The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has a reputation for causing mild illness, yet it’s fueling a staggering rise in hospitalizations across the country. In some of the early hot spots for the variant, emergency rooms are filling up, hospitals are being flooded with new patients and there aren’t enough staff to care for all of them. We explore why the Omicron surge is leading to hospitalizations and hear from doctors about what they are seeing, and why this surge feels different from the ones...
Jan 11, 2022•22 min
This year’s Golden Globes ceremony was muted. Instead of a celebrity-filled evening, broadcast on NBC, the results were live tweeted from a room in the Beverly Hilton. It was the culmination of years of controversy for the awards and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind them. Who are the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and how did one of the biggest awards shows get to this point? Guest: Kyle Buchanan , a pop culture reporter and the awards season columnist for Th...
Jan 10, 2022•28 min
In her new book, “The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change,” Pauline Boss considers what it means to reach “emotional closure” in a state of unnamable grief. Hard to define, these grievances have been granted a new name: ambiguous loss. The death of a loved one, missing relatives, giving a child up for adoption, a lost friend — Boss teases out how one can mourn something that cannot always be described. The pandemic has been rife with “ambiguous loss,” Boss argues. Mi...
Jan 09, 2022•37 min
After the election on Nov. 3, 2020, President J. Donald Trump and his allies tested the limits of the U.S. election system, launching pressure and legal campaigns in competitive states to have votes overturned — all the while exposing the system’s precariousness. Although the efforts weren’t successful, they appear to have been only the beginning of a wider attack on American elections. In the final part of our Jan. 6 coverage, we explore the threats to democracy that may come to bear in the nex...
Jan 07, 2022•37 min
This episode contains strong language. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming was the only Republican leader calling on President Donald Trump to move on from his efforts to overturn the results. Then, after the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, she gave a full-throated condemnation of what had happened and the rhetoric that facilitated it. A year later, while many of her party have backed down from criticizing the former president, she has remained steadfas...
Jan 06, 2022•47 min
Who exactly joined the mob that, almost a year ago, on Jan. 6, breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of President Biden’s election victory? Members of far-right extremist groups were present but so too were also doctors, lawyers, substitute teachers and church deacons, many of whom had previously been nonpolitical. The question of why they were at the Capitol that day is hard to answer, but some of the most useful clues come from three F.B.I. interviews that h...
Jan 05, 2022•48 min
About a decade ago, companies began offering pregnant women tests that promised to detect rare genetic disorders in their fetuses. The tests initially looked for Down syndrome and worked well, but later tests for rarer conditions did not. An investigation has found that the grave predictions made by those newer tests are usually incorrect. We look at why the tests are so wrong and what can be done about it. Guest: Sarah Kliff , an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to ge...
Jan 04, 2022•26 min
The Omicron variant is fueling record-breaking cases across the world and disrupting life. But it may not present as great a danger of hospitalization and severe illness as earlier variants. We explore why this is and what it means for the next stage of the pandemic. 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...
Jan 03, 2022•27 min
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. With most natural disasters, the devastation is immediately apparent. But when a winter storm hit Texas, some of the damage was a lot less visible. The stories of Iris Cantu, Suzanne Mitchell and Tumaini Criss showed the depth of the destruction. Their lives were upended. The storm in February left their homes barely habitable, with collapsed ceiling...
Dec 31, 2021•34 min
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. The Good Shepherd Nursing Home in West Virginia lifted its coronavirus lockdown in February. For months, residents had been confined to their rooms, unable to mix. But with everybody vaccinated, it was time to see one another again, albeit with rules on social distancing and mask wearing still in place. There was Mass in the chapel, lunch in the dini...
Dec 30, 2021•27 min
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. This episode contains strong language. Dogecoin started out as a kind of inside joke in the world of cryptocurrency. However, earlier this year, it quickly became, for some, a very serious path to wealth. Today, we return to the unlikely story of a 33-year-old who bought the cryptocurrency and became a millionaire in the process, to see what he has l...
Dec 29, 2021•32 min
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. When Officer Harry Dunn reported for work at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, he expected a day of relatively normal protests. At noon, the mood shifted. He received calls over his radio that the demonstrations were becoming violent. When he took up position on the west side of the Capitol, he said he realized just how dangerous the situation ha...
Dec 28, 2021•31 min
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. This episode contains strong language. Bartenders, sous chefs, wait staff — back in August, managers in the U.S. hospitality industry were struggling to fill a range of roles at their establishments. One owner of a gourmet burger restaurant in Houston said that before the pandemic, a job opening could easily get 100 applicants — but that was no longe...
Dec 27, 2021•26 min
A year that started with the mass introduction of Covid vaccines and the astonishing scenes of rioting at the Capitol is ending with concern about new virus variants and fears about the effects of a warming climate. As we approach the end of the year, we listen back to more of the events that defined 2021. 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 a...
Dec 23, 2021•31 min
By the end of last year, if you needed a coronavirus test, you could get one. But when vaccines arrived, focus shifted. Many of the vaccinated felt like they didn’t need tests and demand took a nosedive. Testing sites were closed or converted into vaccination sites. And Abbott Laboratories, a major test manufacturer, wound up destroying millions. However, with the surge of the new Omicron variant, which is less susceptible to vaccines, demand for testing is back — and it is outstripping supply. ...
Dec 22, 2021•32 min
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was always going to be the last Democrat to get on board with President Biden’s $2.2 trillion climate, social spending and tax bill. But the White House was confident that a compromise could be reached. On Sunday, that confidence was shattered: In an interview on Fox News, Mr. Manchin essentially declared that he could not support the bill as written, and he indicated that he was done negotiating all together. Where does this leave Mr. Biden’s signature domes...
Dec 21, 2021•25 min
This episode contains references to suicide and abuse that may be upsetting to some listeners. A few months ago, we told the story of N, a teenager in Afghanistan whose family was trying to force her to marry a member of the Taliban. Her identity has been concealed for her safety. N resisted, and her father and brother beat her, leading her to attempt suicide. Then she escaped. This is what happened after she fled her family’s home. Suicide Prevention Helplines: If you are having thoughts of sui...
Dec 20, 2021•35 min
Nearly a decade after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed piers and damaged riverside social housing projects, residents of Lower Manhattan are still vulnerable to floods. Michael Kimmelman, The Times’s architecture critic, explores the nine-year effort to redesign Lower Manhattan in the wake of the hurricane, and the design and planning challenges that have made progress incremental. He goes inside a fight over how to protect the neighborhood in the future — revealing why renewa...
Dec 19, 2021•47 min
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is incredibly contagious — it is able to infect people with even greater frequency than the Delta variant, and it is skilled at evading the immune system’s defenses. Much is still unknown about the new variant, and scientists are racing to understand its threat. But amid the uncertainty, there’s good news about a prospective new virus treatment: A pill by Pfizer is effective in reducing people’s risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19. We explore the...
Dec 17, 2021•27 min
Anti-abortion activists across the country are optimistic that they might be on the cusp of achieving a long-held goal of the movement: overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that extended federal protections for abortion. But many abortion rights activists are hopeful, too. They are watching closely to see whether the Food and Drug Administration will roll back restrictions on one medication, transforming abortion access across the country. Today, we explore the future of Amer...
Dec 16, 2021•23 min
The economic situation in Afghanistan is perilous. Banks have run out of cash. In some areas, Afghans are selling their belongings in ad hoc flea markets. Parents wait around hospitals and clinics in the hopes of getting treatment for severely malnourished children. We hear about what the unfolding crisis looks like on the ground, why the economy has deteriorated so quickly, and what role the United States has played. Guest: Christina Goldbaum , a correspondent for The New York Times, based in K...
Dec 15, 2021•27 min
In July, a group of men stormed the presidential compound in Haiti and assassinated the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse. Months later, the case remains unresolved. Investigating the killing, the Times journalist Maria Abi-Habib found that Mr. Moïse had begun compiling a list of powerful Haitian businessmen and political figures involved in an intricate drug trafficking network. Guest: Maria Abi-Habib , bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times. Sign up ...
Dec 14, 2021•28 min
This episode contains strong language. The Steele Dossier — compiled by Christopher Steele, a British former spy — was born out of opposition research on Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate, and his supposed links to Russia. The document, full of salacious allegations, captured and cleaved America. But now, a main source of the dossier’s findings — Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst — has been charged with lying to federal investigators. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt , a Washington corresp...
Dec 13, 2021•45 min
In Memphis, as in America, the benefits of homeownership have not accrued equally across race. Housing policy in the United States has leaned heavily on homeownership as a driver of household wealth since the middle of the last century, and, for many white Americans, property ownership has indeed yielded significant wealth. But Black families have largely been left behind, either unable to buy in the first place or hampered by risks that come with owning property. Homeownership’s limitations are...
Dec 12, 2021•44 min
In November, Peng Shuai — one of China’s most popular tennis stars — took to Chinese social media to accuse Zhang Gaoli, who was a member of China’s seven-member ruling committee, of sexually assaulting her. Within minutes, Chinese censors had taken down Ms. Peng’s post, and, for weeks, no one sees or hears from her. We look at Ms. Peng’s story and what China’s attempts to censor her have meant for the sports industry. Guest: Matthew Futterman , a sports reporter for The New York Times. Sign up ...
Dec 10, 2021•28 min
This episode contains details about suicide deaths and strong language. A few years ago, a website about suicide appeared. On it, not only do people talk about wanting to die, but they share, at great length, how they are going to do it. Times reporters were able to identify 45 people who killed themselves after spending time on the site, several of whom were minors. The true number is likely to be higher. We go inside the Times investigation into the website, and ask how and why it is still all...
Dec 09, 2021•34 min
The Russian military is on the move toward the border with Ukraine, with American intelligence suggesting that Moscow is preparing for an offensive involving some 175,000 troops. Could the moves herald a full-scale invasion? And if so, what is driving President Vladimir V. Putin’s brinkmanship over Russia’s southwestern neighbor? Guest: Anton Troianovski , the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how th...
Dec 08, 2021•26 min
Last week, after a shooting at Oxford High School in the suburbs of Detroit that left four teenagers dead, local prosecutors decided on a novel legal strategy that would extend criminal culpability beyond the 15-year-old accused of carrying out the attack. But could that strategy become a national model? Guest: Jack Healy , a 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 co...
Dec 07, 2021•23 min
This episode contains descriptions of self-harm and alleged sexual abuse. When Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail, dozens of his alleged victims lost their chance to bring him to justice. But the trial of his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, on charges that she recruited, groomed and ultimately helped Mr. Epstein abuse young girls, may offer an opportunity to obtain a degree of reckoning. We look into how Mr. Epstein was allowed to die, and ask whether justice is still possible for h...
Dec 06, 2021•33 min
In her book, “My Body,” Emily Ratajkowski reflects on her fraught relationship with the huge number of photographs of her body that have come to define her life and career. Some essays recount the author’s hustle as a young model who often found herself in troubling situations with powerful men; another is written as a long, venomous reply to an email from a photographer who has bragged of discovering her. Throughout, Ratajkowski is hoping to set the record straight: She is neither victim nor st...
Dec 05, 2021•37 min
