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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.

Life After the Vaccine in Israel

The Daily

  • 280 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 27:13

Just a few months ago, Israel was in dire shape when it came to the coronavirus. It had among the highest daily infection and death rates in the world. Now, Israel has outpaced much of the world in vaccinating its population and hospitalizations have fallen dramatically. Today, how it is managing the return to normality and the moral and ethical questions that its decisions have raised. Guest: Isabel Kershner, a correspondent in Jerusalem for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Israel’s “Green Pass” creates a two-tier system for the vaccinated and unvaccinated, raising legal, moral and ethical questions.The pandemic lockdowns brought tensions between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox communities to the boiling point. The political consequences could be felt 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.

The Sunday Read: 'The Case for the Subway'

The Daily

  • 410 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 01:02:00

Long before it became an archaic and filthy symbol of everything wrong with America’s broken cities, the New York subway was a marvel.In recent years, it has been falling apart.Today on The Sunday Read, a look at why failing to fix it would be a collective and historic act of self-destruction. This story was written by Jonathan Mahler and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

Odessa, Part 2: Friday Night Lights

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 48:13

In 1988, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, was so good that it had the power to lift an entire city out of its depression, making Odessa the setting of the television series “Friday Night Lights.” And in the decades since, as West Texas has weathered the nauseating undulations of the oil industry, football has remained steady.So when the pandemic hit, the town did what it could to make sure the season stayed on. And at Odessa High School, where the football team struggles to compete against local rivals, that meant ensuring that their award-winning marching band could keep playing.In part two of Odessa, we follow what happened when the season opened — and how the school weighed the risks to students’ physical and mental health.

Odessa Part 2: Friday Night Lights

The Daily

  • 250 views
  • 6 months ago
  • 45:49

In 1988, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, was so good that it had the power to lift an entire city out of its depression, making Odessa the setting of the television series “Friday Night Lights.” And in the decades since, as West Texas has weathered the nauseating undulations of the oil industry, football has remained steady.So when the pandemic hit, the town did what it could to make sure the season stayed on. And at Odessa High School, where the football team struggles to compete against local rivals, that meant ensuring that their award-winning marching band could keep playing.In part two of Odessa, we follow what happened when the season opened — and how the school weighed the risks to students’ physical and mental health.

Diana and Meghan

The Daily

  • 350 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 34:38

This episode contains references to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.In 1995, Diana, Princess of Wales, made a decision that was unprecedented for a member of the British royal family: She sat down with the BBC to speak openly about the details of her life.On Sunday, her younger son, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan, told Oprah Winfrey of their own travails within the family.Today, we look at the similarities between these two interviews.Guest: Sarah Lyall, a writer at large for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: A quarter-century after Diana broke her silence about life among the British royals, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, did the same. Their stories were remarkably similar.The Sussexes have accused the royal family of failing to protect them, both emotionally and financially. Here’s what we learned from Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

‘I Thought I Was Going to Die’: A Capitol Police Officer Recounts Jan. 6

The Daily

  • 380 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 33:39

When Officer Harry Dunn reporter for work at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, he expected a day of relatively normal protests. But the situation soon turned dangerous.Today, we talk with Officer Dunn about his experience fending off rioters during the storming of the Capitol.Guest: Officer Harry Dunn, a Capitol Police officer who was on duty during the storming of the Capitol. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: “Black officers fought a different battle” on Jan. 6, Officer Harry Dunn said. Here is what he saw and heard when rioters, including white supremacists, stormed the Capitol.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 Lonely Death of George Bell'

The Daily

  • 430 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 01:04:20

Thousands die in New York every year. Some of them alone. The city might weep when the celebrated die, or the innocent are slain, but for those who pass in an unwatched struggle, there is no one to mourn for them and their names, simply added to a death table.In 2014, George Bell, 72, was among those names. He died alone in his apartment in north central Queens.On today’s Sunday Read, what happens when someone dies, and no one is there to arrange their funeral? And who exactly was George Bell?This story was written by N.R. Kleinfield and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

How Close Is the Pandemic’s End?

The Daily

  • 390 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 30:39

It’s been almost a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.And the virus is persisting: A downward trend in the U.S. caseload has stalled, and concern about the impact of variants is growing. Yet inoculations are on the rise, and the F.D.A. has approved Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, the third to be approved in the U.S.Today, we check in on the latest about the coronavirus. Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.    Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: After the Johnson & Johnson vaccine approval, President Biden vowed that there would be enough vaccine doses for “every adult in America” by the end of May.For more information about the emerging mutations, check out The Times’s variant tracker. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Can Bill Gates Vaccinate the World?

The Daily

  • 400 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 33:36

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the most powerful and provocative private individual operating within global public health.Today, we look at the role he has played in public health and his latest mission: procuring Covid-19 vaccines for countries in the developing world.Guest: Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter for The New York Times; Nicholas Kulish, an enterprise reporter for The Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Bill Gates is working with the World Health Organization, drugmakers and nonprofits to tackle the coronavirus, including in the world’s poorest nations. Can they do it?An operation to supply billions of vaccine doses to poorer countries got underway last week. But as rich countries buy most of the available supply, stark inequalities remain.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Texas After the Storm

The Daily

  • 230 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 30:20

Even as the cold has lifted and the ice has melted in Texas, the true depth of the devastation left by the state’s winter storm can be difficult to see.Today, we look at the aftermath through the eyes of Iris Cantu, Suzanne Mitchell and Tumaini Criss — three women who, after the destruction of their homes, are reckoning with how they are going to move forward with their lives.Guest: Jack Healy, a Colorado-based national correspondent for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Even with power back on across most of the state and warmer weather forecast, millions of Texans whose health and finances were already battered by a year of Covid-19 now face a grinding recovery from the storm.Here’s an analysis of how Texas’s drive for energy independence set it up for disaster.As the freak winter storm raged, historically marginalized communities were among the first to face power outages.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: ‘Sigrid Johnson Was Black. A DNA Test Said She Wasn’t’

The Daily

  • 400 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 48:21

It all started when Sigrid E. Johnson was 62. She got a call from an old friend, asking her to participate in a study about DNA ancestry tests and ethnic identity. She agreed.Ms. Johnson thought she knew what the outcome would be. When she was 16, her mother told her that she had been adopted as an infant. Her biological mother was an Italian woman from South Philadelphia, and her father was a Black man.The results, however, told a different story.Today on The Sunday Read, what the growth in DNA testing, with its surprises and imperfections, means for people’s sense of identity.This story was written by Ruth Padawer and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Odessa, Part 1: The School Year Begins

The Daily

  • 410 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 40:01

Odessa is a four-part audio documentary series about one West Texas high school reopening during the pandemic — and the teachers, students and nurses affected in the process.For the past six months, The New York Times has documented students’ return to class at Odessa High School from afar through Google hangouts, audio diaries, phone calls and FaceTime tours. And as the country continues to debate how best to reopen schools, Odessa is the story of what happened in a school district that was among those that went first.

Fate, Domestic Terrorism and the Nomination of Merrick Garland

The Daily

  • 220 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 28:08

Five years ago, Judge Merrick B. Garland became a high-profile casualty of Washington’s political dysfunction. President Barack Obama selected him to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, but Senate Republicans blocked his nomination. In the process, Mr. Garland became known for the job he didn’t get.Now, after being nominated by the Biden administration to become the next attorney general, Mr. Garland is finding professional qualifications under scrutiny once again. In light of the attack on the Capitol, we explore how his career leading investigations into domestic terrorism prepared him for his Senate confirmation hearing.Guest: Mark Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, who spoke with Judge Merrick B. Garland.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In his confirmation hearing this week, Mr. Garland said the United States now faced “a more dangerous period” from domestic extremists than at the time of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.Here’s why Mr. Garland described his experience leading the Justice Department’s investigation into the 1995 bombing as “the most important thing I have ever done in my life.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

When Covid Hit Nursing Homes, Part 1: ‘My Mother Died Alone’

The Daily

  • 220 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 25:25

When New York was the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, Gov. Andrew Cuomo emerged as a singular, strong leader. Now his leadership is embattled, particularly over the extent of deaths in nursing homes during the peak.Today, in the first of two parts on what went wrong in New York's nursing homes, we look at the crisis through the eyes of a woman, Lorry Sullivan, who lost her mother in a New York nursing home.Guest: Amy Julia Harris, an investigative reporter on The New York Times’s Metro desk. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Trying to quell a growing outcry over the state’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched into a 90-minute defense of his actions while lashing out at critics.The scrutiny of Covid-19 deaths in New York nursing homes has also put Governor Cuomo’s aggressive behavior in the spotlight.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Legacy of Rush Limbaugh

The Daily

  • 220 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 32:52

The conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh died last week. He was 70.For decades, he broadcast mistrust and grievance into the homes of millions. Mr. Limbaugh helped create an entire ecosystem of right-wing media and changed the course of American conservatism.Today, we look back on Rush Limbaugh’s career and how he came to have an outsize influence on Republican politics.Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The Times Magazine. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: With a following of many millions and a a divisive, derisive style of mockery and grievance, Rush Limbaugh was a force in reshaping American conservatism. Read his obituary here.Weaponizing conspiracy theories and bigotry long before Donald Trump’s ascent, the radio giant helped usher in the political style that came to dominate the Republican Party.  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 Man Who Turned Credit Card Points Into an Empire’

The Daily

  • 400 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 53:32

In recent years, travel — cheap travel, specifically — has boomed. Like all booms it has its winners (including influencers and home-sharing platforms like Airbnb) and its losers (namely locals and the environment). Somewhere in that mix is The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, who runs a blog that helps visitors navigate the sprawling, knotty and complex world of travel and credit card rewards.Today on The Sunday Read, a look at the life and business of Mr. Kelly, a man who goes on vacation for a living.This story was written by Jamie Lauren Keiles and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Kids and Covid

The Daily

  • 250 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 27:11

The end of summer 2021 has been earmarked as the time by which most American adults will be vaccinated. But still remaining is the often-overlooked question of vaccinations for children, who make up around a quarter of the U.S. population.Without the immunization of children, herd immunity cannot be reached.Today, we ask when America’s children will be vaccinated.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times. For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here.Background reading: Pfizer and Moderna have begun testing their vaccines on children 12 and older. The vaccine for kids is coming, but not for many months.New research has cast doubt on the idea that prior infections with garden-variety coronaviruses might shield some people, particularly children, from the pandemic.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

A Battle for the Soul of Rwanda

The Daily

  • 260 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 39:20

The story of how Paul Rusesabagina saved the lives of his hotel guests during the Rwandan genocide was immortalized in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda.” Leveraging his celebrity, Mr. Rusesabagina openly criticized the Rwandan government, and is now imprisoned on terrorism charges.Today, we look at Mr. Rusesabagina’s story tells us about the past, present and future of Rwanda.Guest: Declan Walsh, chief Africa correspondent for The New York Times; and Abdi Latif Dahir, East Africa correspondent for The Times.For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here.Background reading: Paul Rusesabagina was mysteriously taken back to Rwanda late last year and arrested. His supporters say he has no chance of getting a fair hearing.In a jailhouse interview with Abdi Latif Dahir, Mr. Rusesabagina said he was duped into an arrest. He believed he was being flown to Burundi to talk to church groups.

The Blackout in Texas

The Daily

  • 340 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 28:43

An intense winter storm has plunged Texas into darkness. The state’s electricity grid has failed in the face of the worst cold weather there in decades.The Texas blackouts could be a glimpse into America’s future as a result of climate change. Today, we explore the reasons behind the power failures.Guest: Clifford Krauss, a national energy business correspondent based in Houston for The New York Times; and Brad Plumer, a climate reporter for The Times. For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here.Background reading: Systems are designed to handle spikes in demand, but the wild and unpredictable weather linked to global warming will very likely push grids beyond their limits.As a winter storm forced the Texas power grid to the brink of collapse, millions of people were submerged into darkness, bitter cold and a sense of indignation over being stuck in uncomfortable and even dangerous conditions.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

An Impeachment Manager on Trump’s Acquittal

The Daily

  • 170 views
  • 7 months ago
  • 38:35

There was a sense of fatalism going into former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. Many felt that it would almost certainly end in acquittal.Not the Democratic impeachment managers. “You cannot go into a battle thinking you’re going to lose,” said Stacey Plaskett, the congressional representative from the U.S. Virgin Islands who was one of the managers.Today, we sit down with Ms. Plaskett for a conversation with Ms. Plaskett about the impeachment and acquittal and what happens next.Guest: Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, an impeachment manager in the second trial.For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here.Background reading: Who is Stacey Plaskett? She could not vote to impeach President Donald Trump, but she made a case against him in his Senate trial.As one of the few Black lawmakers to play a role in the impeachment proceedings, Ms. Plaskett plans to turn her newfound prominence into gains for her constituents.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.