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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.

The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu

The Daily

  • 9 views
  • about 19 hours ago
  • 23:25

The outbreak of bird flu currently tearing through the nation’s poultry is the worst in U.S. history. Scientists say it is now spreading beyond farms into places and species it has never been before.Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The Times, explains.Guest: Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Scientists have faulted the federal response to bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms.Here’s what to know about the outbreak.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Sunday Special: 'Modern Love'

The Daily

  • 30 views
  • 2 days ago
  • 31:59

The chef Samin Nosrat lives by the idea that food is love. Her Netflix series, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” and the James Beard Award-winning cookbook that inspired it, were about using food to build community and forge connections. Since then, all of her creative projects and collaborations have focused on inspiring people to cook, and eat, with their friends and loved ones. After the recent loss of her father, Samin has gained an even deeper understanding of what it means to savor a meal — or even an hour — with loved ones. This week, she reads an essay about exactly that: “You May Want to Marry My Husband” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It’s one of the most-read Modern Love essays ever.

The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness

The Daily

  • 47 views
  • 4 days ago
  • 29:46

Debates over homeless encampments in the United States have intensified as their number has surged. To tackle the problem, some cities have enforced bans on public camping.As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about whether such actions are legal, Abbie VanSickle, who covers the court for The Times, discusses the case and its far-reaching implications.Guest: Abbie VanSickle, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A ruling in the case could help determine how states, particularly those in the West, grapple with a rising homelessness crisis.In a rare alliance, Democrats and Republicans are seeking legal power to clear homeless camps.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial

The Daily

  • 41 views
  • 5 days ago
  • 30:07

Political and legal history are being made in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Donald J. Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to undergo a criminal trial.Jonah Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York, explains what happened during the opening days of the trial, which is tied to Mr. Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star.Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.Background reading: Here’s a recap of the courtroom proceedings so far.Mr. Trump’s trial enters its third day with seven jurors chosen.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?

The Daily

  • 42 views
  • 6 days ago
  • 25:21

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun for the first time to regulate a class of synthetic chemicals known as “forever chemicals” in America’s drinking water.Kim Tingley, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains how these chemicals, which have been linked to liver disease and other serious health problems, came to be in the water supply — and in many more places.Guest: Kim Tingley, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: “Forever chemicals” are everywhere. What are they doing to us?The E.P.A. issued its rule about “forever chemicals” last week.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A.I.’s Original Sin

The Daily

  • 87 views
  • 7 days ago
  • 28:04

A Times investigation shows how the country’s biggest technology companies, as they raced to build powerful new artificial intelligence systems, bent and broke the rules from the start.Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The Times, explains what he uncovered.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: How tech giants cut corners to harvest data for A.I.What to know about tech companies using A.I. to teach their own 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.

Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel

The Daily

  • 68 views
  • 8 days ago
  • 23:54

Overnight on Saturday, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli soil, shooting hundreds of missiles and drones at multiple targets.Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains what happened and considers whether a broader war is brewing in the Middle East.Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Here is what we know about Iran’s attack on Israel.The barrage made the Middle East’s new reality undeniable: Clashes are becoming harder and harder to contain.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: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’

The Daily

  • 68 views
  • 9 days ago
  • 43:18

At the center of the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan is the accusation that Trump took part in a scheme to turn The National Enquirer and its sister publications into an arm of his 2016 presidential campaign. The documents detailed three “hush money” payments made to a series of individuals to guarantee their silence about potentially damaging stories in the months before the election. Because this was done with the goal of helping his election chances, the case implied, these payments amounted to a form of illegal, undisclosed campaign spending. And because Trump created paperwork to make the payments seem like regular legal expenses, that amounted to a criminal effort at a coverup, argued Alvin Bragg, the district attorney of Manhattan. Trump has denied the charges against him.For Lachlan Cartwright, reading the indictment was like stepping through the looking glass, because it described a three-year period in his own professional life, one that he has come to deeply regret. Now, as a former president faces a criminal trial for the first time in American history, Cartwright is forced to grapple with what really happened at The Enquirer in those years — and whether and how he can ever set things right.

How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam

The Daily

  • 120 views
  • 11 days ago
  • 33:52

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico.Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.Guest: Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City.Background reading: How a brutal Mexican drug cartel came to target seniors and their timeshares.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics

The Daily

  • 59 views
  • 12 days ago
  • 28:38

For former President Donald J. Trump, 2024 was supposed to be dominated by criminal trials. Instead, he’s found ways to delay almost all of them.Alan Feuer, who covers the criminal cases against Mr. Trump for The Times, explains how he did it.Guest: Alan Feuer, who covers extremism and political violence for The New York Times.Background reading: On Wednesday, Donald J. Trump lost his third try in a week to delay his upcoming Manhattan trial.But stalling has worked for Mr. Trump in the past.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 Abortion Dilemma

The Daily

  • 48 views
  • 13 days ago
  • 23:05

By the time his first term was over, Donald J. Trump had cemented his place as the most anti-abortion president in U.S. history. Now, facing political blowback, he’s trying to change that reputation.Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The Times, discusses whether Mr. Trump’s election-year pivot can work.Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: After months of mixed signals, former President Donald J. Trump said abortion restrictions should be left to the states.On abortion, Mr. Trump chose politics over principles. Will it matter?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall

The Daily

  • 42 views
  • 14 days ago
  • 30:46

When Elon Musk set up Tesla’s factory in China, he made a bet that brought him cheap parts and capable workers — a bet that made him ultrarich and saved his company.Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why, now, that lifeline may have given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game. Guest: Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also bound him to Beijing.Mr. Musk helped create the Chinese electric vehicle industry. But he is now facing challenges there as well as scrutiny in the West over his reliance on China.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Eclipse Chaser

The Daily

  • 28 views
  • 15 days ago
  • 29:31

Today, millions of Americans will have the opportunity to see a rare total solar eclipse.Fred Espenak, a retired astrophysicist known as Mr. Eclipse, was so blown away by an eclipse he saw as a teenager that he dedicated his life to traveling the world and seeing as many as he could.Mr. Espenak discusses the eclipses that have punctuated and defined the most important moments in his life, and explains why these celestial phenomena are such a wonder to experience.Guest: Fred Espenak, a.k.a. “Mr. Eclipse,” a former NASA astrophysicist and lifelong eclipse chaser.Background reading: A total solar eclipse is coming. Here’s what you need to know.Millions of people making plans to be in the path of the solar eclipse on Monday know it will be awe-inspiring. What is that feeling?The eclipse that ended a war and shook the gods forever.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: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’

The Daily

  • 27 views
  • 16 days ago
  • 26:47

Chris Kerr was 12 when he first observed a deathbed vision. His memory of that summer in 1974 is blurred, but not the sense of mystery he felt at the bedside of his dying father. Throughout Kerr’s childhood in Toronto, his father, a surgeon, was too busy to spend much time with his son, except for an annual fishing trip they took, just the two of them, to the Canadian wilderness. Gaunt and weakened by cancer at 42, his father reached for the buttons on Kerr’s shirt, fiddled with them and said something about getting ready to catch the plane to their cabin in the woods. “I knew intuitively, I knew wherever he was, must be a good place because we were going fishing,” Kerr told me.Kerr now calls what he witnessed an end-of-life vision. His father wasn’t delusional, he believes. His mind was taking him to a time and place where he and his son could be together, in the wilds of northern Canada.Kerr followed his father into medicine, and in the last 10 years he has hired a permanent research team that expanded studies on deathbed visions to include interviews with patients receiving hospice care at home and with their families, deepening researchers’ understanding of the variety and profundity of these visions.

An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth

The Daily

  • 27 views
  • 18 days ago
  • 28:04

Decades of efforts to cut carbon emissions have failed to significantly slow the rate of global warming, so scientists are now turning to bolder approaches.Christopher Flavelle, who writes about climate change for The Times, discusses efforts to engineer our way out of the climate crisis.Guest: Christopher Flavelle, who covers how the United States tries to adapt to the effects of climate change for The New York Times.Background reading: Warming is getting worse. So they just tested a way to deflect the sun.Can we engineer our way out of the climate crisis?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen

The Daily

  • 28 views
  • 19 days ago
  • 31:12

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off global outrage and condemnation.Kim Severson, who covers food culture for The Times, discusses the World Central Kitchen, the aid group at the center of the story; and Adam Rasgon, who reports from Israel, explains what we know about the tragedy so far.Guest: Kim Severson, a food correspondent for The New York Times.Adam Rasgon, an Israel correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The relief convoy was hit just after workers had delivered tons of food.José Andrés, the Spanish chef who founded World Central Kitchen, and his corps of cooks have become leaders in disaster aid.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief

The Daily

  • 66 views
  • 20 days ago
  • 27:12

In his campaign for re-election, President Biden has said that raising taxes on the wealthy and on big corporations is at the heart of his agenda. But under his watch, overall net taxes have decreased.Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains.Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times.Background reading: An analysis prepared for The New York Times estimates that the tax changes President Biden has ushered into law will amount to a net cut of about $600 billion over four years.“Does anybody here think the tax code’s fair?” For Mr. Biden, tax policy has been at the center of his efforts to make the economy more equitable.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate

The Daily

  • 140 views
  • 21 days ago
  • 28:35

Long after schools have fully reopened after the pandemic, one concerning metric suggests that children and their parents have changed the way they think about being in class.Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The Times, discusses the apparent shift to a culture in which school feels optional.Guest: Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: ​School absences have “exploded” across the United States.Data shows that the more time students spent in remote instruction during the pandemic, the further they fell behind.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem

The Daily

  • 95 views
  • 22 days ago
  • 35:19

Ronna McDaniel’s time at NBC was short. The former Republican National Committee chairwoman was hired as an on-air political commentator but released just days later after an on-air revolt by the network’s leading stars.Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The Times, discusses the saga and what it might reveal about the state of television news heading into the 2024 presidential race.Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times.Background reading: Ms. McDaniel’s appointment had been immediately criticized by reporters at the network and by viewers on social media.The former Republican Party leader tried to downplay her role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A review of the record shows she was involved in some key episodes.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

From Serial: Season 4 - Guantánamo

The Daily

  • 270 views
  • 24 days ago
  • 42:24

Maybe you have an idea in your head about what it was like to work at Guantánamo, one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Think again.