Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Data journalist Chris Dalla Riva brings charts, facts, and plenty of fight to Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves, a tour through every Billboard Hot 100 #1 and the strange incentives that pick our "popular." They debate whether streaming makes the charts more accurate or just more boring—why Christmas songs now squat in the Top 10, why covers almost always slow songs down, and what the early "wilderness years" of the Hot 100 were missing. There's also a detour into the power of platform kings (hello, Sean Parker) and how a playlist can turn "Royals" into destiny. Plus: Trump's ghoulish Rob Reiner post, a reminder of Reiner's unreal directing run, and a weekend that managed to be both pointless and ugly.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Higher education is in crisis. American colleges and universities face declining enrollment and rising costs. Campuses have become ground zero for the culture war, sparking debates about diversity, equity, and inclusion and free speech.What is the value of higher education today, and how can college leaders respond to the crises and controversies on their campuses?array(3) { [0]=> string(38) "https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-source" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }

• Sonny's tribute to Reiner's remarkable work as a director
  
  
• Monday's "Morning Shots," including a contribution from Hannah in Providence
  
  
• Trump defending his grotesque comment 
  
  
• Politico on the DOGE cuts in Trump country
  
  
• Axios on how Kamala may run again

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to tightly control the news that comes out of the Pentagon — even as he deals with the fallout over strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

In October, nearly all mainstream media outlets left the Pentagon press pool after refusing to comply with restrictive rules from the Trump administration. The exodus included the Associated Press, NPR, and The New York Times along with conservative outlets like Newsmax and Fox News.

Two weeks ago, the Pentagon held its first press conference with a new hand-picked press corps, now mostly made up of right-wing outlets and Trump allies including former Rep. Matt Gaetz and right-wing media influencer Laura Loomer.

Now, The New York Times is suing the Pentagon over violating the first amendment rights of journalists.

As more questions arise over the Venezuela boat strikes and the contentious relationship between the Trump administration and the press heats up, what does the absence of traditional press at the Pentagon mean for accountability for the U.S. military, press freedom, and our democracy?

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A New York Times review of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s actions on immigration showed that decisions he and his closest advisers made created an opening for a more aggressive Trump administration agenda.

Christopher Flavelle, who interviewed more than 30 former Biden administration officials who worked on immigration and border policy, explains how Mr. Biden fumbled the immigration issue, and what the Democratic Party can learn from his missteps.

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• How Mr. Biden ignored warnings and lost Americans’ faith in immigration.
• Read four takeaways from The Times’s reporting on Mr. Biden’s immigration record.

Photo: Paul Ratje for The New York Times

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

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Three visions of darkness as the days draw in. Adam Rutherford's guests for Radio 4's Monday discussion programme are a poet, a photographer of night-time and a National Gallery curator.

Night Vision is the latest book from the award-winning poet and writer Jean Sprackland exploring our complex relationship with the dark: what we fear and what we wish to banish. In the dark she finds a place of possibility and she asks what might we discover in the dark if we free our imagination.

The photographer Jasper Goodall has been taking photographs in the dark for many years, mainly in forests and woodlands. In 2025 in exhibitions on show at Nottingham, Brighton, Cornwall and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition he has displayed works which draw on classical myth, European folklore and animistic belief systems.

Christine Riding, Director of Collections and Research, talks about the images of scientific experiment and industrialisation in England on show in the National Gallery's exhibition showcasing the candlelight paintings of Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Wright of Derby: From the Shadows in the Sunley Room at the National Gallery runs until 10 May 2026 and there is an entrance fee.

Producer: Ruth Watts

Headlines have made clear that we are in a crisis of loneliness, but the conversation has yet to explore how social isolation impacts the body and mind on a cellular level. We are animals that need community and unity. We hear a neuroscientist’s guide to boosting your brain health by living a more connected life.array(3) { [0]=> string(20) "https://www.tpr.org/" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }

As 2025 comes to an end, The Sunday Special is looking back on the year in culture.

This week, we’re listening to the songs and albums that defined the year, for better or worse. Gilbert Cruz is joined by Caryn Ganz and Lindsay Zoladz from The Times’s pop music desk to discuss some of the biggest and best releases of 2025.

Albums and songs mentioned in this episode:

Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”

Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”

Justin Bieber, “Daisies”

Chappell Roan, “The Giver” and “The Subway”

Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”

Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”

Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”

Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem”

Ghost, “Skeletá”

Dijon, “Baby”

Geese, “Getting Killed”

Water From Your Eyes, “It’s a Beautiful Place”

PinkPantheress, “Fancy That”

Lily Allen, “Tennis”

Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”

Sleigh Bells, “Bunky Becky Birthday Boy”

Hayley Williams, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party”

Turnstile, “Never Enough”

On Today’s Episode

Caryn Ganz is the pop music editor at The Times.

Lindsay Zoladz is a pop music critic at The Times and the writer of The Amplifier newsletter.

Additional Reading

Best Albums of 2025

Best Songs of 2025

 

Photo Illustration by The New York Times; From left, Angela Weiss/AFP — Getty Images (Lady Gaga); OK McCausland for The New York Times (Geese); Erika Santelices/Reuters (Bad Bunny); Helle Arensbak/AFP -- Getty Images, via Ritzau Scanpix (PinkPantheress)

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.