This episode contains descriptions of violence

In a patch of woods southwest of Atlanta, protesters have been clashing with the police over a huge police training facility that the city wants to build there. This month, that fight came to a head when hundreds of activists breached the site, burning police and construction vehicles.

Sean Keenan, an Atlanta-based reporter, explains how what opponents call “Cop City,” and the woods surrounding it, have become an unlikely battleground in the nation’s debate over policing.

Guest: Sean Keenan, a freelance reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• This month, protesters damaged property at the site of a planned police center in Atlanta in a disturbance that grew out of a demonstration among activists in a forest being developed into a training center.
• How a forest near Atlanta became a new front line in the debate over policing.

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