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The Daily

This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m.

An Explosive Hearing in Trump’s Georgia Election Case

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 36:18

In tense proceedings in Georgia, a judge will decide whether Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and her office should be disqualified from their prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump.Richard Fausset, a national reporter for The Times, talks through the dramatic opening day of testimony, in which a trip to Belize, a tattoo parlor and Grey Goose vodka all featured.Guest: Richard Fausset, a national reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: With everything on the line, Ms. Willis delivered raw testimony.What happens if Fani Willis is disqualified from the Trump case?Read takeaways from the hearing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

How China Broke One Man’s Dreams

The Daily

  • 580 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 29:38

A crisis of confidence is brewing inside China, where the government is turning believers in the Chinese dream into skeptics willing to flee the country.Li Yuan, who writes about technology, business and politics across Asia for The Times, explains why that crisis is now showing up at the United States’ southern border.Guest: Li Yuan, who writes the New New World column for The New York Times.Background reading: Why more Chinese are risking danger in southern border crossings to the United States.More than 24,000 Chinese citizens have been apprehended making the crossing from Mexico in the past year. That is more than in the preceding 10 years combined.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Biden Problem Democrats Can No Longer Ignore

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 33:06

Questions about President Biden’s age sharpened again recently after a special counsel report about his handling of classified information described him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The Times, explains why Mr. Biden’s condition can no longer be ignored.Guest: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How Old Is Too Old to Be President? An Uncomfortable Question Arises Again.‘My Memory Is Fine,’ a Defiant Biden Declares After Special Counsel ReportFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Why the Race to Replace George Santos Is So Close

The Daily

  • 440 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 27:23

Voters in New York are choosing the successor to George Santos, the disgraced Republican who was expelled from Congress in December.Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics and government for The Times, explains how the results of the race will hold important clues for both parties in November.Guest: Nicholas Fandos, a reporter covering New York politics and government for The New York Times.Background reading: What to Know About the Race to Replace George SantosDays before a special House election in New York, Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip traded blows in the race’s lone debate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Why Boeing’s Top Airplanes Keep Failing

The Daily

  • 560 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 21:57

When a piece of an Alaska Airlines flight blew out into the sky in January, concern and scrutiny focused once more on the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing.Sydney Ember, a business reporter for The Times, explains what has been learned about the incident and what the implications might be for Boeing.Guest: Sydney Ember, a business reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The Alaska Airlines plane may have left the Boeing factory missing bolts, the National Transportation Safety Board said.Facing another Boeing crisis, the F.A.A. takes a harder line.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Sunday Read: ‘The Unthinkable Mental Health Crisis That Shook a New England College’

The Daily

  • 450 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 42:04

The first death happened before the academic year began. In July 2021, an undergraduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute was reported dead. The administration sent a notice out over email, with the familiar, thoroughly vetted phrasing and appended resources. Katherine Foo, an assistant professor in the department of integrative and global studies, felt especially crushed by the news. She taught this student. He was Chinese, and she felt connected to the particular set of pressures he faced. She read through old, anonymous course evaluations, looking for any sign she might have missed. But she was unsure where to put her personal feelings about a loss suffered in this professional context.The week before the academic year began, a second student died. A rising senior in the computer-science department who loved horticulture took his own life. This brought an intimation of disaster. One student suicide is a tragedy; two might be the beginning of a cluster. Some faculty members began to feel a tinge of dread when they stepped onto campus.Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts is a tidy New England college campus with the high-saturation landscaping typical of well-funded institutions. The hedges are beautifully trimmed, the pathways are swept clean. Red-brick buildings from the 19th century fraternize with high glass facades and renovated interiors. But over a six-month period, the school was turned upside down by a spate of suicides.

Kick Trump Off the Ballot? Even Liberal Justices Are Skeptical

The Daily

  • 470 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 34:05

In December, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a bombshell ruling that said Donald Trump was ineligible to be on the state’s ballot for the Republican presidential primary, saying he was disqualified under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution because he had engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6.The Supreme Court has taken on the case and on Thursday, the justices heard arguments for and against keeping Trump on the ballot.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, analyzes the arguments, the justices’ responses, and what they can tell us about the likely ruling in a case that could alter the course of this year’s race for president.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments.Background reading: What Happens Next in Trump’s Supreme Court Case on His EligibilityA Ruling for Trump on Eligibility Could Doom His Bid for ImmunityFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A Guilty Verdict For a Mass Shooter’s Mother

The Daily

  • 480 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 36:51

Warning: this episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.A few days ago, for the first time, an American jury convicted a parent for a mass shooting carried out by their child.Lisa Miller, who has been following the case since its beginning, explains what the historic verdict really means.Guest: Lisa Miller, a domestic correspondent for The New York TimesBackground reading: From New York Magazine: Will James and Jennifer Crumbley be Found Guilty for Their Son’s Mass Shooting?Mother of Michigan Gunman Found Guilty of ManslaughterA Mom’s Conviction Offers Prosecutors a New Tactic in Mass Shooting CasesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

El Salvador Decimated Gangs. But at What Cost?

The Daily

  • 450 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 29:07

El Salvador has experienced a remarkable transformation. What had once been one of the most violent countries in the world has become incredibly safe.Natalie Kitroeff, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, discusses the cost of that transformation to the people of El Salvador, and the man at the center of it, the newly re-elected President Nayib Bukele.Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.Background reading: El Salvador Decimated Its Ruthless Gangs. But at What Cost?He Cracked Down on Gangs and Rights. Now He’s Set to Win a Landslide.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.N. Scandal Threatening Crucial Aid to Gaza

The Daily

  • 450 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 32:19

Late last month, an explosive allegation that workers from a crucial U.N. relief agency in Gaza had taken part in the Oct. 7 attacks stunned the world and prompted major donors, including the United States, to suspend funding.Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, explains what this could mean for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and how it might complicate Israel’s strategy in the war.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: U.N. Agency for Palestinians Imperiled by Terrorism ChargesThe 8 Days That Roiled the U.N.’s Top Agency in GazaUNRWA Set to Lose $65 Million, Documents ShowFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The 1948 Economic Moment That Might Explain Our Own

The Daily

  • 630 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 25:09

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.

The Sunday Read: ‘The Great Freight-Train Heists of the 21st Century’

The Daily

  • 560 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 49:21

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.

On the Ballot in South Carolina: Biden’s Pitch to Black Voters

The Daily

  • 490 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 29:36

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.

Secure the Border, Say Republicans. So Why Are They Killing a Plan to Do That?

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 26:41

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.

Is the Future of Medicine Hidden in Ancient DNA?

The Daily

  • 560 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 24:35

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.

Trump’s Voters vs. Haley’s Donors

The Daily

  • 520 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 30:08

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.

The Failed Promise of Police Body Cameras

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 30:25

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.

The Sunday Read: ‘The Whale Who Went AWOL’

The Daily

  • 500 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 44:41

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.

The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia

The Daily

  • 620 views
  • 8 months ago
  • 01:00:56

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 Sunday Read: ‘Ghosts on the Glacier’

The Daily

  • 800 views
  • 9 months ago
  • 01:16:30

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.