Up First

About Up First

NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays at 6:30 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays at 9 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on "The Sunday Story," available by 8 a.m. ET. Subscribe and listen, then support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org (http://plus.npr.org/). You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Up First, NPR News Now, and more.

Publisher

NPR

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Dec 2022

Latest episode

6 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

1,117 of 1,455 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Post-Election Market & Jobs, Why Gas Prices Could Stay High, Trump's Arch Blocked

   The October jobs report will show whether hiring picked up after a weak September, even as inflation continues to outpace wages and markets reel from a sharp selloff. Democrats are promising relief from high fuel prices, but Congress has limited power to lower them quickly and analysts say prices could stay elevated for months even if the war with Iran ends. A federal judge blocked construction on President Trump’s 250-foot D.C. arch for 14 days, setting up a broader fight over his efforts to reshape the capital and the checks courts and a new Democratic Congress may impose. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe (https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news) to the Up First newsletter. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org (http://plus.npr.org/). Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rafael Nam, Kara Platoni, Carol Ritchie, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and Patrick Murray. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor. (0:00) Introduction (01:58) Post-Election Market & Jobs (05:21) Why Gas Prices Could Stay High (09:19) Trump's Arch Blocked See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy (https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy)

2. 

   5 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Democrats' First 100 Hours, Outstanding Midterm Races, Trump Doubles Down On Policies

   NPR's Up First hosts discuss Democrats' ambitious 100-hour agenda, key midterm election outcomes, and President Trump's policy defense in this news analysis episode.

3. 

   4 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Democrats' Midterm Blowout, Trump Blames Candidates For Losses, Democratic Agenda

   NPR's Up First hosts discuss Democrats' midterm victories, Trump's candidate losses, and the future of the Democratic agenda.

Inside a recent episode

Post-Election Market & Jobs, Why Gas Prices Could Stay High, Trump's Arch Blocked

Published 6 Nov 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] It remains stubbornly high, which is a big reason for that outpouring we saw in this week's election. Staley notes that prices in September were up 3.7% from a year ago, while average wages were up just 3%. Ever since the war with Iran began, workers have seen a real erosion of their buying power. […]

Who has been a guest on Up First

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Tamara Keith
• Holly Edgell
• Daniel Wheaton
• Daniel Estrin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

58,976 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

34,910 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

73

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

98

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