Embedded

When a flash flood ripped through Old Ellicott City in Maryland, residents thought it was a freak occurrence. Instead, it was a sign of the future. And adapting to that future has been painful. To see photos from Ellicott city and video from the floods, go to npr.org/flooded.

Frazier Glenn Miller spent years spreading racist, violent rhetoric, training Ku Klux Klan-affiliated paramilitary groups, and gathering arms to launch a "race war." But time and again, he escaped serious consequences. Many say that's because the government - and the media - failed to see the danger Miller posed until it was too late.

Mitch McConnell has consistently rejected the rules and norms that once guided Supreme Court nominations. He says he's taken his cue from the Democrats. This week, we dig into the history that shaped Mitch McConnell's views on judicial nominations.

Omarosa Manigault Newman has a new book. What about those tapes? We re-visit an episode from our "Trump Stories" season.

El Salvador is the murder capital of the world, by many estimates. It has the highest homicide rate anywhere outside of war zones. The reason? Violent street gangs, exported from the U.S. We spend 24 hours in the capital city, San Salvador, when the gangs try to flex their muscle like never before. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers. Email us at embedded@npr.org.

As Donald Trump's EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt is popular with conservatives for his aggressive rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations. He has also been strongly criticized for alleged ethics violations. But there's another side of Pruitt that's less well known. Pruitt is a Southern Baptist, and for years, his politics focused on faith-based issues like abortion and religious freedom. Pruitt has publicly said he doubts the science behind the theory of evolution. In this episode, we examine how Pruitt's faith informs his views on the environment, and how he handled a major pollution case in Oklahoma. Follow us on Twitter @NPREmbedded and @kellymcevers, and follow the reporters for this episode: @TomDreisbach and @JoeWertz. (Supreme Court audio in this episode comes from Oyez.)

It's happening all across the country, for complicated reasons: Schools are closing. And this is disproportionately affecting poor, black students. Shereen Marisol Meraji and Chris Benderev go to Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania to ask kids, parents, and teachers what it's like when the neighborhood school that's been there for more than a century is about to shut down. Follow Kelly McEvers @KellyMcEvers, Shereen Marisol Meraji @RadioMirage, and Chris Benderev @cbndrv. Email us at Embedded@npr.org.

Embedded heads to the U.S. Senate for an in-depth conversation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Mitch McConnell says he never expected Donald Trump to become president. And during the campaign, he was openly critical of Trump's rhetoric. So how are these two very different men working together now? And how are they changing the country?

13 years ago, one TV show changed how the world saw Donald Trump. Today, the story of how it became a hit, why it may have helped his eventual election and how the people involved feel about it now. Follow Kelly McEvers @kellymcevers and producers @TomDreisbach and @cbndrv. Email us at embedded@npr.org

The workers who produce pork, chicken, and beef in plants around the country have been deemed "essential" by the government and their employers. Now, the factories where they work have become some of the largest clusters for the coronavirus in the country. The workers, many of whom are immigrants, say their bosses have not done enough to protect them.

It looks very likely President-elect Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will be "Washington's new power couple." What do their non-relationship in the Senate, their negotiations during the Obama administration, and their warm speeches over the years tell us about how they will or won't work together under a Biden presidency?

When Donald Trump came to Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California in 2002, he was greeted as a "white knight." Trump was buying a golf club that had gone into bankruptcy when the 18th hole had literally fallen into the ocean. But what followed was a decade of public insults, lawsuits, and broken rules. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers, Sonari Glinton @Sonari, and Embedded producers Tom Dreisbach @TomDreisbach and Chris Benderev @cbndrv. Email us at embedded@npr.org and find us on Twitter @nprembedded.

Mitch McConnell continues his rivalry with John McCain, and dramatically changes the role of money in American politics.

On Skid Row in Los Angeles, where thousands of poor, homeless people live — many of them black — questions of how police should use force and interact with people come up all the time. We embed with both the police and the locals after the police shot and killed an unarmed black man. And we see what police tactics, from glad-handing to tough love, look like up close. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers and Tom Dreisbach @TomDreisbach. Email us at embedded@npr.org.

Embedded tells the story of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. What contacts did people in Trump campaign have with Russia? What financial and business ties has President Trump had with Russia over the years? And what more can we expect from the investigation? Through new interviews, archival research, and a look at key moments — from Miss Universe in Moscow, to hacked emails and promises of "dirt" — Embedded pieces together the story that defined the first year of the Trump White House.

Now that Steve Bannon has left the Trump Administration, he says he is waging #war against the Republican establishment in the name of populist nationalism. But before he got involved in politics, Bannon spent decades in Hollywood, and his time there can tell us a lot about the origins of his beliefs. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers, Tom Dreisbach @TomDreisbach, and Chris Benderev @cbndrv. Email us at embedded@npr.org and find us on Twitter @nprembedded.

Jared Kushner has taken on a lot of responsibilities in the Trump White House, from tackling the opioid crisis to negotiating Middle East peace. But like many members of the administration, he has no previous government experience. In this episode, we examine Kushner's business dealings and his family's history to better understand how he might handle his government work. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @kellymcevers, Chris Benderev @cbndrv, Tom Dreisbach @TomDreisbach, and the show @nprembedded. Email us at embedded@npr.org

Reporter Rebecca Hersher spent three months in Greenland trying to understand why that country has the highest suicide rate in the world. And then, the story came to her. Follow Kelly McEvers on Twitter @KellyMcEvers and Rebecca Hersher @rhersher. Email us at Embedded@npr.org.

President Trump's travel ban has been upheld by the Supreme Court. People from the seven banned countries can still come to the U.S. if they get a special "waiver." So far, few people have gotten them. We follow one Yemeni family as they try to get a waiver to escape a civil war. Supreme Court audio in this episode comes from Oyez.