Logo

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 Sunday Read: 'Who's Making All Those Scam Calls?'

The Daily

  • 770 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 40:05

The app Truecaller estimates that as many as 56 million Americans have fallen foul to scam calls, losing nearly $20 billion.Enter L., an anonymous vigilante, referred to here by his middle initial, who seeks to expose and disrupt these scams, posting his work to a YouTube channel under the name “Jim Browning.”On today’s Sunday Read, Yudhijit Bhattacharjee follows L.’s work and travels to India to understand the people and the forces behind these scams.This story was written by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. 

France, Islam and ‘Laïcité’

The Daily

  • 970 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:23

“Laïcité,” or secularism, the principle that separates religion from the state in France, has long provoked heated dispute in the country. It has intensified recently, when a teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded after showing his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.We look at the roots of secularism and ask whether it works in modern, multicultural France.Guest: Constant Méheut, a reporter for The New York Times in France.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: For generations, public schools assimilated immigrant children into French society by instilling the nation’s ideals. The beheading of a teacher raised doubts about whether that model still worked.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A Broken System for Housing the Homeless

The Daily

  • 630 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:31

This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Victor Rivera has framed his life story as one of redemption and salvation. Escaping homelessness and drug addiction, he founded the Bronx Parent Housing Network, one of the largest nonprofits operating homeless shelters in New York City.But that’s not the whole story. A Times investigation has found a pattern of allegations of sexual abuse and financial misconduct against him during his career.We look at the accusations against Mr. Rivera and ask what lessons can be learned.Guest: Amy Julia Harris, an investigative reporter on The New York Times’s Metro desk. 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: Victor Rivera gained power and profit as New York’s homeless crisis worsened.After the Times investigation, Mr. Rivera was fired and now faces a criminal inquiry.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Homeless and Exploited

The Daily

  • 620 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:27

This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Victor Rivera has framed his life story as one of redemption and salvation. Escaping homelessness and drug addiction, he founded the Bronx Parent Housing Network, one of the largest nonprofits operating homeless shelters in New York City.But that’s not the whole story. A Times investigation has found a pattern of allegations of sexual abuse and financial misconduct against him during his career.We look at the accusations against Mr. Rivera and ask what lessons can be learned.Guest: Amy Julia Harris, an investigative reporter on The New York Times’s Metro desk. 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: Victor Rivera gained power and profit as New York’s homeless crisis worsened.After the Times investigation, Mr. Rivera was fired and now faces a criminal inquiry.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

What Will It Take to Reopen Schools?

The Daily

  • 600 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 33:31

Almost a year into the pandemic and the American education system remains severely disrupted. About half of children across the United States are not in school.The Biden administration has set a clear goal for restarting in-person instruction: reopening K-8 schools within 100 days of his inauguration.Is that ambitious target possible?Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national education correspondent 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: A slow vaccine rollout and local fights between districts and unions could make it harder for President Biden to fulfill his promise to reopen schools quickly.In cities and suburbs where schools are closed, teachers’ unions are often saying: not yet. One powerful union leader is trying to change that.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 Many Lives of Steven Yeun'

The Daily

  • 680 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 36:26

Jay Caspian Kang, the author and narrator of this week’s Sunday Read, spoke with the actor Steven Yeun over Zoom at the end of last year. The premise of their conversations was Mr. Yeun’s latest starring role, in “Minari” — a film about a Korean immigrant family that takes up farming in the rural South.They discussed the usual things: Mr. Yeun’s childhood, his parents and acting career — which includes a seven-year stint on the hugely popular television series “The Walking Dead.” But the topic of conversation kept circling back to something much deeper.Today on The Sunday Read, Jay’s profile and meditation on Asian-American identity.This story was written by Jay Caspian Kang. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

The End of Democracy in Myanmar

The Daily

  • 760 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 23:17

Rumors had been swirling for days before Myanmar’s military launched a coup, taking back power and ousting the civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.Myanmar’s experiment with democracy, however flawed, now appears to be over.Today, we examine the rise and fall of Aung San Suu Kyi.Guest: Hannah Beech, The New York Times’s Southeast Asia bureau chief. 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: The coup returns Myanmar to full military rule after a short span of quasi-democracy. Here is what we know.Myanmar seemed to be building a peaceful transition to civilian governance. Instead, a personal struggle between military and civilian leaders brought it all down.Aung San Suu Kyi, once considered a shimmering icon of democracy, has lost her halo.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

‘Please, Give Me Back My Daughter’

The Daily

  • 670 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:24

When her daughter Karen was kidnapped in 2014, Miriam Rodríguez knew the Zetas, a cartel that ran organized crime in her town of San Fernando, Mexico, were responsible.From the hopelessness that her daughter may never return came resolve: She vowed to find all those responsible and bring them to justice.One by one, Ms. Rodríguez tracked these people down through inventive, homespun detective methods.Today, we share the story of her three-year campaign for justice.Guest: Azam Ahmed, The New York Times’s bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.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: Armed with a handgun, a fake ID card and disguises, Miriam Rodríguez was a one-woman detective squad, defying a system where criminal impunity often prevails. Read Azam's full story here.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Assessing Biden’s Climate Plan

The Daily

  • 680 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 27:21

President Biden’s plans for curbing the most devastating impacts of a changing climate are ambitious.His administration is not only planning a sharp U-turn from the previous White House — former President Donald Trump openly mocked the science behind human-caused climate change — but those aims go even further than the Obama administration’s.Today, we look at the Biden administration’s environmental proposals, as well as the potential roadblocks and whether these changes can last.Guest: Coral Davenport, an energy and environmental policy 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: President Biden, emphasizing job creation, has signed an array of directives that elevate climate change across every level of the federal government. But huge hurdles, some from within his own party, lie ahead.On taking office, Mr. Biden brought with him the largest team of climate change experts ever assembled in the White House.The Biden administration’s ambitions could mean big changes in America’s trade, foreign relations and even defense strategy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The GameStop Rebellion

The Daily

  • 720 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 33:20

This episode contains strong language.GameStop can feel like a retailer from a bygone era. But last week, it was dragged back into the zeitgeist when it became the center of an online war between members of an irreverent Reddit subforum and hedge funds — one that left Wall Street billions of dollars out of pocket.Today, we look at how and why the GameStop surge happened, as well as how it can be viewed as the story of our time.Guests: Taylor Lorenz, a technology reporter covering internet culture for The New York Times; and Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial columnist 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: GameStop shares have soared 1,700 percent as millions of small investors, egged on by social media, employ a classic Wall Street tactic to put the squeeze on Wall Street.A legion of young people — primarily male — have been pouring into digital trading floors for years, raised on social media and eager to teach themselves about stocks. These are the misfits shaking up Wall Street.It has been a weird time in the stock market, where a video game retailer has suddenly become the center of attention. Here are four things you need to know about the GameStop insanity. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

The Sunday Read: 'The Forgotten Sense'

The Daily

  • 800 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 55:37

“Smell is a startling superpower,” writes Brooke Jarvis, the author of today’s Sunday Read. “If you weren’t used to it, it would seem like witchcraft.”For hundreds of years, smell has been disregarded. Most adults in a 2019 survey ranked it as the least important sense; and in a 2011 survey of young people, the majority said that their sense of smell was less valuable to them than their technological devices.The coronavirus has precipitated a global reckoning with the sense. Smell, as many have found in the last year, is no big deal until it’s missing.This story was written by Brooke Jarvis and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A Conspiracy Is Proved Wrong

The Daily

  • 680 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:49

This episode contains strong language. Inauguration Day was supposed to bring vindication for adherents of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon.Instead, they watched as Joe Biden took the oath as the 46th president of the United States.What happens to a conspiracy theory and its followers when they are proved wrong?Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist 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: As Mr. Biden took office and Mr. Trump landed in Florida, with no mass arrests in sight, some QAnon believers struggled to harmonize the falsehoods with the inauguration on their TVs.Valerie Gilbert posts dozens of times a day in support of QAnon. Her story hints at how hard it will be to bring people like her back to reality.What is QAnon? Here is an explainer on the “big tent conspiracy theory.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

A Conspiracy Theory Is Proved Wrong

The Daily

  • 630 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 32:48

This episode contains strong language. Inauguration Day was supposed to bring vindication for adherents of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon.Instead, they watched as Joe Biden took the oath as the 46th president of the United States.What happens to a conspiracy theory and its followers when they are proved wrong?Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist 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: As Mr. Biden took office and Mr. Trump landed in Florida, with no mass arrests in sight, some QAnon believers struggled to harmonize the falsehoods with the inauguration on their TVs.Valerie Gilbert posts dozens of times a day in support of QAnon. Her story hints at how hard it will be to bring people like her back to reality.What is QAnon? Here is an explainer on the “big tent conspiracy theory.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

The Fate of the Filibuster

The Daily

  • 670 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 28:13

As Democrats and Republicans haggled over how to share power in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, made one key demand: Do not touch the filibuster rule.Today, we explore the mechanics and history of the rule and look ahead at its fate. Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, the congressional editor 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: The debate over the minority’s ability to filibuster legislation has foreshadowed a fraught landscape ahead over what Democrats should do if Republicans obstruct President Biden’s agenda.Mr. Biden doesn’t want to eliminate the filibuster, which can be an impediment to major legislation. Left-leaning Democrats disagree, but they’re holding back for now.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

‘The Skunk at the Picnic’: Dr. Anthony Fauci on Working for Trump

The Daily

  • 460 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 36:25

This episode contains strong language.In many instances while advising the Trump administration on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci was faced with a “difficult” situation. Yet he said he had never considered quitting.What was it like working under President Donald J. Trump? We listen in on a candid conversation between Dr. Fauci and Donald G. McNeil Jr., the Times science and health reporter.Guest: Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science and 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: From denialism to death threats, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci described to Donald G. McNeil Jr. a fraught year as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump on the pandemic.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

The Sunday Read: ‘The Amateur Cloud Society That (Sort Of) Rattled the Scientific Community’

The Daily

  • 1.1K views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 39:05

The cultural history of clouds seemed to be shaped by amateurs — the likes of Luke Howard and the Honorable Ralph Abercromby — each of whom projected the ethos of his particular era onto those billowing blank slates in the troposphere. Gavin Pretor-Pinney was our era’s.On today’s Sunday Read, the story of the Cloud Appreciation Society and how Mr. Pretor-Pinney, backed by good will, challenged the cloud authorities.This story was written by Jon Mooallem and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

'What Kind of Message Is That?': How Republicans See the Attack on the Capitol

The Daily

  • 550 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 33:52

Polling in the days since the storming of the Capitol paints a complex picture. While most Americans do not support the riot, a majority of Republicans do not believe that President Trump bears responsibility. And over 70 percent of them say they believe that there was widespread fraud in the election.Before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, we called Trump supporters to hear their views about what happened at the Capitol and to gauge the level of dissatisfaction the new president will inherit.Guest:Jennifer Medina, a national politics 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: A Pennsylvania woman accused of taking Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the attack on the Capitol turned herself in to the police.Mr. Trump has prepared a wave of pardons for his final hours in office. Among those under consideration: the former New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver and the rapper Lil Wayne.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

The Sunday Read: 'The Valve Turners'

The Daily

  • 660 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 46:48

Most Americans treat climate change seriously but not literally — they accept the science, worry about forecasts but tell themselves that someone else will get serious about fixing the problem very soon.The Valve Turners, on the other hand, take climate change both very seriously and very literally.In the fall of 2016, the group of five environmental activists — all in their 50s and 60s, most with children and one with grandchildren — closed off five cross-border crude oil pipelines, including the Keystone.On today’s Sunday Read, who are the Valve Turners and what are their motivations?This story was written by Michelle Nijhuis and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Is More Violence Coming?

The Daily

  • 620 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 27:50

After the attack on the Capitol, social media platforms sprang into action, deleting the accounts of agitators.Without a central place to congregate, groups have splintered off into other, darker corners of the internet. That could complicate the efforts of law enforcement to track their plans.We ask whether the crackdown on social media has reduced the risk of violence — or just made it harder to prevent.Guest: Sheera Frenkel, a cybersecurity 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: In the days since rioters stormed Capitol Hill, fringe groups like armed militias, QAnon conspiracy theorists and far-right supporters of President Trump have vowed to continue their fight in hundreds of conversations on a range of internet platforms.Amazon, Apple and Google have cut off Parler, all but killing the service just as many conservatives were seeking alternatives to Facebook and Twitter.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 

A Swift Impeachment Plan

The Daily

  • 530 views
  • about 2 years ago
  • 28:34

At the heart of the move to impeach President Trump is a relatively simple accusation: that he incited a violent insurrection against the government of the United States.We look at the efforts to punish the president for the attack on the Capitol and explain what the impeachment process might look like.Guest: Nicholas Fandos, a national 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: Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would formally call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to strip President Trump of power and move to impeach the president if Mr. Pence refused.Here’s a closer look at what the president said at a rally of his supporters, which is a focus of the impeachment case.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily