Consider This from NPR

What makes a movie a Christmas movie?

When the movie Die Hard was released on Blu Ray a few years back, the studio called it "the greatest Christmas story ever told!"

It does take place at an office Christmas party, but is that fact enough to make it a Christmas movie?

What about "Elf," "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Eyes Wide Shut" are those Christmas movies? Yes, right? NPR producer Marc Rivers says, "not so fast."

Just what makes any Christmas movie a true Christmas movie?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a permanent fixture of the Christmas song canon.

But the holiday song canon is big, and a number of other pop artists have made their own Yuletide jingles since 1994 including John Legend, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.

But not even the woman who shattered records with her Eras tour has given us a holiday song that has had staying power worthy of The Canon.

For 30 years Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" has dominated the holiday music charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson explains what makes it a lasting hit?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

By most objective measures, the US economy is in good shape. Employers added about 2 million jobs this year. Unemployment is low. In much of the country, gasoline is now selling for less than $3 a gallon.

The Economist has called the United States' performance "the envy of the world."

But even as the U.S. is outperforming most other countries, many Americans remain frustrated by the high cost of living. And that's fueled a lot of unhappiness, and a political comeback for President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump will soon take the reins of an economy that's bounced back strongly during the four years he was out of office. For many families, though, that rebound was overshadowed by soaring prices for food, housing, and other necessities.

Will his policies bring costs down? Or rekindle inflation?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

It was a hectic election season in America, to put it lightly, and we're not alone. What do this year's elections across the world say about the state of democracy at large? Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondents about some of the most consequential global elections of 2024.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now.

Some sequels are pretty darn good, but many believe the perfect movie sequel came out 50 years ago this month.

Of course, we're talking about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II. It's not only considered the greatest sequel of all time, it's also considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

So why does Godfather II work, and where so many other sequels fall short?

NPR producer Marc Rivers weighs in.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

At the start of this year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing a crisis. Just a few months before, Hamas had breached Israel's border with Gaza, killing some 1200 people in Israel on October 7th.

As the year ends, Netanyahu is spending some of it in a courtroom to fight corruption charges that have dogged him since 2019. The Israeli Prime Minister has called the charges absurd.

You might think that would be detrimental to his political career, but instead Netanyahu looks stronger than he has since the war began.

This — despite that trial, an international arrest warrant and a grinding war.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

How does fitness and movement change across the lifespan?

According to NPR's Allison Aubrey, who covers health and wellness, the official recommendation is to aim for more than 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. That could be running, walking, biking, swimming, or weightlifting.

We meet a group of active older people, who show it's never too late to find movement and exercise that works for you.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

With just a handful of shopping days until Christmas, millions are making last minute online purchases. Unfortunately 'tis also the season for financial and identity theft. We ask an expert how you can avoid the scams.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States in just over a month.

Throughout his campaign, Trump laid out a list. Things he plans to accomplish in a second term — some on day one. They include: closing the border...imposing tariffs... and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump also campaigned on bringing down food prices...in fact, he told NBC's Kristen Welker, it's the reason he won.

President-elect Trump has a long to-do list for his first days in office. How much of it can he actually get done? A lot says senior Trump advisor Jason Miller.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

For many of us, Christmas songs are dominating our playlists this week. There's the one you start hearing in October, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby," and the Christmas banger that went to number one last year, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."

Lee, now 80, recorded the song when she was 13. The living legend talked to NPR last year when her song — finally — hit number one. We revisit that conversation.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy