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The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran. The Israel-Hamas war.Each of these conflicts of the last few years is rewriting how war is fought. Cheap drones are doing damage that once required far more expensive weapons. Battlefield information is now available at a distance in real time. And some of the biggest innovations are coming from countries with relatively small defense budgets.We sit down with a panel of experts and ask what these conflicts are teaching us – and how the U.S. is responding to these lessons.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

How would lawmakers respond to election interference – both foreign and domestic – ahead of the midterm elections?That was the central question of a summit held earlier this month between top Senate Democrats and election experts. The meeting came weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that gave the U.S. postal service control over who gets to vote by mail. That order is being challenged in court.Meanwhile, the president continues to spread unfounded claims about the insecurity of U.S. elections. And he’s characterizing his executive orders as a means to shore up trust in voting.How is the president using his power to undermine the midterms and the electoral process? And what’s at stake for our democracy if election interference succeeds?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Novels centering on love and sex are among the best-selling books year after year. More and more are challenging the conventions of romance as a genre — and bringing us well beyond fairy tale endings.Two novels out this summer are pushing some of the boundaries of romance writing and love stories as we know them.Haili Blassingame’s “They All Fall in Love at the End” follows a young Black writer in D.C. as she explores non-monogamy while her city (and the whole world) deals with the fallout of the 2024 election.And in Tia Williams’ “The Missed Connection,” a casting agent tries to find the handsome stranger who sat next to her on a flight while navigating past trauma and a shaky work-life balance.We ask these new authors about writing complex love stories.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy