Skip to content
Trump Economy, Federal Reserve December, Afghan Fighters' Struggles

Trump Economy, Federal Reserve December, Afghan Fighters' Struggles

Up First from NPR
Dec 10, 2025 14 min
Open in Clue

About this episode

President Trump insists the economy is thriving. So, how does he explain why so many voters view the economy negatively? Also, the Federal Reserve considers whether to cut interest rates today. Will concerns over inflation keep rates as is or will unemployment worries prompt another cut? Plus, the unraveling of the Afghan man accused of gunning down two National Guard members. How are other Afghans in the US who fought for the CIA navigating the stress and despair that commonly haunt frontline soldiers?<br/><br/>Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news"target="_blank" >Subscribe</a> to the Up First newsletter.<br/><br/>Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Rafael Nam, Luis Clemens, Alice Woelfle, and Arezou Rezvani.<br/><br/>It was produced by Kaity Kline, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.<br/><br/>We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange<br/><br/>And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.<br/><br/>See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Listen to this episode in English to learn English

Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Trump Economy, Federal Reserve December, Afghan Fighters' Struggles from Up First from NPR gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.

In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.

Episodes to Learn English

More podcasts in English