Afghan evacuation, voting, and pop culture: 5 podcasts on this week’s top stories

Want to catch up on this week’s news but don’t have time to watch for updates? We’ve got you covered with some podcasts. Podsauce has rounded up some episodes detailing the latest news. Here are some selections with the latest from Afghanistan, R. Kelly’s trial, and the U.S. government’s infrastructure bills.

In this week’s hot topic list, we’ve included an episode featuring Dr. Fauci’s updates on COVID-19 and a show on pop culture news.

The Daily

Michael Barbaro hosts “The Daily’s” episodes posted on weekdays. Last week, the Taliban took over Kabul, and chaos ensued. Pentagon reporter Eric Schmitt, a senior writer covering terrorism and national security for The New York Times, joined Michael to speak about the major evacuation efforts and the difficulties faced by Americans and allies from leaving Afghanistan as soon as possible. In this episode, Eric catches listeners up on what has happened up until today in Kabul, and what the scene looks like at the airport.

What Next

Singer R. Kelly is currently on trial for accusations of abuse and sexually exploiting women and minors. R. Kelly is facing charges in New York, federal charges in Illinois, and state charges in Illinois and Minnesota. This episode describes updates at the trial, as well as R. Kelly’s previous lawsuits and scandals. “What’s Next’s” guest is Jim DeRogatis, co-host of “Sound Opinions.” Jim wrote the book, Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly and interviewed many of his 48 accusers. His interest in the case has spanned over 20 years. In 2000, he received a fax when he was a pop critic at the Chicago Sun Times about girls who had been abused by R.Kelly. Jim believes more women will come forward.

The NPR Politics Podcast

A recent “NPR Politics Podcast” episode described House of Representatives’ votings. Infrastructure voting was called upon by Moderate House Democrats before they move on to Biden’s other economic deals. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Progressive Democrats figured out what compromises needed to be made. On this episode, White House correspondent Ayesha Rascoe, demographics and culture correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and congressional editor Deirdre Walsh are interviewed.

Anderson Cooper 360°

Anderson Cooper hosts the podcast version of his TV show, Anderson Cooper 360°. This episode shares vaccine news, specifically the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with Anderson Cooper. Dr. Fauci shared what he believes will be the timeline for controlling Covid-19.

Daily Pop

For fun news in entertainment, celebs, music, and more, E! News’ “Daily Pop” delivers! In this episode, listeners will hear about Angelina Jolie breaking Jennifer Aniston’s Instagram record of amassing 1 million followers within hours. Jennifer Lopez’s boyfriend, Ben Affleck, was spotted ring shopping at Tiffany’s. Drake and Kanye West’s feud might be back in full swing. Kanye posted Drake’s home address in Toronto online. Kanye is making news again, as he filed paperwork to legally change his name to “Ye.”