A Foreseen Calamity in Syria

In October, four American soldiers were ambushed by militants in a remote desert in Niger. What were they doing in Africa, and who were they fighting? It was all part of a shadowy war going back to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Guests: Alan Blinder, a national reporter for The New York Times; Rukmini Callimachi, who covers terrorism and the Islamic State 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.

20 Feb 201828min

The Justice Department charged 13 Russians with illegally trying to disrupt the American political process, in a sophisticated plot to deepen the country’s divisions and turn Americans against one another. President Trump’s reaction to those charges suggests that plot is still working. Guest: Matt Apuzzo, a New York Times reporter based in Washington. 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.

19 Feb 201819min

The AR-15 rifle used in the shooting that left at least 17 people dead at a high school in Parkland, Fla., was purchased legally, according to a federal law enforcement official. How did a semiautomatic weapon originally designed for warfare become easier to buy than a handgun? Guests: C. J. Chivers, a New York Times investigative reporter and Marine Corps veteran; Richard A. Oppel Jr., a Times reporter specializing in coverage of domestic terrorism and the military. 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 Feb 201823min

President Trump has called for an overhaul of immigration that replaces a family-based system with a merit-based one. But what counts as merit? We also report on the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., in which at least 17 people died. It was the 18th school shooting in the United States this year. Guests: Caitlin Dickerson, a national immigration reporter for The New York Times; Catherine Porter, Canada bureau chief 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 Feb 201821min

As a candidate, Donald J. Trump was very critical of the size of the national debt. As president, he has proposed a budget that would add $7 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. Republicans are saying nothing. Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers taxes and the economy 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.

14 Feb 201820min

The House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, took to the floor for eight hours last week to protest a spending bill that did not include protections for the young immigrants known as Dreamers. Now, she says she wanted the bill to pass. What’s the risk for the Democratic Party? Guest: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, 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.

13 Feb 201817min

At the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, 169 plainly dressed athletes marched out in drab gray coats and bluejeans, competing not for a country but as “Olympic athletes from Russia.” What did Russia do at the last Winter Games to earn them that punishment? Guest: Rebecca R. Ruiz, an investigative reporter at 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 Feb 201825min

Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico with great fury, but the government there said that just 64 people had been killed by the storm. The hundreds of bodies showing up at morgues across the island told a different story. Guests: Frances Robles, a New York Times correspondent based in Miami; Mili Bonilla, whose father died in Puerto Rico in October. 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 Feb 201829min