The Daily

Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.When Hamas attacked Israel, they took two hundred hostages back with them into the Gaza Strip, including grandparents and children as young as nine months old. It was one of the largest mass abductions in recent history.Now, the fate of those hostages is at the center of a deepening crisis in the Middle East, and a looming ground invasion of Gaza. Today, we hear from the mother of one of these hostages.Guest: Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is currently being held hostage by Hamas.Background reading: Hamas is believed to hold at least 199 people in Gaza, a dense territory descending into a chaotic crisis, where many officials believe a military rescue would be dangerous for soldiers and hostages alike.Relatives of those captured or missing express despair at the lack of information, and they are terrified of what an expected Israeli invasion of Gaza may mean for their loved ones.For more information on today’s

When the governor of Texas announced an extraordinary plan to use local law enforcement to try to deter migrants from crossing from the border with Mexico, few communities were more receptive than the city of Eagle Pass, where residents had become fed up with the federal government’s approach.Now, two years later, people who once welcomed the plan are turning against it. Edgar Sandoval, who writes about South Texas for The New York Times, and Nina Feldman, a producer on “The Daily,” traveled to Eagle Pass to find out why.Guest: Edgar Sandoval, a reporter covering South Texas for The New York Times.Background reading: A campaign by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to turn back migrants was initially welcomed on the border. But in Eagle Pass, some of that support appears to be waning.The city’s mayor declared a state of emergency last month as the level of crossings strained resources.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next wor

A devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday killed hundreds and ignited protests across the broader Middle East, deepening the crisis in the region.As President Biden visits Israel looking to ease tensions and avoid a broader conflict, Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The Times, discusses the narrow path the American leader must navigate.Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other for the explosion at the hospital, where people had sought shelter from Israeli bombing.The U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war has drawn fury in the Middle East.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.

The House of Representatives still has no speaker, crippling a vital branch of the government. And the Republican who seems to be in the strongest position to take the role, Jim Jordan of Ohio, was once called a “legislative terrorist” by a former speaker of his own party.Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress for The Times, talks through the latest turns in the saga of the leaderless House.Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Allies of Jim Jordan are threatening right-wing retribution to any Republican lawmakers who oppose him.Analysis: With the world in crisis, House Republicans bicker among themselves, Carl Hulse writes.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.

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death.As the conflict continues, Israel has blocked food, water and electricity from entering Gaza and has bombarded the area with airstrikes that have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians.Late last week, Israel ordered people in the north of Gaza, nearly half the enclave’s population, to evacuate to the south ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion. Many in Gaza now fear that this mass expulsion will become permanent.Last week we told the story of a father of four whose kibbutz was attacked by Hamas. Today, we hear from the Gaza residents Abdallah Hasaneen and Wafa Elsaka about what they’ve experienced so far and what they expect will come next.Guest: Abdallah Hasaneen, from the town Rafah in southern Gaza. Wafa Elsaka, a Palestinian-American and one of those who have fled from the north of Gaza over the past few days.Background reading: “Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families,” the Israeli military told th

The triumphant return to Rome of Måneskin — arguably the only rock stars of their generation, and almost certainly the biggest Italian rock band of all time — coincided with a heat wave across Southern Europe. On a Thursday morning in July, the band’s vast management team was officially concerned that the night’s sold-out performance at the Stadio Olimpico would be delayed. When Måneskin finally took the stage around 9:30 p.m., it was still well into the 90s — which was too bad, because there would be pyro.The need to feel the rock may explain the documented problem of fans’ taste becoming frozen in whatever era was happening when they were between the ages of 15 and 25. Anyone who adolesced after Spotify, however, did not grow up with rock as an organically developing form and is likely to have experienced the whole catalog simultaneously, listening to Led Zeppelin at the same time they listened to Pixies and Franz Ferdinand — i.e. as a genre rather than as particular artists, the way the writer Dan Brook’s

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of death.In the week since Israel suffered the deadliest day in its modern history, fresh accounts have emerged in village after village of just how extreme and widespread the violence was.Today we hear the story of one man at the epicenter of that violence: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 civilians were killed.Guest: Golan Abitbul, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel.Background reading: Video: a son’s conversation with his mother as gunmen attacked her kibbutz.The long wait for help as massacres unfolded in Israel.Follow the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war.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.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was once dismissed as a fringe figure in the 2024 presidential race. But this week, as he announces an independent run for the White House, he’s striking fear within both the Democratic and Republican parties.Rebecca Davis O’Brien, who covers campaign finance for The Times, explains why.Guest: Rebecca Davis O’Brien, a reporter covering campaign finance and money in U.S. elections for The New York Times.Background reading: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters he would end his campaign as a Democratic candidate and run as an independent, potentially upsetting the dynamics of the 2024 election.From July, five noteworthy falsehoods Mr. Kennedy has promoted.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 years, Israel’s leaders believed that they could coexist with Hamas. After this weekend’s massacre, that belief is over.Steven Erlanger, a former Jerusalem bureau chief at The New York Times, explains what Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas will mean for Palestinians and Israelis.Guest: Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for The New York Times.Background reading: The attack ended Israel’s hope that Hamas might come to embrace stability. Now senior Israeli officials say that Hamas must be crushed.Follow The Times’s latest updates on the Israel-Gaza war.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.

Last week, the Supreme Court began its new term, picking up where it left off on the most contentious issues of the day, with cases connected to government power, gun rights and abortion.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why, while previous terms produced major victories for the conservative legal movement, this term may be different.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.Background reading: In cases this term, the justices will explore the scope of the Second Amendment, the fate of the administrative state and limits on free speech on the internet.From Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column: Does the Supreme Court’s cherry-picking of which questions to answer inject politics into judging?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 pol

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.Over the weekend, Palestinian militants with Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, mounted a stunning and highly coordinated invasion of Israel, rampaging through Israeli towns, killing people in their homes and on the streets, and taking hostages.Isabel Kershner, who covers Israeli and Palestinian politics and society for The Times, talks about the attack and the all-out war that it has now prompted.Guest: Isabel Kershner, a correspondent in Jerusalem for The New York Times.Background reading: Israel and Hamas battled around Gaza on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult war.”Here is what to know about the surprise attack on Israel.Follow live updates on the war.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. Su

The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny, and El Paso was half desert. But he could skateboard in all that open space, and he eventually befriended a nerdy white kid with a passion for Dungeons & Dragons. Ford fell in love with the role-playing game right away; it was complex and cerebral, a saga you could lose yourself in. And in the 1980s, everyone seemed to be playing it.The game has since become one of the most popular in the world, celebrated in nostalgic television shows and dramatized in movies. It is played in homes, at large conventions and even in prisons.When Ford, who is now on death row, first overheard the other men playing D.&D., they were engaged in a fast, high-octane version. The gamers were members of the Mexican Mafia, an insular crew that le

The ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a few days ago demonstrated how powerful a small group of hard-right House Republicans have become and how deep their grievances run.We speak to one of the eight republicans who brought down Mr. McCarthy: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee.Guest: Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District.Background reading: How have the Republicans who ousted Mr. McCarthy antagonized him before?Although some names have started to be bandied about, there is no clear replacement candidate for the speaker’s position.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 decades, the world seemed to be winning the war against mosquitoes and tamping down the deadly diseases they carried. But in the past few years, progress has not only stalled, it has reversed.Stephanie Nolen, who covers global health for The Times, explains how the mosquito has once again gained the upper hand in the fight.Guest: Stephanie Nolen, a global health correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Climate change has brought disease-spreading mosquitoes to places they have never been found before, compounding the problem.One invasive malaria-carrying species thrives in urban areas and resists all insecticides, threatening catastrophe in Africa.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.

The vote on Tuesday to remove Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representative has left the chamber mired in chaos.Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The Times, describes what happened on an unprecedented day in American politics.Guest: Luke Broadwater, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The vote to ouster the House speaker exposed once again the deep polarization in Congress.Mr. McCarthy’s demise also reflected the challenge of wielding a Republican majority in the House that refuses to be governed.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.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen golden boy of crypto, is going on trial for what prosecutors are calling the largest financial fraud in recent history.David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the case of the man who was supposed to save the cryptocurrency industry and what its outcome could tell us about why he did not.Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: A year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was a fixture on magazine covers and in the halls of Congress. Now he’s fighting federal charges of fraud and money laundering.Crypto insiders are trying to distance themselves from Mr. Bankman-Fried by zealously seeking to hold him to account.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 Spotif

The U.S. government has filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, pointing to a set of familiar features that have made, the internet retail giant so beloved by consumers.Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The Times, explains why those features may actually be illegal.Guest: Karen Weise, a technology correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states have sued Amazon, saying its conduct in its online store and services to merchants illegally stifled competition.The F.T.C. says there are two main tactics that Amazon used to undermine competition. The company says it will contest the lawsuit.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.

As China strove for a larger role on the international stage at the turn of the century, the arrival of the internet and a relatively relaxed political environment spurred a boom in self-expression. Many writers tested the boundaries of Chinese literary culture, experimenting with subjects that were quotidian but taboo on the page: corruption, sexual desire and evolving gender roles.In today’s China, though, the pursuit of free expression requires writers to operate under the ever-watchful eye of a complex state surveillance system. This can resemble a high-stakes game of Whac-a-Mole in which writers, editors and online publishers try to outmaneuver the Chinese Communist Party’s apparatus, using any opportunity and resource at their disposal to chronicle life as they see it.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture.

A showdown between House Republicans and their leader, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is heading toward a government shutdown.Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The Times, explains the causes and consequences of the looming crisis.Guest: Carl Hulse, is chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: How a small minority of right-wing Republicans succeeded in sowing mass dysfunction, spoiling for a shutdown, an impeachment and a House coup.As a government shutdown looms, Speaker McCarthy is toiling to turn the fight over federal spending into a battle over border security.President Biden’s shutdown strategy is simple: Avoid one, if possible. But if not, make sure Americans know where to place the blame.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

Although one major strike, against Hollywood studios, was finally resolved this past week, another, against U.S. vehicle makers, is expanding. The plight of the autoworkers has now become a major point of contention in the presidential race.Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The Times, explains why the strike could be an essential test along the road to the White House.Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A day after President Biden appeared on a picket line with United Automobile Workers, former President Donald J. Trump spoke at an auto parts factory.The U.A.W. strike could either accelerate a wave of worker actions or stifle labor’s recent momentum.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 Po