Liz Flatt drove to Austin, Texas, mostly out of desperation. She had tried talking with the police. She had tried working with a former F.B.I. profiler who ran a nonprofit dedicated to solving unsolved murders. She had been interviewed by journalists and at least one podcaster. She had been featured on a Netflix documentary series about a man who falsely confessed to hundreds of killings. Although she didn’t know it at the time, Flatt was at a crossroads in what she had taken to calling her jour...
Jan 21, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast On its surface, the case before the Supreme Court — a dispute brought by fishing crews objecting to a government fee — appears to be routine. But, as Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times explains, the decision could transform how every industry in the United States is regulated. Guest: Adam Liptak , a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: How a fight over a fishing regulation could help tear down the administrative state. The case is part of a long-ga...
Jan 19, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Attacks by Houthi militants on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, once seemed like a dangerous sideshow to the war in Gaza. But as the attacks have continued, the sideshow has turned into a full-blown crisis. Vivian Nereim, the Gulf bureau chief for The Times, explains what cause is served by the Houthis’ campaign. Guest: Vivian Nereim , the Gulf bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading: Undeterred by strikes by American and British forces, the Houthis targeted...
Jan 18, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Concerned about the effect on diversity, many colleges have stopped requiring standardized tests. New research suggests that might be a mistake. David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The Times, discusses the future of SATs and why colleges remain reluctant to bring them back. Guest: David Leonhardt , a senior writer for The New York Times. Background reading: The misguided war on the SAT From Opinion: Can the meritocracy survive without the SAT ? For more information on today’s episode, visit nyt...
Jan 17, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast At the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night, Donald J. Trump secured a runaway victory. The only real drama was the fight for second place. Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, takes us inside one of the caucuses, and Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter, walks us through the final results. Guest: Reid J. Epstein , a politics correspondent for The New York Times, and Shane Goldmacher , a national political reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: A letdown ...
Jan 16, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the N.F.L.’s defending champions, is a very loud place. During a 2014 game, a sound meter captured a decibel reading equivalent to a jet’s taking off, earning a Guinness World Record for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.” Around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7, Brian Melillo, an audio engineer for NBC Sports’ flagship N.F.L. telecast, “Sunday Night Football,” arrived at Arrowhead to prepare for that evening’s game against the Detroit Lio...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast On Monday, Iowa holds the first contest in the Republican presidential nominating process and nobody will have more on the line than Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor staked his candidacy on a victory in Iowa, a victory that now seems increasingly remote. Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The Times, and the Daily producers Rob Szypko and Carlos Prieto explain what Mr. DeSantis’s challenge has looked like on the ground in Iowa. Guest: Shane Goldmacher , a national political cor...
Jan 12, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast A recent string of attacks across the Middle East has raised concerns that the war between Hamas and Israel is spreading, and might put pressure on other countries like Iran and the United States to get more involved. Eric Schmitt, who covers national security for The Times, discusses the risk that the conflict is becoming an even wider war, and explains the efforts underway to prevent that. Guest: Eric Schmitt , a national security correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Attac...
Jan 11, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has consistently argued that as a former president, he is immune from being charged with a crime for things he did while he was in office. Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains what happened when Trump’s lawyers made that case in federal court, whether the claim has any chance of being accepted — and why Trump may win something valuable either way. Guest: Adam Liptak , a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Trump’s immun...
Jan 10, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Across the United States, hundreds of towns and cities are trying to get guns off the streets by turning them over to businesses that offer to destroy them. But a New York Times investigation found that something very different is happening. Mike McIntire, an investigative reporter at The Times, explains the unintended consequences of efforts by local officials to rid their communities of guns. Guest: Mike McIntire , an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: The guns ...
Jan 09, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tonight, millions of Americans are expected to tune in to watch one of the biggest sports events of the year, college football’s national championship game. On the field, the game will be determined by the skill of the players and coaches, but behind the scenes, secretive groups of donors are wielding enormous influence over what fans will see. David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, discusses the shadowy industry upending college football, and how it has brought amateur a...
Jan 08, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fifty years ago, eight Americans set off for South America to climb Aconcagua, one of the world’s mightiest mountains. Things quickly went wrong. Two climbers died. Their bodies were left behind. Here is what was certain: A woman from Denver, maybe the most accomplished climber in the group, had last been seen alive on the glacier. A man from Texas, part of the recent Apollo missions to the moon, lay frozen nearby. There were contradictory statements from survivors and a hasty departure. There w...
Jan 07, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a landmark ruling last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent and banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The decision eliminated the most powerful tool for ensuring diversity on America’s college campuses and forced college admission officers and high school seniors to figure out what the college admissions process should look like when race cannot be taken into account. Jessica Cheung, a producer on “The Daily,” explains how, over the past...
Jan 05, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast A puzzling new pattern has taken hold on American roads: pedestrian traffic deaths, which had been on the decline for years, have skyrocketed. Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, discusses her investigation into what lies behind the phenomenon. Guest: Emily Badger , who covers cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times. Background reading: Why are so many U.S. pedestrians dying at night ? The exceptionally American problem of r...
Jan 04, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yesterday, we went inside Donald Trump’s campaign for president, to understand how he’s trying to turn a mountain of legal trouble into a political advantage. Today, we turn to the re-election campaign of President Biden. Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, explains why what looks like a record of accomplishment on paper, is turning out to be so difficult to campaign on. Guest: Reid J. Epstein , a politics correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: In South Carolina, ...
Jan 03, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast As former President Donald J. Trump enters an election year leading his Republican rivals by wide margins in the polls, multiple court cases are taking up an increasing amount of his campaign schedule. They have been integrated into his messaging and fund-raising efforts, and his campaign staff has been developing a strategy to lock up his nomination, regardless of what happens in court. Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, discusses what Mr. Trump’s campaign will loo...
Jan 02, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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 corres...
Dec 29, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 mountains, intense mud, fast-running rivers and thick rainforest, the Darién Gap, a strip of terrain connecting South and Central America, is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. Over the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in the number of migrants passing through the perilous zone in the hopes of getting to the Unite...
Dec 28, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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 o...
Dec 27, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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, had been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars lined the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby made their way painstakingly fro...
Dec 26, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast A New York Times/Siena College poll has found that voters disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza, though voters are split on U.S. policy toward the conflict and whether or not Israel’s military campaign should continue. Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, breaks down the poll and what it means for U.S.-Israeli relations and Biden’s 2024 campaign. Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Poll Finds W...
Dec 22, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The accidental killing of three hostages by Israel’s military has shocked Israelis and is raising new questions about the way Israel is conducting its war against Hamas. Afterward, Israel’s defense minister appeared to announce a shift in strategy, giving the clearest indication to date that Israel may slow down its military operation in Gaza after weeks of pressure. Patrick Kingsley, Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times, and Hiba Yazbek, a reporter for The Times, discuss Israel’s military campa...
Dec 21, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former President Donald J. Trump is barred from holding office under the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies those who engage in insurrection, and directed Mr. Trump’s name to be excluded from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. Adam Liptak, who covers the court for The Times, explains the ruling and why the case is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the United States Supreme Court for The New York Times...
Dec 20, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide. A recently released study from researchers at Boston University examined the brains of 152 contact-sport athletes who died before turning 30. They found that more than 40 percent of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease associated with repeated hits to the head. Most of those athletes played football, and most played no higher than the high school or college level. John Branch, domestic corresponde...
Dec 19, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence In 2023, the unrelenting epidemic of gun violence in the United States has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people. Throughout the year, each and every one of those shootings was chronicled by a website that has become the most authoritative and widely-cited source of data about gun deaths in the country: the Gun Violence Archive. Mark Bryant, the founder of the database, explains why he has dedicated so much of his life to painstaking...
Dec 18, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last fall, Alexandra Duarte, who is now 16, went to see her endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, outside Houston. From age 10, she had been living with polycystic ovary syndrome and, more recently, prediabetes. After Alexandra described her recent quinceañera, the doctor brought up an operation that might benefit her, one that might help her lose weight and, as a result, improve these obesity-related problems. Alexandra, who smiles shyly and speaks softly but confidently, says she was “...
Dec 17, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Taylor Swift grabbed many headlines in 2023. Her widely popular Eras Tour, which proved too much for Ticketmaster to handle, has been both a business and a cultural juggernaut. And Time magazine named her as its person of the year. Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a staff writer for The New York Times, explains why, for her, 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner , a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. Background reading: Ms. Swift’s greatest gift is for telling her own ...
Dec 15, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast A major case in Texas this week drew attention to the question of who can get exempted from an abortion ban. Most states that have banned the procedure allow for rare exceptions, but while that might seem clear on paper, in practice, it’s far more ambiguous. Kate Cox, the woman at the center of the case in Texas; and Kate Zernike, a national correspondent for The New York Times, talk about the legal process and its surprising effect. Guest: Kate Zernike , a national correspondent for The New Yor...
Dec 14, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Warning: this episode contains strong language. Universities across the country strained under pressure to take a public position on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The Times, explains the story behind a congressional hearing that ended the career of one university president, jeopardized the jobs of two others, and kicked off an emotional debate about antisemitism and free speech on college campuses. Guest: Nicholas Confessore...
Dec 13, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is making a rare trip to Washington this week, pleading his case for American military aid, something which has long been a lifeline for his country but is now increasingly in doubt. Julian Barnes, who covers international security for The Times, explains what has brought Ukraine to the most perilous point since the war began nearly two years ago. Guest: Julian E. Barnes , a correspondent covering the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security ...
Dec 12, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
