The Daily

Sidney Poitier, who was Hollywood’s first Black matinee idol and who helped open the door for Black actors in the film industry, died last week. He was 94.For Wesley Morris, a Times culture critic, it is Mr. Poitier — not John Wayne, Cary Grant or Marilyn Monroe — who is the greatest American movie star.“His legacy is so much wider and deeper than the art itself,” Wesley said. “This man has managed to affect what we see, how we relate to people, who we think we are, who we should aspire to be. And if that’s not a sign of greatness, I don’t know what is.”Guest: Wesley Morris, a critic at large for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: “The greatest American movie star is Sidney Poitier. You mean the greatest Black movie star? I don’t. Am I being controversial? Confrontational? Contrarian? No. I’m simply telling the truth.” Read Wesley’s tribute

As the highly infectious Omicron variant surged, a high-stakes battle played out between Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and the city’s teachers’ union about how to keep schools open and safe.We chart this battle on the ground in Chicago, speaking with teachers, parents and students about the standoff.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The deal between the city and the teachers’ union included provisions for additional testing and metrics that would close schools with major virus outbreaksAs millions of U.S. students headed back to their desks, the coronavirus testing that was supposed to help keep classrooms open safely was itself being tested. In much of the country, things are not going well.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedailyTranscripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New Yor

As the highly infectious Omicron variant surged, a high-stakes battle played out between Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and the city’s teachers’ union about how to keep schools open and safe.We chart this battle on the ground in Chicago, speaking with teachers, parents and students about the standoff.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The deal between the city and the teachers’ union included provisions for additional testing and metrics that would close schools with major virus outbreaksAs millions of U.S. students headed back to their desks, the coronavirus testing that was supposed to help keep classrooms open safely was itself being tested. In much of the country, things are not going well.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedailyTranscripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New Yor

The diplomatic talks in Geneva this week are of a kind not seen in a long time: an effort to defuse the possibility of a major war in Europe.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has amassed military equipment and personnel on the border with Ukraine.President Biden has warned that there will be consequences if Mr. Putin decides to invade, but what can Washington do to impel the Kremlin to back down?Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Russia and the United States expressed some optimism after negotiations in Geneva, but they did not break an impasse over Moscow’s demand that Ukraine never become a member of NATO.Can the West stop Russia from invading Ukraine? Here’s a guide to what’s at stake.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedailyTranscr

The diplomatic talks in Geneva this week are of a kind not seen in a long time: an effort to defuse the possibility of a major war in Europe.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has amassed military equipment and personnel on the border with Ukraine.President Biden has warned that there will be consequences if Mr. Putin decides to invade, but what can Washington do to impel the Kremlin to back down?Guest: David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Russia and the United States expressed some optimism after negotiations in Geneva, but they did not break an impasse over Moscow’s demand that Ukraine never become a member of NATO.Can the West stop Russia from invading Ukraine? Here’s a guide to what’s at stake.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedailyTranscr

 The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has a reputation for causing mild illness, yet it’s fueling a staggering rise in hospitalizations across the country. In some of the early hot spots for the variant, emergency rooms are filling up, hospitals are being flooded with new patients and there aren’t enough staff to care for all of them. We explore why the Omicron surge is leading to hospitalizations and hear from doctors about what they are seeing, and why this surge feels different from the ones that came before. Guest: Emily Anthes, a reporter covering science and health for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Covid hospitalizations are surging, though severe cases are a smaller share of the total than in previous waves. With staff shortages, some hospitals are still in crisis.In the cities where Omicron first drove a rapid rise in Covid ca

 The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has a reputation for causing mild illness, yet it’s fueling a staggering rise in hospitalizations across the country. In some of the early hot spots for the variant, emergency rooms are filling up, hospitals are being flooded with new patients and there aren’t enough staff to care for all of them. We explore why the Omicron surge is leading to hospitalizations and hear from doctors about what they are seeing, and why this surge feels different from the ones that came before. Guest: Emily Anthes, a reporter covering science and health for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Covid hospitalizations are surging, though severe cases are a smaller share of the total than in previous waves. With staff shortages, some hospitals are still in crisis.In the cities where Omicron first drove a rapid rise in Covid ca

This year’s Golden Globes ceremony was muted. Instead of a celebrity-filled evening, broadcast on NBC, the results were live tweeted from a room in the Beverly Hilton. It was the culmination of years of controversy for the awards and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind them. Who are the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and how did one of the biggest awards shows get to this point?Guest: Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter and the awards season columnist for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: With the Hollywood Foreign Press Association mired in controversy, the 2022 awards ceremony was devoid of stars or cameras. Winners were announced via Twitter, and social media had a field day.Last year, the association, seen as colorful, generally harmless and not necessarily journalistically productive, faced a lawsuit

This year’s Golden Globes ceremony was muted. Instead of a celebrity-filled evening, broadcast on NBC, the results were live tweeted from a room in the Beverly Hilton. It was the culmination of years of controversy for the awards and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind them. Who are the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and how did one of the biggest awards shows get to this point?Guest: Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter and the awards season columnist for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: With the Hollywood Foreign Press Association mired in controversy, the 2022 awards ceremony was devoid of stars or cameras. Winners were announced via Twitter, and social media had a field day.Last year, the association, seen as colorful, generally harmless and not necessarily journalistically productive, faced a lawsuit

In her new book, “The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change,” Pauline Boss considers what it means to reach “emotional closure” in a state of unnamable grief.Hard to define, these grievances have been granted a new name: ambiguous loss. The death of a loved one, missing relatives, giving a child up for adoption, a lost friend — Boss teases out how one can mourn something that cannot always be described.The pandemic has been rife with “ambiguous loss,” Boss argues. Milestones missed; friendships and romantic liaisons cooled; families prevented from bidding farewell to dying loved ones because of stringent hospital rules. A sense of “frozen grief” pervades great swathes of the global community. Boss believes that by rethinking and lending language to the nature of loss, we might get closer to understanding it.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.  Unlock full access to New York Times

In her new book, “The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change,” Pauline Boss considers what it means to reach “emotional closure” in a state of unnamable grief.Hard to define, these grievances have been granted a new name: ambiguous loss. The death of a loved one, missing relatives, giving a child up for adoption, a lost friend — Boss teases out how one can mourn something that cannot always be described.The pandemic has been rife with “ambiguous loss,” Boss argues. Milestones missed; friendships and romantic liaisons cooled; families prevented from bidding farewell to dying loved ones because of stringent hospital rules. A sense of “frozen grief” pervades great swathes of the global community. Boss believes that by rethinking and lending language to the nature of loss, we might get closer to understanding it.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.  Unlock full access to New York Times

After the election on Nov. 3, 2020, President J. Donald Trump and his allies tested the limits of the U.S. election system, launching pressure and legal campaigns in competitive states to have votes overturned — all the while exposing the system’s precariousness.Although the efforts weren’t successful, they appear to have been only the beginning of a wider attack on American elections. In the final part of our Jan. 6 coverage, we explore the threats to democracy that may come to bear in the next election. Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The fight over American democracy and the fragility of good faith: Times political journalists talk about the Republicans’ push to restrict voting and seize control over elections, and how Democrats are responding.Here are four takeaways from t

After the election on Nov. 3, 2020, President J. Donald Trump and his allies tested the limits of the U.S. election system, launching pressure and legal campaigns in competitive states to have votes overturned — all the while exposing the system’s precariousness.Although the efforts weren’t successful, they appear to have been only the beginning of a wider attack on American elections. In the final part of our Jan. 6 coverage, we explore the threats to democracy that may come to bear in the next election. Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The fight over American democracy and the fragility of good faith: Times political journalists talk about the Republicans’ push to restrict voting and seize control over elections, and how Democrats are responding.Here are four takeaways from t

This episode contains strong language. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming was the only Republican leader calling on President Donald Trump to move on from his efforts to overturn the results. Then, after the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, she gave a full-throated condemnation of what had happened and the rhetoric that facilitated it. A year later, while many of her party have backed down from criticizing the former president, she has remained steadfast — a conviction that’s cost her leadership position.In the second part of our look at the legacy of the Capitol riot, we speak to Ms. Cheney about that day and its aftermath, the work of the Jan. 6 commission and the future of the Republican Party. Guest: Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and former No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our ne

This episode contains strong language. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming was the only Republican leader calling on President Donald Trump to move on from his efforts to overturn the results. Then, after the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, she gave a full-throated condemnation of what had happened and the rhetoric that facilitated it. A year later, while many of her party have backed down from criticizing the former president, she has remained steadfast — a conviction that’s cost her leadership position.In the second part of our look at the legacy of the Capitol riot, we speak to Ms. Cheney about that day and its aftermath, the work of the Jan. 6 commission and the future of the Republican Party. Guest: Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and former No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our ne

Who exactly joined the mob that, almost a year ago, on Jan. 6, breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of President Biden’s election victory?Members of far-right extremist groups were present but so too were also doctors, lawyers, substitute teachers and church deacons, many of whom had previously been nonpolitical. The question of why they were at the Capitol that day is hard to answer, but some of the most useful clues come from three F.B.I. interviews that have been released to the public.Today, in the first of a three-part look at what happened on Jan. 6 and what it tells us about the state of American democracy, using voice actors, we bring one of those interviews to life — that of Robert Reeder, a father and delivery driver from suburban Maryland. Guest: Alan Feuer, a reporter covering courts and criminal justice for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come togethe

Who exactly joined the mob that, almost a year ago, on Jan. 6, breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of President Biden’s election victory?Members of far-right extremist groups were present but so too were also doctors, lawyers, substitute teachers and church deacons, many of whom had previously been nonpolitical. The question of why they were at the Capitol that day is hard to answer, but some of the most useful clues come from three F.B.I. interviews that have been released to the public.Today, in the first of a three-part look at what happened on Jan. 6 and what it tells us about the state of American democracy, using voice actors, we bring one of those interviews to life — that of Robert Reeder, a father and delivery driver from suburban Maryland. Guest: Alan Feuer, a reporter covering courts and criminal justice for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come togethe

About a decade ago, companies began offering pregnant women tests that promised to detect rare genetic disorders in their fetuses.The tests initially looked for Down syndrome and worked well, but later tests for rarer conditions did not. An investigation has found that the grave predictions made by those newer tests are usually incorrect.We look at why the tests are so wrong and what can be done about it.Guest: Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In just over a decade, prenatal tests have gone from laboratory experiments to an industry that serves more than a third of the pregnant women in America. The grave predictions of rare genetic disorders made by newer tests, however, are usually wrong.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be mad

About a decade ago, companies began offering pregnant women tests that promised to detect rare genetic disorders in their fetuses.The tests initially looked for Down syndrome and worked well, but later tests for rarer conditions did not. An investigation has found that the grave predictions made by those newer tests are usually incorrect.We look at why the tests are so wrong and what can be done about it.Guest: Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In just over a decade, prenatal tests have gone from laboratory experiments to an industry that serves more than a third of the pregnant women in America. The grave predictions of rare genetic disorders made by newer tests, however, are usually wrong.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be mad

The Omicron variant is fueling record-breaking cases across the world and disrupting life. But it may not present as great a danger of hospitalization and severe illness as earlier variants. We explore why this is and what it means for the next stage of the pandemic.Guest: Carl Zimmer, a science writer and author of the “Matter” column for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: New studies are providing the first indication of why the Omicron variant causes milder disease than previous versions of the coronavirus: It spares the lungs.The decision by U.S. health officials to shorten isolation periods for many infected with the coronavirus has drawn both tempered support and intense opposition from scientists.The growing consensus in nations with Omicron that the virus is moving too fast to catch is tempered by early evidence that the variant caus