The Daily The New York Times

Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination keep entering the field, despite the fact that Donald Trump polls consistently as the front-runner and Ron DeSantis has emerged as the clear No. 2. Why do so many lesser-tier Republicans think they have a real shot?

Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, offers a guide to the new crop of candidates and discusses their rationale for running.

Guest: Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

A few weeks ago, footage showing asylum seekers, including young children, being rounded up, taken to sea and abandoned on a raft by the Greek Coast Guard was sent to The New York Times.

Matina Stevis-Gridneff, The Times’s bureau chief in Brussels, discusses how she proved the truth of the tip that a major European government was carrying out an illegal scheme risking the lives of civilians.

Guest: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Brussels bureau chief for The New York Times.

About 50 years ago, the educator Lucy Calkins pioneered a technique called balanced literacy, which de-emphasized the use of phonics to teach reading. It was widely adopted in the United States, including in New York, the country’s largest public school system.

But doubts about the approach persisted, and now it seems that using balanced literacy has given a generation of American students the wrong tools.

Dana Goldstein, who covers family policy and demographics for The Times, discusses the story of balanced literacy and how Professor Calkins is trying to fix the problems that the technique created.

Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times who writes about family policy and demographics.

This episode contains descriptions of violence.

In the two years since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has shut women and girls out of public life.

Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Kabul bureau for The New York Times, traveled across Afghanistan to talk to women about how they’re managing the changes. What she found was not what she had expected.

Guest: Christina Goldbaum, a correspondent in the Times bureau in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

This weekend, we’re bringing dispatches from Times critics and writers on great music, TV, movies, recipes and more. They’re all part of a new series called “NYT Shorts,” available only on NYT Audio, our new iOS audio app. It’s home to podcasts, narrated articles from our newsroom and other publishers, and exclusive new shows. Find out more at nytimes.com/audioapp.

On today’s episode:

An ode to the Dominican musical genre dembow.
The many uses of Worcestershire sauce, an often misunderstood pantry staple.
A Times health editor on how she holds it all together.

In recent years, well-paid and college-educated Americans have shed major cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington for places like Philadelphia or Birmingham, Ala.

Emily Badger, who writes about cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, explains what is driving the change, and what it means for the future of the American city.

Guest: Emily Badger, a cities and urban policy correspondent for The New York Times.