The Daily

In Texas, a heated political battle is taking place over care provided to young transgender people, with Gov. Greg Abbott taking a leading role. The story of this confrontation began, improbably, with the contentious divorce of a suburban couple from Dallas, and a nasty custody battle over their daughter. We look at how a domestic dispute precipitated one of the fiercest political clashes in the c...

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of younger Americans who identify as transgender and are seeking medical intervention to support their transition.  This increase has coincided with laws introduced in Republican State Houses across the country that seek to block trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care. Nowhere is the political battle more polarized and heated...

Nearly two months into the war in Ukraine, many Russians have gone from shock and denial to support for their troops and anger at the West. What is behind this shifting view, and what does it mean for those who go against it? Guest: Anton Troianovski , the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our ne...

Across the United States, 45 million borrowers now owe $1.6 trillion in debt for federal loans taken out for college — more than consumers owe on any other debt except mortgages. For the past two years, beginning as the pandemic spread, the U.S. government has allowed tens of millions of Americans to stop paying back their students loans. This experiment in debt deferral has had unintended consequ...

The Indigenous Brazilian territory of Ituna-Itatá was established in 2011 for the protection of an isolated group that has never been contacted by outsiders or fully confirmed to exist. But despite its special status, it has become one of the most invaded Indigenous territories in Brazil since the election of the pro-development, anti-regulatory president, Jair Bolsonaro, in 2018 — becoming someth...

In the 1990s, Dennis Wayne Hope committed a series of armed robberies. After proving adept at escaping prison, he was put in isolation. He has been there for nearly three decades. His case, if the Supreme Court agrees to hear it, could answer the fundamental question of how long people can be held in solitary confinement. Guest: Adam Liptak , a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York...

Elon Musk’s recent investment in Twitter has turned a high-profile and frequent user of the platform into the company’s largest stakeholder. At first, the involvement of Mr. Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla, was seen by the social media giant as a chance to gain a powerful ally. Instead, Twitter’s fate has suddenly become much harder to predict. Guest: Mike Isaac , a technology correspondent for The New...

After a disastrous defeat in northern Ukraine, Russia has begun a high-stakes battle for the east, while Western allies arm Ukrainian fighters determined to stave off the attack. After Moscow’s pivot, what lies in store in the coming weeks? Guest: Eric Schmitt , a senior writer covering terrorism and national security for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news e...

On the campaign trail and when he first came to office, President Biden had ambitious plans to deal with climate change, including promises to reduce fossil fuel production.  Since the start of the war in Ukraine, however, Mr. Biden has largely stopped making the case for these plans, instead turning his focus to pumping as much oil and gas as possible.  What is behind the president’s retreat on c...

This episode contains strong language.  A year and a half ago, the Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Karen Weise began examining labor practices at Amazon. In the process, they met Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, two Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York, who had embarked on an improbable attempt to create the company’s first union. Last week, they did it. We sat down Mr. Smalls and Mr. P...

For more than two decades, Belarus existed in an equilibrium of quiet authoritarianism. If the government’s repressions didn’t directly touch them, most Belarusians tolerated them. But over the course of 2020, the country’s history and identity, which never much interested a majority of people who lived there, became something they would sacrifice their lives for. Sarah A. Topol explores the battl...

Thirty years ago, Germany put forth a theory for how to work with Russia. Major energy deals, leaders argued, would keep Russia from going to war with its neighbors. Over the past 20 years, Germany has made itself incredibly dependent on Russian gas.  The war in Ukraine has complicated that relationship and has shown how Germany’s approach to Russia has not only failed, but also backfired. Guest:...

As countries have struggled with disease and death throughout the coronavirus pandemic, one part of the world seems to have been mostly spared: central and western Africa. South Africa was deeply affected by waves of the coronavirus, as were countries in East Africa like Kenya and Uganda. But nations in the center and west of the continent appear to have been largely spared. What is behind these l...

This episode details graphic scenes.  Many around the world are calling the indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Bucha, a suburb northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, a war crime. But investigating such atrocities is painstakingly complicated. Could one case that resulted in convictions — the genocide in Bosnia in the 1990s — offer lessons on how to proceed? Guest: Roger Cohen , the Paris bu...

Ukraine and Russia are enormous producers of wheat, corn, barley, sunflower oil and fertilizer. One study calculated that the two countries accounted for 12 percent of the world’s calories. With Ukraine under attack and Russia hit with strict sanctions, a huge supply of food is suddenly trapped — with Africa and the Middle East particularly imperiled. Guest: Jack Nicas , the Brazil bureau chief fo...

After months of investigation by a congressional committee, a federal judge has found that President Donald J. Trump and his allies most likely engaged in illegal activity in the wake of the 2020 election. How did the committee achieve that ruling? Guest: Luke Broadwater , a congressional reporter for The New York Times. Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a spec...

Exploring the personal experiences of Sara Mardini and Seán Binder, two volunteers who were arrested in February 2018 after helping migrants cross safely into Lesbos, Greece, the journalist Alex W. Palmer outlines the complex situation aid workers in Europe find themselves in: increasingly demonized by local authorities while also facing pressure from different ends of the international political...

This episode details graphic scenes.  Russia has mounted a brutal siege around the port city of Mariupol for more than a month, framing it as the key to a war of liberation. In reality, it’s a campaign against a city that is critical to Russia’s strategy — it would help open an important supply route and serve as a symbol of victory.  What is happening inside Mariupol, and what does the fighting m...

In the past, Republicans have been able to secure what some see as an unfair political advantage by gerrymandering political districts. But after the recent redrawing of zones, the congressional map across the U.S. is perhaps more evenly split than at any time in the past 50 years. What happened? Guest: Nate Cohn , a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times. Have you lost a love...

A series of text messages released in the past week show how Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court, urged White House officials to push to overturn the result of the 2020 election. There has never been a spouse of a sitting justice who has been as overt a political activist as Ms. Thomas — and that presents a real conundrum for the court. Guest: Jo Becker , an investig...

At every step of his political career, Senator Joe Manchin III has helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business, including by blocking ambitious climate action. A Times investigation has revealed the strands of the unusual relationship between Mr. Manchin and that especially dirty power plant, showing just how entwined they are. Guest: Christopher Flave...

Since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, 10 million Ukrainians — about a quarter of the population — have been displaced, and about four million have fled the country. Iryna Baramidze is one of them. From a middle-class neighborhood of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, she has been married to her husband for 12 years and has an 11 year-old son, Yuri. Over three weeks, our producer Clare Toenisko...

Demand for traveling nurses skyrocketed during the pandemic. In March 2020, there were over 12,000 job opportunities for traveling nurses, but by early December of that year, the number had grown to more than 30,000 open positions. Lauren Hilgers details the experiences of America’s traveling nurses and questions whether this “boom” will continue. Myriad factors compelled thousands to abandon thei...

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, thousands of women and girls who were in school or had jobs were forced back into their homes. The Daily producers Lynsea Garrison and Stella Tan have been talking to women and girls across the country about their lives under Taliban rule — and about what kind of future they now face. Background reading:  The Taliban has reneged on its promi...

From the outside, Russia’s relentless bombardment of Ukraine looks indiscriminate and improvised. But the approach is part of an approach devised decades ago in Chechnya. The Times journalist Carlotta Gall, who covered the Chechen conflict, explains why wars fought by Russia some 30 years ago could inform what happens next in Ukraine. Guest: Carlotta Gall , the Istanbul bureau chief for The New Yo...