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The Daily

The approach to this year’s midterms has brought two hugely consequential changes to voting for Black Americans: the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and redistricting. In the wake of those actions, efforts are underway to mobilize Black voters in the South.
In Mississippi, the Senate battle is being seen as a sleeper race, and the Black Democrat running has a chance of flipping the seat, but state lawmakers are trying to redraw the maps and do away with their one majority Black district.
Today, Emily Cochrane, a reporter covering the American South for The New York Times, addresses the implications for voters across the region — not just in the midterms, but for years to come.
Guest: Emily Cochrane, a national reporter for The New York Times covering the American South.
Background reading: 

Black Democratic candidates running in the South have implored Black voters to go to the polls in response to the gutting of the Voting Rights Act.
High-profile Democrats across the country have some hope in Scott Colom’s bid for a seat in the Senate.

Photo: Anna Foley/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. 
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
 
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The Battle Over Black Representation in the South

Israelis head to the polls next week. On the ballot is the future of a country that has become isolated on the world stage, because of both its war in Gaza and a growing outcry over settler violence in the West Bank.
David M. Halbfinger, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu differs from his biggest challenger.
Guest: David M. Halbfinger, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.
Background reading: 

Here’s why Palestinians hope Israelis will oust Netanyahu in pivotal election.
President Trump endorsed Netanyahu as best U.S. partner in the Israeli election.

Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters; Ariel Schalit/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. 
 
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The Election That Will Define Israel’s Future

The economy is one of the most important issues for voters in the midterm elections. President Trump has been trying to persuade Americans that they are wrong to be frustrated about the cost of living.
Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times, explains what the latest economic data actually says.
Guest: Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.
Background reading: 

Three charts that explain the economy as voters head to the polls.
Higher energy prices lift U.S. inflation ahead of the midterms.

Photo: Yuki Iwamura/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. 
 
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Is This Economy as Awful as Voters Think? We Ask Our Expert.

James Talarico is asking Texas to do something it hasn’t done in nearly 40 years: Elect a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. It won’t be easy. It will take a vast coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans in a bright red state that President Trump won by about 14 percentage points in 2024 — and where Republicans have plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into beating Mr. Talarico. And yet, poll after poll shows that Mr. Talarico could pull it off and defeat his Republican rival, Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and a Trump ally. 
On Monday, nearly two weeks before Election Day, Michael Barbaro spoke with Mr. Talarico about the kind of race he’s running, why it has succeeded so far in appealing to Republicans and what he wants Democrats to do if they flip control of the Senate on Nov. 3.
Guest: James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas.
Background reading: 

Top Democrats, who have long been hesitant to spend money in Texas, have started to back Mr. Talarico.


For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
 
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James Talarico on the Rage Economy, Billionaires and Flipping Texas

President Trump said he was making an energy deal with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and waiving new sanctions on Moscow. Now, he’s feuding with Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia is taking advantage of the moment by relentlessly striking Kyiv, killing civilians and cutting off power for more than a million people.
Constant Méheut, who is covering the war for The New York Times, explains why Mr. Putin appears so confident that Russia can bomb Ukraine into submission.
Guest: Constant Méheut, a correspondent covering the war in Ukraine for The New York Times.
Background reading: 

Analysis: Why Russia sees a window to bomb Ukraine into submission.
Mr. Zelensky says Mr. Trump risks a “historic mistake” if he backs Russia.

Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/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. 
 
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Inside Putin’s Plan to Cripple Ukraine This Winter

The comedian Nathan Fielder came to fame as the creator and host of the Comedy Central series “Nathan for You.” The show followed Fielder as he devised outrageous schemes, ostensibly with the aim of helping various small businesses. What became clear, though, was that Fielder was less interested in helping business owners generate profits than he was in understanding the people ensnared in his plots. His next project, the HBO series “The Rehearsal,” was a similar offbeat portrait of offbeat people. At the center of both projects is Fielder himself, a documentarian whose motives can sometimes be hard to parse.
This week, Fielder’s first feature-length documentary, “You Can See Everything,” hits theaters. Co-directed by Lance Oppenheim, the movie shows Fielder embedding himself into the life of the disgraced Theranos founder and felon Elizabeth Holmes in the days leading up to her imprisonment for fraud. The film caused a big splash when it debuted at the Telluride Film Festival, in part because it presents Holmes, a mysterious and compelling cultural figure, through the eyes of Fielder, a mysterious and compelling filmmaker.
This week, the Times movie critic Alissa Wilkinson and critic at large Jason Zinoman, who covers comedy, join Michael Barbaro for a spoiler-free discussion of Nathan Fielder, his career, and why he might be the perfect person to tell the story of Elizabeth Holmes.
 
On Today’s Episode
Alissa Wilkinson, a movie critic at The New York Times.
Jason Zinoman, a critic at large for the Culture section of The New York Times.
 
Background Reading

‘The Real World’ and Nathan Fielder can both thank this cult filmmaker.
‘You Can See Everything,’ if you could only secure a ticket.

 
Photo: A24, via 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. 
 
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Elizabeth Holmes and Nathan Fielder Keep Us Guessing

The longtime friends and creative partners on what U2 still means — and what would make them call it quits.

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


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50 Years In, What's the Point of U2? Bono and the Edge Have Answers.

Perhaps no American feels the domestic effects of the war, tariffs and inflation more than the Iowa farmer. The political environment stirred up by those farmers’ strife could allow the Democrats to seize the moment and elect one of theirs to the Senate or the governor’s mansion for the first time in 20 years — making Iowa potentially one of the most important states on the map this midterm cycle.
Today, we follow Caleb Renner, a young farmer in north central Iowa, as he shows the effects of the past two years on his community and talks about why those effects may lead him to turn on the Republican Party for the first time, and whether that will translate into support for Democrats.
Guest: Caleb Renner, a farmer in Klemme, Iowa.
Background reading: 

Who’s winning the race for Congress?
‘Survival Mode Time’: Republicans accelerate their break with Trump.

Photo: KC McGinnis 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. 
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
 
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MAGA's Midterm Defectors

With Republicans trailing in the polls, the party is making hard choices about where to spend its money — abandoning some races while pouring resources into others.
Shane Goldmacher, Nate Cohn and Lisa Lerer, political correspondents for The New York Times, explain why President Trump is campaigning almost daily in deep-red territory, how his influence is shaping the strategy and whether Democrats can win over the disenchanted voters they may need to take back the House and the Senate.
Guests: 

Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.
Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.
Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

Economic pain and an unpopular Trump have put the G.O.P. on its heels.
Top Republican groups are pulling support from two House incumbents.

Photo: Kenny Holston/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. 
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
 
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The Republican Strategy to Salvage the Midterms

President Trump announced a deal to purchase Russian diesel fuel and temporarily suspended sanctions in an effort to lower domestic fuel prices amid rising costs from the war in Iran and in anticipation of the upcoming midterms. This abrupt foreign policy shift stunned European allies and drew sharp criticism from Ukraine, which viewed the move as a weakening of Western leverage against Russia.
Today, Anton Troianovski, a global affairs correspondent for The New York Times, discusses what the deal reveals about the Trump administration’s strategy with Russia, and how much it could actually lower prices at the pump.
Guest: Anton Troianovski, a global affairs correspondent for The New York Times who writes about foreign policy, national security and America’s place in the world.
Background reading: Trump faces a new crisis over Ukraine following the Russian diesel deal.
Photo: Igor Grussak/picture alliance 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. 
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
 
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