The Daily

Voters in Brazil on Sunday will choose between two larger-than-life, populist candidates in a presidential race that is widely seen as the nation’s — and Latin America’s — most important election in decades. Who are the candidates, and why is the future of Brazilian democracy also on the ballot? Guest: Jack Nicas , the Brazil bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading:  The contest —...

As Democratic Party leaders assessed their vulnerabilities in this year’s midterm elections, the one state they did not worry about was New York. That — it turns out — was a mistake. Despite being a blue state through and through, and a place President Donald J. Trump lost by 23 points two years ago, the red tide of this moment is lapping at New York’s shores. Why is New York up for grabs? Guest:...

A few days ago, when the House committee investigating Jan. 6 issued a subpoena to former President Donald J. Trump, it raised a legal question: Can Congress compel a former president to testify? The committee’s move, while dramatic, is not without precedent. What do presidential subpoenas of the past teach us about the moment we’re in, and about what the former president might do next? Guest: Luk...

In the early days of its war on Ukraine, Russia cut off gas supplied to most of Europe, plunging the continent into the most severe energy crisis in decades. Soaring prices have put some European leaders on the defensive over their support of Ukraine in the war as they navigate economic crises and bubbling unrest at home. Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff , the Brussels bureau chief for The New York T...

This episode contains strong language.  Hundreds of candidates on the ballot in November still deny that President Biden won in 2020 — a level of denialism that is fueling harassment and threats toward election workers.  Few have experienced those attacks as viscerally as election workers in Arizona. Today, we speak with the top election official in the state’s largest county.  Guest: Stephen Rich...

Yiyun Li has garnered legions of fans with her unsparing prose, writing extensively about her own struggles with depression and suicidality. Her latest novel, “The Book of Goose,” is no different, sharing the same quality that has made Ms. Li something of a beacon to those suffering beneath unbearable emotional weight. Alexandra Kleeman, also a novelist, meets Ms. Li to discover the secrets of her...

How a 12-year project to lock in political power in Wisconsin could culminate in this year’s midterms – and provide a glimpse into where the rest of the country is headed.  “ The Run-Up ” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow...

Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain has resigned after only 44 days in office. Hers is the shortest premiership in the country’s history. What led to her downfall, and why has Britain entered a period of such profound political dysfunction? Guest: Mark Landler , the London bureau chief for The New York Times. Background reading:  Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resignation, yet another episode of polit...

After a summer of news that favored Democrats and with just two weeks until the midterms, a major new poll from The Times has found that swing voters are suddenly turning to the Republicans. The Times’s Nate Cohn explains what is behind the trend and what it could mean for Election Day. Guest: Nate Cohn , the chief political analyst for The New York Times. Background reading:  According to the Tim...

This episode contains strong language. A leaked audio recording of Latino lawmakers in Los Angeles making racist comments has created a political firestorm and brought demands for resignations. But not only has the uproar forced the authorities to reckon with what officials say behind closed doors, it has also raised a sharp issue: Why is a city with so many Latino constituents represented by so f...

Since Hurricane Ian devastated southwestern Florida last month, residents have filed a record number of insurance claims for the damage caused by the storm. Today, Chris Flavelle, a climate reporter for The Times, discusses whether the insurance companies can survive. And if they can’t, what will the effect be on Florida’s housing market, the cornerstone of its economy? Guest: Christopher Flavelle...

Herschel Walker, the former football star who is running for the Senate, is, according to the Times political reporter Maya King, a “demigod in Georgia sports and in Georgia culture.” The midterm election in that state is crucial — it could determine whether Democrats keep control of the Senate. Mr. Walker’s candidacy, however, has been tainted by a slew of stories about his character, including c...

In July 2020, Stephanie Long, the school superintendent in Leland, Mich., wrote a heartfelt letter to her students and their families after George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers. Haunted by the images she’d seen in the media, she wrote: “Why be in a position of leadership,” she asked herself, “and not lead?” “All people of color,” Ms. Long typed, “need us to stand with them to clear...

When Georgia flipped blue in the 2020 election, it gave Democrats new hope for the future. Credit for that success goes to Stacey Abrams and the playbook she developed for the state. It cemented her role as a national celebrity, in politics and pop culture. But, unsurprisingly, that celebrity has also made her a target of Republicans, who say she’s a losing candidate. On today’s episode: the Stace...

In 2019, Julia Longoria, then a Daily producer, traveled to Nashville to speak with Ella Maners and her mother, Katie Maners. Ella, 8 going on 9, was terrified of tornadoes and getting sick. So she did something that was even scarier than her fears: confront them at Fear Facers camp. We revisit her story and catch up with Ella, now 12 and in the fifth grade, who has since returned to the camp. Bac...

This episode contains mention of suicide. A year ago, Lynsea Garrison, a senior producer on The Daily, started telling the story of N, a teenager in Afghanistan. N’s family tried to force her to marry a member of the Taliban, but she resisted. When she tried to escape to the U.S., however, her case was rejected, so she had to remain in Kabul, fearful and in hiding. Here’s what happened next. If yo...

Just before the sun came up on Saturday on the Kerch Strait Bridge, a strategically and symbolically important link between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, a bomb detonated, creating a giant fireball. But Ukrainian elation about the explosion quickly turned into concern about how Russia would respond. And in the days since, Moscow’s retaliation has been to pound Ukrainian cities with missiles in...

To tackle its critical shortage of affordable housing, California has taken aim at a central tenet of the American dream: the single-family home. Telling the story of one such property, in San Diego, can teach us about the larger housing crisis and how we might solve it. Guest: Conor Dougherty , an economics reporter at The New York Times and author of “Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in Americ...

The search for intelligence beyond Earth has long entranced humans. According to Jon Gertner, a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, this search has been defined “by an assumption that extraterrestrials would have developed radio technologies akin to what humans have created.” However, Mr. Gertner writes, “rather than looking for direct calls to Earth, telescopes now sweep the sky,...

How the Republican grass roots got years ahead of a changing country, and whether the Democrats can catch up. “ The Run-Up ” is a new politics podcast from The New York Times. Leading up to the 2022 midterms, we’ll be sharing the latest episode here every Saturday. If you want to hear episodes when they first drop on Thursdays, follow “The Run-Up” wherever you get your podcasts, including on Apple...

If President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia follows through on his threats to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, he is likely to turn to a specific type. Tactical nuclear weapons have a fraction of the strength of the Hiroshima bomb and of the super bombs and city busters that people worried about during the Cold War. What exactly are these weapons, how did they develop and what would it mean if Mr. Pu...

In the struggle to control inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times already this year. But those efforts can be blunted if companies keep raising prices regardless. And one industry has illustrated that difficulty particularly starkly: the car market. Guest: Jeanna Smialek , a federal reserve and economy reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  Many companie...

A few weeks into this year’s monsoon season in Pakistan, it became clear that the rains were unlike anything the country had experienced in a long time. The resulting once-in-a-generation flood has marooned entire villages and killed 1,500 people, leaving a trail of destruction, starvation and disease. Guest: Christina Goldbaum , an Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent for The New York Times. Ba...

The last Supreme Court term was a blockbuster. The justices made a number of landmark rulings, including in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. The new term could be just as testing, with a series of deeply divisive cases on the docket. Guest: Adam Liptak , a correspondent covering the United States Suprem...

Latino voters have never seemed more electorally important than in the coming midterm elections: the first real referendum on the Biden era of government. Latinos make up 20 percent of registered voters in two crucial Senate races — Arizona and Nevada — and as much or more in over a dozen competitive House races. In the past 10 years, the conventional wisdom about Latino voters has been uprooted....