The Sunday Read: ‘The Blind Side’ Made Him Famous. But He Has a Different Story to Tell.

President Trump seemed poised to avoid a government shutdown and to carry his fight for a border wall into 2019, when the House will be controlled by Democrats. Then he shot down the spending deal. So what happened? Also, to cap off a chaotic day of breaking news, Jim Mattis resigned as secretary of defense. Guest: Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor of The New York 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.

21 Des 201824min

If any Democratic senator representing a red state was going to survive the midterm elections and continue serving in 2019, it was thought to be Claire McCaskill. But she lost. We spoke with her as her time in office was winding down. Guests: Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, and Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.This episode includes disturbing language. 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.

20 Des 201828min

Ever since scientists created the powerful gene-editing technique Crispr, they have braced for the day when it would be used to produce a genetically altered human being. Now, the moment they feared may have come. What’s likely to happen next? We also look at the latest updates on a possible government shutdown. Guests: Jennifer Senior, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, and Carl Zimmer, a science columnist for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. What do you think about "The Daily"? Please fill out our listener survey at nytimes.com/thedailysurvey. 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.

19 Des 201822min

At the start of 2018, the biggest threat to the Trump presidency was an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. As the year draws to a close, it’s his hush payments to women. We look at what’s behind that change — and how the threat may change again next year. Guests: Mark Mazzetti and Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times reporters who have been covering the special counsel investigation. 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.

18 Des 201818min

It was never clear what motivated Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, to hand the investigation of Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, over to career prosecutors in New York rather than to the special counsel. With that investigation now implicating the president in serious campaign finance violations, we look at how fateful the decision may be. Guests: Neal Katyal, a lawyer who drafted the rules that govern special counsel investigations, and Michael S. Schmidt, who has been covering the special counsel investigation for The New York 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.

17 Des 201821min

Last week, Victorina Morales came forward and said that for the last five years, she had been working as an undocumented immigrant at President Trump’s golf club in New Jersey. A couple of days ago, we visited her in her home with Miriam Jordan, the New York Times reporter who first broke the story. Guest: Victorina Morales, a former housekeeper at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., and Miriam Jordan, who covers immigration 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.

14 Des 201824min

Despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials in the United States have ignored the threat of violence from far-right extremists. Now, they have no idea how to stop it. Guest: Janet Reitman, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who is working on a book about the rise of the far right in post-9/11 America. 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.

13 Des 201827min

President Barack Obama came very close in 2015 to passing a bipartisan bill to rewrite prison and sentencing laws. Three years later, the same people who were responsible for stopping that bill may become responsible for passing a scaled-back version. Guest: Nicholas Fandos, who covers Congress for The New York 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.

12 Des 201822min