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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2021
The Life and Legacy of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim died last week at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91. For six decades, Mr. Sondheim, a composer-lyricist whose works include “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” transformed musical theater into an art form as rich, complex and contradictory as life itself. “For me, the loss that we see pouring out of Twitter right now and everywhere you look as people write about their memories of Sondheim is for that person who says yes, devoting yourself to writing or to dancing or to singing or to composing — or whatever it is — is a worthwhile life,” Jesse Green, The Times’s chief theater critic, said in today’s episode. “And there really is no one who says that as strongly in his life and in his work as Sondheim does.” Today, we chart Mr. Sondheim’s career, influence and legacy. Guest: Jesse Green, the chief theater critic 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: With a childlike sense of discovery, Stephen Sondheim found the language to convey the beauty in harsh complexity. Mr. Sondheim was theater’s most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century, and he was the driving force behind some of Broadway’s most beloved and celebrated shows. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
December 3, 2021
35 min
The Supreme Court Considers the Future of Roe
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard a case that was a frontal challenge to Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. The case in front of the justices was about a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. For the state to win, the court, which now has a conservative majority, would have to do real damage to the central tenet of the Roe ruling. We explore the arguments presented in this case and how the justices on either side of the political spectrum responded to them. Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court 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: After oral arguments, the Supreme Court seemed poised to uphold the Mississippi abortion law. Whether it will overrule Roe v. Wade remains unclear. Here’s what to know about the Mississippi law. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
December 2, 2021
26 min
Amazon and the Labor Shortage
Amazon is constantly hiring. Data has shown that the company has had a turnover rate of about 150 percent a year. For the founder, Jeff Bezos, worker retention was not important, and the company built systems that didn’t require skilled workers or extensive training — it could hire and lose people all of the time. Amazon has been able to replenish its work force, but the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of this approach. We explore what the labor shortage has meant for Amazon and the people who work there. Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent, based in Seattle 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: Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers churn through Amazon’s vast mechanism that hires, monitors, disciplines and fires. Amid the pandemic, the already strained system lurched. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
December 1, 2021
27 min
What We Know About the Omicron Variant
The story of the Omicron variant began a week ago, when researchers in southern Africa detected a version of the coronavirus that carried 50 mutations. When scientists look at coronavirus mutations, they worry about three things: Is the new variant more contagious? Is it going to cause people to get sicker? And how will the vaccines work against it? We explore when we will get the answers to these three questions, and look at the discovery of the variant and the international response to it. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a reporter covering science and global health 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: South African scientists have said that while they need more data to be sure, existing treatments and precautions seem to be effective against the Omicron variant. Mutations can work together to make a virus more fearsome, but they can also cancel one another out. This phenomenon, called epistasis, is why scientists are reluctant to speculate on Omicron. Almost two years into the pandemic, finger-pointing, lack of coordination, sparse information and fear are once again influencing policy. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
November 30, 2021
21 min
A Prosecutor’s Winning Strategy in the Ahmaud Arbery Case
This episode contains strong language. Heading into deliberations in the trial of the three white men in Georgia accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, it was not clear which way the jurors were leaning. In the end, the mostly white jury found all three men guilty of murder. We look at the prosecution’s decision not to make race a central tenet of their case, and how the verdict was reached. Guest: Richard Fausset, a correspondent based in Atlanta. 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: How a prosecutor addressed a mostly white jury and won a conviction in the Ahmaud Arbery case. “It’s good to see racism lose”: The murder convictions were praised by many. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
November 29, 2021
38 min
The Farmers Revolt in India
After a landslide re-election in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s control over India seemed impossible to challenge. But a yearlong farmers’ protest against agricultural overhauls has done just that, forcing the Indian prime minister to back down. How did the protesters succeed? Guest: Emily Schmall, a South Asia correspondent 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: The protesters received foreign and domestic financial support, kept their camps organized and looked for ways to be seen while trying to avoid violence. How a bungled response to Covid and a struggling economy have hurt the governing party’s standing in India. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
November 24, 2021
29 min
Righting the Historical Wrong of the Claiborne Highway
In the 1950s and ’60s, the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, one of the oldest African-American neighborhoods in the United States, was a vibrant community. But the construction of the Claiborne Expressway in the 1960s gutted the area. The Biden administration has said that the trillion-dollar infrastructure package will address such historical wrongs. How might that be achieved? Guest: Audra D.S. Burch, a national correspondent 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: Generations of New Orleans residents have dreamed of the day when the Claiborne Expressway might be removed. President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package could eventually make that possible. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
November 23, 2021
26 min
The Acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse
This episode contains strong language. On Aug. 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager, shot three men, two of them fatally, during street protests in Kenosha, Wis., over the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer. Mr. Rittenhouse’s trial, which began on Nov. 1, revolved around a central question: Did his actions constitute self-defense under Wisconsin law? Last week, a jury decided that they did, finding him not guilty on every count against him. We look at key moments from the trial and at how the verdict was reached. Guest: Julie Bosman, the Chicago bureau chief of 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: Mr. Rittenhouse’s acquittal pointed to the wide berth given to defendants who say they acted out of fear. The trial highlighted the deep division over gun rights in the United States. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
November 22, 2021
34 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

The Life and Legacy of Stephen Sondheim

The Supreme Court Considers the Future of Roe

Amazon and the Labor Shortage

What We Know About the Omicron Variant

A Prosecutor’s Winning Strategy in the Ahmaud Arbery Case

The Farmers Revolt in India

Righting the Historical Wrong of the Claiborne Highway

The Acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse

About the podcast The Daily

Categories