The Daily

In November, Americans will head to the polls for the first nationwide election since the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. But what happens this fall won’t just be about who wins and who loses. On the first episode of "The Run-Up,” host Astead Herndon lays out the stakes of the midterm elections and explores the big questions the podcast is looking to answer.  “ The Run-Up ” is a new politics podcast...

Today marks the unofficial start of the campaign for the midterm elections. This year’s midterms will be the first major referendum on the Biden era of government — and a test of how much voters want to reinstall the Trump wing of the Republican Party. On today’s episode, Astead W. Herndon, a political reporter and the host of our new podcast, “ The Run-Up ,” offers a guide to the campaign. He’ll...

 An influx of Fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic narcotic, has aggravated the opioid crisis in the United States and prompted communities to scramble for ways to lower the skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths. In Vancouver, a Canadian city that has been at the forefront of innovative approaches to drug use, a novel and surprising tactic is being tried: It’s called “safer supply.” Guest: Stephani...

Few leaders have had as profound an effect on their time as Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who died this week at 91. It was not Mr. Gorbachev’s intention to liquidate the Soviet empire when he came to power in 1985. But after little more than six tumultuous years, he had lifted the Iron Curtain and presided over the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...

This episode contains detailed descriptions of a mass shooting that some listeners may find disturbing. A trial is underway in Parkland, Fla., to determine the fate of the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. The trial is expected to last for months, forcing people in Parkland to relive the pain of a day they have spent years trying to put behind them. We lo...

This episode contains discussions about suicide, self-harm and mental health issues. In decades past, the public health risks teenagers in the United States faced were different. They were externalized risks that were happening in the physical world. Now, a new set of risks has emerged. In 2019, 13 percent of adolescents reported having a major depressive episode, a 60 percent increase from 2007....

Since he left office, former President Donald J. Trump has been facing several investigations. They include the congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol and the F.B.I.’s search of Mar-a-Lago, his club and Florida residence, as part of an investigation into his handling of classified material. Of all the government investigations, the one that is receiving the least attention — a...

Going to college can be a shock to most: Leaving the comfort of friends and family for a leap into the unknown, a fresh start. But what is the university experience like as a refugee? The journalist Maddy Crowell met some of the 148 Afghan women who have been enrolled in U.S. colleges to complete their degrees, and relates how they have adapted to American and collegiate life a year on from the fa...

President Biden’s announcement this week that he would cancel chunks of student loan debt stands to have a major impact for many of the 45 million Americans who owe $1.6 trillion for having gone to college. Who will benefit from the plan, what will the cost be to the taxpayer and the economy, and, ultimately, could the White House have done more? Guest: Stacy Cowley , a finance reporter for The Ne...

Daria Dugina and her father, Aleksandr Dugin, have been major figures in the Russian propaganda landscape, advocating Russian imperialism and supporting the invasion of Ukraine. But a few days ago, Ms. Dugina was killed in a car bomb after leaving a nationalist festival, fueling speculation about who carried out the attack and whether Moscow’s reaction could affect the war in Ukraine. Guest: Anton...

Across industries and income brackets, a growing number of American workers are discovering that their productivity is being electronically monitored by their bosses. This technology is giving employers a means to gauge what their employees are doing and it’s already impacting how much and when people get paid. Times investigative reporters have discovered that this tracking software is more commo...

Even as the anti-abortion movement celebrates victories at the Supreme Court and in many states across the country, there is debate about where to go next. A hard-edge faction is pursuing “abortion abolition,” a move to criminalize abortion from conception, targeting not only the providers but also the women who have the procedure. Guest: Elizabeth Dias , a correspondent covering faith and politic...

For more than 500 days, coal miners in rural Alabama have been on strike. Around 900 workers walked off the job in April 2021, and they haven’t been back since. As the strike drags on, the miners are discovering that neither political party is willing to fight for them. For Braxton Wright, 39, a second-generation coal miner and, until recently, a Republican, the experience has altered his view of...

In the past decade, planting trees has come to represent many things: a virtuous act, a practical solution and a symbol of hope in the face of climate change. But can planting a trillion trees really save the world? Visiting the Eden Reforestation Projects in Goiás, Brazil, and interviewing numerous international scientists and activists, the journalist Zach St. George offers a vivid insight into...

What is a black hole? Why do we remember the past but not the future? If time had a beginning, does it have an end? We don’t have the answers to some of the universe’s biggest questions. What we do know often feels bleak, such as the notion that in a billion years there will most likely be no life on Earth. Or the reality that someday the entire human race will probably be forgotten. Nonetheless,...

Last week, the F.B.I. took the extraordinary step of searching Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald J. Trump’s private club and Florida home. Their goal? To find materials he was thought to have improperly removed from the White House, including classified documents. An inventory of the material taken from the search showed that agents seized 11 sets of documents with some type of confidential or s...

Across the United States, airline travel this summer has been roiled by canceled flights, overbooked planes, disappointment and desperation. Two and a half years after the pandemic began and with restrictions easing, why is flying still such an unpleasant experience? Guest: Niraj Chokshi , a business reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  The question for many travelers is whether t...

One year ago this week, when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, they promised to institute a modern form of Islamic government that honored women’s rights. That promise evaporated with a sudden decision to prohibit girls from going to high school, prompting questions about which part of the Taliban is really running the country. Guest: Matthieu Aikins, a writer based in Afghanistan for The...

Carried interest is a loophole in the United States tax code that has stood out for its egregious unfairness and stunning longevity.  Typically, the richest of the rich pay 40 percent tax on their income. The very narrow, select group that benefits from carried interest pays only 20 percent.  Earlier versions of the Inflation Reduction Act targeted carried interest. But the loophole has survived....

It was a long-shot bet on liquid natural gas, but it paid off handsomely — and turned the United States into a leading fossil-fuel exporter. The journalist Jake Bittle delves into the storied career of Charif Souki, the Lebanese American entrepreneur whose aptitude for risk changed the course of the American energy business. The article outlines how Mr. Souki rose from being a Los Angeles restaura...

Five years ago, after decades of resistance, the Boy Scouts of America made a momentous change, allowing girls to participate. Since then, tens of thousands have joined. Today we revisit a story, first aired in 2017, about 10-year-old twins deciding which group to join, and find out what’s happened to them since. Background reading:  In 2017, the decision to open up the Boy Scouts was celebrated b...

This episode contains strong language and descriptions of an abortion. With the end of Roe v. Wade, Louisiana has become one of the most difficult places in the United States to get an abortion. The barriers are expected to disproportionately affect Black women, the largest group to get abortions in the state. Today, we speak to Tara Wicker and Lakeesha Harris, two women in Louisiana whose lives l...

On Monday, federal agents descended on Mar-a-Lago, the private club and Florida home of former President Donald J. Trump, reportedly looking for classified documents and presidential papers. Trump supporters expressed outrage about the agency’s actions, while many Democrats reacted with glee. But what do we know about the search, and what comes next? Guest: Maggie Haberman , a White House correspo...

This weekend, Democrats passed legislation that would make historic investments to fight climate change and lower the cost of prescription drugs — paid for by raising taxes on businesses. How did the party finally make progress on the bill, and what effects will it have? Guest: Emily Cochrane , a Washington-based correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  Here’s what is in the clim...

This episode contains descriptions of distressing scenes.  In a landmark ruling, a jury in Texas ordered Alex Jones, America’s most prominent conspiracy theorist, to pay millions of dollars to the parents of a boy killed at Sandy Hook for the damage caused by his lies about the mass shooting. What is the significance of the trial, and will it do anything to change the world of lies and misinformat...