On Oct. 19, 2021, Armando Linares López was writing up notes from an interview when his cellphone buzzed with an unknown number. Linares, 49 and stocky with black hair that was just starting to show gray streaks, ran an online news site in a small Mexican city called Zitácuaro. He knew his beat so intimately that calls from unfamiliar phone numbers were rare. But the man on the other end spoke in a way that was instantly familiar. Linares had come to know that pitched, menacing tone from years o...
Oct 29, 2023•55 min
Hurricane Otis, which killed more than two dozen people in southern Mexico this week, exemplified a phenomenon that meteorologists fear will become more and more common: a severe hurricane that arrives with little warning or time to prepare. Judson Jones, who covers natural disasters for The Times, explains why Hurricane Otis packed such an unexpected punch. Guest: Judson Jones , who covers natural disasters and Earth’s changing climate for The New York Times. Background reading: On Tuesday morn...
Oct 27, 2023•24 min
As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, fears are growing that the conflict could spread beyond Gaza. And with an expected Israeli ground invasion, the coming days are likely to have enormous consequences. To meet this moment, The Times has started a daily afternoon report, hosted by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. “The War Briefing” is available in the New York Times Audio app, which is available to Times subscribers. If you’re not a subscriber, become one: nytimes.com/audioapp. Unlock full access to New Yor...
Oct 26, 2023•18 min
Warning: this episode contains strong language. After 21 days without a leader, and after cycling through four nominees, House Republicans have finally elected a speaker. They chose Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a hard-right conservative best known for leading congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The Times, was at the capitol when it happened. Guest: Luke Broadwater , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. B...
Oct 26, 2023•28 min
Almost immediately after Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, it began preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, drafting hundreds of thousands of its citizens and amassing forces along its southern border. But more than two weeks later, that invasion has yet to happen. Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, explains why. Guest: Patrick Kingsley , the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading: U.S. advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, officials said . He...
Oct 25, 2023•28 min
Over the past few days, two of the lawyers who tried to help former President Donald J. Trump stay in power after losing the 2020 election pleaded guilty in a Georgia racketeering case and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against him. Richard Faussett, who writes about politics in the American South for The Times, explains why two of Mr. Trump’s former allies have now turned against him. Guest: Richard Fausset , a correspondent for The New York Times covering the American South. Backgro...
Oct 24, 2023•25 min
Over a year, the federal deficit — the gap between what the U.S. government spends and what it earns — has doubled, to nearly $2 trillion. That figure seems to validate the worries of congressional Republicans about government spending, which have been at the center of the messy fight over who should be House speaker. Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The Times, explains the Republicans’ concerns — and why their plans would not come close to solving the problem. G...
Oct 23, 2023•25 min
Kihekah Avenue cuts through the town of Pawhuska, Okla., roughly north to south, forming the only corridor you might call a “business district” in the town of 2,900. Standing in the middle is a small TV-and-appliance store called Hometown, which occupies a two-story brick building and hasn’t changed much in decades. Boards cover its second-story windows, and part of the sign above its awning is broken, leaving half the lettering intact, spelling “Home.” One winter day in February 2021, Jack Fisk...
Oct 22, 2023•52 min
Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence. When Hamas attacked Israel, they took two hundred hostages back with them into the Gaza Strip, including grandparents and children as young as nine months old. It was one of the largest mass abductions in recent history. Now, the fate of those hostages is at the center of a deepening crisis in the Middle East, and a looming ground invasion of Gaza. Today, we hear from the mother of one of these hostages. Guest: Rachel G...
Oct 20, 2023•35 min
When the governor of Texas announced an extraordinary plan to use local law enforcement to try to deter migrants from crossing from the border with Mexico, few communities were more receptive than the city of Eagle Pass, where residents had become fed up with the federal government’s approach. Now, two years later, people who once welcomed the plan are turning against it. Edgar Sandoval, who writes about South Texas for The New York Times, and Nina Feldman, a producer on “The Daily,” traveled to...
Oct 19, 2023•29 min
A devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday killed hundreds and ignited protests across the broader Middle East, deepening the crisis in the region. As President Biden visits Israel looking to ease tensions and avoid a broader conflict, Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The Times, discusses the narrow path the American leader must navigate. Guest: Edward Wong , a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other fo...
Oct 18, 2023•30 min
The House of Representatives still has no speaker, crippling a vital branch of the government. And the Republican who seems to be in the strongest position to take the role, Jim Jordan of Ohio, was once called a “legislative terrorist” by a former speaker of his own party. Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The Times, talks through the latest turns in the saga of the leaderless House. Guest: Catie Edmondson , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Allies ...
Oct 17, 2023•26 min
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death. As the conflict continues, Israel has blocked food, water and electricity from entering Gaza and has bombarded the area with airstrikes that have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians. Late last week, Israel ordered people in the north of Gaza, nearly half the enclave’s population, to evacuate to the south ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion. Many in Gaza now fear that this mass expulsion will become permanent. Last week we told the st...
Oct 16, 2023•35 min
The triumphant return to Rome of Måneskin — arguably the only rock stars of their generation, and almost certainly the biggest Italian rock band of all time — coincided with a heat wave across Southern Europe. On a Thursday morning in July, the band’s vast management team was officially concerned that the night’s sold-out performance at the Stadio Olimpico would be delayed. When Måneskin finally took the stage around 9:30 p.m., it was still well into the 90s — which was too bad, because there wo...
Oct 15, 2023•29 min
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of death. In the week since Israel suffered the deadliest day in its modern history, fresh accounts have emerged in village after village of just how extreme and widespread the violence was. Today we hear the story of one man at the epicenter of that violence: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 civilians were killed. Guest: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel. Background reading: Video: a son’s ...
Oct 13, 2023•32 min
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was once dismissed as a fringe figure in the 2024 presidential race. But this week, as he announces an independent run for the White House, he’s striking fear within both the Democratic and Republican parties. Rebecca Davis O’Brien, who covers campaign finance for The Times, explains why. Guest: Rebecca Davis O’Brien , a reporter covering campaign finance and money in U.S. elections for The New York Times. Background reading: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters he would e...
Oct 12, 2023•30 min
For years, Israel’s leaders believed that they could coexist with Hamas. After this weekend’s massacre, that belief is over. Steven Erlanger, a former Jerusalem bureau chief at The New York Times, explains what Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas will mean for Palestinians and Israelis. Guest: Steven Erlanger , the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for The New York Times. Background reading: The attack ended Israel’s hope that Hamas might come to embrace stability. Now senior Israeli officials...
Oct 11, 2023•27 min
Last week, the Supreme Court began its new term, picking up where it left off on the most contentious issues of the day, with cases connected to government power, gun rights and abortion. Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why, while previous terms produced major victories for the conservative legal movement, this term may be different. Guest: Adam Liptak , who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar , a column on legal developments, for The New York Times. Bac...
Oct 10, 2023•25 min
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence. Over the weekend, Palestinian militants with Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, mounted a stunning and highly coordinated invasion of Israel, rampaging through Israeli towns, killing people in their homes and on the streets, and taking hostages. Isabel Kershner, who covers Israeli and Palestinian politics and society for The Times, talks about the attack and the all-out war that it has now prompted. Guest: Isabel Kershn...
Oct 09, 2023•28 min
The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny, and El Paso was half desert. But he could skateboard in all that open space, and he eventually befriended a nerdy white kid with a passion for Dungeons & Dragons. Ford fell in love with the role-playing game right away...
Oct 08, 2023•34 min
The ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a few days ago demonstrated how powerful a small group of hard-right House Republicans have become and how deep their grievances run. We speak to one of the eight republicans who brought down Mr. McCarthy: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee. Guest: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District. Background reading: How have the Republicans who ousted Mr. McCarthy antagonized him before ? Although some names have started to b...
Oct 06, 2023•32 min
For decades, the world seemed to be winning the war against mosquitoes and tamping down the deadly diseases they carried. But in the past few years, progress has not only stalled, it has reversed. Stephanie Nolen, who covers global health for The Times, explains how the mosquito has once again gained the upper hand in the fight. Guest: Stephanie Nolen , a global health correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Climate change has brought disease-spreading mosquitoes to places they...
Oct 05, 2023•30 min
The vote on Tuesday to remove Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representative has left the chamber mired in chaos. Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The Times, describes what happened on an unprecedented day in American politics. Guest: Luke Broadwater , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The vote to ouster the House speaker exposed once again the deep polarization in Congress . Mr. McCarthy’s demise also reflected t...
Oct 04, 2023•28 min
Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen golden boy of crypto, is going on trial for what prosecutors are calling the largest financial fraud in recent history. David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the case of the man who was supposed to save the cryptocurrency industry and what its outcome could tell us about why he did not. Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany , a technology reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: A year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was a fixture on magazine co...
Oct 03, 2023•30 min
The U.S. government has filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, pointing to a set of familiar features that have made, the internet retail giant so beloved by consumers. Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The Times, explains why those features may actually be illegal. Guest: Karen Weise , a technology correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states have sued Amazon , saying its conduct in its online store and services to me...
Oct 02, 2023•23 min
As China strove for a larger role on the international stage at the turn of the century, the arrival of the internet and a relatively relaxed political environment spurred a boom in self-expression. Many writers tested the boundaries of Chinese literary culture, experimenting with subjects that were quotidian but taboo on the page: corruption, sexual desire and evolving gender roles. In today’s China, though, the pursuit of free expression requires writers to operate under the ever-watchful eye ...
Oct 01, 2023•38 min
A showdown between House Republicans and their leader, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is heading toward a government shutdown. Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The Times, explains the causes and consequences of the looming crisis. Guest: Carl Hulse , is chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: How a small minority of right-wing Republicans succeeded in sowing mass dysfunction, spoiling for a shutdown, an impeachment and a House coup . As a government shut...
Sep 29, 2023•25 min
Although one major strike, against Hollywood studios, was finally resolved this past week, another, against U.S. vehicle makers, is expanding. The plight of the autoworkers has now become a major point of contention in the presidential race. Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, explains why the strike could be an essential test along the road to the White House. Guest: Jonathan Weisman , a political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: A day after Presi...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min
After 148 days on strike, writers of movies and television are returning to work on Wednesday with an agreement in hand that amounts to a major win for organized labor in Hollywood. John Koblin, a media reporter for The Times, explains why the studios acquiesced to writers’ demands and what the deal means for the future of American entertainment. Guest: John Koblin , a media reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: After Hollywood’s bitter monthslong labor dispute, the Writers Guild ...
Sep 27, 2023•26 min
In one of the most serious political corruption cases in recent history, federal prosecutors have accused a senior U.S. senator of trading the power of his position for cash, gifts and gold. Tracey Tully, who covers New Jersey for The Times, tells the story behind the charges against the senator, Robert Menendez, and his wife, Nadine, and describes the role played by Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman at the center of the allegations. Guest: Tracey Tully covers New Jersey for The New Yo...
Sep 26, 2023•24 min
