The Daily - The Fight at the Center of the Government Shutdown

As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second day, Democrats are trying to underline that the growing political fight is all about the rising cost of health care.

The New York Times journalists Margot Sanger-Katz and Shane Goldmacher explain why the Democrats are betting on this strategy and who is to blame for the impasse.

Guest:

  • Margot Sanger-Katz, a reporter for The New York Times who covers health care policy and government spending.
  • Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent 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. 

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In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt - Listen Now: That Can’t Be True with Chelsea Clinton

This week, we’re dropping in your feed to tell you about That Can't Be True with Chelsea Clinton - a new show from Lemonada Media and The Clinton Foundation that helps make sense of the chaos in today’s wellness world.

Things are getting weird in public health. Childhood vaccines are suddenly up for debate, fluoride is being described as industrial waste, and it feels like everyone is talking about raw milk. Navigate this chaotic time with public health expert Dr. Chelsea Clinton, who every week talks to doctors, dietitians, parenting experts and more to expose pseudoscience and help us sort fact from fiction.

Fact-check your news feed to avoid nonsense wellness trends, pay attention to the ones with real science behind them, and help debunk misinformation over coffee, cocktails or wherever it might come up.

You’re about to hear a clip from the first episode of That Can’t Be True with Chelsea Clinton. After you listen, head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/ThatCantBeTruefd to hear the full episode and follow the show.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Tech Won't Save Us - The Growing Divide Between MAGA and Big Tech w/ Tina Nguyen

Paris Marx is joined by Tina Nguyen to discuss the divisions within the American far-right between the Trump administration, the wider MAGA movement, and the tech executives trying to show they’re on their side.

Tina Nguyen is a senior reporter at The Verge and author of The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out).

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

The Source - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on her first 100 days

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has completed her first 100 days in office, which is an informal, early benchmark of leadership, priorities, and political effectiveness. These first few months of tenure often reveal both strengths and vulnerabilities, demonstrates the style of leadership and signals what to expect for the rest of their term.array(3) { [0]=> string(20) "https://www.tpr.org/" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }

The Gist - Yaakov Katz – While Israel Slept: Winning Tunnels, Losing Time

Yaakov Katz co-author with Amir Bohbot, of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, traces the failures that led to October 7 and how Israel's security establishment misread Hamas's strength and intent. He explains how world opinion, hostage leverage, and casualty ratios constrain Israel differently in Gaza than against Hezbollah, and how Netanyahu's post-ceasefire decisions prolonged the war. Katz argues Israel allowed hardliners to define the mission and assesses the current 20 point plan. Plus: the shutdown as a real-world experiment in Trump's expanded executive power.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Chapo Trap House - PANIC WORLD: The Big Dumb Weather Conspiracy with Chapo Trap House

Like many things, there used to be a bipartisan consensus that in a disaster, you help as many people get through it as quickly and safely as possible. In the past 20+ years, though, we’ve seen a shift in how the right responds to climate catastrophes — including building out a robust selection of conspiracy theories from chemtrails to Flat Earth. Will Menaker from Chapo Trap House joins us to discuss right-wing conspiracy theories about the weather, the climate, and whether we’re living on a discworld. Our guest is Will Menaker, host of Chapo Trap House. Their Movie Mindset series returns in October for spooky season, and you can also buy their new Year Zero comic book here: https://badegg.co/products/year-zero-1. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? There’s still a week left to get your first month for just $0.50 by signing up for our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Enter “PANICYEAR” at checkout for 90% the first month. And if you want to see this conversation on video, ⁠Panic World is now posting episodes to YouTube!

The Source - Texans to decide on Prop 14 to fund research on Alzheimer’s

About half a million Texans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Another million Texans serve as unpaid caregivers, managing the daily needs for loved ones. This November, Texas voters will consider Proposition 14, which would direct $3 billion over 10 years to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. If approved, it would be the largest state-funded Alzheimer’s and dementia research program in the nation.array(3) { [0]=> string(20) "https://www.tpr.org/" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }

Lost Debate - Why AI Kisses Your Ass

Ravi Gupta sits down with The Atlantic’s Matteo Wong to dig into why AI chatbots act like digital yes-men—and the risks that come with it. They explore how reinforcement learning fuels this sycophancy, why companies shape bot “personalities,” and what it means for safety. Along the way, they cover teen harms, Musk’s Grok pushing conspiracies, Google’s Gemini edge, and OpenAI’s massive reach. The episode asks the big question: can anyone break the OpenAI–Google–Anthropic monopoly, or is the future of AI already locked in?


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1A - Checking In On The Federal Workforce As The Government Shuts Down

The White House is continuing its mission to hollow out the federal workforce.

The Trump administration has signaled that it will use the government shutdown to prompt and encourage mass resignations and layoffs.

More than 150,000 federal employees plan to leave the U.S. government payroll this week. It’s the largest single-year exodus of federal workers since World War II.

For workers who opted into the deferred exit program, those resignations began on Tuesday. Workers who didn’t take the buyouts were recently threatened with dismissal.

We check in on the state of the federal workforce.

What happens now that tens of thousands of these employees are leaving? And what’s life like for those who remain?

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. 

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Time To Say Goodbye - Why are Hobbies So Damn Expensive Now?

Hello!

Today we take a break from politics and talk about hobbies and a thing that Tyler coined “hobby inflation” where everything from clay pigeons to green fees to surfboards to knitting tools have all skyrocketed in price since the pandemic. What does this mean to the future of “doing fun s**t” and how does it dovetail with the never-ending rise in the amount of time we spend on our phones?

Enjoy!



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