The Daily

Lead is an essential but toxic element of car batteries. The U.S. auto industry promotes the recycling of it as an environmental success story. An investigation by The New York Times and The Examination reveals that the initiative comes at a major human cost, especially abroad.Peter S. Goodman, who covers the global economy, explains the dirty business of a supposedly clean technology.Guest: Peter S. Goodman, who covers the global economy for The New York Times.Background reading: The U.S. auto industry was warned for years that battery recycling was poisoning people, an investigation by The Times and The Examination showed.Read more about the investigation.Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  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-acces

What began as a horrific shooting of two National Guard members in downtown Washington last week has now led to a set of far-reaching changes to the U.S. immigration system.The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was among the Afghans who came to the United States after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Earlier, he served in a paramilitary unit that worked with U.S. forces.Hamed Aleaziz discusses Mr. Lakanwal’s journey to the United States, as well as the Trump administration’s wide-ranging response.Guest: Hamed Aleaziz, a Times correspondent covering the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy.Background reading: The suspect in the shooting had traveled a long path of conflict from Afghanistan to America.Afghans who assisted the United States during the war underwent rigorous vetting.Photo: The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on

The holiday season is here, which means it’s the time to think of great gifts for everyone on your list. While it can feel like a daunting task to choose thoughtful, personalized presents, we’ve got a fix for you: books.On this edition of The Sunday Special, Gilbert is joined by Joumana Khatib and Sadie Stein, editors at the Book Review, for a conversation about the best books to give your family and friends. Joumana and Sadie will share what excited them most this year and also provide recommendations for giftees in very specific categories.Books mentioned in this episode:“The Colony,” Annika Norlin“Perfection,” Vincenzo Latronico“Things: A Story of the 60s,” Georges Perec“The Bee Sting,” Paul Murray“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” Kiran Desai“The Director,” Daniel Kehlmann“Playworld: A Novel,” Adam Ross“A Marriage at Sea,” Sophie Elmhirst“Entertaining is Fun!,” Dorothy Draper“The Thursday Murder Club,” Richard Osman“The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” Janice Hallett“Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recip

In this subscriber-only episode, the host Rachel Abrams ventures deep into the basement of The New York Times in Manhattan to visit a place affectionately known by staff members as “the morgue.”There, she meets Jeff Roth, the sole guardian of the vast and eclectic archive that houses the paper’s historical news clippings and photographic prints, along with its large book and periodicals library dating back to the 19th century.Guest:Jeff Roth, archivist at The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  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=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

The competition-TV judge changed the music industry. Now he says he’s changed too.Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.comWatch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcastFor transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview 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=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Here at “The Daily,” we take our annual Thanksgiving episode very seriously.A few years ago, we rang up an expert from the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, who told us that yes, in a pinch, you can cook a turkey in the microwave. Last year, we invited ourselves over to Ina Garten’s house to learn the timeless art of holiday entertaining (Ina’s tip: flowers that match your napkins complete a table.).This year, determined to outdo ourselves, we traveled to Montana to hunt our very own food. Our guest, Steven Rinella — perhaps the country’s most famous hunter — is an avid conservationist and a lifelong believer in eating what you kill.What first drew us to Rinella was the provocative argument he put forth in his best-selling book, “Meat Eater.”“To abhor hunting,” he wrote, “is to hate the place from which you came, which is akin to hating yourself in some distant, abstract way.”So, a few weeks ago, we spoke with Rinella at his podcast studio in Bozeman, Mont, about the forces that turned him into what he describes a

When President Trump’s peace plan to end the war in Ukraine was leaked last week, many felt as though Russia had written the proposal, and to a large degree, it reflected the Kremlin’s demands. The plan set off a global outcry that has forced American officials to revise their approach in the days since.Kim Barker and David E. Sanger explain the process that led to the contentious plan and why it comes at a vulnerable moment for Ukrainian leadership.Guest: Kim Barker, a reporter for The New York Times covering the war in Ukraine.David E. Sanger, the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Analysis: Mr. Trump offers a Ukraine peace plan the Kremlin can love.To many Ukrainians, the U.S. proposal looks like “capitulation.”Photo: Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and

A federal judge on Monday tossed out separate criminal charges against the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and New York’s attorney general, Letitia James.The manner in which the judge dismissed the Comey indictment could now lead to a legal fight over whether the government can try to refile the charges with another grand jury.Devlin Barrett, who covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The New York Times, discusses President Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies and walks us through the judge’s rulingsGuest: Devlin Barrett, a New York Times reporter covering the Justice Department and the F.B.I..Background reading: The cases against Mr. Comey and Ms. James are dismissed.Photo: Drew Angerer for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast

Once primarily limited to severely disabled people, autism began to be viewed as a spectrum that included children and adults far less impaired. Along the way, the disorder also became an identity, embraced by college graduates and even by some of the world’s most successful people, like Elon Musk and Bill Gates.Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the steep rise in autism cases “an epidemic.” He blames theories of causality that mainstream scientists reject — like vaccines and, more recently, Tylenol — and has instructed the C.D.C. to abandon its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism.Today, Azeen Ghorayshi explains what’s really driving the increase in diagnoses.Guest: Azeen Ghorayshi, a science reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Should the autism spectrum be split apart?There are no easy answers for parents of children with autism.Photo: Eric Gay/Associated PressFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode wi

“Wicked” was one of the biggest movies of 2024. It was culturally ubiquitous, a box office smash and an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Now, a year later, “Wicked: For Good” arrives in theaters to finish the tale of the complicated friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Can “Wicked: For Good” be the sensation that its predecessor was? Will it inject new life into a movie business that has suffered a historically bad business year? Will it satisfy the legions of “Wicked” fans who have been waiting to see their favorite musical brought to the big screen?Gilbert Cruz is joined by Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter for The New York Times who profiled the stars of “Wicked,” and Madison Malone Kircher, a reporter for the Styles desk and affirmed “Wicked” fanatic, to discuss what “Wicked: For Good” means for the movies. On Today’s EpisodeMadison Malone Kircher is a reporter covering internet culture for The Times.Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and serves as Th

The writer and YouTube star on trying to get back to the experiences that make us feel alive.Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.comWatch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcastFor transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview 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=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Since starting his second term, President Trump has thrown the full weight of the federal government behind the denying the idea of transgender identity, and pushing to prevent trans minors from getting gender-affirming medical care.Two parents of a trans child discuss facing the scramble of supporting their child, and their fears of becoming targets of the government.Guest: The parents of Allie, who is trans.Background reading: Hospitals are limiting gender treatment for trans minors, even in blue states.States have sued over Mr. Trump’s efforts to end pediatric transgender medical care.Trans youth are rattled by efforts to ban gender care. So are hospitals.Photo: Christopher Capozziello for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  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/activa

After years of soaring optimism and colossal investment, Wall Street has begun to seriously question whether the frenzy for A.I. is justified.Cade Metz, who covers technology for The New York Times, explains why Silicon Valley companies believe so fervently in A.I. and why they’re willing to take enormous risks to deliver on its promise.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Why debt funding is ratcheting up the risks of the A.I. boom.Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI plan to spend at least $325 billion by the end of the year in pursuit of A.I.Photo: Scott Ball for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  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=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, d

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to release all of the files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a bill that President Trump spent months trying to kill.The Times correspondents Anni Karni and Carl Hulse explain how a rebellion started by a handful of Republican lawmakers became a partywide mutiny, and Representative Thomas Massie talks about his role in bringing about the vote.Guest:Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent at The New York Times.Carl Hulse, the chief Washington correspondent for The Times.Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky.Background reading: The vote to approve was a stunning turn for an effort that Republican leaders had worked for months to block.For Mr. Trump, the Epstein scandal is the story that won’t go away.Photo: Tierney L. Cross/The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/po

For the first time in 30 years, the annual U.N. conference on climate change is taking place without top government representation from the United States. China has emerged as the top dog at the summit and is poised to become the world’s supplier of green energy technology.David Gelles and Brad Plumer explain the growing showdown between global superpowers over the future of energy.Guest:David Gelles, a reporter on the New York Times climate team who leads The Times’s Climate Forward newsletter.Brad Plumer, a New York Times reporter based in Washington, covering technology and policy efforts to address global warming.Background reading: There’s a race to power the future. China is pulling away.At a climate summit without the U.S., allies and rivals call for action.Photo: Gilles Sabrie for The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and

When President Trump proposed the introduction of a 50-year mortgage, he challenged a bedrock of the American housing market and financial system. He also revealed how desperate the administration is to lower prices for consumers.Conor Dougherty, who covers housing and development, explains what’s attractive about the idea and its potential drawbacks — and why housing affordability is such an intractable problem.Guest: Conor Dougherty, a reporter for The New York Times covering housing and development for more than a decade.Background reading: The Trump administration is facing backlash from U.S. consumers as higher costs from tariffs blunt wage gains.Many Americans bought their first houses during the pandemic, when mortgage rates dipped to record lows. Now, some feel trapped.Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and

There was once a time when documentaries could be found only on public television or in art-house cinemas. But today, documentaries are more popular and accessible than ever, with streaming services serving up true crime, celebrity documentaries, music documentaries and so much more.On today’s Sunday Special, Gilbert is joined by The New York Times’s chief television critic, James Poniewozik, and Alissa Wilkinson, a Times film critic, to talk about the documentaries that are worth your viewing time. On Today’s Episode:James Poniewozik is the chief TV critic for The Times.Alissa Wilkinson is a movie critic at The Times, and writes the Documentary Lens column. Background Reading:What ‘The American Revolution’ Says About Our Cultural Battles‘Come See Me in the Good Light’: The Sweetness After a Terminal Diagnosis  Discussed on this episode:“The American Revolution,” 2025, directed by Ken Burns“The Alabama Solution,” 2025, directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman“The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Du

The longtime editor and chronicler of the elite says she’s liberated and is letting it rip. 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=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound have revolutionized weight loss. And starting next year, the drugs are going to become more affordable for Americans because of a deal struck with pharmaceutical companies by the Trump administration.Eshe Nelson, who covers economics and business news, explains how the change has its origins in a huge business blunder from the creator of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk.Guest: Eshe Nelson, a reporter for The New York Times based in London, where she covers economics and business news.Background reading: How Ozempic’s maker lost its shine after creating a wonder drug.What Trump’s new drug pricing deal means for people with obesity.Photo: Sergei Gapon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  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-acc

Thousands of pages of newly released emails between Jeffrey Epstein and his associates have put the convicted sex offender’s relationship with President Trump back in the spotlight.David Enrich and Michael Gold, who have been covering the story, explain what the new documents tell us and discuss whether they could prompt the release of the rest of the Epstein files.Guest: David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor for The New York Times.Michael Gold, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump said the Democrats were bringing up the Epstein “hoax” to deflect from the government shutdown.House Republicans asserted that the emails revealed little information.Photo: Doug Mills/The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://