The Daily

Almost from the moment that he was appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt has been cast by environmentalists as an ideologue on a mission to destroy the very agency he runs. But Mr. Pruitt, who built a career suing to block environmental rules, sees it differently. Guests: Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Coral Davenport, who covers energy and environmental policy for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Republicans insist that their push to release a secret memo that is said to question the conduct of the F.B.I. and the Justice Department in the early stages of the Russia investigation is not an attempt to undermine the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller. But whatever their intentions, the possible fallout from the memo’s release has everything to do with Mr. Mueller. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, who has been covering the Russia investigation for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In his first State of the Union address, President Trump left behind divisive rhetoric and called for one American family. But hidden in his many stories of everyday American heroes was a deeply nationalist message. Guest: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. government announced this month that it would withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan. In the weeks since, Afghanistan has experienced one of the most violent and deadly periods in its 16-year war. How are the two connected? Guest: Mujib Mashal, a New York Times correspondent in Afghanistan, who describes the sense of terror in Kabul. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the Trump administration clamps down on immigration, some asylum seekers are fleeing to Canada. But is it the promised land they had hoped for? Guest: Dan Bilefsky, a New York Times reporter in Canada. Thank you to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for their interviews with migrants crossing the border. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The New York Times is reporting that President Trump tried to order the firing of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, but ultimately backed down when his own lawyer threatened to quit. And Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, talks about trying to hammer out a compromise on immigration policy. He has described dealing with the White House as “like negotiating with Jell-O.” Guests: Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security for The Times; Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar was lauded as the go-to doctor for the United States’ best gymnasts. After he pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina cleared her docket to give each of his accusers a chance to speak at the sentencing hearing. More than 150 women, including several Olympians, confronted Dr. Nassar in the courtroom and spoke of their abuse over seven days. It was an extraordinary use of the courtroom — and a new way of thinking about justice. Guests: Emily Bazelon, who covers legal issues for The New York Times Magazine; Makayla Thrush, a former gymnast, spoke to Sabrina Tavernise, a Times reporter. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonya Harding had talent, but the world of figure skating wanted nothing to do with her. She was called “white trash.” And when Nancy Kerrigan was bashed in the knee just before the 1994 Winter Olympics, Ms. Harding became a villain. Now, 24 years later, her narrative is being revisited — and she is back in the spotlight. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who interviewed Tonya Harding (now Tonya Price) for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump’s plan to build a “big, beautiful wall” between the United States and Mexico has become the ultimate symbol of a hard-line immigration policy. So why, as Congress voted to end a government shutdown and take up the issue of immigration, have Democrats suggested that they would agree to fund the wall if Republicans protect the Dreamers?Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Democrats forced the federal government to shut down by saying there could be no budget deal without a deal on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Republicans have refused to end the shutdown by saying there can be no DACA deal without a budget deal. There’s been a lot of finger-pointing between the two parties, and the future of young undocumented immigrants hangs in the balance. Guest: Thomas Kaplan, a New York Times reporter who covers Congress. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The only Democrat in the room when President Trump railed against African immigrants as coming from “shithole countries” tells his side of the story. The ensuing fight over immigration has put the government on the verge of a shutdown. If that happens, whose fault would it be? Guests: Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, who spoke to Carl Hulse, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, about the meetings with President Trump; Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

America’s addiction crisis has become a lucrative business, and fortunes have been made in the growing rehab industry. But the death of a patient in California has raised questions about how to treat people who want to get clean, and what it means to profit from the health crisis. Guest: Michael Corkery, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on border walls turned into a fight over the language President Trump used to describe Haiti and some African countries. Why does it matter so much to members of Congress? Also, Stephen Bannon is the first member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle to receive a grand jury subpoena in the Russia investigation. Guests: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a White House correspondent for The New York Times; Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As South Korea prepares to host the Winter Olympics, it has been eager to get the North to participate. What is Seoul afraid will happen if it won’t? And, for 38 minutes on Saturday morning, people in Hawaii believed that a missile was headed for the state. Guest: Susan Chira, a Times journalist who covered Asia in the 1980s, when South Korea hosted the Olympic Games for the first time; voice mail messages from people who received a false alert about an incoming missile attack in Hawaii. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump has demanded to know why the United States should welcome immigrants from “shithole countries.” His words have alarmed lawmakers and threatened an immigration deal. But they have also raised a question about a certain American ideal: Who should be let in? Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, who covers the White House for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When President Trump announced that he would end the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, he gave Congress six months to make it law. Otherwise, many undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children could be deported. As the clock counts down, why is the president making the program his problem once again?Guest: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

George Papadopoulos drew worldwide attention when he was identified as the low-ranking foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign who got in over his head with Russia and inadvertently set off the Mueller investigation. But another foreign policy adviser, Carter Page, also drew the attention of the F.B.I.: Why did his story end so differently? Guest: Jason Zengerle, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.To take our audience survey, visit nytimes.com/podcasts and look for the "take our listener survey" button. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2001, the United States granted Temporary Protected Status to people from El Salvador, after two deadly earthquakes ravaged their country. Nearly 20 years later, that protection seemed to be permanent. And then he Trump administration announced that the rights would end. Guest: Azam Ahmed, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Five days after the release of the tell-all book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” President Trump defended his mental health, calling himself a “very stable genius.” And Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist, backed away from calling Donald Trump Jr. “treasonous.” Why did a publication with little new reporting in it cause such a big stir? Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Jeremy W. Peters, a Times journalist who has reported on Mr. Bannon for years. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After eight days, the largest protests in Iran in years appear to be winding down, calmed, at least in part, by the government. But a closer look at what ignited the outrage in the first place suggests that the country’s president may have lit the match. Guest: Thomas Erdbrink, the Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A new tell-all book about the first year of the Trump administration has the White House in a fury. Its key source is Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, who disparages the president and his children. Mr. Trump responded: “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent; Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On New Year’s Day, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, surprisingly called for direct talks with South Korea. How could that dialogue shift the dynamics among the North, the South and the United States? And Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, is retiring. Is the way open for Mitt Romney’s return? Guests: David E. Sanger, a Times correspondent who has covered North Korea’s missile program for decades; Jonathan Martin, a national correspondent.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s 2018, and the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is nowhere near complete — as the Trump administration had predicted it would be. Instead, new reporting on what prompted a federal inquiry in the first place has shed light on what Robert Mueller, the special counsel in charge of the investigation, was up to over the past year. Guest: Matt Apuzzo, who covers national security for The New York Times 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Daily is revisiting our favorite episodes of the year — listening back, and then hearing what’s happened since the stories first ran. Today, we return to the story of Shannon Mulcahy and other steelworkers in Indiana who lost their jobs when their factory moved to Mexico. Guest: Farah Stockman, a national correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Daily is revisiting our favorite episodes of the year — listening back, and then hearing what’s happened since the stories first ran. Today, we return to the story of two Americans, Abraham Davis and Hisham Yasin. Theirs is a story of vandalism and forgiveness. Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Daily is revisiting our favorite episodes of the year — listening back, and then hearing what’s happened since the stories first ran. Today, we’re going back to a conversation that first ran this summer, two weeks after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. turned violent and right after President Trump drew intense criticism by saying there were “some very fine people on both sides.” Guest: Derek Black, who had been poised to lead the white nationalist movement but then left, betraying his father, a former grand master of the Ku Klux Klan. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Daily is revisiting favorite episodes of the year — listening back, and then hearing what’s happened in the time since the stories first ran. Today we’re going back to an episode from the early weeks of the Trump administration, when we met a man named Carlos who got caught up in the president’s crackdown on immigrants already living in the U.S. illegally. Guests: Monica Davey, the Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times; Tim Grigsby, a print shop owner in West Frankfort, Ill. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A riot in Charlottesville, Va.; hurricanes in Houston and the Caribbean; shootings outside a music festival, in a church and on a baseball field. Big new jobs for Donald Trump and Neil Gorsuch; big jobs lost for Michael Flynn, James Comey, Bill O’Reilly and Harvey Weinstein. A health care bill stymied; a tax bill fast-tracked. Here’s what a breathtaking year sounded like, from start to finish. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. We're taking Monday off for Christmas. For the rest of next week, we’ll revisit our favorite episodes, adding what has happened since the stories first ran. We’ll be back with a new episode on Tuesday, Jan. 2. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A quarter-century ago, the Ford Motor Company paid out millions of dollars in settlements after a group of women at two Chicago plants accused the company of allowing a culture of harassment and menace. Now, new allegations at the very same Ford plants raise questions about the possibility of change. Guest: Catrin Einhorn, a reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The individual mandate started as a Republican idea to fix health care, but it was at the heart of a Democratic president’s signature measure. Now Congress is using the tax bill to kill the mandate. Why did Republicans turn on their own big idea, and what does it mean for the future of the Affordable Care Act?Guests: Margot Sanger-Katz, a health care reporter for The Times; Jonathan Gruber, a professor of economics at M.I.T. who advised Mitt Romney’s team on overhauling health care in Massachusetts, and the Obama administration in drafting the Affordable Care Act. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nearly eight years ago, an earthquake devastated Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The capital’s morgues were so overwhelmed that thousands of bodies were dumped into mass graves. But one group of men stepped in, collecting abandoned bodies to bury them. A New York Times reporter talked to the heroes of Burial Road.Guests: Catherine Porter, a New York Times reporter, talked to the men who tend to the unclaimed bodies of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There was military footage of unidentified flying objects that couldn’t be explained, and a decade of hidden funding in the defense budget. A Times investigation discovered a shadowy secret program at the Pentagon that looks at the potential threat of U.F.O.s.Guests: Helene Cooper, who covers the Pentagon for The New York Times; Luis Elizondo, an intelligence officer who led the program inside the Pentagon. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Student debt levels are soaring — and so are defaults on educational loans. A New York Times investigation found that some creditors are taking extreme measures to get paid. In many cases, those measures are costing people the jobs they need to pay back the loans they took out to get those jobs in the first place.Guests: Jessica Silver-Greenberg, a business reporter for The Times; Shannon Otto, who had her nursing license suspended after she fell behind on loan payments. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Republican lawmakers have reached a deal on their sweeping tax bill, and they are on track to send it to President Trump by Christmas. Why has such an unpopular plan moved so swiftly through Congress? And the Federal Communications Commission is expected to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules today. What would the modern internet look like without such regulation? Guests: Jim Tankersley, who has been covering the tax bill for The New York Times; Kevin Roose, who writes about the internet. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Voters in Alabama have elected Doug Jones, a former prosecutor, to the Senate, rejecting the scandal-plagued Roy Moore and giving Democrats a rare victory in a staunchly conservative state. That cuts the Republican majority in the Senate to just one seat. Guest: Jonathan Martin, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, has built a legal and political career as a conservative crusader and a man of faith. As voters head to the polls on Tuesday, those early battles may shield him from the sexual misconduct allegations that have made the race a close one. Guests: Alan Blinder, a New York Times correspondent based in Atlanta; Bill Willard, a lawyer in Gadsden, Ala. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One day before the polls open in the Alabama special election, many are asking whether voters will find it harder to support Roy Moore or a Democrat. And we take a look at James O’Keefe, the newly emboldened conservative provocateur famous for trying to use secret recordings to embarrass liberals and journalists. Guests: Jonathan Martin, who is covering the Alabama Senate race; Kenneth P. Vogel, who writes about the confluence of money, politics and influence. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Senator Al Franken, a Democrat, reluctantly announced on Thursday that he would resign, even as he denied accusations of sexual misconduct. What does it tell us that his own party pushed for him to step down? Guest: Yamiche Alcindor, a national reporter for The New York Times who has been covering accusations of sexual harassment in Congress. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Arab world was agreed that by officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, President Trump has sabotaged the chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But had Arab leaders given up on the Palestinians long ago? And we hear what it’s like to visit the most powerful figure in the Arab world: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. Guests: Anne Barnard, the Beirut bureau chief of The New York Times; Thomas L. Friedman, a Times opinion columnist. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump has said that a peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians would be the “ultimate deal.” But he is now putting that prospect at risk for the sake of a campaign promise. We also look at the carefully constructed apparatus that provided Harvey Weinstein with cover as accusations of sexual misconduct piled up. Guests: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The New York Times; Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the Times reporters who broke the story about the sexual misconduct accusations against Harvey Weinstein; Lauren O’Connor, a former employee of Mr. Weinstein. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A baker in Colorado refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. After he was charged with discrimination, he argued that his First Amendment right to free speech was being violated. The case is now going to the Supreme Court. Guests: Jack Phillips, the baker; Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With less than a month from proposal to passage, the Republicans rushed their tax plan through the Senate with a flurry of last-minute side deals and a 2 a.m. vote. What else made it into the bill, besides tax cuts, and how could the measure reshape American society? Guests: Jim Tankersley, who has been covering the tax bill for The New York Times; Peter S. Goodman, an economics correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael Flynn pleaded guilty this morning to lying to the F.B.I., and said he’s cooperating with the Mueller investigation. What does it tell us that prosecutors have a former senior member of the Trump White House on their side? Plus: Republicans race toward a tax vote. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Thursday, the Republican tax bill seemed to have all the momentum it needed. But a vote was delayed after a report found the calculations were off by a trillion dollars. Also, the White House has a plan to replace the secretary of state with the head of the C.I.A., and the head of the C.I.A. with a sitting senator. Guests: Jim Tankersley, who covers taxes and the economy for The New York Times; Peter Baker, The Times’s chief White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump is playing a major role in shaping the Republican tax plan. So what is a businessman who ran as a populist fighting for? Also, the president shared videos on Twitter from a fringe ultranationalist group, and the move was condemned by the British prime minister. Guests: Jim Tankersley, who covers taxes and the economy for The Times; Dan Bilefsky, a Times reporter based in London. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The United States government set aside $5 million for the families of civilian casualties from the war on the Islamic State. There have been thousands of civilian casualties. So why has the money gone untouched?Guest: Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter who spent the past year looking into civilian casualties in the war on the Islamic State. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Monday morning, two rival bosses showed up for work at the government’s top consumer financial watchdog — one a holdover from the Obama administration, the other a rushed temporary appointee of President Trump’s. We look at the messy public fight for control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Guest: Gary Rivlin, a former New York Times reporter who is an Investigative Fund fellow at the Nation Institute. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With President Trump nearing the end of his first year in office, the next few weeks could be crucial for his presidency. We also look at how a string of armed robberies in Michigan and Ohio has led to what could be the most important case on electronic privacy to go before the Supreme Court. Guests: Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent; Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Robert Mugabe has been the leader of Zimbabwe as long as there has been a Zimbabwe. Having once proclaimed that “only God will remove me,” he resigned as president on Tuesday after nearly four decades in power. Will he be remembered as a tyrant, or as a hero? Guest: Jeffrey Gettleman, who was East Africa bureau chief of The New York Times for more than a decade. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.We will be taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving. See you Monday. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Capitol Hill, following its own set of rules and shrouded in secrecy, has joined Hollywood, Silicon Valley and other industries under scrutiny for sexual harassment. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, talks about being a woman in Congress at this moment. Guests: Katie Rogers, a New York Times reporter based in Washington; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.