The Daily

At the height of the Covid pandemic, nearly 200 countries started negotiating a plan to ensure they would do better when the next pandemic inevitably arrived. Their deadline for that plan was last week.Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The Times, explains why, so far, the negotiations have failed.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Countries failed to agree on a treaty to prepare the world for the next pandemic before a major international meeting.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In an unexpected speech last week, President Biden revealed the details of a secret proposal intended to end the war in Gaza. Perhaps the most surprising thing was where that proposal had come from.Isabel Kershner, a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, explains Mr. Biden’s gambit and the difficult choice it presents for Israel’s leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Guest: Isabel Kershner, who covers Israeli and Palestinian affairs for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Biden called for an end to the war in Gaza, endorsing an Israeli cease-fire proposal.Mr. Netanyahu answered the call for a truce by insisting on the “destruction” of Hamas.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Five years ago, a TV personality and comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, won the presidency in Ukraine in a landslide victory. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country three years later, he faced the biggest challenge of his presidency and of his life. Despite initial success beating back one of the world’s largest armies, the tide has turned against him.Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The Times, sat down with Mr. Zelensky to discuss the war, and how it might end.Guest: Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Read The New York Times’s interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.Explaining the debate over Ukraine’s use of Western weapons.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Last week, Donald J. Trump became the first U.S. former president to be convicted of a crime when a jury found that he had falsified business records to conceal a sex scandal.Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, and Reid J. Epstein, who also covers politics, discuss how the conviction might shape the remaining months of the presidential race.Guest: Nate Cohn, who is the chief political analyst for The New York Times.Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.Reid J. Epstein, who covers politics for The New York Times.Background reading: The political fallout is far from certain, but the verdict will test America’s traditions and legal institutions.Watch a video analysis of whether this newfound moment sticks politically.Democrats are pushing President Biden to make Mr. Trump’s felonies a top 2024 issue.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 broken world, what can we gain by looking another animal in the eye? "Animal" is a six-part, round-the-world journey in search of an answer. Join the writer Sam Anderson on Episode 1.For more on "Animal," visit nytimes.com/animal.

David Marchese talks to the acclaimed director about his new film “Hit Man” and life’s big questions.

Former President Donald J. Trump has become the first American president to be declared a felon. A Manhattan jury found that he had falsified business records to conceal a sex scandal that could have hindered his 2016 campaign for the White House.Jonah Bromwich, who has been covering the hush-money trial for The Times, was in the room.Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.Background reading: Here’s the verdict, count by count.This is what happens next.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Over recent years, few companies have provoked more anger among music fans than Ticketmaster. Last week, the Department of Justice announced it was taking the business to court.David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The Times, explains how the case could reshape America’s multibillion-dollar live music industry.Guest: David McCabe, a technology policy correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The government is accusing Ticketmaster’s corporate parent, Live Nation Entertainment, of violating antitrust laws.Here’s a guide to the emails at the heart of the government’s case.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

On Tuesday, lawyers for the prosecution and the defense delivered their final arguments to the jury in the criminal case of The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was there.Guest: Jonah E. Bromwich, who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.Background reading: A fine blade and a sledgehammer: Read more about the style and content of the closing arguments.Watch Jonah Bromwich recap the day outside the courthouse.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The discovery that an upside-down American flag — a symbol adopted by the campaign to overturn the 2020 election result — had flown at the home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. elicited concerns from politicians, legal scholars and others. And then came news of a second flag.Jodi Kantor, the Times reporter who broke the stories, discusses the saga.Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: An upside-down American flag, a symbol adopted by Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case.The justice’s beach house displayed an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, a design carried on Jan. 6 and associated with a push for a more Christian-minded government.The displays renew questions about the Supreme Court’s impartiality.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Netflix won the streaming battle, but the war for your attention isn’t over.

Ever since the discovery of whale songs almost 60 years ago, scientists have been trying to decipher the lyrics.But sperm whales don’t produce the eerie melodies sung by humpback whales, sounds that became a sensation in the 1960s. Instead, sperm whales rattle off clicks that sound like a cross between Morse code and a creaking door.Carl Zimmer, a science reporter, explains the possibility why it’s possible that the whales are communicating in a complex language.Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science reporter for The New York Times who also writes the Origins column.Background readingScientists find an “alphabet” in whale songs.These whales still use their vocal cords. But how?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

This week, Karim Khan, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, requested arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant.Patrick Kingsley, the Times’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, explains why this may set up a possible showdown between the court and Israel with its biggest ally, the United States.Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Why did a prosecutor go public with the arrest warrant requests?The warrant request appeared to shore up domestic support for Mr. Netanyahu.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

The Biden administration is trying to crack down on sneaky fees charged by hotels, rental cars, internet providers and more.Jim Tankersley, a White House correspondent, explains why the effort is doubling as a war against something else that Biden is finding much harder to defeat.Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times.Background reading: This month, a judge temporarily blocked a new rule limiting credit-card late fees.Hotels and airlines struggling to recoup their losses from the pandemic have been including more hidden charges. Don’t fall for them.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

This month, customers of FTX — Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed in 2022 — were told that they would get their money back, with interest.David Yaffe-Bellany, our technology reporter, explains what was behind this change in fortune and what it says about the improbable resurgence of crypto. Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times, covering the crypto industry from San Francisco. Background reading: Is crypto back? Here’s a guide.And here’s a guide to the risks of Bitcoin E.T.F.s.This is how The Times covered Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

 The first generation to be fully reliant on 401(k) plans is now starting to retire. As that happens, it is becoming clear just how broken the system is.Michael Steinberger, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains.Guest: Michael Steinberger, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who writes periodically about the economy and the markets.Background reading: How an obscure, 45-year-old tax change transformed retirement.What to do when your 401(k) leaves something to be desired.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Have you heard the song “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes”?Probably not. On Spotify, “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes” has not yet accumulated enough streams to even register a tally. Even Brett Martin, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the titular Nice Man, didn’t hear the 1 minute 14 second song until last summer, a full 11 years after it was uploaded by an artist credited as Papa Razzi and the Photogs.When Martin stumbled on “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes,” he naturally assumed it was about a different, more famous Brett Martin: perhaps Brett Martin, the left-handed reliever who until recently played for the Texas Rangers; or Brett Martin, the legendary Australian squash player; or even Clara Brett Martin, the Canadian who in 1897 became the British Empire’s first female lawyer. Only when the singer began referencing details of stories that he made for public radio’s “This American Life” almost 20 years ago did he realize the song was actually about him. The song ended, “I really like you/Will you be my friend?/Will you call me on the phone?” Then it gave a phone number, with a New Hampshire area code.So, he called.

The scientist talks to David Marchese about how to overcome the “soft” climate denial that keeps us buying junk.

This episode contains explicit language.Over recent months, protests over the war in Gaza have rocked college campuses across the United States.As students graduate and go home for the summer, three joined “The Daily” to discuss why they got involved, what they wanted to say and how they ended up facing off against each other.Guests: Mustafa Yowell, a student at the University of Texas at AustinElisha Baker, a student at Columbia UniversityJasmine Jolly, a student at Cal Poly HumboldtBackground reading: Pro-Palestinian student activists say their movement is anti-Zionist but not antisemitic. It is not a distinction that everyone accepts.The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University passed a resolution of no confidence in the university’s president, Nemat Shafik.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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.