President Biden has struggled to sell Americans on the positive signs in the economy under his watch, despite figures that look good on paper. That could have important ramifications for his re-election hopes.Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The Times, explains why, to understand the situation, it may help to look back at another election, 76 years ago.Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.Background reading: Want to Understand 2024? Look at 1948.The Economy Looks Sunny, a Potential Gain for Biden.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Of all the dozens of suspected thieves questioned by the detectives of the Train Burglary Task Force at the Los Angeles Police Department during the months they spent investigating the rise in theft from the city’s freight trains, one man stood out. What made him memorable wasn’t his criminality so much as his giddy enthusiasm for trespassing. That man, Victor Llamas, was a self-taught expert of the supply chain, a connoisseur of shipping containers. Even in custody, as the detectives interrogated him numerous times, after multiple arrests, in a windowless room in a police station in spring 2022, a kind of nostalgia would sweep over the man. “He said that was the best feeling he’d ever had, jumping on the train while it was moving,” Joe Chavez, who supervised the task force’s detectives, said. “It was euphoric for him.”Some 20 million containers move through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach every year, including about 35 percent of all the imports into the United States from Asia. Once these steel boxes leave the relative security of a ship at port, they are loaded onto trains and trucks — and then things start disappearing. The Los Angeles basin is the country’s undisputed capital of cargo theft, the region with the most reported incidents of stuff stolen from trains and trucks and those interstitial spaces in the supply chain, like rail yards, warehouses, truck stops and parking lots.In the era of e-commerce, freight train robberies are going through a strange revival.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The Democratic presidential nomination process begins tomorrow in South Carolina, and President Biden is running largely uncontested. But his campaign is expending significant resources in the race to try to reach a crucial part of his base: Black voters.Maya King, a politics reporter at The Times, explains.Guest: Maya King, a politics reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: In South Carolina, Mr. Biden is trying to persuade Black voters to reject Trump.South Carolina was the home of Mr. Biden’s political resurrection in the primaries four years ago, and it is reaping the rewards.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For the past few weeks, Democrats and Republicans were closing in on a game-changing deal to secure the U.S.-Mexico border: a bipartisan compromise that’s unheard-of in contemporary Washington.Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, explains why that deal is now falling apart.Guest: Karoun Demirjian, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Divided Republicans coalesced behind a bit of legislative extortion: No Ukraine aid without a border crackdown. Then they split over how large a price to demand, imperiling both initiatives.Republicans and Democrats have agreed to try to reduce the number of migrants granted parole to stay in the United States, but cementing the compromise will take money and persuasion on both sides.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a major advance in science, DNA from Bronze Age skeletons is providing clues to modern medical mysteries.Carl Zimmer, who covers life sciences for The Times, explains how a new field of study is changing the way we think about treatments for devastating diseases.Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science correspondent who writes the Origins column for The New York Times.Background reading: Ancient Skeletons Give Clues to Modern Medical MysteriesMorning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Inside the Republican Party, a class war is playing out between the pro-Trump base, which is ready for the nomination fight to be over, and the anti-Trump donor class, which thinks it’s just getting started.Astead Herndon, a political correspondent for The Times and the host of “The Run-Up,” explains the clash.Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a political correspondent and host of The Run-Up for The New York Times.Background: Listen to “The Run-Up” on tensions between big Republican donors and the party base.Former President Donald J. Trump said donors to Nikki Haley, his remaining Republican rival, would be “barred from the MAGA camp.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains strong language and audio excerpts of violence.About a decade ago, police departments across the United States began equipping their officers with body cameras. The technology was meant to serve as a window into potential police misconduct, but that transparency has often remained elusive.Eric Umansky, an editor at large at ProPublica, explains why body cameras haven’t been the fix that many hoped they would be.Guest: Eric Umansky, an editor at large at ProPublica.Background reading: The Failed Promise of Police Body CamerasFrom ProPublica: 21 Bodycam Videos Caught the NYPD Wrongly Arresting Black Kids on Halloween. Why Can’t the Public See the Footage?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On April 26, 2019, a beluga whale appeared near Tufjord, a village in northern Norway, immediately alarming fishermen in the area. Belugas in that part of the world typically inhabit the remote Arctic and are rarely spotted as far south as the Norwegian mainland. Although they occasionally travel solo, they tend to live and move in groups. This particular whale was entirely alone and unusually comfortable around humans, trailing boats and opening his mouth as though expecting to be fed.News of the friendly white whale spread quickly. In early May, a video of the beluga went viral, eventually earning a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” By midsummer, he had become an international celebrity, drawing large groups of tourists. All the while, marine experts had been speculating about the whale’s origin. Clearly this animal had spent time in captivity — but where?In the years since the whale, publicly named Hvaldimir, first entered the global spotlight, the very qualities that make him so endearing — his intelligence, curiosity and charisma — have put him in perpetual danger. Hvaldimir is now at the center of a dispute over his welfare. Even as he swims freely through the ocean, he is caught in a tangle of conflicting human ambitions, some noble, others misguided, nearly all distorted by inadequate understanding. Whether to intervene, and how to do so, remain contentious subjects among scientists, activists and government officials.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Across the United States, millions of families are confronting a seemingly impossible question: When dementia changes a relative, how much should they accommodate their new personality and desires?Katie Engelhart, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, tells the story of one family’s experience.Guest: Katie Engelhart, a writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: The Mother Who Changed: A Story of DementiaKatie Englehart has reported on dementia for years, and one image of a prisoner haunts her.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The era of hybrid work has spawned a new kind of office culture — one that has left many workers less connected and less happy than they have ever been.Emma Goldberg, a business reporter covering workplace culture for The Times, explains how mixing remote and office work has created a malaise, as workers confront new challenges and navigate uncertainty, and employers engage in a wave of experiments.Guest: Emma Goldberg, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Emma Goldberg reflects on her evolving beat as tens of thousands of employees return to the office.From March: Office Mandates. Pickleball. Beer. What will make hybrid work stick?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Tuesday, Donald J. Trump beat Nikki Haley in New Hampshire. His win accelerated a push for the party to coalesce behind him and deepened questions about the path forward for Ms. Haley, his lone remaining rival.Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, discusses the real meaning of the former president's victory.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Donald Trump’s win in New Hampshire added to an air of inevitability, even as Nikki Haley sharpened the edge of her rhetoric.Here are five takeaways from the New Hampshire primary.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Nominations for the Oscars are announced on Tuesday and “Oppenheimer,” a film about the father of the atomic bomb, is expected to be among the front-runners. Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains how the film sent her on a quest to find the secret story of how Congress paid for the bomb, and what it reveals about the inner workings of Washington.  Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Watching “Oppenheimer,” a journalist wondered: How did the president get the $2 billion secret project past Congress?What to expect from the Oscar nominations.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

 In the International Court of Justice, South Africa is accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.Amanda Taub, a human rights lawyer-turned-journalist at The Times, walks through the arguments of the case, and the power that the rules of war have beyond any verdict in court.Guest: Amanda Taub, writer of The Interpreter for The New York Times.Background reading: What might happen next in the genocide case against Israel.With its accusations against Israel, South Africa is challenging the Western-led order.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Liz Flatt drove to Austin, Texas, mostly out of desperation. She had tried talking with the police. She had tried working with a former F.B.I. profiler who ran a nonprofit dedicated to solving unsolved murders. She had been interviewed by journalists and at least one podcaster. She had been featured on a Netflix documentary series about a man who falsely confessed to hundreds of killings.Although she didn’t know it at the time, Flatt was at a crossroads in what she had taken to calling her journey, a path embarked on after a prayer-born decision five years earlier to try to find who killed her sister, Deborah Sue Williamson, or Debbie, in 1975. It was now 2021.She had come to Austin for a conference, CrimeCon, which formed around the same time that Flatt began her quest, at a moment now seen as an inflection point in the long history of true crime, a genre as old as storytelling but one that adapts quickly to new technologies, from the printing press to social media. Flatt met a woman who would later put her in touch with two investigators who presented at the conference that year: George Jared and Jennifer Bucholtz. They were podcasters, but Jared was also a journalist and Bucholtz an adjunct professor of forensics and criminal justice at the for-profit American Military University. Their presentation was on another cold case, the murder of Rebekah Gould in 2004, whose killer they claimed to have helped find using a technique that has quickly become a signature of the changing landscape of true crime: crowdsourcing.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

On its surface, the case before the Supreme Court — a dispute brought by fishing crews objecting to a government fee — appears to be routine.But, as Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times explains, the decision could transform how every industry in the United States is regulated.Guest: Adam Liptak, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How a fight over a fishing regulation could help tear down the administrative state.The case is part of a long-game effort to sap regulation of business.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Attacks by Houthi militants on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, once seemed like a dangerous sideshow to the war in Gaza. But as the attacks have continued, the sideshow has turned into a full-blown crisis.Vivian Nereim, the Gulf bureau chief for The Times, explains what cause is served by the Houthis’ campaign.Guest: Vivian Nereim, the Gulf bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Undeterred by strikes by American and British forces, the Houthis targeted more ships in the Red Sea.Washington is grappling with how to stop a battle-hardened foe from disrupting shipping lanes critical for global trade.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Concerned about the effect on diversity, many colleges have stopped requiring standardized tests. New research suggests that might be a mistake.David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The Times, discusses the future of SATs and why colleges remain reluctant to bring them back.Guest: David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times.Background reading: The misguided war on the SATFrom Opinion: Can the meritocracy survive without the SAT?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

At the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night, Donald J. Trump secured a runaway victory. The only real drama was the fight for second place.Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, takes us inside one of the caucuses, and Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter, walks us through the final results.Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a politics correspondent for The New York Times, andShane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A letdown for Ron DeSantis: His campaign is running low on cash and faces tough tests ahead.Why coming in second can be a win in early-state contests.Here are five takeaways from Trump’s crushing victory.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the N.F.L.’s defending champions, is a very loud place. During a 2014 game, a sound meter captured a decibel reading equivalent to a jet’s taking off, earning a Guinness World Record for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.”Around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7, Brian Melillo, an audio engineer for NBC Sports’ flagship N.F.L. telecast, “Sunday Night Football,” arrived at Arrowhead to prepare for that evening’s game against the Detroit Lions. It was a big occasion: the annual season opener, the N.F.L. Kickoff game, traditionally hosted by the winner of last season’s Super Bowl. There would be speeches, fireworks, a military flyover, the unfurling of a championship banner. A crowd of more than 73,000 was expected. “Arrowhead is a pretty rowdy setting,” Melillo said. “It can present some problems.”Broadcasting a football game on live television is one of the most complex technical and logistical challenges in entertainment. Jody Rosen went behind the scenes of the mammoth broadcast production.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

On Monday, Iowa holds the first contest in the Republican presidential nominating process and nobody will have more on the line than Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor staked his candidacy on a victory in Iowa, a victory that now seems increasingly remote.Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, and the Daily producers Rob Szypko and Carlos Prieto explain what Mr. DeSantis’s challenge has looked like on the ground in Iowa.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A weak night for Donald Trump? A Ron DeSantis flop? Gaming out Iowa.From December: Mr. Trump was gaining in Iowa polling, and Mr. DeSantis was holding off Nikki Haley for a distant second.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A recent string of attacks across the Middle East has raised concerns that the war between Hamas and Israel is spreading, and might put pressure on other countries like Iran and the United States to get more involved.Eric Schmitt, who covers national security for The Times, discusses the risk that the conflict is becoming an even wider war, and explains the efforts underway to prevent that.Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Attacks have heightened fears of a wider war for the Middle East and U.S.After a Red Sea barrage by the Houthis, a militant group in Yemen, the U.S. and its allies are considering how to retaliate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Donald Trump has consistently argued that as a former president, he is immune from being charged with a crime for things he did while he was in office.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains what happened when Trump’s lawyers made that case in federal court, whether the claim has any chance of being accepted — and why Trump may win something valuable either way.Guest: Adam Liptak, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Trump’s immunity claim in court.Analysis: Trump says his acquittal by the Senate in his second impeachment trial makes him immune from prosecution.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Across the United States, hundreds of towns and cities are trying to get guns off the streets by turning them over to businesses that offer to destroy them.But a New York Times investigation found that something very different is happening.Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter at The Times, explains the unintended consequences of efforts by local officials to rid their communities of guns.Guest: Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The guns were said to be destroyed. Instead, they were reborn.Gun control, explained.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Tonight, millions of Americans are expected to tune in to watch one of the biggest sports events of the year, college football’s national championship game. On the field, the game will be determined by the skill of the players and coaches, but behind the scenes, secretive groups of donors are wielding enormous influence over what fans will see.David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, discusses the shadowy industry upending college football, and how it has brought amateur athletics even closer to the world of professional sports.Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The best teams that money could buy.A shift that allows booster groups to employ student athletes has upended the economics of college football and other sports while giving many donors a tax break.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Fifty years ago, eight Americans set off for South America to climb Aconcagua, one of the world’s mightiest mountains. Things quickly went wrong. Two climbers died. Their bodies were left behind.Here is what was certain: A woman from Denver, maybe the most accomplished climber in the group, had last been seen alive on the glacier. A man from Texas, part of the recent Apollo missions to the moon, lay frozen nearby.There were contradictory statements from survivors and a hasty departure. There was a judge who demanded an investigation into possible foul play. There were three years of summit-scratching searches to find and retrieve the bodies.Now, decades later, a camera belonging to one of the deceased climbers has emerged from a receding glacier near the summit and one of mountaineering’s most enduring mysteries has been given air and light.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In a landmark ruling last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent and banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions.The decision eliminated the most powerful tool for ensuring diversity on America’s college campuses and forced college admission officers and high school seniors to figure out what the college admissions process should look like when race cannot be taken into account.Jessica Cheung, a producer on “The Daily,” explains how, over the past year, both students and college officials have tried to navigate the new rules.Guest: Jessica Cheung, a producer on “The Daily” for The New York Times.Background reading: The first high-school seniors to apply to college since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision have had to sort through a morass of conflicting guidance.From June: The Supreme Court rejected affirmative action programs at Harvard and U.N.C.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A puzzling new pattern has taken hold on American roads: pedestrian traffic deaths, which had been on the decline for years, have skyrocketed.Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, discusses her investigation into what lies behind the phenomenon.Guest: Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times.Background reading: Why are so many U.S. pedestrians dying at night?The exceptionally American problem of rising roadway deaths.More theories on the rising pedestrian deaths at night.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Yesterday, we went inside Donald Trump’s campaign for president, to understand how he’s trying to turn a mountain of legal trouble into a political advantage. Today, we turn to the re-election campaign of President Biden.Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, explains why what looks like a record of accomplishment on paper, is turning out to be so difficult to campaign on.Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a politics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: In South Carolina, Democrats see a test of Biden’s appeal to Black voters.Political Memo: Should Biden really run again? He prolongs an awkward conversation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As former President Donald J. Trump enters an election year leading his Republican rivals by wide margins in the polls, multiple court cases are taking up an increasing amount of his campaign schedule. They have been integrated into his messaging and fund-raising efforts, and his campaign staff has been developing a strategy to lock up his nomination, regardless of what happens in court. Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, discusses what Mr. Trump’s campaign will look and feel like amid the many court dates for his cases.Guest: Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Inside Trump’s Backroom Effort to Lock Up the NominationTrump’s Team Prepares to File Challenges on Ballot Decisions SoonIndicted or Barred From the Ballot: For Trump, Bad News Cements SupportFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.Major League Baseball is putting in effect some of the biggest changes in the sport’s history in an effort to speed up the game and inject more activity.As the 2023 season opens, Michael Schmidt, a Times reporter, explains the extraordinary plan to save baseball from the tyranny of the home run.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Listen to the original version of the episode here.With three major rule changes this season, Major League Baseball will try to reinvent itself while looking to the game’s past for inspiration.Here’s a look at the new rules.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.With mountains, intense mud, fast-running rivers and thick rainforest, the Darién Gap, a strip of terrain connecting South and Central America, is one of the most dangerous places on the planet.Over the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in the number of migrants passing through the perilous zone in the hopes of getting to the United States.Today, we hear the story of one family that’s risking everything to make it across.Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York TimesBackground reading: Listen to the original version of the episode here.The pandemic, climate change and growing conflict are forcing a seismic shift in global migration.Two crises are converging at the Darién Gap: an economic and humanitarian disaster underway in South America and the bitter fight over immigration policy in Washington.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin made it a crime to oppose the war in public. Since then, it has waged a relentless campaign of repression, putting Russian citizens in jail for offenses as small as holding a poster or sharing a news article on social media.Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, tells the story of Olesya Krivtsova, a 19-year-old student who faces up to 10 years in prison after posting on social media, and explains why the Russian government is so determined to silence those like her.Guest: Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The New York Times, covering Russia and the war in Ukraine.Background reading: Listen to the original version of the episode here.Oleysa’s story has underlined the perils of using social media to criticize the war in Ukraine.The authorities are determining who will take custody of a 13-year-old girl whose single father has been sentenced for “discrediting” the Russian Army.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since.Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death.When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, had been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars lined the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby made their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains.Ydriss Nouara, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno, and Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The Times, explains how an extraordinary set of circumstances turned the city into a death trap.Guest: Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Listen to the original version of the episode here.Nearly a week after the fires started, relatives received little information as search and identification efforts moved slowly.How the fires turned Lahaina into a death trap.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A New York Times/Siena College poll has found that voters disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, though voters are split on U.S. policy toward the conflict and whether or not Israel’s military campaign should continue. Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, breaks down the poll and what it means for U.S.-Israeli relations and Biden’s 2024 campaign.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Poll Finds Wide Disapproval of Biden on Gaza, and Little Room to Shift GearsHow Much Is Biden’s Support of Israel Hurting Him With Young Voters?Amid Dismal Polling and Some Voter Anger, Don’t Expect Biden to Shift His StrategyFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The accidental killing of three hostages by Israel’s military has shocked Israelis and is raising new questions about the way Israel is conducting its war against Hamas. Afterward, Israel’s defense minister appeared to announce a shift in strategy, giving the clearest indication to date that Israel may slow down its military operation in Gaza after weeks of pressure.Patrick Kingsley, Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, and Hiba Yazbek, a reporter for The Times, discuss Israel’s military campaign and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.Guests: Patrick Kingsley, Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, and Hiba Yazbek, a reporter for The Times.Background reading: Israel Says 3 Hostages Bore White Flag Before Being Killed by TroopsIsrael’s Allies Urge Restraint as Netanyahu Vows ‘Fight to the End’U.S. Urges Israel to Do More to Spare Civilians in Gaza and Pushes Hostage TalksWhat to Know About the Remaining Hostages Taken From IsraelFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former President Donald J. Trump is barred from holding office under the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies those who engage in insurrection, and directed Mr. Trump’s name to be excluded from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot.Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, explains the ruling and why the case is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading:Trump Is Disqualified From Holding Office, Colorado Supreme Court RulesColorado Ruling Knocks Trump Off Ballot: What It Means, What Happens NextRead the Colorado Supreme Court’s Decision Disqualifying Trump From the BallotFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide.A recently released study from researchers at Boston University examined the brains of 152 contact-sport athletes who died before turning 30. They found that more than 40 percent of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease associated with repeated hits to the head. Most of those athletes played football, and most played no higher than the high school or college level. John Branch, domestic correspondent for The New York Times, spoke to the families of five of these athletes.Background reading:C.T.E. Study Finds That Young Football Players Are Getting the DiseaseAfter the Loss of a Son, a Football Coach Confronts a Terrible TruthFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violenceIn 2023, the unrelenting epidemic of gun violence in the United States has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people. Throughout the year, each and every one of those shootings was chronicled by a website that has become the most authoritative and widely-cited source of data about gun deaths in the country: the Gun Violence Archive.Mark Bryant, the founder of the database, explains why he has dedicated so much of his life to painstakingly recording a problem with no end in sight.Guest: Mark Bryant, the founder of the Gun Violence Archive.Background reading: Mr. Bryant’s website, the Gun Violence Archive.Here is how The New York Times tallies mass shootings.From July, a partial list of U.S. mass shootings in 2023.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last fall, Alexandra Duarte, who is now 16, went to see her endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, outside Houston. From age 10, she had been living with polycystic ovary syndrome and, more recently, prediabetes. After Alexandra described her recent quinceañera, the doctor brought up an operation that might benefit her, one that might help her lose weight and, as a result, improve these obesity-related problems.Alexandra, who smiles shyly and speaks softly but confidently, says she was “a little skeptical at first because, like, it’s a surgery.” But her mother, Gabriela Velez, suggested that her daughter consider it. “Ever since I was a toddler, my mom knew that I was struggling with obesity,” Alexandra says.The teasing started in fifth grade. Alexandra couldn’t eat without her classmates staring at and judging her. Though she sought counseling for her sadness and anxiety, these troubles still caused her to leave school for a month. The bullying finally stopped after she switched schools in 10th grade, but Alexandra’s parents knew how deeply she continued to suffer. How much more could their daughter endure? After the doctor suggested bariatric surgery, an operation on the gastrointestinal tract that helps patients lose weight, they spoke to friends who had successfully been through the procedure as adults. They decided it was a smart option for her. Alexandra wasn’t sure.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Taylor Swift grabbed many headlines in 2023. Her widely popular Eras Tour, which proved too much for Ticketmaster to handle, has been both a business and a cultural juggernaut. And Time magazine named her as its person of the year.Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a staff writer for The New York Times, explains why, for her, 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift.Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: Ms. Swift’s greatest gift is for telling her own story — better than any journalist could. But Ms. Brodesser-Akner gave it a shot anyway.Fan demand for Ms. Swift broke Ticketmaster, and that was just the prologue. These are the moments that turned her Eras Tour into a phenomenon.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A major case in Texas this week drew attention to the question of who can get exempted from an abortion ban. Most states that have banned the procedure allow for rare exceptions, but while that might seem clear on paper, in practice, it’s far more ambiguous.Kate Cox, the woman at the center of the case in Texas; and Kate Zernike, a national correspondent for The New York Times, talk about the legal process and its surprising effect.Guest: Kate Zernike, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Texas Supreme Court is weighing several cases seeking to clarify the limits of medical exceptions to the state’s abortion bans.But the court’s ruling in Ms. Cox’s case has left doctors still unsure about which cases might pass legal muster.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.Universities across the country strained under pressure to take a public position on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The Times, explains the story behind a congressional hearing that ended the career of one university president, jeopardized the jobs of two others, and kicked off an emotional debate about antisemitism and free speech on college campuses.Guest: Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Harvard’s governing body said it stood firmly behind Claudine Gay as the university’s president, a stance both praised and condemned by students, faculty and alumni.As fury erupts over campus antisemitism, conservatives have seized the moment.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is making a rare trip to Washington this week, pleading his case for American military aid, something which has long been a lifeline for his country but is now increasingly in doubt.Julian Barnes, who covers international security for The Times, explains what has brought Ukraine to the most perilous point since the war began nearly two years ago.Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a correspondent covering the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security for The New York Times.Background reading: The U.S. and Ukraine are searching for a new strategy after a failed counteroffensive.The Ukrainian leader will be appealing for more military support from the United States as an emboldened Russia steps up its attacks on his country.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.With Argentina again in the midst of an economic crisis, Argentine voters turned to Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian who has drawn comparisons to Donald J. Trump.Jack Nicas, who covers South America for The New York Times, discusses Argentina’s incoming president, and his radical plan to remake the country’s economy.Guest: Jack Nicas, the Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Argentina’s incoming president is a libertarian economist whose brash style and embrace of conspiracy theories has parallels with those of Donald J. Trump.Argentina braces itself for an “anarcho-capitalist” in charge.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As an incubator of life, Earth has a lot going for it, something we often fail to appreciate fully from within its nurturing bounds. Merely sending probes and rovers to the moon and Mars won’t do. For various reasons — adventure! apocalypse! commerce! — we insist upon taking our corporeal selves off-world too. Multiple private companies have announced plans to put hotels in space soon. NASA is aiming to 3-D-print lunar neighborhoods within a couple of decades. And while it will probably take longer than that to build and populate an outpost on Mars, preparations are being made: This summer, four NASA crew members began a 378-day stay in simulated Martian housing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Here’s some of what we know about how Earthlings fare beyond the safety of our home world.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

As the cease-fire in Gaza has ended and the fierce fighting there has resumed, the United States has issued sharper warnings to Israel’s leaders that they have a responsibility to avoid civilian casualties.Peter Baker, The Times’s chief White House correspondent, discusses the public and private ways in which President Biden is trying to influence Israel’s conduct.Guest: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Analysis: Biden’s strategy faces a test as Israeli forces push into southern Gaza.The U.S. is pressing Israel and Hamas to resume talks, a White House official said.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over the last few months, Nikki Haley has gained enough in the polls to suggest she is on the verge of surpassing Ron DeSantis as the main threat to Donald J. Trump in the race to become the Republican candidate for 2024.Jazmine Ulloa, a national politics reporter for The Times; and Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, discuss her building momentum and examine how far she might go.Guest: Jazmine Ulloa, a national politics reporter for The New York Times.Nate Cohn, The New York Times’s chief political analyst.Background reading: Nikki Haley’s path from Trump critic to defender and back.Why is Ms. Haley’s star rising among the rivals to Mr. Trump?Here are five takeaways from the Republican debate last night.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The opioid epidemic has been one of the biggest public health disasters in generations. The drug company at the heart of the crisis, Purdue Pharma, maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal to settle thousands of claims against it — but that agreement would also grant the family behind the company, the Sacklers, immunity from additional civil lawsuits.Justices are now set to rule whether that settlement was legal. Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains what a decision either way could mean for the victims and for the people responsible.Guest: Abbie VanSickle, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading:What to know about the Purdue Pharma case before the Supreme Court.At the core of the matter: Who can get immunity in settlements?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As a racketeering trial begins in Atlanta, much of the focus is on the high-profile defendant, the best-selling rapper Young Thug.Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The New York Times, explains why, in a sense, hip-hop itself is on trial.Guest: Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A judge ruled in November that at least 17 specific sets of lines from the Atlanta artist and his collaborators could be used by prosecutors in the racketeering trial of YSL, a chart-topping hip-hop label and collective.Here’s what to know about the trial.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

 In the weeks since Hamas carried out its devastating terrorist attack in southern Israel, Times journalists have been trying to work out why the Israeli security services failed to prevent such a huge and deadly assault.Ronen Bergman, a correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story of one of the warnings that Israel ignored.Guest: Ronen Bergman, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the Oct. 7 attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational.Here’s the latest on the war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has come to define innovation, but he can also be a lightning rod for controversy; he recently endorsed antisemitic remarks on X, formerly known as Twitter, which prompted companies to pull their advertising. In an interview recorded live at the DealBook Summit in New York with Times business reporter and columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk discusses his emotional state and why he has “no problem being hated.”To read more news about the event, visit https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/11/29/business/dealbook-summit-news

For many millennials, buying a home has become almost entirely out of reach. Average 30-year mortgage rates are hovering around 7 percent — the highest they’ve been since 2007 — largely because of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame inflation.David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times, discusses whether it is time to change how we think about buying vs. renting.Guest: David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times. He writes The Morning, The Times’s flagship daily newsletter, and also writes for Sunday Review.Background reading: Are you ready to buy a home? Should you rent? Take our quiz.From Opinion: Millennials are hitting middle age — and it doesn’t look like what we were promised.The New York Times’ review of David Leonhardt’s book “Ours Was the Shining Future.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The American economy, by many measures, is doing better than it has done in years. But for many Americans, that is not how it feels. Their feelings point to an enduring mystery: Why do Americans feel so bad when the economy is so good?Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses a new way to understand the disconnect. Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a reporter covering the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The New York Times.Background reading: Video: What’s causing the “bad vibes” in the economy?Consumer spending has been strong in 2023 despite higher prices and waning savings. But some retailers have jitters heading into Black Friday.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

From the moment that Roe v. Wade was overturned, the question was just how much the change would reduce abortions across the United States. Now, more than a year later, the numbers are in.Margot Sanger-Katz, who writes about health care for The Upshot, explains why the results are not what anyone had expected.Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, a domestic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The first estimate of births since Dobbs found that almost a quarter of women who would have gotten abortions in states that banned it carried their pregnancies to term.The first full-year census of U.S. abortion providers showed significant increases in abortion in states where it’s legal.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Hostages are at the heart of the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, now in its fifth day. As of Monday night, 50 Israeli hostages had been released, as had 150 Palestinian prisoners. More releases were expected on Tuesday, under what Qatari mediators said was a deal to extend the cease-fire by two days.Isabel Kershner, a Jerusalem-based reporter for The New York Times, explains how a grass-roots movement managed to pause the war, and what it will mean for the rest of the conflict.Guest: Isabel Kershner, who covers Israeli and Palestinian politics and society for The New York Times.Background reading: The extension of the cease-fire, and another exchange of hostages and prisoners, raised hopes that more people would be set free and more humanitarian aid would reach people in the Gaza Strip.Here are the latest updates from Israel and Gaza.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Only five members of the U.S. House of Representatives have ever been expelled from the institution. This week, Representative George Santos, Republican of New York, could become the sixth.In a damning ethics report, House investigators found that the congressman spent tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions on Botox, Ferragamo goods and vacations.Grace Ashford, who covers New York State politics and government for The Times, explains why, after a year in office, so many of Mr. Santos’s colleagues have had enough.Guest: Grace Ashford, a reporter on the Metro desk covering New York State politics and government for The New York Times.Background reading: Representative George Santos faces a new expulsion push led by his own party after a damning report.House ethics investigators found that Mr. Santos used campaign money on personal spending splurges in the Hamptons and Atlantic City.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

It was a head-spinning week in the tech world with the abrupt firing and rehiring of OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman. The hosts of “Hard Fork,” Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, interviewed Altman only two days before he was fired. Over the course of their conversation, Altman laid out his worldview and his vision for the future of A.I. Today, we’re bringing you that interview to shed light on how Altman has quickly come to be seen as a figure of controversy inside the company he co-founded.“Hard Fork” is a podcast about the future of technology that's already here. You can search for it wherever you get your podcasts. Visit nytimes.com/hardfork for more.Hear more of Hard Fork's coverage of OpenAI’s meltdown:Emergency Pod: Sam Altman Is Out at Open AIYet Another Emergency Pod: Sam Altman Is Back

Polls suggest that they are – and that Black voters’ support for former President Donald J. Trump, especially among men, is rising. Astead W. Herndon, host of "The Run-Up," convened a special Thanksgiving focus group to explore what might be behind those numbers. He spoke with family, friends and parishioners from his father’s church, community members and people he grew up with. It’s a lively conversation with real implications for what might happen if the 2024 presidential race is a Biden-Trump rematch. Because where better to talk politics than over turkey and an ample dessert spread?“The Run-Up” is an essential weekly discussion of American politics. New episodes come out every Thursday, and you can follow it wherever you get your podcasts. To get you started, here are a few highlights from our coverage of the 2024 race so far: An Interview With Kamala HarrisThe Pillow Guy and The RNC ChairThe New Terms of Abortion Politics

The board of OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT chatbot and one of the world’s highest-profile artificial intelligence companies, reversed course late last night and brought back Sam Altman as chief executive.Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The Times, discusses a whirlwind five days at the company and analyzes what the fallout could mean for the future of the transformational technology.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: With Mr. Altman’s return, OpenAI’s board of directors will be overhauled, jettisoning several members who had opposed him.Before the ouster, OpenAI’s board was already divided and feuding.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As the war against Hamas enters a seventh week, Israel finds itself under intense pressure to justify its actions in Gaza, including the raid of Al-Shifa Hospital, which it says is a center of Hamas activity. Hamas and hospital officials deny the accusation.Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, was one of the reporters invited by the Israeli military on an escorted trip into the enclave.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Traveling into Gaza with an Israeli military convoy, Times journalists saw houses flattened like playing cards and a city utterly disfigured.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

By working with Democrats to avert a government shutdown this past week, Speaker Mike Johnson seemed to put himself on the same path that doomed his predecessor. Or did he?Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The Times, explains why things could be different this time.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times.Background reading: Congress prevented a shutdown, but the spending fight is far from over.Almost all Democrats and a majority of Republicans overcame the opposition of G.O.P. conservatives to approve the bill under special expedited procedures. But that approach, hatched by Mr. Johnson in his first weeks as speaker, is a gamble.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Space Force, the sixth and newest branch of the U.S. military, was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2019. The initiative had been shaped within the armed forces and Congress over the previous 25 years, based on the premise that as satellite and space technologies evolved, America’s military organizations had to change as well.From the start, the Space Force had detractors. Air Force officials wondered if it was necessary, while some political observers believed that it signified the start of a dangerous (and expensive) militarization of another realm. What seemed harder to argue against was how nearly every aspect of modern warfare and defense — intelligence, surveillance, communications, operations, missile detection — has come to rely on links to orbiting satellites.The recent battles in Eastern Europe, in which Russia has tried to disrupt Ukraine’s space-borne communication systems, are a case in point. And yet the strategic exploitation of space now extends well beyond military concerns. Satellite phone systems have become widespread. Positioning and timing satellites, such as GPS (now overseen by the Space Force), allow for digital mapping, navigation, banking and agricultural management. A world without orbital weather surveys seems unthinkable. Modern life is reliant on space technologies to an extent that an interruption would create profound economic and social distress.For the moment, the force has taken up a problem not often contemplated outside science fiction: How do you fight a war in space, or a war on Earth that expands into space? And even if you’re ready to fight, how do you make sure you don’t have a space war in the first place?This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

One of the most highly anticipated diplomatic events of the year took place this week in a mansion outside San Francisco. President Biden and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, met to repair their countries’ relations, which had sunk to one of their lowest points in decades.Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, discusses the effort to bring the relationship back from the brink.Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Both American and Chinese accounts of the meeting indicated scant progress on the issues that have pushed the two nations to the edge of conflict.China’s depiction of Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit reflected his sometimes-contradictory priorities: to project both strength and a willingness to engage with Washington.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A little over a year ago, at President Biden’s urging, congressional democrats passed a sweeping plan to supercharge the production and sale of electric vehicles.Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains whether the law is actually working.Guest: Jim Tankersley, an economic policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: President Biden’s 2022 climate act spurred big investments in U.S. battery factories, but it has not similarly boosted E.V. sales.Growth is brisk but slower than expected, causing automakers to question their multibillion-dollar investments in new factories and raising doubts about the effectiveness of federal incentives.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A historic set of new lawsuits, filed by more than three dozen states, accuses Meta, the country’s largest social media company, of illegally luring children onto its platforms and hooking them on its products.Natasha Singer, who covers technology, business and society for The New York Times, has been reviewing the states’ evidence and trying to understand the long-term strategy behind these lawsuits.Guest: Natasha Singer, a reporter covering technology, business and society for The New York Times.Background reading: Meta was sued by more than three dozen states that accuse it of knowingly using features on Instagram and Facebook to hook children.Industry lawsuits are stymying new laws on children and social media.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

To much of the outside world, Hamas’s decision to murder hundreds of Israelis and trigger a war that has since killed many thousands of its own people looks like a historic miscalculation — one that could soon result in the destruction of Hamas itself.Hamas’s leaders, however, say that it was the result of a deliberate calculation.Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times, has been reporting on their decision, and what went into it.Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Behind Hamas’s bloody gambit to create a “permanent” state of war.It took American and Qatari diplomacy, and self-interested decisions by Hamas, to bring two hostages safely back to Israel.Here’s the latest on the war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of injuries and death.As Israel’s war on Hamas enters its sixth week, hospitals in Gaza have found themselves on the front lines. Hospitals have become a refuge for the growing number of civilians fleeing the violence, but one that has become increasingly dangerous as Israel’s military targets what it says are Hamas fighters hiding inside and beneath them.Today, three doctors working in the Gaza Strip describe what the war looks like from inside their hospitals and what they are doing to keep up with the flood of patients.Guests: Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, Dr. Suhaib Alhamss and Dr. Ebraheem Matar, three doctors working in the Gaza Strip.Background reading: Gazans under bombardment have described a surge of severely injured children entering hospitals, doctors operating without anesthesia and morgues overflowing with bodies.Israeli officials say that Hamas has built a complex under Al Shifa, a major Gaza hospital. Hamas denies that it is operating from beneath the hospital, whose patients face dire conditions amid power cuts.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In April 2016, 11 Black schoolchildren, some as young as 8 years old, were arrested in Rutherford County, Tenn. The reason? They didn’t stop a fight between some other kids. What happened in the wake of those arrests would expose a juvenile justice system that was playing by its own rules. For years, this county had arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. Why was this happening – and what would it take to stop it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody Award-winning reporter based in the South. The full four-part series is out now.

Warning: this episode contains some explicit language.When Adidas terminated its multibillion-dollar partnership with Kanye West over his antisemitic and other offensive public remarks, it seemed like a straightforward story of a celebrity’s suddenly imploding. But a New York Times examination has found that, behind the scenes, the collaboration was fraught from the start.Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter for The Times, talks about what she discovered when she delved into the meltdown.Guest: Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The investigation into Kanye and Adidas: a story of money, misconduct and the price of appeasement.Inside the uneasy relationship: Here are seven takeaways.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A critical gun case was argued before the Supreme Court this week. But instead of opening further freedoms for gun owners — as the court, with its conservative supermajority, did in a blockbuster decision last year — justices seemed ready to rule that the government may disarm people under restraining orders for domestic violence.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments.Background reading: The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold a law disarming domestic abusers.But a decision on the case is not expected until June.What has the Supreme Court said on guns?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Of all the legal cases that former President Donald J. Trump is facing, perhaps the most personal is playing out in a courtroom in Manhattan: a civil fraud trial that could result in him losing control of his best-known buildings and paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.In recent days, Mr. Trump and some of his children have taken the stand, defending the family business and the former president’s reputation as a real-estate mogul.Jonah E. Bromwich, who covers justice in New York for The Times, was inside the courtroom.Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, a criminal justice correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: This is what it was like inside the courtroom as Mr. Trump testified.And here are five things we learned during his testimony.The former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump was scheduled to take the stand on Wednesday.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It’s been one month since the attack on Israel, but Washington has yet to deliver an aid package to its closest ally. The reason has to do with a different ally, in a different war: Speaker Mike Johnson has opposed continued funding for Ukraine, and wants the issue separated from aid to Israel, setting up a clash between the House and Senate.Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The Times, discusses the battle within the Republican Party over whether to keep funding Ukraine.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Republican-led House approved $14.3 billion for Israel’s war with Hamas, but no further funding for Ukraine.Speaker Johnson’s bill put the House on a collision course with the Senate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In a major new campaign poll from The New York Times and Siena College, former President Donald J. Trump leads President Biden in five of the six battleground states likeliest to decide the 2024 presidential race. Widespread discontent with the state of the country and growing doubts about Biden’s ability to perform his job as president threaten to unravel the diverse coalition that elected him in 2020.Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, explains why the results are less a reflection of Trump’s growing strength than they are of Biden’s growing weaknesses.Guest: Nate Cohn, The New York Times’s chief political analyst.Background reading: In the Times/Siena poll, voters in battleground states said they trusted Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden on the economy, foreign policy and immigration.Here are detailed tables from the poll.Less engaged voters are Biden’s biggest problem.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The beginning of the story was strangely familiar, like the opening scene in a shopworn police procedural: A woman runs screaming down a street in Oak Beach, a secluded gated community on Long Island’s South Shore, only to vanish, it seems, into thin air. It was almost dawn on May 1, 2010. Hours earlier, Shannan Gilbert traveled from New Jersey to see a man who had hired her as an escort from a Craigslist ad. By the time the police arrived, she was gone. They talked to the neighbors, the john and her driver and came up with nothing. A few days later, they ordered a flyover of the area and, again, saw no sign of her. Then they essentially threw up their hands. She went into the ocean, they decided, either hysterical or on drugs.None of this made the news, not at first. A missing sex worker rarely does. Not even when another woman advertising on Craigslist, Megan Waterman, was reported missing a month later.This was, quite obviously, a serial-killer case. The only person not saying as much was the Suffolk County police commissioner, Richard Dormer. “I don’t want anyone to think we have a Jack the Ripper running around Suffolk County with blood dripping from a knife,” he said in a frenzied news conference. In fact, they had something almost exactly like that. All eyes were on the Suffolk Police now — wondering who killed these women, if they would ever find Gilbert and what it would take to solve the mystery.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict enters its darkest chapter in decades, both sides are evoking the same foundational moment in their past: the events of 1948.David K. Shipler, a former Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times and the author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the conflict, discusses the meaning and reality of what happened that year.Guest: David K. Shipler, author of “Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land.”Background reading: Recent violence in an Israeli town carries bitter echoes of the past for Palestinians.From the archive: Israel declares independence on May 14, 1948.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The mass shooting in Maine last week, which killed 18 people, was the country’s deadliest of the year. It may have also been one of the most avoidable.More than five months earlier, the Army Reserve and a Maine sheriff’s department had been made aware of a reservist’s deteriorating mental health. Just six weeks before the killings, he had punched a friend and said he was going to carry out a shooting spree.Nicholas Bogel-Boroughs, a national reporter for The Times, explains why so many warnings failed to stop the shooting.Guest: Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Army Reserve and a Maine sheriff’s department knew of a reservist’s deteriorating mental health five months before America’s deadliest mass shooting this year.Here’s what we know about the shootings in Maine.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In late September, one of the world’s most intractable conflicts ended suddenly and brutally when Azerbaijan seized the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians fled their homes.Andrew Higgins, the New York Times bureau chief for East and Central Europe, explains how the conflict started, why it lasted for more than 30 years, and what its end can tell us about the nature of seemingly unsolvable disputes.Guest: Andrew Higgins, the East and Central Europe bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: After decades of wars and tense stalemates, almost no one saw it coming: Azerbaijan seized Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian control seemingly overnight.The military offensive prompted an exodus to Armenia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A wave of strikes that has paralyzed the auto industry came to an end on Monday, when the last of the three big car manufacturers, General Motors, reached a deal with the United Automobile Workers union.Neal E. Boudette, who covers the auto industry for The Times, discusses the historic deal and why it was such a big win for workers.Guest: Neal E. Boudette, an auto industry correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Autoworkers scored big wins in new contracts with carmakers, the most generous in decades.The U.A.W. said it aims to organize nonunion plants.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over the weekend, the Israeli military appears to have begun an invasion of the Gaza Strip, with tanks rolling into the enclave and Israeli soldiers fighting Hamas inside. But the operation remains shrouded in secrecy, and Israel is revealing little about its actions.Raja Abdulrahim, a Middle East correspondent for The Times, and Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief, discuss the latest escalation in the war.Guests: Raja Abdulrahim, a Middle East correspondent for The New York Times, based in Jerusalem, and Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel-Hamas war had entered its “second stage.”As Israeli troops began pressing into Gaza, officials avoided calling the operation an invasion.Here is the latest on the war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Oct. 19, 2021, Armando Linares López was writing up notes from an interview when his cellphone buzzed with an unknown number. Linares, 49 and stocky with black hair that was just starting to show gray streaks, ran an online news site in a small Mexican city called Zitácuaro. He knew his beat so intimately that calls from unfamiliar phone numbers were rare.But the man on the other end spoke in a way that was instantly familiar. Linares had come to know that pitched, menacing tone from years of run-ins with every kind of Mexican gangster.“This is Commander Eagle,” the voice said. “I’m from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.”Zitácuaro, in the hills of the state of Michoacán, had for years mostly been known for its fertile avocado orchards and the pine-oak forest where tourists came to see the annual arrival of the monarch butterflies. But its central location had made it increasingly attractive to the drug trade. Farmers grew marijuana and opium poppy, the source of heroin, in nearby mountains, and in recent years international drug cartels had been using Michoacán as a way station for methamphetamine and fentanyl shipments. Linares’s rise as a journalist coincided with the drug boom, and he watched its devastating effects on Zitácuaro: severed heads dumped in front of a car dealership, business owners kidnapped for ransom and a government that seemed unwilling or unable to do anything about it.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Hurricane Otis, which killed more than two dozen people in southern Mexico this week, exemplified a phenomenon that meteorologists fear will become more and more common: a severe hurricane that arrives with little warning or time to prepare.Judson Jones, who covers natural disasters for The Times, explains why Hurricane Otis packed such an unexpected punch.Guest: Judson Jones, who covers natural disasters and Earth’s changing climate for The New York Times.Background reading: On Tuesday morning, few meteorologists were talking about Otis. By Wednesday morning, the “catastrophic storm” had left a trail of destruction in Mexico and drawn attention from around the globe. What happened?The hurricane, one of the more powerful Category 5 storms to batter the region, created what one expert called a “nightmare scenario” for a popular tourist coastline.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, fears are growing that the conflict could spread beyond Gaza. And with an expected Israeli ground invasion, the coming days are likely to have enormous consequences. To meet this moment, The Times has started a daily afternoon report, hosted by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. “The War Briefing” is available in the New York Times Audio app, which is available to Times subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber, become one: nytimes.com/audioapp.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.After 21 days without a leader, and after cycling through four nominees, House Republicans have finally elected a speaker. They chose Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a hard-right conservative best known for leading congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The Times, was at the capitol when it happened.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The House elected Mike Johnson as speaker, embracing a hard-right conservative.Speaker Johnson previously played a leading role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Almost immediately after Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, it began preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, drafting hundreds of thousands of its citizens and amassing forces along its southern border.But more than two weeks later, that invasion has yet to happen. Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, explains why.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: U.S. advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, officials said.Here’s the latest on the fighting. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over the past few days, two of the lawyers who tried to help former President Donald J. Trump stay in power after losing the 2020 election pleaded guilty in a Georgia racketeering case and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against him.Richard Faussett, who writes about politics in the American South for The Times, explains why two of Mr. Trump’s former allies have now turned against him.Guest: Richard Fausset, a correspondent for The New York Times covering the American South.Background reading: Sidney Powell, a member of the Trump legal team in 2020, pleaded guilty and will cooperate with prosecutors seeking to convict the former president in an election interference case in Georgia.Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump-aligned lawyer, also pleaded guilty in Georgia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over a year, the federal deficit — the gap between what the U.S. government spends and what it earns — has doubled, to nearly $2 trillion.That figure seems to validate the worries of congressional Republicans about government spending, which have been at the center of the messy fight over who should be House speaker.Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The Times, explains the Republicans’ concerns — and why their plans would not come close to solving the problem.Guest: Jim Tankersley, an economic policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The U.S. deficit effectively doubled in 2023.This is why the federal deficit is growing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Kihekah Avenue cuts through the town of Pawhuska, Okla., roughly north to south, forming the only corridor you might call a “business district” in the town of 2,900. Standing in the middle is a small TV-and-appliance store called Hometown, which occupies a two-story brick building and hasn’t changed much in decades. Boards cover its second-story windows, and part of the sign above its awning is broken, leaving half the lettering intact, spelling “Home.”One winter day in February 2021, Jack Fisk stood before Hometown with Martin Scorsese, explaining how beautiful it could be. For much of the last week, he and Scorsese had been walking around Pawhuska, scouting set locations for the director’s 28th feature film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The film, which is based on David Grann’s best-selling book, chronicles the so-called 1920s Reign of Terror, when the Osage Nation’s discovery of oil made them some of the richest people in the world but also the target of a conspiracy among white people seeking to kill them for their shares of the mineral rights.To render the events as accurately as possible, Scorsese had decided to film the movie in Osage County. It would be a sprawling, technically complicated shoot, with much of the undertaking falling to Fisk. Unlike production designers who use soundstages or computer-generated imagery, he prefers to build from scratch or to remodel period buildings, and even more than most of his peers, he aspires to exacting historical detail. His task would be to create a full-scale replica of a 1920s boom town atop what remains of 2020s Pawhuska.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.When Hamas attacked Israel, they took two hundred hostages back with them into the Gaza Strip, including grandparents and children as young as nine months old. It was one of the largest mass abductions in recent history.Now, the fate of those hostages is at the center of a deepening crisis in the Middle East, and a looming ground invasion of Gaza. Today, we hear from the mother of one of these hostages.Guest: Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is currently being held hostage by Hamas.Background reading: Hamas is believed to hold at least 199 people in Gaza, a dense territory descending into a chaotic crisis, where many officials believe a military rescue would be dangerous for soldiers and hostages alike.Relatives of those captured or missing express despair at the lack of information, and they are terrified of what an expected Israeli invasion of Gaza may mean for their loved ones.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When the governor of Texas announced an extraordinary plan to use local law enforcement to try to deter migrants from crossing from the border with Mexico, few communities were more receptive than the city of Eagle Pass, where residents had become fed up with the federal government’s approach.Now, two years later, people who once welcomed the plan are turning against it. Edgar Sandoval, who writes about South Texas for The New York Times, and Nina Feldman, a producer on “The Daily,” traveled to Eagle Pass to find out why.Guest: Edgar Sandoval, a reporter covering South Texas for The New York Times.Background reading: A campaign by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to turn back migrants was initially welcomed on the border. But in Eagle Pass, some of that support appears to be waning.The city’s mayor declared a state of emergency last month as the level of crossings strained resources.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday killed hundreds and ignited protests across the broader Middle East, deepening the crisis in the region.As President Biden visits Israel looking to ease tensions and avoid a broader conflict, Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The Times, discusses the narrow path the American leader must navigate.Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other for the explosion at the hospital, where people had sought shelter from Israeli bombing.The U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war has drawn fury in the Middle East.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The House of Representatives still has no speaker, crippling a vital branch of the government. And the Republican who seems to be in the strongest position to take the role, Jim Jordan of Ohio, was once called a “legislative terrorist” by a former speaker of his own party.Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The Times, talks through the latest turns in the saga of the leaderless House.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Allies of Jim Jordan are threatening right-wing retribution to any Republican lawmakers who oppose him.Analysis: With the world in crisis, House Republicans bicker among themselves, Carl Hulse writes.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death.As the conflict continues, Israel has blocked food, water and electricity from entering Gaza and has bombarded the area with airstrikes that have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians.Late last week, Israel ordered people in the north of Gaza, nearly half the enclave’s population, to evacuate to the south ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion. Many in Gaza now fear that this mass expulsion will become permanent.Last week we told the story of a father of four whose kibbutz was attacked by Hamas. Today, we hear from the Gaza residents Abdallah Hasaneen and Wafa Elsaka about what they’ve experienced so far and what they expect will come next.Guest: Abdallah Hasaneen, from the town Rafah in southern Gaza. Wafa Elsaka, a Palestinian-American and one of those who have fled from the north of Gaza over the past few days.Background reading: “Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families,” the Israeli military told the people in northern Gaza.As a widely anticipated ground invasion loomed, hospitals in Gaza City said they had no way to evacuate thousands of sick and injured patients.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The triumphant return to Rome of Måneskin — arguably the only rock stars of their generation, and almost certainly the biggest Italian rock band of all time — coincided with a heat wave across Southern Europe. On a Thursday morning in July, the band’s vast management team was officially concerned that the night’s sold-out performance at the Stadio Olimpico would be delayed. When Måneskin finally took the stage around 9:30 p.m., it was still well into the 90s — which was too bad, because there would be pyro.The need to feel the rock may explain the documented problem of fans’ taste becoming frozen in whatever era was happening when they were between the ages of 15 and 25. Anyone who adolesced after Spotify, however, did not grow up with rock as an organically developing form and is likely to have experienced the whole catalog simultaneously, listening to Led Zeppelin at the same time they listened to Pixies and Franz Ferdinand — i.e. as a genre rather than as particular artists, the way the writer Dan Brook’s generation experienced jazz.The members of Måneskin belong to this post-Spotify cohort. As the youngest and most prominent custodians of the rock tradition, their job is to sell new, guitar-driven songs of 100 to 150 beats per minute to a larger and larger audience, many of whom are young people who primarily think of such music as a historical artifact. Starting in September, Måneskin brought this business to the United States — a market where they are considerably less known — on a multivenue tour, with their first stop at Madison Square Garden.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of death.In the week since Israel suffered the deadliest day in its modern history, fresh accounts have emerged in village after village of just how extreme and widespread the violence was.Today we hear the story of one man at the epicenter of that violence: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 civilians were killed.Guest: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel.Background reading: Video: a son’s conversation with his mother as gunmen attacked her kibbutz.The long wait for help as massacres unfolded in Israel.Follow the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was once dismissed as a fringe figure in the 2024 presidential race. But this week, as he announces an independent run for the White House, he’s striking fear within both the Democratic and Republican parties.Rebecca Davis O’Brien, who covers campaign finance for The Times, explains why.Guest: Rebecca Davis O’Brien, a reporter covering campaign finance and money in U.S. elections for The New York Times.Background reading: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters he would end his campaign as a Democratic candidate and run as an independent, potentially upsetting the dynamics of the 2024 election.From July, five noteworthy falsehoods Mr. Kennedy has promoted.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For years, Israel’s leaders believed that they could coexist with Hamas. After this weekend’s massacre, that belief is over.Steven Erlanger, a former Jerusalem bureau chief at The New York Times, explains what Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas will mean for Palestinians and Israelis.Guest: Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for The New York Times.Background reading: The attack ended Israel’s hope that Hamas might come to embrace stability. Now senior Israeli officials say that Hamas must be crushed.Follow The Times’s latest updates on the Israel-Gaza war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, the Supreme Court began its new term, picking up where it left off on the most contentious issues of the day, with cases connected to government power, gun rights and abortion.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why, while previous terms produced major victories for the conservative legal movement, this term may be different.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.Background reading: In cases this term, the justices will explore the scope of the Second Amendment, the fate of the administrative state and limits on free speech on the internet.From Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column: Does the Supreme Court’s cherry-picking of which questions to answer inject politics into judging?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.Over the weekend, Palestinian militants with Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, mounted a stunning and highly coordinated invasion of Israel, rampaging through Israeli towns, killing people in their homes and on the streets, and taking hostages.Isabel Kershner, who covers Israeli and Palestinian politics and society for The Times, talks about the attack and the all-out war that it has now prompted.Guest: Isabel Kershner, a correspondent in Jerusalem for The New York Times.Background reading: Israel and Hamas battled around Gaza on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult war.”Here is what to know about the surprise attack on Israel.Follow live updates on the war.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny, and El Paso was half desert. But he could skateboard in all that open space, and he eventually befriended a nerdy white kid with a passion for Dungeons & Dragons. Ford fell in love with the role-playing game right away; it was complex and cerebral, a saga you could lose yourself in. And in the 1980s, everyone seemed to be playing it.The game has since become one of the most popular in the world, celebrated in nostalgic television shows and dramatized in movies. It is played in homes, at large conventions and even in prisons.When Ford, who is now on death row, first overheard the other men playing D.&D., they were engaged in a fast, high-octane version. The gamers were members of the Mexican Mafia, an insular crew that let Ford into their circle after they realized he could draw. The gang’s leader, Spider, pulled some strings, Ford recalls, and got him moved to a neighboring cell to serve as his personal artist. Ford earned some money drawing intricate Aztec designs in ink. He also began to join their D.&D. sessions, eventually becoming a Dungeon Master and running games all over the row.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a few days ago demonstrated how powerful a small group of hard-right House Republicans have become and how deep their grievances run.We speak to one of the eight republicans who brought down Mr. McCarthy: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee.Guest: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District.Background reading: How have the Republicans who ousted Mr. McCarthy antagonized him before?Although some names have started to be bandied about, there is no clear replacement candidate for the speaker’s position.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For decades, the world seemed to be winning the war against mosquitoes and tamping down the deadly diseases they carried. But in the past few years, progress has not only stalled, it has reversed.Stephanie Nolen, who covers global health for The Times, explains how the mosquito has once again gained the upper hand in the fight.Guest: Stephanie Nolen, a global health correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Climate change has brought disease-spreading mosquitoes to places they have never been found before, compounding the problem.One invasive malaria-carrying species thrives in urban areas and resists all insecticides, threatening catastrophe in Africa.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The vote on Tuesday to remove Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representative has left the chamber mired in chaos.Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The Times, describes what happened on an unprecedented day in American politics.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The vote to ouster the House speaker exposed once again the deep polarization in Congress.Mr. McCarthy’s demise also reflected the challenge of wielding a Republican majority in the House that refuses to be governed.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen golden boy of crypto, is going on trial for what prosecutors are calling the largest financial fraud in recent history.David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the case of the man who was supposed to save the cryptocurrency industry and what its outcome could tell us about why he did not.Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was a fixture on magazine covers and in the halls of Congress. Now he’s fighting federal charges of fraud and money laundering.Crypto insiders are trying to distance themselves from Mr. Bankman-Fried by zealously seeking to hold him to account.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The U.S. government has filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, pointing to a set of familiar features that have made, the internet retail giant so beloved by consumers.Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The Times, explains why those features may actually be illegal.Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states have sued Amazon, saying its conduct in its online store and services to merchants illegally stifled competition.The F.T.C. says there are two main tactics that Amazon used to undermine competition. The company says it will contest the lawsuit.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As China strove for a larger role on the international stage at the turn of the century, the arrival of the internet and a relatively relaxed political environment spurred a boom in self-expression. Many writers tested the boundaries of Chinese literary culture, experimenting with subjects that were quotidian but taboo on the page: corruption, sexual desire and evolving gender roles.In today’s China, though, the pursuit of free expression requires writers to operate under the ever-watchful eye of a complex state surveillance system. This can resemble a high-stakes game of Whac-a-Mole in which writers, editors and online publishers try to outmaneuver the Chinese Communist Party’s apparatus, using any opportunity and resource at their disposal to chronicle life as they see it.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A showdown between House Republicans and their leader, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is heading toward a government shutdown.Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The Times, explains the causes and consequences of the looming crisis.Guest: Carl Hulse, is chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How a small minority of right-wing Republicans succeeded in sowing mass dysfunction, spoiling for a shutdown, an impeachment and a House coup.As a government shutdown looms, Speaker McCarthy is toiling to turn the fight over federal spending into a battle over border security.President Biden’s shutdown strategy is simple: Avoid one, if possible. But if not, make sure Americans know where to place the blame.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Although one major strike, against Hollywood studios, was finally resolved this past week, another, against U.S. vehicle makers, is expanding. The plight of the autoworkers has now become a major point of contention in the presidential race.Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, explains why the strike could be an essential test along the road to the White House.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A day after President Biden appeared on a picket line with United Automobile Workers, former President Donald J. Trump spoke at an auto parts factory.The U.A.W. strike could either accelerate a wave of worker actions or stifle labor’s recent momentum.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After 148 days on strike, writers of movies and television are returning to work on Wednesday with an agreement in hand that amounts to a major win for organized labor in Hollywood.John Koblin, a media reporter for The Times, explains why the studios acquiesced to writers’ demands and what the deal means for the future of American entertainment.Guest: John Koblin, a media reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: After Hollywood’s bitter monthslong labor dispute, the Writers Guild of America got most of what it wanted.Now the focus turns to actors: The studios and the actors’ union haven’t spoken for more than two months, and a deal is needed before the entertainment industry can fully return.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In one of the most serious political corruption cases in recent history, federal prosecutors have accused a senior U.S. senator of trading the power of his position for cash, gifts and gold.Tracey Tully, who covers New Jersey for The Times, tells the story behind the charges against the senator, Robert Menendez, and his wife, Nadine, and describes the role played by Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman at the center of the allegations.Guest: Tracey Tully covers New Jersey for The New York Times.Background reading: Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, charged with taking bribes in exchange for exerting political influence, predicted that he would be exonerated.Inside the Menendez investigation: Federal prosecutors have accused the senator and his wife, Nadine, of accepting bribes in exchange for official actions by Mr. Menendez.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

California is poised to become the first state to outlaw discrimination based on a person’s caste. The system of social stratification, which dates back thousands of years, has been outlawed in India and Nepal for decades.Amy Qin, a correspondent who covers Asian American communities for The Times, explains why so many believe a prejudice that originated on the other side of the globe now requires legal protection in the U.S.  — and why so many are equally convinced that it would be a bad idea.Guest: Amy Qin, a national correspondent covering Asian American communities for The New York Times.Background reading: The bill, recently passed by the California State Legislature, has led to intense debate among South Asian immigrants.Meena Kotwal, a Dalit journalist, started a news outlet focused on marginalized groups in India, hoping that telling their stories would help improve their lives.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

“The weird thing about growing up kidnapped,” Shane McCrae, the 47-year-old American poet, told me in his melodious, reedy voice one rainy afternoon in May, “is if it happens early enough, there’s a way in which you kind of don’t know.”There was no reason for McCrae to have known. What unfolded in McCrae’s childhood — between a day in June 1979 when his white grandmother took him from his Black father and disappeared, and another day, 13 years later, when McCrae opened a phone book in Salem, Ore., found a name he hoped was his father’s and placed a call — is both an unambiguous story of abduction and a convoluted story of complicity. It loops through the American landscape, from Oregon to Texas to California to Oregon again, and, even now, wends through the vaster emotional country of a child and his parents. And because so much of what happened to McCrae happened in homes where he was beaten and lied to and threatened, where he was made to understand that Black people were inferior to whites, where he was taught to hail Hitler, where he was told that his dark skin meant he tanned easily but, no, not that he was Black, it’s a story that’s been hard for McCrae to piece together.McCrae’s new book, the memoir “Pulling the Chariot of the Sun,” is his attempt to construct, at a remove of four decades, an understanding of what happened and what it has come to mean. The memoir takes the reader through McCrae’s childhood, from his earliest memories after being taken from his father to when, at 16, he found him again.his story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of rape, sexual abuse and death.As an epidemic of fentanyl use continues in America, causing tens of thousands of deaths each year, lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are holding one group increasingly responsible: drug users themselves.Eli Saslow, a writer for The Times, tells the story of a man whose friendship ended in tragedy and a set of laws that say he is the one to blame.Guest: Eli Saslow, a writer at large for The New York Times.Background reading: Two friends bought $30 worth of fentanyl before making it into rehab. One overdosed. The other was charged in his death.Harsh fentanyl laws ignite a fierce debate. Critics say, the approach could undermine public health goals and advances in addiction treatment.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.The relationship between two democratic allies fell to its lowest point in history this week, after Canada accused India of assassinating a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June.Mujib Mashal, The Times’s South Asia bureau chief, explains this stunning accusation — and what India’s reaction to it tells us about the era of its leader, Narendra Modi.Guest: Mujib Mashal, The New York Times’s bureau chief for South Asia.Background reading: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said agents of India had assassinated a Sikh community leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot in British Columbia in June.Mr. Nijar was a prominent advocate of the creation of an independent Sikh nation that would include parts of India’s Punjab State.The charge, which the Indian government has strongly rejected, may fuel a rift between Canada’s Sikhs and Hindus.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

New research and polling show that more and more Americans now doubt a previously unquestioned fact of U.S. life — that going to college is worth it.Paul Tough, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains why so many high-school students and their parents are souring on higher education and what it will mean for the country’s future.Guest: Paul Tough, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who has written several books on inequality in education.Background reading: Americans are losing faith in the value of college. Whose fault is that?In December, Colby-Sawyer in New Hampshire reduced its tuition to $17,500 a year, from about $46,000. The cut was a recognition that few pay the list price.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As Ukraine’s counteroffensive grinds on, it’s increasingly turning to a secret drone program that is hitting targets deep inside Russian territory. At least three different Ukrainian-made drones have been used in attacks inside Russia, including on Moscow, according to an analysis by The New York Times.Christiaan Triebert, a journalist on The Times’s Visual Investigations team, explains the origins of that program. We also speak to Serhiy Prytula, a former Ukrainian television host who is now a key force behind it.Guest: Christiaan Triebert, a journalist on The New York Times’s Visual Investigations team.Background reading: Officials in Ukraine rarely discuss attacks on targets inside Russia, including Moscow. But video evidence shows an increasing effort to launch long-range strikes inside the country.Moscow said Ukraine used drones to strike Novorossiysk, a Black Sea naval and shipping hub, and a port in occupied Crimea.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Drugs like Ozempic are revolutionizing the treatment of obesity. The medications, originally used to treat diabetes, keep gaining attention as celebrities and other influencers describe taking them to lose weight quickly.Dani Blum, a reporter for The Times, tells the story behind the drugs and describes some of the ramifications of using them.Guest: Dani Blum, a reporter for Well at The New York Times.Background reading: Ozempic can cause major weight loss. What happens if you stop taking it?Some people taking the drugs can experience such intense lack of appetite that they become malnourished.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Twenty years ago, a glamorous platinum-blond widow arrived at the Paris law office of Claude Dumont Beghi in tears. Someone was trying to take her horses — her “babies” — away, and she needed a lawyer to stop them.She explained that her late husband had been a breeder of champion thoroughbreds. The couple was a familiar sight at the racetracks in Chantilly and Paris: Daniel Wildenstein, gray-suited with a cane in the stands, and Sylvia Roth Wildenstein, a former model with a cigarette dangling from her lips. They first met in 1964, while she was walking couture shows in Paris and he was languishing in a marriage of convenience to a woman from another wealthy Jewish family of art collectors. Daniel, 16 years Sylvia’s senior, already had two grown sons when they met, and he didn’t want more children. So over the next 40 years they spent together, Sylvia cared for the horses as if they were the children she never had. When Daniel died of cancer in 2001, he left her a small stable.Then, one morning about a year later, Sylvia’s phone rang. It was her horse trainer calling to say that he had spotted something odd in the local racing paper, Paris Turf: The results of Sylvia’s stable were no longer listed under her name. The French journalist Magali Serre’s 2013 book “Les Wildenstein” recounts the scene in great detail: Sylvia ran to fetch her copy and flipped to the page. Sure enough, the stable of “Madame Wildenstein” had been replaced by “Dayton Limited,” an Irish company owned by her stepsons.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has ordered an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, putting into motion the third formal attempt by Congress to remove a president in the past four years.Luke Broadwater,  a congressional reporter for The Times, explains the unique realities behind this one.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. McCarthy, who formerly argued that the House must vote before opening an impeachment inquiry, changed his tune this week.What we know about the impeachment case against Mr. Biden.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a rare move, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, traveled outside his country this week to meet with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. Julian Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times, explains what Russia wants from North Korea and how far Mr. Putin might go to get it.Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Kim Jong-un has ammunition stocks that Russia covets as it continues its war in Ukraine, and North Korea may get advanced technology and badly needed food aid in return.Heading to Russia to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin, the North Korean leader chose to travel by rail, on a train with some unusual features.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. government recommended that almost every American begin taking a new annual vaccine for Covid, a milestone in the nation’s three-year battle against the virus.Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times, explains why the era of booster shots is now over and how to navigate this latest uptick in infections.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The C.D.C. recommended all Americans aged 6 months and older should get at least one dose of new Covid vaccines.Covid continues to rise, but experts remain optimistic.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Later this week, as many as 150,000 U.S. autoworkers may walk out in a historic strike against the three Detroit automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. The United Auto Workers union and the Big Three are still far apart in talks, and have only two days left to negotiate a new labor contract before the deadline.Neal Boudette, who covers the auto industry for The New York Times, walks us through a tangled, decades-long dynamic and explains why a walkout looks increasingly likely.Guest: Neal E. Boudette, an auto industry correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: An auto strike is looming that threatens to shut down Detroit’s Big Three.The United Auto Workers has said it is prepared to strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis if a deal is not reached before current contracts end.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For years, the government has been trying to rein in Big Tech, pursuing some of the largest and most powerful companies on the internet. This week, the government takes on Google in the first monopoly trial of the modern internet era.David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The Times, discusses the case against the internet giant and what it might mean for the future if the it loses.Guest: David McCabe, a technology policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The 10-week trial amps up efforts to rein in Big Tech by targeting the core search business that turned Google into a $1.7 trillion behemoth.A federal judge said that the Justice Department could not move forward with a number of claims in antitrust complaints, narrowing the scope of the trial.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In early 2021, a Wikipedia editor peered into the future and saw what looked like a funnel cloud on the horizon: the rise of GPT-3, a precursor to the new chatbots from OpenAI. When this editor — a prolific Wikipedian who goes by the handle Barkeep49 on the site — gave the new technology a try, he could see that it was untrustworthy. The bot would readily mix fictional elements (a false name, a false academic citation) into otherwise factual and coherent answers. But he had no doubts about its potential. “I think A.I.’s day of writing a high-quality encyclopedia is coming sooner rather than later,” he wrote in “Death of Wikipedia,” an essay that he posted under his handle on Wikipedia itself. He speculated that a computerized model could, in time, displace his beloved website and its human editors, just as Wikipedia had supplanted the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which in 2012 announced it was discontinuing its print publication.Recently, when I asked this editor if he still worried about his encyclopedia’s fate, he told me that the newer versions made him more convinced that ChatGPT was a threat. “It wouldn’t surprise me if things are fine for the next three years,” he said of Wikipedia, “and then, all of a sudden, in Year 4 or 5, things drop off a cliff.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains descriptions of severe injuries. Last week, a devastating fire swept through a derelict building in Johannesburg that housed desperate families who had no place else to go. The authorities had been repeatedly warned that it was a potential firetrap. Nothing was done, and at least 76 people died.Lynsey Chutel, who covers southern Africa for The Times, explains how Johannesburg, once a symbol of the hope of post-apartheid South Africa, became an emblem of just how bad the country’s breakdown has become.Guest: Lynsey Chutel, a southern Africa correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: An extensive paper trail revealed that the authorities in Johannesburg were warned repeatedly about the dangers in the building that burned down.Johannesburg, with a severe shortage of affordable housing, has hundreds of illegally occupied derelict buildings that officials and housing advocates say have become firetraps.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For decades, drugmakers have argued that patents are critical to bringing new drugs to the market. But in 2004, when a promising H.I.V. treatment emerged, Gilead Sciences decided to slow-walk its release to maximize profit on the company’s existing patents.Rebecca Robbins, who covers the pharmaceutical industry for The Times, discusses one man’s case and how patents can create perverse incentives to delay new and better drugs.Guest: Rebecca Robbins, a business reporter covering the pharmaceutical industry for The New York Times.Background reading: Gilead delayed a new version of a drug, allowing it to extend the patent life of a blockbuster line of medications, internal documents showed.In August, an expert panel recommended the new daily pill Descovy for H.I.V. prevention.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In New York, the arrival of more than 100,000 migrants seeking asylum over the past year has become a crisis for the city’s shelter system, schools and budget.As another critical election season begins to take shape, Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York State politics for The Times, explains why the situation has also become a political crisis for the state’s Democratic leaders.Guest: Nicholas Fandos, a reporter covering New York State politics for The New York Times Metro desk.Background reading: New York’s migrant crisis is growing. So are Democrats’ anxieties.A scathing letter revealed tension among New York Democrats over the city’s migrant crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A Times investigation found that U.S. passenger planes come dangerously close to crashing into each other far more frequently than the public knows.Sydney Ember, an economics reporter for The Times, explains why an aviation system known for its safety is producing such a steady stream of close calls.Guest: Sydney Ember, an economics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Airline close calls happen far more often than previously known.What you need to know about turbulence.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A Times investigation revealed that in much of the United States, communities and farms are pumping out groundwater at alarming rates. Aquifers are shrinking nationwide, threatening supplies of drinking water and the country’s status as a food superpower.Christopher Flavelle, who covers climate adaptation for The Times, went to Arizona, the state at the forefront of the crisis, and looked at one especially controversial idea to address it: desalination.Guest: Christopher Flavelle covers climate adaptation for The New York Times.Background reading: America is using up its groundwater like there’s no tomorrow.Five takeaways from the investigation into the groundwater crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A year ago, Congress overhauled the way drugs for older Americans get paid for, by giving Medicare the power to bargain with drug makers over prices in the biggest change to health care for more than a decade. This week, the Biden administration began its implementation.Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The Times, discusses the decades long battle for bargaining power and Rebecca Robbins, who covers the pharmaceutical industry for The Times, explains its potential to reshape the business of drugs in America.Guest: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington correspondent covering health policy for The New York Times.Rebecca Robbins, a business reporter for The New York Times covering the pharmaceutical industry.Background reading: The Biden administration announced a long-awaited list of the first 10 medicines that will be subject to price negotiations with Medicare.Drugmakers are “throwing the kitchen sink” to halt Medicare price negotiations.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the Republican presidential race, the battle for second place has been jolted by the sudden rise of a political newcomer whose popularity has already eclipsed that of far more seasoned candidates — Vivek Ramaswamy.Jonathan Weisman, who is a political correspondent for The Times, explains the rising candidate’s back story, message and strategy.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Surging poll numbers underscore that Vivek Ramaswamy is having a well-timed political moment.Mr. Ramaswamy, a millennial, has a lot to say about his generation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over the past decade, China has placed more and more restrictions on the lives of its citizens — tightening its hold over what people can do, read and say.When Bei Zhenying’s husband was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for “smearing” the country’s political system, she was left to pick up the pieces of his life. She now believes that her husband was the writer behind one of the most mysterious blogs on the Chinese internet, which for 12 years had ridiculed the ruling Communist Party from within the country.Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The Times, tells the story of the couple.Guest: Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: China took Bei Zhenying’s husband. She was left to uncover his secret cause.China’s search engines have more than 66,000 rules controlling content.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, India landed its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, becoming the first country to land such a craft near the south pole, where scientists believe vital reserves of water could be found frozen. The landing also revealed just how much the international space race has changed.Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The Times, explains why a new set of players are dominating the space race and what is motivating their groundbreaking missions to the moon.Guest: Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: India became the first country to get a craft to the lunar south polar region in one piece, adding to the achievements of its homegrown space program.At the moon’s south pole, a quest for ice.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The signs on the gate at the entrance to the path and along the edge of the reservoir were clear. “No swimming,” they warned, white letters on a red background.On a chill mid-April day in northwest England, with low, gray clouds and rain in the forecast, the signs hardly seemed necessary. But then people began arriving, by the dozens and then the hundreds. Some walked only from nearby Hayfield, while others came by train or bus or foot from many hours away. In a long, trailing line, they tramped up the hill beside the dam and around the shore of the reservoir, slipping in mud and jumping over puddles.Down on the shore, giggling and shrieking people picked their way across slippery rocks. Then, with a great deal of cheering and splashing, they took to the water en masse, fanning out in all directions. Some carried a large banner that read, “The Right to Swim.”More rounds of cheers went up as new waves of swimmers splashed into the water. An older woman wearing a pink floral swimsuit paused on the shore to turn to the crowd still on land. “Don’t be beaten down!” she shouted, raising a fist above her flower-bedecked bathing cap. “Rebel!” Then she, too, flopped into the lake.The group of rebellious swimmers were trespassing for a cause: the uncontested right to walk, camp, cycle, swim, canoe and perform any other form of nonmotorized exploration throughout the country, also known as the “right to roam.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The mysterious crash of a private jet outside Moscow is believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Wagner militia who led an armed rebellion against Moscow in June. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, explains what we’ve learned about the crash, and what a potential political assassination says about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: All 10 people on a jet linked to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the mercenary group Wagner, were killed, Russian officials said.A blast is likely to have downed the jet and killed Mr. Prigozhin, U.S. officials say.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last night, Republicans held their first debate of the 2024 presidential cycle without the party’s dominant candidate onstage: Donald J. Trump.Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, walks us through the debate and discusses how it might influence the rest of the race.Guest: Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Seven takeaways from the first Republican debate.Trump skipped the event in favor of a gentle online interview with Tucker Carlson.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After a closely watched vote, driverless cars, once a Silicon Valley fantasy, have become a 24-hour-a-day reality in San Francisco. Are autonomous vehicles an interesting and safe transportation alternative? Or are they a nuisance and a traffic-blocking disaster waiting to happen?Cade Metz, who covers technology for The Times, describes the unique challenges of coexisting with cars that drive themselves.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: On Monday, Waymo began letting the public pay for rides in its driverless cars in San Francisco. The New York Times dispatched three reporters around the city to test the service.Local officials are worried that state regulators have been too eager to embrace plans for round-the-clock driverless taxi services.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A marine heat wave is warming the waters off the coast of Florida, pushing temperature readings as high as 101 Fahrenheit and endangering a critical part of sea life: the coral reef.Catrin Einhorn, who covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times, discusses the urgent quest to save coral and what it might mean for the world if it disappears.Guest: Catrin Einhorn, a biodiversity, climate and environment correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A desperate push to save Florida’s coral reef, by getting it out of the sea.Measuring and comparing sea surface temperatures is complex, but scientists agree on one thing: 101 Fahrenheit in the ocean off Florida is bad news for wildlife.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida began the race for the Republican nomination with high expectations and a clear argument: that he was a political fighter with a solid record of conservative achievements in his state. Now, he appears to be in a downward spiral.Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, explains why the DeSantis campaign is stumbling so badly.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Governor DeSantis, who has been losing ground in polls and dealing with staffing, spending and messaging issues, tweaks his messaging and tactics.Here are four major challenges facing his campaign.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Where did it come from? More than three years into the pandemic with untold millions of people dead, that question about the origin of Covid-19 remains widely disputed and fraught, with facts sparkling amid a tangle of analyses and hypotheticals like Christmas lights strung on a dark, thorny tree. One school of thought holds that the virus, known to science as SARS-CoV-2, spread to humans from a nonhuman animal, probably in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, an emporium brimming with fish, meats and wildlife on sale as food in Wuhan, China.Another school argues that the virus was laboratory-engineered as a bioweapon to infect humans and cause them harm, and was possibly devised in a “shadow project” sponsored by the People’s Liberation Army of China. A third school, more moderate than the second but also implicating laboratory work, suggests that the virus got into its first human victim by accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research complex on the eastern side of the city, maybe after undergoing well-meaning but reckless genetic manipulation that made it more dangerous to people.If you feel confused by these possibilities, undecided, suspicious of overconfident assertions — or just tired of the whole subject of the pandemic and whatever little bug has caused it — be assured that you aren’t the only one.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death.When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, have been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars line the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby make their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains.Ydriss Nouara, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno and Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The Times, explains how an extraordinary set of circumstances turned the city into a death trap.Guest: Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Nearly a week after the fires started, relatives are receiving little information as search and identification efforts move slowly.How the fires turned Lahaina into a death trap.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A plea deal struck between the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden was supposed to bring his years of legal troubles to an end. Instead, that deal has unraveled and a special counsel has been named to take over the case.Michael Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains why that turn of events is increasingly pitting the interests of Hunter Biden against those of President Biden.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The lawyer who represented Hunter Biden in plea negotiations stepped down, saying that he intends to testify as a witness on behalf of the president’s son.Here’s a timeline of Hunter Biden’s life and legal troubles.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a region of Africa where authoritarianism has been rising, Niger seemed to be on a different path of democracy and partnership with the United States.Declan Walsh, chief Africa correspondent for The Times, explains how a military coup has now put all of that in jeopardy and why Niger’s allies still think it’s possible to reverse that coup.Guest: Declan Walsh, the chief Africa correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The military junta that seized power in Niger said it would prosecute the president on treason charges, while also telling an intermediary that it was open to talks with neighboring countries.“Not another coup as usual”: Here’s what to know about Niger’s crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Monday, former President Donald J. Trump and 18 others were indicted by an Atlanta grand jury, with Mr. Trump and some of his former top aides accused of orchestrating a “criminal enterprise” to reverse the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.Richard Fausset, who covers politics and culture in the American South for The Times, explains why, of all the charges piling up against Trump, this one may be the hardest to escape.Guest: Richard Fausset, a New York Times correspondent based in Atlanta.Background reading:A grand jury in Georgia indicted the former president and 18 allies on multiple charges related to a conspiracy to subvert the will of voters.Here are the latest developments in the investigation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Last week, wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui that became the deadliest in the United States in over a century. The town of Lahaina, once the royal capital of the kingdom of Hawaii, was one of the places hit hardest — its historic center was decimated, including Waiola Church, the oldest on the island and a cherished meeting place.Today, the minister of Waiola Church, Anela Rosa, explains what it means to lose Lahaina and what it will take to rebuild it.Guest: Anela Rosa, minister of Waiola Church in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.Background reading: Lahaina was once Hawaii’s royal capital, and there were fears that some of its oldest buildings had been destroyed by the wildfires.A journey through Lahaina’s endless streets of suffering.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last October, the United States Bureau of Industry and Security issued a document that, underneath its 139 pages of dense bureaucratic jargon and minute technical detail, amounted to a declaration of economic war on China. The magnitude of the act was made all the more remarkable by the relative obscurity of its source.In recent years, semiconductor chips have become central to the bureau’s work. Despite the immense intricacy of their design, semiconductors are, in a sense, quite simple: tiny pieces of silicon carved with arrays of circuits. The chips are the lifeblood of the modern economy and the brains of every electronic device and system, including iPhones, toasters, data centers and credit cards. A new car might have more than a thousand chips, each one managing a different facet of the vehicle’s operation. Semiconductors are also the driving force behind the innovations poised to revolutionize life over the next century, like quantum computing and artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for example, was reportedly trained on 10,000 of the most advanced chips available.Though delivered in the unassuming form of updated export rules, the Oct. 7 controls essentially seek to eradicate, root and branch, China’s entire ecosystem of advanced technology. If the controls succeed, they could handicap China for a generation; if they fail, they may backfire spectacularly, hastening the very future the United States is trying desperately to avoid.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A few days ago, when the U.S. team was eliminated from the FIFA Women’s World Cup, it marked the end of a history-making run.Rory Smith, chief soccer correspondent for The Times, argues that it also marked the end of something even bigger: an entire era that redefined women’s sports.Guest: Rory Smith, the chief soccer correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: After 48 games in the Women’s World Cup, half the teams had been sent home. And yet the field of potential winners feels bigger than it did at the start.Expanding the tournament was a good idea. Just not for the reasons FIFA thinks.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This summer, unrelenting heat waves have taken a devastating toll in many parts of the world, putting this year on track to be the hottest ever recorded.Coral Davenport, who covers energy and environmental policy for The Times, and Dana Smith, a reporter for the Well section, discuss what it means to live in this new normal, an era in which extreme heat threatens our way of life.Guest: Coral Davenport, an energy and environmental policy correspondent for The New York Times.Dana G. Smith, a reporter for the Well section of The New York Times.Background reading: Heat is costing the U.S. economy billions in lost productivity.Here’s what extreme heat does to your body.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Satellites owned by Elon Musk’s Starlink orbit the earth and beam an internet connection to almost anywhere. In 2019, the company sent its first 60 or so satellites into orbit — today, it has some 4,500 circling the planet, with around 1.5 million customers across about 50 countries and territories.Adam Satariano, a technology correspondent for The Times, details the company’s rise and power, and discusses the implications of one man’s controlling it all.Guest: Adam Satariano, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Elon Musk has become the dominant power in satellite internet technology. The ways he is wielding that influence are raising global alarms.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

To win a conviction against former President Donald J. Trump for trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election, Jack Smith, the special counsel, is applying laws in ways that have never been used before.Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains Mr. Smith’s approach and previews Mr. Trump’s likely response.Guest: Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: By layering varied charges atop the same facts, while sidestepping a free-speech question, the special counsel has structured the election indictment to reduce risk.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The latest economic figures are some of the best of President Biden’s tenure so far. It appears increasingly likely that the United States has managed to tame high inflation without causing a recession.Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy for The Times, discusses the encouraging outlook and speculates about why the positive data hasn’t translated into a bump in President Biden’s popularity.Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: For President Biden, many of the numbers that define an administration — on the economy, crime, immigration — are finally heading in the right direction. Except one: his approval rating.With the strong numbers, there are tentative signs that the national mood is beginning to improve.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When Barb’s father all but left, her mother turned inward, sitting quietly in front of the television, always smoking, often with a cocktail. Something had overtaken her, though it wasn’t clear what.Six years later, Barb was 20 and in college when someone else in the family needed help. Her sister Christy was the second-born, 24 years older than Barb and the star of the family in many ways. But where once Christy was capable and professionally ambitious and socially conscious, now, at 44, she was alone, her clothes unkempt and ripped, her hair unwashed, her marriage over.Depression was the first suspected diagnosis, then schizophrenia, though neither seemed quite right. Christy wasn’t sad or delusional; she wasn’t even upset. It was more as if she were reverting to a childlike state, losing her knack for self-regulation. Her personality was diluting — on its way out, with seemingly nothing to replace it.What was left of Christy was chaotic and unpredictable. She refused to bathe and stopped bothering to make meals. She crashed a neighbor’s party and made odd conversation with strangers. She clogged a toilet with tampons and flooded the house. She was gleefully impulsive, spending thousands of dollars a year on magazine subscriptions. That strange, reckless profligacy made Barb think of their mother, who in her final years sat at home, saying yes to every sales phone call. How heartbreaking but also interesting, Barb thought, that Christy shared the same peculiar tendencies — a family trait of sorts.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The wildfires sweeping Canada have become the largest in its modern history. Across the country, 30 million acres of forest have burned — three times as much land as in the worst American fire in the past 50 years.The scale has forced an international response and a re-evaluation of how the world handles wildfires.Firefighters on the front lines discuss the challenges they face, and David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The Times, explores how climate change has shifted thinking about wildfires.Guest: David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The New York Times. Background reading: With most of Canada’s fire season still ahead, the country is on track to produce more carbon emissions from the burning of forests than all of its other human and industrial activities combined, David Wallace-Wells writes in Times Opinion.Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season shows the need to shift from suppressing fires to preventing them as they become more difficult to combat.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

With Donald Trump facing charges in three different criminal cases, the biggest questions in American politics are whether that creates an opening for his Republican rivals in the presidential race — and whether it disqualifies him in the eyes of general election voters.A new set of Times polls has answers to those questions. It shows the president and the former president still tied among registered voters, each at 43 percent.Nate Cohn, The New York Times’s chief political analyst, talks us through the first Times/Siena polling of the 2024 election cycle.Guest: Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for The New York Times.Background reading: Can the race really be that close?The first Times/Siena poll of the Republican primary shows Trump still commands a seemingly unshakable base of loyal supporters.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Tuesday afternoon, the special counsel Jack Smith filed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump over his wide-ranging attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The Times, talks us through the indictment and the evidence it lays out that Trump participated in an illegal conspiracy to remain in power.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The New York Times’s live coverage of the indictment.Four takeaways from the indictment.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

How did the National Rifle Association, America’s most influential gun-rights group, amass its power?A New York Times investigation has revealed the secret history of how a fusty club of sportsmen became a lobbying juggernaut that would compel elected officials’ allegiance, derail legislation behind the scenes, and redefine the legal landscape.Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter for The Times, sets out the story of the N.R.A.’s transformation — and the unseen role that members of Congress played in designing the group’s strategies. Guest: Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Over decades, a small group of legislators led by a prominent Democrat pushed the gun lobby to help transform the law, the courts and views on the Second Amendment.The potential Republican 2024 presidential candidates showed strong support for gun owners’ rights — a core issue for the party’s base, but one that can be a tougher sell in a general election.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last year, Giorgia Meloni, an Italian far-right politician, became prime minister on an agenda that many feared would mark a radical turn for the country. Now, her visit to the White House last week has bolstered her credentials on the international stage.Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how she got here and the path she has carved out for Europe’s far-right parties.Guest: Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: At the White House, President Biden embraced Ms. Meloni as a friend and cast aside initial doubts that her far-right party might prove to be troublesome for Washington.Ms. Meloni has surprised many by showing a pragmatic streak since coming to power, though some still fear an authoritarian turn.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On the weekends, when Roy Gamboa was a little boy, his grandfather would wake him before dawn. He would pour some coffee into a bowl of rice, and that would be the boy’s breakfast. Roy knew better than to question anything; he sat quietly in his grandfather’s truck as they rumbled down the big hill from their village, Hågat, to Big Navy, as the U.S. Naval Base in Guam is known. They passed through the military gates, along a dirt road and onto the shore of a little cove, next to one of America’s deepest harbors, where skipjacks flipped out of the aquamarine water. The boy noodled with seashells as his grandfather cast. When his grandfather caught a fish, he would unhook it and throw it on the ground, and Roy would snatch it up and quickly stuff it, still wriggling, in the bag. If the fish weren’t biting at one spot, they packed up and moved to another. No one from the Navy ever stopped the old man and the young boy.Some mornings, his grandfather would take Roy back across the dirt road into the jungle to pick papayas, lemons and coconuts. He would thrash a course into the thicket to collect firewood from the slender trees — tangen tangen in CHamoru, the language of the Indigenous inhabitants of Guam, which Roy’s grandmothers and grandfathers were. They would cut the logs into quarters to dry, and stack them higher than Roy could even reach. Other mornings, the man and the boy went to the same spot to cut the grass, all the way from the cove’s blue waters to the ruins of an old cemetery. “Why are we the only ones cutting the grass here?” Roy would ask.“Boy, this was our land before the war,” his grandfather would reply, pointing to 40 acres running from the cemetery to the water to the jungle, over the road and back almost as far as their eyes could see. “We’re taking care of it because we hope, one day, in the future, our land will be returned to us.”Since then, Guam has become a strategic node in America’s designs in the Pacific. It is commonly referred to as “the tip of the spear” — a place from which the United States can project military might across Asia, an essential conduit to the first island chain of Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan and then on to China. As geopolitical tensions rise, Guam’s importance to American military planners only increases, and so does the risk to those who live there. In every iteration of war games between the United States and China run by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Beijing’s first strike on U.S. soil has been to bomb Guam.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Some of the worst symptoms of menopause — including hot flashes, sleeplessness and pain during sex — have an established treatment. Why aren’t more women offered it?Susan Dominus, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains how menopause has been misunderstood both by doctors and society for years, and tells us what happened when her article about it went viral.Guest: Susan Dominus is a writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: From The New York Times Magazine: Women have been misled about menopause.A selection of seven books to guide you through menopause.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A major new study has revealed just how much elite colleges admissions in the U.S. systematically favor the rich and the superrich.David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The Times and The Morning, walks through the data and explains why the study is fueling calls to abandon longstanding practices like legacy admissions.Guest: David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times and The Morning.Background reading: From the Upshot: A study of elite college admissions data suggests being very rich is its own qualification.Here’s David Leonhardt’s article for The Morning discussing the results of the study.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Wednesday morning, Hunter Biden was scheduled to a guilty plea in a Delaware courtroom, marking the end of a yearslong federal investigation that many Republicans believed would put the president’s son in prison, and put an end to the Biden presidency.Michael Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The New York Times, explains why none of that has happened.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times who covers national security and federal investigations.Background reading: Under an agreement with the Justice Department, Hunter Biden accepted probation for filing his taxes late.Republicans in Congress sought to block the plea deal, arguing that it had been tainted by political interference.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it put the global food supply at risk — until the two countries struck an unusual deal to keep shipments flowing. Last week, that deal fell apart.Marc Santora, who has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, explains what the collapse of the agreement means for the war and why its impact will be felt by tens of millions of people across the world.Guest: Marc Santora, a Ukraine correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: After Russia pulled out of the agreement allowing ships to carry grain past its Black Sea blockade, Ukraine accused Moscow of aiming strikes at food export infrastructure.Russia has hit the port city of Odesa repeatedly since withdrawing from the grain deal.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For the past few months, a single senator — Tommy Tuberville — has blocked hundreds of promotions in the U.S. military.Karoun Demirjian, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains what’s behind the senator’s blockade, and why military leaders say it’s becoming a threat to national security.Guest: Karoun Demirjian, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Tuberville’s bid to reverse a Pentagon policy ensuring abortion access for service members has delayed the smooth transfer of power at the highest echelons of the armed forces.Here’s David Firestone of Times Opinion on Tuberville’s blockade.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On the morning of Feb. 7, 2017, two electricians were working on a warning siren near the spillway of Oroville Dam, 60 miles north of Sacramento, when they heard an explosion. As they watched, a giant plume of water rose over their heads, and chunks of concrete began flying down the hillside toward the Feather River. The dam’s spillway, a concrete channel capable of moving millions of gallons of water out of the reservoir in seconds, was disintegrating in front of them. If it had to be taken out of service, a serious rainstorm, like the one that had been falling on Northern California for days, could cause the dam — the tallest in the United States — to fail.Kory Honea, the sheriff of Butte County, which includes the dam and the town it is named for, first heard that something was wrong from Dino Corbin, a local radio personality, who called him at his office: “Are you aware there’s a hole in the spillway?” Around the same time, one of the sheriff’s dispatchers received a confusing message from California’s Department of Water Resources, which owns the dam, saying it was conducting a “routine inspection” after reports of an incident.At the dam, department officials closed the gates at the top of the spillway to prevent any more of its concrete slabs from being lost in what an independent forensic report prepared after the incident described as “a sudden, explosive failure.” The flow of water stopped. The rain, however, didn’t.In the six years since the near-failure of the Oroville Dam, dam operators across the country have begun to reassess the structures under their control, looking for hidden weaknesses: the cracks in the spillway, the hillside that crumbles at the first sign of water. That work is necessary, but it may not be enough to prevent the next disaster. Bigger storms are on the way.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

“Barbie” is premiering this weekend and is trying to pull off a seemingly impossible task: taking a doll best known for reinforcing conventional stereotypes of women and rebranding it as a symbol of feminism, all without coming off as a shameless ad for the doll’s maker, Mattel. Willa Paskin, a journalist and host of Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast, recounts her conversation with the film’s director, Greta Gerwig, about how she approached the challenge.Guest: Willa Paskin, Slate’s television critic and the host of Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast.Background reading: Mattel wanted a summer blockbuster to kick off its new wave of brand-extension movies. Greta Gerwig wanted the film to be a work of art.The reviews are in: Some critics viewed “Barbie” as satirically capitalistic, while others saw it as capitalistically satirical.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As a historic heat wave grips much of the world and the United States, no city has become more emblematic of the crisis than Phoenix, where temperatures have exceeded 110 degrees for the past three weeks.Today, the city’s chief heat officer, David Hondula, discusses how the city is adjusting to the new reality of chronic extreme heat — and whether we are adapting to it fast enough.Guest: David Hondula, the director of heat response and mitigation for the city of Phoenix.Background reading: Arizona is used to scorching summers, but a long stretch of days with 110-degree temperatures is straining patience and resources.Weeks of 110-degree days have left the Phoenix fire department scrambling to rescue people overcome by heat — a test for a force already accustomed to tough summers.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, for the first time in U.S. history, federal regulators approved the sale of a birth control pill without a prescription.Pam Belluck, a health and science correspondent for The Times, explains why, after decades of brutal battles over contraception, this decision played out so differently.Guest: Pam Belluck, a health and science correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The F.D.A. approved a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription for the first time in the United States, a milestone that could significantly expand access to contraception.Here’s how women reacted to the news.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

To refine their popular technology, new artificial intelligence platforms like Chat-GPT are gobbling up the work of authors, poets, comedians and actors — without their consent.Sheera Frenkel, a technology correspondent for The Times, explains why a rebellion is brewing.Guest: Sheera Frenkel, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Fed up with A.I. companies consuming online content without consent, fan fiction writers, actors, social media companies and news organizations are among those rebelling.The comedian and actress Sarah Silverman has joined two lawsuits accusing the companies of training A.I. models using her writing without permission.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

When China suddenly dismantled its lockdowns and other Covid precautions last December, officials in Beijing and many investors expected the economy to spring back to life. It hasn’t worked out that way.Daisuke Wakabayashi, an Asia business correspondent for The Times, explains why China’s economic rebound hit a wall, and what it says about the country’s next chapter.Guest: Daisuke Wakabayashi, an Asia business correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Policymakers and investors expected China’s economy to rev up again after Beijing abruptly dropped Covid precautions, but recent data shows alarming signs of a slowdown.Nanchang’s skyscrapers represented urban transformation, but the city added apartments faster than its population grew. The result: vacant homes and offices.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Some years ago, a psychiatrist named Wendy Dean read an article about a physician who died by suicide. Such deaths were distressingly common, she discovered. The suicide rate among doctors appeared to be even higher than the rate among active military members, a notion that startled Dean, who was then working as an administrator at a U.S. Army medical research center in Maryland. Dean started asking the physicians she knew how they felt about their jobs, and many of them confided that they were struggling. Some complained that they didn’t have enough time to talk to their patients because they were too busy filling out electronic medical records. Others bemoaned having to fight with insurers about whether a person with a serious illness would be preapproved for medication.The doctors Dean surveyed were deeply committed to the medical profession. But many of them were frustrated and unhappy, she sensed, not because they were burned out from working too hard but because the health care system made it so difficult to care for their patients.By the time the journalist Eyal Press met Dean, the distress among medical professionals had reached alarming levels. Professional organizations like National Nurses United, the largest group of registered nurses in the country, had begun referring to “moral injury” and “moral distress” in pamphlets and news releases. Mona Masood, a psychiatrist who established a support line for doctors shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began, recalls being struck by how clinicians reacted when she mentioned the term. “I remember all these physicians were like, Wow, that is what I was looking for,” she says. “This is it.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the second Black justice to sit on the court after Thurgood Marshall, has spent years opposing affirmative action. When the high court struck down the policy last month, Justice Thomas was one of the most influential figures behind the ruling.Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains the impact affirmative action has had on Justice Thomas’s life and how he helped to bring about its demise.Guest: Abbie VanSickle, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A look at Justice Thomas’s path to the Supreme Court.Here’s what the justices have said in the past about affirmative action.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Two weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, declaring that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful.Today, three people whose lives were changed by affirmative action discuss the complicated feelings they have about the policy.Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, a co-host of The Daily.Background reading: For many of the Black, Hispanic and Native Americans whose lives were shaped by affirmative action, the moment has prompted a personal reckoning with its legacy.In earlier decisions, the court had endorsed taking account of race as one factor among many to promote educational diversity.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

 Tens of millions of Americans changed jobs over the past two years, a rare moment of worker power as employees demanded higher pay, and as employers, short on staff, often gave it to them.The tidal wave of quitting became known as the “great resignation.” Now, as the phenomenon seems to have fizzled out, the Times economic writer Ben Casselman discusses whether there have been any lasting benefits for American workers.Guest: Ben Casselman, an economy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The furious pace of job-switching in recent years has led to big gains for low-wage workers. But the pendulum could be swinging back toward employers.Last year, the Times opinion writer Paul Krugman questioned the great resignation narrative.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For months, President Biden has been wrestling with one of the most vexing questions in the war in Ukraine: whether to risk letting Ukrainian forces run out of the artillery rounds they desperately need to fight Russia, or agree to ship them cluster munitions — widely banned weapons known to cause grievous injury to civilians, especially children. On Friday, the Biden administration announced that it would send the weapons, which have been outlawed by many of Washington's closest allies.David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story behind the president’s contentious decision.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: With Ukraine burning through stockpiles of conventional artillery, Mr. Biden concluded that he had little choice but to provide the weapons.Read The New York Times Editorial Board’s piece on “the flawed moral logic of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

 Last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, released Threads, a social media platform to compete with Twitter. In just 16 hours, Threads was downloaded more than 30 million times.Mike Isaac, who covers tech companies and Silicon Valley for The Times, explains how Twitter became so vulnerable and discusses the challenges Meta faces to create a less toxic alternative.Guest: Mike Isaac, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Threads is on pace to exceed 100 million users within two months, a feat achieved only by ChatGPT.Here’s what to know about Threads and how it differs from Twitter.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The wave of scandals that would engulf Spain began with a police raid on a wooded property outside Madrid. It was Nov. 3, 2017, and the target was José Manuel Villarejo Pérez, a former government spy. Villarejo’s name had been circulating in the Spanish press for years. He was rumored to have had powerful friends and to have kept dirt on them all. The impressive variety of allegations against him — forgery, bribery, extortion, influence peddling — had earned him the nickname “king of the sewers.”For many decades, Villarejo’s face had been known to almost no one. He was, after all, a spy — and not just any spy, but one who had started his career in the secret police of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. In those years, he would dress in overalls from Telefónica, the national telephone company, as he conducted surveillance operations in the mountains, and on several occasions he even wore a priest’s collar in order to infiltrate the Basque separatist group ETA. More recently, Villarejo had taken to simply introducing himself as a lawyer who ran a private-investigation firm, offering those he met to dig up compromising material on their enemies. His formal connection to the government was increasingly ambiguous. Of all of the identities he assumed over the years, this was perhaps the most powerful one. It made him rich through the hefty fees he charged, and it opened a door into the worlds of business tycoons, government ministers, aristocrats, judges, newspaper editors and arms traffickers — all of whose trust he gained, all of whose private words he taped.Villarejo was handcuffed and taken to Madrid. But as he sat in jail awaiting trial, the question left hanging over Spain was this: What happens to a country’s secrets when they have all been recorded by one man? And what happens when that man finds himself suddenly backed into a corner?This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Last week, the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s sweeping plan to cancel billions of dollars in student loan debt.Stacy Cowley, a finance reporter for The New York Times, explains what the decision means for borrowers now facing their first payments since a coronavirus pandemic-related pause and how an alternative plan could still ease their burden.Guest: Stacy Cowley, a finance correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The proposed debt cancellation of more than $400 billion would have been one of the most expensive executive actions in U.S. history.Millions will now have to repay debts that the Biden administration had promised to eliminate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last month, a rebellion inside Russia left lingering questions about what really happened and about what the ramifications would be for President Vladimir V. Putin.Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses what Mr. Putin has done since the mutiny and looks at how those actions might reveal how vulnerable the president is.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Putin is rewarding loyalty among the ruling elite and showering his most important constituency — the men with guns — with cash.The mutiny gave a glimpse of a post-Putin Russia. Is the window still open?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has become a sensation on YouTube for ostentatious and sometimes absurd acts of altruism.Today, Max Read, a journalist and contributor to The Times, discusses what the rise of one of YouTube’s most popular star tells us about the platform and its users.Max Read is a contributor to The New York Times Magazine and writes about technology and internet culture in his newsletter “Read Max.”Background reading: Why do so many people think Mr. Donaldson is evil?MrBeast is out to become the Elon Musk of online creators.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The patients in this story came to the Yale Fertility Center to pursue pregnancy. They began their I.V.F. cycles full of expectation and hope. Then a surgical procedure called egg retrieval caused them excruciating pain.Some of the patients screamed out in the procedure room. Others called the clinic from home to report pain in the hours that followed. But most of the staff members who fielded the patients’ reports did not know the real reason for the pain — a nurse at the clinic was stealing fentanyl and replacing it with saline.Today, we’re sharing the first episode of “The Retrievals,” a five-part narrative series from Serial Productions and The New York Times, reported by Susan Burton, a veteran staff member at “This American Life” and author of the memoir “Empty.”

The Supreme Court delivered another major decision this past week, ruling in favor of a web designer who said she had a First Amendment right to refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples.Adam Liptak, a Times correspondent who covers the court, explains what the ruling might mean for all kinds of different groups of Americans.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The justices settled a question left open in 2018: whether businesses open to the public and engaged in expression may refuse to serve customers based on religious convictions.Here’s what to know about the free speech decision.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

HF0, or Hacker Fellowship Zero, is a start-up accelerator that provides 12-week residencies for batches of fellows from 10 different start-ups. Their experience, which culminates in a demonstration day, is supposed to be the most productive three months of the fellows’ lives. Dave Fontenot, one of HF0’s founders, was inspired by the two years he spent living in monasteries in his 20s: While monastery life was materially ascetic, he found that it was luxurious in the freedom it gave residents to focus on the things that really mattered. And this year at the Archbishop’s Mansion in San Francisco, the home of the fellows, almost everyone has been monastically focused on what has become the city’s newest religion: artificial intelligence.The A.I. gospel had not yet spread in 2021, when Fontenot and his two co-founders, Emily Liu and Evan Stites-Clayton, started the accelerator. Even a year ago, when HF0 hosted a batch of fellows at a hotel in Miami, six out of the eight companies represented were cryptocurrency start-ups. But at the mansion in San Francisco, eight of the 10 companies in HF0’s first batch this year were working on A.I.-based apps.That generative A.I. has largely supplanted crypto in the eyes of founders and venture capitalists alike is not exactly surprising. When OpenAI released ChatGPT late last year, it set off a new craze at a time when the collapsing crypto and tech markets had left many investors and would-be entrepreneurs adrift, unsure of where to put their capital and time. Suddenly users everywhere were realizing that A.I. could now respond to verbal queries with a startling degree of humanlike fluency. “Large language models have been around for a long time, but their uses were limited,” said Robert Nishihara, a co-founder of Anyscale, a start-up for machine-learning infrastructure. “But there’s a threshold where they become dramatically more useful, and I think now it’s crossed that.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent by striking down affirmative action and declaring that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful.Adam Liptak, who covers the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times, explains the ruling, and what it means for American society.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The New York Times.Background reading: The Supreme Court’s vote to reject affirmative action programs was 6 to 3, with the liberal justices in dissent.In 2016, in its last major case on affirmative action in higher education, the Supreme Court upheld an aspect of an idiosyncratic admissions program at the University of Texas at Austin.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a San Francisco courtroom, federal regulators are fighting to block one of the biggest deals in the history of Silicon Valley. David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The New York Times, talks about Lina Khan, the F.T.C. chair who is the architect of the lawsuit, and the growing campaign to finally rein in big tech.Guest: David McCabe, a New York Times correspondent covering technology policy.Background reading: The Federal Trade Commission sued Microsoft to stop the company from closing its purchase of the video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard, escalating government efforts to stymie the largest consumer technology deal in decades.Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, appeared in federal court on Wednesday to defend the deal by pledging support for open platforms and consumer choice.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Since its introduction less than a year ago, ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence platform that can write essays, solve math problems and write computer code, has sparked an anguished debate in the world of education. Is it a useful research tool or an irresistible license to cheat?Stella Tan, a producer on The Daily, speaks to teachers and students as they finish their first semester with ChatGPT about how it is changing the classroom.Guest: Stella Tan, an audio producer for The New York Times.Background reading: ChatGPT’s potential as an educational tool outweighs its risks, a Times technology columnist argues.While schools debate what to teach students about powerful new A.I. tools, tech giants, universities and nonprofits are intervening with free lessons.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Earlier this month, a group of hard-right Republicans hijacked the floor of the House of Representatives in protest against Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The mutiny, staged by nearly a dozen members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, raised questions about whether the speaker could continue to govern his slim and fractious majority.Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains how and why this small group of members made the chamber ungovernable.Guest: Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: In early June, members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus refused to surrender control of the floor, forcing Republican leaders to scrap votes for the week and leaving speaker Kevin McCarthy facing what he conceded was “chaos.”The group effectively shut down the House floor, calling the speaker’s fiscal compromise with President Biden a betrayal.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

An armed rebellion in Russia over the weekend stunned the world and amounted to the single biggest challenge to President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule since he came to power 23 years ago.Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times, talks about the man who led the revolt, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, and about what might happen next.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: How the rebellion in Russia unfolded.The mutiny raised a searing question: Could Mr. Putin lose power?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For months, much of the world has been watching and waiting as Ukraine prepares for a major counteroffensive in its war with Russia. That battle is now underway, and it’s not what was expected.Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times, reports from the front line.Guest: Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Military analysts said it would take weeks or months to gauge the success of the attacks Ukraine mounted last week across a broad stretch of the front line.As Ukraine pushes to recapture territory, Russia has moved ahead with elections in occupied areas.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A few days ago, when passengers set off on a deep sea expedition in the Atlantic Ocean, they were aboard a vessel that many experts had already concluded was dangerously designed.William Broad, a science correspondent for The Times, explains why he was worried from the start.Guest: William J. Broad, a science correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: What to know about the Titan, the vessel that went missing on Sunday on its way to the Titanic shipwreck site with five people aboard.Three decades ago, a dive in the three-person submersible Alvin revealed not only an alien world but why people engage in such risky pursuits.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the decades after World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, Germany deliberately underinvested in its military. But that’s about to change.Katrin Bennhold, a correspondent in Europe and former Berlin bureau chief, explains why Germany is re-entering an era of militarization, and what that will mean for its national identity.Guest: Katrin Bennhold, a Germany and Europe correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Germany adopted a more muscular security plan in an attempt to set priorities, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but politics may have weakened it.German leaders are vowing to transform the country into a military power capable of taking responsibility for Europe’s security. Can they — and a hesitant German society — follow through on that promise?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Rapid inflation has been a problem in the United States for more than two years, but the tide appears to be turning. Annual inflation is now less than half of what it was last summer.Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses whether the decline is a result of careful policymaking, or more of a lucky accident.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a Federal Reserve correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Inflation is coming down. Is the Fed winning its fight?How to read the Fed’s projections like a pro.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Almost everyone who reads “American Born Chinese,” Gene Luen Yang’s groundbreaking graphic novel, is a little afraid of Chin-Kee.The book is a classic of young-adult literature, threading together stories of Asian American boyhood with a revered Ming dynasty novel. Chin-Kee’s role in it is a small one, but he is the bomb at the book’s heart. He’s a kind of Urkel character, embarrassing comic relief that isn’t so funny for the people who have to live with him — a cruel marionette pieced together from ugly stereotypes. He makes the old schoolyard “me Chinese” rhymes and begins sentences with “Confucius say …” He sings “She Bangs,” in a library, in the style of the “American Idol” contestant William Hung. At one point, he eats a packed lunch with a cat peeking out of the container. A laugh track runs in a ribbon under each scene, a brutal little receipt: “HA HA HA HA HA.”So when news arrived, in 2021, that “American Born Chinese” would be adapted as a live-action Disney+ streaming series, the first reaction from some readers was, more or less, “Oh, no.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This week, a historic case has landed in a Montana courtroom. A group of young environmentalists is suing the state, arguing that its embrace of fossil fuels is destroying pristine environments, upending cultural traditions and robbing young residents of a healthy future.David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The Times, explains why the case could be a turning point, and what a win in Montana would mean for the future of the climate fight.Guest: David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The landmark youth climate trial, which has been more than a decade in the making, began on Monday in Montana.Sixteen young Montanans have sued their state, arguing that its support of fossil fuels violates the state Constitution.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, golf’s premier circuit, the PGA Tour, announced it was partnering with its rival circuit LIV Golf, an upstart league backed by Saudi Arabia, giving the country a powerful new seat at the table of international sports.Alan Blinder, who covers golf for The New York Times, explains what was behind the deal and what it means for the business of sports.Guest: Alan Blinder, a reporter who covers golf and health for The New York Times.Background reading: The deal to merge LIV Golf with the PGA Tour is a big win for oil-rich Saudi Arabia, headlining a banner week that also includes a visit from the American secretary of state.The U.S. Senate opened an inquiry into the PGA Tour’s deal with LIV Golf.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Donald Trump was arraigned in Miami yesterday on 37 criminal counts covering seven different violations of federal law, including the handling of classified documents.Three New York Times journalists covered the proceedings: Glenn Thrush was inside the courtroom, Luke Broadwater reported from outside the courthouse, and Maggie Haberman was at Mr. Trump’s home in Bedminster, N.J.Guests: Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Glenn Thrush, who covers the Department of Justice for The New York Times.Maggie Haberman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump, now twice indicted since leaving the White House, surrendered to federal authorities in Miami and pleaded not guilty, striking a defiant tone afterward.On the calendar for Mr. Trump, the Republicans’ 2024 front-runner: rallies and primaries mixed with court dates.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When the #MeToo movement gained momentum in exposing abuses at the highest levels of power, the restaurant industry was exposed as a chief offender. In 2020, the James Beard Awards, the food world’s main kingmaker, announced that there would be no winners in either 2020 or 2021 after allegations against several top chefs.Brett Anderson, a contributing writer on The Times’s Food desk and a former member of the awards committee, discusses the attempts to hold the industry to account.Guest: Brett Anderson, a food correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading:Early indications suggest that the new vetting process for the James Beard Awards is vulnerable to failure in several ways.Behind the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 James Beard Awards were worries about chefs’ behavior and a lack of Black winners.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday

Last week, Donald Trump was charged with federal violations relating to his handling of classified material after leaving office.Ben Protess, who covers the government and law enforcement for The Times, discusses the indictment and walks us through the evidence.Guest: Ben Protess, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The Trump indictment shows critical evidence came from one of his own lawyers.The information about the yearlong inquiry contains a host of embarrassing and potentially devastating new revelations. Here’s what we learned.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When the former secretary of state and C.I.A. director Mike Pompeo, a man who had dealt firsthand with autocrats like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, described Randi Weingarten as “the most dangerous person in the world” last November, it seemed as though he couldn’t possibly be serious.Weingarten is 65 and just over five feet tall. She is Jewish and openly gay — she’s married to a rabbi — and lives in Upper Manhattan. She is the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers, which is not even the country’s biggest union of public school educators. The A.F.T. did give in excess of $26 million to Democratic candidates and causes in the 2022 election cycle, but the Carpenters and Joiners union gave more than twice as much.The public education system may not be very popular right now, but both Democrats and Republicans tend to like their local schools and their children’s teachers. The unions that represent those teachers, however, are more polarizing. One reason for this is that they are actively involved in partisan politics and, more specifically, are closely aligned with the Democrats, a reality powerfully driven home during the pandemic. In some ways, Randi Weingarten and the A.F.T. — the union “boss” and “big labor” — are a logical, even inevitable target for the G.O.P.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The seven new criminal charges against Donald Trump relate to his handling of classified material upon leaving office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them. Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The Times, talks about what this will mean for Trump, and for President Biden, whose administration will now be prosecuting his biggest potential rival for the White House.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to face federal charges.The former president assailed Hillary Clinton for her handling of sensitive information. Now, the same issue threatens his chances of reclaiming the White House.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has created a crisis in the American Northeast and beyond, with air pollution in New York reaching its worst level in modern history.David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The Times, explains why this happened, and why there is so little we can do to keep it from happening again.Guest: David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: New York City experienced its worst air quality on record. Here’s how to stay safe as the smoke spreads.David Wallace-Well’s column on the smoke that shrouded New York City.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination keep entering the field, despite the fact that Donald Trump polls consistently as the front-runner and Ron DeSantis has emerged as the clear No. 2. Why do so many lesser-tier Republicans think they have a real shot?Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, offers a guide to the new crop of candidates and discusses their rationale for running.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mike Pence, former vice president — and now rival — to Mr. Trump gave his most aggressive criticism of his former boss, portraying him as unfit to be president.Chris Christie’s presidential bid has little chance of success. But if he takes out Mr. Trump along the way, the former New Jersey governor may consider it a victory.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A few weeks ago, footage showing asylum seekers, including young children, being rounded up, taken to sea and abandoned on a raft by the Greek Coast Guard was sent to The New York Times.Matina Stevis-Gridneff, The Times’s bureau chief in Brussels, discusses how she proved the truth of the tip that a major European government was carrying out an illegal scheme risking the lives of civilians.Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Greece has said that it doesn’t ditch migrants at sea. But it was caught in the act.The Times’s investigation into the video points to a slew of Greek, European Union and international law violations.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

About 50 years ago, the educator Lucy Calkins pioneered a technique called balanced literacy, which de-emphasized the use of phonics to teach reading. It was widely adopted in the United States, including in New York, the country’s largest public school system.But doubts about the approach persisted, and now it seems that using balanced literacy has given a generation of American students the wrong tools.Dana Goldstein, who covers family policy and demographics for The Times, discusses the story of balanced literacy and how Professor Calkins is trying to fix the problems that the technique created.Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times who writes about family policy and demographics.Background reading: Lucy Calkins has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics. Critics may not be appeased.Fed up parents, civil rights activists, newly awakened educators and lawmakers are crusading for “the science of reading.” Can they get results?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains descriptions of violence.In the two years since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has shut women and girls out of public life.Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Kabul bureau for The New York Times, traveled across Afghanistan to talk to women about how they’re managing the changes. What she found was not what she had expected.Guest: Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Times bureau in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.Background reading: The Taliban’s takeover ended decades of war. But their restrictions, and the economic fallout, have thrown many women into a new era of diminished hopes.In an uncommon display of consensus, the U.N. Security Council has called for the Taliban to end their prohibitions on women working and attending school after sixth grade.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This weekend, we’re bringing dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp. On today’s episode: An ode to the Dominican musical genre dembow.  The many uses of Worcestershire sauce, an often misunderstood pantry staple. A Times health editor on how she holds it all together. 

In recent years, well-paid and college-educated Americans have shed major cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington for places like Philadelphia or Birmingham, Ala.Emily Badger, who writes about cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, explains what is driving the change, and what it means for the future of the American city.Guest: Emily Badger, a cities and urban policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Coastal cities have long been too expensive for low-wage workers. Now college graduates are leaving, too.More renters are moving out of big cities. But where are they going?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

With stunning speed, the status of trans youth has become the rallying cry of the Republican Party, from state legislatures to presidential campaigns.Adam Nagourney, who covers West Coast cultural affairs for The New York Times, explains how that came to be, and why it’s proving such a potent issue.Guest: Adam Nagourney, a West Coast cultural affairs correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors.Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-gay rhetoric and calls to roll back L.G.B.T.Q. rights have grown bolder among Republican elected officials and candidates.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Since 2016, the cardinal rule of Republican politics has been to defend Donald J. Trump and his allies at all costs, no matter the allegation. That appeared to change last week, when Texas lawmakers issued 20 articles of impeachment against their state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, a powerful Trump supporter.J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times, explains what the escalating conflict in Texas indicates about tensions within the party.Guest: J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The extraordinary vote on impeachment exposed rifts among Texas Republicans and set the stage for a showdown in the State Senate.The escalating conflict between moderates and hard-liners in one of the Republican Party’s most important states highlights tension over the future of the party.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As the world begins to experiment with the power of artificial intelligence, a debate has begun about how to contain its risks. One of the sharpest and most urgent warnings has come from a man who helped invent the technology.Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times, speaks to Geoffrey Hinton, who many consider to be the godfather of A.I.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: For half a century, Geoffrey Hinton nurtured the technology at the heart of chatbots like ChatGPT. Now he worries it will cause serious harm.Here’s how A.I. could be weaponized to spread disinformation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This weekend, we’re bringing dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp. On today’s episode: Five minutes to fall in love with jazz legend Sun Ra. A food critic’s love letter to the eggplant.  Recommendations from a Times editor on what to listen to, watch and who to follow this weekend. 

Top White House officials and Republican lawmakers are racing to reach an agreement as the date when the United States is projected to default on its debt approaches.Jim Tankersley, who covers the White House for The New York Times, looks at the state of the negotiations and explains what it will take to win over enough votes in Congress to avoid an economic disaster.Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The details have not been finalized, but the deal taking shape would allow Republicans to point to spending reductions and Democrats to say they had prevented large cuts.The longer it takes to reach an agreement, the more turmoil there could be for the United States and the global economy. Here’s what to know.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Our new show brings you the biggest stories in about 10 minutes. It's the complement to The Daily you’ve been waiting for. This episode includes: Oath Keepers Leader Is Sentenced to 18 Years in Jan. 6 Sedition Case, with our courts and criminal justice reporter Alan FeuerLeaders Let Problems Mount at Brutal SEAL Course, Navy Finds, with our military correspondent Dave PhilippsAirlines and F.A.A. Try to Head Off Summer Travel Meltdowns, with our business reporter Niraj ChokshiWe'll be sharing The Headlines every day this week, right here in your Daily feed. To get the full experience, download New York Times Audio, a new app that's home to all of our audio journalism, including exclusive new shows. Free for Times news subscribers. Download it at nytimes.com/audioapp. 

A New York Times investigation has found that a group of Republican operatives used robocalls to raise $89 million on behalf of veterans, police officers and firefighters.David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains how they actually spent the money and the legal loophole that allowed them to do that.Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A group of conservative operatives using sophisticated robocalls raised millions of dollars from donors. Instead of using the money to promote issues and candidates, nearly all of it went to pay the firms making the calls and the operatives themselves.How “scam PAC” fund-raisers skirt election rules and deceive donors.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Our new show brings you the biggest stories in about 10 minutes. It's the complement to The Daily you’ve been waiting for. This episode includes: DeSantis’s Entry into the 2024 Race Goes Awry With a Twitter Meltdown, with our national political correspondent Shane GoldmacherAnti-Kremlin Fighters Take War to Russian Territory for a Second Day, with our Russia and Ukraine War reporter Valerie HopkinsRemembering Tina Turner, with our critic Wesley MorrisWe'll be sharing The Headlines every day this week, right here in your Daily feed. To get the full experience, download New York Times Audio, a new app that's home to all of our audio journalism, including exclusive new shows. Free for Times news subscribers. Download it at nytimes.com/audioapp. 

After almost a year of deadly battle, Russia has claimed victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. But what happens now is uncertain.Eric Schmitt, who covers national security for The New York Times, explains what this moment in the war means, and why the next few months could be critical for Ukraine.Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A top Ukrainian official essentially acknowledged that Bakhmut had been lost. Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers died there, but the cost for Moscow was especially steep, experts say.The battle for Bakhmut, in photos.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Our new show brings you the biggest stories in about 10 minutes. It's the complement to The Daily you’ve been waiting for. This episode includes: A Year After a School Shooting, Divisions Run Through Uvalde, with our National reporter Edgar SandovalUnder the Radar, Right-Wing Push to Tighten Voting Laws Persists, with our national politics correspondent Nick CorasanitiSurgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents, with our Well reporter Catherine PearsWe'll be sharing The Headlines every day this week, right here in your Daily feed. To get the full experience, download New York Times Audio, a new app that's home to all our audio journalism, including exclusive new shows. Free for Times news subscribers. Download it at nytimes.com/audioapp. 

A few days ago, the Supreme Court tried to answer a question that has long bedeviled the world of art: When is borrowing from an earlier artist an act of inspiration, and when is it theft? Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, explains a case that could change how art is made.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The Supreme Court justices considered whether the artist Andy Warhol was free to use elements of a rock photographer’s portrait of the musician Prince.The case could change the future of Western art — and, in a sense, its history, too.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Our new show brings you the biggest stories in about 10 minutes. It's the complement to The Daily you’ve been waiting for. This episode includes: Prosecutors Sought Records on Trump’s Foreign Business Deals Since 2017, with our courts and criminal justice reporter Alan FeuerA Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River From Going Dry, for Now, with our climate reporter Chris FlavelleWhy Bakhmut? It’s a Question as Old as War, with our Ukraine correspondent Thomas Gibbons-Neff We'll be sharing The Headlines every day this week, right here in your Daily feed. To get the full experience, download New York Times Audio, a new app that's home to all our audio journalism, including exclusive new shows. Free for Times news subscribers. Download it at nytimes.com/audioapp. 

Voters in the 2022 midterms seemed to send a clear message — a rejection of Trumpism and extremism. And yet it appears increasingly likely that he will win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. Astead W. Herndon, a national political correspondent for The Times and the host of the politics podcast The Run-Up, explains what has shifted in Republican politics so that Mr. Trump’s nomination could start to seem almost inevitable.Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: To some Republicans and Democrats, the charges brought against Mr. Trump in New York appeared flimsy and less consequential than many had hoped. To others, the case had the potential to reverberate politically.In a phone call with top donors, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida privately argued that Mr. Trump couldn’t win in the general election. Mr. DeSantis is expected to officially enter the presidential race next week.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Our new show brings you the biggest stories in about 10 minutes. It's the complement to The Daily you’ve been waiting for. This episode includes: A Group of 7 Summit Wrap-Up, with our chief White House correspondent, Peter BakerEven Flirting With U.S. Default Takes Economic Toll, with our economics reporter Ben CasselmanGreece Says It Doesn’t Ditch Migrants at Sea. It Was Caught in the Act, with our Brussels bureau chief, Matina Stevis-Gridneff We'll be sharing The Headlines every day this week, right here in your Daily feed. To get the full experience, download New York Times Audio, a new app that's home to all our audio journalism, including exclusive new shows. Free for Times news subscribers. Download it at nytimes.com/audioapp.

This weekend, we’re bringing you something a little different: dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” and they’re available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp.On today’s episode: The enduring comfort of the detective show “Columbo.”A recipe from Sam Sifton of NYT Cooking that tastes like “childhood and happiness.”Recommendations from our chief pop music critic on new music this week.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful ever made, has revolutionized the way we see the universe. The name was chosen for James E. Webb, a NASA administrator during the 1960s. But when doubts about his background emerged, the telescope’s name turned into a fight over homophobia.Michael Powell, a national reporter for The Times, tells the story of Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist whose quest to end the controversy with indisputable facts only made it worse.Guest: Michael Powell, a national reporter covering free speech and intellectual debate for The New York Times.Background reading: Dr. Oluseyi tried to refute the accusations against Mr. Webb, only to find himself the target of attacks.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault. It’s been more than five years since the #MeToo movement, driven by reporting at publications like The New York Times, toppled powerful and abusive men. Behind that essential journalism were sources, many anonymous, who took enormous risks to expose harassment and sexual violence.Today, Rachel Abrams, a producer and reporter at The Times, speaks to Ali Diercks, a lawyer who provided crucial information for a major #MeToo story. Ms. Diercks has waived her anonymity to discuss the costs of her coming forward and what she thinks about her decision years later.Guest: Rachel Abrams, a senior producer and reporter for “The New York Times Presents” documentary series. Background reading: Ms. Diercks provided anonymous information to The Times about the misconduct of Mr. Moonves, former chairman and chief executive of CBS. Read the reporting from 2018 here.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For two decades, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has loomed large over Turkish politics. But skyrocketing inflation and a devastating earthquake have eroded his power and, in a presidential election over the weekend, he was forced into a runoff.Ben Hubbard, The Times’s Istanbul bureau chief, discusses how Turkey’s troubles have made Mr. Erdogan politically vulnerable.Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading: Despite the headwinds, Mr. Erdogan appears to be in a strong position to emerge with another five-year term. Here’s what to know.The election suggested that even if Mr. Erdogan’s grip on power has been loosened, it has not yet broken.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For weeks, officials have feared that the end of Title 42 would create a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border that would strain and possibly cripple America’s immigration system.Natalie Kitroeff, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, reports from the border about what actually happened when the pandemic-era policy expired.Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.Background reading: Economic hardship, climate change, political instability and gang violence will continue to spur emigration from many corners of the world.Why are so many migrants trying to cross the border?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A little over a decade ago, a small Israeli company created what would become the world’s most powerful and notorious hacking tool.Mark Mazzetti, who is a Washington investigative correspondent for The Times, explains the surprising story of the NSO Group and why, despite banning its technology, the United States kept trying to use it.Guest: Mark Mazzetti, a Washington investigative correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Biden administration has been trying to choke off use of hacking tools made by the Israeli firm NSO. It turns out that not every part of the government has gotten the message.The president signed an executive order seeking to limit deployment of a tool that has been abused by autocracies — and some democracies — to spy on dissidents, human rights activists and journalists.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the final days of Marleny Mesa’s pregnancy, she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. She could barely breathe, for one thing. For another, her anxiety and physical discomfort were approaching what felt like an unbearable peak. A week or so later, she delivered a tiny, squirming boy with jet black hair and soft, curious eyes. She and her husband, Andrés Noscue, named him Eliad. Marleny thought he was perfect, but her mother, a retired midwife, insisted that the placenta contained a hint of trouble. It was far too big, she said, and Eliad was too small, probably because he did not have enough room in her womb to grow. His grandmother thought he might need an incubator. Marleny thought he was fine, but when the baby was a few days old, she and Andrés traveled from the Jerusalén-San Luis Alto Picudito Indigenous reservation in Putumayo, Colombia, to take him to Villagarzón for a checkup, just to be safe.This proved harder than they expected. The baby could not be seen at the hospital there until he had a civil identification or registration number, which he could not get without a birth certificate, which the hospital could not provide because the baby was born at home. Go to the registrar’s office, the nurses told Marleny and Andrés. But the registrar’s office only sent Andrés back to the hospital, where a different nurse told them to try the notary’s office instead. By then it was almost noon. The only bus of the day would be heading back to San Luis soon; if Andrés and his family missed it, they would have to cough up more money for room and board in town than they normally spent in a week. So they went home.The problem of inadequate registries is most pressing in the low-income nations of Africa and Southeast Asia. But it is not confined to those regions. In Colombia, birth and death registration is especially spotty in Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, where the national government tends to have little presence and registrars and notaries tend to apply the rules arbitrarily. A program known as Colombia Rural Vital was created to simplify and democratize this process.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In a high-stakes showdown this week, President Biden and the leaders of congress met face to face in an effort to avoid the United States defaulting on its debt for the first time in history.Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The Times, explains how close the country is to financial calamity, and the radical step Biden might take to avoid it.Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The president has not wavered in his calls for Republicans to raise the nation’s borrowing limit without conditions. Privately, his aides have discussed other paths.What could a possible bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling look like?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last year, Times reporting revealed the many lies that the freshman Republican congressman George Santos had told about his life and career. Now he is facing legal consequences.Michael Gold, who covers politics in New York for The Times, explains the charges against Mr. Santos and what they mean for his role in Congress.Guest: Michael Gold, a New York politics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: George Santos pleaded not guilty to charges that included accusations of fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits.The George Santos indictment, annotated.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains detailed descriptions of sexual assault.A jury in Manhattan has found former President Donald J. Trump legally liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll.Ben Weiser, who covers the Manhattan federal courts for The Times, tells the story of how a nearly 30-year-old case reached this moment.Guest: Benjamin Weiser, a correspondent for The New York Times covering the Manhattan federal courts.Background reading: More than a dozen women have accused Mr. Trump of sexual misconduct, but this civil case is the only one to have been tested before a jury.The former president’s new campaign is rolling forward unimpeded. In quiet courtrooms, he faces more serious threats.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For the past three years, the United States has relied on Title 42, a pandemic restriction that has allowed the swift expulsion of many migrants at the southern border. But by the end of the week, that rule will expire.Miriam Jordan, who covers immigration for The Times, explains what that will mean on both sides of the border.Guest: Miriam Jordan, a national correspondent covering immigration for The New York Times.Background reading: An end to pandemic restrictions could bring thousands to the border.President Biden has used his executive authority to significantly expand the number of legal immigrants entering the U.S.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Debate about ethical standards for Supreme Court justices has intensified after a series of revelations about undisclosed gifts, luxury travel and property deals. Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, reviews the allegations of misconduct and the growing calls to do something about it.Guest: Adam Liptak, a correspondent covering the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: Revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to disclose largess from a Republican donor have highlighted a dilemma.In written testimony sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the retired conservative judge J. Michael Luttig called for new ethics rules for Supreme Court justices.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Lakishia Fell-Davis is aware that at this point, in 2023, most people are treating the coronavirus pandemic as a thing of the past. For her, though, Covid still poses a real threat: Fell-Davis has Type I diabetes, putting her at higher risk of hospitalization and long-term complications from illness. As such, her experience during the pandemic has shaped how she thinks about her daily life, especially at Ninety-Fifth Street Elementary School, where she has worked on and off for more than a decade as a substitute teacher and teaching assistant.She felt much more comfortable when schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District were online during the first year and a half of the pandemic and her kids, Makayla and Kevin, were attending virtually. Sure, they missed their friends, but they were shy and soft-spoken children who had never really strayed far from home. They didn’t seem to mind the arrangement. And back then, Fell-Davis’s mother, who was paralyzed on her left side after surviving stomach cancer and two strokes, could visit them with relative peace of mind despite her poor health.Fell-Davis cried when she learned that in the fall of 2021, the school district would require students and teachers to return to in-person learning. Her home — a cozy two-bedroom apartment in a calm neighborhood — had become her haven, the place where she had more control over her family’s health than she had anywhere else.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This week, thousands of writers went on strike against Hollywood studios over what they say is an existential threat to their livelihoods.John Koblin, a media reporter for The New York Times, explains how streaming turned the most prolific era in American entertainment into an industry-changing labor dispute.Guest: John Koblin, a media reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The dispute, which pits 11,500 television and screenwriters against the major studios, has shattered 15 years of labor peace in the entertainment business.In the years since the entertainment industry’s last strike, sweeping technological change has upended the television and movie business.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the face of an escalating opioid epidemic, the F.D.A. recently approved over-the-counter sales for Narcan — a lifesaving nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Jan Hoffman, who covers health law for The Times, explains why the new availability of Narcan could change the trajectory of the epidemic.Guest: Jan Hoffman, a health law correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Narcan can reverse opioid overdoses and public health officials hope that making the nasal spray more widely available could save lives and reduce America’s high rate of drug fatalities.Here are answers to 10 questions about Narcan.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For the past few months, a single lawmaker has prevented Democrats from carrying out their agenda in Congress. For now, there is no simple solution in sight. Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains the issue surrounding Senator Dianne Feinstein.Guest: Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Ms. Feinstein, who has been absent from the Senate for more than a month after being diagnosed with shingles, sought a temporary replacement on the powerful Judiciary Committee.High-profile absences have created complications for Democrats in Congress and prompted new questions about the future of the Republican leadership.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Monday morning, the federal government took over a third failing bank — this time, First Republic.Jeanna Smialek, an economy correspondent for The Times, discusses whether we are at the end of the banking crisis, or the start of a new phase of financial pain.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, an economy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: First Republic bank was seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase.Key takeaways from regulatory review of bank failures.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy persuaded Republicans to narrowly pass a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, setting up high-stakes negotiations with the Biden administration.Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The New York Times, explains the risks this might pose to his job and the country’s economy.Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: House Republicans have narrowly passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling while cutting spending by nearly 14 percent over a decade.Here’s a look at what is in the bill.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In January 2022, Randi Schofield was a 34-year-old single mother who, not long before, left her full-time job of eight years as a personal bailiff to a local judge. She pulled $30,000 from her retirement savings and was planning to give herself all of 2022 to expand the small catering business she had always dreamed about. This would be the year she bet on herself. Then, that month, she received the news that medics were pulling her father out of his car.The collision splintered the bone in his left thigh down to his knee; three days later, a metal rod held the broken pieces together. Until his leg recovered from the surgery, he would not be able to walk without assistance. In hindsight, there were warning signs that her father’s health could upend Schofield’s life. But he was also youthful and spirited, and it was easy to believe that everything was fine, that he was fine and that if she were to take care of him some day, it would be occasional and in a distant future. She didn’t see this day coming the way it did, so abruptly and so soon.Increasing numbers of adult children are taking care of their parents, often shouldering the burden with no pay and little outside help — making their meals, helping them shower, bandaging their wounds and holding them up before they can fall. The social-work scholar Dorothy A. Miller once described this as the “peculiar position” in the modern American nuclear family, between the care people give to their aging parents and to their children. Today’s “sandwich generation” is younger than the version Miller described four decades ago, but it faces the same “unique set of unshared stresses” that she warned of then: acute financial strain, a lack of reciprocated support and “fatigue from fulfilling the demands of too many roles.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This month, an anonymous producer jolted the music industry by using artificial intelligence to impersonate the singers Drake and the Weeknd, creating a fake track, “Heart on My Sleeve,” that quickly went viral.Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The Times, talks about how the song’s rise and fall could presage widespread changes in the way music is made.Guest: Joe Coscarelli, a culture correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A track like “Heart on My Sleeve” may be a novelty for now. But the legal and creative questions it raises are here to stay.Who owns a song created by A.I.?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This month, India reached a notable milestone. The country’s population surpassed that of China, which had held the No. 1 position for at least three centuries.Alex Travelli, who covers South Asia and business for The Times, examines whether India can use its immense size to become an economic superpower.Guest: Alex Travelli, a South Asia business correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Turning India’s vast young work force into an engine for economic advancement will pose enormous challenges.Will this be the “Indian century”? Here are four key questions.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

President Biden has announced that he will seek another term in the Oval Office, despite the fact that he will be 81 on Election Day 2024.Not everyone is overjoyed about that prospect — more than half of Democrats don’t want him to run again. Nonetheless, the party’s leaders are increasingly confident about his chances. Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, explains why.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Biden has acknowledged that he has not accomplished all he wished to. But that, he maintains, is an argument for his re-election.Although his poll numbers remain low, structural advantages have Democrats insisting that Mr. Biden is better positioned than his Republican rivals.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Less than a week after Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the Dominion lawsuit, the network has abruptly fired Tucker Carlson — an anchor at the center of the case.Jeremy W. Peters, who covers media and politics for The Times, explains why the network decided to cut ties with one of its biggest stars.Guest: Jeremy W. Peters, a media and politics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Tucker Carlson was one of the network’s top-rated hosts for many years.Here is the latest on Mr. Carlson’s departure.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Sudan was supposed to be moving away from military rule and toward democracy. But over the past week, the country has been thrown into violent chaos as two factions battle for control.Declan Walsh, chief Africa correspondent for The Times, explains how an explosive rivalry between two generals turned into a catastrophic conflict.Guest: Declan Walsh, the chief Africa correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: In the days before fighting erupted, American and British mediators held out hope that crunch talks could defuse the tensions and even steer Sudan to democracy.Here are the latest developments in the conflict.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

One Sunday in February, in a northern Italian town called Ivrea, the facades of historic buildings were covered with plastic sheeting and nets. And in several different piazzas, hundreds of wooden crates had appeared. Inside them were oranges. Oranges, the fruit.Over the next three days, 8,000 people in Ivrea would throw 900 tons of oranges at one another, one orange at a time, while tens of thousands of other people watched. They would throw the oranges very hard, very viciously, often while screaming profanities at their targets or yowling like Braveheart. But they would also keep smiling as they threw the oranges, embracing and joking and cheering one another on, exhibiting with their total beings a deranged-seeming but euphoric sense of abandon and belonging — a freedom that was easy to envy but difficult to understand.The Battle of the Oranges is an annual tradition in Ivrea and part of a larger celebration described by its organizers as “the most ancient historical Carnival in Italy.” Several people in Ivrea told the writer Jon Mooallem that as three pandemic years had passed in which no oranges were thrown, they grew concerned that something bad would happen in the community — that without this catharsis, a certain pent-up, sinister energy would explode. And on that day in February, three years of constrained energy was due to explode all at once.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Last week, a 21-year old airman from Massachusetts, Jack Teixeira, was arrested under the Espionage Act and charged with violating federal laws by sharing top secret military documents with an online gaming group.Dave Philipps, a military correspondent for The Times, explains why so many low-level government workers have access to so much classified material.Guest: Dave Philipps, a military correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The arrest of Mr. Teixeira lays bare the sheer volume of people who have clearance to view a swath of national security documents that the government categorizes as top secret.Mr. Teixeira grew up in a family with strong military ties, was quiet and somewhat awkward in high school and seemed, to some, unnervingly obsessed with war and guns.The Teixeira case is unusual even in the small world of leak cases.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

At the very last minute, both Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News decided to settle their closely watched defamation lawsuit, rather than make their cases at trial.Jeremy W. Peters, who covers media and politics for The Times, was inside the courtroom as it happened.Guest: Jeremy W. Peters, a media and politics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The settlement with Dominion Voting Systems was another extraordinary twist in a case that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.The settlement averts what would have been a landmark trial.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In overturning Roe v. Wade last year, the Supreme Court’s message was that it was done with the issue of abortion. Now, dueling rulings on abortion pills will send the issue back to the highest court in the country.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains the case that is forcing the court to weigh in on abortion all over again.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The justices are poised to consider whether an abortion pill can be sharply curtailed in states where abortion remains legal.Here’s what to watch for next in the case.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a “digital first” tax collector focused on customer service and cracking down on wealthy tax evaders.Today, on the day that taxes are due in the United States, Alan Rappeport, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains how the plan could result in the agency repeating a set of old mistakes.Guest: Alan Rappeport, an economic policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: I.R.S. unveiled their $80 billion plan to overhaul tax collection this month.Here’s how tax season felt inside the I.R.S. last year, after decades of neglect.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The posturing between the United States and China has been intensifying in recent weeks — China responded with condemnations and military drills after Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, met the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.Today, Edward Wong, who covers foreign policy at The Times, explains why China is so fixated on Taiwan, and how the U.S. got in the middle of it.Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Chinese military’s ships, planes and troops held three days of drills in a spectacle designed to warn Taiwan against challenging Beijing.U.S. tensions with China were on display as Speaker McCarthy hosted Taiwan’s leader.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In March 2017, an engineer at G.E. Aviation in Cincinnati received a request on LinkedIn. The engineer, Hua, is in his 40s, tall and athletic, with a boyish face that makes him look a decade younger. He moved to the United States from China in 2003 for graduate studies in structural engineering.The LinkedIn request came from Chen Feng, a school official at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in eastern China. Days later, Chen sent him an email inviting him to the university to give a research presentation. Hua arranged to arrive in May, so he could attend a nephew’s wedding and his college reunion at Harbin Institute of Technology. There was one problem, though: Hua knew that G.E. would deny permission to give the talk if he asked, which he was supposed to do. He went to Nanjing, and flew back to the United States after the presentation. He thought that would be the end of the matter.Many scientists and engineers of Chinese origin in the United States are invited to China to give presentations about their fields. Hua couldn’t have known that his trip to Nanjing would prove to be the start of a series of events that would end up giving the U.S. government an unprecedented look inside China’s widespread and tireless campaign of economic espionage targeting the United States, culminating in the first-ever conviction of a Chinese intelligence official on American soil.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest running show in the history of Broadway, will close its doors on Sunday after more than three decades.We went backstage during one of the final performances before the show’s famous chandelier crashes down one last time.Guest: Michael Paulson, a theater correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The show was originally set to close in February, but the announcement set off a surge in ticket sales. “Phans,” as they call themselves, rushed to see it one last time.In an interview, Cameron Mackintosh said weakening box office and rising production costs led to the decision to end “Phantom’s” run.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A week ago, the world discovered that dozens of classified documents from the American government had been leaked online, including highly sensitive information about Russia’s war in Ukraine and damaging revelations on American spying abroad.David E. Sanger, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains the contents of the leak and what it might mean for the war.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How the latest leaked documents are different from past breaches.A quick guide to what the leaked U.S. intelligence documents say.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the week since Donald Trump was arraigned on 34 felony charges, debate about the strength of the case against him has only intensified.Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent at The Times, has closely studied the case and explains which side he stands on.Guest: Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Trump could turn to a familiar legal strategy: attack and delay.Analysis: A surprise accusation bolsters a risky case against Trump.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin made it a crime to oppose the war in public. Since then, it has waged a relentless campaign of repression, putting Russian citizens in jail for offenses as small as holding a poster or sharing a news article on social media.Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, tells the story of Olesya Krivtsova, a 19-year-old student who faces up to 10 years in prison after posting on social media, and explains why the Russian government is so determined to silence those like her.Guest: Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The New York Times, covering Russia and the war in Ukraine.Background reading: Oleysa’s story has underlined the perils of using social media to criticize the war in Ukraine.The authorities are determining who will take custody of a 13-year-old girl whose single father has been sentenced for “discrediting” the Russian Army.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House expelled two of its members — both young Black Democrats. Emily Cochrane, a national correspondent for The New York Times, explains the story behind the extraordinary ousting and what it tells us about this moment in American politics.Guest: Emily Cochrane, a national correspondent for The New York Times covering the American South.Background reading: The Tennessee House voted to expel two Democrats after they interrupted a debate by leading protesters in a call for stricter gun laws.Here is what you need to know about the ousting.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Times reporter Astead W. Herndon and the team are back for a new season of “The Run-Up” and they’re looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, which in many ways has already begun. In this first episode, Astead heads to California for the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting to explore the tangled lines and scrambled allegiances that animated the effort to unseat Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the R.N.C.

This episode contains descriptions of severe injuries.Tough new border policies introduced by the Biden administration have sharply reduced the number of migrants crossing into the United States. But the measures have also created a combustible bottleneck along the southern border. That situation exploded last week when a deadly fire broke out at a detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.Simon Romero, a national correspondent for The Times, explains how the United States has leaned more heavily on Mexico to help handle its immigration dilemma, bringing cities like Juárez to a breaking point.Guest: Simon Romero, a national correspondent for The New York Times covering the Southwest.Background reading: Mexican officials have announced that they are investigating the fire as a homicide case.There has been a relentless buildup of migrants in Mexico, where shelters are overwhelmed and the authorities have a checkered record on human rights.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Africa last week was designed to send a simple message to its governments and people — China is not your friend. The United States is.Abdi Latif Dahir, The New York Times’s East Africa correspondent, explains what the United States has to lose if countries in Africa choose China.Guest: Abdi Latif Dahir, the East Africa correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The vice president faced a balancing act as she tried to foster relationships.The U.S. tried to counter China’s moves in Africa during a summit last year.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The line for reporters seeking to be in the courtroom for Donald J. Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan started forming at 2 p.m. on Monday, more than a day before the former president was scheduled to face a judge in a case centered on hush-money payments.One of those who got in was Jonah Bromwich, a criminal justice correspondent for The Times.He tells us what it was like inside the courthouse as Mr. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts.Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, a criminal justice correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Trump pleaded not guilty, then sat quietly as lawyers sparred.The former president is accused of orchestrating a hush-money scheme to pave his path to the presidency and then covering it up from the White House.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Wisconsin will hold an election for a seat on its Supreme Court today, and it is no exaggeration to say that the result could end up reshaping U.S. politics for years to come.The Times political correspondent Reid J. Epstein explains why the race to replace a single judge has become the most important American election of 2023.Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Cash is pouring in to the Wisconsin race, and some of the candidates have shed any pretense of judicial neutrality.Here’s what you need to know about the battle for the seat.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After Donald J. Trump was indicted over his role in paying hush money to a porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign, he called the move an act of political persecution.But his impending arrest could actually make Mr. Trump a stronger candidate for 2024, the Times correspondent Maggie Haberman explains.Guest: Maggie Haberman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Many of Mr. Trump’s potential opponents snapped into line behind him, showing just how hard it may be to persuade Republican voters to choose an alternative.Mr. Trump reacted to his indictment by returning to his time-tested legal strategy: attack and delay.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Joe Faillace, 69, has been running the sandwich shop Old Station Subs alongside his wife, Debbie, for the last four decades. But as an epidemic of unsheltered homelessness began to overwhelm Phoenix, and many other major American downtowns, the Faillaces have been met with hundreds of people sleeping within a few blocks of Old Station. Many of them were suffering from mental illness or substance abuse, resulting in incidents such as pilfered goods and public masturbation.On one February morning, he could see a half-dozen men pressed around a roaring fire. A young woman was lying in the middle of the street, wrapped beneath a canvas advertising banner. A man was weaving down the sidewalk in the direction of the restaurant with a saw, muttering to himself and then stopping to urinate a dozen feet from the restaurant’s outdoor tables.“It’s the usual chaos and suffering,” Joe told Debbie over the phone. “But the restaurant’s still standing.”As the number of people living on the streets in Phoenix more than tripled after 2016, the housing crisis landed on the doorsteps of small businesses. The businesses began hiring private security firms to guard their property and lawyers to file a lawsuit against the city for failing to manage “a great humanitarian crisis.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Donald J. Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The precise charges are not yet known, but the case against him has kicked off a historic moment in American politics.The investigative reporter Ben Protess discusses the development — which will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark Mr. Trump as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges — and what happens next.Guest: Ben Protess, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump becomes the first former president to face criminal charges.Why was he indicted? These are the key events that led to this moment.This is what will happen when Mr. Trump is arrested.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Major League Baseball is putting in effect some of the biggest changes in the sport’s history in an effort to speed up the game and inject more activity.As the 2023 season opens, Michael Schmidt, a Times reporter, explains the extraordinary plan to save baseball from the tyranny of the home run.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: With three major rule changes this season, Major League Baseball will try to reinvent itself while looking to the game’s past for inspiration.Here’s a look at the new rules.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For months in Israel, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing a highly contentious plan to fundamentally change the country’s Supreme Court, setting off some of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history.On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu announced that he would delay his government’s campaign. Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains the prime minister’s surprising concession.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Netanyahu delayed his bid to overhaul Israel’s judiciary in the face of furious protests.Israel’s prime minister is caught between his far-right coalition and public anger over the government’s plan to weaken the judiciary.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains descriptions of violenceIn a patch of woods southwest of Atlanta, protesters have been clashing with the police over a huge police training facility that the city wants to build there. This month, that fight came to a head when hundreds of activists breached the site, burning police and construction vehicles.Sean Keenan, an Atlanta-based reporter, explains how what opponents call “Cop City,” and the woods surrounding it, have become an unlikely battleground in the nation’s debate over policing.Guest: Sean Keenan, a freelance reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: This month, protesters damaged property at the site of a planned police center in Atlanta in a disturbance that grew out of a demonstration among activists in a forest being developed into a training center.How a forest near Atlanta became a new front line in the debate over policing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A few days ago, Utah became the first state to pass a law prohibiting social media services from allowing users under 18 to have accounts without the explicit consent of a parent or guardian. The move, by Republican officials, is intended to address what they describe as a mental health crisis among American teenagers as well as to protect younger users from bullying and child sexual exploitation.The technology reporter Natasha Singer explains the measure, and why it could be a sign of where the country is headed.Guest: Natasha Singer, who writes about technology, business and society for The New York Times.Background reading: The Utah law prohibits social networks from allowing minors to have accounts without parental consent.The creator of Fortnite was found by federal regulators to have violated children’s privacy and duped millions of users into unwanted purchases.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Like a lot of people who get into professional wrestling, Donovan Danhausen had a vision of a different version of himself. Ten years ago, at age 21, he was living in Detroit, working as a nursing assistant at a hospital, watching a lot of “Adult Swim” and accumulating a collection of horror- and comedy-themed tattoos.At the suggestion of a friend, he took a 12-week training course at the House of Truth wrestling school in Center Line, Mich., and then entered the indie circuit as a hand: an unknown, unpaid wrestler who shows up at events and does what’s asked of him, typically setting up the ring or pretending to be a lawyer or another type of extra. When he ran out of momentum five years later, he developed the character of Danhausen. Originally supposed to be an evil demon, Danhausen found that the more elements of humor he incorporated into his performance, the more audiences responded.“I was just a bearded guy with the tattoos, trying to be a tough guy, and I’m not a tough guy naturally,” he said. “But I can be weird and charismatic, goofy. That’s easy. That’s also a role that most people don’t want to fill.”Over the next couple of years, the Danhausen gimmick became more funny than evil, eventually settling on the character he plays today — one that is bizarre even by the standards of 21st-century wrestling.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A few days ago, the Biden administration released a report warning that a warming planet posed severe economic challenges for the United States, which would require the federal government to reassess its spending priorities and how it influenced behavior.White House reporter Jim Tankersley explains why getting the government to encourage the right decisions will be so difficult.Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A chapter in the new Economic Report of the President focuses on the growing risks to people and businesses from rising temperatures.In theory, funding the government takes place in two major stages. But it’s a fraught and complicated process. Here’s a step-by-step guide.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A.O. Scott started as a film critic at The New York Times in January of 2000. Next month he will move to the Book Review as a critic at large.After 23 years as a film critic, Mr. Scott discusses why he is done with the movies, and what his decision reveals about the new realities of American cinema.Guest: A.O. Scott, a longtime film critic for The New York Times.Background reading: A.O. Scott conducts his own exit interview as he moves to a new post after more than two decades of reviewing films.A.O. Scott’s review of “65.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Barney Frank was one of the people most responsible for overhauling financial regulation after the 2008 economic crisis. After retiring from Congress, he supported a change to his own law that would benefit midsize banks, and joined the board of such a bank. Last week, that bank failed. David Enrich called Mr. Frank and asked him to explain.Guest: David Enrich, the business investigations editor at The New York Times.Background reading: Officials with Signature and Silicon Valley banks, which regulators seized in recent days, had called for looser financial requirements for midsize banks.Here’s why people are worried about banks.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As Xi Jinping, China’s leader, meets with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow this week, Chinese officials have been presenting his trip as a mission of peace. But American and European officials are watching for something else altogether — whether Mr. Xi will add fuel to the full-scale war that Mr. Putin began more than a year ago.Edward Wong explains what Mr. Xi is really up to, and why it’s making people wonder whether a new Cold War is underway.Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Chinese officials say Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow is a peace mission. But U.S. and European officials say he aims to bolster Vladimir Putin.Here’s what to know on Xi’s second day of meetings in Russia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

TikTok, the app known for short videos of lip syncing, dancing and bread baking, is one of the most popular platforms in the country, used by one out of every three Americans.In recent weeks, the Biden administration has threatened to ban it over concerns that it poses a threat to national security.Guest: Sapna Maheshwari, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is being investigated over possible spying on journalists.Why countries are trying to ban TikTok.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As an American, Sam Anderson knows what it feels like to arrive at a theme park. “The totalizing consumerist embrace,” he writes. “The blunt-force, world-warping, escapist delight.” He has known theme parks with entrances like “international borders” and ticket prices like “mortgage payments.” Mr. Anderson has been to Disney World, which he describes as “an alternate reality that basically occupies its own tax zone.”In November, when Ghibli Park finally opened, Mr. Anderson made sure to get himself there. The park is a tribute to the legendary Studio Ghibli, first started by the animator Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, out of desperation, when he and his co-founders, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki, couldn’t find a studio willing to put out their work.Miyazaki is detail-obsessed. He agonizes over his children’s cartoons as if he were Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, insisting that, although few viewers will be conscious of all this work, every viewer will feel it. And we do. Those tiny touches, adding up across the length of a film, anchor his fantasies in the actual world.And so, after many years, and much traveling — at long last — Mr. Anderson found himself stepping into the wonders of Ghibli Park. His first impression was not awe or majesty or surrender or consumerist bliss. It was confusion.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In the past week, as spooked customers frantically withdrew $42 billion from Silicon Valley Bank, the U.S. government stepped in to craft a rescue operation for the failed lender.But efforts to contain the crisis have met resistance, and the fallout of the collapse has already spread to other regional banks, whose stocks have plummeted.Guest: Emily Flitter, a finance correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The stunning demise of Silicon Valley Bank has spurred soul-searching about how large and regional banks are overseen.Here’s what to know about the bank’s collapse.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains strong languageMillions of people have taken to the streets in France to protest a government effort to raise the retirement age to 64, from 62, bringing the country more in line with its European neighbors.Today, as Parliament holds a key vote on the proposal, we look into why the issue has hit such a nerve in French society.Guest: Roger Cohen, the Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: After large protests, all eyes were on the French Parliament on Thursday as it prepared to vote on the measure to increase the retirement age by two years.Here are some of the reasons so many people in France are protesting the proposals.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Three years after the start of Covid, the central mystery of the pandemic — how exactly it began — remains unsolved. But recently, the debate about the source of the coronavirus has re-emerged, this time in Congress.The Energy Department has concluded, with “low confidence,” that an accidental laboratory leak in China was most likely the origin, but politics are making it harder to find definitive answers.Guest: Benjamin Mueller, a health and science correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Republicans have pushed the lab leak theory, but they lack a “smoking gun.”What we know and don’t know about the origins of Covid.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

With federal regulators planning to take over the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, a 40-year-old institution based in California, nearly $175 billion in customer deposits will be placed under the authorities’ control.The lender’s demise is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and the largest since the financial crisis in 2008. The debacle raised concerns that other banks could face problems, too.Guest: Emily Flitter, a finance correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A run on deposits brought Silicon Valley Bank’s failure.Here’s what to know about the fallout from the lender’s collapse.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The principle behind E.S.G. is that investors should look beyond just whether a company can make a profit and take into account other factors, such as its environmental impact and action on social issues.But critics of that investment strategy, mostly Republicans, say that Wall Street has taken a sharp left turn, attacking what they term “woke capitalism.”Guest: David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How did environmentally conscious investing became a target of conservatives?Republicans are likely to keep making E.S.G. a political punching bag.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany told Parliament that the attack was a Zeitenwende — a historic “turning point” for Europe and Germany. The risk of a large land war in Europe had previously been considered far-fetched, but recent years of Russian aggression have inspired fear in Germany and a 100-billion-euro fund to bolster its military.In Germany, skepticism of the merits of military strength has enabled a long post-Cold War process of disarmament. As a result, it is a historic anomaly in the heart of Europe — an economic leviathan but a military minnow. Now German leaders are vowing to transform the country into a military power capable of taking responsibility for Europe’s security.In Nienburg, a medieval town in Lower Saxony, civilians come to train for “homeland protection” units in the country’s reserves. The question is whether a hesitant German society can follow through on this paradigm shift.“I would say, many of them lean in the direction of being pacifists,” said Anne Katrin Meister, who is training at the base in Nienburg. “But you can only be a pacifist if you have this safe, ideal world. And we don’t have such a world.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Almost immediately after taking power in December, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition in Isreal proposed a highly contentious overhaul of the Supreme Court.The court has long been seen as a crucial check and lone backstop on the government, and the plan has divided Israeli society, kindling fears of political violence and even civil war.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Protesters restricted road access to Israel’s main airport hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Italy.Here’s what to know about the government’s proposals.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Slaughterhouses, construction sites, factories. A Times investigation has found that migrant children have been thrust into jobs in some of the most demanding workplaces in the United States.How did this crisis in child labor develop? And now that it has been exposed, what is being done to tackle the problem?Guest: Hannah Dreier, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The shadow work force of migrant children extends across industries in every state, flouting labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century.As lawmakers clamor for action, federal and state enforcement agencies have begun a crackdown on companies that employ children.The Biden administration has announced a wide crackdown on the labor exploitation of migrant children around the United States.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The sabotage in September of the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe has become one of the central mysteries of the war in Ukraine, prompting months of finger-pointing and guesswork.Now, new intelligence reporting has provided the first significant known lead about who was responsible.Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Officials say there are still enormous gaps in what American spy agencies and their European partners know about the detonations.The Baltic seabed provided a nearly ideal crime scene.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As the race to be the Republican Party’s presidential candidate gets underway, one figure has emerged as a particularly powerful rival to Donald J. Trump.That person, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, has broken away from the pack by turning his state into a laboratory for a post-Trump version of conservatism.Guest: Patricia Mazzei, the Miami bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading:Mr. DeSantis will soon get a chance to check off his wish list of proposals for Florida, including expanding gun rights.In his new book, “The Courage to Be Free,” Mr. DeSantis offers a template for governing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Feb. 3, a nearly two-mile long freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, a town of about 4,700 people.The railroad company and local officials decided to do a chemical burn to neutralize the cargo, but as a giant plume of black smoke settled over the town, residents’ anger about the handling of the accident has intensified.Guest: Emily Cochrane, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed that the Transportation Department impose stricter rules for freight rail.The derailment of a second train in Ohio — despite assurances that no hazardous materials had leaked — sharpened the questions about rail safety.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Today, we’re taking some time out of our regularly scheduled programming to share the first episode of “The Coldest Case in Laramie.” In the new series from The Times and Serial, Kim Barker, a Times investigative reporter, digs into the 1985 murder of Shelli Wiley, a young woman who was a few years older than Kim when they both lived in Laramie, Wyoming. The long-unsolved case took a turn in 2016 when the police arrested someone for Shelli’s murder: a former officer named Fred Lamb. The evidence against him seemed solid, but prosecutors, confusingly, dropped the case. They’ve never refiled. How did a case that seemed this open-and-shut fall apart with such a whimper? To find answers, Kim heads back to Laramie and grapples with conflicting memories and dueling narratives.In episode one, Kim starts to call up Shelli’s family members to try to piece together what happened. To listen to all eight parts, visit nytimes.com/laramie.

As Russian troops pushed into Ukraine, children who were fleeing newly occupied territories were swept up. Many became part of a Russian effort to portray itself as a charitable savior. The children were placed in Russian families and paraded on television. The Times interviewed one child who was taken from Ukraine, a girl named Anya, who said she ached to return.Guest: Emma Bubola, a reporter for The New York Times based in London.Background reading: Using adoptions, Russia has turned Ukrainian children into spoils of war.The mayor of a Ukrainian city disappeared, but questions about his loyalty did not.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In August, President Biden announced a loan cancellation plan that would erase an astonishing $400 billion in student debt — one of the most ambitious and expensive executive actions ever.Now, in a far-reaching case, the Supreme Court will decide whether the president is authorized to take such a big step.Guest: Adam Liptak, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The student loan case could redefine the limits of presidential power.Here’s how the arguments at the Supreme Court played out and what to expect in the coming days.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In 2000, the F.D.A. approved the medication abortion drug mifepristone. Now a federal judge in Texas is set to rule on a case filed by anti-abortion groups urging the agency to revoke its approval of mifepristone and the other main drug used for medication abortion in the United States. Abortion via medication has become increasingly common and now accounts for more than half of the nation’s abortions.Plus, the Biden administration has started talking publicly about its intelligence when it comes to China, breaking with a long tradition of keeping U.S. secrets close to the chest. The secretary of state, the director of the C.I.A. and even the president himself have made statements on TV expressing concern over China’s plans to help Russia in the war in Ukraine.Guest: Pam Belluck, a health and science correspondent for The New York Times.Julian E. Barnes, a national security correspondent for The Times.Background reading: Twelve states have sued the F.D.A. seeking removal of special restrictions on abortion pills. The suit argues that rules applying to mifepristone unnecessarily limit patients’ access to medication abortion.Bolder intelligence disclosures are part of a larger effort to stymie the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine and align support for Kyiv’s war effort in allied countries.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 left more than 50,000 people dead. The sight of rescuers combing the rubble has prompted questions about why so many buildings seemed so inadequate to resist the shaking earth.In Turkey, the government has turned the focus onto builders and property developers, accusing them of chasing profit over safety. But the reality is far more complicated.Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Some in Turkey wonder whether the number of fatalities caused by the quake could have been cut significantly with better building standards.As the death toll rose, the Turkish government came under growing criticism.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After the 2020 election, wild theories ran rampant on the right of an election stolen from Donald Trump through a coordinated conspiracy. The news channel Fox News became one of the loudest voices amplifying these false claims into millions of U.S. households.Now, a defamation lawsuit by Dominion, a voting machine maker that was cast as a villain in these conspiracy theories, seeks to hold the media company responsible for the false claims made by its hosts and guests, presenting evidence that Fox knew what it was doing was wrong.Guest: Jeremy W. Peters, a correspondent for The New York Times who covers the media and its intersection with politics, culture and law.Background reading: Here’s what Fox News hosts said privately and publicly about voter fraud.The comments, by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and others, were released as part of a defamation suit against Fox News by Dominion Voter Systems.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In February, the first lawsuit against Tesla for a crash involving its driver-assistance system, Autopilot, will go to trial. The slew of trials set to follow will be a costly fight that the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, has vowed to take on in court. When Tesla released its Autopilot feature in October 2015, Musk touted the feature as “probably better” than a human driver. The reality, however, has proved different: On average, there is at least one Autopilot-related crash in the United States every day.While several of these accidents will feature in the upcoming trials, another camp of Tesla users who have fallen victim to Autopilot crashes are unwilling to take a negative stance because of their love for the brand. Or because they believe that accidents are a necessary evil in the process of perfecting the Autopilot software.Dave Key, whose 2015 Tesla Model S drifted out of its lane and slammed into the back of a parked police S.U.V., is of the latter camp.“As a society,” Key argued, “we choose the path to save the most lives.”This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The war has already done untold damage. By some estimates, tens of thousands have died, and the country has sustained tens of billions of dollars’ worth of damage that has left cities flattened. But Ukraine has also largely stopped the offensives of its much larger and better-armed neighbor and has regained some captured land.On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, these Ukrainians reflect on how the past year of conflict has changed their lives.Background reading: Here’s a guide to how the war came about, and what’s at stake for Russia and the world.People in Ukraine have become adept at telling which threats are probably not deadly, leaving room for a little enjoyment, and even hope.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since 1996, the modern internet has been defined by a sweeping law that prevents tech companies such as Facebook and Google from being held responsible for the content posted on their sites.This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could take that legal immunity away.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The decision on website immunity has the potential to alter the very structure of the internet.Lawmakers are targeting big tech “amplification.” What does that mean?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a major shift that would modify laws set half a decade ago, states and cities around the United States are moving to legalize psychedelics for use as a medical treatment.The sudden change of heart has a lot to do with who is asking for the substances.Guest: Andrew Jacobs, a health and science reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Lawmakers find it hard to “just say no” to combat veterans seeking support for drug decriminalization efforts.In January, Oregon became the first state to allow adult use of psilocybin “magic” mushrooms.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The great supply chain disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic scrambled the shipping system across the Pacific.Although mostly over, the turmoil has led to alterations in the way the global economy functions. One such change can be seen in Mexico, where companies from China are increasingly setting up shop.Guest: Peter S. Goodman, a global economics correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Alarmed by shipping chaos and geopolitical fractures, exporters from China are setting up factories in Mexico to preserve their sales to the United States.Laredo, a Texas border city, is primed to become one of the world’s most important land ports as American companies reduce their reliance on factories in Asia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Times tech columnist Kevin Roose stopped by The Daily twice this week to chronicle the debut of Bing’s new chatbot — and the creepy things that transpired. Today, we’re bringing you the latest episode of Kevin’s podcast, Hard Fork. Kevin, along with his co-host Casey Newton, expand the discussion about why Microsoft’s A.I. search tool appears more powerful — and more unsettling — than they initially believed. Plus: a conversation about Elon Musk’s quest to be the most popular user on Twitter, and why online ads have gotten so much worse (like, much worse).Hard Fork is a podcast about the future of technology that’s already here. You can search for Hard Fork wherever you get your podcasts. Visit nytimes.com/hardfork for more.

Microsoft recently released a new version of its search engine Bing that is powered by artificial intelligence software from OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT.On Valentine’s Day, after a meal with his wife, Kevin Roose, a New York Times technology columnist, had a two-hour conversation with the chatbot.The chatbot, which revealed that it identified as Sydney, told Kevin that it wanted to be human, that it loved him and that he should leave his wife.“There is something going on here that I don’t think Microsoft intended to build into a search engine,” Kevin said on today’s episode. “Something is not right.”Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times and host of the Times podcast “Hard Fork.”Background reading: A conversation with Bing’s chatbot left Kevin “deeply unsettled.” Read the transcript.Microsoft knew the new technology had issues like occasional accuracy problems, but users have experienced surprising and unnerving interactions.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey last week, it killed thousands and created a crisis within a crisis.International aid began pouring into Turkey, but northwestern Syria, which was also hard-hit, received only a trickle. It was a bitter blow for Syrians, whose lives had already been uprooted by years of civil war, mass displacement and death.Today, we hear from some Syrians and look at why it is so difficult for the world to help them.Guest: Raja Abdulrahim, a correspondent in Jerusalem for The New York Times who traveled to northwestern Syria after the earthquake.Background reading: Little international aid has come to hard-hit northwestern Syria. Residents there said they felt abandoned by the world, and rescue workers said they felt “helpless.”Syrians have experienced relentless death and destruction during more than a decade of civil war, but some say the earthquake was worse than anything else they had endured.War, territorial divisions and acrimonious relations between President Bashar al-Assad and many Western nations have complicated aid efforts. Here’s what to know.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Microsoft recently released a new version of Bing, its search engine that has long been kind of a punchline in the tech world.The company billed this Bing — which is powered by artificial intelligence software from OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT — as a reinvention of how billions of people search the internet.How does that claim hold up?Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times and host of the Times podcast “Hard Fork.”Background reading: When Microsoft released the new Bing, it was billed as a landmark event and the company’s “iPhone moment.”On the latest episode of “Hard Fork,” OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, and Microsoft’s chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, talk about an A.I.-powered Bing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, after the Air Force shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, examination of its wreckage revealed that it could not only take images, but also scoop up radio and cellphone communications. The balloon, the U.S. military said, was part of a bigger global program by China to collect information about military operations.Since then the U.S. has shot down three other objects from the skies over North America — apparently without knowing much about them.Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The U.S. and Canada are investigating three unidentified flying objects shot down over North America in recent days. Militaries have adjusted radars to try to spot more incursions.A timeline of the unidentified flying objects that have been brought down this month.Here is what we know about the objects and the Chinese spy balloon.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Amid growing threats from rivals like China, the United States military is determined to invest in new forms of defense and abandon those that no longer meet its needs.On that list: a combat ship rife with flaws. But getting rid of the ship has proved unexpectedly difficult.Guest: Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: After years of crippling problems and a changing mission, the Navy pushed to retire nine of its newest ships. Then the lobbying started.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Menopausal hormone therapy was once the most commonly prescribed treatment in the United States. In the late 1990s, some 15 million women a year were receiving a prescription for it. But in 2002, a single study, its design imperfect, found links between hormone therapy and elevated health risks for women of all ages. Panic set in; in one year, the number of prescriptions plummeted.Hormone therapy carries risks, to be sure, as do many medications that people take to relieve serious discomfort, but dozens of studies since 2002 have provided reassurance that for healthy women under 60 whose hot flashes are troubling them, the benefits of taking hormones outweigh the risks. The treatment’s reputation, however, has never fully recovered, and the consequences have been wide-reaching.About 85 percent of women experience menopausal symptoms. Rebecca Thurston, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh who studies menopause, believes that, in general, menopausal women have been underserved — an oversight that she considers one of the great blind spots of medicine.“It suggests that we have a high cultural tolerance for women’s suffering,” Thurston said. “It’s not regarded as important.”To hear more stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

This weekend, one of the most watched sporting events of the year, the Super Bowl, will draw an estimated $16 billion in bets from Americans, more than double last year’s total.The booming trade is a sign of how gambling has gone from illegal to legal very quickly in many states — and hints at the enormous risks posed by the change.Guest: Kenneth P. Vogel, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Cigars, booze, money: A lobbying blitz helped to make sports betting ubiquitous.Government oversight of gambling in the United States offers scant consumer protections and looks to the industry to police itself, The Times found.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For the past decade, San Francisco has worked hard to turn its downtown into a vibrant hub, providing a model that other cities in the United States looked to emulate.In the wake of the pandemic, however, many buildings and offices in the center of the city have remained empty.What went wrong?Guest: Conor Dougherty, an economics reporter at The New York Times and author of “Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream.”; and Emma Goldberg, a reporter covering the future of work for The Times. Background reading: What lessons does San Francisco have for the future of downtowns in America?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains descriptions of violence. The death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, at the hands of officers in Memphis last month has intensified calls for fundamental reform in policing. Those calls were echoed yesterday by President Biden, who hosted Mr. Nichols’s parents at the State of the Union address.Today, we hear about a Times investigation into the special team of officers, known as the Scorpion unit, that is accused of killing Mr. Nichols.Guest: Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief and a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: For 14 months, officers from the high-profile Scorpion unit patrolled Memphis with an air of menace.City leaders had praised the Scorpion unit as a key strategy for fighting crime. Now they are trying to assess whether it was flawed from the start.The unit has been disbanded, but Memphis wasn’t the only city to turn to specialized police teams.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Monday, a giant 7.8-magnitude earthquake and an aftershock almost as big shook the earth in southern Turkey. The quakes sent ripples through neighboring countries, but the area along the Syrian-Turkish border was hit particularly hard.Thousands of people have been killed, and dozens of cities have been gutted.We hear from witnesses on the ground about what happened when the devastating tremors hit.Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The initial earthquake struck before dawn, shattering lives in a region already rocked by war, a refugee crisis and economic distress.In northwestern Syria, nearly three million people displaced by the country’s civil war were already living in precarious conditions.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Wednesday, residents in Montana saw a mysterious object — a balloon — hovering and bobbing around in the skies. The enigma brought Americans out to squint at the heavens, caused a diplomatic visit to be canceled and opened a political debate.How did a balloon end up kindling such tension between Washington and Beijing?Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Chinese balloon drifted for seven days across the United States. Here’s a timeline of events.The balloon was brought down by an air-to-air missile fired at it off the coast of South Carolina.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Going out to dinner with Juan Tamariz in Madrid is a little like accompanying a cartoon character on a journey to the real world. As Shuja Haider, the author of today’s Sunday Read, walked with him on side streets off the city center’s main drag, the Calle Gran Vía, heads turned left and right.Mr. Tamariz, 80, has been a professional magician for 52 years, and in that time, he has managed the singular feat of becoming both a household name in his home country and a living legend in magic everywhere. David Blaine has called him “the greatest and most influential card magician alive.” But in Spain, Mr. Tamariz is an icon, less like Mr. Blaine or David Copperfield and more like Kermit the Frog.In the United States, the most visible performers of magic in the late 20th century were stage illusionists who worked with big boxes and flashing lights. But Mr. Tamariz appears on stage and screen armed with little more than his two hands. He introduced Spanish viewers to the style of magic called “close-up,” done with ordinary objects, in near-enough proximity for a conversation and incorporating the participation of spectators.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The Biden administration said this week that it would end the public health emergency for Covid, a sign that federal officials believe that the pandemic has moved into a new, less dire phase.The move carries both symbolic weight and real-world consequences for millions of Americans.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The end of the public health emergency, planned for May, will bring about a complex set of policy changes and signals a new stage in the government’s pandemic response.Among the effects of the change, access to tests and treatment will be more complicated.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For the past 50 years, the race to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee has been shaped by the where the contest begins: Iowa.But that process could soon be overhauled. In a coming meeting of the Democratic National Committee, South Carolina — a state that is more representative of the party and, possibly, of the country — could take over the key role of going first.Guest: Adam Nagourney, a West Coast cultural affairs correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: President Biden’s push to abandon Iowa for younger, racially diverse states is likely to reward candidates who connect with the party’s most loyal voters.Reshuffling the early-state order could run into logistical issues in Georgia and New Hampshire.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The typical sales price of an existing family home in the United States in December: 372,700. The number of layoffs in the tech sector since the beginning of the year: 76,000. The number by which consumer spending fell in December: 0.2 percent. The increase in the cost of the same kind of carton of eggs bought by an editor on “The Daily” a year apart: 251 percent.What do these numbers tell us about the state of the country’s economy?Guest: Ben Casselman, an economics and business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The U.S. economy showed momentum at the end of 2022, defying recession fears and displaying the resilience of consumers and businesses in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the United States, 40 million people in seven states depend on water provided by the Colorado River.After 20 years of drought, the situation is dire and the river is at risk of becoming a “deadpool,” a condition in which there is not enough water to pass through the dams.The states were supposed to come up with a deal to cut their usage by Tuesday. Now, the federal government may have to step in and make a difficult decision.Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The seven states that rely on the river for water are not expected to reach a deal on reductions. The federal government could impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for millions of Americans.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains descriptions of violence and strong language.Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man who lived in Memphis. His mother described him as living a simple and pleasant life. He worked for FedEx, loved to skateboard, was an amateur photographer and had a 4-year-old son.On the evening of Jan. 7, after a traffic stop, Mr. Nichols was violently beaten by the police, sustaining severe injuries. He died on Jan. 10.For weeks, what exactly had happened was unclear. This weekend, videos of the encounter were released.Guest: Rick Rojas, the Southern bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The five officers charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols are also Black, complicating the anguish and efforts to change the police.Recently released video footage included critical moments in which police officers kicked, punched and pepper-sprayed Mr. Nichols while he screamed.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the past half-century, 17 percent of the Amazon — an area larger than Texas — has been converted to croplands or cattle pasture. Less forest means less recycled rain, less vapor to cool the air, less of a canopy to shield against sunlight. Under drier, hotter conditions, even the lushest of Amazonian trees will shed leaves to save water, inhibiting photosynthesis — a feedback loop that is only exacerbated by global warming.According to the Brazilian Earth system scientist Carlos Nobre, if deforestation reaches 20 to 25 percent of the original area, “flying rivers” — rain clouds that recycle the forest’s own moisture five or six times — will weaken enough that a rainforest simply will not be able to survive in most of the Amazon Basin. Instead it will collapse into scrubby savanna, possibly in a matter of decades.Losing the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, would be catastrophic for the tens of thousands of species that make their home there. What scientists are most concerned about, though, is the potential for this regional, ecological tipping point to produce knock-on effects in the global climate.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains descriptions of violence and injury. In September, protests began in Iran over the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, at the hands of the government. The demonstrations have since intensified, as has the government’s response, with thousands arrested and a terrifying campaign of public executions underway.Today, Iranians who have taken part in the demonstrations tell us — in their own words — why they are willing to brave such severe punishments to help bring about change.Guest: Cora Engelbrecht, an international reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The protests in Iran have escalated amid anger over religious rules and a rock-bottom economy.A look at the Iranians who have been hanged, and those on death row, as the government tries to crush the monthslong uprising.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Recent advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended a bold approach to treating the millions of children in the United States who are affected by obesity. Counseling, drug treatment and even surgery should be considered, the group says.The guidelines are a response to a deeper understanding of what obesity is — and what to do about it.Guest: Gina Kolata, a medical reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The new guidelines have underscored how complicated childhood obesity is for patients and health providers.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Nonprofit hospitals — which make up around half of hospitals in the United States — were founded to help the poor.But a Times investigation has revealed that many have deviated from those charitable roots, behaving like for-profit companies, sometimes to the detriment of the health of patients.Guest: Jessica Silver-Greenberg, an investigative business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: With the help of a consulting firm, the Providence hospital system trained staff members to wring money out of patients, even those eligible for free care.Dozens of doctors have said that this New York nonprofit hospital pressured them to give preferential treatment to donors, trustees and their families.Bon Secours Mercy Health, a major nonprofit health system, used a poor neighborhood to tap into a lucrative federal drug program.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over the weekend, F.B.I. agents found classified documents at President Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Del., after conducting a 13-hour search.The search — at the invitation of Mr. Biden’s lawyers — resulted in the latest in a series of discoveries that has already led to a special counsel investigation.What miscalculations have Mr. Biden and his team make throughout this ordeal?Guest: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Inside the decision by Mr. Biden and his top advisers to keep the discovery of classified documents secret from the public and even most of the White House staff for 68 days.Investigators for the Justice Department recently seized more than a half-dozen documents, some of them classified, at the president’s residence in Delaware.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the past decade or more, votes over increasing the U.S. debt ceiling have increasingly been used as a political tool. That has led to intense showdowns in 2011, 2013 and, now, 2023. This year, both sides of the argument are dug in and Republicans appear more willing to go over the cliff than in the past. What does this year’s showdown look like and how, exactly, did the United States’ debt balloon to $31 trillion?Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Two decades of tax cuts, recession responses and bipartisan spending fueled more borrowing has set the stage for another federal showdown over the debt limit.Last week, America hit its debt limit. Here’s what to know. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In a room in a modest concrete building in a leafy Minneapolis neighborhood is silence exceeding the bounds of human perception. Technically an “anechoic chamber,” the room is the quietest place on the planet — according to some.What happens to people inside the windowless steel room is the subject of wild and terrible speculation. Public fascination with it exploded 10 years ago, with an article on The Daily Mail’s website. The article left readers to extrapolate their own conclusions about the room from the short, haunting observations of its proprietor, Steven J. Orfield, of Orfield Laboratories.“You’ll hear your heart beating,” Orfield was quoted as saying. And, “In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.”Much of the lore about the chamber’s propensity for mind-annihilation centers on the concept of blood sounds. Hearing the movement of blood through the body is supposedly something like an absolute taboo, akin to witnessing the fabrication of Chicken McNuggets — an ordeal after which placid existence is irreparably shattered.Despite this, Caity Weaver, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, wanted to give the chamber a go.To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

With mountains, intense mud, fast-running rivers and thick rainforest, the Darién Gap, a strip of terrain connecting South and Central America, is one of the most dangerous places on the planet.Over the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in the number of migrants passing through the perilous zone in the hopes of getting to the United States.Today, we hear the story of one family that’s risking everything to make it across.Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The pandemic, climate change and growing conflict are forcing a seismic shift in global migration.Two crises are converging at the Darién Gap: an economic and humanitarian disaster underway in South America, and the bitter fight over immigration policy in Washington.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the United States and allies have held back from sending Kyiv their most potent arms.Over the past few weeks, that has started to change.Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Ukraine has a narrow window of time to retake more territory ahead of an expected Russian spring offensive.The Biden administration is considering the argument that Kyiv needs the power to strike Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

With little warning or regulation, companies are increasingly using facial recognition technology on their customers — as a security measure, they say.But what happens when the systems are actually being used to punish the companies’ enemies?Guest: Kashmir Hill, a technology reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Madison Square Garden Entertainment, the owner of the arena, has put lawyers who represent people suing it on an “exclusion list” to keep them out of concerts and sporting events.Some have undermined the company’s ban by using a law passed in 1941 to protect theater critics.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For nearly three years, China had one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world, thanks to its strict yet effective “zero Covid” approach.But last month, the government suddenly abandoned the policy. Since then, there have been millions of coronavirus cases across the country.Guest: Alexandra Stevenson, the Shanghai bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: After micromanaging the coronavirus strategy for nearly three years, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has suddenly left people to improvise.China said that it recorded nearly 60,000 fatalities linked to the coronavirus in the month since the country lifted the “zero Covid” policy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In states where abortion is severely limited or illegal, clinicians face imminent prosecution if they continue to provide abortions. What is much less clear is what happens if providers in blue states offer telemedicine abortions to women in states where that’s against the law. These clinicians, too, could be arrested or sued or lose their medical licenses. To protect themselves, they may have to give up traveling to certain parts of the country — and it’s still no guarantee.In the face of so much uncertainty and an invigorated anti-abortion movement, large organizations and most clinicians are loath to gamble.But some providers think that the end of Roe v. Wade calls for doctors to take bold action.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The Justice Department is scrutinizing how both former President Donald J. Trump and President Biden came to have classified records after they left office.Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed a special counsel after the discovery of two batches of classified documents from Mr. Biden’s time as vice president.How are the two cases similar, how are they different and what might that mean for both?Guest: Glenn Thrush, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Special counsels are looking into both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. Here’s how the situations differ.Robert K. Hur has been appointed to oversee the investigation into Mr. Biden’s handling of classified documents. Who is he?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For weeks, a string of major storms have hit California, causing extreme flooding. While it might seem as if rain should have a silver lining for a state stuck in a historic drought, the reality is far more complicated.Today, how California’s water management in the past has made today’s flooding worse and why it represents a missed opportunity for the future of the state’s water crisis.Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: In the wake of recent storms, California is facing questions about whether its approach to handling crippling storms is suited to 21st-century climate threats.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After Jair Bolsonaro lost October’s Brazilian presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, many believed that the threat of violence from the defeated leader’s supporters would recede. They were wrong. Mr. Bolsonaro had spent years sewing doubt and undermining Brazil’s election system, and last week, thousands of rioters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices. What happened — and how did Brazil get here?Guest: Jack Nicas, the Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: What drove a mass attack on Brazil’s capital? Mass delusion.The riots in Brazil had echoes of Jan. 6 in the United States. The comparison is inevitable and useful but here are some major differences. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Air travel was a mess over the holidays — in the last 10 days of December, 30,000 flights were canceled. While every airline was affected, one stood out: Southwest, which over the past few decades has transformed how Americans fly, melted down. In the last 10 days of the year, it canceled as many flights as it had done in the previous 10 months. So what went wrong?Guest: Niraj Chokshi, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Southwest’s crisis shows what can go wrong when a company relied on by millions of people moves too slowly to invest in unglamorous parts of its operation.The airline’s customers incurred thousands in expenses as they scrambled to get home. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Representative Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become speaker of the House turned into a rolling disaster last week, played out over five long days and 15 rounds of voting. Today, the inside story of how it went so wrong — and what he was forced to give up in order to finally win.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. McCarthy’s slog to the speakership ended with a remarkably public show of intraparty strife during a history-making overnight session.The speaker’s concessions have given the rebels on the right flank of his party more tools to sow disarray.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Christmas Eve in 1971, Juliane Diller, then 17, and her mother boarded a flight in Lima, Peru. She was headed for Panguana, a biological research station in the belly of the Amazon, where for three years she had lived, on and off, with her mother, Maria, and her father, Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke, both zoologists.About 25 minutes after takeoff, the plane flew into a thunderstorm, was struck by lightning and broke apart. Strapped to her seat, Juliane fell some 10,000 feet, nearly two miles. Her row of seats is thought to have landed in dense foliage, cushioning the impact. Juliane was the sole survivor of the crash.LANSA Flight 508 was the deadliest lightning-strike disaster in aviation history.In the 50 years since the crash, Juliane moved to Germany, earned a Ph.D. in biology, became an eminent zoologist, got married — and, after her father’s death, took over as director of Panguana and the primary organizer of expeditions to the refuge.To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The current level of biodiversity loss is extraordinary in human history: The global rate of species extinction is at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years. At the end of 2022, countries around the world came together in Montreal for an agreement akin to the Paris climate accord to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Here’s more on the effort and how it seeks to confront the problem.Guest: Catrin Einhorn, who reports on biodiversity and climate for The New York Times.Background reading: Last year, roughly 190 nations, aiming to halt a dangerous decline in biodiversity, agreed to preserve 30 percent of the planet’s land and seas. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

George Santos, the Republican representative-elect from New York, ran for office and won his seat in part on an inspiring personal story.But when Times reporters started looking into his background, they made some astonishing revelations: Almost all of Mr. Santos’s story was fake.Guests: Michael Gold, a reporter covering New York for The New York Times. Grace Ashford, a reporter covering New York politics for The Times.Background reading: Mr. Santos said that he was the “embodiment of the American dream.” But his résumé was largely fiction.On the first day of the 118th Congress, the Santos saga arrived on Capitol Hill.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, many believed the country’s army would quickly crush the Ukrainian forces. Instead, Russian military failures have defined the war.Today, we hear from Russian soldiers, and explore why a military superpower keeps making the same mistakes and why, despite it all, its soldiers keep going back to fight.Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Secret battle plans, intercepted communications and interviews with Russian soldiers explain how a “walk in the park” became a catastrophe for Russia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains strong language. Republicans are set to take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years. The transition is shaping up to be chaotic. Today, the 118th Congress will gather for the first time in the Capitol, yet there is still a question mark over who is going to be the Republican speaker of the House. Why is there still a fight over leadership?Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Representative Kevin McCarthy is struggling to break through a wall of entrenched opposition to his speakership from hard-right lawmakers even after agreeing to weaken his leadership power.Mr. McCarthy has so far faced no viable challenger. But if he is unable to secure the votes, an alternative could quickly emerge. Here are the Republicans to watch. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.Kirill, 24, worked at a nonprofit for homeless people in the Moscow region. He does not support the policies of President Vladimir V. Putin and is vehemently against the invasion of Ukraine.After suffering setbacks in the war, Mr. Putin announced a military draft in September. Kirill was among those called up. In September, Sabrina Tavernise spoke to Kirill who was hiding to avoid being served his papers. Since then, Kirill decided to flee Russia to avoid the draft. Today, Sabrina Tavernise checks in with Kirill about what’s happened since he left his country.Background readingRussia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said in October that the target of drafting 300,000 reservists was finished and no more drafts were planned.Across Moscow in October, there were noticeably fewer men at restaurants, stores and social gatherings. Many were called up to fight in Ukraine. Others fled to avoid being drafted.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since.In May, the United States was stunned by the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that previewed the end of Roe v. Wade. After, we spoke to people on both sides of the abortion issue. Today, we revisit conversations with two women, an anti-abortion activist and an abortion provider, and discuss how their lives have changed since the end of the constitutional right to abortion.Guests: Anja Baker, an anti-abortion activist in Mississippi who works for Her PLAN, a project of the Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund.Dr. Jessica Rubino, a family medicine physician who was previously an abortion provider at Austin Women’s Health Center.Background reading:The Times has been tracking the status of abortion laws in each state. Here are the latest updates.What does it cost to get an abortion now? With the procedure banned in many states, patients face added expenses for travel, lodging and child care. More of them are turning to charities for help.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.In July, NASA released new images captured from a point in space one million miles from Earth. Ancient galaxies carpeting the sky like jewels on black velvet. Fledgling stars shining out from deep within cumulus clouds of interstellar dust.Today, we return to our episode about the moment when the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest space observatory ever built, sent its first images back to Earth — and explore what the telescope has discovered since then in its long journey across the universe. Guest: Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The New York Times.Background readingHere are more scenes of the universe captured by the Webb telescope.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.This year, we explored the story of Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York City, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union and succeeded.Today, we return to their story and learn about the current state of their organizing effort.Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, warehouse workers who led the first successful unionization attempt at Amazon.Background readingChristian Smalls and Derrick Palmer won the first successful unionization effort at any Amazon warehouse in the United States, one of the most significant labor victories in a generation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.This episode contains strong language.This year, in response to Russia’s increasingly brutal campaign against Ukrainian towns and cities, millions of people — most of them women and children — fled Ukraine. It was the fastest displacement of people in Europe since World War II.Today, we return to the beginning of the invasion and reporting from our host Sabrina Tavernise, who traveled alongside some of those fleeing the conflict.Background readingWith most men legally prohibited from leaving Ukraine, the international border gates serve as a painful filter, splitting families as women and children move on.Spared direct attacks so far, Lviv, a city in Ukraine’s west, has become a transit point for thousands of refugees and for men and supplies headed to the front lines.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

During his time as a restaurant critic for The Times, Pete Wells has become both feared and revered in the world of dining — crowning those at the top and dethroning those whose time has passed.But when the pandemic arrived, handing out stars to fancy restaurants made no sense anymore. A fundamental change was needed.Guest: Pete Wells, a restaurant critic for The New York Times. Background reading: For the return of The Times’s star ratings this year, Pete Wells visited La Piraña Lechonera, a weekend party in a Bronx trailer where one man serves up the rich flavors of Puerto Rico.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A few weeks ago, when President Pedro Castillo of Peru attempted an illegal power grab and ended up in jail, the response was unexpected: Thousands of protesters took to the streets to support him, and some died.Why does such a divisive leader have such fierce backing? And what does the upheaval in Peru tell us about the way the political winds are blowing in South America?Guest: Julie Turkewitz, the Andes bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: What is going on in Peru and why are people protesting? Here’s what to know.Days after Mr. Castillo’s removal from office and arrest, thousands of his supporters have joined protests demanding his reinstatement. To them, he is the voice of the marginalized.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains descriptions of violence. At the end of every year, The New York Times Magazine devotes an issue to remembering those who have died in the past year.This year’s focus is gun violence, which is now the leading cause of death for American children, and the short lives that ended far too soon because of it.Today, we remember three of them: Lavonte’e Williams, Elijah Gomez and Shiway Barry.On today’s episode: The voices of Cheese, Shiway Barry's best friend; Crystal Cathcart, Elijah Gomez’s aunt, and his mother, Jennifer Cathcart; and Lavonte’e Williams’s mother, Miracle Jones, and Michael Jones and Tanika Jones, his grandparents.Background reading: A boy just baptized. A girl who just had her Sweet 16. These are the stories of 12 children killed by guns this year.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Every step of the way, the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has been groundbreaking.As it wraps up its work, the panel referred former President Donald J. Trump to the Justice Department and accused him of four crimes, including inciting insurrection. The referrals do not carry legal weight or compel any action by the Justice Department, but they were a major escalation.Here’s what happened during the committee’s final public meeting.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a Congressional reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Here are six takeaways from the final Jan. 6 hearing, and key findings from the panel’s report, annotated.Mr. Trump’s current woes extend beyond the report, but the case the committee laid out against him further complicates his future.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For weeks, much of the globe has been riveted by the highs and lows of the World Cup in Qatar. On Sunday, the soccer tournament culminated in a win for Argentina and its star, Lionel Messi, against France.Here’s how the thrill of the game eclipsed the tournament’s tainted beginnings, and what that might reveal about the future.Guest: Rory Smith, the chief soccer correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: After a tournament shadowed by controversy, Qatar had the turn in the global spotlight it sought.This World Cup has blurred the line between the artificial and the authentic, but the people, as usual, defined the tournament.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

“On his first night at the Brooklyn homeless shelter, Tin Chin met his best friend.”So begins an unforgettable story of deceit and friendship, and the loneliness of starting life anew in a foreign country.The journalist Sam Dolnick traces how two men came to find themselves in the homeless shelter, and how their shared backgrounds meant they became fast friends. But the story, as all good stories often do, quickly takes an unexpected turn.This story was written and narrated by Sam Dolnick. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains strong language.In the past few weeks, a major breakthrough in the world of artificial intelligence — ChatGPT — has put extraordinary powers in the hands of anyone with access to the internet.Released by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company, ChatGPT can write essays, come up with scripts for TV shows, answer math questions and even write code.Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times and host of the Times podcast “Hard Fork.”Background reading: ChatGPT has inspired awe, fear, stunts and attempts to circumvent its guardrails.The chatbot is suddenly everywhere. Who should decide how it’s built? What could go wrong? And what could go right? The hosts of the “Hard Fork” discuss.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This fall, as Russia’s losses mounted in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced a draft. Almost immediately, hundreds of thousands of men fled the country, though many more stayed.Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, spoke to Russians at a draft office in Moscow to gauge how they felt about going to war and who they blame for the fighting.Guest: Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times.Background reading: Across Moscow, there are noticeably fewer men at restaurants, stores and social gatherings. Many have been called up to fight in Ukraine. Others have fled to avoid being drafted.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this year, it appeared to be an unvarnished victory for the anti-abortion movement.But as the year draws to a close, the realities of a post-Roe America are turning out differently than anyone predicted.Guest: Kate Zernike, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: After the midterms, abortion rights advocates hope to harness public support for the long term, while anti-abortion campaigners look to advance new laws.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Three thousand security officers fanned out across Germany this past week, raiding 150 homes, arresting 25 people and putting more than 50 others under investigation for plotting to overthrow the national government in Berlin.The target of the counterterrorism operation, one of the biggest that postwar Germany has seen, was a movement known as the Reichsbürger, or citizens of the Reich.What does the Reichsbürger plot reveal about the depth of right-wing extremism in the country?Guest: Katrin Bennhold, the Berlin bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Among those arrested was a German aristocrat called Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss. Nostalgic for an imperial past, the prince embraced far-right conspiracy theories.The Reichsbürger movement picked up momentum from conspiracy theories that grew during the pandemic and gained strength from QAnon.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

 Companies like Meta and Twitter have said that they will be cutting jobs. Google and Amazon have announced that they are putting a freeze on any new hiring.Are tech layoffs a sign of things to come across other sectors? Is this the opening bell for the bad news on the economy that many have been bracing for?Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a correspondent covering the Federal Reserve and economy for The New York Times.Background reading: President Biden is celebrating a jobs engine that is running hot; Federal Reserve officials want to see more signs of slowing growth amid their campaign to tame inflation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Shortly after the war in Ukraine began, terrified civilians from across the country made their way to their cities’ main train stations.The stations became scenes of great panic, with people jostling to be admitted onto the crowded trains. Compartments were filled 10 times their intended capacity, and people were packed shoulder to shoulder, unable to sit down. Images from these moments captured the beginning of the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.In this extensively reported article, Sarah A. Topol explores the history and cultural significance of Ukraine’s railways, and their crucial importance within the war effort.This story was written by Sarah A. Topol and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

On one level, the case brought before the Supreme Court is about gerrymandering. But on a broader level, it’s about a theory that would completely reorient the relationship between the federal and state governments and upset the ordinary checks and balances.Guest: Adam Liptak, a correspondent covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The Supreme Court justices are considering whether to adopt the “independent state legislature” theory, which could give state lawmakers nearly unchecked power over federal elections.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains descriptions of distressing scenes. Haiti is unraveling. Gangs control much of the capital, thousands have been displaced and hundreds more are dead.In recent weeks, the government has taken the extraordinary step of asking for an armed intervention from abroad.What is it like on the ground, and what does the request mean for Haitians?Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, the bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times. Background reading: With unchecked gang violence rocking its capital and a cholera outbreak spreading, Haiti’s government has called for an international armed intervention to stabilize the country.Fearing a mass exodus, some Biden administration officials have pressed for a multinational force, but they don’t want to send U.S. troops and haven’t been able to persuade other countries to take the lead.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language. In the contentious debate over who controls what happens in America’s schools, a new battleground has emerged: library books.This is the story of what happened when parents in one town in New Jersey tried to remove a handful of books that they said were explicit and sexually inappropriate — and the battle that ensued.Guest: Alexandra Alter, a reporter covering publishing and the literary world for The New York Times. Background reading: As highly visible and politicized book bans have exploded across the United States, librarians — accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities — have found themselves on the front lines of an acrimonious culture war, with their careers and their personal reputations at risk.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Georgia voters are heading to the polls for the final battle of the 2022 midterms — the runoff election between Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker.Both parties have their own challenges: Republicans have a candidate quality issue in Mr. Walker, and Democrats are concerned about the turnout of their voter coalition. One side, though, already seems resigned to losing.Guest: Maya King, a politics reporter covering the South for The New York Times.Background reading: On the eve of Georgia’s Senate runoff, Mr. Warnock warned his supporters about being overconfident, and Mr. Walker urged Republicans to flood the polls.The runoff will answer a big question — what’s more powerful: a candidate’s skills and experience, or the tug of political partisanship?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For months, the war in Ukraine was about territory as both sides fought to control areas in the country’s south and east.In recent weeks, the war has taken a new turn.Mounting attacks on civilian infrastructure have left people across Ukraine without power, heat and sometimes water as the snow begins to fall.Guest: Marc Santora, the International News Editor for The New York Times.Background reading: Even as Ukrainian workers race to restore basic services like electricity, heat and water, new Russian airstrikes send them back to the starting line.Survival kits in elevators, alternative menus in cafes, flashlights and generators everywhere: This is life under Russian bombardment.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Jon Mooallem met with the director Noah Baumbach to discuss his latest film, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s 1985 novel “White Noise.”The pair explore the recent chain of personal and public events in Baumbach’s life, including the toll of the coronavirus pandemic and the death of his father, and how this “routine trauma” has affected his work, and why it prompted him to create a discombobulated, “elevated reality” for his film in the vein of David Lynch, the Coen brothers and Spike Lee.This story was written and narrated by Jon Mooallem. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Last month at COP27, the U.N. climate change conference, a yearslong campaign ended in an agreement. The rich nations of the world — the ones primarily responsible for the emissions that have caused climate change — agreed to pay into a fund to help poorer nations that bear the brunt of its effects. In the background, however, an even more meaningful plan was taking shape, led by the tiny island nation of Barbados. Guest: David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: As global warming delivers cascading weather disasters, leaders at U.N. climate talks said it’s time to radically overhaul the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In a landmark verdict, a jury convicted Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia, of sedition for his role in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.The charge he faced, seditious conspiracy, is one that can be traced to the American Civil War. How did federal prosecutors make their case, and what does the verdict tell us about just how organized the attack really was?Guest: Alan Feuer, a reporter covering courts and criminal justice for The New York Times.Background reading: A jury in federal court in Washington convicted Mr. Rhodes and one of his subordinates for a plot to keep Donald Trump in power.The outcome of the trial was a signal victory for the Justice Department and could hold lessons for future Jan. 6 cases. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over the weekend, protests against China’s strict coronavirus restrictions ricocheted across the country in a rare case of nationwide civil unrest. It was the most extensive series of protests since the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989.This is what these demonstrations look and feel like, and what they mean for President Xi Jinping and his quest for “zero Covid.”Guest: Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Demonstrations against coronavirus restrictions in China have evolved into broader demands. What are protesters calling for?In a country where protests are swiftly quashed, many who gathered to voice their discontent — under the watchful eye of the police — were uncertain about how far to go.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For the past few months, Jodi Kantor and Jo Becker, investigative reporters for The New York Times, have looked into a secretive, yearslong effort by an anti-abortion activist to influence the justices of the Supreme Court.This is the story of the Rev. Rob Schenck, the man who led that effort.Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Years before the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, a landmark contraception ruling was disclosed, according to Mr. Schenck.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The World Cup, the biggest single sporting event on the planet, began earlier this month. By the time the tournament finishes, half the global population is expected to have watched. The 2022 World Cup has also been the focus of over a decade of controversy because of its unlikely host: the tiny, energy-rich country of Qatar. How did such a small nation come to host the tournament, and at what cost?Guest: Tariq Panja, a sports business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The decision to take the World Cup to Qatar has upturned a small nation, battered the reputation of global soccer’s governing body and altered the fabric of the sport.Many in Qatar say the barrage of criticism about its human rights record and the exploitation of migrant workers is laced with discrimination and hypocrisy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Being tasked with the turkey on Thanksgiving can be a high-pressure, high-stakes job. Two Times writers share what they’ve learned.Kim Severson takes listeners on a journey through some of the turkey-cooking gimmicks that have been recommended to Americans over the decades, and J. Kenji López-Alt talks about his foolproof method for roasting a bird.Guest: Kim Severson, a food correspondent for The New York Times; and J. Kenji López-Alt, a food columnist for The Times. Background reading: From brining to bagging to clothing the bird in cotton, every year brings a fresh cooking trick that promises perfection. Here are the oddest and most memorable.The secret to great Thanksgiving turkey is already in your fridge, according to J. Kenji López-Alt. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This winter, three major respiratory viruses — respiratory syncytial virus or R.S.V., the flu and the coronavirus — are poised to collide in the United States in what some health officials are calling a “tripledemic.”What does this collision have to do with our response to the coronavirus pandemic, and why are children so far the worst affected?Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Most cases of Covid, flu and R.S.V. are likely to be mild, but together they may sicken millions of Americans and swamp hospitals, public health experts warned.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Donald J. Trump is running for president again. Donald J. Trump is back on Twitter again. And now a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate Donald J. Trump again.In the saga of the Trump investigations, there seem to be recurring rhythms and patterns. Here’s what to know about the latest developments.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The two major criminal investigations involving Mr. Trump examine his role in the lead up to Jan. 6 and his decision to retain sensitive government documents at his home in Florida.What is it that makes a special counsel “special”?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Across the world, developed nations have locked themselves into unsustainable, energy-intensive lifestyles. As environmental collapse threatens, the journalist Noah Gallagher Shannon explores the lessons in sustainability that can be learned from looking “at smaller, perhaps even less prosperous nations” such as Uruguay.“The task of shrinking our societal footprint is the most urgent problem of our era — and perhaps the most intractable,” writes Shannon, who explains that the problem of reducing our footprints further “isn’t that we don’t have models of sustainable living; it’s that few exist without poverty.”Tracing Uruguay’s sustainability, Shannon shows how a relatively small population size and concentration (about half of the country’s 3.5 million people live in Montevideo, the capital) had long provided the country with a collective sense of purpose. He also shows how in such a tight-knit country, the inequalities reach a rapid boil, quoting a slogan of a Marxist-Leninist group called the Tupamaros: “Everybody dances or nobody dances.”Looking for answers to both a structural and existential problem, Shannon questions what it would take to achieve energy independence.This story was written by Noah Gallagher Shannon and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

The midterm elections have left both parties in a moment of reflection. For Republicans, it’s time to make a choice about Trumpism, but one that may no longer be theirs to make. For Democrats, it’s about how much of their future is inherently tied to the G.O.P. 

Earlier this year, much of the crypto industry imploded, taking with it billions of dollars. From that crash, one company and its charismatic founder emerged as the industry’s savior.Last week, that company collapsed.Who is Sam Bankman-Fried, how did he become the face of crypto, and why did so many believe in him?Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a reporter covering cryptocurrencies and fintech for The New York Times.Background reading: Here’s what to know about the collapse of FTX.In an interview with The Times, Mr. Bankman-Fried said he had expanded too fast and failed to see warning signs. But he shared few details about his handling of FTX customers’ funds.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, Israel swore in a new Parliament, paving the way back to power for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he is on trial for corruption. Now, the country is on the cusp of its most right-wing government in history.Who and what forces are behind these events in Israeli politics?Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: To win election, Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right allies harnessed perceived threats to Israel’s Jewish identity after ethnic unrest and the subsequent inclusion of Arab lawmakers in the government.The rise of the Israeli far right has stoked fear among some Palestinians of a surge of violence.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Divided government appears poised to return to Washington. In the midterm elections, the Republicans seem likely to manage to eke out a majority in the House, but they will have a historically small margin of control.The Republican majority will be very conservative, made up of longtime members — some of whom have drifted more to the right — and a small but influential group of hard-right Republicans who are quite allied with former President Donald J. Trump and helped lead the effort to try to overturn the 2020 election.What can we expect from this new Republican-controlled House?Guest: Julie Davis, congressional editor for The New York Times.Background reading: After the midterm elections, the Republican ranks in the House have grown more extreme and slightly more diverse.Republican rebels are trying to make their leaders sweat after a worse-than-expected outcome in the elections.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Days after voters rejected his vision for the country in the midterms, former President Donald J. Trump is expected to announce a third run for president.Despite the poor results for candidates he backed, why are Republican leaders powerless to stop him?Guest: Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Republicans may still win the House. But an underwhelming showing has the party wrestling with what went wrong: Was it bad candidates, a bad message or Mr. Trump?Mr. Trump has faced unusual public attacks from across the Republican Party.Republicans pushing to move past the former president face one big obstacle: His voters.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On the first nationwide test of American students since the pandemic, scores plummeted to levels not seen in 20 years. The results show how challenging it was to keep students on track during the pandemic.What do the scores tell us about remote learning, who lost the most ground academically, and what can schools do to help students recover?Guest: Sarah Mervosh, a national reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: In the U.S., students in most states and across almost all demographic groups have experienced troubling setbacks in both math and reading, according to an authoritative national exam released last month.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Sandra Plantz, an administrator at Gallia County Local Schools for more than 20 years, oversees areas as diverse as Title I reading remediation and federal grants for all seven of the district’s schools. In recent years, though, she has leaned in hard on a role that is overlooked in many districts: homeless liaison.Ms. Plantz’s district, in rural Ohio, serves an area that doesn’t offer much in the way of a safety net beyond the local churches. The county has no family homeless shelters, and those with no place to go sometimes end up sleeping in the parking lot of the Walmart or at the hospital emergency room.Homeless students have the worst educational outcomes of any group, the lowest attendance, the lowest scores on standardized tests, the lowest graduation rates. They all face the same cruel paradox: Students who do not have a stable place to live are unable to attend school regularly, and failing to graduate from high school is the single greatest risk factor for future homelessness.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This week’s elections have been startlingly close. Control of both chambers of Congress remain up in the air.Historically, the president’s party is blown away in midterms. And the Democrats were further hampered this time round by President Biden’s unpopularity.Considering the headwinds, how did they do so well?Guest: Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for The New York Times.Background reading: President Biden appears to have had the best midterms of any president in 20 years.Election denial didn’t play as well as Republicans hoped. And former President Donald Trump has faced unusual public attacks from across his party following a string of losses.As the results continue to come in, here are the latest updates.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the early hours of Wednesday, control of both the House and Senate remained uncertain.Going into the midterms, some analysts expected a repudiation of the Democrats and a surge of Republican victories. But this “red wave” did not materialize. Today, we try to make sense of the surprising results. Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: As the results continue to come in, follow the latest updates here. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over the last decade, Wisconsin has become an extreme experiment in single-party rule. Republican officials have redrawn the state’s election districts and rewritten laws to ensure their domination of the state’s legislature.In Tuesday’s elections, those officials are asking voters for the final lever of power: control over the entire system of voting. Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a reporter covering elections and campaigns for The New York Times.Background reading: In Wisconsin, a 50-50 battleground state, Republicans are close to capturing supermajorities in the State Legislature that would render the Democratic governor irrelevant even if he wins re-election.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For the Democrats to hold on to power in Washington, they have to do what President Biden did in Pennsylvania two years ago: Break the Republican Party’s grip on the white working-class vote, once the core of the Democratic base. In tomorrow’s midterm election, no race better encapsulates that challenge than the Pennsylvania Senate candidacy of John Fetterman.Is the plan working or is this crucial group of voters now a lost cause for the Democrats?Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Among white working-class voters in places like northeast Pennsylvania, the Democratic Party has both the furthest to fall and the most to gain.In the final days of the Pennsylvania Senate race, Mr. Fetterman has acknowledged that his recovery from a stroke remains a work in progress, leaning into the issue with a mix of humor, sarcasm and notes of empathy. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The phenomenon of babies stolen from hospitals in Spain, once shrouded in secrecy, is now being spoken about.The thefts happened during the end of the regime of Francisco Franco, the right-wing dictator who ruled the country until 1975, and even today the disappearances remain a subject of mystery and debate among scholars.According to the birth mothers, nuns who worked in maternity wards took the infants shortly after they were delivered and told the women, who were often unwed or poor, that their children were stillborn. But the babies were not dead: They had been sold, discreetly, to well-off Catholic parents, many of whom could not have families of their own. Under piles of forged papers, the adoptive families buried the secret of the crime they committed. The children who were taken were known in Spain simply as the “stolen babies.” No one knows exactly how many were kidnapped, but estimates suggest tens of thousands.Nicholas Casey relates Ana Belén Pintado’s discovery, after the deaths of her parents, that she was a “stolen baby,” and considers the web of culpability and the tricky question of blame, as Spain reckons with its past.This story was written by Nicholas Casey and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

This moment in politics will be defined by shifts at the grass-roots level. It wasn’t long ago that Democrats used to brag about the coalition they had built — full of young people, minority voters and college-educated women. Today, we talk to members of the Democratic base, many of whom no longer see a clear path forward for the party.“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. You can search for “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts. Visit nytimes.com/therunup for more.

With an unpopular president and soaring inflation, Democrats knew they had an uphill battle in the midterms.But the fall of Roe v. Wade seemed to offer the party a way of energizing voters and holding ground. And one place where that hope could live or die is Michigan.Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Some top Democrats say that their party has focused too much attention on abortion rights and not enough on worries about crime or the cost of living.The outcome of the midterms will affect abortion access for millions of Americans. Activists on both sides are focused on races up and down the ballot.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For decades, many universities have used race as a factor when deciding which students to admit. In the past, the Supreme Court has backed that practice, called affirmative action, in the interest of creating a diverse student body.This week, however, the majority-conservative court is considering a case that may change affirmative action forever.Guest: Adam Liptak, a correspondent covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The Supreme Court appears ready to rule that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful.In the clash over affirmative action, both sides invoke Brown v. Board of Education, the unanimous 1954 decision that said the Constitution prohibits racial segregation in public schools.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Early on Friday, an intruder broke into the San Francisco home of Nancy Pelosi and bludgeoned Ms. Pelosi’s husband, Paul, with a hammer.The shocking attack underlined fears about the growing number of threats against members of Congress and the woeful lack of security around those lawmakers.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A trail of strained relationships. An itinerant life that included a stint living in a storage unit. A personality that was “consumed by darkness.” Who is the man accused of attacking Mr. Pelosi?The assault at the Pelosi home comes as threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It was long awaited, and some doubted that it would ever come to pass, but last week, the tech billionaire Elon Musk officially took over Twitter.The platform was once the place of underdogs, a public square that allowed users to challenge the moneyed and powerful. Is that about to change?Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times, and co-host of the Times podcast “Hard Fork.”Background reading: A decade ago, Twitter was a tool for rebels and those challenging authority. But over time, the powerful learned how to use it for their own goals.Mr. Musk and a group of his advisers have been meeting with company executives, working on layoffs, ordering up product changes, talking with advertisers and reviewing content moderation policies.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Four years ago, Xi Jinping set himself up to become China’s leader indefinitely.At last week’s Communist Party congress in Beijing, he stepped into that role, making a notable sweep of the country’s other top leaders and placing even greater focus on national security.Guest: Chris Buckley, chief China correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: At the congress, Mr. Xi didn’t mention two long-repeated maxims. To many, it’s a warning of the turbulent times to come.Mr. Xi has created a new ruling elite packed with loyalist officials primed to elevate his agenda of bolstering national security and turning China into a technological great power.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For Sam Anderson, a staff writer, traveling with animals can lead to enlightening experience. In this essay for The New York Times Magazine, Mr. Anderson explores what he has learned from a lifetime of voyaging with animals, and what it means to connect with another creature: bridging spiritual, physical and even temporal distances, and reaching into “something like evolutionary time.”“An animal voyage,” Mr. Anderson writes, “is special because it requires us to make many journeys all at once.”This story was written and narrated by Sam Anderson. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This moment in politics will be defined by shifts at the grass-roots level. Today, we talk to conservative voters about the forces animating the midterm elections for them — and what Washington can learn from the people. What do you think of “The Run-Up” so far? Please take our listener survey at nytimes.com/therunupsurvey. “The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

Voters in Brazil on Sunday will choose between two larger-than-life, populist candidates in a presidential race that is widely seen as the nation’s — and Latin America’s — most important election in decades.Who are the candidates, and why is the future of Brazilian democracy also on the ballot?Guest: Jack Nicas, the Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The contest — a matchup between Brazil’s two biggest political heavyweights — could swing either way and promises to prolong what has already been a bruising battle that has polarized the nation and tested the strength of its democracy.For the past decade, Brazil has lurched from one crisis to the next. Brazilians will decide between two men who are deeply tied to its tumultuous past.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As Democratic Party leaders assessed their vulnerabilities in this year’s midterm elections, the one state they did not worry about was New York. That — it turns out — was a mistake.Despite being a blue state through and through, and a place President Donald J. Trump lost by 23 points two years ago, the red tide of this moment is lapping at New York’s shores.Why is New York up for grabs?Guest: Nicholas Fandos, a Metro reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Ahead of the midterms, New York has emerged from a haywire redistricting cycle as perhaps the most consequential congressional battleground in the country.Republicans are pressing their advantage deep into Democratic territory in the closing stretch of the 2022 campaign, competing for an abundance of House seats.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A few days ago, when the House committee investigating Jan. 6 issued a subpoena to former President Donald J. Trump, it raised a legal question: Can Congress compel a former president to testify?The committee’s move, while dramatic, is not without precedent.What do presidential subpoenas of the past teach us about the moment we’re in, and about what the former president might do next?Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The Jan. 6 committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Trump, paving the way for a potentially historic court fight over whether Congress can compel testimony from a former president.If the former president fights the subpoena, his lawyers are likely to muster a battery of constitutional and procedural arguments for why a court should allow him not to testify.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the early days of its war on Ukraine, Russia cut off gas supplied to most of Europe, plunging the continent into the most severe energy crisis in decades.Soaring prices have put some European leaders on the defensive over their support of Ukraine in the war as they navigate economic crises and bubbling unrest at home.Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: European countries are facing dwindling supplies of Russian natural gas. The scarcity has distorted the market, driving gas prices to historic highs and pulling up the price of electricity.The downfall of Britain’s prime minister sent perhaps the clearest signal yet that political peril awaits those who fail to address inflation and the erosion of living standards.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language. Hundreds of candidates on the ballot in November still deny that President Biden won in 2020 — a level of denialism that is fueling harassment and threats toward election workers. Few have experienced those attacks as viscerally as election workers in Arizona. Today, we speak with the top election official in the state’s largest county. Guest: Stephen Richer, the recorder of Maricopa County in Arizona. Background reading: Election officials are on alert as voting begins for midterm elections, the biggest test of the American election system since former President Donald J. Trump’s lies about the 2020 results launched an assault on the democratic process.Over 370 Republican candidates have cast doubt on the 2020 election despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, according to a New York Times investigation.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Yiyun Li has garnered legions of fans with her unsparing prose, writing extensively about her own struggles with depression and suicidality.Her latest novel, “The Book of Goose,” is no different, sharing the same quality that has made Ms. Li something of a beacon to those suffering beneath unbearable emotional weight.Alexandra Kleeman, also a novelist, meets Ms. Li to discover the secrets of her charm, her experience of growing up in China and her writing process.This story was written by Alexandra Kleeman and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

How a 12-year project to lock in political power in Wisconsin could culminate in this year’s midterms – and provide a glimpse into where the rest of the country is headed. “The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain has resigned after only 44 days in office. Hers is the shortest premiership in the country’s history.What led to her downfall, and why has Britain entered a period of such profound political dysfunction?Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resignation, yet another episode of political instability, only added to Britons’ concerns and frustrations over galloping inflation and a looming economic crisis.Her fate was sealed three weeks ago when currency and bond traders reacted to her new fiscal program by torpedoing the pound and other British financial assets.Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak and Ben Wallace, all current or former Conservative cabinet members, are seen as candidates to replace Ms. Truss. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After a summer of news that favored Democrats and with just two weeks until the midterms, a major new poll from The Times has found that swing voters are suddenly turning to the Republicans.The Times’s Nate Cohn explains what is behind the trend and what it could mean for Election Day.Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.Background reading: According to the Times/Siena College poll, American voters see democracy in peril, but saving it isn’t a priority.Despite Democrats’ focus on abortion rights, disapproval of President Biden seems to be hurting his party.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.A leaked audio recording of Latino lawmakers in Los Angeles making racist comments has created a political firestorm and brought demands for resignations.But not only has the uproar forced the authorities to reckon with what officials say behind closed doors, it has also raised a sharp issue: Why is a city with so many Latino constituents represented by so few of them?Guest: Shawn Hubler, a California correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The recording of the private conversation between three council members and a labor leader has already led to two resignations. Here’s what to know about the controversy.The disparaging remarks highlighted a history of racism within the Latino community.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since Hurricane Ian devastated southwestern Florida last month, residents have filed a record number of insurance claims for the damage caused by the storm.Today, Chris Flavelle, a climate reporter for The Times, discusses whether the insurance companies can survive. And if they can’t, what will the effect be on Florida’s housing market, the cornerstone of its economy?Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The hurricane’s record-breaking cost will make it even harder for many to get insurance, experts say — threatening home sales, mortgages and construction.Aerial videos and photos show the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian on Fort Myers Beach, Fla.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Herschel Walker, the former football star who is running for the Senate, is, according to the Times political reporter Maya King, a “demigod in Georgia sports and in Georgia culture.”The midterm election in that state is crucial — it could determine whether Democrats keep control of the Senate. Mr. Walker’s candidacy, however, has been tainted by a slew of stories about his character, including claims that he paid for an abortion for a former girlfriend despite publicly opposing the procedure.Guest: Maya King, a politics reporter covering the South for The New York Times.Background reading: How Republicans cast aside concerns and learned to love Mr. Walker.Will any of the allegations against Mr. Walker actually matter?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In July 2020, Stephanie Long, the school superintendent in Leland, Mich., wrote a heartfelt letter to her students and their families after George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers. Haunted by the images she’d seen in the media, she wrote: “Why be in a position of leadership,” she asked herself, “and not lead?”“All people of color,” Ms. Long typed, “need us to stand with them to clearly state that we condemn acts of systematic and systemic racism and intolerance.” She envisioned profound pedagogical changes in her school; she imagined creating illuminating discussions within classrooms and searching, transformative conversations in the community beyond. She hit send. A degree of support came in reply. A letter of praise signed by 200 Leland alumni was published in a peninsula newspaper.But angry emails, phone calls and letters poured in from within the district and, because Long’s message made the local news and spread over the internet, from across the country. They labeled her “a disgrace,” “a Marxist,” “a traitor.”Daniel Bergner, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, wrote about what happened when a superintendent in northern Michigan raised the issue of systemic racism.This story was written by Daniel Bergner recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

When Georgia flipped blue in the 2020 election, it gave Democrats new hope for the future. Credit for that success goes to Stacey Abrams and the playbook she developed for the state. It cemented her role as a national celebrity, in politics and pop culture. But, unsurprisingly, that celebrity has also made her a target of Republicans, who say she’s a losing candidate. On today’s episode: the Stacey Abrams playbook, and why the Georgia governor’s race means more to Democrats than a single elected office.“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

In 2019, Julia Longoria, then a Daily producer, traveled to Nashville to speak with Ella Maners and her mother, Katie Maners.Ella, 8 going on 9, was terrified of tornadoes and getting sick. So she did something that was even scarier than her fears: confront them at Fear Facers camp.We revisit her story and catch up with Ella, now 12 and in the fifth grade, who has since returned to the camp.Background reading: Three years ago, Ella spent a week at Fear Facers Summer Camp, a day camp in Florida that helps children learn to deal with obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains mention of suicide.A year ago, Lynsea Garrison, a senior producer on The Daily, started telling the story of N, a teenager in Afghanistan.N’s family tried to force her to marry a member of the Taliban, but she resisted. When she tried to escape to the U.S., however, her case was rejected, so she had to remain in Kabul, fearful and in hiding.Here’s what happened next.If you are having thoughts of suicide, and you live in the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources. Additional resources in other countries can be found here.Background reading: Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of N’s story, which we first began to follow after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.A single year of extremist rule has turned life upside down for Afghans, especially women.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Just before the sun came up on Saturday on the Kerch Strait Bridge, a strategically and symbolically important link between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, a bomb detonated, creating a giant fireball.But Ukrainian elation about the explosion quickly turned into concern about how Russia would respond. And in the days since, Moscow’s retaliation has been to pound Ukrainian cities with missiles in the most sweeping rocket assault since the start of the war.Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: President Vladimir V. Putin vowed that more strikes would follow if Russian targets were hit again.The hail of missiles also seemed intended to appease the hard-liners in Russia who are furious with the humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

To tackle its critical shortage of affordable housing, California has taken aim at a central tenet of the American dream: the single-family home.Telling the story of one such property, in San Diego, can teach us about the larger housing crisis and how we might solve it.Guest: Conor Dougherty, an economics reporter at The New York Times and author of “Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America.”Background reading: The transformation of 5120 Baxter Street in San Diego is a projection of California’s tighter, taller future.NIMBYs, referring to residents who fight nearby development — especially anything involving apartments — are often blamed for worsening the housing crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The search for intelligence beyond Earth has long entranced humans. According to Jon Gertner, a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, this search has been defined “by an assumption that extraterrestrials would have developed radio technologies akin to what humans have created.”However, Mr. Gertner writes, “rather than looking for direct calls to Earth, telescopes now sweep the sky, searching billions of frequencies simultaneously, for electronic signals whose origins can’t be explained by celestial phenomena.”What scientists are most excited about is the prospect of other planets’ civilizations being able to create the same “telltale chemical and electromagnetic signs,” or, as they are now called, “technosignatures.”This story was written by Jon Gertner and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

How the Republican grass roots got years ahead of a changing country, and whether the Democrats can catch up.“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music. 

If President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia follows through on his threats to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, he is likely to turn to a specific type.Tactical nuclear weapons have a fraction of the strength of the Hiroshima bomb and of the super bombs and city busters that people worried about during the Cold War.What exactly are these weapons, how did they develop and what would it mean if Mr. Putin resorted to them in the war in Ukraine?Guest: William J. Broad, a science reporter and senior writer for The New York Times. Background reading: American officials suspect that Mr. Putin is discovering that small nuclear weapons are hard to use, harder to control and a far better weapon of terror and intimidation than a weapon of war.Amid recent nuclear threats from Russia, President Biden calls “the prospect of Armageddon” the highest since the Cuban Missile Crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the struggle to control inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times already this year.But those efforts can be blunted if companies keep raising prices regardless. And one industry has illustrated that difficulty particularly starkly: the car market.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a federal reserve and economy reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Many companies have been able to raise prices beyond their own increasing costs over the past two years, swelling their profitability but also exacerbating inflation. That is especially true in the car market.Inflation stayed far above the Federal Reserve’s goal in August, as prices climbed more quickly than economists expected.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A few weeks into this year’s monsoon season in Pakistan, it became clear that the rains were unlike anything the country had experienced in a long time.The resulting once-in-a-generation flood has marooned entire villages and killed 1,500 people, leaving a trail of destruction, starvation and disease.Guest: Christina Goldbaum, an Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The flooding has crippled Pakistan’s agricultural sector, threatening a food crisis and dealing another critical blow to a country already in the economic doldrums.Farm laborers are scrambling to salvage whatever they can from the battered remains of their cotton and rice harvests. It is desperate work.More than 33 million people have been displaced, with vast areas of Pakistan likely to take months to dry out.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The last Supreme Court term was a blockbuster. The justices made a number of landmark rulings, including in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.The new term could be just as testing, with a series of deeply divisive cases on the docket.Guest: Adam Liptak, a correspondent covering the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times.Background reading: The six-justice conservative supermajority seems poised to dominate the Supreme Court’s new term as it did the earlier one.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Latino voters have never seemed more electorally important than in the coming midterm elections: the first real referendum on the Biden era of government.Latinos make up 20 percent of registered voters in two crucial Senate races — Arizona and Nevada — and as much or more in over a dozen competitive House races.In the past 10 years, the conventional wisdom about Latino voters has been uprooted. We explore a poll, conducted by The Times, to better understand how they view the parties vying for their vote.Guest: Jennifer Medina, a national politics reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Two years after former President Donald Trump made surprising gains with Hispanic voters, Republican dreams of a major realignment have failed to materialize, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In September 2021, a group of female minority students at Arizona State University confronted two white male students who were studying in the library’s multicultural center.The women were upset with what they saw as blatant antagonism: One of the men sported a “Didn’t Vote for Biden” shirt, the other had a “Police Lives Matter” laptop sticker. The women felt they had chosen the multicultural center in order to rile them. A heated row between both parties erupted, a video of which quickly went viral, threatening to upend the lives of all involved.For The New York Times, Sarah Viren, a journalist and essayist, explored the incident in the context of “the widening gyre of the culture wars.” The row at Arizona State was, she explained, “a symbolic fight,” one that raised questions of “wokeism” and “free speech,” the perils of viral videos, and the purpose of “safe spaces.”“It was a brief drama that was also a metaphor,” Ms. Viren wrote. “But watching and rewatching that drama unfold from my computer, I kept asking myself: a metaphor for what?”This story was written by Sarah Viren and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Why we can’t understand this moment in politics without first understanding the transformation of American evangelicalism.“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

As the sun came up over Florida yesterday, a fuller picture began to emerge of the destruction that Hurricane Ian had inflicted on the state and its residents.The Category 4 storm washed away roads, bridges, cars, boats and homes. The damage is so extensive that, according to the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, it may take years to rebuild.Guests: Patricia Mazzei, the Miami bureau chief for The New York Times; Richard Fausset, a Times correspondent based in Atlanta; Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, a national news reporter for The Times; and Hilary Swift, a photojournalist.Background reading: Data from NASA reveals how warm ocean waters in the Gulf of Mexico provided the fuel that turned Hurricane Ian into such a potent force.The scale of the wreckage was staggering, even to Florida residents who had survived and rebuilt after other powerful hurricanes.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Kirill, 24, works at a nonprofit for homeless people in the Moscow region. He does not support the policies of President Vladimir V. Putin and is vehemently against the invasion of Ukraine.After suffering setbacks in the war, Mr. Putin announced a military draft a week ago. Kirill was among those called up. As he hides out to avoid being served his papers, Kirill spoke to Sabrina Tavernise about how his life has changed.Guest: Kirill, a 24-year-old from Moscow who is attempting to avoid the draft and who asked that only his first name be used to avoid reprisals.Background reading: In a rare admission of official mistakes, the Kremlin has acknowledged that the military draft has been rife with problems.Resistance to the draft has grown as villagers, activists and even some elected officials ask why the conscription drive appears to be hitting minority groups and rural areas harder than the big cities.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Mahsa Amini, 22, traveled from her hometown in the province of Kurdistan to the Iranian capital, Tehran, this month. Emerging from the subway, she was arrested for failing to cover her hair modestly enough. Three days later, she was dead.The anger over Ms. Amini’s death has prompted days of rage, exhilaration and street battles across Iran, with women stripping off their head scarves — and even burning them — in the most significant outpouring of dissent against the ruling system in more than a decade.Guest: Farnaz Fassihi, a reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The protests have been striking for the way they have cut across ethnic and social class divides, but there is one group that has risen up with particular fury.Beyond the anger over Ms. Amini’s death lies a range of grievances: a collapsing economy, brazen corruption, suffocating repression, and social restrictions handed down by a handful of elderly clerics.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

During the pandemic, an enormous amount of money — about $5 trillion in total — was spent to help support the newly unemployed and to prop up the U.S. economy while it was forced into suspension.But the funds came with few strings and minimal oversight. The result: one of the largest frauds in American history, with billions of dollars stolen by thousands of people.Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, focused on nonprofits.Background reading: Investigators say there was so much fraud in federal Covid-relief programs that — even after two years of work and hundreds of prosecutions — they’re still just getting started.A federal watchdog almost tripled its estimate of the amount of unemployment benefits paid out to people who weren’t entitled to them, raising the figure to $45.6 billion, from $16 billion.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The high poverty rate among children was long seen as an enduring fact of American life. But a recent analysis has shown that the number of young people growing up poor has fallen dramatically in the past few decades.The reasons for the improvement are complicated, but they have their roots in a network of programs and support shaped by years of political conflict and compromise.Guest: Jason DeParle, a senior writer at The New York Times and a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine. Background reading: Child poverty in the United States has fallen 59 percent since 1993, a new analysis showed.Few states have experienced larger declines in child poverty than West Virginia. One family’s story illustrates the real-life impact that an expanded safety net has provided to millions across America.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The concept of having a “body clock” is a familiar one, but less widespread is the awareness that our body contains several biological clocks. Understanding their whims and functions may help us optimize our lives and lead to better overall health, according to scientists.Every physiological system is represented by a clock, from the liver to the lungs, and each one is synced “to the central clock in the brain like an orchestra section following its conductor,” writes Kim Tingley, a New York Times journalist who explored the effect this knowledge has on how conditions are treated, and spoke to scientists about how misalignment or deregulation of these clocks can have a profound effect on our health.Exploring the components that dictate our lives, and how they work together like the “gears in a mechanical watch,” Ms. Tingley builds a case for the importance of paying attention to all our circadian rhythms — and not just when it comes to monitoring our sleep.This story was written by Kim Tingley and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In kicking off the midterms, Joe Biden talked about American democracy as a shared value, enshrined in the country’s founding — a value that both Democrats and Republicans should join together in defending. But there is another possible view of this moment. One that is shared by two very different groups: the voters who propelled Biden to the presidency … and the conservative activists who are rejecting democracy altogether.“The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.   

Evangelicals make up about a quarter of the population in the United States and are part of the nation’s largest religious group. But lately the movement is in crisis.The biggest issue is church attendance. Many churches closed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and struggled to reopen while congregations thinned.But a smaller audience isn’t the only problem: Pastors are quitting, or at least considering doing so. Guest: Ruth Graham is a national correspondent covering religion, faith and values for The New York Times.Background reading: Across the country, theologically conservative white evangelical churches that were once comfortably united are at odds over many of the same issues dividing the Republican Party and other institutions.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In a speech on Wednesday, President Vladimir V. Putin said that he would require hundreds of thousands more Russians to fight in Ukraine — and alarmed the West by once again raising the specter of nuclear force.The mobilization signals that Mr. Putin is turning the war from one of aggression to one of defense, offering clues about what the next phase of the fighting will involve.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Accelerating his war effort, Mr. Putin accused the West of trying to “weaken, divide and ultimately destroy” Russia.American and other officials vowed to continue sending military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Last week, nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants showed up, without warning, on the wealthy island of Martha’s Vineyard.Their arrival was the culmination of a monthslong strategy by two of the United States’ most conservative governors to lay the issue of undocumented immigration at Democrats’ doorstep.How has this strategy played out and what has it meant for the migrants caught in the middle?Guest: Miriam Jordan, a national correspondent covering immigration for The New York Times.Background reading: Scores of migrants have been shipped north by southern Republican governors. Here’s what you need to know.Martha’s Vineyard, the moneyed summer resort, has become an unlikely arena in the fight over illegal immigration.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Adnan Syed was accused of the 1999 killing of his classmate and ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, whose body was found buried in a car park in Baltimore.He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison but has proclaimed his innocence for the last 23 years.Mr. Syed was the subject of the first season of the podcast “Serial,” which painstakingly examined his case and the evidence against him.Yesterday, his conviction was overturned. On today’s episode, the “Serial” team looks at how this happened. Guest: Sarah Koenig, the host and executive producer of the “Serial” podcast.Background reading: Mr. Syed had been serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of his high school classmate Hae Min Lee. Here is the timeline of his legal journey.A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge vacated Mr. Syed’s conviction “in the interests of justice and fairness.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth today will be one of the most extraordinary public spectacles of the last several decades in Britain, accompanied by an outpouring of sadness, reverence and respect.But the end of the queen’s 70-year reign has also prompted long-delayed conversations about the future of the Commonwealth and of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: In Commonwealth nations with British colonial histories, Queen Elizabeth’s death has rekindled discussions about a more independent future.The loss of the beloved figurehead has left many in Britain anxious and unmoored, unsure of their nation’s identity, its economic and social well-being, or even its role in the world.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

“Nobody’s gonna know. They’re gonna know.”If you’ve been on TikTok in the past year, you’re most likely familiar with these two sentences, first drolly uttered in a post by TikTok creator Chris Gleason in 2020. The post has become a hit and has been viewed more than 14 million times.But the sound is more famous than the video.When uploading a video to TikTok, the creator has the option to make that video’s audio a “sound” that other users can easily use in their own videos — lip-syncing to it, adding more noise on top of it or treating it like a soundtrack. Gleason’s sound has been used in at least 336,000 other videos, to humorous, dramatic and sometimes eerie effect.The journalist Charlotte Shane delves into the world of repurposed sounds, exploring how TikTok and other apps have enabled, as she writes in her recent article for The Times, “cross-user riffing and engagement, like quote-tweeting for audio.” She also considers “what makes a sound compelling beyond musical qualities or linguistic meaning.”While “brainfeel” may be an apt buzzword for the sensation audio memes elicit, Ms. Shane writes, it is more than a mere trend: We have entered the “era of the audio meme.”This story was written by Charlotte Shane and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

It’s March 2013. The G.O.P., in tatters, issues a scathing report blaming its electoral failures on an out-of-touch leadership that ignores minorities at its own peril. Just three years later, Donald Trump proves his party dead wrong. Today, how certain assumptions took hold of both parties — and what they’re still getting wrong — heading into the midterm elections.

The adoption of electric cars has been hailed as an important step in curbing the use of fossil fuels and fighting climate change. There is a snag, however: such vehicles require around six times as many metals as their gasoline-powered counterparts.A giant storehouse of the necessary resources sits at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. But retrieving them may, in turn, badly damage the environment.Guest: Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Mining in the Pacific Ocean was meant to benefit poorer countries, but an international agency gave a Canadian company access to seabed sites.Miles below the surface, harvesting metallic nodules may threaten animals found nowhere else on the planet.Here are some of the seabed authority emails and other documents The Times assembled as it worked on its investigation of seabed mining.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

With the midterm elections a few weeks away, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, forwarded a plan to save his party from the growing backlash over abortion.But the proposal — a federal ban on almost all terminations after 15 weeks — has served mostly to expose the division among Republicans about the issue.Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Graham’s effort has reignited debate on an issue that Republicans have worked to confront before midterm elections in which abortion rights have become a potent issue.The rejection of Mr. Graham’s bill was the latest misfire in the party’s struggle to unite behind a clear strategy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

When President Biden canceled college debt last month, he left untouched the problem that created that debt: the soaring price of college.In the 1980s, the list price of undergraduate education at a private four-year institution could hit $20,000 a year. At some of these schools in the last couple of years, it has topped $80,000. Why has a college education become increasingly costly, and why has that become such a difficult problem to solve?Guest: Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist for The New York Times and author of “The Price You Pay for College.”Background reading: Instead of making higher education free, the United States subsidizes it later through repayment plans and attempts at debt cancellation. The complexity is disrespectful, Ron Lieber writes in his “Your Money” column.Also from “Your Money”: Student loan borrowers don’t deserve “forgiveness,” they deserve an apology. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s military stunned the world. After months of a kind of stalemate, its military took hundreds of miles of territory back from Russia — its biggest victory since the start of the war.How did the war reach this critical point, and what does Ukraine’s success mean for the future?Guest: Eric Schmitt, a correspondent covering national security for The New York Times.Background reading: A lightning Ukrainian offensive in the country’s northeast has reshaped what had become a grinding war of attrition.Stunned by a lightning advance, Russia has acknowledged the loss of the northern region of Kharkiv, which cast doubt on the premise that Ukraine could never defeat it. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The U.S. Open crowned its winners this weekend. But for a lot of fans, this year’s competition was less about who won, and more about a player who wasn’t even involved in the final matches.Serena Williams, who announced last month that she’d be retiring from tennis after this year’s tournament, has made an indelible impact on her sport and left a legacy away from the court that has very little precedent.Guest: Wesley Morris, a critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of Times podcast “Still Processing.”Background reading: At the U.S. Open, Serena Williams laughed, rocked sparkly shoes, rang the bell at the stock exchange, beat two opponents, teared up and said goodbye. Here’s an exploration of her magical last week in tennis.As Ms. Williams played her final matches, women have seen their own lives reflected in the triumphs and trials of the tennis superstar.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank in California, has in recent years become increasingly influential in Republican circles. In 2016, its goal was to turn Donald J. Trump into a legitimate candidate — and then it did .The journalist Elisabeth Zerofsky traces the origins of the divisive organization, explaining how it made the intellectual case for Trumpism but also how, with ties to Ron DeSantis and John Eastman, the think tank has become a home for “counterrevolutionary” politics that go far beyond the former president.This story was written by Elisabeth Zerofsky and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday brought to an end a remarkable reign that spanned seven decades, 15 prime ministers and 14 American presidents.During her time on the throne, which saw the crumbling of the British Empire and the buffeting of the royal family by scandals, Elizabeth’s courtly and reserved manner helped to shore up the monarchy and provided an unwavering constant for her country, the Commonwealth and the wider world.Guest: Alan Cowell, a contributor to The New York Times and a former Times foreign correspondent.Background reading: Amid social and economic upheaval across her 70-year reign, the queen remained unshakably committed to the rituals of her role.Her heir, Charles, was long an uneasy prince. But he comes to the throne, at 73, as a self-assured, gray-haired eminence.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As California watches the impact of rising temperatures devastate its environment with brutal heat waves and raging fires, the state is taking increasingly far-reaching steps to combat climate change.One of those measures — banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 — could prove a turning point for the transition to electric vehicles.Guest: Neal E. Boudette, an automotive correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Not only is California the largest auto market in the United States, but more than a dozen other states also typically follow California’s lead when setting their own auto emissions standards.Automakers such as General Motors have equally ambitious aspirations for electric cars, but moving away from internal-combustion vehicles will not be easy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces to try to drive Russian troops out of southern Ukraine has placed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, directly in the path of the fighting.As the world scrambles to prevent a catastrophe, the plant’s workers find themselves in a dangerously precarious position.Guest: Marc Santora, an international news editor for The New York Times, currently based in Kyiv. Background reading: Renewed shelling has put the Zaporizhzhia plant at risk despite the presence of U.N. monitors, underscoring what the International Atomic Energy Agency has called the “unprecedented” peril of the moment.The U.N. inspectors have called for a security protection zone around the plant. The risks are grave for all involved.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In November, Americans will head to the polls for the first nationwide election since the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. But what happens this fall won’t just be about who wins and who loses. On the first episode of "The Run-Up,” host Astead Herndon lays out the stakes of the midterm elections and explores the big questions the podcast is looking to answer. “The Run-Up” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. You can follow it wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

Today marks the unofficial start of the campaign for the midterm elections. This year’s midterms will be the first major referendum on the Biden era of government — and a test of how much voters want to reinstall the Trump wing of the Republican Party.On today’s episode, Astead W. Herndon, a political reporter and the host of our new podcast, “The Run-Up,” offers a guide to the campaign. He’ll explore the forces at play in this election and how we arrived at such a fraught moment in American politics.Background reading: Listen to the premiere of "The Run-Up," a podcast dedicated to the 2022 midterms.Democratic leaders, once beaten down by the prospect of a brutal midterm election in the fall, sense a shift in the political winds. But it may not be enough.Heading into 2022, Republicans were confident of a red wave. But now some are signaling concern that the referendum they anticipated on President Biden is being complicated by former President Donald Trump.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

 An influx of Fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic narcotic, has aggravated the opioid crisis in the United States and prompted communities to scramble for ways to lower the skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths.In Vancouver, a Canadian city that has been at the forefront of innovative approaches to drug use, a novel and surprising tactic is being tried: It’s called “safer supply.”Guest: Stephanie Nolen, a global health reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The mounting toll of overdose deaths has spurred a search for new solutions, and Vancouver has tried more of them, faster, than anywhere else.Why is fentanyl so deadly? How can you ensure that your loved ones, including your children, stay safe? Experts offer tips to talk about opioids with your family.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Few leaders have had as profound an effect on their time as Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died this week at 91.It was not Mr. Gorbachev’s intention to liquidate the Soviet empire when he came to power in 1985. But after little more than six tumultuous years, he had lifted the Iron Curtain and presided over the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, ending the Cold War.Guest: Serge Schmemann, a member of The New York Times’s editorial board.Background reading: Adopting principles of glasnost and perestroika, Mr. Gorbachev weighed the legacy of seven decades of Communist rule and set a new course, decisively altering the political climate of the world.With the war in Ukraine, Russia’s current leader, Vladimir V. Putin, is trying to unravel Mr. Gorbachev’s legacy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains detailed descriptions of a mass shooting that some listeners may find disturbing.A trial is underway in Parkland, Fla., to determine the fate of the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.The trial is expected to last for months, forcing people in Parkland to relive the pain of a day they have spent years trying to put behind them.We look back at conversations with some of the survivors of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Guest: Jack Healy, a national correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The rare trial of a gunman in a mass shooting has underscored how massacres shatter families and communities over time.As weeks of painful testimony and videos unfold to determine whether the Parkland gunman will face the death penalty, students who spoke out about gun violence have encouraged engagement and changed the national debate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains discussions about suicide, self-harm and mental health issues.In decades past, the public health risks teenagers in the United States faced were different. They were externalized risks that were happening in the physical world.Now, a new set of risks has emerged.In 2019, 13 percent of adolescents reported having a major depressive episode, a 60 percent increase from 2007. And suicide rates, which had been stable from 2000 to 2007 among this group, leaped nearly 60 percent by 2018.We explore why this mental health crisis has become so widespread, and why many people have been unprepared to handle it.Guest: Matt Richtel, a correspondent based in San Francisco for The New York Times.Background reading: Depression, self-harm and suicide are rising among American adolescents. The coronavirus pandemic intensified the decline in mental health among teenagers but predated it.Increasingly, anxious and depressed teens are using multiple, powerful psychiatric drugs, many of them untested in adolescents or for use in tandem.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since he left office, former President Donald J. Trump has been facing several investigations.They include the congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol and the F.B.I.’s search of Mar-a-Lago, his club and Florida residence, as part of an investigation into his handling of classified material.Of all the government investigations, the one that is receiving the least attention — a case being made by a local prosecutor in Georgia — may end up being the most consequential.Guest: Richard Fausset, a correspondent based in Atlanta for The New York Times.Background reading: Over a year into a criminal investigation of election interference by Mr. Trump and his allies, a Georgia prosecutor is beginning to show the broad contours of her inquiry.Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta area district attorney, is seeking to build a broad conspiracy case that encompasses multifaceted efforts by Trump allies to disrupt and overturn the 2020 election.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Going to college can be a shock to most: Leaving the comfort of friends and family for a leap into the unknown, a fresh start. But what is the university experience like as a refugee?The journalist Maddy Crowell met some of the 148 Afghan women who have been enrolled in U.S. colleges to complete their degrees, and relates how they have adapted to American and collegiate life a year on from the fall of Kabul.It has, she finds, been far from easy. Ms. Crowell wrote that one student said “she spent her days pinballing among exhaustion, despair and a sort of cautious optimism.”This story was written by Maddy Crowell and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

President Biden’s announcement this week that he would cancel chunks of student loan debt stands to have a major impact for many of the 45 million Americans who owe $1.6 trillion for having gone to college.Who will benefit from the plan, what will the cost be to the taxpayer and the economy, and, ultimately, could the White House have done more?Guest: Stacy Cowley, a finance reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The plan for student loan forgiveness comes after months of deliberations in the White House over fairness and concerns that it could exacerbate inflation before the midterm elections.The move has kicked off heated fiscal debate and raised the possibility of opening a deep political rift.Here’s what you need to know about Mr. Biden’s proposal.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Daria Dugina and her father, Aleksandr Dugin, have been major figures in the Russian propaganda landscape, advocating Russian imperialism and supporting the invasion of Ukraine.But a few days ago, Ms. Dugina was killed in a car bomb after leaving a nationalist festival, fueling speculation about who carried out the attack and whether Moscow’s reaction could affect the war in Ukraine.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The clamor over the killing of Ms. Dugina highlights the prominence of her fellow pro-war Russian ultranationalists.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Across industries and income brackets, a growing number of American workers are discovering that their productivity is being electronically monitored by their bosses.This technology is giving employers a means to gauge what their employees are doing and it’s already impacting how much and when people get paid.Times investigative reporters have discovered that this tracking software is more common than one might think.Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Across industries and incomes, more employees are being tracked, recorded and ranked. What is gained, companies say, is efficiency and accountability. What is lost?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Even as the anti-abortion movement celebrates victories at the Supreme Court and in many states across the country, there is debate about where to go next.A hard-edge faction is pursuing “abortion abolition,” a move to criminalize abortion from conception, targeting not only the providers but also the women who have the procedure.Guest: Elizabeth Dias, a correspondent covering faith and politics for The New York Times.Background reading: Abortion “abolitionists” are looking to gain followers after the decision to overturn Roe, unsettling mainstream anti-abortion groups.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more than 500 days, coal miners in rural Alabama have been on strike. Around 900 workers walked off the job in April 2021, and they haven’t been back since.As the strike drags on, the miners are discovering that neither political party is willing to fight for them.For Braxton Wright, 39, a second-generation coal miner and, until recently, a Republican, the experience has altered his view of American politics.Guest: Michael Corkery, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: To make ends meet, some striking coal miners in Alabama have picked up work at an Amazon warehouse. It’s the same one where workers have tried to unionize.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the past decade, planting trees has come to represent many things: a virtuous act, a practical solution and a symbol of hope in the face of climate change. But can planting a trillion trees really save the world?Visiting the Eden Reforestation Projects in Goiás, Brazil, and interviewing numerous international scientists and activists, the journalist Zach St. George offers a vivid insight into the root of the tree-planting movement — from the Green Belt Movement of the 1970s to the Trillion Tree Campaign of the 2010s — and considers the concept’s environmental potential, as well as the movement’s shortcomings.This story was written by Zach St. George and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

What is a black hole? Why do we remember the past but not the future? If time had a beginning, does it have an end?We don’t have the answers to some of the universe’s biggest questions. What we do know often feels bleak, such as the notion that in a billion years there will most likely be no life on Earth. Or the reality that someday the entire human race will probably be forgotten.Nonetheless, people search for answers. These are some of the cosmic questions that haunt the human experience.Guest: Dennis Overbye, the cosmic affairs correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: When the largest space observatory ever built sent its images back to Earth, here’s what astronomers saw.In space you can’t hear a black hole scream, but apparently you can hear it sing. Hear what that sounds like.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Last week, the F.B.I. took the extraordinary step of searching Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald J. Trump’s private club and Florida home. Their goal? To find materials he was thought to have improperly removed from the White House, including classified documents.An inventory of the material taken from the search showed that agents seized 11 sets of documents with some type of confidential or secret marking on them.We explore some of the latest developments in the case.Guest: Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump and his allies have given often conflicting defenses of his retention of classified documents. These shifting explanations follow a familiar playbook.The Justice Department’s warrant for the search and two critical supporting memos shed considerable light on the Mar-a-Lago investigation.Here’s a timeline of the former president’s false and misleading statements on the search.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Across the United States, airline travel this summer has been roiled by canceled flights, overbooked planes, disappointment and desperation.Two and a half years after the pandemic began and with restrictions easing, why is flying still such an unpleasant experience?Guest: Niraj Chokshi, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The question for many travelers is whether they can trust airlines to get them where they want to go on time. Here is what to know about the air travel mess.Travelers on both sides of the Atlantic have endured long lines, delays or cancellations, and plenty of frustration. Is this the new normal?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

One year ago this week, when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, they promised to institute a modern form of Islamic government that honored women’s rights.That promise evaporated with a sudden decision to prohibit girls from going to high school, prompting questions about which part of the Taliban is really running the country.Guest: Matthieu Aikins, a writer based in Afghanistan for The New York Times and the author of “The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees.”Background reading: After barring girls from high school — and harboring a leader of Al Qaeda — the Taliban risks jeopardizing the billions of dollars of global aid that keeps Afghans alive.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Carried interest is a loophole in the United States tax code that has stood out for its egregious unfairness and stunning longevity. Typically, the richest of the rich pay 40 percent tax on their income. The very narrow, select group that benefits from carried interest pays only 20 percent. Earlier versions of the Inflation Reduction Act targeted carried interest. But the loophole has survived. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, demanded her party get rid of efforts to eliminate it in exchange for her support. How has the carried interest loophole lasted so long despite its obvious unfairness? Guest: Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist for The New York Times and the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook.Background reading: What is the carried interest loophole and why hasn’t it been closed by now?Ms. Sinema’s puzzling defense of the loophole.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It was a long-shot bet on liquid natural gas, but it paid off handsomely — and turned the United States into a leading fossil-fuel exporter.The journalist Jake Bittle delves into the storied career of Charif Souki, the Lebanese American entrepreneur whose aptitude for risk changed the course of the American energy business.The article outlines how Mr. Souki rose from being a Los Angeles restaurant owner to becoming the co-founder and chief executive of Cheniere Energy, an oil and gas company that specialized in liquefied natural gas, and provides an insight into his thought process: “As Souki sees it,” Mr. Bittle writes, “the need to provide the world with energy in the short term outweighs the long-term demand of acting on carbon emissions.”In a time of acute climate anxiety, Mr. Souki’s rationale could strike some as outdated, even brazen. The world may be facing energy and climate crises, Mr. Souki told The New York Times, “but one is going to happen this month, and the other one is going to happen in 40 years.”“If you tell somebody, ‘You are going to run out of electricity this month,’ and then you talk to the same person about what’s going to happen in 40 years,” he said, “they will tell you, ‘What do I care about 40 years from now?’”This story was written by Jake Bittle and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

Five years ago, after decades of resistance, the Boy Scouts of America made a momentous change, allowing girls to participate. Since then, tens of thousands have joined.Today we revisit a story, first aired in 2017, about 10-year-old twins deciding which group to join, and find out what’s happened to them since.Background reading: In 2017, the decision to open up the Boy Scouts was celebrated by many women but criticized by the Girl Scouts, which said that girls flourish in all-female groups.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language and descriptions of an abortion.With the end of Roe v. Wade, Louisiana has become one of the most difficult places in the United States to get an abortion. The barriers are expected to disproportionately affect Black women, the largest group to get abortions in the state.Today, we speak to Tara Wicker and Lakeesha Harris, two women in Louisiana whose lives led them to very different positions in the fight over abortion access.Background reading: The Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe, far from settling the matter, has kindled court and political battles that are likely to go on for years.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Monday, federal agents descended on Mar-a-Lago, the private club and Florida home of former President Donald J. Trump, reportedly looking for classified documents and presidential papers.Trump supporters expressed outrage about the agency’s actions, while many Democrats reacted with glee. But what do we know about the search, and what comes next?Guest: Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The search at Mar-a-Lago was the culmination of a lengthy conflict between a president proud of his disdain for rules and officials charged with protecting the nation’s records and secrets.Experts say that the Justice Department would have carefully weighed the decision to carry out the search, suggesting that the investigation is serious and fairly advanced.Here is the timeline leading up to the search.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This weekend, Democrats passed legislation that would make historic investments to fight climate change and lower the cost of prescription drugs — paid for by raising taxes on businesses.How did the party finally make progress on the bill, and what effects will it have?Guest: Emily Cochrane, a Washington-based correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Here’s what is in the climate, tax and health care package.How Senator Joe Manchin turned from a holdout into a deal maker.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains descriptions of distressing scenes. In a landmark ruling, a jury in Texas ordered Alex Jones, America’s most prominent conspiracy theorist, to pay millions of dollars to the parents of a boy killed at Sandy Hook for the damage caused by his lies about the mass shooting.What is the significance of the trial, and will it do anything to change the world of lies and misinformation?Guest: Elizabeth Williamson, a feature writer based in the Washington bureau of The New York Times.Background reading: What to know about the defamation case against Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist who used his Infowars media company to spread lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting.The parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook shooting were awarded $45.2 million in punitive damages at the conclusion of the trial. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The more he insisted that his name was Joshua, the more delusional he came to be seen.Journalist Robert Kolker tells us the remarkable story of Joshua Spriestersbach, a homeless man who wound up serving more than two years in a Honolulu jail for crimes committed by someone else.It was a case of mistaken identity that developed into “a slow-motion game of hot potato between the police, the courts, the jails and the hospitals,” Mr. Kolker writes. He delves into how homelessness and mental illness shaped Mr. Spriestersbach’s adult life, two factors that led him into a situation in which he had little control — a bureaucratic wormhole that commandeered and consumed two and a half years of his life.This story was written by Robert Kolker and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Charles Falls Jr., known as Chillie, loves to take cruises. But Covid, as it has done for so many, left him marooned at home in Virginia.As he told Cristal Duhaime, a producer at the Times podcast First Person, as soon as restrictions eased, he eagerly planned a return to the waves. But for Chillie, who suffers from prostate cancer, resuming his beloved travels — particularly aboard the cramped quarters of a cruise ship, most people’s idea of a pandemic nightmare — was especially perilous.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains mention of sexual assault. Kansas this week became the first U.S. state since the fall of Roe v. Wade to put the question of abortion directly to the electorate.The result was resounding. Voters chose overwhelmingly to preserve abortion rights, an outcome that could have important political reverberations for the rest of the country.Guest: Mitch Smith, a correspondent covering the Midwest and the Great Plains for The New York Times.Background reading: The defeat of the ballot measure in Kansas was the most tangible demonstration yet of a political backlash against the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe.The result relied on a broad coalition of voters who turned out in huge numbers and crashed through party and geographic lines.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Democrats are meddling in Republican primaries this year to an unusual degree, attempting to elevate extremist candidates who they think will be easy to defeat in midterms in the fall.Nowhere has that strategy been more divisive than in the election for a House seat in Michigan.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The meddling in Republican primaries has prompted angry finger-pointing and a debate among Democrats over the perils and wisdom of the strategy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Monday, President Biden announced that the United States had killed Ayman al-Zawahri in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Al-Zawahri was the leader of Al Qaeda. A long time number two to Osama bin Laden and the intellectual spine of the terrorist group, he assumed power after bin Laden was killed by U.S. in 2011. Who was al-Zawahri, and what does his death mean for Afghanistan’s relationship with the United States and for the threat of global terrorism? Guest: Eric Schmitt, a senior correspondent covering national security for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The drone strike that killed al-Zawahri, a key plotter of the 9/11 attacks, capped a 21-year manhunt. Killed at 71, al-Zawahri led a life of secrecy and violence. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In mid-June, cases of monkeypox were in the double digits in the United States. There were drug treatments and vaccines against it. There didn’t seem to be any reason for alarm.But in the weeks since, the virus has spread rapidly across the country, with some local and state officials declaring public health emergencies.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Longstanding weaknesses in the American public health system are giving monkeypox a chance to become entrenched.Here are answers to three pressing questions about how the virus spreads and how it can be treated.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For generations, America’s major publishers focused almost entirely on white readers. Now a new cadre of executives is trying to open up the industry.The journalist Marcela Valdes spent a year reporting on what she described as “the problematic history of diversity in book publishing and the ways it has affected editors, authors and what you see (or don’t see) in bookstores.”Interviewing more than 50 current and former book professionals, as well as authors, Ms. Valdes learned about the previous unsuccessful attempts to cultivate Black audiences, and considered the intricacies of an industry culture that still struggles to “overcome the clubby, white elitism it was born in.”As one publishing executive puts it, the future of book publishing will be determined not only by its recent hires but also by how it answers this question: Instead of fighting over slices of a shrinking pie, can publishers work to make the readership bigger for everyone?This story was written by Marcela Valdes and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

For decades, Republicans have sought to make gains with a critical voting block: Latinos.Last month, when Mayra Flores was elected to Congress from Texas, she finally showed them a way to gain that support. Today, we explore what her campaign tells us about the future of the Latino vote.Guest: Jennifer Medina, a national reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Ms. Flores has leaned into her personal story to persuade voters with conservative values that it’s time to give the Republicans a try.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

To fight historic levels of inflation, the Federal Reserve this week, once again, raised interest rates, its most powerful weapon against rising prices.The move was intended to slow demand, but there was also a psychological factor: If consumers become convinced that inflation is a permanent feature of the economy, that might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a correspondent covering the Federal Reserve and the economy for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The Federal Reserve has pushed up borrowing costs at the fastest pace in decades.The New York Times invited readers to share their thoughts about the price rises and asked how much more inflation they expected.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains details of alleged sexual assault. In the past year, more than 20 women have accused the star N.F.L. quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct.Despite the allegations, Watson has signed one of the most lucrative contracts in the history of football, with the Cleveland Browns, and will take the field today for training camp.Guest: Jenny Vrentas, a sports reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The accusations have been frequent and startling: More than two dozen women have said that Watson harassed or assaulted them. Watson and his lawyers say the encounters were innocuous.N.F.L. players pay a small price when accused of violence against women, a peer-reviewed study has found.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Democrats introduced a bill to prevent the right to gay marriage from meeting the same fate as the right to abortion.The bill was expected to go nowhere, but it has won more and more Republican support and now seems to have a narrow path to enactment.Guest: Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Larger-than-expected Republican support in the House for legislation to codify marriage equality caught both parties off guard.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Born in response to the 2008 financial crisis, cryptocurrency was supposed be a form of money that eliminated the traditional gatekeepers who had overseen the tanking of the economy.But a crash in value recently has raised questions about cryptocurrency’s central promise.Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a reporter covering cryptocurrencies and fintech for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: No one wanted to miss out on the cryptocurrency mania. A global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars rose up practically overnight. Now it is crashing down.Celsius Network was managing more than $20 billion in assets. Last month, it became the latest crypto venture to spiral into a crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

How do you teach your child about sex? It’s a perennial question that has spawned hundreds of illustrated books meant to demystify sexual intercourse.But for the Canadian author Cory Silverberg, there was something lacking. Silverberg, who uses they/them pronouns, felt that books on sex aimed at children often omitted mention of intimacy in the context of disability or gender nonconformity. And so they set about making a book of their own.They wanted to tell a story of how babies are made that would apply to all kinds of children, whether they were conceived the traditional way or through reproductive technologies, whether they live with adoptive or biological parents, and no matter their family configuration.The book critic Elaine Blair, who had also felt that children’s literature on sex was a little thin on inclusivity, recalls being drawn in by the fact that Silverberg’s “Sex is a Funny Word” is one of few children’s books that contend with the fact that children encounter representations of sexuality in the media.Ms. Blair met up with Silverberg in Houston to understand the germ of the idea and the editorial process of delivering the book, from conception to print.This story was written by Elaine Blair and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

The Great Salt Lake is drying up.Soaring demand for water, exacerbated by drought and higher temperatures in the region, are shrinking the waters, which play such a crucial role in the landscape, ecology and weather of Salt Lake City and Utah.Can the lake be saved?Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Utah’s dilemma raises a core question as the United States heats up: How quickly are Americans willing to adapt to the effects of climate change, even as those effects become urgent, obvious, and potentially catastrophic?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A series of blockbuster hearings from the Jan. 6 committee has put growing pressure on Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to bring criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump over the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Before today’s committee hearing, we speak with Andrew D. Goldstein, one of the prosecutors who led the last major investigation into Mr. Trump, about why winning a case against the former president is such a challenge.Guest: Andrew Goldstein, a federal prosecutor who was part of the Mueller inquiry into Mr. Trump. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Mr. Trump has issued a rambling 12-page statement containing his usual mix of outlandish claims, hyperbole and outright falsehoods, but also, apparently, with something different: the beginnings of a legal defense.Robert S. Mueller III was often portrayed as the omnipotent fact-gatherer for his inquiry, but it was Mr. Goldstein who had a much more involved, day-to-day role. (Here’s our profile of Mr. Goldstein from 2019.)For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Across the United States, Republicans emboldened by the overturning of Roe v. Wade are passing laws intended to stop medical staff from providing an abortion.But those same laws may also be scaring health workers out of providing basic care for miscarriages.Guest: Pam Belluck, a health and science writer for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Although post-Roe laws are technically intended to apply only to abortions, some patients have reported hurdles receiving standard surgical procedures or medication for the loss of desired pregnancies.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A record-breaking heat wave is currently washing over Europe. In parts of Britain, the mercury has hit a freakishly high 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more.While that is happening, both Europe and the United States — two of the world’s largest contributors to global warming — are abandoning key commitments to limit emissions.Guest: Somini Sengupta, the international climate reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, an ardent champion of the fossil fuel industry, has almost single-handedly doused any hopes of immediate climate action in Washington.The European Parliament recently endorsed labeling some gas and nuclear energy projects “green.” Critics said it would prolong the reliance on fossil fuels.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the past, President Biden has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for its human rights abuses and said that he would never meet with its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.But Mr. Biden’s first trip as president to the Middle East included talks with the prince. What prompted the change in course?Guest: Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Mr. Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia garnered scathing criticism and modest accords.An unspoken result of Mr. Biden’s meeting with Prince Mohammed: A setback in the case of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

People heading to court often turn to the internet for guidance. In so doing, many come across the work of Justin Paperny, who dispenses advice on his YouTube channel. His videos offer preparation advice and help manage expectations, while providing defendants information to be able to hold their current lawyers accountable, and to try to negotiate a lighter sentence.Mr. Paperny, a former financial criminal, also leads White Collar Advice with his partner Michael Santos, another former convict. The firm is made up of 12 convicted felons who each have their own consulting specialty based on where they served time and their own sentencing experiences.The journalist Jack Hitt relates the story of the two men and the details of their firm, which “fills a need in 21st-century America.” It is, Mr. Hitt writes, “a natural market outgrowth of a continuing and profound shift in America’s judicial system.”This story was written by Jack Hitt recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Ancient galaxies carpeting the sky like jewels on black velvet. Fledgling stars shining out from deep within cumulus clouds of interstellar dust. Hints of water vapor in the atmosphere of a remote exoplanet.This week, NASA released new images captured from a point in space one million miles from Earth.Today, we discuss the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s most powerful space observatory, its journey to launch and what it can teach us about the universe.Guest: Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Here are more scenes of the universe captured by the Webb telescope.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In recent days, the political crisis in Sri Lanka has reached a critical point, with its president fleeing the country and protesters occupying his residence and office. Today, “The Daily” explores how the island nation, whose economy was once held up as a success story in South Asia, came apart — and why it’s a cautionary tale.Guest: Emily Schmall, a South Asia correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Yesterday, mass demonstrations and tear gas filled the streets of Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, and late into the night, protesters clashed with the police outside Parliament.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For months, leaders of the Democratic Party and President Biden have been bracing for huge losses in the upcoming midterm elections. Today, “The Daily” explores a new New York Times poll that complicates that thinking — and could set the stage for a very different showdown in November.Guest: Nate Cohn, a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Here’s what a new Times poll shows about divisions and dissatisfaction in the United States.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Last week, Elon Musk announced that he was pulling out of his $44 billion agreement to purchase Twitter. Today, we explore why a company that once tried to fend off this acquisition is now trying to force Mr. Musk to buy it.Guest: Kate Conger, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Why Mr. Musk is leaving Twitter worse off than it was when he said he would buy it.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the court’s conservative majority argued it was simply handing the question of abortion to the states and their voters to decide for themselves.But in reality, the court was ensuring that many states, from Arizona to Ohio, would immediately ban the procedure without much debate, because their legislatures are now dominated by hard-line Republicans. Today, we tell the story of how those Republican legislators achieved that dominance.Guest: Kate Zernike, a political reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: How the beginning of the end of Roe v. Wade arrived on election night in November 2010.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Warning of imminent ecological catastrophe, the Earth Liberation Front became notorious in the late 1990s for setting fire to symbols of ecological destruction, including timber mills, an S.U.V. dealership and a ski resort. The group was widely demonized. Its exploits were condemned by mainstream environmental groups, ridiculed by the media and inspired a furious crackdown from law enforcement.But in 2022 the group is more relevant than ever. These days even America’s mainstream environmental movement has begun to take a more confrontational approach, having previously confined its activities largely to rallies, marches and other lawful forms of protest. Even the “staid” environmental groups based in Washington have slowly started to embrace more radical tactics. Climate activists are starting to abandon their dogmatic attachment to pacifism, choosing instead to work toward destroying the “machines” inflicting the damage — but will such a radical idea prove effective?The journalist Matthew Wolfe delves into the world of the activists, and questions the future of environmental activism.This story was written by Matthew Wolfe and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

After a flurry of ministerial resignations and calls from members of his own party for his departure, Boris Johnson agreed on Thursday to resign as prime minister of Britain.During his tenure, Mr. Johnson survived a series of scandals and skated past a lot of bad news. But even he was unable to maneuver his way out of his latest misstep.Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Mr. Johnson’s resignation brought a messy end to a messy three-year tenure.Here’s a guide to why he was forced out and who might succeed him.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, a group of conservative lawyers embarked on what would become a decades-long mission to reverse the ruling.One of those lawyers, James Bopp, explains how they succeeded and what comes next.Guest: James Bopp, general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision reflected a polarized nation: jubilation and relief on one side, outrage and grief on the other. Both sides quickly pivoted to the fights ahead.Reversing the ruling in Roe v. Wade, far from settling the matter, has instead kindled court and political battles across the states that are likely to go on for years.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Brittney Griner, the American W.N.B.A. star who has been detained in Russia since February, recently sent a letter to President Biden. “I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote.The White House vowed to use “every tool” to bring Ms. Griner back to the United States, but organizing her release is a tricky proposition, complicated not least by Washington’s break with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.Guest: Michael Crowley, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Brittney Griner has endured months in a Russian prison and faces the threat of years more.Her letter to Mr. Biden asked him to keep her case in mind. “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home,” she wrote.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

President Biden has heralded the recent gun safety bill as the most significant federal attempt to reduce gun violence in 30 years.But after a gunman opened fire from a rooftop onto a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb, questions abound about what the landmark legislation will — and will not — achieve.Guest: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington correspondent covering health policy for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Six people were killed and dozens more wounded in the deadly shooting at a parade in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The police have taken a 22-year-old man into custody.Gun violence researchers have waged an often-frustrating battle to translate their findings into public policy.Here’s what is in the gun safety law — officially called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — and what was left out.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A little over 50 years ago, Nancy Stearns, a young lawyer, was presenting a case in New York with a bold legal assertion: that the right to abortion was fundamental to equal rights for women.She never got to conclude her argument — first New York changed the law, then came Roe v. Wade. Now, with Roe overturned, she describes how it feels to watch the right to terminate a pregnancy fall away.Guest: Nancy Stearns, a lawyer who used an argument of equal rights to challenge the constitutionality of abortion bans.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The United States almost took a different path toward abortion rights. Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz was the first case in the country to challenge a state’s strict abortion law on behalf of women.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

At the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European leaders painted the battle in stark moral terms, imposing harsh sanctions against Russia and talking about President Volodymyr Zelensky as a hero.But as the war drags on, different conversations have taken place behind the scenes to consider what Ukraine might need to give up to achieve peace.Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Countries in the Group of 7 face dueling pressures: Penalizing Russia while easing the economic pain at home.Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France are expected to visit Ukraine on Thursday — but they may face a tense reception.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, Cassidy Hutchinson was at work in the White House alongside her boss, Mark Meadows, then the chief of staff.Her stunning testimony has provided a fly-on-the-wall account of what Mr. Trump knew about the events that day.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Ms. Hutchinson’s evidence made her one of the most forceful and compelling witnesses to reveal details about Mr. Trump’s bizarre and violent behavior.The revelations could nudge Mr. Trump closer to facing criminal charges, legal experts said.Here’s a timeline of the key scenes in Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, states have rushed to either ban, restrict or protect abortion.The different approaches have created a fragmented, patchwork map of America.Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, a domestic correspondent covering health care for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: With Roe overturned, the distances many women will need to travel for an abortion will increase drastically.Here are answers to some of the fundamental questions about the ramifications of the justices’ decision.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language and mentions sexual assault.The Supreme Court decision on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade sent abortion clinics into a tailspin.That day Rosenda, a receptionist at a family planning clinic in Arizona, spent eight hours on the phone telling women the clinic could no longer help them.“I wanted to hug her, I wanted to help her but I know I can’t,” she said of one patient she called. “I wanted to scream.”In the hours after the decision, we spoke to clinic doctors and staff members trying to make sense of the news.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The overturning of Roe set off waves of triumph and of despair, from the protesters on either side massing in front of the Supreme Court, to abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers.Over the weekend, anti-abortion forces vowed to push for near-total bans in every state in the nation, and abortion rights groups insisted they would harness rage over the decision to fight back in the courts. See our updates from Sunday.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic of The New York Times, traveled to Houston to observe an approach to chronic homelessness that has won widespread praise.Houston, the nation’s fourth-most populous city, has moved more than 25,000 homeless people directly into apartments and houses in the past decade, an overwhelming majority of whom remain housed after two years.This has been achieved through a “housing first” practice: moving the most vulnerable from the streets directly into apartments, instead of shelters, without individuals being required to do a 12-step program, or to find a job.Delving into the finer details of the process, Kimmelman considers the different logic “housing first” involves. After all, “when you’re drowning, it doesn’t help if your rescuer insists you learn to swim before returning you to shore,” he writes. “You can address your issues once you’re on land. Or not. Either way, you join the wider population of people battling demons behind closed doors.”This story was written and narrated by Michael Kimmelman. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains strong language.The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that eliminates women’s constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote on behalf of the majority, while President Biden has denounced the court’s action as the “realization of extreme ideology.” In this special episode, we explore how the court arrived at this landmark decision — and how it will transform American life.Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Read the majority decision that overruled Roe v. Wade, with notes by New York Times reporters.The court’s decision was one of the legacies of President Donald J. Trump, with all three of his appointees in the majority in the 6-to-3 ruling. Privately, the former president has called the reversal of Roe “bad” for the Republican Party.Abortion is now banned in several states, with trigger laws in others set to take effect in the coming days. See where women would be most affected.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A bitter debate about the criteria for enrolling students at Lowell, in California, has echoes of the soul-searching happening across the U.S. education system.Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, a writer for Times Opinion and The New York Times Magazine; and Jessica Cheung, a senior audio producer for The Daily. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The decision to replace Lowell High School’s admission process with a lottery system was a key factor at play in a recall election in February that ousted three members of San Francisco’s school board.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the most sweeping ruling on firearms in decades, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law today that had placed strict limits on carrying guns outside the home. The decision has far-reaching implications, particularly for six other states that have similar laws limiting guns in public. This evening, we revisit an episode from November 2021 that tells the story behind one of the most significant gun cases in American history.  Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.

While coming rulings on abortion and guns have garnered lots of attention, the Supreme Court is also set to make another major decision in a less-publicized suit involving climate change.The case, about how far the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, could affect the way the entire government makes rules and regulations.Guest: Coral Davenport, a correspondent covering energy and environmental policy for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Republican attorneys general and conservative allies have waged a multiyear campaign to tilt courts against climate action.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

During his campaign for president and in his first year in office, Joe Biden tried to be all things to all people. But trying to govern on behalf of such a broad political coalition has left his administration with something of an identity crisis.In alarming figures for Democrats ahead of the midterms, Mr. Biden’s approval rating has reached the lowest level of his presidency, while 70 percent of Americans say that the country is on the wrong track.Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Confidential polling data obtained by The Times highlights the biggest challenges for Mr. Biden and his party in this election year.The $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief law unleashed a giant wave of spending on local construction projects and programs. But Democratic candidates aren’t getting much credit for it.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.When Drew Mena and Amena Sengal decided to relocate their young family from New York to Austin, Texas, they figured they’d have no problem.What they hadn’t realized was that, across the country, home prices — and competition to secure properties — had risen to jaw-dropping levels.Guest: Francesca Mari, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a fellow at the think tank New America.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Soaring demand, pinched supply, regular buyers acting like speculators … will real estate ever be normal again?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

First Person is the newest show from New York Times Opinion. Each week, host Lulu Garcia-Navarro shares the stories of people living through the headlines. In this episode, Lulu asks: Are parents’ rights truly rights for all parents, no matter their politics?Parental rights. It’s a term that burst into the public consciousness in recent years. This year alone, 82 bills have been introduced in 26 states under the banner of parental rights. On issues such as masking, vaccine mandates, critical race theory and book bans, parents are showing up at school board meetings to demand a greater say in their children’s education and lives. And it has coalesced into a powerful political force on the right.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains strong language.The House committee that was tasked with scrutinizing the events surrounding the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is holding a series of public hearings.Testimony from key figures has explored a campaign by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies to subvert American democracy and cling to power by reversing an election. The panel has recounted how Mr. Trump’s actions brought the United States to the brink of a constitutional crisis.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: On Thursday, testimony laid out how Mr. Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to overturn his election defeat, even after he was told it was illegal. Here are four takeaways from Day 3.Follow a detailed timeline of the key moments, from the buildup to the attack to now.Here are answers to some common questions about the House committee investigating the riot and the proceedings.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Cases of the monkeypox virus are spreading in many countries where it has rarely, if ever, been seen before, including in the United States.Although there are a lot of unknowns about the illness, the rapidly rising number of infections has caused alarm bells to sound among public health agencies.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a reporter for The New York Times, with a focus on science and global health.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In the U.S., the monkeypox outbreak has grown to around 80 cases. Globally, there have been about 2,000 confirmed cases.The outbreak poses a “real risk” to public health, the World Health Organization said.Here’s what to know about monkeypox and the risks it poses.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The meteoric rise of the U.S. stock market over the past two years has come to an abrupt end.A steep downturn recently has led to what’s known as a bear market. But what does that mean, and why might policymakers have to hurt the economy to help it in the long term?Guest: Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, with a focus on economic policy.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Steep downturns of stocks by 20 percent or more are relatively rare, but how long they last could portend damage.The last such drop happened in early 2020 as the coronavirus spread. Here’s what else to know about bear markets.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Senate has reached a bipartisan deal that could lead to the most significant federal response to gun violence in decades.Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, was deeply involved in the negotiations. Today, he tells us how news of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left him with a feeling of desperation — and renewed determination to make progress.Guest: Senator Chris Murphy, who has spent the decade since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., trying to enact change on gun safety.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The agreement put forward by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats would provide funding for states to enact “red flag” laws that allow the authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed to be dangerous.Though the deal is less than Democrats wanted, it is still seen as a significant step that could save lives.Americans in communities scarred by mass shootings acknowledged the proposal as progress but said it did not go far enough.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the nearly four months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States has been giving officials in Kyiv a steady stream of intelligence to aid them in the fight.But what is becoming clear is that the Ukrainians are not returning the favor.Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times covering the intelligence agencies.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: American intelligence agencies know far more about Russia’s military than about Ukraine’s war strategy, officials say.The outcome of battles for key cities in eastern Ukraine could prompt the country’s Western allies to start rethinking their goals.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Ezra Marcus takes a deep dive into the world of OnlyFans and self-described e-pimps, and untangles the vast web of models, agencies and “chatters” (the people who often act as the OnlyFans models in private messages with the customers) that support these lucrative businesses.The article explores how e-pimps can help turn a seemingly simple exchange of “dollars for sexts” into a transaction that extends across layers of third-party intermediaries.With the help of e-pimps, even the most impersonal of transactions are fine-tuned to feel personal. As Mr. Marcus discovers: “That OnlyFans creator you’re DMing? It’s probably a marketing ghostwriter impersonating a woman.”When it comes to OnlyFans and its legions of e-pimps, deceit and desire work together closely.This story was written by Ezra Marcus and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

This episode contains strong language.This week, voters in San Francisco ousted Chesa Boudin, their progressive district attorney. The move was seen as a rejection of a class of prosecutors who are determined to overhaul the criminal justice system.But what happened to Mr. Boudin can be seen as more the exception than the rule.Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: By ousting Mr. Boudin, voters in San Francisco put an end to one of the United States’ most pioneering experiments in criminal justice overhaul.The progressive backlash in California has sent a signal about the potency of law and order as a political message in 2022.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.After a nearly yearlong investigation, the congressional committee examining the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will begin holding televised hearings on Thursday.One focus of the hearings will be the Proud Boys. The trajectory of that group, which grew out of a drinking club in New York City for men who felt put upon by liberal culture, has now led to charges of trying to overthrow the United States government.Guest: Alan Feuer, a reporter covering courts and criminal justice for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A federal indictment has charged five members of the Proud Boys, including Enrique Tarrio, its former leader, with seditious conspiracy.How Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys founder, went from Brooklyn hipster to far-right provocateur.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After a series of deadly mass shootings in the United States, the National Rifle Association and some Republican leaders and conservatives are pointing to mental illness.This approach raises a question: How can the mental health system stop gun violence when mental illness is so rarely the cause of it?We revisit a conversation from 2018 with a psychiatrist who is wrestling with that challenge.Guest: Dr. Amy Barnhorst, the vice chairwoman of community psychiatry at the University of California, Davis. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Many Republicans opposed to more gun control have called instead for investing in mental health programs, increasing funding for law enforcement and bolstering security at schools. Many Democrats say they are missing the point.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In calling for Republicans to pass gun safety measures like expanded background checks, Democrats point to polls that show most Americans support the idea. They aren’t wrong about the polling. In fact, some polls show that over 90 percent of Americans support expanded checks. Polling, however, does not tell the whole story. Guest: Nate Cohn, a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Broad public support for gun control may not be as broad as polling shows or as Democrats hope. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language and details of a sexual assault accusation.Since a jury ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, there has been impassioned debate about what exactly the outcome means for the #MeToo movement.It raises the question: If people being accused of sexual assault can potentially win defamation cases in court, what does that mean for the accused — and the accusers — moving forward?Guest: Julia Jacobs, a culture reporter for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Johnny Depp’s victory against his ex-wife Amber Heard in one of the highest profile defamation cases to go to trial could inspire others accused of abuse or misconduct to try their luck with juries. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

We cannot escape our bodies. So how do we reconcile them with who we really are?Sam Anderson, a staff writer, considers this particular conundrum of the human condition by recounting his lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight: his teenage triumph over the “legendary snacker” he was in middle school, the slow creep of the pounds in early adulthood, and the pandemic’s expansive effect on his waistline.Anderson also explores what it takes to monitor food consumption, the linguistic legacy of 1980s diet culture, the curse of intergenerational weight problems, the natural limitations of weight-loss efforts and the importance of self-acceptance.This story was written and narrated by Sam Anderson. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In 1791, enslaved Haitians did the seemingly impossible. They ousted their French masters and created the first free Black nation in the Americas.But France made Haitians pay for that freedom.A team of reporters from The New York Times looked at the extent and effect of the ensuing payments.Guest: Catherine Porter, the Toronto bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The first people in the modern world to free themselves from slavery and create their own nation were forced to pay for their freedom. A Times investigation explores Haiti’s reparations to France.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As a proportion of its population, California has one of the lowest rates of gun deaths in the United States — 8.5 per 100,000 people, compared with 13.7 nationally.How did the state get that way?Guest: Shawn Hubler, a California correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Californians are about 25 percent less likely to die in mass shootings, compared with residents of other states, according to a recent study. In a newsletter this week, the Times correspondent Shawn Hubler looked into how and why gun laws there work.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This episode contains strong language.Gemma Lopez, 10, watched a movie in class that day. Jacob Albarado, a Border Patrol officer, was getting his hair cut when he heard there was a gunman at his daughter’s school, where his wife is a teacher. Ricardo Garcia, a hospital groundskeeper, can still hear the screaming of parents in the emergency room.These are some of the stories of those who lived through the devastation of the shooting at Robb Elementary School.Guest: Rick Rojas, a national correspondent for The New York Times; Natalie Kitroeff, a correspondent for The Times; and Eduardo Medina, a reporter covering breaking news for The Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A week after the shooting, the nearly two dozen funerals have begun in a community that must contemplate an agonizing new reality.As soon as the scale of the tragedy became clear, congregants rushed to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. In the days since, they’ve kept going in search of comfort and community.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the explanation for how the police acted kept shifting.Now, a clearer picture has emerged.Guest: J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A timeline from the state police raised the painful possibility that had officers done more, and faster, not all of those who died — 19 children and two teachers — would have lost their lives.The degree to which some law enforcement officers on the scene disagreed with the decision to hold back has become more apparent.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A dire lack of baby formula in the United States in the past few weeks has been blamed on production deficiencies such as the small number of manufacturers and an inflexible supply chain.But Christina Jewett, an investigative reporter at The Times, has traced it back further, to deadly bacteria whose detection set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the shortage.Guest: Christina Jewett, an investigative reporter who covers the Food and Drug Administration for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: While most recent attention has been focused on fixing the supply shortfall, regulators are confronting deeper issues of safety that persist in formula manufacturing.Baby formula supplies from Europe have been shipped to the United States to address the shortage, though it may take weeks for supermarket shelves to be fully stocked again.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In Pennsylvania, a candidate falsely claiming election fraud in 2020 prevailed in a crowded Republican primary for governor. But in Georgia, two incumbents — the governor and the secretary of state — beat back challenges from “stop the steal” opponents.Is re-litigating the 2020 election a vote winner for Republicans? Or is it increasingly becoming a losing issue?Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a politics reporter for The New York Times who covers campaigns and elections.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Two G.O.P. primaries in Georgia exposed the limit of Donald J. Trump’s hold on his party’s base.But Doug Mastriano’s win in Pennsylvania has provoked dissension and anxiety among Republican strategists, donors and lobbyists.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode covers incidents of mass violence.At least 21 people, including 19 children, were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday morning.It was the deadliest school shooting in the United States since the 2012 attack on the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.For some of the Sandy Hook parents, news of yet another school massacre provoked a chilling sense of numbness.Guest: Elizabeth Williamson, a feature writer for The New York Times and the author of a book on the aftermath of Sandy Hook.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Some Sandy Hook parents whose children were killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Conn., shared their emotions and responses to another school shooting.President Biden said that it was “time to turn this pain into action” in remarks following the massacre in Uvalde.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For decades, the U.S. has walked a careful line when it comes to Taiwan — vowing to protect the island from China, without saying exactly how far it would go to do that.On Monday, that appeared to change.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: President Biden’s seemingly offhand remarks about Taiwan, made during his visit to Asia, caught some of his staff by surprise.The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been closely watched by those in Taiwan who feel that their island faces a similar threat from Beijing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Three months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the biggest surprises has been the inability of the Russian military to achieve some of its basic goals. One clear example: A failed attempt to cross the Donets river in eastern Ukraine earlier this month left hundreds of Russian soldiers dead. Its aftermath is raising doubts in Russia, even among the military’s most ardent supporters.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The disastrous Russian attempt to cross the Donets river resonated with some pro-Russian war bloggers who did not appear to hold back in their criticism of what they said was incompetent leadership.It appears that much of the military culture and learned behavior of the Soviet era has repeated itself in the war in Ukraine, including corruption in military spending and the longstanding practice of telling government leaders what they want to hear.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Chronic pain is one of the leading causes of long-term disability in the world. By some measures, 50 million Americans live with chronic pain, in part because the power of medicine to relieve it remains inadequate.Helen Ouyang, a physician and contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explores the potentially groundbreaking use of virtual reality in the alleviation of acute pain, as well as anxiety and depression, and meets the doctors and entrepreneurs who believe this “nonpharmacological therapy” is a good alternative to prescription drugs.A lush forest, a snow-capped mountain, a desert at sunset — could these virtual experiences really be the answer for managing chronic pain?This story was written by Helen Ouyang and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Throughout the pandemic, long Covid — symptoms that occur after the initial coronavirus infection — has remained something of a medical mystery.Now, amid the latest surge of infections, a series of major studies are shedding light on the condition.Guest: Pam Belluck, a health and science reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Long Covid has become one of the most daunting legacies of the pandemic.Some research has shown that lingering symptoms are more prevalent in people in their 30s and 40s — when workers are often in the prime of their careers.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the post-Trump era, some red states have moved aggressively to rebuke the Biden administration at the local level and signal to voters what a Republican-led country might look like.In Texas, immigration is a key battleground. Today, we speak to Hunter Schuler, a member of the National Guards, about why Gov. Greg Abbott has sent him and thousands of other security officers to the U.S.-Mexico border.Guest: Lulu Garcia-Navarro, a Times Opinion podcast host; and J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Operation Lone Star is an expensive and unusual effort to reinforce border security. But after a year, there is little to show for it.Soldiers sent to patrol the border have complained of difficulties and a seemingly rudderless mission.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For the past two months, a group of Ukrainian fighters has been holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, mounting a last stand against Russian forces in a critical part of eastern Ukraine.On Monday, Ukraine finally surrendered the plant.After the end of the determined resistance at Azovstal, we hear from Leonid Kuznetsov, a 25 year-old soldier who had been stationed inside.Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who fought at the steel plant in Mariupol face an uncertain future in Russian custody.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

When the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion with Roe v. Wade, it established the United States as a global leader on abortion rights, decades ahead of many other countries. Now, with Roe likely to be overturned, we look to Mexico, a country where the playbook for securing legalized abortion could be a model for activists in the United States. Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, a correspondent covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Verónica Cruz spent years defying the law in Mexico, helping thousands of women get abortions. Now that Mexico has legalized abortion, activists are bringing their mission to a country moving in the opposite direction: the United States.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over the weekend, an 18-year-old man livestreamed himself shooting 13 people and killing 10. Within hours it became clear that the shooter’s intent was to kill as many Black people as possible. The suspect wrote online that he was motivated by replacement theory — a racist idea that white people are deliberately being replaced by people of color in places like America and Europe. What are the origins of this theory, and how has it become simultaneously more extreme and more mainstream?Guest: Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Replacement theory, a fringe conspiracy fostered online and espoused by the suspect in the Buffalo massacre, has been embraced by some right-wing politicians and commentators.Here are our updates on the Buffalo shooting and the aftermath. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Times journalist Caity Weaver was tasked by her editor to go on an adventure: With an old college friend she would spend a week in California, living out of a converted camper van, in pursuit of the aesthetic fantasy known as #VanLife.Given the discomfort that can arise even in the plushiest of vehicles, it’s a surprising trend that shows no sign of letting up. As Weaver explains, even the idea of living full time out of a vehicle has “become aspirational for a subset of millennials and Zoomers, despite the fact that, traditionally, residing in a car or van is usually an action taken as a last resort, from want of other options to protect oneself from the elements.”Unpacking the craze by testing it herself, Weaver offers a humorous account of the trials of not being adequately prepared, claustrophobia, long restaurant lines, the increase in traffic within the national parks, and the disappointment that occurs when an Instagram aesthetic bumps up against reality. Sometimes fantasies are too good to be true.This story was written by Caity Weaver and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains strong language. Hilma Wolitzer lost her husband, Morty Wolitzer, a psychologist who loved cooking and jazz, on April 11, 2020. They had been together for 68 years.Mary-Margaret Waterbury’s uncle Michael Mantlo had introduced her to Nirvana, grunge and Elvis Costello.After Terrie Martin’s first born, April Marie Dawson, died at age 43, Ms. Martin said she carried around guilt for not taking more precautions. “I killed my daughter,” she said. “And I have learned nothing from loss.”Carmen Nitsche’s mother, Carmen Dolores Nitsche, died on May 14, 2020. They were only a few miles apart, but she said she was unable to hold her mother’s hand on her final journey.In the coming days, the number of known deaths from Covid-19 in the United States is expected to reach one million.We asked listeners to share memories about loved ones they have lost — and about what it’s like to grieve when it seems like the rest of the world is trying to move on.“Time keeps moving forward, and the world desperately wants to move past this pandemic,” one told us. “But my mother — she’s still gone.”Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: As the United States approaches a Covid toll that only hints at the suffering of millions more Americans mourning loved ones, President Biden urged vigilance against a virus that has “forever changed” the country.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Fresh data from the U.S. government on Wednesday showed that inflation was still climbing at a rapid pace, prompting President Biden to say that controlling the rising prices was his “top domestic priority.”But not everybody experiences inflation equally. Why is that?Guest: Ben Casselman, an economics and business reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: What’s your rate of inflation? You can answer seven questions to estimate your personal inflation rate here.Rising prices could hurt Democrats in the midterms, and Mr. Biden has sought to turn the debate over the economy against his opponents.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence.  In Part 1 of our two-part series, we spoke to anti-abortion activists about their preparations for a future without Roe v. Wade.Today, we talk to people working in abortion clinics about what the potential change could mean for their patients.“Everybody’s scared,” said one provider from Oklahoma. “Every single person that walks in our clinic, you can see the fear on their faces.”Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Half of women in the United States could lose access to abortion without Roe v. Wade.Here’s how Democrats in Congress are trying to protect abortion rights.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For years, President Vladimir V. Putin has taken advantage of Victory Day — when Russians commemorate the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany — to champion his country’s military might and project himself as a leader of enormous power.This year, he drew on the pageantry of May 9 for an even more pressing goal: making the case for the war in Ukraine.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Victory Day in Moscow this year was set up to be a lavish government-orchestrated show of Russian strength and a claim of rightful dominance over a lost empire.Mr. Putin delivered a speech in which he vowed that the military would keep fighting to rid Ukraine, in his false telling, of “torturers, death squads and Nazis.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains descriptions of suicide. Over the past five years, a series of investigations by The Times has revealed the terror and tragedy that America’s air wars, despite being promoted as the most precise in history, have brought to civilians on the ground.The program has also exacted a heavy toll on the military personnel guiding the drones to their targets. They include soldiers such as Capt. Kevin Larson, a decorated pilot, who died by suicide after a drug arrest and court-martial.For suicide prevention resources in the United States, go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources. Go here for resources outside the United States.Guest: Dave Philipps, a national correspondent covering the military for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Captain Larson was one of the best drone pilots in the U.S. Air Force. Yet as the job weighed on him and untold others, the military failed to recognize its full impact.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It was meant to mark the start of their lives out of college, but the adventure quickly turned into a nightmare. Beginning with what seemed to be a lucky whale sighting, three friends set out on a sea-kayaking trip through Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, watching out for bears, and having a good time, when tragedy struck.In recounting the days preceding and following the accident, which seriously injured one of his friends, the Times journalist Jon Mooallem explains how he was forced to reckon with his fears. Detailing the incident’s surprising repercussions, he muses on the importance of overcoming one’s fears, and finding poetry in life’s darkest moments.This story was written by Jon Mooallem. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Today, we revisit a two-part series that first ran in 2018 about the history of Roe v. Wade and the woman behind it.Almost 50 years ago, when the Supreme Court first ruled that women had the constitutional right to an abortion, it was met with little controversy.In Part 2, we asked: How, then, did abortion become one of the most controversial issues of our time?Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, co-host of The Daily. As a correspondent in 2018, she reported on the story of Roe v. Wade.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading:Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade who became a divisive icon for both sides of the abortion debate, died in 2017 at the age of 69.What would the end of Roe mean? Here are some key questions and answers.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 

This week, the release of a draft Supreme Court opinion striking down Roe v. Wade has put a spotlight on the 50-year-old case that redefined abortion in America.Today, we revisit a two-part series that first ran in 2018 about the history of the case and the woman behind it.In Part 1, the story of Jane Roe.Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, co-host of The Daily. As a correspondent in 2018, she reported on the story of Roe v. Wade.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading:The leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade also takes aim at its version of history, challenging decades of scholarship that argues abortion was not always a crime.Remembering a time before Roe: When New York legalized abortion in 1970, three years before the landmark ruling, hundreds of thousands of women traveled there from other states for the procedure.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Since the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on overturning the constitutional right to abortion, both sides of the fight have been scrambling.Today, in the first of two parts, we speak to anti-abortion activists such as Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, about what comes next.“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said. “We’re in uncharted territory.”Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: For half a century, right-wing legal thinkers have been working toward the moment foretold by the leaked draft.Democrats aim to use abortion rights to jolt state legislative races.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

If the Supreme Court revokes Roe v. Wade, individual states will probably be left to make their own decisions about abortion provision.Some states will ban abortion, and some will continue to allow it. And then there is a third group: swing states, where a final decision will be up for grabs.Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, a domestic correspondent covering health care for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Who gets abortions in the United States?What are trigger laws? And which states have them?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The revelation that the Supreme Court could end the constitutional right to abortion in the United States has set off a political firestorm and deepened divisions about one of the most contentious issues in American society.What exactly is in the draft opinion that was leaked this week, and what does it mean for the court and for the country?Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Here are some key questions and answers about the possible effects of ending Roe v. Wade.If the Supreme Court does overturn the ruling, where would abortion be banned?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Unlike other former presidents after leaving office, Donald J. Trump has remained in the middle of the political stage — raising more money than the Republican Party itself and doling out coveted endorsements.Who has Mr. Trump backed in the midterms? And to what lengths have candidates gone to secure his favor?Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Inspiring fear, hoarding cash, doling out favors and seeking to crush rivals, Mr. Trump is behaving more like an old-time political boss than a typical former president.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The United States is seeing a revival in union membership.In the last six months, the National Labor Relations Board has recorded a 60 percent increase in workers filing for petitions that allow for union elections to take place.The circumstances that have prompted these unionization efforts have some similarities with the period that brought the largest gain in union membership in U.S. history, during the 1930s.What can that era tell us about today, and are current efforts just a blip?Guest: Noam Scheiber, a reporter covering workers and the workplace for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Since the Great Recession, the college-educated have taken more frontline jobs at companies like Starbucks and Amazon. Now they’re helping to unionize them.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Is there a connection between former President Donald J. Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine, the Russian invasion and the events of Jan. 6, 2021?The journalist Robert Draper talked to Fiona Hill, John Bolton and other former Trump advisers to gauge the extent to which the ex-president’s actions had a ripple effect.This story was written by Robert Draper and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

As the horrors of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have became clearer, the Biden administration has pivoted to a more aggressive stance, with officials talking about constraining Moscow as a global power.But that is an escalation, and escalations can go wrong.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The United States toughened its messaging on the Ukraine war, saying that the American aim was not just to thwart the Russian invasion but also to weaken Russia so it could no longer carry out such military aggression anywhere.The change in stance could signal a situation that pits Washington more directly against Moscow.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data that showed around 60 percent of Americans — more than half of adults and three quarters of children — have now been infected with the coronavirus. But herd immunity looks likely to remain elusive, and many people are still at high risk from Covid-19.What do the C.D.C. figures mean for immunity in the United States, and for the future of the pandemic?Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Sixty percent of Americans, including 75 percent of children, had been infected with the coronavirus by February — another remarkable milestone in a pandemic that continues to confound expectations.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Joseph A. Kennedy, a former high school football coach, was fired after he made a habit of going to the 50-yard line after his team’s games to thank God and to lead his players in prayer.On Monday, the Supreme Court heard his suit. The justice’s decision in the complex case could make a major statement about the role religion may play in public life.Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Coaching was his calling, Mr. Kennedy said. But after the school board in Bremerton, Wash., told him to stop mixing football and faith on the field, he left his job and sued.Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority indicated that Mr. Kennedy had a constitutional right to pray after games.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In January 2021, one of President Biden’s first big moves in office was to sign an executive order mandating masks in airports and on planes and other forms of public transit.But an unexpected ruling from a judge in Florida has abruptly and unexpectedly overturned that mandate — and the implications of the decision could tie the government’s hands when it comes to future health emergencies.Guest: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington correspondent covering health policy for The New York Times; and Heather Murphy, a reporter covering travel for The Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In the end, the mask mandate was brought down by a little-known nonprofit, a conservative judge, and chance.While the C.D.C. wants to keep the mandate intact, appealing the ruling is risky: If the Florida decision is upheld, it could permanently weaken the agency’s authority.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A Times investigation last year found that minor traffic stops in the United States were far more deadly than widely thought — in the previous five years, 400 unarmed motorists who were not under pursuit for any violent crime were killed by the police during such checks.We look at the different efforts across the country to rethink the stops and at the pushback from opponents who say that restrictions on the practice could keep more guns and criminals on the streets.Guest: David D. Kirkpatrick, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A recent example of a fatal end to a traffic stop was the death in Grand Rapids, Mich., of Patrick Lyoya, an unarmed 26-year-old Black man who was pulled over for a mismatched license plate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

America is home to 735 billionaires with a collective worth greater than $4.7 trillion, according to Forbes. There were just 424 billionaires in 2012, Forbes found, and only 243 a decade before that. The billionaires keep multiplying.In this article, Willy Staley uses information from the first billionaire count — commissioned in 1981 by the entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes for his own magazine — to consider the reasons behind the rapid increase in American billionaires, but also the changing attitudes on publicizing the details of one’s wealth.Many factors enabled American entrepreneurs to amass such enormous fortunes, including the Reagan administration’s policies, the arrival of computer technology, the creation of a more globalized economy and the rise of the developing world.Yet despite the conspicuous consumption this level of wealth often encourages, Staley finds that few billionaires want to be discovered. So how do you keep tabs on America’s billionaires?This story was written by Willy Staley and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

When they go to the polls on Sunday, voters in France will be faced with the same two presidential candidates as 2017: Emmanuel Macron, the president and a polished centrist, and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party.Yet the context is different. There is a war in Europe, and the contest is tight.What are the stakes in the runoff election, and how has the race become so close?Guest: Roger Cohen, Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: President Emmanuel Macron will face Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, in the runoff on Sunday. The outcome will be crucial for France and reverberate globally.No French president has been the object of such intense dislike among significant segments of the population as Mr. Macron. How deep that loathing runs will be a critical factor in the election.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In Texas, a heated political battle is taking place over care provided to young transgender people, with Gov. Greg Abbott taking a leading role.The story of this confrontation began, improbably, with the contentious divorce of a suburban couple from Dallas, and a nasty custody battle over their daughter.We look at how a domestic dispute precipitated one of the fiercest political clashes in the country, and return to yesterday’s story about a trans teenager, Grayson, and his mother to explore the impact of this clash.Guests: J. David Goodman, The New York Times’s Houston bureau chief, covering Texas; and Azeen Ghorayshi, a reporter covering the intersection between sex, gender and science for The Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: How a custody battle in the Dallas suburbs amplified a growing conservative cause and helped fuel a move to treat transgender medicine as abuse.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of younger Americans who identify as transgender and are seeking medical intervention to support their transition. This increase has coincided with laws introduced in Republican State Houses across the country that seek to block trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care. Nowhere is the political battle more polarized and heated than in Texas. In the first of two episodes on the situation in Texas, we explore the story of one family seeking such care for their son when the political storm hit. Guest: Azeen Ghorayshi, a reporter covering the intersection between sex, gender and science for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A Texas clinic for transgender adolescents closed last year amid political pressure. Its demise is evidence of how treating trans minors has become a contentious issue in Republican-controlled states.Texas officials have begun investigating parents of transgender adolescents for possible child abuse, according to a recent lawsuit. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Nearly two months into the war in Ukraine, many Russians have gone from shock and denial to support for their troops and anger at the West.What is behind this shifting view, and what does it mean for those who go against it?Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In Russia, some citizens are turning on one another, illustrating how the war is feeding paranoia and polarization in Russian society.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Across the United States, 45 million borrowers now owe $1.6 trillion in debt for federal loans taken out for college — more than consumers owe on any other debt except mortgages.For the past two years, beginning as the pandemic spread, the U.S. government has allowed tens of millions of Americans to stop paying back their students loans.This experiment in debt deferral has had unintended consequences, and poses a dilemma for President Biden.Guest: Stacy Cowley, a finance reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The Biden administration has paused student loans once again. The four-month delay means the pause will become an issue again before the midterm elections.While politically popular with Mr. Biden’s party, the extension of the loan moratorium has drawn criticism for adding a small measure of oomph to the inflation the government is trying to tame.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Indigenous Brazilian territory of Ituna-Itatá was established in 2011 for the protection of an isolated group that has never been contacted by outsiders or fully confirmed to exist. But despite its special status, it has become one of the most invaded Indigenous territories in Brazil since the election of the pro-development, anti-regulatory president, Jair Bolsonaro, in 2018 — becoming something of a poster board for the Amazon’s eventual demise.William Langewiesche explores the process of defending these preserves from outside harm, and uses Ituna-Itatá, which has now been heavily deforested, as a grim illustration of the intractable forces destroying the Amazon through logging, ranching and mining.This story was written by William Langewiesche and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In the 1990s, Dennis Wayne Hope committed a series of armed robberies. After proving adept at escaping prison, he was put in isolation. He has been there for nearly three decades.His case, if the Supreme Court agrees to hear it, could answer the fundamental question of how long people can be held in solitary confinement.Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Mr. Hope has spent more than half his life in solitary confinement, in a cell that is nine feet long and six feet wide — smaller than a compact parking space.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Elon Musk’s recent investment in Twitter has turned a high-profile and frequent user of the platform into the company’s largest stakeholder.At first, the involvement of Mr. Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla, was seen by the social media giant as a chance to gain a powerful ally. Instead, Twitter’s fate has suddenly become much harder to predict.Guest: Mike Isaac, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Twitter has survived founder infighting, boardroom revolts and outside shareholder ire, but Mr. Musk is an activist investor unlike any other.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After a disastrous defeat in northern Ukraine, Russia has begun a high-stakes battle for the east, while Western allies arm Ukrainian fighters determined to stave off the attack.After Moscow’s pivot, what lies in store in the coming weeks?Guest: Eric Schmitt, a senior writer covering terrorism and national security for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia defined a more limited military goal: taking control of the Donbas region in the east of Ukraine — not the whole country.Russia reorganized the command of its flagging offensive, selecting for the mission a general accused of ordering strikes on civilian neighborhoods in Syria.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

On the campaign trail and when he first came to office, President Biden had ambitious plans to deal with climate change, including promises to reduce fossil fuel production. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, however, Mr. Biden has largely stopped making the case for these plans, instead turning his focus to pumping as much oil and gas as possible. What is behind the president’s retreat on climate?Guest: Coral Davenport, an energy and environmental policy correspondent for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Rising costs at the pump, war in Ukraine, an emboldened fossil fuel industry and stalled legislation have imperiled President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language. A year and a half ago, the Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Karen Weise began examining labor practices at Amazon.In the process, they met Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union. Last week, they did it.We sat down Mr. Smalls and Mr. Palmer to ask them how it happened.Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, warehouse workers who led the first successful unionization attempt at Amazon. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: How Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer won the first successful unionization effort at any Amazon warehouse in the United States, potentially one of the most significant labor victories in a generation. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more than two decades, Belarus existed in an equilibrium of quiet authoritarianism. If the government’s repressions didn’t directly touch them, most Belarusians tolerated them. But over the course of 2020, the country’s history and identity, which never much interested a majority of people who lived there, became something they would sacrifice their lives for.Sarah A. Topol explores the battle over a political mural in a public park in Minsk and considers the future of Belarus. As a remarkable campaign of defiance against an increasingly totalitarian regime, the mural is an emblem of strength and a call for change — but to what end?This story was written by Sarah A. Topol and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Thirty years ago, Germany put forth a theory for how to work with Russia. Major energy deals, leaders argued, would keep Russia from going to war with its neighbors.Over the past 20 years, Germany has made itself incredibly dependent on Russian gas. The war in Ukraine has complicated that relationship and has shown how Germany’s approach to Russia has not only failed, but also backfired.Guest: Katrin Bennhold, the Berlin bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Germany, dependent on Russian gas, has so far refused to cut off President Vladimir V. Putin, whose war it is effectively subsidizing to the tune of some $220 million in energy payments a day.Under increasing pressure to sever the country’s reliance on Russian energy, German officials must contend with deeply rooted economic ties. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As countries have struggled with disease and death throughout the coronavirus pandemic, one part of the world seems to have been mostly spared: central and western Africa.South Africa was deeply affected by waves of the coronavirus, as were countries in East Africa like Kenya and Uganda. But nations in the center and west of the continent appear to have been largely spared.What is behind these low case and death rates — and what does that tell us about the future of the pandemic?Guest: Stephanie Nolen, a global health reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The coronavirus was expected to devastate Africa, but higher-income and better-prepared countries appear to have fared far worse.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode details graphic scenes. Many around the world are calling the indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Bucha, a suburb northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, a war crime.But investigating such atrocities is painstakingly complicated. Could one case that resulted in convictions — the genocide in Bosnia in the 1990s — offer lessons on how to proceed?Guest: Roger Cohen, the Paris bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: With Russian forces retreating, Ukrainians in Bucha are finding scores of bodies in yards and on the roads amid mounting evidence of intentional and indiscriminate killings.The images from Bucha spurred Western leaders to promise even tougher sanctions against Russia.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Ukraine and Russia are enormous producers of wheat, corn, barley, sunflower oil and fertilizer. One study calculated that the two countries accounted for 12 percent of the world’s calories.With Ukraine under attack and Russia hit with strict sanctions, a huge supply of food is suddenly trapped — with Africa and the Middle East particularly imperiled.Guest: Jack Nicas, the Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: An increase in world hunger could be one of the repercussions of the war in Ukraine.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After months of investigation by a congressional committee, a federal judge has found that President Donald J. Trump and his allies most likely engaged in illegal activity in the wake of the 2020 election.How did the committee achieve that ruling?Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The judge’s comments in the civil case of a lawyer, John Eastman, who advised Mr. Trump, marked a significant breakthrough for the House committee.The ruling does not necessarily mean that a prosecution would arrive at the same conclusion. Here’s an explanation.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Exploring the personal experiences of Sara Mardini and Seán Binder, two volunteers who were arrested in February 2018 after helping migrants cross safely into Lesbos, Greece, the journalist Alex W. Palmer outlines the complex situation aid workers in Europe find themselves in: increasingly demonized by local authorities while also facing pressure from different ends of the international political spectrum.Palmer traces the origins of the problem, explaining how, in the early days of the migrant crisis, the grass-roots response embodied the broadly held values of E.U. citizens: to be a place of refuge and compassion, to create a new future from the ashes of two world wars and to set an example based on morality rather than power.But, as Palmer discovers, this idea was never unanimous, and it was only a matter of time before this compassion and idealism was eclipsed by anger and resentment. Many rejected the idea of newcomers entirely. Terrorist attacks and acts of criminality committed by asylum seekers further worsened collective sentiments and heightened public unease about the challenges of integration. The topic became a pawn for far-right media outlets and politicians, who helped stoke the growing anti-immigrant temper, portraying Europe as on the brink of being overrun by foreign hordes — and aid workers as part of the problem.A highly politicized issue, the debate surrounding the migrant crisis continues to rage. As volunteers are targeted, what’s next for migrant aid in Europe?This story was written by Alex W. Palmer and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

This episode details graphic scenes. Russia has mounted a brutal siege around the port city of Mariupol for more than a month, framing it as the key to a war of liberation. In reality, it’s a campaign against a city that is critical to Russia’s strategy — it would help open an important supply route and serve as a symbol of victory. What is happening inside Mariupol, and what does the fighting mean for the future of Russia’s war on Ukraine? Guest: Valerie Hopkins, a correspondent for The New York Times, currently based in Ukraine.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: In Mariupol, Russia is using hunger as a weapon of war. Residents described how they are surviving a monthlong siege of the southern port with little food and other necessities.As the war in Ukraine moves into its second month, fears grow of Mariupol’s fall to Russia.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the past, Republicans have been able to secure what some see as an unfair political advantage by gerrymandering political districts.But after the recent redrawing of zones, the congressional map across the U.S. is perhaps more evenly split than at any time in the past 50 years.What happened?Guest: Nate Cohn, a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The surprisingly fair congressional map defies the expectations of many analysts — and it is something of an accident.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A series of text messages released in the past week show how Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court, urged White House officials to push to overturn the result of the 2020 election.There has never been a spouse of a sitting justice who has been as overt a political activist as Ms. Thomas — and that presents a real conundrum for the court.Guest: Jo Becker, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The long crusade of the Thomases has taken them from the fringes of the conservative movement to the very center of it.In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Ginni Thomas was involved in a range of efforts to keep President Donald J. Trump in power.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

At every step of his political career, Senator Joe Manchin III has helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business, including by blocking ambitious climate action.A Times investigation has revealed the strands of the unusual relationship between Mr. Manchin and that especially dirty power plant, showing just how entwined they are.Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: How Mr. Manchin aided coal, stymied climate legislation, and made a fortune.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, 10 million Ukrainians — about a quarter of the population — have been displaced, and about four million have fled the country.Iryna Baramidze is one of them. From a middle-class neighborhood of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, she has been married to her husband for 12 years and has an 11 year-old son, Yuri.Over three weeks, our producer Clare Toeniskoetter followed Iryna as she made an impossible choice.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: After meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland last week, President Biden called Vladimir Putin “a butcher.”As Ukrainians flood into Poland, the travel industry has become part of an effort to supply transportation, accommodation and more to the refugees.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Demand for traveling nurses skyrocketed during the pandemic. In March 2020, there were over 12,000 job opportunities for traveling nurses, but by early December of that year, the number had grown to more than 30,000 open positions. Lauren Hilgers details the experiences of America’s traveling nurses and questions whether this “boom” will continue.Myriad factors compelled thousands to abandon their permanent posts, among them the flexible nature of being a traveling nurse and its associated lifestyle (fewer hours, better pay). Traveling nurses can often make more in months than they would make as staff nurses in a year. Insufficient support to deal with waves of coronavirus sufferers at hospitals has driven many away.But, as Hilgers writes, while hospitals have scrambled to hire traveling nurses, many have been chafing at the rising price tag. A number of states are exploring the option to cap travel-nursing pay, and the American Hospital Association is pushing for a congressional inquiry into the pricing practices of travel-nursing agencies. However, Hilgers concludes, the problem is unlikely to be solved until hospitals start considering how to make bedside jobs more desirable.After two years, nurses in the United States have borne witness to hundreds of thousands of Covid deaths. Should their pay reflect this?This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, thousands of women and girls who were in school or had jobs were forced back into their homes.The Daily producers Lynsea Garrison and Stella Tan have been talking to women and girls across the country about their lives under Taliban rule — and about what kind of future they now face.Background reading: The Taliban has reneged on its promise to open Afghanistan’s girls’ schools. The reversal could threaten aid as international officials had made girls’ education a condition for greater assistance.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

From the outside, Russia’s relentless bombardment of Ukraine looks indiscriminate and improvised. But the approach is part of an approach devised decades ago in Chechnya.The Times journalist Carlotta Gall, who covered the Chechen conflict, explains why wars fought by Russia some 30 years ago could inform what happens next in Ukraine.Guest: Carlotta Gall, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Russia’s experience in a string of wars led to the conclusion that attacking civilian populations was not only acceptable but militarily sound.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Democratic support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who could become the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice, was never in much doubt. Less certain was the depth of Republican opposition.To analyze how the arguments have played out so far in her confirmation hearing, we look at four key moments.Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: In her first day of hearings, Judge Jackson gave few hints about her judicial philosophy but spoke forcefully about public safety and terrorism.On Tuesday, Judge Jackson pushed back against Republican attacks on her record, presenting herself as a firm believer in judicial restraint.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Among the actions taken by the West to punish Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine is the blacklisting of the incredibly rich and politically connected Russian businessmen known as oligarchs.But how could sanctions on Russia’s superwealthy increase the pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin to end the war?Guest: Matt Apuzzo, a reporter for The New York Times, based in Brussels.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: For nearly a decade, sanctions have been little more than names on a list for wealthy Russians. Now, amid the war in Ukraine, governments are working to give them bite.Western investment, law and lobbying firms have previously helped enmesh oligarchs into financial and legal systems.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

More than two years into the pandemic, coronavirus infections are surging in China and nations in Europe. The reason: BA.2, a highly contagious version of the Omicron variant.At the same time, the United States is doing away with a number of pandemic restrictions, with mask mandates ending and businesses no longer requiring proof of vaccination from customers.We explore what these BA.2 surges look like and ask whether the U.S. is ready for a new wave of Covid cases.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Another Covid surge may be coming, and some scientists are warning that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to prevent it from endangering vulnerable Americans and upending lives.Many epidemiologists suspect that BA.2 may reverse the decline of cases in the United States. Here’s what we know so far about the variant. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

In the high-stakes competition to dominate the business of clean energy, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a major arena: The country is the source of more than two-thirds of the world’s cobalt, a key component of electric-car batteries.In recent years, China has established a strong presence in Congo, while the United States has lost ground. We went to the African country to understand how that happened.Guest: Dionne Searcey, a correspondent for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The United States failed to safeguard decades of diplomatic and financial investments in Congo, where the world’s largest supply of cobalt is now controlled by Chinese companies backed by Beijing.The power struggle over Congo’s cobalt has rattled the clean-energy revolution.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It has been three weeks since the war in Ukraine began. The fighting grinds on and there is no clear end in sight. But what are the potential paths forward in the coming days and weeks?On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to Congress, proposed one such path, though it is an incredibly unlikely one: a no-fly zone over Ukraine.Elsewhere, Times reporting has suggested four other potential scenarios — a diplomatic end to the conflict; protracted monthslong fighting; China coming to Russia’s rescue; and President Vladimir V. Putin expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders.We explore these scenarios and consider which of them is most likely to occur.Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The United States accurately predicted the start of the war in Ukraine, sounding the alarm that an invasion was imminent despite Moscow’s denials and Europe’s skepticism. Predicting how it might end is proving far more difficult.In a speech to Congress, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called for a no-fly zone and more weapons to combat Russia’s assault and implored President Biden to be “the leader of peace.”Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

With prices on the rise in the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce on Wednesday an increase in interest rates, essentially pouring a cold glass of water on the economy.Why would the central bank do that? The answer lies in the inflation crisis of the 1970s, when a failure to react quickly enough still looms large in the memory.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a reporter covering the Federal Reserve and the economy for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The Federal Reserve is facing the fastest inflation most Americans have ever seen. The response may require some aggressive — and painful — measures.What is inflation, why is it up, and whom does it hurt? Here’s what to know.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode details graphic scenes and contains strong language.The image shows four people lying on the ground — a woman, a man and two children who had been fleeing from a suburb of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. The woman and her children had been killed by a mortar moments earlier. Around them are Ukrainian soldiers attempting to revive the man.The picture was taken by the photojournalist Lynsey Addario, alongside Andriy Dubchak, a Ukrainian videographer. When it was published by The Times, the image became a watershed, offering irrefutable evidence that Russia’s tactics in the war were killing civilians.Guest: Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist currently working in Ukraine.Background reading: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has repeatedly denied that his forces are targeting civilians. But only a handful of Ukrainian troops were near the bridge when mortar shells began raining down, and they were helping refugees escape Kyiv.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Russians and Ukrainians are deeply connected. Millions of Ukrainians have relatives in Russia. Many have lived in the country.But Moscow has taken steps to shield its people from open information about the war, even as its bombing campaign intensifies.When Ukrainians try to explain the dire situation to family members in Russia, they are often met with denial, resistance, and a kind of refusal to believe.Guest: Valerie Hopkins, a correspondent for The New York Times, currently in Ukraine.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: A wave of disinformation has emanated from the Russian state as the Kremlin tries to shape the messages most Russians are receiving.At the same time, the last vestiges of a Russian free press are being dismantled.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Rozina Ali profiles Rashida Tlaib, the 45-year-old second-term congresswoman from Detroit, who has risen from adverse circumstances to play a significant role in American politics, most notably bringing greater awareness to the ongoing conflict over Palestine.Tlaib is the only Palestinian American serving in the House of Representatives, and the first with family currently living in the West Bank, whose three million inhabitants’ lives are, as Ali explains, “intimately shaped by American support for Israel.”The article explores the criticism leveled at Tlaib, sometimes viciously, by Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats for calling Israel an “apartheid regime,” and for her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to end military occupation by exerting economic pressure on Israel. She has been called antisemitic for her criticism of Israeli policies, and has become a favored quarry of Fox News.But, as Ali explains, Tlaib’s arrival on the national stage coincided with an opening, albeit a small one, within the Democratic Party to challenge the United States’ Israel policy. At the same time that the left has gained a legible footing on the national stage, the Palestinian cause has become a significant part of the politics of the American left. And so Tlaib, a democratic socialist more outspoken on domestic issues than she is on the Palestinian cause, has found herself at the center of this turn.Tlaib stands up for many causes — but what, exactly, does she represent?This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

Ending the war in Ukraine very much depends on how and when President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia allows it to end.In an interview for his podcast “The Ezra Klein Show,” the opinion columnist Ezra Klein spoke with one of the world’s leading experts on Mr. Putin, Fiona Hill, a foreign policy adviser for three United States presidents.Today, we run the discussion between Ms. Hill and Ezra Klein about how Mr. Putin is approaching this moment, and the right and wrong ways for the West to engage him. Guest: Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Here’s a guide to the roots of the Ukraine war.About two-thirds of Ukraine’s population of 44 million people lived in cities before Russia’s invasion began. Now, many urban areas are in the cross hairs of war. What cities is Russia targeting?Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It has been two weeks since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s high-tech army of nearly 200,000 soldiers have not taken control of any major cities, except the southern port of Kherson. The state of the war is eerily stalled and the Russians’ answer has been to encircle cities and, from a distance, bomb what they can’t control. Today, we hear dispatches on two cities in Ukraine’s south that are surrounded and under attack. Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; and Valerie Hopkins, a Moscow correspondent for The Times, currently in Ukraine.Background reading:  Two weeks after the invasion began, tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without food, water or power. The Russians are increasingly resorting to indiscriminate shelling to help their forces advance.The southern city of Mariupol is under a relentless barrage — there is no heat or electricity and little communication with the outside world. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Tuesday morning, President Biden took to the podium at the White House to deliver a solemn and provocative speech. As punishment for waging war on Ukraine, he announced,  the United States would cut off Russian oil imports.Mr. Biden said the move would require some sacrifice, but would be for the greater good.How much will the ban hurt Russia, and American consumers?Guest: Clifford Krauss, a national energy business correspondent for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Mr. Biden banned oil imports from Russia, calling it a “blow to Putin’s war machine.”The ban could have meaningful consequences for the U.S. economy, pushing up prices at the gas pump when inflation is already rapid. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, no single figure has antagonized President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as effectively or persistently as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. His defiant videos and speeches have inspired the West into action and, by his own account, made him a target for Russian assassins. What is it about the comedian-turned-president and his rise to power that poses such a unique threat to Mr. Putin?Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: How Volodymyr Zelensky rallied Ukrainians, and the world, against Putin.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language. In response to Russia’s increasingly brutal campaign against Ukrainian towns and cities, an estimated 1.5 million people — most of them women and children — have fled Ukraine over the past 10 days. It’s the fastest displacement of people in Europe since World War II.While evacuating the capital city of Kyiv for Lviv in the west, a seven-hour journey that took two days and nights, the Daily host Sabrina Tavernise traveled alongside some of those fleeing the conflict.Background reading: With most Ukrainian men legally prohibited from leaving Ukraine, the international border gates serve as a painful filter, splitting families as women and children move on.Spared direct attacks so far, Lviv, a city in Ukraine’s west, has become a transit point for thousands of fleeing refugees and for men and supplies headed to the front lines.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

It was a perplexing event, with little in the way of legal closure. Seven years on from a fatal biker shootout in 2015, Mark Binelli explores the details of the event — which started as a brawl between rival “outlaw” motorcycle clubs, the Cossacks and the Bandidos, at a restaurant in Waco, West Texas, which left nine dead and 20 wounded — and the investigation that followed.The article delves into the methodology of the case’s main investigator, Paul Looney, and a trial-preparation specialist, Roxanne Avery, as well as the event’s cultural significance, described by The New York Times as “what appears to be the largest roundup and mass arrest of bikers in recent American history.”The aftermath of the deadly brawl, which was preceded by rumblings of an escalating feud, has been the subject of protracted interest: Despite the arrests of 177 bikers — all of whom, regardless of the evidence, were subject to identical felony charges and million-dollar bonds — no one has been convicted.Binelli explains the root causes of the tensions between the Bandidos and the Cossacks, relays the details of the incident, and considers why it has been so hard to bring the perpetrators to justice.This story was written by Mark Binelli and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

This episode contains strong language.After winning his House seat in the 2018 midterm elections, Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican of Texas, seemed to have found a sweet spot between full-blown Trumpism and the anti-Trump wing of the party.But after Jan. 6, and ahead of this year’s midterms, more extreme factions of the Republican Party have cast him less as a vision for the future and more as a symbol of what needs snuffing out.The once-in-a-decade redistricting process gives those factions a structural advantage. On the ground in Texas, we explore the impact of redistricting and speak to Mr. Crenshaw about the state of his party.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Competitive districts are disappearing in Texas and beyond. Consider the case of a once-rising Republican star, Dan Crenshaw, in the Houston suburbs.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

After invading, Russia’s military was expected to sweep through Ukraine within a few days, quickly seizing the capital, Kyiv, and installing a pro-Moscow government.It hasn’t worked out that way.Now, with Russia’s advance stalling, there are signs that President Vladimir V. Putin is ready to wage a much darker, grimmer campaign.Guest: Eric Schmitt, a senior writer covering terrorism and national security for The New York Times. Background reading: After days of miscalculation about Ukraine’s resolve to fight, Russian forces are turning toward an old pattern of opening fire on cities and mounting sieges.Plagued by poor morale as well as fuel and food shortages, some Russian troops in Ukraine have surrendered en masse or sabotaged their own vehicles to avoid fighting, a Pentagon official said.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As Russian forces bombard Ukraine’s cities and strike civilian areas with increasingly powerful weapons, the European Union has adopted the largest package of sanctions ever imposed on a single country.The 27-nation bloc overcame a reputation for internal division to agree on the penalties — but will they be enough to help bring the war to an end?Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: As sanctions batter the economy, Russians face the anxieties of a costly war.From culture to commerce, sports to travel, the world is shunning Russia to protest the invasion.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.As the Russian assault has intensified, the government in Ukraine has enacted martial law, requiring men to stay in the country and either join the fight or face the prospect of conscription.We tell the story of three of those men: Eugene, an I.T. worker from the northeastern city of Kharkiv; Tyhran, an animator who attempted to cross the border into Poland; and Andrew, who signed up for the territorial defense force two weeks ago.Guests: Clare Toeniskoetter, a senior producer for The Daily; and Lynsea Garrison, a senior international producer for The Daily. Background reading: “Everybody in our country needs to defend”: Civilian volunteers and paramilitary groups are taking the fight to the Russian Army in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.Photographers and videographers around Ukraine have captured a populace struggling with uncertainty and fear.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.Over the weekend, the battle for Ukraine arrived at the capital, Kyiv, as Russian forces attempted to advance.Would the Russian military quickly overrun the city? Or would Ukrainians, despite being outgunned, somehow find a way to defend their capital?Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The New York Times, reporting from Kyiv.Background reading: Ukraine agreed to talks with Russia, but the fighting still rages.The roots of the Ukraine war: Here’s a guide to what’s at stake for Russia, the U.S. and NATO.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti investigate Pegasus, an Israeli spying tool that was acquired for use by the F.B.I., and which the United States government is now trying to ban.Pegasus is used globally. For nearly a decade, NSO, an Israeli firm, had been selling this surveillance software on a subscription basis to law-enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world, promising to consistently and reliably crack the encrypted communications of any iPhone or Android smartphone.The software has helped the authorities capture drug lords, thwart terrorist plots, fight organized crime, and, in one case, take down a global child-abuse ring, identifying suspects in more than 40 countries. But it has been prone to abuses of power: The Mexican government deployed Pegasus against journalists and political dissidents; and it was used to intercept communications with Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, whom Saudi operatives killed and dismembered in Istanbul in 2018.Cyberweapons are here to stay — but their legacy is still to be determined.This story was written by Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the biggest in Europe since World War II.With the full-scale assault entering its second day on Friday, Ukrainians are coming to terms with the reality that the unthinkable has actually happened.We explore the significance of this moment and speak to Ukrainians on the ground. Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Russia continued its attack on Ukraine early Friday, one day after it invaded the country by land, sea and air, killing more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.Europe faces a new refugee crisis, and harsh economic penalties meant to punish Russia are expected to reverberate worldwide. Here’s what might happen next in the Ukraine crisis.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After months of escalating tensions, President Vladimir V. Putin took to state television on Thursday to declare the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine.In the prelude to the invasion and as Russian troops launched their attacks, we spoke to our colleagues on the ground as they hunkered down to cover the fighting.Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The New York Times; Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times and Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The Times. Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Areas across Ukraine were under attack on Thursday morning. President Biden condemned Russia’s actions, saying that he would speak to the American people later in the day.Why did Russia invade? Here’s what to know about the Ukraine crisis.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

At 10 p.m. in Moscow on Monday night, Russian state television interrupted its regular programming to air an address from President Vladimir V. Putin about the Ukraine crisis.We look back on what Mr. Putin’s hourlong speech — remarkable for his overt display of emotion and grievance — revealed about his rationale for invading.Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Mr. Putin’s speech sounded like a call to war, the culmination of a propaganda barrage orchestrated by Russian state media in recent days.The United States and its allies swiftly imposed economic sanctions on Russia for what President Biden denounced as the beginning of an “invasion of Ukraine.”Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This episode contains strong language.On Monday night, as tensions deepened between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin sent troops into two regions in eastern Ukraine where separatist forces are friendly to Moscow.With dispatches from our reporters on the ground, we analyze why the crisis has deteriorated in the past few days and whether the orders are a precursor to a wider war.Guest: Valerie Hopkins, a correspondent based in Moscow for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The moves by Mr. Putin were his most blatant yet in a confrontation with the West that threatens to escalate into the biggest military action in Europe since World War II.In a speech to Russians on Monday, Mr. Putin buoyed his case for the invasion of rebel territories by arguing that the idea of Ukraine statehood was a fiction.Here’s what to know about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As hospitals in the United States battled another coronavirus wave in the past few months, another crisis was steadily growing more acute: a shortage of nurses.We speak to some of the “forgotten warriors” of the nursing profession, at Pascagoula Hospital in Mississippi, to find out what life is like on the front line of the pandemic.Guest: Andrew Jacobs, a global health reporter for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The exodus of medical workers during the pandemic has been especially brutal for the small, nonprofit safety-net hospitals where millions of Americans seek care.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Since the beginning of the standoff with Moscow over Ukraine, President Biden has been clear that he will not allow American troops to come into direct combat with Russians.Why has the U.S., a country that has intervened all over the world in various contexts, taken that powerful option off the table?Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: While recent Russian rhetoric has stoked hopes of a diplomatic solution, U.S. and NATO officials have accused Moscow of further building up troops.President Biden’s opposition to sending U.S. forces into Ukraine reflects the mood of a war-wary Washington, as well as concerns about Russia’s nuclear arsenal.Here’s a guide to the causes behind the Ukraine crisis and where it might be headed.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Canada has employed strict restrictions in its efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. But unlike in the United States, such measures have received very little pushback or politicization — until recently.Truckers protesting a vaccine mandate have occupied the nation’s capital, Ottawa, for three weeks, leading Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to declare a state of national emergency.We ask how Canada got to this point, and hear what the protest is like on the ground. Guest: Catherine Porter, the Toronto bureau chief for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: The trucker protests seem to challenge the cherished image that Canadians are moderate, rule-following and just plain nice. But was that really a myth all along?The fractious coalition behind Canada’s protests include former law enforcement officers, military veterans and conservative organizers. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Officials in the United States say that Russia could invade Ukraine as early as this week, which raises the question: Should an attack come, how will the Ukrainian people respond? The answer may be complicated. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been a real push and pull between Russia and the West inside Ukraine. We hear about how Ukrainians are viewing the threat. Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter with The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: A trip along the Dnieper River explores what it means to be Ukrainian at a moment of extreme peril, as the country debates Russia’s place in its past, and its future.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As the N.F.L. season comes to a close, we’re looking at a class-action lawsuit that Brian Flores, a former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has filed against the league.At the heart of the case is the Rooney Rule, a policy the league implemented two decades ago that has since been adopted across corporate America.We explore the lawsuit and the Rooney Rule, and we hear from Cyrus Mehri, a civil rights lawyer who helped create the policy.Guest: Ken Belson, a reporter covering the N.F.L. for The New York Times.Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.Background reading: Brian Flores has sued the N.F.L. and its 32 teams alleging that they discriminated against him and other Black coaches in their hiring practices.After Mr. Flores’s lawsuit and a cycle in which only two nonwhite head coaches were hired, the Rooney Rule, the N.F.L.’s biggest diversity initiative, is facing new scrutiny.Those close to Mr. Flores say his lawsuit is in keeping with the sense of moral rectitude instilled in him by his mother as he grew up in a Brooklyn housing project.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

There’s a working theory for the origins of Covid-19. It goes like this: Somewhere in an open-air market in Wuhan, China, a new coronavirus, growing inside an animal, first made the jump to a human. But what happens when diseases spread in the other direction?Sonia Shah, a science journalist, explores the dangers of “spillback,” or “reverse zoonosis”: when humans infect non-humans with disease. Using the history of diseases spreading through mink farms in the United States and Europe as a focus, Shah considers the implications of spillback, and how we might minimize its future impact.Shah considers how spillback can ignite epidemics in wild species, including endangered ones, and can ravage whole ecosystems. More worryingly, she describes how it can establish new wildlife reservoirs that shift the pathogens’ evolutionary trajectory, unleashing novel variants that can fuel new, dangerous waves of disease in humans.This story was written by Sonia Shah. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A mysterious letter detailing a supposed plot by Islamic extremists to take over schools shocked Britain in 2014. But who wrote it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Trojan Horse Affair” is a mystery told in eight parts. Here’s the first. Find the series wherever you get your podcasts.