The Daily

A Deadly Tinderbox

The Daily

• 510 views
• over 2 years ago
• 28:57

“The entire state is burning.” That was the refrain Jack Healy, our national correspondent, kept hearing when he arrived in the fire zone in Oregon.The scale of the wildfires is dizzying — millions of acres have burned, 30 different blazes are raging and thousands of people have been displaced.Dry conditions, exacerbated by climate change and combined with a windstorm, created the deadly tinderbox.The disaster has proved a fertile ground for misinformation: Widely discredited rumors spread on social media claiming that antifa activists were setting fires and looting.Today, we hear from people living in the fire’s path who told Jack about the toll the flames had exacted.Guest: Jack Healy, a national correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading:“The long-term recovery is going to last years,” an emergency management director said as the fires left a humanitarian disaster in their wake.The fearmongering and false rumors that accompanied a tumultuous summer of protests in Oregon have become a volatile complication in the disaster.

The Sunday Read: 'The Children in the Shadows'

The Daily

• 570 views
• over 2 years ago
• 01:31:29

Prince is 9 years old, ebullient and bright; he has spent much of the pandemic navigating the Google Classroom app from his mother’s phone.The uncertainty and isolation of the coronavirus lockdown is not new to him — he is one of New York City’s more than 100,000 homeless schoolchildren, the largest demographic within the homeless population.Families like Prince’s are largely invisible.Samantha M. Shapiro, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, has spent the last two years speaking with over a dozen homeless families with children of school age. On this week’s The Sunday Read, she explores what their lives are like.This story was written by Samantha M. Shapiro and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Wildfires

The Daily

• 400 views
• over 2 years ago
• 27:11

When many in California talk about this year’s wildfires, they describe the color — the apocalyptic, ominous, red-orange glow in the sky.The state’s current wildfires have seen two and a half million acres already burned.Climate change has made conditions ripe for fires: Temperatures are higher and the landscape drier. But the destruction has also become more acute because of the number of homes that are built on the wildland-urban interface — where development meets wild vegetation.The pressures of California’s population have meant that towns are encouraged to build in high-risk areas. And when a development is ravaged by a fire, it is often rebuilt, starting the cycle of destruction over again.Today, we explore the practice of building houses in fire zones and the role insurance companies could play in disrupting this cycle. Guest: Christopher Flavelle, who covers the impact of global warming on people, governments and industries for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedailyBackground reading: “People are always asking, ‘Is this the new normal?’” a climate scientist said. “I always say no. It’s going to get worse.” If climate change was an abstract notion a decade ago, today it is all too real for Californians.Research suggests that most Americans support restrictions on building homes in fire- or flood-prone areas. 

The Killing of Breonna Taylor, Part 2

The Daily

• 730 views
• over 2 years ago
• 32:41

This episode contains strong language. “So there’s just shooting, like we’re both on the ground,” Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, said of the raid on her home. “I don’t know where these shots are coming from, and I’m scared.”Much of what happened on the night the police killed Ms. Taylor is unclear.As part of an investigation for The New York Times, our correspondent Rukmini Callimachi and the filmmaker Yoruba Richen spoke to neighbors and trawled through legal documents, police records and call logs to understand what happened that night and why.In the second and final part of the series, Rukmini talks about her findings. Guest: Rukmini Callimachi, a correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Run-ins with the law by Jamarcus Glover, Ms. Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, entangled her even as she tried to move on. An investigation involving interviews, documents and jailhouse recordings helps explain what happened the night she was killed and how she landed in the middle of a deadly drug raid.

The Killing of Breonna Taylor, Part 1

The Daily

• 510 views
• over 2 years ago
• 30:19

At the beginning of 2020, Breonna Taylor posted on social media that it was going to be her year. She was planning a family with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker; she had a new job and a new car. She had also blocked Jamarcus Glover, a convicted drug dealer with whom she had been romantically involved on and off since 2016, from her phone.But forces were already in motion. The Louisville Police Department was preparing raids on locations it had linked to Mr. Glover — and Ms. Taylor’s address was on the target list.In the raid that ensued, Ms. Taylor was fatally shot. Her name has since become a rallying cry for protesters. Today, in the first of two parts, we explore Ms. Taylor’s life and how law enforcement ended up at her door.Guests: Rukmini Callimachi, a correspondent for The Times, and Yoruba Richen, a documentary filmmaker, talk to Ms. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer; her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker; and her cousin, Preonia Flakes.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: The story of what happened the night Breonna Taylor was killed remains largely untold. A Times Investigation explores the path to the shooting and its consequences. 

What Happened to Daniel Prude?

The Daily

• 420 views
• over 2 years ago
• 30:33

This episode contains strong language.In March, Daniel Prude was exhibiting signs of a mental health crisis. His brother called an ambulance in the hopes that Mr. Prude would be hospitalized, but he was sent back home after three hours without a diagnosis.Later, when Mr. Prude ran out of the house barely clothed into the Rochester night, his brother, Joe Prude, again called on the authorities for help, but this time it was to the police.After a struggle with officers, Daniel Prude suffered cardiac distress. It would be days before Joe Prude was able to visit him in the hospital — permitted only so he could decide whether to take his brother off life support — and months before the family would find out what had happened when he was apprehended.Today, we hear from Joe Prude about that night and examine the actions taken by the police during his brother’s arrest, including the official narrative that emerged after his death.Guest: Sarah Maslin Nir, a reporter for The New York Times, who spoke to Daniel Prude’s brother, Joe Prude.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: In the minutes after Mr. Prude’s heart briefly stopped during a struggle with officers, an unofficial police narrative took hold: He had suffered a drug overdose. But the release of body camera footage complicated that version of events.The Monroe County medical examiner ruled Mr. Prude’s death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” Seven Rochester police officers have now been suspended.

Jimmy Lai vs. China

The Daily

• 660 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 34:35

This episode contains strong language.Jimmy Lai was born in mainland China but made his fortune in Hong Kong, starting as a sweatshop worker and becoming a clothing tycoon. After the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, he turned his attention to the media, launching publications critical of China’s Communist Party.“I believe in the media,” he told Austin Ramzy, a Hong Kong reporter for The New York Times. “By delivering information, you’re actually delivering freedom.”In August, he was arrested under Hong Kong’s new Beijing-sponsored national security law.Today, we talk to Mr. Lai about his life, his arrest and campaigning for democracy in the face of China’s growing power.Guests: Austin Ramzy, who covers Hong Kong for The New York Times, spoke with Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: In August, Mr. Lai, his two sons and four executives from Apple Daily were arrested under the new national security law. The publication was a target and a test case for the government’s authority over the media.

The Sunday Read: 'In the Line of Fire'

The Daily

• 560 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 33:23

Many American states use the labor of inmates to help fight its fires, but none so more than California. Using incarcerated firefighters saves the state’s taxpayers an estimated $100 million a year.The women that choose to enter the firefighting camps are afforded better pay, by prison standards, and an improved quality of time served. However, the money they earn from putting their lives on the line is dwarfed by the salaries of the civilian firefighters they work alongside — one woman reports to earn $500 a year, compared with the $40,000 starting salary on the outside.On today’s episode of The Sunday Read, Jaime Lowe explores California’s invisible line of defense against wildfires.This story was written by Jaime Lowe and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Donald Trump Jr.’s Journey to Republican Stardom

The Daily

• 410 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 36:52

For much of his life, Donald Trump Jr. has been disregarded by his father. He played only a bit part in the 2016 campaign and when the team departed for Washington, he was left to oversee a largely unimportant part of the Trump Organization. But after The New York Times revealed that he had played an integral role in organizing the Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians promising information on Hillary Clinton, the younger Mr. Trump struck back hard at his father’s detractors and the media, finding a voice and an audience. Aggressive, politically incorrect and with an instinctual understanding of the president’s appeal, he has become a conservative darling and his father’s most sought-after surrogate. Today, we look at his rise to prominence. Guest: Jason Zengerle, a writer at large for The New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Read Jason Zengerle’s account of how Donald Trump Jr.’s became his father’s most valuable political weapon.

A Surge in Shootings

The Daily

• 510 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 33:31

Gun violence is on the rise in New York City. By the end of July, there had been more shootings in 2020 than in all of 2019. Shootings have risen in other metropolises, too, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and Houston.Several theories have been advanced about why. Experts on crime say the coronavirus outbreak has deepened the endemic problems that often underlie gun violence, including poverty, unemployment, housing instability and hunger.Police leaders also cite budget cuts and a political climate that has made officers reluctant to carry out arrests because of what they see as unfair scrutiny of their conduct.Today, we look at how the various diagnoses could influence activists’ calls for the police to be defunded.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: “Right now, communities are being held hostage by the cops and the robbers at the same time,” a City Council member from Queens said. The summertime surge in shootings is unlike anything New York has seen in two decades. The summer usually brings with it an increase in violent crime. Across the U.S., as many states emerge from lockdown, the increase has been steeper than usual.

The Sunday Read: 'Sweatpants Forever'

The Daily

• 980 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 52:01

Much of the fashion industry has buckled under the weight of the coronavirus — it appears to have sped up the inevitable.This story was written by Irina Aleksander and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

A Pandemic-Proof Bubble?

The Daily

• 450 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 31:29

When the coronavirus hit the United States, the N.B.A. was faced with a unique challenge. It seemed impossible to impose social distancing in basketball, an indoor sport with players almost constantly jostling one another for more than two hours. However, there was a big financial incentive to keep games going: ending the 2019 season early would have cost the league an estimated $1 billion in television revenue.The solution? A sealed campus for players, staff and selected journalists at Disney World in Florida.Marc Stein, who covers the N.B.A. for The New York Times, has been living out of a hotel room in the complex for the last 40 days. Today, we speak to him about what life is like inside the bubble.Guest: Marc Stein, a sports reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Twenty-two of the league’s 30 teams are living in the Disney World complex. Life on the campus is both strange and mundane.The N.B.A. has sought to replicate the home-court edge through music, audio cues and graphics from the “home” teams’ arenas. 

Joe Biden’s 30-Year Quest

The Daily

• 440 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 35:07

Joseph R. Biden Jr. first ran for president in 1988, when his campaign was cut short after he made a series of blunders. After six terms in the Senate, he tried again in 2008 but failed to gain any traction in a contest won by Barack Obama. In the current political landscape, however, his focus on personal integrity and experience, which were also centerpieces of his previous campaigns, has proved much more compelling. Today, we chart Mr. Biden’s political journey and explore the baggage he will carry into the November election. Guest: Matt Flegenheimer, a national politics reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading:Mr. Biden’s political career has been marked by personal loss. Eulogies he has delivered offer an insight into how he would lead a nation grappling with death and crisis.“I’ve done some dumb things. And I’ll do dumb things again.” The former vice president’s campaign for the 1988 Democratic nomination reveals the political flaws that continue to color his public life.

The President, the Postal Service and the Election

The Daily

• 400 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 27:04

The installation of Louis DeJoy as postmaster general has caused alarm. Since taking up the role in June, he has enacted a number of cuts to the Postal Service: ending overtime for workers, limiting how many runs they can make in a day, reassigning more than 20 executives and, from the perspective of the unions, speeding up the removal of mail-sorting machines.The actions of Mr. DeJoy, a Republican megadonor and Trump ally, have been interpreted by many Democrats as an attempt to sabotage the election in concert with President Trump, who has himself admitted to wanting to limit funding that could help mail-in voting.Today, we explore to what extent Mr. Trump is using the post office, and the postmaster general, to influence the election.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter at The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Postmaster General DeJoy has ushered in measures that, three months out from an election that is expected to rely heavily on mail-in voting, have caused widespread delays.Amid warnings that changes to the agency may disenfranchise voters, Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled the House from summer recess to vote on legislation blocking any further steps. Mr. DeJoy will testify before the Senate on Friday.In response to mounting criticism, the Postal Service has suspended operational changes until after the election. It is unclear whether changes already in place will be reversed.

A Dinner and a Deal

The Daily

• 420 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 31:26

In March 2018, Mark Landler — then a White House correspondent at The New York Times — attended a dinner party hosted by the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, at a Washington restaurant. There he witnessed a chance encounter between the ambassador and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel — one the ambassador asked to keep private. Two years after that delicate conversation, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalize diplomatic and trade relations. Today, we speak to Mr. Landler about Trump administration’s role in the agreement, what normalization means for Palestinians and what it says about the Middle East’s political climate. Guest: Mark Landler, London bureau chief at The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: The Arab Spring, growing power of Iranian proxies and demographic changes — how changing dynamics in the Middle East set the stage for the deal.The U.A.E. has agreed to normalization in exchange for Israel’s suspending annexation of areas in the occupied West Bank. Many Palestinians see the deal as less of a balm and more of a stab in the back.

Inside Operation Warp Speed

The Daily

• 420 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 28:11

Operation Warp Speed has in some ways lived up to its name: The U.S. government has awarded almost $11 billion to seven different companies to develop vaccines, three of which — Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer — are in late-stage trials.Things are going according to the most aggressive schedule.However, accelerating the development process has increased the likelihood of cronyism and undue political influence.Today, we ask whether the White House’s defiance of the timelines that have long governed the development of vaccines is working.Guest: Katie Thomas, a reporter at The New York Times who covers the health care sector, with a focus on the drug industry.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: There is a lot of optimism surrounding the coronavirus vaccine and its potential to usher in a return to normality in the near future — but doctors warn that those expectations ought to be tempered.With thousands dying, economic tumult and a looming election, the U.S. government is eager to start vaccinating as soon as possible. Experts worry that the Trump administration will push the Food and Drug Administration to overlook insufficient data.The vaccine effort has spelled big profits for corporate insiders.

The Sunday Read: 'Unwanted Truths'

The Daily

• 610 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 55:51

What is the extent of Russia’s interest in the 2020 U.S. election? Last year, a classified report written by intelligence officials tried to answer this question.In this episode, Robert Draper, a writer-at-large at The New York Times Magazine, explores what happened after the report — which stated that President Trump was Russia’s favored candidate in the upcoming election — was drafted.This story was written by Robert Draper and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Protesting Her Own Employer

The Daily

• 1K views
• almost 3 years ago
• 45:28

“As a Black woman who works at Adidas my experiences have never been business as usual.”Julia Bond, an assistant apparel designer at the sportswear giant, says she had resigned herself to experiencing and witnessing racism at work — until she saw the George Floyd video.Today, we speak to Ms. Bond, an assistant apparel designer at Adidas, who has brought the global racial reckoning to the company’s front door.Wanting more than just schemes and targets, she has been protesting in front of the company’s Portland headquarters every day since June, awaiting an apology from leadership and an admission that they have enabled racism and discrimination. Guest: Julia Bond, assistant apparel designer at Adidas, who has been protesting outside the company’s Portland headquarters for the last three months. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Adidas has made a number of pledges to diversify its work force. However, Black employees want more: an admission that the company’s leadership has enabled racism and an apology.  From Facebook’s pledge to double the number of Black and Latinx by 2023 to YouTube creating a $100 million fund for Black creators, organizations across the U.S. have committed to redressing racial imbalance. 

Why Teachers Aren’t Ready to Reopen Schools

The Daily

• 710 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 28:14

With the possibility that millions or tens of millions of American children will not enter a classroom for an entire year, school districts face an agonizing choice: Do the benefits of in-person learning outweigh the risks it poses to public health in a pandemic? Today, we explore how teachers and their unions are responding to demands from some parents, and the president, to reopen their schools this fall. Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times, who covers the impact of education policies on families, students and teachers. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: With almost 1,200 staff and students now quarantined, the reopening of Atlanta’s Cherokee County School District could presage a difficult back-to-school season.Many teachers are anxious and angry: They say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students physically distanced and prevent further spread of the virus have not been answered.Our illustrator imagined what going back to school might look like this fall.

Cancel Culture, Part 2: A Case Study

The Daily

• 840 views
• almost 3 years ago
• 33:46

Yesterday on “The Daily,” the New York Times reporter Jonah Bromwich explained how the idea of cancel culture has emerged as a political and cultural force in 2020. In the second of two parts, he returns with a case study. Guest: Jonah Engel Bromwich, who writes for the Styles section of The New York Times, spoke with Zeeshan Aleem about his experience of cancel culture. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Here’s the first episode in this two-part series exploring cancel culture’s origins and political power.There’s an emerging class of people canceled for bad, conservative or offensive opinions. Cancellation is bringing many of them together.For teenagers, cancellation on social media is not a new phenomenon. Here are some of their own experiences with being canceled.