When Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post more than a decade ago, journalists inside and outside the newsroom were cautiously optimistic. But those hopes were dashed on Wednesday, when the paper carried out widespread layoffs.

Erik Wemple, who covered the developments, discusses what went wrong and what comes next.

Guest: Erik Wemple, who reports on the media business for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• The Washington Post lays off more than 300 journalists.
• As part of the layoffs, The Post eliminated its sports section, one of the last bastions of great sportswriting.

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The explosion of prediction markets in the United States, where people bet on everything from Taylor Swift’s wedding date to election outcomes, has radically expanded the universe of gambling.

David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter, explains how these platforms became so widespread so fast, and how betting on everything could change the way we live. 

Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times, covering the crypto industry.

Background reading: 

• David Yaffe-Bellany, a technology reporter for The New York Times, covering the crypto industry.

Photo: Photo Illustration: atakan/iStock, via Getty Images

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week, F.B.I. agents searched an election center in Fulton County, Ga., seizing truckloads of ballots from 2020. The move escalated the investigation into President Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the state after his 2020 defeat in the state.

It has since been learned that Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, was present during the search.

Devlin Barrett, a Times reporter who covers the F.B.I., discusses the presence of the nation’s top intelligence official and the stunning phone call that shows how personally involved Mr. Trump has become in the investigation.

Guest: Devlin Barrett, a New York Times reporter covering the Justice Department and the F.B.I.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Trump had an unusual call with F.B.I. agents after the election center search.
• The move to seize ballots has thrust the F.B.I. into Mr. Trump’s election conspiracy claim.

Photo: Nicole Craine for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At the Grammy Awards tonight, the Puerto Rican pop sensation Bad Bunny is the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated for album, record and song of the year simultaneously. For most artists, this would be the high point of their year, if not their career. For Bad Bunny, this is just an appetizer for what’s in store for him next week.

Next Sunday, he will headline the Super Bowl halftime show. His performance comes in the middle of a nationwide crackdown on immigration — an issue he’s been vocal about — and follows a backlash against the N.F.L. for booking him in the first place.

Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, the hosts of The Times’s pop music show “Popcast,” discuss Bad Bunny’s rise to the heights of pop stardom, and explore what it means for a Puerto Rican artist to headline the world’s biggest stage.

On Today’s Episode:

Jon Caramanica is a pop music critic at The New York Times and a co-host of “Popcast.”

Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter for The New York Times who focuses on popular music and a co-host of “Popcast.”

Background Reading:

Grammys 2026: Who Should Win the Biggest Awards

Bad Bunny Talks Coming Back Home on His ‘Most Puerto Rican’ Album Yet

Get to Know Bad Bunny in 9 Songs

Photo: Mario Anzuoni for Reuters.

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Minnesota Democrat on the battle between his city and the federal government.

• Thoughts? Email us at [email protected]
• Watch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcast
• For transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pop culture has not been kind to the Neanderthal. In books, movies and even TV commercials, the species is portrayed as rough and mindless, a brutish type that was rightly supplanted by our Homo sapiens ancestors.

But even 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals walked the earth, we continue to make discoveries that challenge that portrayal. New research suggests Neanderthals might have been less primitive — and a lot more like modern humans — than we might have thought.

The Times science reporters Carl Zimmer and Franz Lidz discuss recent discoveries about Neanderthals, and what those discoveries can tell us about the origins of humanity.

On Today’s Episode:

Carl Zimmer writes the Origins column and covers news about science for The Times.

Franz Lidz writes about archaeology for The Times.

Background Reading:

The Year in Neanderthals

Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.

What Makes Your Brain Different From a Neanderthal’s?

The Neanderthal Inside Us

Photo: Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s a lot of anxiety about artificial intelligence invading Hollywood; the general mood there right now could be called “doom and gloom.” But speculation about a future where A.I. actors perform A.I. scripts in A.I.-generated movies often obscures the role A.I. is currently playing in the industry.

In this episode, the host Michael Barbaro talks with the Hollywood reporter Brooks Barnes and the movie critic Alissa Wilkinson about the ways that A.I. is already showing up in our movies and television today, and how they see it contributing to — and complicating — the future.

On Today’s Episode:

Alissa Wilkinson is a Times movie critic.

Brooks Barnes is the chief Hollywood correspondent for The Times.

Background Reading:

Can You Believe the Documentary You’re Watching?

Disney Agrees to Bring Its Characters to OpenAI’s Sora Videos

‘The Wizard of Oz’ Is Getting an A.I. Glow-Up. Cue the Pitchforks.

Is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Sphere the Future of Cinema? Or the End of It?

Photo: Roger Kisby for The New York Times

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As 2025 comes to an end, The Sunday Special is looking back on the year in culture.

This week, on our final episode of the podcast, we’re talking about movies. The potential acquisition of Warner Brothers by Netflix has dominated entertainment news in recent weeks, but the year in movies has been about a lot more than corporate mergers. Alissa Wilkinson, a movie critic for The New York Times, and Nicole Sperling, a culture reporter based in Los Angeles, join Gilbert Cruz to talk about what really matters: the movies we loved this year.

Movies discussed in this episode include:

“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”
“A Minecraft Movie”
“Superman”
“Weapons”
“Wicked: For Good”
“Zootopia 2”
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Marty Supreme”
“It Was Just an Accident”
“The Testament of Ann Lee”
“Come and See Me In the Good Light”
“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning”

On Today’s Episode:

Alissa Wilkinson is a movie critic at The Times.

Nicole Sperling is a reporter covering Hollywood for The Times.

Background Reading:

Netflix vs. Paramount: Inside the Epic Battle Over Warner Brothers

The 25 Most Notable Movies of 2025

Best Movies of 2025

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures; 20th Century Studios; Disney

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In these final weeks of 2025, The Sunday Special is looking back at the year in culture.

Today, we’re talking about the TV we watched this year — the best shows, the most popular ones and the ones that allowed us to just enjoyably veg out. Gilbert Cruz talks with the TV critic James Poniewozik and the culture reporter Alexis Soloski about the year in television.

TV shows discussed in this episode:

“Severance”

“Common Side Effects”

“Too Much”

“Nobody Wants This”

“Dying for Sex”

“The Hunting Wives”

“The White Lotus”

“Dr. Odyssey”

“Long Story Short”

“Heated Rivalry”

“Andor”

“The Lowdown”

“Platonic”

“Pluribus”

“The Pitt”

“Adolescence”

On Today’s Episode:

James Poniewozik is the chief TV critic for The New York Times.

Alexis Soloski is a culture reporter for The Times.

Background Reading:

Best TV Shows of 2025

The Best TV Episodes of 2025

Photo Credit: Apple TV+; Netflix; Lucasfilm/Disney+; HBO

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As 2025 comes to an end, The Sunday Special is looking back on the year in culture.

This week, we’re listening to the songs and albums that defined the year, for better or worse. Gilbert Cruz is joined by Caryn Ganz and Lindsay Zoladz from The Times’s pop music desk to discuss some of the biggest and best releases of 2025.

Albums and songs mentioned in this episode:

Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”

Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”

Justin Bieber, “Daisies”

Chappell Roan, “The Giver” and “The Subway”

Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”

Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”

Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”

Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem”

Ghost, “Skeletá”

Dijon, “Baby”

Geese, “Getting Killed”

Water From Your Eyes, “It’s a Beautiful Place”

PinkPantheress, “Fancy That”

Lily Allen, “Tennis”

Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”

Sleigh Bells, “Bunky Becky Birthday Boy”

Hayley Williams, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party”

Turnstile, “Never Enough”

On Today’s Episode

Caryn Ganz is the pop music editor at The Times.

Lindsay Zoladz is a pop music critic at The Times and the writer of The Amplifier newsletter.

Additional Reading

Best Albums of 2025

Best Songs of 2025

Photo Illustration by The New York Times; From left, Angela Weiss/AFP — Getty Images (Lady Gaga); OK McCausland for The New York Times (Geese); Erika Santelices/Reuters (Bad Bunny); Helle Arensbak/AFP -- Getty Images, via Ritzau Scanpix (PinkPantheress)

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The first week of December at The New York Times is known as “Cookie Week.” Every day, for seven days, our cooking team highlights a new holiday cookie recipe. This year’s batch features flavors that aren’t necessarily traditional holiday ones — or even, for that matter, flavors. Instead, they draw inspiration from family night at the movies, drinks like Vietnamese Coffee, and perhaps most surprisingly, an Italian deli meat.

In this edition of the Sunday Special, Gilbert Cruz talks with Melissa Clark and Vaughn Vreeland from New York Times Cooking about this year’s cookies, and they answer questions from readers about how to navigate cooking and baking during the holidays.

Background Reading:

These 7 Cookies Will Be the Life of Every Party

Melissa Clark is a food reporter and columnist for The Times.

Vaughn Vreeland is a supervising video producer for NYT Cooking and writes the “Bake Time” newsletter.

Audio produced by Tina Antolini and Alex Barron with Kate LoPresti. Edited by Wendy Dorr. Engineered by Rowan Niemisto. Original music by Daniel Powell and Diane Wong. 

Photo credit: Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. 

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.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.