The Sunday Read: ‘A Sandwich Shop, a Tent City and an American Crisis'

Here’s a strange story: One day two summers ago, Jennifer Kahn woke up because her arms — both of them — hurt. Not the way they do when you’ve slept in a funny position, but as if the tendons in her forearms and hands were moving through mud. What felt like sharp electric shocks kept sparking in her fingers and sometimes up the inside of her biceps and across her chest. Holding anything was excruciating: a cup, a toothbrush, her phone. Even doing nothing was miserable. It hurt when she sat with her hands in her lap, when she stood, when she lay flat on the bed or on her side. The slightest pressure — a bedsheet, a watch band, a bra strap — was intolerable.Our understanding of pain, and especially chronic pain, is far behind where it should be. We don’t know what causes a person with an injury to develop chronic pain, or why it happens in some people and not others, or why it happens more often in women. At a genetic and cellular level, we don’t know which systems get out of whack, or why, or how to fix them. 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.

2 Helmi 46min

The psychiatrist and author of “Dopamine Nation” wants us to find balance in a world of temptation and abundance. 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.

1 Helmi 41min

Since his inauguration, President Trump has exercised a level of power that has directly challenged the checks and balances that, on paper, define the U.S. government.The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Charlie Savage discuss Mr. Trump’s plan to institute a more powerful presidency.Guests: Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times.Charlie Savage, national security and legal policy for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy has left opponents gasping in outrage.From Day 1 of hs second term, Mr. Trump has tested the limits of his authority.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.

31 Tammi 27min

The midair collision between a passenger jet and a helicopter over Washington on Wednesday night was the deadliest plane crash in the United States in more than 20 years.Emily Steel, a Times investigative reporter who has been covering the crash, explains what happened.Guests: Emily Steel, an investigative reporter for the business desk of The New York Times.Background reading: The crash has renewed concerns about air safety lapses.Staffing was “not normal” in the control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport, according to an F.A.A. report.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.

31 Tammi 22min

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a crucial nomination hearing on Wednesday where a panel of skeptical senators probed his past, often contentious remarks.Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The Times, explains how someone who’s considered on the fringe in a lot of his beliefs came to be picked for health secretary to begin with.Guests: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a correspondent based in Washington covering health policy for The New York Times.Background reading: How addiction and trauma shaped Mr. Kennedy’s turbulent life.In the hearing, Mr. Kennedy defended his shifting views on vaccines and abortion.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.

30 Tammi 35min

In one of his most audacious moves since taking office, President Trump ordered a freeze on Tuesday on trillions of dollars in federal money — from anti-poverty programs to foreign aid — in order to purge the government of what he called woke ideology.Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, discusses the order, the chaos it prompted and whether it is likely to survive in court.Guests: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: A judge stayed President Trump’s freeze, but disruption to the Medicaid funding system caused fear.Uncertainty around the freeze also caused chaos in education.Photo: Doug Mills/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.

29 Tammi 24min

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of alleged sexual harassment, and a fictional portrayal of domestic violence.Over the last few weeks, the Hollywood stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have gone to battle over exactly what happened during the making and promotion of their latest film.It’s a dispute that has pulled back the curtain on an alleged smear campaign and the new set of tools that celebrities can use to defend themselves and redefine their enemies in the court of public opinion.Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter at The New York Times, discusses the legal complaint that started it all.Guests: Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter at The New York Times.Background reading: “We can bury anyone”: Inside a Hollywood smear machine.Mr. Baldoni and his publicists have sued The New York Times for libel over its reporting about Ms. Lively’s allegations.Photo: (l-r) Lia Toby/Getty Images; John Nacion/Variety, via Getty Images. 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.

28 Tammi 32min

At the center of President Trump’s aggressive first week back in office is a 39-year-old adviser, Stephen Miller. His ideas and ideology have animated the blitz of executive orders.Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times, explains Mr. Miller’s dramatic return to the White House, and why his power has never been greater.Guests: Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: Stephen Miller has built more power than ever.Mr. Miller, the incoming deputy chief of staff, told lawmakers that early action would include directives to give Mr. Trump more control over federal workers.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters 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.

27 Tammi 33min