In this Feb. 6, 2016, file photo, an Army captain walks outside unoccupied detainee cells inside Camp 6 at the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Will Guantanamo ever close?

Full Episode

In this Feb. 6, 2016, file photo, an Army captain walks outside unoccupied detainee cells inside Camp 6 at the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Ben Fox/AP/File 

The Biden administration received bipartisan criticism in the Senate this week over the fate of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The camp has been open for nearly two decades and several US presidents have vowed to close it. But it remains open with some 39 prisoners still behind bars. And a Hong Kong court charged three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, with unauthorized assembly for taking part in a vigil to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre. Plus, if you’ve searched for a new TV series lately, perhaps you’ve stumbled upon Turkish dizis. Don’t call them telenovelas or soap operas, though — they’re in a category of their own.


There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today. 

In This Episode

New Zealand’s new smoking law
Will the Guantanamo detention camp ever close?
From Mexico, fierce opposition to Biden’s electric car tax credits
Coral reefs grow in the waters of Tatawa Besar, Komodo islands, Indonesia, April 30, 2009.
The debate over deep-sea mining comes to a head 
Special Coverage
The office of the Culinary Workers Union is seen through a car window in Las Vegas, Nov. 9, 2020. The union represents 60,000 people, most of them immigrants, in the Las Vegas area who work in the hospitality industry. 
Undocumented people bring grassroots organizing skills to the labor movement
Special Coverage
Hong Kong media tycoon found guilty in Tiananmen vigil
Potential Chinese base on the Atlantic: Should the US worry? 
UN peacekeepers sex abuse case
Carlota Balbuena and her daughter, Alejandra Balbuena, of North Texas, are enthusiastic about Turkish shows called dizis.
Move over, telenovelas. The latest binge-watching craze? Turkish dizis.
Special Coverage
One half of Jamaica’s great drum and bass duo has died