The Sunday Read: ‘The Ongoing Mystery of Covid’s Origin’

President Trump defended his initial remarks about the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., on Tuesday, saying that “both sides” were to blame. Asked if he equated neo-Nazis and white supremacists with activists protesting racism, Mr. Trump said, “I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane.” Guests: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

16 Aug 201718min

In 2012, a woman asked if the city of Charlottesville, Va., should consider removing a statue of a Confederate general from a local park. That question set off a chain of events that led to the deadly violence on Saturday. Also, President Trump, after two days of equivocal remarks about the violence in Charlottesville, made a new statement on Monday: “Racism is evil.” Guests: Kristin Szakos, a city councillor in Charlottesville, Va.; Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

15 Aug 201720min

Protests over a plan to remove a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Va., spun out of control, leading to clashes that left at least one person dead. President Trump condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” but he did not call out white nationalists or neo-Nazis. Guests: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, domestic affairs correspondent for The New York Times; Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

14 Aug 201722min

What happened when the country’s best known weight-loss company realized that people no longer wanted to talk about losing weight. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine about evolving American culture through the saga of Weight Watchers. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

11 Aug 201720min

In 1999, President Bill Clinton sent an envoy to North Korea for a rare negotiation aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear development. That was the moment, the envoy says, when everything could have gone differently. Guest: William Perry, the secretary of defense from 1994 to 1997, who went on that diplomatic mission. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

10 Aug 201722min

From his golf course in New Jersey on Tuesday, President Trump threatened North Korea “fire and fury” and warned that the country “best not make any more threats to the United States.” How should we interpret the latest escalation in tensions with Pyongyang? Plus: Why American law may block the biggest medical breakthrough in decades. Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The Times; Carl Zimmer, who writes about biology and genetics. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

9 Aug 201718min

Why Vice President Mike Pence is denouncing New York Times reporting about his political future and publicly stating his allegiance to the president. And the stolen childhoods of young Syrians who endured the traumas of civil war and Islamic State rule. Guests: Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent; Somini Sengupta, a foreign correspondent; Dr. Rajia Sharhan, who treats the displaced children of Syria. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

8 Aug 201721min

As a teenager, Noura Jackson was convicted of killing her mother, and then spent nine years in prison. But from the start, prosecutors possessed a document that could have set her free. Why the omission of evidence, despite its life-altering consequences, is hard to detect — and rarely punished. Guest: Emily Bazelon, a writer for The New York Times Magazine who has been following Ms. Jackson’s case. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 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.

7 Aug 201724min