Post Reports

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held many titles during Donald Trump’s presidency. He may have just acquired his most challenging one yet: viceroy of Venezuela.The national security adviser, acting archivist and administrator of the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development was central to masterminding the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday. And with no immediate successor to govern the country of roughly 29 million, Trump is leaning on Rubio to help “run” Venezuela, divvy up its oil assets and usher in a new government, a fraught and daunting task for someone with so many other responsibilities.Today on “Post Reports,” State Department reporter John Hudson explains how Rubio has become so influential, and what that could mean for Venezuela’s future. Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sam Bair.

After U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, President Donald Trump declared: “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”The world is still digesting the consequences of the intervention, which the Trump administration has characterized as a law enforcement mission against Maduro rather than a military operation in a foreign country. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and machine gun possession.White House reporter Michael Birnbaum joins host Martine Powers to explain the political ramifications of Maduro’s arrest, the next steps of the Trump administration and the reactions of Venezuelans. We also hear from Ana Vanessa Herrero, The Post’s reporter in Caracas. Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff, with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy and Reena Flores. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today we share one of our favorite episodes, from Optimist reporter Maggie Penman about the new science of aging, and a hopeful research finding that getting stronger and healthier in old age is possible for many of us – even after a health setback. If you want to hear more stories like this, please let us know. You can reach the whole team at [email protected] or email Maggie at [email protected]’s episode was reported and produced by Maggie Penman. It was edited by Allison Klein and Ted Muldoon who also mixed the show.The Optimist has a newsletter! Subscribe here.And, subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today, we revisit one of our favorite episodes from this past year, about super agers: people who continue to thrive into their 80s and 90s. One of them lives just down my block.Ednajane Truax, who is known to friends and neighbors as “E.J.,” can often be found on her hands and knees in the dirt, working in the garden at the Sherwood Recreation Center in Northeast Washington. She also has an impressive garden of her own and helps out with other neighbors’ gardens. She works out several times a week, sometimes while wearing a shirt that says, “You don’t stop lifting when you get old — you get old when you stop lifting.” She can bench press 55 pounds and leg press 250.Truax has never married — “just lucky, I guess,” she jokes when I ask her about that — but she has remained social her entire life. She volunteers, goes to the gym, throws parties, knows her neighbors and their children by name. Truax says her secret to thriving as she ages is simple: Be active.It turns out that research backs her up.If you’re looking for more surprising, delightful stories about the best of humanity, check out The Optimist from The Washington Post. We also have a newsletter: Subscribe to get stories from The Optimist in your inbox every Sunday morning.Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman with help from Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. The Optimist’s editor is Allison Klein. If you liked hearing this story on “Post Reports,” send us an email at [email protected]. You can email Maggie directly at [email protected] to The Washington Post here.

Once a month for 15 years, David Weiner has hosted a jazz party, inviting everyone he knows and many people he’s never met over to his D.C. rowhouse. Today, we revisit one of our favorite episodes of the year and go inside the wildly welcoming ritual to understand how he’s built this community — and kept it going.You can read more about Wiener’s jazz party here.If you’re looking for more surprising, delightful stories about the best of humanity, check out The Optimist from The Washington Post. We also have a newsletter: Subscribe to get stories from The Optimist in your inbox every Sunday morning.Today’s show was reported and produced by Maggie Penman and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. The Optimist’s editor is Allison Klein. If you liked hearing this story on “Post Reports,” send us an email at [email protected]. You can email Maggie directly at [email protected] to The Washington Post here.