The Daily

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of war.When Ukrainian troops crossed over into Russia two weeks ago, it appeared at first to be a largely symbolic gesture. But in the time since, it has emerged as a potentially pivotal moment in the war.Andrew Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The Times, explains what’s behind the audacious Ukrainian operation, and Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief, explains how Russia’s response could reshape the conflict.Guest: Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times.Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Planned in secrecy, the incursion was a bold move to upend the war’s dynamics and put Moscow on the defensive — a gambit that could also leave Ukraine exposed.President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to hold Russian territory as leverage in future talks. In Moscow, many doubt the strategy.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available

On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, the stage belonged to the man who chose to give it up.Katie Rogers and Peter Baker, White House correspondents for The Times, discuss President Biden’s private pain since stepping aside, and his public message in Chicago.Guest: Katie Rogers, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Biden defended his record and endorsed Kamala Harris: “America, I gave my best to you.”Analysis: The speech Biden never wanted to give.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Over the next few days at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination and reintroduce herself to American voters.Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up,” talks through key periods in Ms. Harris’s life that explain what she believes and the kind of president she might become.Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up” for The New York Times.Background reading: A vice-presidential learning curve: How Ms. Harris picked her shots.Nearly 14 years ago, Ms. Harris’s opponent in the California attorney general’s race gave an answer at a debate that was frank — and fateful for the future Democratic presidential nominee.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop

Benjamin B. Bolger has been to Harvard and Stanford and Yale. He has been to Columbia and Dartmouth and Oxford, and Cambridge, Brandeis and Brown. Over all, Bolger has 14 advanced degrees, plus an associate’s and a bachelor’s.Against a backdrop of pervasive cynicism about the nature of higher education, it is tempting to dismiss a figure like Bolger as the wacky byproduct of an empty system. Then again, Bolger has run himself through that system, over and over and over again; it continues to take him in, and he continues to return to it for more. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

From jail and addiction to music stardom — the singer tells David Marchese he’s living a “modern American fairy tale.”Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Air-conditioning has become both our answer to a warming planet and a major obstacle to actually confronting it.Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The Times, explains the increasingly dangerous paradox of trying to control the temperature.Guest: Emily Badger, who covers cities and urban policy for The New York Times.Background reading: From 2017: How air-conditioning conquered America.Air-conditioning use will surge in a warming world, the U.N. has warned.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In the weeks since a landmark Supreme Court ruling opened the door for cities and states to crack down on homeless encampments, California — the state with the largest homeless population — has taken some of the nation’s most sweeping actions against them.Shawn Hubler, who covers California for The Times, discusses the race to clean up what has become one of the Democratic Party’s biggest vulnerabilities before Election Day.Guest: Shawn Hubler, a reporter covering California for The New York Times.Background reading: Gov. Gavin Newsom cleared homeless camps in L.A. county, where he wants more “urgency.”Mr. Newsom ordered California officials to remove homeless encampments.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In a landmark antitrust ruling against Google last week, another case was at the heart of the story — one from the 1990s.Steve Lohr, who covers technology and the economy for The Times, explains the influence of United States v. Microsoft and what lessons that case might hold for the future of Big Tech today.Guest: Steve Lohr, who covers technology, the economy and work for The New York Times.Background reading: How the Google antitrust ruling may influence tech competition.The ruling on Google’s search dominance was the first antitrust decision of the modern internet era in a case against a technology giant.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

New polls by The New York Times and Siena College find that Vice President Kamala Harris has transformed the 2024 presidential race and is now leading former President Donald J. Trump in three crucial battleground states.Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The Times, explains why Ms. Harris is benefiting so much.Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times. Background reading: Ms. Harris leads Mr. Trump in three key states, according to new surveys by The Times and Siena CollegeThe polls show that the vice president has fundamentally changed the race.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For much of the past year, Donald J. Trump and those around him were convinced that victory in the presidential race was all but certain. Now, everything has changed, after the decision by President Biden not to seek a second term.Jonathan Swan, who covers the Trump campaign for The New York Times, discusses the former president’s struggle to adjust to his new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.Guest: Jonathan Swan, who covers politics and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for The New York Times.Background reading: People around the former and would-be president see a candidate disoriented by his new opponent.At a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump tried to wrestle back the public’s attention.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spo

Les Milne was a consultant anesthesiologist, and his wife, Joy, typically found that he came home smelling of anesthetics, antiseptics and blood. But he returned one August evening in 1982, shortly after his 32nd birthday, smelling of something new and distinctly unsavory, of some thick must. From then on, the odor never ceased, though neither Les nor almost anyone but his wife could detect it. For Joy, even a small shift in her husband’s aroma might have been cause for distress, but his scent now seemed to have changed fundamentally, as if replaced by that of someone else.Les began to change in other ways, however, and soon the smell came to seem almost trivial. It was as if his personality had shifted. Les had rather suddenly become detached, ill-tempered, apathetic. It was not until much later that he would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The scent Joy had noticed would become a possible solution for earlier diagnosis. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politic

Senator James Lankford discusses how political calculations killed his border bill, the evangelical Christian vote and preparing for life after Trump.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

More than 50 years after its inception, “breaking” — not “break dancing,” a term coined by the media and disdained by practitioners — will debut as an Olympic sport.Jonathan Abrams, who writes about the intersection of sports and culture, explains how breaking’s big moment came about.Guest: Jonathan Abrams, a Times reporter covering national culture news.Background reading: The Olympic battles in breaking will be a watershed moment for a dance form conceived and cultivated by Black and Hispanic youth in the Bronx during the 1970s.Breakers are grappling with hip-hop’s Olympic moment. Will their art translate into sport?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has transformed the U.S. presidential race. But the real test awaits: Will the party be able to translate that energy into a winning coalition of voters in November?Reid J. Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, discusses a group of skeptical voters in swing states who may post the biggest challenge to the vice president. Our audio producers — Jessica Cheung and Stella Tan — traveled to Wisconsin to speak to some of them.Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a reporter covering politics for The New York Times.Background reading: How Ms. Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, transformed from a little-known governor of a blue state to one of his party’s most prominent and powerful messengers.Democrats are buzzing but sustaining the impetus is the next challenge.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and

Earlier this summer, few Democrats could have identified Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.But, in a matter of weeks, Mr. Walz has garnered an enthusiastic following in his party, particularly among the liberals who cheer on his progressive policies. On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her running mate.Ernesto Londoño, who reports for The Times from Minnesota, walks us through Mr. Walz’s career, politics and sudden stardom.Guest: Ernesto Londoño, a reporter for The Times based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest. Background reading: Who is Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s running mate?Mr. Walz has faced criticism for his response to the George Floyd protests. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Every major U.S. stock market plunged on Monday, wiping out billions of dollars in value.Jeanna Smialek, who covers the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses what was behind the dizzying sell-off — and what it can tell us about whether America is headed for a recession.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a reporter covering the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The New York Times.Background reading: Global stock markets fell sharply — the latest example of how distinct economic forces can ricochet across markets.What should you do when the stock market drops? Here’s the advice from our columnist.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, and Sofia Nelson, his transgender classmate at Yale Law School, forged a bond that lasted a decade. In 2021, Mr. Vance’s support for an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors led to their falling out.Sofia Nelson, now a public defender in Detroit, discussed Mr. Vance’s pivot, politically and personally, with The Times.  Background reading: JD Vance, an unlikely friendship, and how it ended.Nelson shared with The Times about 90 emails and text messages with Mr. Vance. Here are some of the most revealing moments in their correspondence.How Yale propelled Mr. Vance’s career. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

When Maggie Jones’s marriage collapsed after 23 years, she was devastated and overwhelmed. She was in her 50s, with two jobs, two teenage daughters and one dog. She didn’t consider dating. She had no time, no emotional energy. But then a year passed. One daughter was off at college, the other increasingly independent. After several more months went by, she started to feel a sliver of curiosity about what kind of men were out there and how it would feel to date again. The last time she dated was 25 years ago, and even then, she fell into relationships mostly with guys from high school, college, parties, work. Now every man she knew was either married, too young, too old or otherwise not a good fit.That meant online dating — the default mode not just for the young but also for people Ms. Jones’s age. Her only exposure had been watching her oldest daughter, home from college one summer, as she sat on her bed rapidly swiping through guy after guy — spending no more than a second or two on each.Ms. Jones tells her

I went in expecting a swaggering, overconfident guy. I found something much more interesting.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For years, Rupert Murdoch seemed content to let his children battle it out for control of his conservative media empire once he’s gone.Jim Rutenberg, who writes about media and politics for The Times, discusses how a secret change to that plan by Mr. Murdoch touched off an ugly family squabble that could influence how much of the world sees the news.Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: Mr. Murdoch has moved to preserve his media businesses as a conservative force. Several of his children are fighting back.The 93-year-old media tycoon spent the past 70 years building a global media empire that gave him influence in journalism, politics and pop culture. Here’s how.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podc