The Daily - How The Megabill Will Change America

After months of debate, weeks of tense negotiations and 24 hours of Republican arm-twisting, President Trump has muscled his giant domestic-policy bill through both chambers of Congress.

It’s a major legislative victory for the president that paves the way for much of his second-term agenda, and it will have profound impacts across the country.

The Times journalists Tony Romm, Andrew Duehren and Margot Sanger-Katz discuss what the legislation changes, and those whose lives it will change the most.

Guest:

  • Tony Romm, a reporter covering economic policy and the Trump administration for The New York Times, based in Washington.
  • Andrew Duehren, who writes about tax policy for The New York Times from Washington.
  • Margot Sanger-Katz, a reporter for The New York Times who covers health care policy and government spending.

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: Eric Lee for The New York Times

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The Daily - The Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Verdict

After a seven-week trial whose every turn has grabbed headlines, a jury found Sean Combs, the music mogul known as Diddy, not guilty of the most serious charges against him.

Ben Sisario, who has been covering the trial, explains why the prosecution’s case fell short, and Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter at The Times, discusses what the verdict may tell us about how prosecutors and juries see sexual abuse cases.

Guest:

  • Ben Sisario, a reporter for The New York Times covering music and the music industry.
  • Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter whose job is to carefully uncover secrets and illuminate how power operates.

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: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs

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The Daily - The Republicans’ $3 Trillion Vanishing Act

With a tiebreaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, the Senate has adopted President Trump’s giant domestic policy bill, which now heads back to the House for a final vote.

The legislation is defined by the staggering amount of debt it will create: more than $3 trillion.

Andrew Duehren, who covers tax policy, and Colby Smith, who covers the economy, talk about how Republicans have rewritten the rules to make that debt vanish, and why the world is less and less convinced that the United States can handle its debts.

Guest:

  • Andrew Duehren, who writes about tax policy for The New York Times from Washington.
  • Colby Smith, a New York Times reporter covering the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy.

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: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

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The Daily - Steve Bannon’s Battle for the Soul of MAGA

Warning: This episode contains strong language.

From the outside, the political movement created by Donald J. Trump has never seemed more empowered or invulnerable.

But Steve Bannon, who was the first Trump administration’s chief strategist, sees threats and betrayals at almost every turn, whether it’s bombing Iran or allowing tech billionaires to advise the president.

Jeremy W. Peters, a national reporter at The Times, talks to Mr. Bannon about those threats and why, to him, the future of the MAGA movement depends on defeating them.

Guest: Jeremy W. Peters, a national reporter 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: Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times

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The Daily - Supreme Court Hands Trump Even More Power

In a major ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court limited the ability of judges to block President Trump’s policies nationwide, including his order to end birthright citizenship.

Mr. Trump immediately cheered the ruling, while critics have decried it as a fundamental threat to the rule of law.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times, explains how the ruling redefines the role of the courts, just when the White House is aggressively testing the limits of its power.

Guest: 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: Haiyun Jiang/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 - ‘Modern Love’: “Materialists” Director Celine Song Believes in Love at First Conversation

The director Celine Song won over audiences and critics alike with her first feature film, “Past Lives,” the semi-autobiographical tale of a married Korean American woman meeting up with her former childhood sweetheart. Now Song is back with another story about love called “Materialists.” This time the main character is a matchmaker, a job that Song did briefly in her early 20s.

On this episode of “Modern Love,” Song reads Louise Rafkin’s Modern Love essay “My View From the Margins,” about a relationship columnist who can’t figure out love in her own life. And Song tells us how neither falling in love at age 24 nor making a career of writing about love has brought her any closer to understanding it. “It’s the one thing that makes me feel like a fool,” Song says.

For more Modern Love, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday. 

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The Book Review - Book Club: Let’s Talk About ‘Mrs. Dalloway” at 100

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself”: So reads one of the great opening lines in British literature, the first sentence of Virginia Woolf’s classic 1925 novel, “Mrs. Dalloway.”

The book tracks one day in the life of an English woman, Clarissa Dalloway, living in post-World War I London, as she prepares for, and then hosts, a party. That’s pretty much it, as far as the plot goes. But within that single day, whole worlds unfold, as Woolf captures the expansiveness of human experience through Clarissa’s roving thoughts. On this week’s episode, Book Club host MJ Franklin discusses it with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Laura Thompson.

Other books mentioned in this episode:

“The Passion According to G.H.,” by Clarice Lispector

“A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing,” by Eimear McBride

“The Lesser Bohemians,” by Eimear McBride

“To the Lighthouse,” by Virginia Woolf

“Orlando,” by Virginia Woolf

“A Room of One’s Own,” by Virginia Woolf

“The Hours,” by Michael Cunningham

“Headshot,” by Rita Bullwinkel

“Tilt,” by Emma Pattee

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The Daily - The Trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Last fall, the Justice Department unveiled a series of shocking allegations against Sean Combs, the music mogul known as Diddy.

Prosecutors charged Mr. Combs with sex trafficking and racketeering, and for the past seven weeks, they have argued their case in a Manhattan courtroom.

Ben Sisario, who has been covering the trial, explains the ins and outs of the proceedings and discusses the media circus surrounding it.

Guest: Ben Sisario, a reporter for The New York Times covering music and the music industry.

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: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

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 - Breaking Down the Massive Cuts to Science Funding

In the months since taking office, President Trump has made billions of dollars in cuts to scientific research, essentially saying science has become too woke.

Emily Anthes, a science reporter at The New York Times, explains what is being cut and how much the world of science is about to change.

Guest: Emily Anthes, a science reporter at 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: Lydia Polimeni/NIH, via Associated Press

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The Daily - Will the Cease-Fire Hold?

After President Trump’s announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran, all sides are claiming victory, but perhaps no country has emerged as a bigger winner than Israel.

Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steered Israel to this moment — and what might come if the cease-fire holds.

Guest: Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief 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: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv 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.