How a 5-year-old boy got caught up in the ICE crackdown
ICE detained a 5-year-old boy at a school in suburban Minneapolis, prompting outrage from the community. Minnesota Public Radio’s Elizabeth Shockman joins to talk about the apprehension, and how the Trump administration is defending it. Crime across the country seems to be dropping at fast pace. Henry Grabar of The Atlantic discusses why. On Oscar-nomination day, the vampire film ‘Sinners’ broke the record for most nominations by a single movie. Variety’s Clayton Davis breaks down this year’s nominees. Plus, former special counsel Jack Smith testified before Congress about his two indictments of President Trump, TikTok finalized a deal to keep operating in the U.S., and how one reporter captured the beauty of nature and an unsettling truth about what humans are doing to it. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
1D AGO
Trump’s Investigator Breaks His Silence
Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court. Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department, explains what Mr. Smith told Congress and why his message is likely to make him Mr. Trump’s next target. Guest: Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department for The New York Times. Background reading: In his testimony, Jack Smith defended the decision to prosecute Mr. Trump.Here are four takeaways from what he said to a House committee.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. 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.
1D AGO
How HIV researchers overcame setbacks and kept a vaccine trial going
Scientists say research into a vaccine for HIV is further along than it’s ever been.But Trump administration cuts to scientific research have set that effort back.Including a promising trial for an HIV vaccine in Africa – which was shut down altogether.NPR’s Ari Daniel has the story of how researchers there refused to give up.Ari’s reporting for this story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center. The Gates Foundation is a financial supporter of NPR. This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Kira Wakeam.It was edited by Rebecca Davis and Courtney Dorning.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
1D AGO
The Iranian director who risked his freedom to make his Oscar-nominated film
Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been making social cinema since the 1990s. His work follows everyday Iranians and their struggles against societal forces. In 2010 the director received a ban on filmmaking from the Iranian government, and in 2022 he was imprisoned after he inquired into a fellow filmmaker’s arrest. Despite being jailed and censored, Panahi has continued to work. His films such as "The Circle,” “Taxi” and “No Bears” have won awards from the top film festivals in the world. Now his latest film, “It Was Just an Accident,” has been nominated for two Oscars for best international feature film and best original screenplay. The film follows a group of former Iranian political prisoners who kidnap a man they suspect was their torturer, but they aren’t totally sure it’s him. Panahi shot the film in secret in Iran because he didn’t have official government permission to make it. While it is receiving critical acclaim around the world, it’s being repressed in Iran, where the government recently handed Panahi a new prison sentence. Today on “Post Reports” Elahe Izadi speaks with Jafar Panahi about how he made “It Was Just an Accident” and why he is planning to return to Iran once his awards campaign is over. The two spoke this month, before this week’s Oscar nominations and the most recent escalation of anti-government demonstrations and crackdowns in Iran. Today’s show was produced by Lucas Trevor, Joshua Carroll and Sam Bair, who also mixed it. It was edited by Elana Gordon and Peter Bresnan, with help from Reena Flores. Thanks to Neon for movie clips and photos. Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.
1D AGO
Is Greenland free?
President Trump has given up trying to buy Greenland — at least for now. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Dustin DeSoto, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Andrea Lopez-Cruzado, engineered by David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King. President Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/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
1D AGO
Will Trump’s Board of Peace actually stop wars?
In Davos on Thursday, Donald Trump officially launched his new Board of Peace. Initially created to oversee the Gaza peace plan, the body has since expanded in scope. Led by Trump himself, the board says it will address global crises and conflicts. The initiative has raised concerns among traditional allies, while several controversial leaders have been invited to take part. We speak to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner about whether it could even replace the United Nations. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Valerio Esposito Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
La Brega tells stories of the Puerto Rican experience. In Season 3 of La Brega, we’re bringing you stories of Puerto Rico’s champions. We’re going to go to the ballfields and cultural battlegrounds where carrying the flag takes on even more meaning. We’ll meet fighters who have represented us in courtrooms and in boxing rings, and icons who have worn Puerto Rico on their sashes and their jerseys. We’re going to ask: what do we learn about Puerto Ricanness by spending time with our champions? La Brega cuenta las historias de la experiencia boricua. En esta tercera temporada, te contamos las historias de personas y símbolos que representan a Puerto Rico. Iremos a los parques y campos de batalla culturales donde llevar la bandera significa algo más. Conoceremos a campeones y campeonas que nos han representado desde los cuadriláteros hasta los tribunales y que han llevado el nombre de Puerto Rico en sus cintos y camisetas. Vamos a explorar qué aprendemos sobre la puertorriqueñidad cuando conocemos mejor a nuestros campeones y nuestras campeonas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4.8 (1071)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
Nick van der Kolk's Love and Radio features in-depth, otherworldly-produced interviews with an eclectic range of subjects, from the seedy to the sublime. Get inside the mind of a rogue taxidermist. Find out what it's like to experience a stroke firsthand. Or spend time with an artist who gives away her life savings every night. You've never heard anything like it before.
4.6 (2256)
PERSONAL JOURNALS
The Shadow Sessions is hosted by Hiba Balfaqih, an unconventional psychologist and trauma alchemist. We explore the stories that most people bury—particularly those tied to shame, trauma, and identity. Our goal is to shed light on the hidden corners of human experience, allowing listeners to hear stories that challenge societal norms and spark deep,introspective conversations.
5.0 (1)
MENTAL HEALTH
A Jay-Z song changed my net worth. What if the song you can’t stop playing isn’t random?What if it’s pointing to something you want -or someone you’re becoming? DJ Hesta Prynn’s Music Is Therapy is a podcast about identity - and how music shapes the way we see ourselves, make decisions, and move through the world. Hosted by Hesta Prynn, an NYC-based DJ and licensed therapist, each month focuses on one area of life - money, love, self-worth, relationships, career - using music not as entertainment, but as a tool. Through personal storytelling, conversations with experts, and Hesta’s Music Connection Therapy method, the show explores how the songs you love can help you shift how you show up in your life. This is not just a podcast. It's unconventional therapy for your entire life. Music is Therapy - your session starts now.
5.0 (13)
MUSIC
John was an ex-gay, ex-drag queen and an evangelical Christian. He married an ex-lesbian, had three children and became the poster boy for “conversion therapy” for over 15 years, traveling across the world to preach the idea you can ‘pray away the gay’. John Paulk was living proof that they could change, that God would love them, and that they could live a “normal” heterosexual life. But John was living a lie: he was still gay. Now, he’s ready to tell his story.
4.4 (5)
DOCUMENTARY
What if you could hypnotize yourself into a better you? Or…. secretly hypnotize others into giving you anything you want? That’s the promise of NLP, which emerged in 1970s California and then took over self-help… in spite of its connection to a gruesome unsolved murder in the late 1980s . NLP is the secret sauce connecting life coach Tony Robbins, Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort, pick-up artist Ross Jeffries, as well as NXIVM, the most infamous sex cult of the 21st century. Journalists and best friends Zoë Lescaze and Alice Hines investigate the controversies behind NLP, put the techniques to the test on themselves, and ask the ultimate question: is mind control real? Mind Games tells the story of NLP and its crazy cast of disciples, including the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune, took it to Fortune 500 boardrooms, and whose gruesome murder trial did little to stop its rise. The biggest mind game of all? NLP may actually work.
Global investigations from the BBC. Uncovering gripping stories from around the world and telling them episode by episode. Delve into a World of Secrets. Latest season: The Child Cancer Scam. Your child is critically ill. It’s the worst news you can get. But to make the situation even more awful, you struggle to afford the care they need. So when someone tells you a foreign sponsor can help raise the money, you’ll do anything. You make a video: your child begs for help from strangers online. But it comes to nothing. You wait and wait for the cash that was donated. It never comes, and all the while your child is fighting for their life. Previously on World of Secrets: Death in Dubai. A woman falls from a tower block and her name starts trending. But behind the online rumours lies an even darker reality. The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. And Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape.
4.6 (972)
DOCUMENTARY
Named one of the Best podcasts of 2023 by the New York Times, Vogue, and Vulture Weight For It is a four time Podcast Academy Award winning narrative podcast that explores the ways we think about our bodies. Through personal storytelling and deep dive interviews, host Ronald Young Jr. unpacks the navigation of the world around him that just doesn't seem to fit.
4.8 (941)
DOCUMENTARY
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
4.6 (170208)
TRUE CRIME
Sarah is a journalist obsessed with the past. Every week she reconsiders a person or event that's been miscast in the public imagination.
4.5 (21688)
HISTORY
For more than 20 years, the Modern Love column has given New York Times readers a glimpse into the complicated love lives of real people. Since its start, the column has evolved into a TV show, three books and a podcast. Each week, host Anna Martin brings you stories and conversations about love in all its glorious permutations, dumb pitfalls and life-changing moments. New episodes every Wednesday. 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.
4.3 (8392)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.