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Embedded Embedded, NPR's original documentary podcast, unearths the stories behind the headlines. Police shootings. Towns ravaged by opioids. The roots of our modern immigration crisis. We explore what's been sealed off, undisclosed, or never brought to light. We return with a deeply-reported portrait of why these stories, and the people behind them, matter.

Supermajority is a new 4-part series from NPR's Embedded, in partnership with Nashville Public Radio.
Reeling from a mass shooting at their kids' school, three Tennessee moms become advocates for gun control. But this isn't a story about gun control. It's about what they find when they step inside their state capitol for the first time. The women, all lifelong conservatives, are met by a Republican majority in the legislature that looms large and appears unwilling to consider their plea.

Host and reporter Meribah Knight has been following the mothers as they confront powerful lawmakers, a dizzying legislative process and most importantly - their own long-held beliefs. What can these women accomplish? How will the work change them? And what might it all reveal about democracy?

Support in-depth storytelling that matters by subscribing to Embedded+ and unlock early access to new episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/embedded
Embedded: Supermajority
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Embedded, NPR's original documentary podcast, unearths the stories behind the headlines. Police shootings. Towns ravaged by opioids. The roots of our modern immigration crisis. We explore what's been sealed off, undisclosed, or never brought to light. We return with a deeply-reported portrait of why these stories, and the people behind them, matter.

Supermajority is a new 4-part series from NPR's Embedded, in partnership with Nashville Public Radio.
Reeling from a mass shooting at their kids' school, three Tennessee moms become advocates for gun control. But this isn't a story about gun control. It's about what they find when they step inside their state capitol for the first time. The women, all lifelong conservatives, are met by a Republican majority in the legislature that looms large and appears unwilling to consider their plea.

Host and reporter Meribah Knight has been following the mothers as they confront powerful lawmakers, a dizzying legislative process and most importantly - their own long-held beliefs. What can these women accomplish? How will the work change them? And what might it all reveal about democracy?

Support in-depth storytelling that matters by subscribing to Embedded+ and unlock early access to new episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/embedded

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Kevin Wurm for NPR

Supermajority: A Common-Sense Caucus

Melissa Alexander came to the Tennessee statehouse to convince members of the Republican party – her party – to adopt gun control measures after a mass shooting at her son's school. A year later, she doesn't feel like she's gotten through to many lawmakers. But there's at least one Republican senator who's made Melissa and the other Covenant moms feel welcome: Richard Briggs. Briggs has been in office for about a decade. He's a doctor and an army veteran. And recently, he's had to navigate a statehouse in transition. Briggs represents a faction of the Republican majority that isn't often visible: those who are concerned about the GOP's shift further to the right. They feel that they are a minority within the majority – stewards of what the party used to be. As Melissa contemplates a big decision, we turn to Briggs' story. What can more moderate Republicans achieve in the Tennessee legislature? And will Melissa decide to follow the path that Briggs has already been down? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Melissa Alexander and Mary Joyce speak to state representative John Gillespie at the Tennessee statehouse. Kevin Wurm for NPR hide caption

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Kevin Wurm for NPR

Supermajority: The Roll Call

It's been four months since the Covenant moms – lifelong conservatives Melissa Alexander, Mary Joyce and Sarah Shoop Neumann – pleaded with their lawmakers to pass gun control measures during a special session at the Tennessee statehouse. Now they're back – for months, not days – and this time, they feel prepared to face the GOP-dominated legislature. But when the 2024 legislative session begins, the mothers realize that the Republican majority's new bills may be more complicated than they anticipated. The women discover a long line of dissenters flocking to the statehouse, to protest bills about abortion, education, police violence and LGBTQ rights. Will the women stand alongside these other constituents and broaden their objectives beyond gun control? And what happens when they begin to imagine unseating one of their lawmakers? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Kevin Wurm for NPR

Supermajority: The Covenant Moms

In 2023, a mass shooter attacked The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, and three mothers were compelled to act. Their mission: help pass some kind of gun control in one of the reddest states in the country, a state where the Republican Party has a supermajority in the legislature. But these women aren't your typical gun control activists. They're lifelong conservatives, believers in the Second Amendment and – at first – sure that their own party will understand their concerns. In episode 1 of Supermajority from NPR's Embedded, host Meribah Knight follows the women as they enter the state capitol for the first time in their adult lives. Will these political newcomers get what they came for? And what happens if they challenge those in power to do it? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Illustration by Luke Medina/NPR; Photo/Getty Images

Introducing Supermajority from NPR and WPLN

Supermajority is a new 4-part series from NPR's Embedded, in partnership with Nashville Public Radio. As Americans focus on national politics this election year, we zoom in on one state and its political majority. Host Meribah Knight has been following three conservative moms in Tennessee over the course of a year as they learn to navigate their Republican-controlled state legislature. These political newcomers will confront powerful lawmakers, a dizzying legislative process and most importantly – their own long-held beliefs. What can these women accomplish? How will the work change them? And what might it all reveal about democracy? Launching Thursday, June 20. Embedded+ supporters enjoy early and ad-free access.

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Left: A screenshot of Shaimaa Ahmed, who has been sharing videos and audio from Gaza since Oct. 7. Right: Palestinian residents leave their homes in horse-drawn carriages with their belongings after the Israeli army attacked the eastern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp and sent a notice asking the people to leave the area in Deir al Balah, central Gaza on Jan. 3. @gazanvoices/Screenshot by NPR/Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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@gazanvoices/Screenshot by NPR/Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

Field Notes: On Losing the Gaza They Knew

The second in a two-part special series featuring conversations between Embedded host Kelly McEvers and NPR reporters who have been on the ground during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas In this episode, Morning Edition's Leila Fadel paints an intimate portrait of displacement in Gaza. She shares voice memos she's been receiving from a college student trying to survive and the story of a family that escaped the war only to find that it had followed them home.

Field Notes: On Losing the Gaza They Knew

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Left: NPR producer Anas Baba reports in Rafah, southern Gaza, after an Israeli strike hit the area on Oct. 17, 2023. Right: NPR's Jerusalem correspondent Daniel Estrin reports in Sderot, Israel on Oct. 11, 2023. Anas Baba/NPR and Tanya Habjouqa for NPR hide caption

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Anas Baba/NPR and Tanya Habjouqa for NPR

Field Notes: On Reporting, the Israel-Hamas War

The first in a two-part special series featuring conversations between Embedded host Kelly McEvers and NPR reporters who have been on the ground during the current conflict in Gaza. In the first episode, NPR's Daniel Estrin talks about the challenges of reporting on the Israel-Hamas war and the work of his colleague Anas Baba from inside Gaza.

Field Notes: On Reporting, the Israel-Hamas War

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NPR

Taking Cover: Accountability

In this Taking Cover update, a U.S. senator wants answers from the Marines about what went wrong - and we meet an Army soldier still serving on active duty who's been denied the truth about his war wounds. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

Taking Cover: Accountability

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CBC

The Kill List: The Pier

Since activist Karima Baloch's mysterious death in 2020, her family has been searching for answers. Journalist Mary Lynk has, too. The documents Mary gets and the people she talks to will lead her closer to the truth of what happened that day. But is the truth enough closure for a family? For the people Karima was fighting for back home in Balochistan? For other dissidents like her, in exile or hiding across the globe? The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

The Kill List: The Pier

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CBC

The Kill List: Living Ghosts

As her native Balochistan mourns activist Karima Baloch's death, we dive deeper into what Karima was fighting for and why – and learn about the intense history of the Baloch people and the state of Pakistan. Also – the story of what happens to dissidents who disappear... and then come back alive. The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

The Kill List: Living Ghosts

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CBC

The Kill List: 'I am not a terrorist'

We talk to the people closest to Karima Baloch, including some who are opening up for the very first time, to try to understand what could have led to her death. The Kill List is a 6-part podcast from the CBC's investigative series, Uncover. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or plus.npr.org.

The Kill List: 'I am not a terrorist'

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