The Daily - Charlie Kirk’s Politically Charged Memorial

Conservatives from around the country flocked to Arizona on Sunday to memorialize the activist Charlie Kirk. The service included leaders from the highest levels of the U.S. government, including Vice President JD Vance and President Trump.

Two clear strands emerged during the memorial addresses: a message of Christian unity, and a vow to fight political enemies on the left.

Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics for The Times, explains how the collision of those two messages makes this a crucial moment for the MAGA movement.

Guest: Robert Draper, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist for The New York Times, who writes about domestic politics.

Background reading: 

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 Daily - Sunday Special: What Makes a Restaurant Great?

This month, The Times released a list of the 50 best restaurants in America. The Food desk’s reporters, critics and editors crisscrossed the country from Portland, Ore., to Deer Isle, Maine, to scout places formal and casual, big and small, experimental and classic. Their survey is an evocation of what it’s like to dine out, right now, in America.

On today’s episode, Gilbert sits down with the Food reporters Priya Krishna and Brett Anderson, two contributors to the list, for a veritable feast of dining wisdom. They discuss what makes a restaurant worthy of the 50 best list, how they go about finding those restaurants, and the dining trends they’re loving and hating in 2025.

On Today’s Episode:

Priya Krishna, reporter and video host for New York Times Food and Cooking

Brett Anderson, reporter for New York Times Food and Cooking

Background Reading:

America’s Best Restaurants 2025

Photo: Chase Castor for The New York Times

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The Daily - ‘The Interview’: How Reese Witherspoon Survived the Terrifying Days of Tabloid Celebrity

The actor and producer booked her first big role when she was 14 years old. More than 30 years later, she’s an entertainment-industry powerhouse.

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 Book Review - Mary Roach Loves Writing About Weird Science

The best-selling science journalist Mary Roach has written about sex and death and the digestive system — basically, all of the topics that children are taught to avoid in polite company. In her latest, “Replaceable You,” she examines prosthetics, robotics and other ways that technology can interact with human anatomy. 

On this week’s episode of the podcast, Roach tells host Gilbert Cruz how she comes up with her ideas and what keeps drawing her back to the bizarre, hilarious bits of trivia that the human body offers up.

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 Daily - Jimmy Kimmel and Free Speech in the United States

The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel are creating concerns and conversations about the state of free speech in the United States.

Rachel Abrams, Jim Rutenberg, Jeremy W. Peters and Adam Liptak, all journalists for The New York Times, discuss Mr. Kimmel’s removal and why the action is provoking fears and applause from different camps of a polarized country.

Guest:

  • Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.
  • Jeremy W. Peters, a national reporter for The New York Times who focuses on free speech and the politics of higher education.
  • Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

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

Photo: Samuel Corum for The New York Times

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 Daily - The Fired C.D.C. Director Testifies

For weeks, fights have been escalating between top scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., culminating in his accusation that the agency’s top official, Dr. Susan Monarez, was untrustworthy.

Dr. Monarez went before a Senate committee on Wednesday to give her side of the story.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The New York Times, discusses the testimony and the rift that the hearing exposed within the Republican Party over how far to go to support Mr. Kennedy and his vaccine agenda.

Guest: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a correspondent based in Washington who covers health policy for The Times.

Background reading: 

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

Photo: Kenny Holston/The New York Times

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 Daily - The Plan to Turn Charlie Kirk’s Murder Into a Left-Wing Crackdown

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged the man suspected of killing Charlie Kirk with aggravated murder, vowed to seek the death penalty and released a mountain of new evidence against him.

Jack Healy, who has been covering the killing of Mr. Kirk for The New York Times, explains what the police have uncovered about his motives. Kenneth P. Vogel, an investigative reporter, discusses the emerging White House plan to use the federal government to crack down on the left-wing groups that it believes inspire political violence.

Guest:

  • Jack Healy, a reporter for The New York Times who writes about the changing Western United States and its political divisions.
  • Kenneth P. Vogel, a reporter based in the Washington bureau of The New York Times who investigates the intersection of money, politics and influence.

Background reading: 

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

Photo: Loren Elliott for The New York Times

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 Daily - Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral

Warning: This episode discusses suicide.

Since ChatGPT began in 2022, it has amassed 700 million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer app ever. Reporting has shown that the chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. For some people, conversations with the technology can deeply distort their reality.

Kashmir Hill, who covers technology and privacy for The New York Times, discusses how complicated and dangerous our relationships with chatbots can become.

Guest: Kashmir Hill, a feature writer on the business desk at The New York Times who covers technology and privacy.

Background reading: 

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

Photo: The New York Times

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 Daily - The Rise of the Supreme Court’s So-Called Shadow Docket

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Trump to remake American government, siding with the president again and again. But many of those rulings have lacked something fundamental: an explanation for why the most important judges in the country came to their decision.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains the justices’ increased use of the so-called shadow docket, and why it has sown confusion — and in some cases frustration — in courts around the country.

Guest: Adam Liptak covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

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

Photo: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

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 Daily - Sunday Special: TV’s Big Night

The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is tonight, honoring the best television shows released between June 2024 and May 2025. But before the festivities begin, Gilbert Cruz, the editor of The New York Times Book Review, would like to have a TV celebration of his own.

On today’s episode, he gathers Jason Zinoman, a critic at large for The Times, and Alexis Soloski, a culture reporter for The Times, to “channel surf” through some of their favorite shows of the past year.

On Today’s Episode:

Jason Zinoman, a critic at large for The New York Times who writes a column about comedy.

Alexis Soloski, a culture reporter for The New York Times.
 

Additional Reading:

The 9 People Who Check In to Every ‘White Lotus’

Sympathy for the Devil, er Boss: In ‘The Studio,’ the Powerful Are on Defense

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.