Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and death.On Wednesday afternoon, a guilty verdict was reached in the death of the Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. A 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela was convicted.Rick Rojas, the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, discusses the case, and how it became a flashpoint in the national debate over border security.Guest: Rick Rojas, the Atlanta bureau chief for The New York Times.Background reading: Ms. Riley, 22, was attacked in February while running on a trail on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Her killer was sentenced to life in prison.Lawmakers in Georgia approved tougher rules on immigration after the killing.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

For decades, breast augmentations have been one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries in the United States. But in recent years, a new trend has emerged: the breast reduction.Lisa Miller, who covers personal and cultural approaches to health for The Times, discusses why the procedure has become so common.Guest: Lisa Miller, a domestic correspondent for the Well section of The New York Times.Background reading: Are women asserting their independence or capitulating to yet another impossible standard of beauty?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.For the past two weeks, Lynsea Garrison of “The Daily” has been talking to people who were part of a movement, known as the resistance, that opposed Donald Trump’s first term as president.With Mr. Trump preparing to again retake the White House, she asked those past protesters how they might react this time.Background reading: Was Mr. Trump’s election a setback for women? Even women do not agree.Nonprofits have vowed a new resistance. Will donors pay up?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Representative Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general.Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics for The Times, discusses what the nomination reveals about Mr. Trump’s promise for retribution and how far Republicans might be willing to go to help him get it.Guest: Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics for The New York Times.Background reading: The attorney general pick has set a new bar for in-your-face nominations.A vendetta over the congressional ethics investigation into Mr. Gaetz helped sink the last speaker. The new speaker has moved to quash the report.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nationwide, just over a million children, mostly girls, participate in cheer each year (some estimates are even higher), more than the number who play softball or lacrosse. And almost every part of that world is dominated by a single company: Varsity Spirit.It’s hard to cheer at the youth, high school or collegiate level without putting money in the company’s pocket. Varsity operates summer camps where children learn to do stunts and perform; it hosts events where they compete; it sells pompoms they shake and uniforms they wear on the sidelines of high school and college football games.Varsity’s market power has made the cheer world a paranoid place. In the reporting for this article, dozens of people spoke about the company in conspiratorial tones better suited to a spy thriller. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Dr. Ellen Wiebe has performed hundreds of medical aid in dying (or MAID) procedures and is one of Canada’s most prominent advocates for the practice. David Marchese had questions — medical, legal and philosophical — about when it makes sense for doctors to help people to die, and also about how MAID might shape our thinking on what, exactly, constitutes a good death.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Democratic Party is sifting through the rubble of its sweeping election loss and trying to work out what went wrong.In an interview, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont discusses his diagnosis and how to chart a path back to power.Guest: Senator Bernie Sanders of VermontBackground reading: Democrats reeling from the election failure have begun playing the blame game.Who are the next leaders of the Democratic Party?For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.In his first week as president-elect, Donald J. Trump moved at breakneck speed to fill out his cabinet with a set of loyalists who were both conventional and deeply unconventional, the U.S. Senate chose a leader who could complicate Trump’s agenda, and President Joe Biden welcomed Trump back to the White House.Times Journalists Michael Barbaro, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, sat down to make sense of it all.Guest: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, who covers politics for The New York Times.Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Matt Gaetz is Mr. Trump’s pick for attorney general.John Thune is set to become the next Senate majority leader.Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump’s brief public display of civility was followed by a two-hour meeting behind closed doors.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Democrats, devastated by their sweeping losses in the election, are starting to sift through the wreckage of their defeat.Political leaders from all corners of the Democratic coalition are pointing fingers, arguing over the party’s direction and wrestling with what it stands for.Reid J. Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, discusses the reckoning inside the Democratic Party, and where it goes from here.Guest: Reid J. Epstein, a reporter covering politics for The New York Times.Background reading: In interviews, lawmakers and strategists tried to explain Kamala Harris’s defeat, pointing to misinformation, the Gaza war, a toxic Democratic brand and the party’s approach to transgender issues.Nancy Pelosi, the influential former House speaker, lamented Biden’s late exit and the lack of an “open primary.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

When Maggie Jones’s marriage collapsed after 23 years, she was devastated and overwhelmed. She was in her 50s, with two jobs, two teenage daughters and one dog. She didn’t consider dating. She had no time, no emotional energy. But then a year passed. One daughter was off at college, the other increasingly independent. After several more months went by, she started to feel a sliver of curiosity about what kind of men were out there and how it would feel to date again.That meant online dating — the default mode not just for the young but also for people Ms. Jones’s age. Her only exposure had been watching her oldest daughter, home from college one summer, as she sat on her bed rapidly swiping through guy after guy — spending no more than a second or two on each.Ms. Jones tells her story of online dating in later adulthood, and what she learned. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The former House Speaker reflects on Donald Trump’s victory, Kamala Harris’s candidacy and the future of the Democratic Party.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In the days since the election, Donald J. Trump has started preparing to retake the White House.Jonathan Swan, who covered Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign for The Times, and Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent, take us inside the campaign’s endgame.Guest: Jonathan Swan, a reporter covering politics and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for The New York Times.Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: President-elect Donald J. Trump faces key personnel choices in the wake of his victory.Mr. Trump named Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As the fallout from the election settles, Americans are beginning to absorb, celebrate and mourn the coming of a second Trump presidency.Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for The Times, and Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent, discuss the voting blocks that Trump conquered and the legacy that he has redefined.Guest: Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for The New York Times.Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Mr. Trump made gains in every corner of the country and with nearly every demographic group.His victory will allow him to reshape the modern United States in his own image.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Donald J. Trump was elected president for a second time.Shortly before that call was made, the Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Nate Cohn, Lisa Lerer and Astead W. Herndon sat down to discuss the state of the election.Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up.”Background reading: Follow live election updates.The Republican Party clinched control of the Senate.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

After two years of campaigning, more than a billion of dollars of advertising and a last-minute change to one of the nominees, the 2024 race for president is now in the hands of the American voters.Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The Times, gives a guide to understanding tonight’s election results.Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.Background reading: What you need to know about election night results and The New York Times Needle.Despite some late shifts, polls remain closest they’ve ever been.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

By the time it’s over, this year’s race for president will have cost at least $3.5 billion. The single biggest expense will be campaign ads.Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, discusses the story that each campaign has been using those ads to tell, 30 seconds at a time.Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: Donald J. Trump and the Republicans have bet big on anti-trans ads across the country.The Harris campaign’s recent Spanish-language advertising has highlighted an insult toward Puerto Rico at Mr. Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden.Both parties are running ads that tell voters it’s OK to switch sides. “You can vote any way you want. And no one will ever know,” one says.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A sheriff’s deputy arrived at Nathan and Danielle Clark’s front door on the outskirts of Springfield, Ohio, in September with the latest memento of what their son’s death had become. “I’m sorry that I have to show you this,” she said and handed them a flier with a picture of Aiden, 11, smiling at the camera after his last baseball game. It was the same image the Clarks had chosen for his funeral program and then made into Christmas ornaments for his classmates, but this time the photograph was printed alongside threats and racial slurs.“Killed by a Haitian invader,” the flier read. “They didn’t care about Aiden. They don’t care about you. They are pieces of human trash that deserve not your sympathy, but utter scorn. Give it to them … and then some.”“They have no right to speak for him like this,” Danielle said. “It’s making me sick. There must be some way to stop it.”This was the version of the country the Clarks and their two teenage children had encountered during the last year, ever since Aiden died in a school bus crash in August 2023 on the way to his first day of sixth grade. The crash was ruled an accident, caused by a legally registered Haitian immigrant who veered into the bus while driving without a valid license. But as the presidential campaign intensified, former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, began to tell a different story. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The controversial philosopher discusses societal taboos, Thanksgiving turkeys and whether anyone is doing enough to make the world a better place.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On Tuesday night, as the voting ends and the counting begins, the election system itself will be on trial.Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The Times, explains how some local election officials entrusted with certifying ballots are preparing to reject the results  and create chaos in the weeks ahead.Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.Background reading: The army of election officials ready to reject the vote.What to know about the potential election certification crisis.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Warning: This episode contains strong language and racial slurs.For decades, Black Americans formed the backbone of the Democratic Party, voting by overwhelming margins for Democratic candidates. While most Black voters are expected to cast their ballots for Kamala Harris, polls suggest that support for her might be softening, particularly among Black men.Sabrina Tavernise travels to Georgia, a key swing state, with two “Daily” producers, Lynsea Garrison and Sydney Harper, to speak with one family about their experiences through the decades.Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, co-host of “The Daily.”Lynsea Garrison, a producer on “The Daily.”Sydney Harper, a producer on “The Daily.”Background reading: Some Black voters have drifted from Democrats, imperiling Ms. Harris’s bid, a poll showed.As Black voters appear to hesitate on their support, Democrats race to win them over.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In the final week of the race for president, Donald J. Trump’s big rally in New York appeared to backfire, while Kamala Harris’s closing message cast her as a unifier. Fears about election interference also resurfaced after arsonists burned ballots in three states.The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Lisa Lerer, Shane Goldmacher and Astead Herndon try to make sense of it all.Guest: Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up.”Background reading: Trump at the Garden: A closing carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism.Michelle Obama made a searing appeal to men: “Take our lives seriously.”Investigators have identified a “suspect vehicle” in the ballot drop box fires in the Pacific Northwest.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

If Donald J. Trump wins next week’s election, it will be in large part because voters embraced his message that the U.S. immigration system is broken.David Leonhardt, a senior writer at The New York Times, tells the surprising story of how that system came to be.Guest: David Leonhardt, a senior writer at The New York Times who runs The Morning.Background reading: Whoever wins the election, seeking asylum in the United States may never be the same.For people fleeing war, the U.S. immigration fight has real-life consequences.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Warning: this episode contains strong language.The presidential campaign is in its final week and one thing remains true: the election is probably going to come down to a handful of voters in a swing states.Jessica Cheung,  a producer for “The Daily,” and Jonathan Swan, a reporter covering politics for The Times, take us inside Donald Trump’s unorthodox campaign to win over those voters.Guest: Jessica Cheung, a senior producer of “The Daily.”Jonathan Swan, a reporter covering politics and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for The New York Times.Background reading: In Arizona, many Latino families are divided about the 2024 election.The electorate has rarely seemed so evenly divided. The latest New York Times/Siena College poll found Harris and Trump tied at 48 to 48 percent.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.