The Daily

Early in his presidency, Donald J. Trump called for a federal commission to investigate an issue that was personal for him: voter fraud in the 2016 election. The de facto leader of that commission is Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and a leading advocate of restrictive voting laws. Here’s what you need to know about Mr. Kobach, his beliefs and what he has accomplished in Kansas. Guests:...

Donald Trump Jr. sends an email. Hours later, his father gives a speech. Conspiracy or coincidence? We unpack the timeline of events in June 2016. Plus: A group of international scientists plans to send messages into space to see if we’re alone. But what if we’re not? Guests: Peter Baker, our chief White House correspondent; Douglas Vakoch, the leader of a new group that will beam messages into sp...

It was the secret force behind stories about John Edwards’s $400 haircut and Mitt Romney’s decision to put the family dog on the roof of his car. Donald Trump Jr. says it motivated him to meet with a Russian lawyer. We discuss the dark art of opposition research. Guests: Jonathan Martin, a national political correspondent for The Times; Ben LaBolt, the national press secretary for President Barack...

The Times obtains Donald Trump Jr.’s emails about an offer of help from the Russian government. “I love it,” he wrote. The story behind the story, and what we mean when we talk about “collusion.” And the scene from the Iraqi city of Mosul: What Islamic State militants left behind. Guests: Matt Apuzzo, one of the reporters who broke the story about Donald Trump Jr.’s emails; Rukmini Callimachi, who...

A music producer. A lawyer from Moscow. The Miss Universe pageant. And now: the promise of help from the Russian government. We connect the dots on Donald Trump Jr.’s communications last summer. And what happens when thousands of rebel fighters try to re-enter society as civilians? Guests: Mark Mazzetti, our Washington investigations editor; Nicholas Casey, a correspondent based in South America....

What we know about a newly revealed meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer. Plus, the view from the ground in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Guests: Adam Goldman, one of the reporters behind the revelations about the meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016; Rukmini Callimachi, who is in Mosul reporting on the fall of the Islamic State militant group there. For more information on today’s epis...

Donald J. Trump’s life and career have been defined by his legal battles. But what will they mean for his presidency? Guest: Jonathan Mahler, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine; Jay Goldberg, Mr. Trump’s exclusive litigator from 1990 to 2005. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2tHoXq1. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Yo...

North Korea’s test of a missile that could potentially strike Alaska has crossed a line, and underscores a dilemma for President Trump and his national security team. Also, how the battle over health care is playing out in Kentucky. Guests: David E. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times; Sheryl Gay Stolberg, domestic affairs correspondent; Kathy Collins, a Kentucky resident...

When Medicaid was created in 1965, it was barely discussed. But now it’s so big — and so popular — that a proposal to roll it back could sink the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Guests: Kate Zernike, a Times reporter. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2tdjJ1C. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subsc...

As a limited travel ban goes into effect, the Trump administration has defined what constitutes a “bona fide” relationship: who’s close family, and who’s not, for visitors from six predominantly Muslim nations. Guests: Michael D. Shear, White House correspondent for The New York Times, and Suzanne Ramazani, who is planning a wedding and worries that her Iranian relatives won’t be able to attend. F...

The United States says its goal in Syria is to help its allies defeat the Islamic State, not to fight the government. But it’s getting harder stay out of the civil war. Guests: Helene Cooper, the Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times; Jennifer Steinhauer, who covers Congress. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2tdgVBP. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or o...

The Senate vote on the health care bill is off — for now. We focus on Maine, where Senator Susan Collins has been a vocal opponent of the proposal. And what happens to family members who witness police shootings? Guests: Jennifer Steinhauer, who covers Congress; Lee Umphrey, the chief executive of a health center in Maine; Yamiche Alcindor, who covered the shooting of Philando Castile. Caitlin Dic...

On the last day of its term, the Supreme Court said it would take the case about the legality of President Trump’s travel ban. We discuss the path of the travel ban through the lower courts, the key role of two justices in determining the outcome and what this means for refugees. Guests: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court; Nicholas Kulish, who covers immigration. Caitlin Dickerson is our ho...

President Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare could come down to one issue: abortion. And how the families of people killed by undocumented immigrants have become an emotional cornerstone of another signature issue for the Trump administration. Guests: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a White House correspondent for The Times; Vivian Yee, who covers immigration for The Times; and Steve Ronnebeck, whose 21-yea...

The secret is out. The Senate has unveiled its health care bill. And after all the waiting, what was promised to be a drastic revamp of the House bill looks a lot like the House bill. Plus: The second in our two-part series on the opioid crisis. Guests: Jennifer Steinhauer, who covers Congress; Nathaniel Popper, a reporter for The Times; Joe Pinjuh, chief of the organized crime task force in the U...

We replay the dramatic hours at a hotel room in Chicago leading up to Travis Kalanick’s resignation as the chief executive of Uber. Plus: Part I of a two-part series on the opioid crisis ravaging American cities, which has escalated to a whole new level with the spread of a drug 50 times more powerful than heroin. Guests: Mike Isaac, who has been writing about Mr. Kalanick for the last three years...

Former prisoners subjected to “enhanced interrogation” techniques developed after Sept. 11 have filed a lawsuit — not against the C.I.A., which is protected, but against two psychologists. We discuss what has been revealed by the depositions. Guest: Sheri Fink, who has written about the lawsuit. Caitlin Dickerson is our host; Michael Barbaro is on vacation. For more information on today’s episode,...

The battle for Mosul is entering its final and most challenging phase, with Iraqi forces there engaged in the most intensive urban warfare since World War II. The Times embeds with one Iraqi unit. Guests: Ben C. Solomon, a video journalist who has been following Iraqi fighters in Mosul; Adam Liptak, who discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to consider whether partisan gerrymandering violates the...

Why Senate leaders are crafting the most important legislation of the Trump presidency in secret. Guest: Carl Hulse, who covers Congress. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2rIs7dC. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcat...

Two closely watched trials are heading toward a verdict. We discuss the complexities of both cases. Guests: Katharine Q. Seelye, who has been covering a manslaughter case in Taunton, Mass., involving texts between two teenagers; Lili Bernard, one of Bill Cosby’s accusers who has been attending his now-deadlocked trial in Norristown, Pa. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms...

Moments before he opened fire, the gunman asked who was on the baseball field: Democrats or Republicans. And what happens when a 400-year-old play about one of history’s most infamous acts of political violence is adapted for today? We discuss political violence at a time of extreme partisanship. Guests: Michael Shear, who covered Wednesday’s shooting in Alexandria, Va.; Michael Cooper, an arts re...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions took his turn appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. We discuss his testimony. Plus: a dispatch from the courthouse in Norristown, Pa., where after more than 16 hours of deliberation over two days, the jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case have still not been able to reach a verdict. Guests:...

Her disclosure of classified documents in 2010 ushered in the age of leaks. Now Chelsea Manning has been freed from prison and talks about why she did it — and everything that followed. Guest: Matt Shaer, a contributing writer for the magazine, who narrates the tapes from his conversation with Ms. Manning, her first in-person, on-the-record interview in almost a decade. For more information on tod...

James Comey says he took it as a command. President Trump says he never even said it. We discuss the one word that an obstruction of justice case could turn on: “hope.” Guests: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court; David E. Sanger, who has been reporting on U.S. cyberattacks. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. For two weeks, we’re offering listeners a free tr...

James Comey’s testimony on Thursday reveals that the leak of a James Comey memo was orchestrated by ... James Comey. We discuss why the former F.B.I. director leaked the memo, and the sequence of events he intentionally set in motion to get it to The Times. Guests: Matt Apuzzo and Michael Schmidt, who cover national security for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com...