The Daily

This episode contains explicit language.

Michael Cohen, Donald J. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, took the stand in the former president’s hush-money trial. 

Jonah E. Bromwich, a criminal justice reporter, discusses how Mr. Cohen could cause problems for Mr. Trump himself. 

Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the Manhattan criminal trial of Donald J. Trump for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Michael Cohen is the central witness in the first criminal trial of an American president.
• Mr. Cohen’s account of an arrangement struck in the White House was the only personal testimony tying Donald J. Trump to falsified documents.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Across the United States, more frequent extreme weather is starting to cause the home insurance market to buckle, even for those who have paid their premiums dutifully year after year.

Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter, discusses a Times investigation into one of the most consequential effects of the changes.

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate change reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• As American insurers bleed cash from climate shocks, homeowners lose.
• See how the home insurance crunch affects the market in each state.
• Here are four takeaways from The Times’s investigation.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The latest Times polling shows the extent of the challenge that President Biden faces and the strengths that Donald J. Trump retains. A yearning for change — as well as discontent over the economy and the war in Gaza among young, Black and Hispanic voters — may lie behind both.

Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, explains the surveys: New York Times/Siena College polls of Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, and the inaugural Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll in Pennsylvania.

Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Surveys by The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer reveal an erosion of support for the president among young and nonwhite voters upset about the economy and Gaza.
• With polls showing that Trump is set to make a demographic breakthrough, ticket splitting is also back.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Donald Trump upended decades of American policy when he started a trade war with China. Many thought that President Biden would reverse those policies. Instead, he’s stepping them up.

Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House, explains.

Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Biden, competing with Mr. Trump to be tough on China, called for steel tariffs last month.
• The Biden administration may raise tariffs on electric vehicles from China to 100 percent.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Earlier this year, we shared the story of one family’s dispute over a loved one with dementia. That story, originally reported in The New York Times Magazine by Katie Engelhart, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing this past week. Today, we're revisiting Katie’s story – and the question at the heart of it: When cognitive decline changes people, should we respect their new desires?

Guest: Katie Engelhart, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.

Background reading: 

• The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia
• Katie Englehart has reported on dementia for years, and one image of a prisoner haunts her.

This episode contains descriptions of an alleged sexual liaison.

What happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump?

Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was in the room.

Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• In a second day of cross-examination, Stormy Daniels resisted the implication she had tried to shake down Donald J. Trump by selling her story of a sexual liaison.
• Here are six takeaways from Ms. Daniels’s earlier testimony.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

India is in the midst of a national election and its prime minister, Narendra Modi, is running to extend his 10 years in power.

Mr. Modi has become one of the most consequential leaders in India’s history, while also drawing criticism for anti-democratic practices and charges of religious persecution.

Mujib Mashal, the South Asia bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses what we might see from Mr. Modi in a third term.

Guest: Mujib Mashal, the South Asia bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Narendra Modi’s power keeps growing, and India looks sure to give him more.
• The brazenness of Mr. Modi’s vilification of India’s Muslims has made it clear that he sees few checks on his power, at home or abroad.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

If and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a cease-fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East.

Michael Crowley, who covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times, explains why those involved in this plan believe they have so little time left to get it done.

Guest: Michael Crowley, a reporter covering the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza war are once again at an uncertain stage.
• Here’s how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7.
• From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a “real” Palestinian state.
• Here’s what Israeli officials are discussing about postwar Gaza.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

While many of the effects of climate change, including heat waves, droughts and wildfires, are already with us, some of the most alarming consequences are hiding beneath the surface of the ocean.

David Gelles and Raymond Zhong, who both cover climate for The New York Times, explain just how close we might be to a tipping point.

Guests: 

• David Gelles, who reports for the New York Times Climate team and leads The Times’s Climate Forward newsletter.
• Raymond Zhong, a reporter focusing on climate and environmental issues for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Scientists are freaking out about ocean temperatures.
• Have we crossed a dangerous warming threshold? Here’s what to know.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tries to get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states, he’s confronting fierce resistance from his opponents.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien, who covers campaign finance and money in U.S. elections for The New York Times, discusses the high-stakes battle playing out behind the scenes.

Guest: Rebecca Davis O’Brien, a reporter covering campaign finance and money in U.S. elections for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Surprise tactics and legal threats: inside R.F.K. Jr.’s ballot access fight.
• Here’s where third-party and independent candidates are on the ballot.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Over the last two decades, Esther Perel has become a world-famous couples therapist by persistently advocating frank conversations about infidelity, sex and intimacy. Today, Perel reads one of the most provocative Modern Love essays ever published: “What Sleeping With Married Men Taught Me About Infidelity,” by Karin Jones.

In her 2018 essay, Jones wrote about her experience seeking out no-strings-attached flings with married men after her divorce. What she found, to her surprise, was how much the men missed having sex with their own wives, and how afraid they were to tell them.

Jones faced a heavy backlash after the essay was published. Perel reflects on why conversations around infidelity are still so difficult and why she thinks Jones deserves more credit.

Esther Perel is on tour in the U.S. Her show is called “An Evening With Esther Perel: The Future of Relationships, Love & Desire.” 

Check her website for more details

The comedian talks to David Marchese on becoming a different person after unimaginable loss. For more on 'The Interview,' please visit nytimes.com/theinterview.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.

Over the past week, students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments and, at times, seized academic buildings. In response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down and called in the local police to detain and arrest demonstrators.

As of Thursday, the police had arrested 2,000 people across more than 40 campuses, a situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Jonathan Wolfe, who has been covering the student protests for The Times, and Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, discuss the history-making week.

Guest: 

• Jonathan Wolfe, a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The New York Times.
• Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Biden and his administration.

Background reading: 

• As crews cleared the remnants of an encampment at U.C.L.A., students and faculty members wondered how the university could have handled protests over the war in Gaza so badly.
• Biden denounced violence on campus, breaking his silence after a rash of arrests.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For half a century, the federal government has treated marijuana as one of the more dangerous drugs in the United States. On Tuesday, the Biden administration signaled a significant shift in approach.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The Times, explains how big an impact the proposed changes could have.

Guest: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The Biden administration’s effort to liberalize marijuana policy comes as increasingly more Americans favor legalizing the drug.
• After the recommendation to ease restrictions, Democrats in the Senate reintroduced legislation to legalize marijuana.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

As the presidential race moves into high gear, abortion is at the center of it. Republican-controlled states continue to impose new bans, including just this week in Florida.

But in Washington, the Biden administration is challenging one of those bans in a case that is now before the Supreme Court, arguing that Idaho’s strict rules violate a federal law on emergency medical treatment.

Pam Belluck, a health and science reporter at The Times, and Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court, explain how the federal law, known as EMTALA, relates to abortion, and how the case could reverberate beyond Idaho. 

Guests: 

• Pam Belluck, a health and science reporter for The New York Times.
• Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Here’s a guide to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, the federal law at the heart of the case.
• And here are five takeaways from the Supreme Court arguments on Idaho’s abortion ban.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban TikTok, concerned that the video app’s links to China pose a national security risk.

Sapna Maheshwari, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the behind-the-scenes push to rein in TikTok and discusses what a ban could mean for the app’s 170 million users in the United States.

Guest: Sapna Maheshwari, who covers TikTok, technology and emerging media companies for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• A tiny group of lawmakers huddled in private about a year ago, aiming to bulletproof a bill that could ban TikTok.
• The TikTok law faces court challenges, a shortage of qualified buyers and Beijing’s hostility.
• Love, hate or fear it, TikTok has changed America.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In a special series leading up to Election Day, “The Daily” will explore what a second Trump presidency would look like, and what it could mean for American democracy.

In the first part, we will look at Tump’s plan for a second term. On the campaign trail, Trump has outlined a vision that is far more radical, vindictive and unchecked than his first one.

Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, political correspondents for The Times, and Charlie Savage, who covers national security, have found that behind Trump’s rhetoric is a highly coordinated plan, to make his vision a reality.

Guest:

• Jonathan Swan, who covers politics and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for The New York Times.
• Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.
• Charlie Savage, who covers national security and legal policy for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Why a second Trump presidency may be more radical than his first.
• No major American presidential candidate has talked like Trump now does at his rallies — not Richard Nixon, not George Wallace, not even Donald Trump himself.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Frustrated at the growing protest movement, the opposition leader defends his country’s “existential” war. For more on the show, please visit nytimes.com/theinterview.

On the debut of ’The Interview,' the actress talks to David Marchese about learning to let go of other people’s opinions. For more on the show, please visit nytimes.com/theinterview.