National

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Mandy Pifer, program manager of Los Angeles Crisis Response Team. Pifer is the former fiancé of Shannon Johnson, one of the victims of the December 2015 shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif.

These days, a strong social media presence can say a lot about your identity. Some do social media well — almost flawlessly — to the point where they can become influential enough to use their personal brand to make money. But what happens when a modest dad-type aspires for the allure that comes with having millions of followers? NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Bloomberg reporter Max Chafkin about his month as an "Instagram influencer."

Gen. James Mattis broke ranks with the Obama administration and left his post in charge of U.S. Central Command over his fixation on Iran as a threat to the U.S. Mattis is known as an independent thinker in the military. His past statements put him at odds with some of Donald Trump's views as well.

Presidential transitions are the moment when a presidential campaign switches from trying to win over voters to planning how to actually govern. For the incoming team, it is a high-stakes process that can be a deeply intimidating. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to David Axelrod, adviser to President Obama, and Ari Fleischer, press secretary to George W. Bush.