When Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace hit screens across the country in 1999, Return of the Jedi felt like ancient history to Star Wars fans. But after 16 long years, the movie let down fans and critics alike.  Twenty-five years have changed how a lot of people feel. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Critics hated 'The Phantom Menace.' It might be time to reconsider

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The Rosetta Stone, the Kohinoor diamond, sculptures from Greece's Parthenon known as the Elgin Marbles are all dazzling objects that bear the history of early civilizations.

But these objects were also taken by colonizers, and still remain on display in museum galleries far from their homes.

Over the past several years museums around the world have been reckoning with the looted treasures they have kept and benefited from.    

Now one small museum in Nashville, Tennessee is returning ancient objects excavated in Mexico. 

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'They're somebody's history.' Returning ancient artifacts to their rightful home

After a trial that lasted 21 days and a deliberation that took less than ten hours, a Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump says he will appeal the charges, but there are still implications for him, and his ongoing presidential campaign for the 2024 election.

So what grounds does Trump have to appeal these charges? And how long could it take to play out? Attorney and NYU law professor Andrew Weissmann joins Ari Shapiro to map out what the next phase of the Trump trial will look like.

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Trump was found guilty on all counts. What comes next?

After 10 hours of deliberation, in a historic verdict, a jury of 12 New Yorkers reached a verdict in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.

Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of felony falsification of business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump says this is "a rigged disgraceful trial," while the Biden campaign said this verdict shows that "no one is above the law," but that former President Donald Trump still poses a "threat ... to our democracy."

NPR's Scott Detrow and Juana Summers, along with NPR political correspondents, unpack the guilty verdict and what it means ahead of the election in November. 

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In a historic verdict, Trump found guilty on 34 felony counts in "hush money" trial

When Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, it heralded an end to racial segregation in professional baseball.

And even though Major League Baseball teams were integrated, official recordkeepers refused to acknowledge stats from the Negro Leagues – where Black players were relegated to for decades.

Author and historian Larry Lester is one of the people who has fought to change that for years. 

He's spent over 50 years compiling statistics from the Negro Leagues. Now, that effort is getting recognition from the MLB, and Lester spoke to Ari Shapiro on the battle for inclusion.

Statistics from the Negro Leagues have now been incorporated into the MLB's records – and it's reshaping the history of baseball.

For generations, Black baseball players' contributions to the sport have been ignored. Now, their legacies are being recognized.

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How these newly included MLB stats recognize the legacies of Black players

Nearly two dozen witnesses and 21 days of court later, Donald Trump's New York hush money trial is coming to a close. 

Twelve New Yorkers have been listening to witnesses like adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen. 

Today, those jurors heard closing arguments, first from the defense, and then the prosecution. Now, they have to determine whether Trump falsified business records to cover up an alleged affair with Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 

What final impressions did the closing arguments leave, and what could that mean for Donald Trump?

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Critics hated 'The Phantom Menace.' It might be time to reconsider

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