Warning: This episode contains descriptions of rape, sexual abuse and death. As an epidemic of fentanyl use continues in America, causing tens of thousands of deaths each year, lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are holding one group increasingly responsible: drug users themselves. Eli Saslow, a writer for The Times, tells the story of a man whose friendship ended in tragedy and a set of laws that say he is the one to blame. Guest: Eli Saslow, a writer at large for The New York Times. Backgr...
Sep 22, 2023•39 min
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence. The relationship between two democratic allies fell to its lowest point in history this week, after Canada accused India of assassinating a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June. Mujib Mashal, The Times’s South Asia bureau chief, explains this stunning accusation — and what India’s reaction to it tells us about the era of its leader, Narendra Modi. Guest: Mujib Mashal , The New York Times’s bureau chief for South Asia. Backgrou...
Sep 21, 2023•27 min
New research and polling show that more and more Americans now doubt a previously unquestioned fact of U.S. life — that going to college is worth it. Paul Tough, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains why so many high-school students and their parents are souring on higher education and what it will mean for the country’s future. Guest: Paul Tough, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who has written several books on inequality in education. Background r...
Sep 20, 2023•29 min
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive grinds on, it’s increasingly turning to a secret drone program that is hitting targets deep inside Russian territory. At least three different Ukrainian-made drones have been used in attacks inside Russia, including on Moscow, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Christiaan Triebert, a journalist on The Times’s Visual Investigations team, explains the origins of that program. We also speak to Serhiy Prytula, a former Ukrainian television host who is now a...
Sep 19, 2023•37 min
Drugs like Ozempic are revolutionizing the treatment of obesity. The medications, originally used to treat diabetes, keep gaining attention as celebrities and other influencers describe taking them to lose weight quickly. Dani Blum, a reporter for The Times, tells the story behind the drugs and describes some of the ramifications of using them. Guest: Dani Blum , a reporter for Well at The New York Times. Background reading: Ozempic can cause major weight loss. What happens if you stop taking it...
Sep 18, 2023•38 min
Twenty years ago, a glamorous platinum-blond widow arrived at the Paris law office of Claude Dumont Beghi in tears. Someone was trying to take her horses — her “babies” — away, and she needed a lawyer to stop them. She explained that her late husband had been a breeder of champion thoroughbreds. The couple was a familiar sight at the racetracks in Chantilly and Paris: Daniel Wildenstein, gray-suited with a cane in the stands, and Sylvia Roth Wildenstein, a former model with a cigarette dangling ...
Sep 17, 2023•57 min
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has ordered an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, putting into motion the third formal attempt by Congress to remove a president in the past four years. Luke Broadwater, a congressional reporter for The Times, explains the unique realities behind this one. Guest: Luke Broadwater , a congressional reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Mr. McCarthy, who formerly argued that the House must vote before opening an impeachment inquiry, changed his tune this...
Sep 15, 2023•29 min
In a rare move, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, traveled outside his country this week to meet with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. Julian Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times, explains what Russia wants from North Korea and how far Mr. Putin might go to get it. Guest: Julian E. Barnes , a national security reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Kim Jong-un has ammunition stocks that Russia covets as it continues its war in Ukraine, and Nort...
Sep 14, 2023•27 min
On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. government recommended that almost every American begin taking a new annual vaccine for Covid, a milestone in the nation’s three-year battle against the virus. Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times, explains why the era of booster shots is now over and how to navigate this latest uptick in infections. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli , a science and global health reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: The C.D.C. reco...
Sep 13, 2023•26 min
Later this week, as many as 150,000 U.S. autoworkers may walk out in a historic strike against the three Detroit automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. The United Auto Workers union and the Big Three are still far apart in talks, and have only two days left to negotiate a new labor contract before the deadline. Neal Boudette, who covers the auto industry for The New York Times, walks us through a tangled, decades-long dynamic and explains why a walkout looks increasingly likely. Guest:...
Sep 12, 2023•30 min
For years, the government has been trying to rein in Big Tech, pursuing some of the largest and most powerful companies on the internet. This week, the government takes on Google in the first monopoly trial of the modern internet era. David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The Times, discusses the case against the internet giant and what it might mean for the future if the it loses. Guest: David McCabe , a technology policy correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The 10...
Sep 11, 2023•24 min
In early 2021, a Wikipedia editor peered into the future and saw what looked like a funnel cloud on the horizon: the rise of GPT-3, a precursor to the new chatbots from OpenAI. When this editor — a prolific Wikipedian who goes by the handle Barkeep49 on the site — gave the new technology a try, he could see that it was untrustworthy. The bot would readily mix fictional elements (a false name, a false academic citation) into otherwise factual and coherent answers. But he had no doubts about its p...
Sep 10, 2023•52 min
This episode contains descriptions of severe injuries. Last week, a devastating fire swept through a derelict building in Johannesburg that housed desperate families who had no place else to go. The authorities had been repeatedly warned that it was a potential firetrap. Nothing was done, and at least 76 people died. Lynsey Chutel, who covers southern Africa for The Times, explains how Johannesburg, once a symbol of the hope of post-apartheid South Africa, became an emblem of just how bad the co...
Sep 08, 2023•32 min
For decades, drugmakers have argued that patents are critical to bringing new drugs to the market. But in 2004, when a promising H.I.V. treatment emerged, Gilead Sciences decided to slow-walk its release to maximize profit on the company’s existing patents. Rebecca Robbins, who covers the pharmaceutical industry for The Times, discusses one man’s case and how patents can create perverse incentives to delay new and better drugs. Guest: Rebecca Robbins , a business reporter covering the pharmaceut...
Sep 07, 2023•36 min
In New York, the arrival of more than 100,000 migrants seeking asylum over the past year has become a crisis for the city’s shelter system, schools and budget. As another critical election season begins to take shape, Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York State politics for The Times, explains why the situation has also become a political crisis for the state’s Democratic leaders. Guest: Nicholas Fandos , a reporter covering New York State politics for The New York Times Metro desk. Background re...
Sep 06, 2023•28 min
A Times investigation found that U.S. passenger planes come dangerously close to crashing into each other far more frequently than the public knows. Sydney Ember, an economics reporter for The Times, explains why an aviation system known for its safety is producing such a steady stream of close calls. Guest: Sydney Ember , an economics correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Airline close calls happen far more often than previously known. What you need to know about turbulence....
Sep 05, 2023•28 min
A Times investigation revealed that in much of the United States, communities and farms are pumping out groundwater at alarming rates. Aquifers are shrinking nationwide, threatening supplies of drinking water and the country’s status as a food superpower. Christopher Flavelle, who covers climate adaptation for The Times, went to Arizona, the state at the forefront of the crisis, and looked at one especially controversial idea to address it: desalination. Guest: Christopher Flavelle covers climat...
Sep 01, 2023•39 min
A year ago, Congress overhauled the way drugs for older Americans get paid for, by giving Medicare the power to bargain with drug makers over prices in the biggest change to health care for more than a decade. This week, the Biden administration began its implementation. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The Times, discusses the decades long battle for bargaining power and Rebecca Robbins, who covers the pharmaceutical industry for The Times, explains its potential to reshape the...
Aug 31, 2023•33 min
In the Republican presidential race, the battle for second place has been jolted by the sudden rise of a political newcomer whose popularity has already eclipsed that of far more seasoned candidates — Vivek Ramaswamy. Jonathan Weisman, who is a political correspondent for The Times, explains the rising candidate’s back story, message and strategy. Guest: Jonathan Weisman , a political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Surging poll numbers underscore that Vivek Ramaswamy i...
Aug 30, 2023•28 min
Over the past decade, China has placed more and more restrictions on the lives of its citizens — tightening its hold over what people can do, read and say. When Bei Zhenying’s husband was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for “smearing” the country’s political system, she was left to pick up the pieces of his life. She now believes that her husband was the writer behind one of the most mysterious blogs on the Chinese internet, which for 12 years had ridiculed the ruling Communist P...
Aug 29, 2023•41 min
Last week, India landed its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, becoming the first country to land such a craft near the south pole, where scientists believe vital reserves of water could be found frozen. The landing also revealed just how much the international space race has changed. Kenneth Chang, a science reporter for The Times, explains why a new set of players are dominating the space race and what is motivating their groundbreaking missions to the moon. Guest: Kenneth Chang , a science...
Aug 28, 2023•24 min
The signs on the gate at the entrance to the path and along the edge of the reservoir were clear. “No swimming,” they warned, white letters on a red background. On a chill mid-April day in northwest England, with low, gray clouds and rain in the forecast, the signs hardly seemed necessary. But then people began arriving, by the dozens and then the hundreds. Some walked only from nearby Hayfield, while others came by train or bus or foot from many hours away. In a long, trailing line, they trampe...
Aug 27, 2023•44 min
The mysterious crash of a private jet outside Moscow is believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Wagner militia who led an armed rebellion against Moscow in June. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, explains what we’ve learned about the crash, and what a potential political assassination says about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Guest: Anton Troianovski , the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading: All 10 people on a jet linked ...
Aug 25, 2023•26 min
Last night, Republicans held their first debate of the 2024 presidential cycle without the party’s dominant candidate onstage: Donald J. Trump. Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, walks us through the debate and discusses how it might influence the rest of the race. Guest: Maggie Haberman , a senior political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Seven takeaways from the first Republican debate. Trump skipped the event in favor of a gentle online ...
Aug 24, 2023•27 min
After a closely watched vote, driverless cars, once a Silicon Valley fantasy, have become a 24-hour-a-day reality in San Francisco. Are autonomous vehicles an interesting and safe transportation alternative? Or are they a nuisance and a traffic-blocking disaster waiting to happen? Cade Metz, who covers technology for The Times, describes the unique challenges of coexisting with cars that drive themselves. Guest: Cade Metz , a technology correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: O...
Aug 23, 2023•34 min
A marine heat wave is warming the waters off the coast of Florida, pushing temperature readings as high as 101 Fahrenheit and endangering a critical part of sea life: the coral reef. Catrin Einhorn, who covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times, discusses the urgent quest to save coral and what it might mean for the world if it disappears. Guest: Catrin Einhorn , a biodiversity, climate and environment correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: A desperate pus...
Aug 22, 2023•28 min
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida began the race for the Republican nomination with high expectations and a clear argument: that he was a political fighter with a solid record of conservative achievements in his state. Now, he appears to be in a downward spiral. Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, explains why the DeSantis campaign is stumbling so badly. Guest: Shane Goldmacher , a national political reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Governor DeSantis, wh...
Aug 21, 2023•29 min
Where did it come from? More than three years into the pandemic with untold millions of people dead, that question about the origin of Covid-19 remains widely disputed and fraught, with facts sparkling amid a tangle of analyses and hypotheticals like Christmas lights strung on a dark, thorny tree. One school of thought holds that the virus, known to science as SARS-CoV-2, spread to humans from a nonhuman animal, probably in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, an emporium brimming with fish, mea...
Aug 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death. When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, have been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars line the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby make their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains. Ydriss Nouara, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno and Mi...
Aug 18, 2023•42 min
A plea deal struck between the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden was supposed to bring his years of legal troubles to an end. Instead, that deal has unraveled and a special counsel has been named to take over the case. Michael Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The Times, explains why that turn of events is increasingly pitting the interests of Hunter Biden against those of President Biden. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt , a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Background readin...
Aug 17, 2023•27 min
