Why Believing Putin Will Be Hard This Time

The Crackdown on Student Protesters: Columbia University has become the epicenter of a growing showdown between student protesters, college administrators and Congress over the war in Gaza and the limits of free speech. Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics and government for The Times, walks us through the intense week at the university. And Isabella Ramírez, the editor in chief of Columbia’s undergraduate newspaper, explains what it has all looked like to a student on campus. Guest: Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics and government for The New York Times Isabella Ramírez, editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator by The Daily

39 min listen

Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?: Lawmakers approved a giant new tranche of support for Ukraine late last night after a tortured passage through the U.S. Congress, where it was nearly derailed by right-wing resistance in the House. Marc Santora, a Times reporter in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, explains what effect the money could have, given Ukraine’s increasing desperation on the battlefield. Guest: Marc Santora, who covers Ukraine for The New York Times. by The Daily

29 min listen

A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?: The prosecution and the defense both opened their cases on Monday in the first criminal trial of Donald Trump. Jonah Bromwich, who watched from inside the courtroom, walks us through the arguments. Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, a reporter for The New York Times covering criminal justice in New York. by The Daily

29 min listen

The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu: The outbreak of bird flu currently tearing through the nation’s poultry is the worst in U.S. history. Scientists say it is now spreading beyond farms into places and species it has never been before. Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The Times, explains. Guest: Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The New York Times. by The Daily

23 min listen

Sunday Special: 'Modern Love': The chef Samin Nosrat lives by the idea that food is love. Her Netflix series, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” and the James Beard Award-winning cookbook that inspired it, were about using food to build community and forge connections. Since then, all of her creative projects and collaborations have focused on inspiring people to cook, and eat, with their friends and loved ones. After the recent loss of her father, Samin has gained an even deeper understanding of what it means to savor a meal — or even an hour — with loved ones. This week, she reads an essay about exactly that: “You May Want to Marry My Husband” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It’s one of the most-read Modern Love essays ever. by The Daily

31 min listen

The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness: Debates over homeless encampments in the United States have intensified as their number has surged. To tackle the problem, some cities have enforced bans on public camping. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about whether such actions are legal, Abbie VanSickle, who covers the court for The Times, discusses the case and its far-reaching implications. Guest: Abbie VanSickle, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times. by The Daily

30 min listen

The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial: Political and legal history are being made in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Donald J. Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to undergo a criminal trial. Jonah Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York, explains what happened during the opening days of the trial, which is tied to Mr. Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star. Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times. by The Daily

30 min listen

Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?: The Environmental Protection Agency has begun for the first time to regulate a class of synthetic chemicals known as “forever chemicals” in America’s drinking water. Kim Tingley, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains how these chemicals, which have been linked to liver disease and other serious health problems, came to be in the water supply — and in many more places. Guest: Kim Tingley, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. by The Daily

25 min listen

A.I.’s Original Sin: A Times investigation shows how the country’s biggest technology companies, as they raced to build powerful new artificial intelligence systems, bent and broke the rules from the start. Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The Times, explains what he uncovered. Guest: Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The New York Times. by The Daily

28 min listen

Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel: Overnight on Saturday, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli soil, shooting hundreds of missiles and drones at multiple targets. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains what happened and considers whether a broader war is brewing in the Middle East. Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times. by The Daily

24 min listen

The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’: At the center of the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan is the accusation that Trump took part in a scheme to turn The National Enquirer and its sister publications into an arm of his 2016 presidential campaign. The documents detailed three “hush money” payments made to a series of individuals to guarantee their silence about potentially damaging stories in the months before the election. Because this was done with the goal of helping his election chances, the case implied, these payments amounted to a form of illegal, undisclosed campaign spending. And because Trump created paperwork to make the payments seem like regular legal expenses, that amounted to a criminal effort at a coverup, argued Alvin Bragg, the district attorney of Manhattan. Trump has denied the charges against him. For Lachlan Cartwright, reading the indictment was like stepping through the looking by The Daily

43 min listen

How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam: Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico. Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels. Guest: Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City. by The Daily

34 min listen

The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics: For former President Donald J. Trump, 2024 was supposed to be dominated by criminal trials. Instead, he’s found ways to delay almost all of them. Alan Feuer, who covers the criminal cases against Mr. Trump for The Times, explains how he did it. Guest: Alan Feuer, who covers extremism and political violence for The New York Times. by The Daily

29 min listen

Trump’s About-Face on Abortion: By the time his first term was over, Donald J. Trump had cemented his place as the most anti-abortion president in U.S. history. Now, facing political blowback, he’s trying to change that reputation. Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The Times, discusses whether Mr. Trump’s election-year pivot can work. Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. by The Daily

23 min listen

How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall: When Elon Musk set up Tesla’s factory in China, he made a bet that brought him cheap parts and capable workers — a bet that made him ultrarich and saved his company. Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains why, now, that lifeline may have given China the tools to beat Tesla at its own game. Guest: Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. by The Daily

31 min listen

The Eclipse Chaser: Today, millions of Americans will have the opportunity to see a rare total solar eclipse. Fred Espenak, a retired astrophysicist known as Mr. Eclipse, was so blown away by an eclipse he saw as a teenager that he dedicated his life to traveling the world and seeing as many as he could. Mr. Espenak discusses the eclipses that have punctuated and defined the most important moments in his life, and explains why these celestial phenomena are such a wonder to experience. Guest: Fred Espenak, a.k.a. “Mr. Eclipse,” a former NASA astrophysicist and lifelong eclipse chaser. by The Daily

30 min listen

The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’: Chris Kerr was 12 when he first observed a deathbed vision. His memory of that summer in 1974 is blurred, but not the sense of mystery he felt at the bedside of his dying father. Throughout Kerr’s childhood in Toronto, his father, a surgeon, was too busy to spend much time with his son, except for an annual fishing trip they took, just the two of them, to the Canadian wilderness. Gaunt and weakened by cancer at 42, his father reached for the buttons on Kerr’s shirt, fiddled with them and said something about getting ready to catch the plane to their cabin in the woods. “I knew intuitively, I knew wherever he was, must be a good place because we were going fishing,” Kerr told me. Kerr now calls what he witnessed an end-of-life vision. His father wasn’t delusional, he believes. His mind was taking him to a time and place where he and his son could be together, in the wilds of northern Canada. Kerr followed his father into by The Daily

27 min listen

An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth: Decades of efforts to cut carbon emissions have failed to significantly slow the rate of global warming, so scientists are now turning to bolder approaches. Christopher Flavelle, who writes about climate change for The Times, discusses efforts to engineer our way out of the climate crisis. Guest: Christopher Flavelle, who covers how the United States tries to adapt to the effects of climate change for The New York Times. by The Daily

28 min listen

Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen: The Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off global outrage and condemnation. Kim Severson, who covers food culture for The Times, discusses the World Central Kitchen, the aid group at the center of the story; and Adam Rasgon, who reports from Israel, explains what we know about the tragedy so far. Guest: Kim Severson, a food correspondent for The New York Times. Adam Rasgon, an Israel correspondent for The New York Times. by The Daily

31 min listen

The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief: In his campaign for re-election, President Biden has said that raising taxes on the wealthy and on big corporations is at the heart of his agenda. But under his watch, overall net taxes have decreased. Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains. Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times. by The Daily

27 min listen

Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate: Long after schools have fully reopened after the pandemic, one concerning metric suggests that children and their parents have changed the way they think about being in class. Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The Times, discusses the apparent shift to a culture in which school feels optional. Guest: Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The New York Times. by The Daily

28 min listen

Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem: Ronna McDaniel’s time at NBC was short. The former Republican National Committee chairwoman was hired as an on-air political commentator but released just days later after an on-air revolt by the network’s leading stars. Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The Times, discusses the saga and what it might reveal about the state of television news heading into the 2024 presidential race. Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times. by The Daily

35 min listen

From Serial: Season 4 - Guantánamo: Maybe you have an idea in your head about what it was like to work at Guantánamo, one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Think again. by The Daily

42 min listen

Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband: Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. It’s been nearly six months since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, when militants took more than 200 hostages into Gaza. In a village called Nir Oz, near the border, one quarter of residents were either killed or taken hostage. Yocheved Lifshitz and her husband, Oded Lifshitz, were among those taken. Today, Yocheved and her daughter Sharone tell their story. Guest: Yocheved Lifshitz, a former hostage. Sharone Lifshitz, daughter of Yocheved and Oded Lifshitz. by The Daily

49 min listen

The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump: Over the past few years, Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has been dismissed as a money-losing boondoggle. This week, that all changed. Matthew Goldstein, a New York Times business reporter, explains how its parent venture, Truth Media, became a publicly traded company worth billions of dollars. by The Daily

30 min listen

Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker: Against all odds and expectations, Speaker Mike Johnson keeps managing to fund the government, inflame the far right of his party — and hold on to his job. Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains why it might be Democrats who come to his rescue. by The Daily

27 min listen

The United States vs. the iPhone: Last week, the Justice Department took aim at Apple, accusing the company of violating competition laws with practices intended to keep customers reliant on their iPhones. David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The Times, discusses the latest and most sweeping antimonopoly case against a titan of Silicon Valley. by The Daily

28 min listen

A Terrorist Attack in Russia: Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. More than a hundred people died and scores more were wounded on Friday night in a terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow — the deadliest such attack in Russia in decades. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses the uncomfortable question the assault raises for Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin: Has his focus on the war in Ukraine left his country more vulnerable to other threats? by The Daily

25 min listen

The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’: By the time Sam Apple pulled up with his goldendoodle, Steve, to their resting place, he was tired from the long drive and already second-guessing his plan. He felt a little better when they stepped inside the Dogwood Acres Pet Retreat. The lobby, with its elegant tiled entrance, might have passed for the lobby of any small countryside hotel, at least one that strongly favored dog-themed decor. But this illusion was broken when the receptionist reviewed their reservation — which, in addition to their luxury suite, included cuddle time, group play, a nature walk and a “belly rub tuck-in.” Venues like this one, on Kent Island in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, didn’t exist when Apple was growing up in the 1980s. If you needed a place to board your dog back then, you went to a kennel, where your dog spent virtually the entire day in a small — and probably not very clean — cage. There were no tuck-ins by The Daily

22 min listen

A Sit-Down With Schumer After His Break With Netanyahu: In a pointed speech from the Senate floor this month, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, called for Israel to hold a new election and for voters to oust the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Soon after, Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for the Times, sat down with Mr. Schumer to understand why he did it. by The Daily

36 min listen

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Why Believing Putin Will Be Hard This Time

Why Believing Putin Will Be Hard This Time

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