Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a “digital first” tax collector focused on customer service and cracking down on wealthy tax evaders. Today, on the day that taxes are due in the United States, Alan Rappeport, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains how the plan could result in the agency repeating a set of old mistakes. Guest: Alan Rappeport , an economic policy correspondent for The New York Times. Background read...
Apr 18, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The posturing between the United States and China has been intensifying in recent weeks — China responded with condemnations and military drills after Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, met the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. Today, Edward Wong, who covers foreign policy at The Times, explains why China is so fixated on Taiwan, and how the U.S. got in the middle of it. Guest: Edward Wong , a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The Chi...
Apr 17, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In March 2017, an engineer at G.E. Aviation in Cincinnati received a request on LinkedIn. The engineer, Hua, is in his 40s, tall and athletic, with a boyish face that makes him look a decade younger. He moved to the United States from China in 2003 for graduate studies in structural engineering. The LinkedIn request came from Chen Feng, a school official at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in eastern China. Days later, Chen sent him an email inviting him to the university ...
Apr 16, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast “The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest running show in the history of Broadway, will close its doors on Sunday after more than three decades. We went backstage during one of the final performances before the show’s famous chandelier crashes down one last time. Guest: Michael Paulson , a theater correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The show was originally set to close in February, but the announcement set off a surge in ticket sales . “Phans,” as they call themselves, rushed...
Apr 14, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast A week ago, the world discovered that dozens of classified documents from the American government had been leaked online, including highly sensitive information about Russia’s war in Ukraine and damaging revelations on American spying abroad. David E. Sanger, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains the contents of the leak and what it might mean for the war. Guest: David E. Sanger , a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Ho...
Apr 13, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the week since Donald Trump was arraigned on 34 felony charges, debate about the strength of the case against him has only intensified. Charlie Savage, a Washington correspondent at The Times, has closely studied the case and explains which side he stands on. Guest: Charlie Savage , a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Trump could turn to a familiar legal strategy: attack and delay . Analysis: A surprise accusation bolsters a risky case against Trump. For mor...
Apr 12, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin made it a crime to oppose the war in public. Since then, it has waged a relentless campaign of repression, putting Russian citizens in jail for offenses as small as holding a poster or sharing a news article on social media. Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, tells the story of Olesya Krivtsova, a 19-year-old student who faces up to 10 years in prison after posting on social media, and explains why the Russian government ...
Apr 11, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House expelled two of its members — both young Black Democrats. Emily Cochrane, a national correspondent for The New York Times, explains the story behind the extraordinary ousting and what it tells us about this moment in American politics. Guest: Emily Cochrane , a national correspondent for The New York Times covering the American South. Background reading: The Tennessee House voted to expel two Democrats after they interrupted a debate by leading ...
Apr 10, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Times reporter Astead W. Herndon and the team are back for a new season of “The Run-Up” and they’re looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, which in many ways has already begun. In this first episode, Astead heads to California for the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting to explore the tangled lines and scrambled allegiances that animated the effort to unseat Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the R.N.C. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from ...
Apr 09, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode contains descriptions of severe injuries. Tough new border policies introduced by the Biden administration have sharply reduced the number of migrants crossing into the United States. But the measures have also created a combustible bottleneck along the southern border. That situation exploded last week when a deadly fire broke out at a detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Simon Romero, a national correspondent for The Times, explains how the United States has leaned more heav...
Apr 07, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Africa last week was designed to send a simple message to its governments and people — China is not your friend. The United States is. Abdi Latif Dahir, The New York Times’s East Africa correspondent, explains what the United States has to lose if countries in Africa choose China. Guest: Abdi Latif Dahir , the East Africa correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The vice president faced a balancing act as she tried to foster relationships....
Apr 06, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The line for reporters seeking to be in the courtroom for Donald J. Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan started forming at 2 p.m. on Monday, more than a day before the former president was scheduled to face a judge in a case centered on hush-money payments. One of those who got in was Jonah Bromwich, a criminal justice correspondent for The Times. He tells us what it was like inside the courthouse as Mr. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts. Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich , a criminal justice correspo...
Apr 05, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wisconsin will hold an election for a seat on its Supreme Court today, and it is no exaggeration to say that the result could end up reshaping U.S. politics for years to come. The Times political correspondent Reid J. Epstein explains why the race to replace a single judge has become the most important American election of 2023. Guest: Reid J. Epstein , a political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Cash is pouring in to the Wisconsin race, and some of the candidates have ...
Apr 04, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast After Donald J. Trump was indicted over his role in paying hush money to a porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign, he called the move an act of political persecution. But his impending arrest could actually make Mr. Trump a stronger candidate for 2024, the Times correspondent Maggie Haberman explains. Guest: Maggie Haberman , a political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Many of Mr. Trump’s potential opponents snapped into line behind him , showing just how hard ...
Apr 03, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joe Faillace, 69, has been running the sandwich shop Old Station Subs alongside his wife, Debbie, for the last four decades. But as an epidemic of unsheltered homelessness began to overwhelm Phoenix, and many other major American downtowns, the Faillaces have been met with hundreds of people sleeping within a few blocks of Old Station. Many of them were suffering from mental illness or substance abuse, resulting in incidents such as pilfered goods and public masturbation. On one February morning...
Apr 02, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Donald J. Trump for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The precise charges are not yet known, but the case against him has kicked off a historic moment in American politics. The investigative reporter Ben Protess discusses the development — which will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark Mr. Trump as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges — and what happens next....
Mar 31, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Major League Baseball is putting in effect some of the biggest changes in the sport’s history in an effort to speed up the game and inject more activity. As the 2023 season opens, Michael Schmidt, a Times reporter, explains the extraordinary plan to save baseball from the tyranny of the home run. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt , a national security correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: With three major rule changes this season, Major League Baseball will try to reinvent itself whi...
Mar 30, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast For months in Israel, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing a highly contentious plan to fundamentally change the country’s Supreme Court, setting off some of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu announced that he would delay his government’s campaign. Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains the prime minister’s surprising concession. Guest: Patrick Kingsley , the Jerusalem bureau c...
Mar 29, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode contains descriptions of violence In a patch of woods southwest of Atlanta, protesters have been clashing with the police over a huge police training facility that the city wants to build there. This month, that fight came to a head when hundreds of activists breached the site, burning police and construction vehicles. Sean Keenan, an Atlanta-based reporter, explains how what opponents call “Cop City,” and the woods surrounding it, have become an unlikely battleground in the nation’...
Mar 28, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few days ago, Utah became the first state to pass a law prohibiting social media services from allowing users under 18 to have accounts without the explicit consent of a parent or guardian. The move, by Republican officials, is intended to address what they describe as a mental health crisis among American teenagers as well as to protect younger users from bullying and child sexual exploitation.The technology reporter Natasha Singer explains the measure, and why it could be a sign of where the...
Mar 27, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Like a lot of people who get into professional wrestling, Donovan Danhausen had a vision of a different version of himself. Ten years ago, at age 21, he was living in Detroit, working as a nursing assistant at a hospital, watching a lot of “Adult Swim” and accumulating a collection of horror- and comedy-themed tattoos. At the suggestion of a friend, he took a 12-week training course at the House of Truth wrestling school in Center Line, Mich., and then entered the indie circuit as a hand: an unk...
Mar 26, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few days ago, the Biden administration released a report warning that a warming planet posed severe economic challenges for the United States, which would require the federal government to reassess its spending priorities and how it influenced behavior. White House reporter Jim Tankersley explains why getting the government to encourage the right decisions will be so difficult. Guest: Jim Tankersley , a White House correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: A chapter in the new ...
Mar 24, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A.O. Scott started as a film critic at The New York Times in January of 2000. Next month he will move to the Book Review as a critic at large. After 23 years as a film critic, Mr. Scott discusses why he is done with the movies, and what his decision reveals about the new realities of American cinema. Guest: A.O. Scott , a longtime film critic for The New York Times. Background reading: A.O. Scott conducts his own exit interview as he moves to a new post after more than two decades of reviewing f...
Mar 23, 2023•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Barney Frank was one of the people most responsible for overhauling financial regulation after the 2008 economic crisis. After retiring from Congress, he supported a change to his own law that would benefit midsize banks, and joined the board of such a bank. Last week, that bank failed. David Enrich called Mr. Frank and asked him to explain. Guest: David Enrich , the business investigations editor at The New York Times. Background reading: Officials with Signature and Silicon Valley banks, which...
Mar 22, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast As Xi Jinping, China’s leader, meets with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow this week, Chinese officials have been presenting his trip as a mission of peace. But American and European officials are watching for something else altogether — whether Mr. Xi will add fuel to the full-scale war that Mr. Putin began more than a year ago. Edward Wong explains what Mr. Xi is really up to, and why it’s making people wonder whether a new Cold War is underway. Guest: Edward Wong , a diplomatic...
Mar 21, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast TikTok, the app known for short videos of lip syncing, dancing and bread baking, is one of the most popular platforms in the country, used by one out of every three Americans. In recent weeks, the Biden administration has threatened to ban it over concerns that it poses a threat to national security. Guest: Sapna Maheshwari , a business reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: TikTok’s owner, ByteDance , is being investigated over possible spying on journalists. Why countries are try...
Mar 20, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast As an American, Sam Anderson knows what it feels like to arrive at a theme park. “The totalizing consumerist embrace,” he writes. “The blunt-force, world-warping, escapist delight.” He has known theme parks with entrances like “international borders” and ticket prices like “mortgage payments.” Mr. Anderson has been to Disney World, which he describes as “an alternate reality that basically occupies its own tax zone.” In November, when Ghibli Park finally opened, Mr. Anderson made sure to get him...
Mar 19, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the past week, as spooked customers frantically withdrew $42 billion from Silicon Valley Bank, the U.S. government stepped in to craft a rescue operation for the failed lender. But efforts to contain the crisis have met resistance, and the fallout of the collapse has already spread to other regional banks, whose stocks have plummeted. Guest: Emily Flitter , a finance correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: The stunning demise of Silicon Valley Bank has spurred soul-searching...
Mar 17, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode contains strong language Millions of people have taken to the streets in France to protest a government effort to raise the retirement age to 64, from 62, bringing the country more in line with its European neighbors. Today, as Parliament holds a key vote on the proposal, we look into why the issue has hit such a nerve in French society. Guest: Roger Cohen , the Paris bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading: After large protests, all eyes were on the French Parliamen...
Mar 16, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three years after the start of Covid, the central mystery of the pandemic — how exactly it began — remains unsolved. But recently, the debate about the source of the coronavirus has re-emerged, this time in Congress. The Energy Department has concluded, with “low confidence,” that an accidental laboratory leak in China was most likely the origin, but politics are making it harder to find definitive answers. Guest: Benjamin Mueller , a health and science correspondent for The New York Times. Back...
Mar 15, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
