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.
8H AGO
Is social media addictive? And are social media companies liable?
A landmark lawsuit that accuses social media companies of intentionally designing their platforms to be addictive — and causing harm to children and teenagers' mental health — is in court this week in Los Angeles. The defendants in this case are Meta and YouTube, both of which dispute the allegations. Snap and TikTok both settled in advance of the trial. Some are calling this social media's "Big Tobacco" moment. Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, discusses this as well as a series of lawsuits against the social media giants.
10H AGO
What’s behind Trump’s latest Canada threats?
Last week the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a very public warning to Prime Minister Mark Carney. At the centre of that warning is the USMCA trade deal, which kept Trump’s tariffs from unleashing even deeper damage to the Canadian economy. A mandatory review of the US-Mexico-Canada pact is kicking-off now. It has turned into a high stakes negotiation, with the U.S. poised to squeeze Canada and Mexico and to use the negotiation itself as leverage to advance the administration’s interests. Today, trade expert Eric Miller is back to talk about where the trade talks are headed, what the Americans are hoping for, and what would happen if the deal got ripped up altogether. Miller is the president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
8H AGO
Inside the battle to curb ICE’s power
Democrats have laid out their demands as lawmakers in Washington negotiate a deal on ICE accountability. Sahil Kapur of NBC News explains the breadth of those demands and the tight timeline Congress is on. A recent drone attack by Russia left more than 1,000 apartment buildings in Kyiv without power. Politico’s Veronika Melkozerova joins to discuss how Ukrainians are surviving winter after continued attacks on their electricity grid. A warming climate is putting future Winter Olympic sites at risk of no longer being able to host the event. The Washington Post’s Janice Kai Chen breaks down the challenges cities face and the solutions being proposed. Plus, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a new congressional map in California, the Washington Post is laying off a third of its newsroom, and how Buddhist monks are spreading a message of peace through walking. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
1D AGO
Has the AI Reckoning Arrived?
AI anxiety is coursing through the stock market right now. From Tuesday’s global selloff in software and technology stocks to last week’s $381 billion Microsoft rout, investors are skittish over any sign of an AI bubble. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Big Tech editor Sarah Frier joins host Sarah Holder to discuss the coming AI reckoning and why pressure is building on tech companies to prove all their AI investments will pay off big — and soon. Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Sarah Frier; Edited by Tracey Samuelson. Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Katie McMurran and Alex Sugiura. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23H AGO
Trouble at TikTok
TikTok has new owners in the US. With claims of censorship, widespread outages, and possible algorithm changes on the way, the reboot has been rocky so far. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Jolie Myers, fact checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by David Tatasciore and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Jonquilyn Hill. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
An untouched dinner. An unmade bed. An unsent text or an unlocked door. Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole don’t just report on true crime, they have uniquely personal experiences with it. Now, they’re bringing those meaningful perspectives to The Final Hours, a true crime series that analyzes the details investigators may have overlooked. From final conversations, to the last known steps, to red flags and red herrings, Sarah and Kourt understand the things that replay over and over in the minds of those who’ve lost a loved one. For them, justice means scrutiny, and making sure overlooked cases are finally heard. The Final Hours is a Crime House Original, powered by PAVE Studios. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
5.0 (17)
TRUE CRIME
Season 2 drops February 6. This season goes deeper into real encounters, credible witnesses, and the explanations that never seem to stick. More firsthand accounts. Bigger moments. And more times where the official story starts to wobble. This isn’t about believing everything. It’s about following the story until it actually makes sense… or until it gets too strange to ignore. New season. Same curiosity. Same skepticism. Still probably not a weather balloon.
4.7 (3651)
TRUE CRIME
“Welcome to El Barrio” is a vibrant new podcast about Puerto Rican identity — our stories, finally told by us. Hosted by award-winning producer Becca Ramos, this series blends laugh-out-loud interviews with artists, scholars, creators, tastemakers, and everyday Boricuas to illuminate the stories the textbooks left out. Each week, Becca dives into the history, culture, politics, spirituality, and pop-culture moments that shape what it means to be Puerto Rican today — from the roots of brujería and ancestral healing, to the global impact of Bad Bunny, to the hidden history behind Operation Bootstrap, Hurricane Maria’s aftermath, and the evolution of the diaspora. This show is unapologetically for us. For the kids who grew up “ni de aquí, ni de allá.” For everyone who felt their culture reduced to stereotypes, mispronounced in classrooms, or left out of the narrative entirely. Through humor, heart, research, and community storytelling, Becca invites listeners on a journey of self-discovery — and a celebration of La Isla del Encanto in all its complexity. Featuring a lineup of powerful Boricua voices across film, music, academia, design, and activism, Welcome to El Barrio is a love letter, an archive, and an invitation. Come learn, laugh, heal, and say it with us. WEPA!
5.0 (9)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Giving a voice to the unsolved and overlooked, Frozen Files is a weekly deep dive into true crime cases that never got a resolution. Hosted by Madison McGhee, each episode examines the facts, failures, and unanswered questions behind investigations that went cold and the systems that allowed them to stay that way. New episodes every Monday.
5.0 (12)
TRUE CRIME
Olga Koch and Catherine Bohart discovered Heated Rivalry and, almost immediately, lost the plot. What started as a shared fixation quickly became a full-time mental occupation. This podcast is their attempt to channel that obsession into something constructive (or at least communal). Each episode tracks the story episode by episode, combining close reading, emotional unraveling, and cultural commentary with the manic energy of two people who care way too much. Expect increasingly unhinged and funny takes on the TV show that everyone is talking about. Daily episodes, the first one drops Monday 26th January! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4.6 (5)
TV REVIEWS
Next On Intrigue: Ransom Man. What would you do if your deepest secrets were held to ransom? Jenny Kleeman investigates one of the world's most audacious hacks. When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation’s darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man. Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4’s The Gift) traces the story from the first extortion email to the hunt to find the hacker and bring him to justice. We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that a criminal had got hold of those thoughts, and was threatening to publish them for all the world to see if you didn’t pay to stop him. Jenny finds out what kind of person is prepared to terrorise a nation like this, and the lengths people will go to fight back. On the way, she’ll discover that the origins of this dark crime stretch far beyond Finland. Her extraordinary quest leads her around the world and to unexpected places, bringing Jenny face to face with victims, investigators, police and notorious hackers themselves. It is a cautionary tale about something that could happen anywhere, to any of us, again and again. Jenny will learn just how vulnerable our deepest secrets can be – and the enormous power that hackers now have to hold our inner lives to ransom. Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.
S-Town is a podcast hosted by Brian Reed from Serial Productions, a New York Times company. The story follows a man named John who despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks Brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family who's allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But when someone else ends up dead, the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man's life. 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. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com
4.6 (45673)
PERSONAL JOURNALS
Want TED Talks on the go? Everyday, this feed brings you our latest talks in audio format. Hear thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable – from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between – given by the world's leading thinkers and doers. This collection of talks, given at TED and TEDx conferences around the globe, is also available in video format. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4.1 (10046)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting The U.S is the only country in the world that allows minors to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Approximately 2,500 juveniles have been effectively sentenced to die in prison — considered “irredeemable” by the state for crimes committed when they were just teenagers. One of them was David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, who entered prison at 17 expecting to leave in a coffin. Suave tells the story of what happens when your whole world is a prison cell, and you suddenly get a second chance at life. It’s the story of one man’s incarceration and redemption and an unusual relationship between a journalist and a source. Selected as an Apple Podcasts Series Essential. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4.8 (1567)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
The most-listened to podcast by women, Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy has been creating conversation since 2018. From deep, honest discussions to laugh-out-loud moments, Cooper cuts through the BS with exciting guests and bold topics. New episodes drop every Wednesday, with throwback episodes every Friday. Want more? Join the Daddy Gang @callherdaddy.
4.4 (163088)
COMEDY
The Questlove Show builds on the award-winning Questlove Supreme podcast, bringing listeners into intimate, one-on-one conversations with peers, influences, and friends. Hosted by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, each episode uncovers the unexpected — from morning rituals and hidden talents to the art and experiences that shaped a guest’s journey. Sometimes playful, sometimes profound, always curious, QLS offers rare insight into leaders in music, film, television, comedy, literature, mental health, and beyond. It’s a fresh, unpredictable spin from a trusted source — a place where randomness is encouraged, tangents are welcomed, and conversations are anything but ordinary.
4.6 (1932)
MUSIC
Lewis Howes is a New York Times best-selling author, 2x All-American athlete, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. The School of Greatness shares inspiring interviews from the most successful people on the planet—world-renowned leaders in business, entertainment, sports, science, health, and literature—to inspire YOU to unlock your inner greatness and live your best life.