Anne Branigin

Monica Campbell

Reena Flores

Sabby Robinson

Lucas Trevor

Emma Talkoff

Sean Carter

Martine Powers

Sean Combs was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/09/16/diddy-arrested-sean-combs-new-york-indictment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">arrested Monday in New York,</a> and today prosecutors unsealed the criminal indictment. The hip-hop impresario could face years in prison if found guilty. Meanwhile, Combs’s lawyers have called the persecution “unjust.” It all comes less than a year after the first public allegations against Combs emerged.Today on “Post Reports,” Martine Powers speaks with Style reporter Anne Branigin about the indictment against Combs, what he’s accused of and what it could mean for the music mogul.Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson, with help from Emma Talkoff and Lucas Trevor. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Reena Flores, with help from Monica Campbell. Thanks to Avi Selk and Lindsey Underwood.&nbsp;Subscribe to The Washington Post <a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been indicted on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking, less than a year after the first public allegations against Combs.

Maggie Penman

Ted Muldoon

Peter Bresnan

Rennie Svirnovskiy

Ariel Plotnick

Lucy Naland

Elahe Izadi

Elana Gordon

Lucy Perkins

Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post -- for your ears.

Post Reports: Sound. Informed.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been arrested on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. He has denied the charges. Today, we dive into the case prosecutors are building against him and explore why the charges are coming out now.

The charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Isaac Arnsdorf

Bishop Sand

Yesterday, Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested on the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/15/trump-golf-course-shooting-west-palm-beach-florida/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&amp;itid=lk_inline_manual_1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);"> suspicion of possibly trying to assassinate former president Donald Trump</a>. Today, Routh was charged with two gun-related crimes.Host Martine Powers speaks with national political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf about what happened at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course on Sunday. And we unpack the potential implications for the presidential campaign.Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Bishop Sand. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter.&nbsp;Subscribe to The Washington Post <a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.

What another potential assassination attempt against Trump could mean for his presidential campaign.

Another potential assassination attempt against Trump

Police officer> Driver! Take two steps to your right! 

Martine Powers:: Today, police released a video of the arrest of Ryan Wesley Routh. He is the suspect who they believe pointed a rifle through a fence where former president Donald Trump was playing golf on Sunday. About 45 minutes after Routh allegedly fled that West Palm Beach Golf Club, he was arrested on the side of a highway. 

Police officer> Driver! Walk straight back! Keep walking! 

Martine Powers:: This morning, Routh was indicted and charged with two federal gun-related crimes. More charges could follow as this investigation continues. Reporters here at The Post are still working to unpack what actually happened Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club. 

Martine Powers> Is this being considered an assassination attempt? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> The FBI is investigating it as a potential assassination attempt. They use the word "apparent," what appears to be another assassination attempt. 

Martine Powers:: Isaac Arnsdorf covers the Trump campaign for The Post. This is now the second time he's reporting on a potential attempt on Trump's life. Isaac was actually at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, back in July when Trump got shot. The shooter at that rally was killed by Secret Service. And now, once again, Isaac is asking the question, what motivated this alleged gunman? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> One of the differences we're seeing here already is that the gunman is alive. He's going to be prosecuted. He might have an opportunity to explain himself. And even without that, he has a very extensive social-media presence. He left behind a very big paper trail, which is now being picked over for clues about him. 

Martine Powers:: From the newsroom of The Washington Post, this is "Post Reports." I'm Martine Powers. It's Monday, September 16th. Today Isaac explains what we know about yet another potential attempt on Trump's life, how Secret Service handled it, what we've learned about the alleged gunman, and what this latest threat of political violence could mean for the presidential campaign. 

Martine Powers> So, Isaac, can you take us through, beat by beat, what happened on Sunday? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Yeah. So, Trump was campaigning last week. He gets back to Florida Saturday night, and on most days that he's in Florida, he likes to golf. So he lives at Mar-A-Lago, which people are familiar with. And there's a Trump International Golf Club on the other side of the bay in West Palm Beach. So he goes there with a friend, Steve Witkoff, and a few others. And the procedure when he's a former president and candidate rather than the president, they don't shut down the whole course. You know, the Secret Service establishes a bubble around him, and the size of the bubble depends on the threat level and the resources. But it's different for a sitting president than a former president. And so the way they're doing it is the bubble is smaller than the complete course. There's basically an agent or two who move a hole or two ahead of him to make sure that it's secure. And between hole five and eight, this agent ahead of Trump noticed a rifle muzzle poking through the chain link fence in the trees on the boundary of the course. 

Martine Powers> Wow. And then what happened after they noticed that? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> The agent opens fire, and Trump, a few holes back, you know, they hear the gunshots and the agents tell them to get down, take cover, and they rush them to safety in a holding room. The guy with the rifle gets into a car and flees, and a witness sees the car, photographs the license plate, calls the police, and so the police are able to track down the car on the highway and intercept him about 45 miles north in the neighboring county. 

Martine Powers> Wow. I mean, it's an incredible series of events going back to the moment when the Secret Service sees this gunman with the muzzle of this gun pointing through the chain link fence. How far away was that gunman from Trump at that point? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> The sheriff estimated between 300 and 500 yards. 

Martine Powers> And, like, is that close? I mean, I'm trying to imagine was he in a position to potentially shoot Trump at that point? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, it's a little bit farther than the gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, but it's -- the sheriff in Palm Beach County briefing reporters on Sunday acknowledged that that is within range for the rifle that they recovered. 

Ric Bradshaw> Probably between 300 and 500 yards, but with a rifle and a scope like that, that's not a long distance. 

Martine Powers> Do we know what kind of rifle it was? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> From our current understanding, it is a semiautomatic assault rifle. 

Martine Powers> And what do we know about how the suspect was able to get this close to Trump and was able to get on the property of this golf course? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> I mean, it's right next to a public road. And the procedure up till now has not been for the bubble to extend to the entire course. 

Martine Powers> Isaac, you were describing that this suspect, he fled the scene after Secret Service started shooting at him. But I understand that he left some items behind. What were those items and have they told anything of significance to investigators about, like, what should we make of that? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, the police released a photo. So you can see there's the chain link fence around the course. There's the rifle leaning on it, and then he's got two bags attached to the fence and also a camera pointed into the golf course, which the sheriff said looked like he was planning to record whatever was going to happen. And we learned from the criminal charges that were filed today that the FBI says the suspect's phone was at the golf course for almost 12 hours before he was spotted by Secret Service. 

Martine Powers> So when you look at what happened, the fact that this gunman did not get off any shots and that Trump came out of this safely, I mean, is this a success for the Secret Service or was this a failure? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, the sheriff praised the Secret Service, said they did exactly what they were supposed to do. 

Ric Bradshaw> The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job. What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> The preliminary response from Trump and his campaign has been to praise the Secret Service. But there's also an acknowledgement that with this high of a threat level and now these two attempts, you heard President Biden come out and direct additional resources for Trump's protection and actually call on Congress to provide additional funding that way. 

Pres. Joe Biden> Thank God President Trump's okay. I think we got a full report so far. We're down there tonight. But one thing I want to make clear -- the Service needs more help. And I think that Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact, need more services. So that's what we're going to be talking about. 

[reporters clamoring] 

Male reporter> They need more personnel? They need more money? What kind of help do you say? 

Pres. Joe Biden> I think we need some more -- First, I think they may need -- They may decide whether they need more personnel or not. 

Martine Powers> Hmm. And what would that look like? How quickly could that actually happen? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> There's some amount of measures that they can take with the existing resources, but to significantly add personnel would require congressional appropriations. 

Martine Powers> And obviously in the couple of months since the first assassination attempt against Trump, there has been a lot of conversation about how the Secret Service can improve. There have been internal shakeups. The director of the Secret Service resigned. Is there a sense here that things have changed internally at the Secret Service that made this incident result differently than two months ago? Or is there a reflection of the Secret Service amping up how they are protecting Trump? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, it's a very different kind of setting. I mean, we can definitely see changes when Trump does rallies like the one in Pennsylvania. So, for a time he wasn't doing outdoor rallies. They've resumed doing outdoor rallies, but they now have bulletproof glass around him. You know, the golf course is a very different situation. You know, you don't have thousands and thousands of people going through airport-style security, but you do have some degree of public access. And the Secret Service has long viewed the golf course as a challenge for protecting Trump. 

Martine Powers:: After the break, we'll talk more about the suspected gunman and his complicated background. We'll be right back. 

Martine Powers> So, Isaac, I want to talk briefly about the suspected gunman. What do we know about him at this point? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> His name is Ryan Wesley Routh. He's 58 years old, originally from North Carolina, most recently living in Hawaii, and he has a criminal history, including a 2002 incident where he barricaded himself in a building with a machine gun after a traffic stop and ultimately pleaded guilty to several charges. 

Martine Powers> Hmm. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Based on what he's written online and in a self-published book, he was very interested in the war in Ukraine. He was trying to join the fight against the Russian invasion or fundraise for it or recruit others. And he was trying to get attention for that. He was like tweeting his phone number at celebrities and doing interviews with reporters, including one we have from Newsweek Romania. 

Ryan Wesley Routh> You know, every one of us is responsible for the outcome of this war. Every one of us, you know, by our actions and what we do. And, you know, when I call back home and say, "Hey, I need five bucks so I can, you know, put enough money together to get a vest for Ukrainian," and I get no response. I'm like, "I'm not sure that the world is as wonderful as I once thought it was." 

Martine Powers> It's just a really complicated history that he has, and this is a moment where we're trying to get some conclusions about why he is suspected of being -- of attempting to try to kill Trump, like what his motivations are, where he is politically. Like, is there anything that we can glean from some of these strange episodes from his past that give us a better sense of, like, who this guy is and why, like, what he cared about that led him to show up at this golf course with a gun on Sunday? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Yeah. You know, these are -- these are clues. They're environmental context. But we don't have a manifesto. We don't have a confession. We don't have anything that directly answers to what led him to this specific act allegedly yet. 

Martine Powers> How has Trump responded to this possible attempt on his life? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Oh, the people who spoke with him yesterday reported that he was actually in a good mood. He was, you know, kind of lighthearted about it, saying that he was disappointed he couldn't finish the round because he was having a really good game. Lindsey Graham actually went on Fox News to recount their conversation. 

Sen. LIndsey Graham> He called me and he said, "Hey, I'm around -- surrounded by like 500 cops. They got a guy with an AK-47." He didn't know the real details, but shots were fired. He praised the Secret Service, but they had had him taken off the course, and he said there's like 500 cops around. I said, "Are you okay?" And he says, "Yeah, yeah. He said, I was 2-under after five." [laughs] So he's -- he's quite a guy. That's all I can say. And I'm just very grateful that the worst didn't happen. And I'm pissed that this could happen again. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> And obviously, he was unharmed in contrast to the last time. You know, it was also true back in July that he was actually more restrained than some of his aides and other Republicans about how they were talking about the assassination attempt or who they were blaming for it right away. That changed over time with Trump, where he was becoming more inflammatory. And so he did an interview with Fox News that aired this morning, in which he said that he was directly blaming what Harris and Biden say about Trump as the reason for this attempt. That's ahead of the available evidence that we have at this time. But it's exactly where he left off in how he had been talking about the previous attempt again with the absence of any evidence about the motive. 

Martine Powers> Yeah. I mean, talking about how Trump's rhetoric evolved in the last couple of months, we saw that even last week at the presidential debate where he basically said, "Kamala Harris is why I got shot. You know, her rhetoric is responsible for this act of political violence." 

Donald Trump> This is the one that weaponized, not me. She weaponized. I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me. They talk about democracy. I'm a threat to democracy. They're the threat to democracy with a fake Russia, Russia, Russia investigation that went nowhere. 

Martine Powers> And now we see him doing something similar. He gave an interview this morning with Fox News in which he was talking about this alleged gunman. And Trump said, "He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris and he acted on it." Dot, dot, dot. "Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country, both from the inside and out." So you can see that he's already gotten to this point of using this as a political cudgel. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, and we have to emphasize that there -- that with the previous shooting, there was no evidence to support that. Again, there was no sign of any political or ideological connection. But Trump and J.D. Vance and other Republicans did start to talk about it that way anyway, that they would position it along with the impeachments and the prosecutions and a whole series of things that they blame on Trump's political opponents, whether or not they actually were. The danger of talking about it that way is the risk of inspiring some kind of tit for tat, not to mention that it's just not accurate. And, you know, I think we're already seeing, with the alleged gunman on Sunday, there's more information available. There's more to grab on to. It's going to become more politicized. 

Martine Powers> Is there a way that we're seeing this even now start to affect the presidential campaign, like logistically? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, it did after the first shooting when there was that period where Trump could -- wasn't doing outdoor rallies. We know he had a meeting with the acting Secret Service director today. He has some events planned this week in-person and virtual. So we'll start to get a sense of any impacts on the campaign calendar. 

Martine Powers> And I recall after the rally in Butler and the shooting there that there was a pause on political advertising. Are we expecting that to happen, which seems a little bit more complicated at this point in the campaign season? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Yeah, I haven't seen any indication of that. And part of that is just because, you know, it's September. It's go time. It's really the height of the campaign season. Another factor certainly is that Trump was not injured. After the Butler shooting, which was right before the RNC, you did see a small increase in Trump's favorability ratings. It's hard to separate the convention bounce from the impact of the assassination attempt. 

Martine Powers> But that seems like a question here. And again, not wanting to get too far ahead of ourselves, but, like, would that same bump for Trump come after this, to say this is a person who's under attack and if you support him, like, this is a moment where your support really matters? 

Isaac Arnsdorf> We'll have to see what the polling says. They've consistently seen a lot of money after the previous assassination attempt and the indictments and the trial, those kinds of news events, so -- and they were actively fundraising, the Trump campaign, sending messages about the Sunday incident as well. 

Martine Powers> Wow. They're already doing that. I think a lot of regular Americans who saw the news last night, woke up this morning to see it, they have one very simple question is why does this keep happening? I don't know if there's an answer for that, but I'm curious what you think. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Well, you know, in the '60s and '70s, it was happening a lot. Completed assassinations of major political figures. And, you know, there were two attempts on Gerald Ford. You know, it's been a while. That's kind of a distant memory. You know, certainly we've become very accustomed to the frequency of mass shootings, school shootings. And we had another one of those in between these two assassination attempts. 

Martine Powers> And also becoming accustomed to attacks on politicians or threats against politicians. And I think it's worth pointing out that just a month ago, a man in Virginia was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Kamala Harris. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Yeah. I mean, I'm -- One of the researchers I talked to for a story about how Trump was talking about the previous assassination attempt, we were talking about how common death threats became in the 2022 cycle, like basically everyone in public life, just a fact of being in public life was that you were going to get death threats. And, you know, the danger that that crosses from threat to action in the first election since January 6th and once violence -- some kind of violence already becomes a reality. 

Martine Powers> Isaac, thank you so much. 

Isaac Arnsdorf> Thanks, Martine. 

Martine Powers:: Isaac Arnsdorf is a political reporter for The Post. Before we go, we've got some other noteworthy news from over the weekend. 

Woman> And the Emmy goes to... "Shogun." 

[cheers and applause] 

Martine Powers:: FX's "Shogun" dominated the Emmys on Sunday night. The acclaimed historical epic set in Japan won Best Drama Series. It also won the prizes for Lead Drama Actress and Actor, which went to Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada. Sanada talked about his win in his acceptance speech. 

Hiroyuki Sanada> And "Shogun" taught me that when people work together, we can make miracle. We can create a better future together. Thank you so much. 

Martine Powers:: Overall, Shogun won 18 of its 25 nominations. That is a record for the most wins by a single season of television. I have not yet watched "Shogun," but I do love a good period piece, so you can bet that this show is now at the top of my list. 

That's it for "Post Reports." Thanks for listening. And if you want more Washington Post news in your ears every day, you should subscribe to "The 7." It's our morning news podcast where you can wake up to the seven top stories that you need to know about before you head into your day. It's quick, it's insightful, it's urgent, but also breezy, and it's the perfect addition to your listening routine. Find "The 7" wherever you listen to podcasts. Today's show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy with help from Bishop Sand and Lucy Perkins. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Ariel Plotnick and Reena Flores. Thanks also to Sean Sullivan. I'm Martine Powers. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from The Washington Post.


https://podcast.posttv.com/vitac-transcripts/3bbcff82-6395-46ef-9320-1a6c8699d205_66e8b009ae3ef622c9dd8a12-transcript.txt

Today, what we know about a possible second assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. And, what this latest threat of political violence could mean for his presidential campaign.

Allison Michaels

Cristina Quinn

Affirmations help alleviate stress and can make you emotionally and mentally stronger. Host Cristina Quinn talks to clinical psychologist Natalie Dattilo-Ryan about what kinds of affirmations are most effective. She lays out an exercise to help get you started with identifying the right kinds of statements to shore up your sense of self. Next, we dive into research on affirmations and stress levels with Carnegie Mellon University psychology and neuroscience professor David Creswell. Creswell’s work reveals how affirmations can activate the brain's reward system. For more on how to make affirmations work for you, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/05/02/do-self-affirmations-work/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">read this</a> from The Post’s Allyson Chiu.<a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm_source=apple-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Subscribe to The Washington Post</a> or connect your subscription in <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/washington-post-audio/id6442482183" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Apple Podcasts</a>. To hear more, check out “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/try-this/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Try This</a>” wherever you listen to podcasts.

Affirmations — statements or phrases steeped in our personal beliefs — can help us remain steady when negative experiences threaten our sense of self.

﻿Martine Powers:: Hey, guys. So, this was a big week for politics. Of course, there was the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. If you want to dive in more on the reactions to the debate performances, we've got a new episode of "The Campaign Moment" coming out today, and that episode -- it's only going to be available on our separate podcast, "The Campaign Moment." So go into your podcast app, find "The Campaign Moment," and get that episode queued up for your weekend listening. In the meantime, here on "Post Reports," we've got something different today -- a show about affirmations, and it comes to us from another Washington Post podcast called "Try This." "Try This" is a series of audio courses. It's hosted by my colleague Cristina Quinn. And let me tell you, as someone who gets to work with Cristina, she is delightful. She is hilarious. She is someone that you want to spend time with. Cristina loves life hacks, and she loves helping people learn how to improve their lives. And that brings us back to affirmations, the subject of the latest "Try This" course. Affirmations are the "I am" statements that you're supposed to say to yourself in moments of stress or self-doubt. And Cristina has a whole new framing on why affirmations work and how to make them work for you. So, after a busy news week, it felt like this would be a nice way to end the week. We're going to play you the first part of that course today, and after you listen, be sure to follow "Try This" in your podcast app. Okay. Here we go. 

Cristina Quinn:: Hey, welcome to "Try This" from The Washington Post. "Try This" is a series of audio courses to help you take on common challenges and learn something new without having to make a big time commitment. I'm Cristina Quinn. I'm a journalist at The Post and I'll be learning with you, because I, too, love a solid, affirming reminder that I'm smart and I'm strong. Affirm the affirms. If you're new to "Try This," here's how this will work. Each "Try This" course has anywhere from two to five classes, which is just a fancy way of saying two to five episodes. In this course, we'll have two classes diving into the world of affirmations. First, we'll figure out exactly how these phrases or beliefs can work and even lower stress. And in the next class, we'll dig into how you can tell whether affirmations are working and more tips for success. Okay, class is in session. Let's try this. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> An affirmation is a statement of positive self-reflection that highlights a valued aspect of who we are or, in most cases, who we perceive ourselves to be. 

Cristina Quinn:: And that's Natalie Dattilo-Ryan, a clinical psychologist outside of Boston. She does a lot of affirmation work with her clients and teaches psychology at Harvard Medical School. So I wanted her to teach me and you what it means to use a self-affirmation that can actually be helpful. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> They could sound declarative, like "I am capable, I am loving, I am deserving of joy." They could also be aspirational in the sense that "I want to be the type of person who feels capable," or "I want to be the type of person who receives love well." 

Cristina Quinn:: The idea of using affirmations as a psychological tool emerged from a theory established in the '80s at Stanford University, that people want to view themselves as morally good and competent. When these views are threatened, like when you receive criticism or get a bad grade, affirming things you value can shore up your confidence. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> We are motivated to protect our sense of self, our sense of self-worth, at the sort of very basic level. It's a way to deal with the day-to-day or, in particular, stressful situations in a way that's less reactive. You're not swayed so much in one direction or the other. You're not too hot or too cold. In fact, you may pass through situations in a much more unaffected way than if you hadn't had a strengthened system in place before. 

Cristina Quinn:: For an affirmation to really work, it has to reflect something meaningful to you and it doesn't have to be tailored to stressful situations. The only rule is that it must be personal. 

Cristina Quinn> Now, how would somebody start doing affirmations? Because I think, for some people, there's -- it may be a big leap to take from, like, doing it in your head to saying it out loud. And do you think that there's definitely a difference, like, it makes a difference to say something out loud versus just saying it to yourself in your head? 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> So, I think there's a couple of different ways that you could practice affirmations. I actually think what makes the biggest difference is writing them down. And the goal is to have them be believable. So just saying something about yourself that you don't actually believe doesn't work. It doesn't serve the purpose of the affirmation. 

Cristina Quinn> Right. Because then -- Because an affirmation should essentially be supporting something you already believe, as opposed to convincing yourself of something that perhaps you are not. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> Yes, that is absolutely true. It could backfire in that case. 

Cristina Quinn:: Natalie says one helpful approach to identifying your affirmations is to write a journal entry or letter about what's important to you. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> There is some calling to mind of things about you or your life that you are proud of or that you value. For a lot of people, this is their relationships. And so what you might do is spend a little bit of time journaling about what's important to you about your relationships, what you've done lately to promote those relationships, reminding yourself of how, you know, good you are of a friend or a partner or a colleague and, you know, look for some specific examples to back that up. 

Cristina Quinn:: And Natalie says the way in which you spell this out is really important. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> I always recommend people write with their hand when it comes to journaling. I know opening up a Word doc and typing out this is convenient and easy, but it doesn't serve the same purpose. 

Cristina Quinn> Why is that? 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> Well, we do a lot of editing. It's easier to edit when we're typing, and we get too caught up in having it sound right or having the grammar be correct. But when we are writing, it's not as easy to go back and change what we just wrote. So you almost have to commit to it a little bit differently. And there's also something happening neurologically, like, in your brain. So you're activating more centers of the brain, so your motor centers, your emotion centers, your logic centers. And a well-connected brain is a healthy brain. So the more of those centers we can connect in an activity, the better. 

Cristina Quinn:: And if you need a little more direction, here's something else you can try. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> I'll have people give me a list of 50 things about themselves, starting with the sentence stem "I am..." Just fill in the blank. Some people, it's easy. Some people, that's quite the challenge. And I will not give them a whole lot of guidance around it, because I think it's helpful for people to identify what it is that they will claim about yourself, "Who I am, this is who I am," and start there. And this is not necessarily the aspirational "I ams." This is right now, today. 

Cristina Quinn:: Making this list can reveal a lot about your values, what's important to you. 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> You're not going to write it down if you're not willing to claim it. So that's an important part of the exercise, that I don't tell people how to fill it in. So, some people will assume that I want them to write positive things about themselves. I don't necessarily want -- I just want them to start with who you are. 

Cristina Quinn:: One way is to start listing your roles. "I am a mother. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am a friend." 

Natalie Dattilo-Ryan> Characteristics -- "I am tall. I am brunet." And then that also leads into these other ideas about yourself that you hold true. "I am committed. I am dedicated. I am determined. I am persistent." You could set it up like, "I am a person who..." You know, "I'm a person who does this. I am a person who likes this. I'm a person who appreciates this X, Y, and Z." So you can take some liberties with that. But it's very revealing and it's a great place to start. 

Cristina Quinn:: Identifying and writing down who you are to get to your values not only strengthens your beliefs, something else is happening when you take the time to acknowledge what really matters to you. In fact, a lot is happening inside that brain of yours when you start using affirmations. We'll find out what right after the break. 

Cristina Quinn:: Okay, psychologist Natalie Dattilo-Ryan laid out what an affirmation is and how to begin to shore up what your values are. Now we're going to hear why self-affirmations can be such an important tool. The study of self-affirmations for stress management has gained a lot of momentum in the past couple of decades, and over that time, this researcher has been stressing people out all in the name of science or, as he puts it... 

David Creswell> I study what makes people well and, you know, what makes people resilient under stress. 

Cristina Quinn:: David Creswell is a psychology and neuroscience professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He's also the director of the school's Health and Human Performance Lab, where they study stress-management strategies and interventions. Creswell and his team have conducted studies over the years that use saliva and urine samples. They've used those samples to evaluate what happens when someone uses an affirmation before doing a challenging task. Saliva and urine are used because they show levels of cortisol, a hormone that is released during stress. Here's what they found. 

David Creswell> Just thinking about an important personal value for a couple of minutes before they went into this really difficult, stressful task changed their stress-hormone responses. They had reduced cortisol responses to this task. And so it really showed that thinking about a personal value sort of inoculates you against now this really threatening situation for the self. 

Cristina Quinn:: In 2016, Creswell's Health and Human Performance Lab leveled up their work by peering inside the mind using brain scans. 

David Creswell> You can imagine a big doughnut-shaped magnet where we sort of slide your head inside the doughnut hole, take 3-D snapshots of your brain, and the activity in your brain while you're in there. 

Cristina Quinn:: Before sticking their noggins into these fancy scanners, participants were divided into two groups. In one group -- let's call them the self-affirmation group -- participants ranked five personal values -- art, religion, science, social issues, politics -- in order of importance. In the second group, the non-affirmation group, participants were asked to rank a list of five attributes of a toaster in order of importance that they believed an average college student would rank them. Yes, a toaster, as in a machine that turns bread into toasted bread. So, if you're in the self-affirmation group, you're weighing the value of art and religion in your life. In the non-affirmation group, you're considering what someone else might like in a toaster. Is it color, slice capacity? You get the idea. Next, both groups' brains were scanned, and Creswell and his team saw meaningful differences in brain activity. 

David Creswell> Thinking about something personally meaningful to you in an affirmation activity really activates the brain's reward system. Same reward system that turns on during really yummy food or sex. Affirmations seem to turn on this brain reward system, as well, really suggesting that these moments of sort of thinking about important personal values really is sort of turning on the brain's reward system. 

Cristina Quinn:: Personal values for the win! Toasters, on the other hand, did not turn on the brain's reward system. But, hey, toasters, don't you go changing. Creswell's team at the Health and Human Performance Lab did a follow-up study in 2020 that replicated these results, and they're hopeful these findings demonstrate that affirmations could turn down people's stress responses by turning on the brain's reward system. 

David Creswell> We're seeing evidence that's consistent with that, and we've got a couple of studies now that show that self-affirmation activities turn on the ventral striatum in the brain, one of the sort of core regions in the brain's reward system, and that, over time, turning on that kind of reward circuitry really might matter for sort of promoting stress resilience and health. 

Cristina Quinn> So it sounds like, basically, like, thinking good thoughts, the act of just doing that in and of itself is a reward to our brain. 

David Creswell> Yeah, I think it's more than just thinking good things, because a lot of our control conditions, we still have people think about things that they like, but they're not really important personal values per se, and we don't see the same type of brain reward response to those. So I really think it's thinking about something that you personally care about deeply. That's what seems to do it in terms of turning on the brain's reward system. 

Cristina Quinn> So that could be something like, "I am a caring and loving mother and daughter and spouse." 

David Creswell> Yeah. And I love playing pickleball. You know, I even think that some of these things that are about personal hobbies or activities that you care about can really turn on the brain's reward system. 

Cristina Quinn> I love the idea of "I love playing pickleball" as a self-affirmation, just because, like, I think when we think of self-affirmations, we think of like, "Okay, there's, like, a value system," right? It's kind of like, you know, "I'm a good friend, you know, I can do hard things." But I love the idea of being like, "I love pickleball." 

David Creswell> Yeah. Is that a good thought or what? At least for some people. 

Cristina Quinn> Now, was that a good thought in the affirmation sense or was that just, like, a good thought in general? Was that part of the control? 

David Creswell> Well, that's the thing is, I think it really depends on the person. So if, for me, as someone who plays a lot of pickleball and I love it, you know, that is going to turn on the brain's reward system. But for you, who may not play pickleball, that's not going to do it. 

Cristina Quinn> Got it. 

David Creswell> So it really has to be yoked to things that are sort of central to your self-concept, things that you really care about. 

Cristina Quinn> So, now I feel kind of like a jerk, because I was laughing at something that is very important to you as a value system. Sorry. 

David Creswell> But that speaks to the power of these affirmations, that they're really linked to, you know, features of what are sort of central to your self-concept. 

Cristina Quinn:: As the old saying goes, one man's affirmation is another one's control variable. Quick recap. Self-affirmations help buffer stress and can make you emotionally and mentally stronger. Keep it personal. Your affirmations must be rooted in values that are very important to you. Start writing. Make a "50 things about me" list, starting with "I am..." Or write a journal entry or letter about what you care about. And don't forget to back up your beliefs with examples. Either you've got the receipts or it never happened. Up next, in our second and final class on how to make affirmations work for you, we go a little deeper into the effects of affirmations and when we know they're working. We'll hear more from Natalie Dattilo-Ryan and learn how to use affirmations to change your behavior. If you're listening to this the week we released Class 1, then our second class will be out for you next Tuesday, but you can hear it right now and ad-free with a subscription to The Post. If you already have one, great. Just look for the Washington Post channel in Apple Podcasts. If you don't yet have a subscription, you can subscribe to The Washington Post through the link in our show notes or at WashingtonPost.com/subscribe. Thanks for listening, and I'll meet you in Class 2.


https://podcast.posttv.com/vitac-transcripts/791c3d3a-49ec-462f-addb-a92031518e89_66e47d76c136d21bcd4243d0-transcript.txt

“Try This” from The Washington Post is a series of audio courses designed to jump-start the parts of life where we can all use a few pointers — with pithy, snackable solutions you can easily use. The latest course is about how affirmations can help us remain steady.

Need a confidence boost? 'Try This.'

Laura Meckler

A few years ago, Jennifer Rosenzweig’s high school students gave her a strange nickname: the “Bucket Lady.” That’s because Rosenzweig, an English teacher at Scarsdale High School in New York state, saw students increasingly on their cellphones, including in class, and having trouble focusing. Her solution? Have students drop their phones in a bucket before class.&nbsp;Today, Rosenzweig is no longer the sole phone cop at her school, which now has a caddy on every classroom door, with pockets that students drop their phones into as they enter.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/08/27/cell-phone-school-bans/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">New policies like this are spreading at schools</a> throughout the United States, with pressure coming from teachers and parents who see phones <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/01/school-cellphones-confiscate/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">as a distraction</a>, an impediment to learning and a burden on students’ mental health.Host Martine Powers speaks with national education reporter Laura Meckler about the growing battle over phones in schools and the different opinions on the correct approach.&nbsp;Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff with help from Ted Muldoon and Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Karina Elwood and Chastity Pratt.&nbsp;Subscribe to The Washington Post <a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.

As students return to class, more schools are cracking down on cellphones. But not everyone agrees. Today, how things look on the frontlines of this battle.

Should schools ban cellphones?

https://podcast.posttv.com/vitac-transcripts/16dce67e-60c6-43bb-9093-e4027b976bb1_66e35ca42c2416258eb7f2eb-transcript.txt

As students return to school, more states and districts are cracking down on cellphones. But not everyone agrees. On “Post Reports,” we hear how things look on the frontlines of this battle.

Should schools ban cellphones? 

Laura Benshoff

Mary Jo Murphy

Aaron Blake

Post Reports co-host Martine Powers talks with senior political reporter Aaron Blake about what each candidate needed to do in this debate to win over voters in an incredibly tight race. They also talk about whether a new endorsement from Taylor Swift could give Harris an edge.﻿Note: An initial version of this episode had an incorrect reference to Springfield, Illinois rather than Springfield, Ohio. The error has been fixed.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Mary Jo Murphy.&nbsp;Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/campaign-moment/?method=NMP_SURL&amp;location=podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.&nbsp;Subscribe to The Washington Post <a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.

The key takeaways from Tuesday’s fiery presidential debate

https://podcast.posttv.com/vitac-transcripts/c152d529-42b6-47e6-b6db-dacfe647feef_66e15571ae3ef622c9dd87d4-transcript.txt

https://podcast.posttv.com/vitac-transcripts/c152d529-42b6-47e6-b6db-dacfe647feef_66e1a85eccb23f72f537fa1a-transcript.txt

In their first – and possibly only – debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump faced off Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Harris got under Trump’s skin and put him on the defensive as they sparred over key issues like abortion.

The Campaign Moment: Harris knocks Trump off balance

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

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Post Reports, the daily podcast from The Washington Post

<div>Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post. For your ears. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/martine-powers/">Martine Powers</a> is your host, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered.&nbsp;Published weekdays by 5 p.m. Eastern time.</div><div>Show credits:</div><div>Host: Martine Powers | Executive Producer: Madhulika Sikka | Senior Producer: Maggie Penman | Producers: Alexis Diao, Ted Muldoon, Reena Flores, Jordan-Marie Smith, Linah Mohammad, Rennie Svirnovskiy | Logo design: Mora Vieytes for The Washington Post | Theme music: Ted Muldoon</div><div>[Follow The Post’s complete coverage of the 2020 election with updates from across our podcasts. Subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/election-2020-updates-from-the-washington-post/id1497386314?mt=2&amp;at=1001lvyS&amp;ct=election_wp_podpage">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4D7mM2oI7Rx3i4klmXJOSC">Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0LnBvc3R0di5jb20vaXR1bmVzL2VsZWN0aW9uLTIwMjAueG1s">Google Podcasts</a>]</div>

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post. For your ears. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/martine-powers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Martine Powers</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/elahe-izadi/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elahe Izadi</a> are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered.&nbsp;Published weekdays by 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Post Reports is the premier daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Every weekday afternoon.

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