The Daily

The opioid crisis in the United States now rivals the Vietnam War in terms of how many Americans have been killed. After calling the opioid crisis a national emergency, President Trump has officially declared it a public health emergency — a distinction with a difference. We speak with a recovering addict who was 14 when he tried oxycodone for the first time. “By everyone’s standards, I should be...

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican head of the Foreign Relations Committee, was asked on Tuesday if President Trump was a role model for American children. "Absolutely not," he replied. A few hours later, another Republican senator, Jeff Flake of Arizona, denounced the president. Congressional Republicans seem to be revolting against Mr. Trump. But is that what is really happening? Also, Xi Jinpin...

A back-and-forth between President Trump and Myeshia Johnson, the widow of a U.S. soldier killed in Niger this month, has consumed the news cycle for the past week. But what actually happened in Niger? And Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, delivered an impassioned rebuke to President Trump as he announced he would not seek re-election. Guests: Helene Cooper, a Pentagon correspondent f...

Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, a former Environmental Protection Agency official, fought for years to protect American consumers from toxic chemicals found in everyday products. Nancy B. Beck, a scientist who worked for the chemical industry, saw these efforts as overregulation by the federal government. This is the story of the E.P.A. under President Trump, as told by the shifting powers of two women. Gu...

“It’s horrible what I went through, horrible what my family went through,” Bill O’Reilly said of the sexual harassment allegations that cost him his job at Fox News. Mr. O’Reilly spoke on the record to two of our reporters, Emily Steel and Michael S. Schmidt, addressing the latest reporting on a $32 million settlement he reached with a longtime network analyst. Guests: Emily Steel, a business repo...

Foreign Service officers often serve for decades, carrying their knowledge and relationships from one administration to the next. But in just a few months, a new boss has fired or driven out many of the country’s most experienced diplomats. We look at the state of the State Department under Rex Tillerson. Guests: Jason Zengerle, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, who interviewe...

Its de facto capital is falling. Its territory has shriveled to a handful of outposts. Its surviving leaders are on the run, and its fighters are surrendering. Is the Islamic State losing its war, or starting a new one? Guests: Rod Nordland, The Times’s bureau chief in Kabul, Afghanistan; Rukmini Callimachi, who covers terrorism and the Islamic State. For more information on today’s episode, visit...

Shannon Mulcahy’s job at an Indiana steel plant moved to Mexico. Donald Trump vowed to keep factory jobs inside the United States. We discuss how the president’s promise of “America First” has met the realities of American manufacturing. Guests: Farah Stockman, a national correspondent for The New York Times; Shannon Mulcahy, a former factory worker. For more information on today’s episode, visit...

As a candidate for president, Donald J. Trump called Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a “dirty rotten traitor” for walking off his base in Afghanistan in 2009, and said,”I don’t want him. Maybe we can send him back.” On Monday, with President Trump now commander in chief, Sergeant Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and to endangering the American troops sent to search for him. An Army judge will determine his...

President Trump has disavowed the Iran nuclear deal, and he has threatened to leave it altogether if Congress does not amend it to permanently block Tehran from building nuclear weapons. Today, a top negotiator in the Obama administration talks about how the deal was reached and what it feels like to watch Mr. Trump threaten to undo it. Guests: Jake Sullivan, a negotiator for the Iran deal; Peter...

“I’m not quitting today. I don’t believe — and I just talked to the president — I don’t think I’m being fired today,” John F. Kelly, President Trump’s chief of staff, said at a surprise news conference. Hours later, President Trump unexpectedly released a statement aiming at destabilizing Obamacare. And a survivor from the Rohingya, one of the most persecuted ethnic groups in the world, told one o...

The United States sees North Korea as an existential threat: a hostile nation that is dangerously deluded and ready for war. But how does North Korea see the United States? We took a rare look inside the country. Guest: Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and...

More women are coming forward with their accounts of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood, accusing the film producer Harvey Weinstein. Today, we hear one of those stories. Guests: Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter; Katherine Kendall, an actress who told The Times that Mr. Weinstein harassed her in his apartment in 1993. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedail...

The Trump administration has rolled back two of President Barack Obama’s signature achievements. The repeal of the Clean Power Plan was billed as the end of a “war on coal.” And the end of a federal requirement that employers include birth control coverage in their health plans followed up on President Trump’s promise that “we will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anym...

Two months after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent, 200 employees of the American Civil Liberties Union have signed a letter saying that the organization’s “rigid stance” on the First Amendment undermines a broader mission that includes commitment to racial justice. Will the A.C.L.U. rethink its approach to free speech? Guests: Joseph Goldstein, a New York Times rep...

A New York Times investigation has found three decades of sexual harassment allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. In response to that reporting, Mr. Weinstein released the following statement: “I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.” A lawyer advising him said that the producer “denies man...

At least 12 of the weapons found in the hotel suite used by the gunman who killed 58 people in Las Vegas on Sunday had been modified. He used a device called a bump stock, which enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire faster, and can be purchased online. Guest: C. J. Chivers, a New York Times investigative reporter and Marine veteran. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedai...

Every mass shooting in the United States is inevitably followed by a call for gun control, but major legislation never passes. We look at how the National Rifle Association became a powerful lobbying group. Also, a gun store owner talks about putting military-style weapons into the hands of civilians. Guests: Robert Draper, a writer at large for The New York Times Magazine; John Markell, the owner...

A lone gunman booked a suite at a Las Vegas hotel, took aim at a crowd below and committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. At least 59 people are dead, and more than 500 wounded. President Trump is scheduled to visit the city on Wednesday. Today, Mr. Trump is heading to Puerto Rico to survey the damage from Hurricane Maria. A reporter for The Times discusses what she has s...

Across the United States, the case could be made that American voters are not choosing their representatives so much as representatives are choosing their voters. As the Supreme Court opens a new session, it turns to a question that, until now, it had been unwilling to resolve: Does drawing the perfect election district violate the Constitution? Guest: Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New Yor...

If you are found to be guilty of murder and sane, you could spend 25 years in prison. But if you are found not guilty by reason of insanity, you could be confined to an institution for 587 years. Involuntary confinement in a state psychiatric hospital sometimes becomes a life sentence. Guests: Mac McClelland, a reporter who has written about Houston Herczog, her third cousin who was found not guil...

The presidency of Donald J. Trump has changed the rules of influence in the nation’s capital, replacing top lobbyists with a group of newcomers and former nobodies. Those newcomers are getting rich. Guest: Nicholas Confessore, a political investigative reporter for The New York Times. He interviewed the lobbyist Robert Stryk for an episode of one of our other podcasts, “The New Washington.” For mo...

At the height of the 2016 election, exaggerated reports of a brutal crime turned the town of Twin Falls, Idaho, upside down. The fake news has had real consequences. Guest: Caitlin Dickerson, who covers immigration for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via...

President Trump has issued a new order indefinitely banning almost all travel to the United States from several countries, including North Korea. But why is Chad now on the list? Also, how the Supreme Court’s cancellation of arguments on the previous policy could affect a politically charged legal case. Guests: Eric Schmitt, who covers terrorism and national security for The Times; Adam Liptak, wh...

For years, the N.F.L. has avoided bringing politics onto the field. But in stadiums across the country on Sunday, players locked arms in protest as the national anthem played. We discuss how President Trump has forced professional athletes to become more political than ever before. Guest: Michael Powell, a sports columnist for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/t...