The Sunday Read: ‘The Spy Who Called Me’

There was military footage of unidentified flying objects that couldn’t be explained, and a decade of hidden funding in the defense budget. A Times investigation discovered a shadowy secret program at the Pentagon that looks at the potential threat of U.F.O.s.Guests: Helene Cooper, who covers the Pentagon for The New York Times; Luis Elizondo, an intelligence officer who led the program inside the Pentagon. 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 Dec 201718min

Student debt levels are soaring — and so are defaults on educational loans. A New York Times investigation found that some creditors are taking extreme measures to get paid. In many cases, those measures are costing people the jobs they need to pay back the loans they took out to get those jobs in the first place.Guests: Jessica Silver-Greenberg, a business reporter for The Times; Shannon Otto, who had her nursing license suspended after she fell behind on loan payments. 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 Dec 201720min

Republican lawmakers have reached a deal on their sweeping tax bill, and they are on track to send it to President Trump by Christmas. Why has such an unpopular plan moved so swiftly through Congress? And the Federal Communications Commission is expected to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules today. What would the modern internet look like without such regulation? Guests: Jim Tankersley, who has been covering the tax bill for The New York Times; Kevin Roose, who writes about the internet. 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 Dec 201724min

Voters in Alabama have elected Doug Jones, a former prosecutor, to the Senate, rejecting the scandal-plagued Roy Moore and giving Democrats a rare victory in a staunchly conservative state. That cuts the Republican majority in the Senate to just one seat. Guest: Jonathan Martin, a national political correspondent 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.

13 Dec 201722min

Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, has built a legal and political career as a conservative crusader and a man of faith. As voters head to the polls on Tuesday, those early battles may shield him from the sexual misconduct allegations that have made the race a close one. Guests: Alan Blinder, a New York Times correspondent based in Atlanta; Bill Willard, a lawyer in Gadsden, Ala. 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 Dec 201719min

One day before the polls open in the Alabama special election, many are asking whether voters will find it harder to support Roy Moore or a Democrat. And we take a look at James O’Keefe, the newly emboldened conservative provocateur famous for trying to use secret recordings to embarrass liberals and journalists. Guests: Jonathan Martin, who is covering the Alabama Senate race; Kenneth P. Vogel, who writes about the confluence of money, politics and influence. 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 Dec 201724min

Senator Al Franken, a Democrat, reluctantly announced on Thursday that he would resign, even as he denied accusations of sexual misconduct. What does it tell us that his own party pushed for him to step down? Guest: Yamiche Alcindor, a national reporter for The New York Times who has been covering accusations of sexual harassment in Congress. 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 Dec 201719min

The Arab world was agreed that by officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, President Trump has sabotaged the chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But had Arab leaders given up on the Palestinians long ago? And we hear what it’s like to visit the most powerful figure in the Arab world: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. Guests: Anne Barnard, the Beirut bureau chief of The New York Times; Thomas L. Friedman, a Times opinion columnist. 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 Dec 201724min