A scientist who is used to organizing data starts tracking scientific meetings that seem to exist only on paper—meetings that might decide the fate of years of research. The NIH website shows one reality; the empty conference rooms tell another story.

When Yousef Hammash left Gaza a year ago, his sisters decided to stay behind.

With the year coming to an end, someone is going to have to say, “You were right, and I was wrong.” Will it change anything? (16 minutes)This story is a collaboration with NPR's Embedded podcast, which released a three-part series about Zach and his father.

Mohammed Mhawish, a reporter who left Gaza a year ago with his family, talks to a young woman in Gaza about how she manages her hunger. Israel blockaded all food from Gaza for more than two months. (15 minutes)Mohammed Mhawish is a contributing writer for The Nation, which is where we first read about his experiences with hunger in "What It Feels Like to Starve."

Short fiction from Bess Kalb about a groundhog named Susan, who has her own opinions about the holiday named after her species. (7 minutes)You can find more work from Bess at The Grudge Report on Substack.

A woman watches her partner get taken in handcuffs with no explanation. Days later, she spots him in the most unexpected place.