The Daily

About the podcast The Daily

This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m.

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2022
How Partying Could Be Boris Johnson’s Undoing
When allegations first emerged in November about parties held at 10 Downing Street, the residence and offices of the British prime minister, during a strict Covid lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson waved them away. Yet in the weeks since, the scandal has only grown, with public outrage building as more instances and details of lockdown parties at Downing Street have emerged. Some voters in Britain have long been willing to overlook the foibles of Mr. Johnson’s character, but this is a scandal that poses an existential threat to his leadership. Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief 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. Background reading: Boris Johnson’s future is in doubt after two humiliating apologies about parties while the country was under Covid restrictions. Here’s a guide to how he could be forced out, or fight on. Mr. Johnson, long famed for brushing off accusations of distortion or outright lying that seemed to only bolster his image as an incorrigible scamp, suddenly faces potential political death over the very charge to which he had seemed immune. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 25, 2022
26 min
Documenting a Death by Euthanasia
Marieke Vervoort was a champion Paralympic athlete from Belgium. In 2016, Vervoort, who had a progressive disease, announced her retirement from professional sports and spoke of her desire to undergo euthanasia. Today, we hear Vervoort’s story from Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who documented the end of her life. “In most of my experiences covering Iraq and Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur, I’m photographing people who are trying not to die,” Lynsey said. “Marieke was the first person I had really met who wanted to die.” Guest: Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who spent three years with Marieke Vervoort. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Knowing she had the legal right to die helped Marieke Vervoort live her life. It propelled her to medals at the Paralympics. But she could never get away from the pain. Lynsey Addario spent nearly three years photographing Vervoort as she prepared to die by choice. It became one of the most emotional assignments — and friendships — of her life. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 24, 2022
37 min
The Sunday Read: ‘How Disgust Explains Everything’
What is “disgust”? Molly Young, a journalist with The New York Times, considers the evolutionary and social uses of this “universal aspect of life” to identify the impact of disgust in its physical, psychological and linguistic manifestations. Young explains the different forms of disgust, analyzing how the reactions they elicit play out in the body and mind, and why it is in many ways cultural. She explains how disgust shapes our behavior, technology, relationships and even political leanings. It’s behind everyday purity rites; the reason we use toilet paper, wash our hands and hold cutlery; it has shadowed the rules that have governed emotion in every culture throughout time. Charles Darwin, the scholar William Ian Miller, the research psychologist Paul Rozin and the philosopher Aurel Kolnai, among the many others who felt compelled, Young explained, to investigate this most primal emotion. This story was written by Molly Young and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.
January 23, 2022
42 min
What the ‘Djokovic Affair’ Revealed About Australia
Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1 player in men’s tennis, had a lot at stake going into this year’s Australian Open. A win there would have made him the most decorated male tennis player in history. But he arrived in the country without having had a Covid-19 vaccination, flying in the face of Australia’s rules, and after a court battle he was ultimately deported. In Australia, the “Djokovic affair” has become about a lot more than athletes and vaccines — it has prompted conversations about the country’s aggressive border policy, isolationism and treatment of migrants. Guest: Damien Cave, the Australia bureau chief 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. Background reading: Prime Minister Scott Morrison latched on to the Djokovic case. But with an election looming, it’s not clear that it was a political winner. Novak Djokovic lost his bid to stay in Australia to a government determined to make him a symbol of unvaccinated celebrity entitlement; to an immigration law that gives godlike authority to border enforcement; and to a public outcry, in a nation of rule followers. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 21, 2022
32 min
Microsoft and the Metaverse
Microsoft announced this week that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of video games such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion. Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, said the acquisition was a step toward gaining a foothold in the metaverse. But what exactly is the metaverse? And why are some of the biggest companies in the world spending billions of dollars to get involved? Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist 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. Background reading: Does the metaverse even exist? Here’s what you need to know. Video games are not merely entertainment anymore. They have become weapons that today’s technology titans wield to try to shape our future. The deal for Activision Blizzard would be Microsoft’s biggest ever, and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 20, 2022
24 min
A Last-Gasp Push on Voting Rights
It’s a big week in the Senate for voting rights. Democrats have two bills that include measures to bolster and protect elections. But the bills are almost certain to fail. Why has it proved almost impossible to pass legislation so integral to the agenda of President Biden and the Democrats? Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Here’s what to know about voting rights and the battle over elections. Democrats’ bid to force through a bill intended to offset state voting restrictions appeared destined to fall to a Republican filibuster. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 19, 2022
32 min
The Civilian Casualties of America’s Air Wars
Four years ago, Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter for The Times Magazine, told us the story of Basim Razzo, whose entire family was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq. His story helped reveal how American air wars were resulting in a staggering number of civilian deaths. Analyzing thousands of U.S. military reports and investigating in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, Azmat was able to gain a better understanding of why this was happening. Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter for The Times Magazine. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The promise was a war waged by all-seeing drones and precision bombs. But Pentagon documents show flawed intelligence, faulty targeting, years of civilian deaths — and scant accountability. A trove of internal documents, combined with extensive reporting across the Middle East, reveals the tragic, disastrous failures of the U.S. military’s long-distance approach to warfare. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
January 18, 2022
37 min
The Sunday Read: ‘This Isn’t the California I Married’
Elizabeth Weil, the author of today’s Sunday Read, writes that, in her marriage, there was a silent third spouse: California. “The state was dramatic and a handful,” Weil writes. “But she was gorgeous, and she brought into our lives, through the natural world, all the treasure and magic we’d need.” However, for Weil, there is internal conflict living in a state where wildfires have become the norm. She describes living through a discontinuity in which previously held logic fails to stand up to reality. Today, Weil analyzes the sources of California’s crisis — from the impact of colonization and the systemic erasure of Indigenous practices to the significant loss of fire-management practices and critical dryness caused by global warming. In California, as in much of the world, climate anxiety and climate futurism coalesce into trans-apocalyptic pessimism. But, in spite of the doom, Weil suggests the situation is not completely devoid of hope. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.
January 16, 2022
47 min

About the podcast The Daily

This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m.

The Daily

About the podcast The Daily

Categories

How Partying Could Be Boris Johnson’s Undoing

Documenting a Death by Euthanasia

The Sunday Read: ‘How Disgust Explains Everything’

What the ‘Djokovic Affair’ Revealed About Australia

Microsoft and the Metaverse

A Last-Gasp Push on Voting Rights

The Civilian Casualties of America’s Air Wars

The Sunday Read: ‘This Isn’t the California I Married’

About the podcast The Daily

Categories