The Daily

Transcribed - Published: 19 April 2025

President Trump’s tariffs have terrified stock markets, business owners and anyone with a 401(k). Does that mean that his approach to trade is becoming a major political liability? Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter, asked voters in Michigan what they thought. He found that the answer to that question was not so simple.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

Testimonies began this week in one of the most aggressive cases the government has ever brought against a big tech company. Over the next eight weeks, the Federal Trade Commission will argue that Meta, the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg, should be broken up. Cecilia Kang, who covers technology and regulatory policy, discusses the strange and contentious relationship between Mr. Zuckerberg and President Trump that has led to this moment, and what the case means for them.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

For years, President Trump has mocked the Obama administration for the nuclear agreement that it reached with Iran — a plan he disliked so much that he revoked it. Now, as he embarks on talks with Iran to reach a nuclear agreement of his own, the question is whether his administration can achieve a better deal. David E. Sanger, who covers the White House and national security, takes us inside the negotiations.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

When President Trump met with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, at the White House, the fate of one man was hanging in the balance. Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court, discusses the Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, and what his case means for the limits of presidential power and the rule of law.

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2025

When President Trump raised tariffs against China to an astonishing 145 percent last week, he radically changed the cost of doing business for thousands of American companies. Michael Barbaro speaks to Beth Benike, a small-business owner who fears her business will not survive the tariffs.

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

When Daniel and Victoria Van Beuningen first toured their future home, a quiet villa in the Polish city of Wroclaw, it had been abandoned for years, its windows sealed up with bricks. But something about its overgrown garden spoke to them. They could imagine raising chickens there, planting tomatoes and cucumbers. They could make something beautiful out of it, they thought — a place where their children could run and play. They moved in knowing very little about what happened at the villa before World War II, when Wroclaw, formerly Breslau, was still part of Germany. The couple wanted to know more, and their inquiries eventually led to the Meinecke family in Heidelberg, Germany, elderly siblings who said they were born in the home. Over a long afternoon, they showed the couple pictures of the place from happier times before the war, but they also offered the Van Beuningens a surprising warning: The couple might find the remains of some German soldiers buried in the garden.

Transcribed - Published: 13 April 2025

The creator and comedian discusses his penchant for self-reflection, how politics fits into his work and why he’s not interested in representing anyone but himself.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2025

Over the past five years, the activist Christopher Rufo has spearheaded the conservative critique of and assault on critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, organizing effective campaigns against government offices, corporations and American universities. In the process, Mr. Rufo has become an influential voice in the ear of the Trump administration as it turns his strategy into a wide-ranging government crackdown on higher education. Michael Barbaro speaks to Mr. Rufo about how far his agenda will go.

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

After promising that tariffs against dozens of countries were here to stay, no matter how much they hurt businesses or the stock market, President Trump has abruptly reversed course. But there’s an exception: his levies on China, which he said he would raise to 125 percent. Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, explains why the president changed his mind, and David Pierson, who covers China, discusses why Beijing won’t back down.

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2025

Over the past few weeks, some of the most prestigious universities in the country have faced a threat to their very existence. President Trump has frozen billions of dollars in federal funds in an attempt to rid higher education of what he calls its woke ideology. Rachel Abrams speaks to the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, who has vowed that to fight.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

On Monday, global stocks whipsawed over President Trump’s tariffs, a bear market briefly became official in the United States and tit-for-tat retaliation with China intensified. As trillions of dollars in corporate value evaporates and Mr. Trump’s support in the business world is cracking, even Republican members of Congress are debating whether to take away the president’s power to wage a trade war. Andrew Ross Sorkin, who covers business and policy, and Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, talk through the tumultuous past few days on the stock market.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2025

Over the past few weeks, President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court. Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

“The force of his will is the thing I remember about him,” says Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote a profile of Val Kilmer for The New York Times Magazine in May 2020. “He was sure he was going to come back to his exact former self. ” The two met for an interview just as a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic seemed all but certain to happen. Mr. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and had undergone a tracheotomy, was still performing. Mr. Brodesser-Akner credits him with providing “the first whiff of overarching hope and positivity that I’d witnessed in I couldn’t remember how many months.” “What does somebody do when the thing that they are known for, which is being a superhero, which is being an action hero, which is being handsome, which is being this sort of picture of good health and vigor, what do you do next?” she said. “And a lot of people, they fade away. But that’s not how it went for Val. ” Mr. Kilmer, who played classic roles such as Batman and Iceman in “Top Gun,” died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 65.

Transcribed - Published: 6 April 2025

The actor talks about his new film “The Friend,” his jerky past and what he doesn’t get about himself. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 5 April 2025

The reverberations from President Trump’s new global tariffs have rocked financial markets and world capitals. American stocks have plunged, and foreign leaders have issued forceful condemnations. The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Peter Goodman, Natalie Kitroeff and Jeanna Smialek sit down to try to make sense of Mr. Trump’s strategy and its consequences.

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

In a history-making day of tariffs, President Trump imposed charges of at least 10 percent on nearly all of America’s trading partners. Ana Swanson, who covers trade for The Times, discusses who will be affected most and looks at how the levies effectively ended one era of global trade and began a new one.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

A few days ago, one of the most ubiquitous live shows in the country, Shen Yun, began its latest run at Lincoln Center, drawing thousands of people to a performance that is colorful, acrobatic and — according to many of its performers — shockingly abusive. Nicole Hong, one of the reporters behind a New York Times investigation of Shen Yun, discusses what that reporting has revealed about the secretive enterprise.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2025

On paper, the election in Wisconsin on Tuesday is about who should control the state’s highest court. In reality, it has become a referendum on Elon Musk, his agenda in Washington and his willingness to flood American politics with his money. Reid J. Epstein, who has been covering this campaign for The Times, explains why it has become the local election that everyone is watching.

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2025

Immigration arrests are taking place at universities across the country. The story of three Columbia students helps explain what’s happening, and why. Hamed Aleaziz, who covers immigration policy, lays out what their cases reveal about the latest immigration crackdown — and about this administration’s views on free speech.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

Troy Merritt, a pilot for a major U.S. airline, returned from his 30th birthday trip in Croatia in October 2022 — sailing on a catamaran, eating great food, socializing with friends — and cried. This wasn’t back-to-work blues but collapsed-on-the-floor, full-body-shaking misery. When he wasn’t crying, he slept. “I’ve got to find a therapist,” he told himself. And he did, quickly. If that therapist didn’t write down “depression,” Merritt would be OK. He could still fly planes, keep his job — as long as he wasn’t diagnosed with a mental illness. Merritt, like all pilots, knew that if he was formally diagnosed with a mental-health condition, he might never fly a plane again.

Transcribed - Published: 30 March 2025

The former Fox News and current YouTube host on her professional evolution, conservative media and why she endorsed Trump.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 29 March 2025

What does the continuing fallout from the Signal text security breach tell us about President Trump’s cabinet’s approach to blame and accountability? The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes and Maggie Haberman sit down to make sense of the latest week.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

For the past three decades, the U.S. government has released documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy with an overriding goal of dispelling conspiracy theories. Julian E. Barnes, who covers the U.S. intelligence agencies, explains why President Trump’s motivations behind releasing the latest batch are far more complicated.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2025

This week, top Trump officials inadvertently shared secret U.S. military plans with a prominent journalist after mistakenly adding him to a group chat. The journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, who is editor in chief at The Atlantic, discusses what he was thinking as he read the messages and what he makes of the fallout.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2025

As President Trump set out to systematically eliminate or intimidate those who stood in his way — inspectors general, judges, law firms — the news media loomed as one of his most stubborn obstacles. Or so it seemed. Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times, explains how Mr. Trump is circumventing and undermining the fourth estate in a way no president before him ever has.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2025

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has put the American university system on notice. It has pressed for changes, opened investigations — and in some cases withheld critical funds. Alan Blinder, who covers education in America, explains how schools are responding to the pressure and what it might mean for the future of higher education.

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

Sometime in the 1850s or ’60s, at a terrible moment in U.S. history, a strange man seemed to sprout, out of nowhere, into the rocky landscape between New York City and Hartford, Conn. The word “strange” hardly captures his strangeness. He was rough and hairy, and he wandered around on back roads, sleeping in caves. Above all, he refused to explain himself. As one newspaper put it: “He is a mystery, and a very greasy and ill-odored one.” Other papers referred to him as “the animal” or (just throwing up their hands) “this uncouth and unkempt ‘What is it?’” But the strangest thing about the stranger was his suit.

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2025

The clinical psychologist explains the foundations of egocentric parental behavior, the impact it has on their children and the freedom of saying “no.”Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 22 March 2025

As President Trump has rolled out his economic agenda, the assumption has been that he would quickly scale back his most aggressive policies once they began to scare consumers and the financial markets. But that assumption turned out to be wrong. Ben Casselman, who covers economics, and Maggie Haberman, who covers the White House, explain why Mr. Trump’s economic plan may be backfiring and why he doesn’t seem to mind.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

Five years ago, at the urging of federal officials, much of the United States locked down to stop the spread of Covid. Over time, the action polarized the country and changed the relationship between many Americans and their government. Michael Barbaro speaks to Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee, two prominent political scientists who dispute the effectiveness of the lockdowns, to find out what they think will be required when the next pandemic strikes. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2025

President Trump’s showdown with the courts reached a new milestone on Tuesday, when he called for a federal judge to be impeached and the chief justice of the Supreme Court publicly scolded the president in response. Luke Broadwater, who covers the White House for The Times, discusses the deportation case at the center of the confrontation — and whether the constitutional crisis that many have feared has now arrived.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

After engaging in a campaign of retribution against his enemies within the federal government, President Trump is turning to those outside of it. Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains what that retribution has looked like for a single law firm — and the impact it has had on the entire legal profession.

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2025

Warning: This episode contains strong language. Over the past few days, a routine debate over government funding has exploded into an angry showdown over the Democrats’ identity in the Trump era, and whether their current leadership is right for the moment. Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress, and Shane Goldmacher, who covers national politics, discuss a weekend that rocked the Democratic Party.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

The Senate minority leader discusses the backlash to his vote on the Republican spending bill, how he sees his role within the party and his new book.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 16 March 2025

In just a few weeks, the Trump administration has taken a hard line with allies such as Mexico and Canada. Now, a trade war is on the horizon with Europe. Mark Landler, the London bureau chief of The New York Times, explains how a fracturing alliance with Europe could affect global political dynamics.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2025

A gloves-off trade war with the United States is uniting Canadians against their southern neighbor. Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Canada bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how the dispute is shifting the country’s politics, culture and place on the global stage.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

A measles outbreak continues to spread in Texas. More than 200 people have been infected. One child has died. And health experts are now concerned that low vaccination rates will make it harder to contain. Teddy Rosenbluth, a health reporter at The New York Times, explains the rapid outbreak — and asks whether the government’s response will signal a turning point in how America views public heath.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

In his recent address before Congress, President Trump talked once again about his big ambitions for Greenland. He told the icebound island’s “incredible people” that he supported their right to determine their future. But he ended his message with a threat, declaring, “One way or the other we are going to get it.” Jeffrey Gettleman, an international correspondent for The New York Times who recently traveled to the island, explains what Mr. Trump wants from Greenland, and whether he may actually get it.

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2025

In the coming days, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would follow through on one of his major campaign promises: to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. The catch is that he still needs the department to impose his vision on American schools. Dana Goldstein, who covers education for The Times, explains how Mr. Trump is balancing his desire both to dismantle and to weaponize the Education Department.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

One thing I’ve learned from being married to my wife, Jess, who is a couples therapist, is how vast the distance is between the masks people show to the world and the messy realities that live behind them. Every couple knows its own drama, but we still fall prey to the illusion that all other couples have seamlessly satisfying relationships. The truth about marriage — including my own — is that even the most functional couples are merely doing the best they can with the lives that have been bestowed on them. This past spring, Jess and I had the first of eight sessions of couples therapy with Terry Real, a best-selling author and by far the most famous of the therapists we’ve seen during our marriage. Real, whose admirers include Gwyneth Paltrow and Bruce Springsteen, is one of a small number of thinkers who are actively shaping how the couples-therapy field is received by the public and practiced by other therapists. He is also the bluntest and most charismatic of the therapists I’ve seen, the New Jersey Jewish version of Robin Williams’s irascible Boston character in “Good Will Hunting” — profane, charismatic, open about his own life, forged in his own story of pain.

Transcribed - Published: 9 March 2025

The pop superstar reflects on her struggles with mental health, the pressures of the music industry and why she’s returned to the sound that made her famous.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 8 March 2025

The pop superstar reflects on her struggles with mental health, the pressures of the music industry and why she’s returned to the sound that made her famous.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 8 March 2025

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child abuse and domestic abuse. Over the past few years, a celebrated filmmaker has tried to unlock the mysteries of the pop icon Prince. Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor at The New York Times Magazine, says that the result is a cinematic masterpiece. How is it possible that nobody will ever see it?

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

For years, even as fentanyl has killed Americans at an astonishing rate, Mexico has claimed that it was doing everything possible to crack down on production of the drug. This week, President Trump began using punishing new tariffs to test that claim. Natalie Kitroeff, who is the Mexico City bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses the surprising result of his tactics.

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2025

In his first address to Congress on Tuesday night, President Trump took a highly partisan victory lap as Democratic lawmakers openly protested against him. Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The Times, walks us through the speech, including the reactions to it in the room.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2025

Since President Trump took office, Elon Musk and DOGE have wielded an unprecedented level of power to help the administration cut the U.S. government, and they claim to have stopped tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why those claims are not what they seem — and what that tells us about Mr. Musk’s project to shrink the federal bureaucracy.

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2025

On Friday, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in an explosive televised Oval Office meeting and abruptly cut short a visit that was meant to help coordinate a plan for peace. Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The Times, discusses the clash and its consequences.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

Jim Tucker could hardly believe what he was hearing. It sounded like fiction, a nightmare too outlandish for an unassuming town like his. It was July 2023, and Tucker was hosting a meeting of the board of Heartland Tri-State Bank, a community-owned business in a small Kansas town called Elkhart. Heartland was a beloved local institution and a source of Tucker family pride: Tucker served on the board with his elderly father, Bill, who founded the bank four decades earlier. All of the board members — the Tuckers and several other farmers and businesspeople — had known one another for years. That evening, however, they were gathering to discuss what seemed, on its face, an epic betrayal. Over the past few weeks, the bank’s longtime president, a popular local businessman named Shan Hanes, had ordered a series of unexplained wire transfers that drained tens of millions of dollars from the bank. Hanes converted the funds into cryptocurrencies. Then the money vanished.

Transcribed - Published: 2 March 2025

The Massachusetts leader, whose influence goes well beyond her state, discusses how the Democratic Party can pick its battles and rebuild its brand. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Transcribed - Published: 1 March 2025