, and says he left his home state of Kansas as soon as he could. Still, [his classmates keep his memory alive](. It's been five years since David Hogg survived a mass shooting that killed 17 at his school in Parkland, Fla. On Fresh Air, Hogg talks about advocacy, finding common ground with opponents and the importance of making time for joy amid the pain 🎧 Listen [here]( or [read the highlights](. Kim Hyun-woo used to work for North Korea's top intelligence agency. He's visiting the U.S. for the first time since he defected to South Korea in 2014. 🎧 Listen to him discuss why he fled the country, as well as his views on succession in the regime and diplomacy with the U.S. in an [exclusive interview with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly](. Or, [read the story here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Picks [( Krista Burton 1A, from WAMU: Listening to the news can feel like a journey. But 1A guides you [beyond the headlines]( — and cuts through the noise. 🎧 In this episode, author Krista Burton recounts her journey [in search of elusive lesbian bars]( as she figures out why spaces for queer women have dwindled. The 13th Step, from NHPR: Reporter Lauren Chooljian investigates [sexual harassment allegations]( against the founder of New Hampshire's largest addiction treatment network. 🎧 Meet the women who say they were harassed during their [early addiction recovery]( in the first episode of the series. Ear Hustle, from Radiotopia: Hear stories about [life inside prison]( and post-incarceration from people who have lived it. 🎧 Is there such a thing as a prison uniform? Hosts Nigel and Earlonne team up with Avery Trufelman from [Articles of Interest]( to find out [why incarcerated people wear what they do]( and how they make it their own. Check out our latest roundup of new and noteworthy podcasts. This week, we've got shows created by Latino journalists. Read the list in [English or Spanish](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott's Thoughts [Joe Biden and Donald Trump, seen here during a presidential debate in Cleveland in 2020.]( Morry Gash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Presidential primary debates may be chopped, so to speak, from next year’s elections. Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump — despite being indicted — are so far ahead in their respective party polls that neither campaign seems to entertain any plans to debate their opponents. “It makes perfect sense to not debate a bunch of lesser mortals,” Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow and director at the Brookings Institution, told us. “If you’re a really serious frontrunner,” she added, “all you can do in a debate is lose.” In recent years, political debates haven’t seemed much like debates as much as occasions for candidates to sling pre-scripted, pre-digested, test-marketed talking points at each other like chimps in a cage. These days, there are so many other ways for candidates to reach voters directly. They don’t have to share a stage with rivals and flick off pesky reporter questions. Debate audiences have been in decline. I’d like to float a small idea to refresh debates: Make them more like Chopped, the cooking competition on The Food Network. Each candidate would open a basket containing, say, Froot Loops, bean paste, a raw, red-lipped batfish and old coffee grounds and get told, “Make something! Thirty minutes. Now!” Imagine candidates barking, “You’re goin’ down!” or sneering, “You call that a souffle?” I know I’d tune in! On our show: On weeks with momentous news, there’s no one better to hear from than [NPR's Ron Elving](. And, a remembrance for a great reporter, voice and friend: [Wade Goodwyn](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! 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