The Daily

The more he insisted that his name was Joshua, the more delusional he came to be seen. Journalist Robert Kolker tells us the remarkable story of Joshua Spriestersbach, a homeless man who wound up serving more than two years in a Honolulu jail for crimes committed by someone else. It was a case of mistaken identity that developed into “a slow-motion game of hot potato between the police, the courts...

Charles Falls Jr., known as Chillie, loves to take cruises. But Covid, as it has done for so many, left him marooned at home in Virginia. As he told Cristal Duhaime, a producer at the Times podcast First Person, as soon as restrictions eased, he eagerly planned a return to the waves. But for Chillie, who suffers from prostate cancer, resuming his beloved travels — particularly aboard the cramped q...

This episode contains mention of sexual assault.  Kansas this week became the first U.S. state since the fall of Roe v. Wade to put the question of abortion directly to the electorate. The result was resounding. Voters chose overwhelmingly to preserve abortion rights, an outcome that could have important political reverberations for the rest of the country. Guest: Mitch Smith , a correspondent cov...

Democrats are meddling in Republican primaries this year to an unusual degree, attempting to elevate extremist candidates who they think will be easy to defeat in midterms in the fall. Nowhere has that strategy been more divisive than in the election for a House seat in Michigan. Guest: Jonathan Weisman , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big i...

On Monday, President Biden announced that the United States had killed Ayman al-Zawahri in a drone strike in Afghanistan.  Al-Zawahri was the leader of Al Qaeda. A long time number two to Osama bin Laden and the intellectual spine of the terrorist group, he assumed power after bin Laden was killed by U.S. in 2011.  Who was al-Zawahri, and what does his death mean for Afghanistan’s relationship wit...

In mid-June, cases of monkeypox were in the double digits in the United States. There were drug treatments and vaccines against it. There didn’t seem to be any reason for alarm. But in the weeks since, the virus has spread rapidly across the country, with some local and state officials declaring public health emergencies. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli , a science and global health reporter for The New...

For generations, America’s major publishers focused almost entirely on white readers. Now a new cadre of executives is trying to open up the industry. The journalist Marcela Valdes spent a year reporting on what she described as “the problematic history of diversity in book publishing and the ways it has affected editors, authors and what you see (or don’t see) in bookstores.” Interviewing more th...

For decades, Republicans have sought to make gains with a critical voting block: Latinos. Last month, when Mayra Flores was elected to Congress from Texas, she finally showed them a way to gain that support. Today, we explore what her campaign tells us about the future of the Latino vote. Guest: Jennifer Medina , a national reporter for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big ide...

To fight historic levels of inflation, the Federal Reserve this week, once again, raised interest rates, its most powerful weapon against rising prices. The move was intended to slow demand, but there was also a psychological factor: If consumers become convinced that inflation is a permanent feature of the economy, that might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Guest: Jeanna Smialek , a correspond...

This episode contains details of alleged sexual assault.  In the past year, more than 20 women have accused the star N.F.L. quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct. Despite the allegations, Watson has signed one of the most lucrative contracts in the history of football, with the Cleveland Browns, and will take the field today for training camp. Guest: Jenny Vrentas , a sports reporter for...

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Democrats introduced a bill to prevent the right to gay marriage from meeting the same fate as the right to abortion. The bill was expected to go nowhere, but it has won more and more Republican support and now seems to have a narrow path to enactment. Guest: Annie Karni , a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big...

Born in response to the 2008 financial crisis, cryptocurrency was supposed be a form of money that eliminated the traditional gatekeepers who had overseen the tanking of the economy. But a crash in value recently has raised questions about cryptocurrency’s central promise. Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany , a reporter covering cryptocurrencies and fintech for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily...

How do you teach your child about sex? It’s a perennial question that has spawned hundreds of illustrated books meant to demystify sexual intercourse. But for the Canadian author Cory Silverberg, there was something lacking. Silverberg, who uses they/them pronouns, felt that books on sex aimed at children often omitted mention of intimacy in the context of disability or gender nonconformity. And s...

The Great Salt Lake is drying up. Soaring demand for water, exacerbated by drought and higher temperatures in the region, are shrinking the waters, which play such a crucial role in the landscape, ecology and weather of Salt Lake City and Utah. Can the lake be saved? Guest: Christopher Flavelle , a climate reporter for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each...

A series of blockbuster hearings from the Jan. 6 committee has put growing pressure on Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to bring criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump over the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Before today’s committee hearing, we speak with Andrew D. Goldstein, one of the prosecutors who led the last major investigation into Mr. Trump, about why winning...

Across the United States, Republicans emboldened by the overturning of Roe v. Wade are passing laws intended to stop medical staff from providing an abortion. But those same laws may also be scaring health workers out of providing basic care for miscarriages. Guest: Pam Belluck , a health and science writer for The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week fr...

A record-breaking heat wave is currently washing over Europe. In parts of Britain, the mercury has hit a freakishly high 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more. While that is happening, both Europe and the United States — two of the world’s largest contributors to global warming — are abandoning key commitments to limit emissions. Guest: Somini Sengupta , the international climate reporter for The New Yor...

In the past, President Biden has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for its human rights abuses and said that he would never meet with its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But Mr. Biden’s first trip as president to the Middle East included talks with the prince. What prompted the change in course? Guest: Ben Hubbard , the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times. Want more from The...

People heading to court often turn to the internet for guidance. In so doing, many come across the work of Justin Paperny, who dispenses advice on his YouTube channel. His videos offer preparation advice and help manage expectations, while providing defendants information to be able to hold their current lawyers accountable, and to try to negotiate a lighter sentence. Mr. Paperny, a former financi...

Ancient galaxies carpeting the sky like jewels on black velvet. Fledgling stars shining out from deep within cumulus clouds of interstellar dust. Hints of water vapor in the atmosphere of a remote exoplanet. This week, NASA released new images captured from a point in space one million miles from Earth. Today, we discuss the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s most powerful space observatory,...

In recent days, the political crisis in Sri Lanka has reached a critical point, with its president fleeing the country and protesters occupying his residence and office. Today, “The Daily” explores how the island nation, whose economy was once held up as a success story in South Asia, came apart — and why it’s a cautionary tale. Guest: Emily Schmall , a South Asia correspondent for The New York Ti...

For months, leaders of the Democratic Party and President Biden have been bracing for huge losses in the upcoming midterm elections. Today, “The Daily” explores a new New York Times poll that complicates that thinking — and could set the stage for a very different showdown in November. Guest: Nate Cohn , a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times. Want more from The Daily? For o...

Last week, Elon Musk announced that he was pulling out of his $44 billion agreement to purchase Twitter. Today, we explore why a company that once tried to fend off this acquisition is now trying to force Mr. Musk to buy it. Guest: Kate Conger , a technology reporter 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 newsletter...

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the court’s conservative majority argued it was simply handing the question of abortion to the states and their voters to decide for themselves. But in reality, the court was ensuring that many states, from Arizona to Ohio, would immediately ban the procedure without much debate, because their legislatures are now dominated by hard-line Republicans. T...

Warning of imminent ecological catastrophe, the Earth Liberation Front became notorious in the late 1990s for setting fire to symbols of ecological destruction, including timber mills, an S.U.V. dealership and a ski resort. The group was widely demonized. Its exploits were condemned by mainstream environmental groups, ridiculed by the media and inspired a furious crackdown from law enforcement. Bu...