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Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. It’s been nearly six months since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, when militants took more than 200 hostages into Gaza. In a village called Nir Oz, near the border, one quarter of residents were either killed or taken hostage. Yocheved Lifshitz and her husband, Oded Lifshitz, were among those taken. Today, Yocheved and her daughter Sharone tell their story. Guest: Yocheved Lifshitz, a former hostage. Sharone Lifschitz, daughter of Yocheve...
Over the past few years, Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has been dismissed as a money-losing boondoggle. This week, that all changed. Matthew Goldstein, a New York Times business reporter, explains how its parent venture, Truth Media, became a publicly traded company worth billions of dollars. Guest: Matthew Goldstein , a New York Times business reporter. Background reading: What to know about Trump Media’s high-flying stock debut . Ethics experts say the publicly traded com...
Against all odds and expectations, Speaker Mike Johnson keeps managing to fund the government, inflame the far right of his party — and hold on to his job. Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains why it might be Democrats who come to his rescue. Guest: Catie Edmondson , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Ultraconservatives immediately turned on Mr. Johnson after Congress passed spending legislation. Enraged over the spending b...
Last week, the Justice Department took aim at Apple, accusing the company of violating competition laws with practices intended to keep customers reliant on their iPhones. David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The Times, discusses the latest and most sweeping antimonopoly case against a titan of Silicon Valley. Guest: David McCabe , who covers technology policy for The New York Times. Background reading: The lawsuit caps years of regulatory scrutiny of Apple’s suite of devices and servi...
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. More than a hundred people died and scores more were wounded on Friday night in a terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow — the deadliest such attack in Russia in decades. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses the uncomfortable question the assault raises for Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin: Has his focus on the war in Ukraine left his country more vulnerable to other threats? Guest: Anton Troiano...
By the time Sam Apple pulled up with his goldendoodle, Steve, to their resting place, he was tired from the long drive and already second-guessing his plan. He felt a little better when they stepped inside the Dogwood Acres Pet Retreat. The lobby, with its elegant tiled entrance, might have passed for the lobby of any small countryside hotel, at least one that strongly favored dog-themed decor. But this illusion was broken when the receptionist reviewed their reservation — which, in addition to ...
In a pointed speech from the Senate floor this month, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, called for Israel to hold a new election and for voters to oust the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Soon after, Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for the Times, sat down with Mr. Schumer to understand why he did it. Guest: Annie Karni , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Mr. Schumer, America’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, said he felt obligated...
This year, the star of college basketball is Caitlin Clark, a woman who is changing everything about the game — from the way it’s played, to its economics, to who is watching. Matt Flegenheimer, a profile writer for The Times, discusses Clark’s extraordinary impact. Guest: Matt Flegenheimer , who writes in-depth profiles for The New York Times. Background reading: Her fiery competitiveness, no-look passes and 3-point bombs have made for must-see basketball in Iowa. What happens when she leaves? ...
For decades, an invisible hand has been guiding and controlling the American real estate industry, dictating how much buyers and sellers pay to their agents and how homes are sold. A few days ago, after a stunning legal settlement, that control — wielded by the National Association of Realtors — collapsed. Debra Kamin, who reports about real estate desk for The Times, explains how the far-reaching change could drive down housing costs. Guest: Debra Kamin , a reporter on real estate for The New Y...
Over the past week, Donald J. Trump has burned down and rebuilt the Republican National Committee, gutting the leadership and much of the staff. Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, explains why the former president is trying to reinvent such a crucial piece of campaign apparatus so close to an election. Guest: Shane Goldmacher , a national political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Days after allies took over the Republican National Commit...
Warning: this episode contains a discussion about domestic abuse . As cars become ever more sophisticated pieces of technology, they’ve begun sharing information about their drivers, sometimes with unnerving consequences. Kashmir Hill, a features writer for The Times, explains what information cars can log and what that can mean for their owners. Guest: Kashmir Hill , a features writer on the business desk at The New York Times. Background reading: Automakers are sharing consumers’ driving behav...
In October 2022, amid a flurry of media appearances promoting their film “Tàr,” the director Todd Field and the star Cate Blanchett made time to visit a cramped closet in Manhattan. This closet, which has become a sacred space for movie buffs, was once a disused bathroom at the headquarters of the Criterion Collection, a 40-year-old company dedicated to “gathering the greatest films from around the world” and making high-quality editions available to the public on DVD and Blu-ray and, more recen...
Russians go to the polls today in the first presidential election since their country invaded Ukraine two years ago. The war was expected to carry a steep cost for President Vladimir V. Putin. Valerie Hopkins, who covers Russia for The Times, explains why the opposite has happened. Guest: Valerie Hopkins , an international correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: Mr. Putin, in pre-election messaging, was less strident on nuclear war . What to know about Russia’s 2024 presidentia...
Jeanna Smialek, who covers the U.S. economy for The Times, will be 33 in a few weeks; she is part of a cohort born in 1990 and 1991 that makes up the peak of America’s population. At every life stage, that microgeneration has stretched a system that was often too small to accommodate it, leaving its members — so-called peak millennials — with outsize economic power but also a fight to get ahead. Guest: Jeanna Smialek , a U.S. economy correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: When...
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence and self harm. Last fall, an Army reservist killed 18 people at a bowling alley and restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, before turning the gun on himself. Dave Philipps, who covers military affairs for The Times, had already been investigating the idea that soldiers could be injured just by firing their own weapons. Analyzing the case of the gunman in Lewiston, Dave explains, could change our understanding of the effects of modern warfare on the...
In 2020, motivated to try a different way to combat drug use, Oregon voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Things didn’t turn out as planned. Mike Baker, a national reporter for The Times, explains what went wrong. Guest: Mike Baker , a national reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Amid soaring overdose deaths, Oregon lawmakers have voted to bring back some restrictions . State leaders declared a 90-da...
For years, a mysterious company has been buying farmland on the outskirts of Silicon Valley, eventually putting together a plot twice the size of San Francisco. At every step, those behind the company kept their plans for the land shrouded in secrecy. Conor Dougherty, an economics reporter at The Times, figured out what they were up to. Guest: Conor Dougherty , an economics reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: Tech industry investors spent roughly $900 million buying land to buil...
That people will travel to Mars, and soon, is a widely accepted conviction within NASA. Rachel McCauley, until recently the acting deputy director of NASA’s Mars campaign, had, as of July, a punch list of 800 problems that must be solved before the first human mission launches. Many of these concern the mechanical difficulties of transporting people to a planet that is never closer than 33.9 million miles away; keeping them alive on poisonous soil in unbreathable air, bombarded by solar radiatio...
President Biden used his State of the Union address last night to push for re-election and to go on the attack against Donald J. Trump, his likely adversary in November. Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The Times, discusses the speech’s big moments. Guest: Jim Tankersley , who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times. Background reading: Biden made it clear that he saw the election as an existential struggle between democracy and extremism...
When Google released Gemini, a new chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, it quickly faced a backlash — and unleashed a fierce debate about whether A.I. should be guided by social values, and if so, whose values they should be. Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The Times and co-host of the podcast “Hard Fork,” explains. Guest: Kevin Roose , a technology columnist for The New York Times and co-host of the podcast “Hard Fork.” Background reading: Hard Fork: Gemini’s culture wars , and m...
Millions of voters in states across the country cast their ballots in the presidential primary on Super Tuesday, leaving little doubt that the November election will be a rematch between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump. But in a race that is increasingly inevitable, a New York Times/Siena College poll found a critical group of voters who are making the outcome of that race anything but certain. Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, explains who these voters are and...
Late last week, an effort to get food into northern Gaza turned deadly, as thousands of desperate Gazans descended on aid trucks, and Israeli troops tasked with guarding those trucks opened fire. Exactly how people died, and who was responsible, remains contested. Hiba Yazbek, a reporter-researcher in Jerusalem for The Times, explains what we know about what happened and what it tells us about hunger in Gaza. Guest: Hiba Yazbek , a reporter-researcher in Jerusalem for The New York Times. Backgro...
A single piece of unverified intelligence became the centerpiece of a Republican attempt to impeach President Biden. Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains how that intelligence was harnessed for political ends, and what happened once it was discredited. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt , an investigative reporter for The New York Times, covering Washington. Background reading: Ignoring warnings, Republicans trumpeted a now-discredited allegation against President Biden. ...
At the end of a quiet, leafy street in the Valley in Los Angeles, the reality TV star Tom Sandoval has outfitted his home with landscaping lights that rotate in a spectrum of colors, mimicking the dance floor of a nightclub. The property is both his private residence and an occasional TV set for the Bravo reality show “Vanderpump Rules.” After a series of events that came to be known as “Scandoval,” paparazzi had been camped outside, but by the new year it was just one or two guys, and now they ...
President Biden and Donald J. Trump both made appearances at the southern border on Thursday as they addressed an issue that is shaping up to be one of the most important in the 2024 election: immigration. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The Times, discusses Mr. Biden’s risky bid to take perhaps Trump’s biggest rallying point and use it against him. Guest: Zolan Kanno-Youngs , a White House correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading: In appearances some 300 mile...
A Times investigation has revealed how applesauce laced with high levels of lead sailed through a food safety system meant to protect American consumers, and poisoned hundreds of children across the U.S. Christina Jewett, who covers the Food and Drug Administration for The Times, talks about what she found. Guest: Christina Jewett , who covers the Food and Drug Administration for The New York Times. Background reading: Lead-tainted applesauce sailed through gaps in the food-safety system . What ...
U.S. officials have acknowledged a growing fear that Russia may be trying to put a nuclear weapon into orbit. Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains that their real worry is that America could lose the battle for military supremacy in space. Guest: Eric Lipton , an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Background reading: The U.S. warned its allies that Russia could put a nuclear weapon into orbit this year . The Pentagon is in the early stages of a program to pu...
In the past few weeks, activists in Michigan have begun calling voters in the state, asking them to protest President Biden’s support for the Israeli military campaign in Gaza by not voting for him in the Democratic primary. The activists are attempting to turn their anger over Gaza into a political force, one that could be decisive in a critical swing state where winning in November is likely to be a matter of the slimmest of margins. Jennifer Medina, a political reporter for The Times, explain...
A surprise ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court has halted fertility treatments across the state and sent a shock wave through the world of reproductive health. Azeen Ghorayshi, who covers sex, gender, and science for The Times, explains what the court case means for reproductive health and a patient in Alabama explains what it is like navigating the fallout. Guests: Azeen Ghorayshi , who covers sex, gender and science for The New York Times; and Meghan S. Cole, who is in the final stages of IV...
