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In the decades after World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, Germany deliberately underinvested in its military. But that’s about to change.Katrin Bennhold, a correspondent in Europe and former Berlin bureau chief, explains why Germany is re-entering an era of militarization, and what that will mean for its national identity.Guest: Katrin Bennhold, a Germany and Europe correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Germany adopted a more muscular security plan in an attempt to set priorities, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but politics may have weakened it.German leaders are vowing to transform the country into a military power capable of taking responsibility for Europe’s security. Can they — and a hesitant German society — follow through on that promise?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 politic

Rapid inflation has been a problem in the United States for more than two years, but the tide appears to be turning. Annual inflation is now less than half of what it was last summer.Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses whether the decline is a result of careful policymaking, or more of a lucky accident.Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a Federal Reserve correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Inflation is coming down. Is the Fed winning its fight?How to read the Fed’s projections like a pro.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.

Almost everyone who reads “American Born Chinese,” Gene Luen Yang’s groundbreaking graphic novel, is a little afraid of Chin-Kee.The book is a classic of young-adult literature, threading together stories of Asian American boyhood with a revered Ming dynasty novel. Chin-Kee’s role in it is a small one, but he is the bomb at the book’s heart. He’s a kind of Urkel character, embarrassing comic relief that isn’t so funny for the people who have to live with him — a cruel marionette pieced together from ugly stereotypes. He makes the old schoolyard “me Chinese” rhymes and begins sentences with “Confucius say …” He sings “She Bangs,” in a library, in the style of the “American Idol” contestant William Hung. At one point, he eats a packed lunch with a cat peeking out of the container. A laugh track runs in a ribbon under each scene, a brutal little receipt: “HA HA HA HA HA.”So when news arrived, in 2021, that “American Born Chinese” would be adapted as a live-action Disney+ streaming series, the first reaction from

This week, a historic case has landed in a Montana courtroom. A group of young environmentalists is suing the state, arguing that its embrace of fossil fuels is destroying pristine environments, upending cultural traditions and robbing young residents of a healthy future.David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The Times, explains why the case could be a turning point, and what a win in Montana would mean for the future of the climate fight.Guest: David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The landmark youth climate trial, which has been more than a decade in the making, began on Monday in Montana.Sixteen young Montanans have sued their state, arguing that its support of fossil fuels violates the state Constitution.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 n

Last week, golf’s premier circuit, the PGA Tour, announced it was partnering with its rival circuit LIV Golf, an upstart league backed by Saudi Arabia, giving the country a powerful new seat at the table of international sports.Alan Blinder, who covers golf for The New York Times, explains what was behind the deal and what it means for the business of sports.Guest: Alan Blinder, a reporter who covers golf and health for The New York Times.Background reading: The deal to merge LIV Golf with the PGA Tour is a big win for oil-rich Saudi Arabia, headlining a banner week that also includes a visit from the American secretary of state.The U.S. Senate opened an inquiry into the PGA Tour’s deal with LIV Golf.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.

Donald Trump was arraigned in Miami yesterday on 37 criminal counts covering seven different violations of federal law, including the handling of classified documents.Three New York Times journalists covered the proceedings: Glenn Thrush was inside the courtroom, Luke Broadwater reported from outside the courthouse, and Maggie Haberman was at Mr. Trump’s home in Bedminster, N.J.Guests: Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Glenn Thrush, who covers the Department of Justice for The New York Times.Maggie Haberman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump, now twice indicted since leaving the White House, surrendered to federal authorities in Miami and pleaded not guilty, striking a defiant tone afterward.On the calendar for Mr. Trump, the Republicans’ 2024 front-runner: rallies and primaries mixed with court dates.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the nex

When the #MeToo movement gained momentum in exposing abuses at the highest levels of power, the restaurant industry was exposed as a chief offender. In 2020, the James Beard Awards, the food world’s main kingmaker, announced that there would be no winners in either 2020 or 2021 after allegations against several top chefs.Brett Anderson, a contributing writer on The Times’s Food desk and a former member of the awards committee, discusses the attempts to hold the industry to account.Guest: Brett Anderson, a food correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading:Early indications suggest that the new vetting process for the James Beard Awards is vulnerable to failure in several ways.Behind the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 James Beard Awards were worries about chefs’ behavior and a lack of Black winners.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 ever

Last week, Donald Trump was charged with federal violations relating to his handling of classified material after leaving office.Ben Protess, who covers the government and law enforcement for The Times, discusses the indictment and walks us through the evidence.Guest: Ben Protess, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: The Trump indictment shows critical evidence came from one of his own lawyers.The information about the yearlong inquiry contains a host of embarrassing and potentially devastating new revelations. Here’s what we learned.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 the former secretary of state and C.I.A. director Mike Pompeo, a man who had dealt firsthand with autocrats like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, described Randi Weingarten as “the most dangerous person in the world” last November, it seemed as though he couldn’t possibly be serious.Weingarten is 65 and just over five feet tall. She is Jewish and openly gay — she’s married to a rabbi — and lives in Upper Manhattan. She is the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers, which is not even the country’s biggest union of public school educators. The A.F.T. did give in excess of $26 million to Democratic candidates and causes in the 2022 election cycle, but the Carpenters and Joiners union gave more than twice as much.The public education system may not be very popular right now, but both Democrats and Republicans tend to like their local schools and their children’s teachers. The unions that represent those teachers, however, are more polarizing. One reason for this is that they are actively inv

The seven new criminal charges against Donald Trump relate to his handling of classified material upon leaving office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them. Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The Times, talks about what this will mean for Trump, and for President Biden, whose administration will now be prosecuting his biggest potential rival for the White House.Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to face federal charges.The former president assailed Hillary Clinton for her handling of sensitive information. Now, the same issue threatens his chances of reclaiming the White House.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 a

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has created a crisis in the American Northeast and beyond, with air pollution in New York reaching its worst level in modern history.David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The Times, explains why this happened, and why there is so little we can do to keep it from happening again.Guest: David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: New York City experienced its worst air quality on record. Here’s how to stay safe as the smoke spreads.David Wallace-Well’s column on the smoke that shrouded New York City.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.

Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination keep entering the field, despite the fact that Donald Trump polls consistently as the front-runner and Ron DeSantis has emerged as the clear No. 2. Why do so many lesser-tier Republicans think they have a real shot?Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, offers a guide to the new crop of candidates and discusses their rationale for running.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mike Pence, former vice president — and now rival — to Mr. Trump gave his most aggressive criticism of his former boss, portraying him as unfit to be president.Chris Christie’s presidential bid has little chance of success. But if he takes out Mr. Trump along the way, the former New Jersey governor may consider it a victory.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

A few weeks ago, footage showing asylum seekers, including young children, being rounded up, taken to sea and abandoned on a raft by the Greek Coast Guard was sent to The New York Times.Matina Stevis-Gridneff, The Times’s bureau chief in Brussels, discusses how she proved the truth of the tip that a major European government was carrying out an illegal scheme risking the lives of civilians.Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Greece has said that it doesn’t ditch migrants at sea. But it was caught in the act.The Times’s investigation into the video points to a slew of Greek, European Union and international law violations.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.

About 50 years ago, the educator Lucy Calkins pioneered a technique called balanced literacy, which de-emphasized the use of phonics to teach reading. It was widely adopted in the United States, including in New York, the country’s largest public school system.But doubts about the approach persisted, and now it seems that using balanced literacy has given a generation of American students the wrong tools.Dana Goldstein, who covers family policy and demographics for The Times, discusses the story of balanced literacy and how Professor Calkins is trying to fix the problems that the technique created.Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times who writes about family policy and demographics.Background reading: Lucy Calkins has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics. Critics may not be appeased.Fed up parents, civil rights activists, newly awakened educators and lawmakers are crusading for “the science of reading.” Can they get results?For more information on to

This episode contains descriptions of violence.In the two years since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has shut women and girls out of public life.Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Kabul bureau for The New York Times, traveled across Afghanistan to talk to women about how they’re managing the changes. What she found was not what she had expected.Guest: Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Times bureau in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.Background reading: The Taliban’s takeover ended decades of war. But their restrictions, and the economic fallout, have thrown many women into a new era of diminished hopes.In an uncommon display of consensus, the U.N. Security Council has called for the Taliban to end their prohibitions on women working and attending school after sixth grade.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

This weekend, we’re bringing dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp. On today’s episode: An ode to the Dominican musical genre dembow.  The many uses of Worcestershire sauce, an often misunderstood pantry staple. A Times health editor on how she holds it all together.  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 recent years, well-paid and college-educated Americans have shed major cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington for places like Philadelphia or Birmingham, Ala.Emily Badger, who writes about cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, explains what is driving the change, and what it means for the future of the American city.Guest: Emily Badger, a cities and urban policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Coastal cities have long been too expensive for low-wage workers. Now college graduates are leaving, too.More renters are moving out of big cities. But where are they going?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.

With stunning speed, the status of trans youth has become the rallying cry of the Republican Party, from state legislatures to presidential campaigns.Adam Nagourney, who covers West Coast cultural affairs for The New York Times, explains how that came to be, and why it’s proving such a potent issue.Guest: Adam Nagourney, a West Coast cultural affairs correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors.Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-gay rhetoric and calls to roll back L.G.B.T.Q. rights have grown bolder among Republican elected officials and candidates.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.

Since 2016, the cardinal rule of Republican politics has been to defend Donald J. Trump and his allies at all costs, no matter the allegation. That appeared to change last week, when Texas lawmakers issued 20 articles of impeachment against their state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, a powerful Trump supporter.J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times, explains what the escalating conflict in Texas indicates about tensions within the party.Guest: J. David Goodman, the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: The extraordinary vote on impeachment exposed rifts among Texas Republicans and set the stage for a showdown in the State Senate.The escalating conflict between moderates and hard-liners in one of the Republican Party’s most important states highlights tension over the future of the party.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 T

As the world begins to experiment with the power of artificial intelligence, a debate has begun about how to contain its risks. One of the sharpest and most urgent warnings has come from a man who helped invent the technology.Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times, speaks to Geoffrey Hinton, who many consider to be the godfather of A.I.Guest: Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: For half a century, Geoffrey Hinton nurtured the technology at the heart of chatbots like ChatGPT. Now he worries it will cause serious harm.Here’s how A.I. could be weaponized to spread disinformation.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.