Will Michigan Rewrite the Rules of Democratic Politics?

Will Michigan Rewrite the Rules of Democratic Politics?

In Michigan, a race for U.S. Senate is not only testing the growing appeal of left-wing populism. It could also be a turning point in a long-running debate among Democratic voters about the importance of electability. Michael Kruse, who writes about politics for The New York Times, traveled to Michigan with the producers Asthaa Chaturvedi and Anna Foley of “The Daily” to speak to voters and campaign volunteers. Guest: Michael Kruse [https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-kruse], a politics reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  * Michigan’s tense Democratic Senate race poses a big test for a divided party [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/michigan-senate-primary-democrats-el-sayed-stevens.html]. * Can a progressive win in a purple state? [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/us/politics/el-sayed-michigan-senate.html] Abdul El-Sayed wants to find out. Photo: Nic Antaya for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://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 [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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Tangled Tale of the Tate Brothers and the Trumps

Warning: This episode contains strong language. Over the past decade, the Tate brothers have built a global empire around pornography, hypermasculinity and overt misogyny. At the same time, they have been repeatedly accused of assaulting and trafficking women. A Times investigation found that as their legal troubles mounted, the Tates found powerful allies in the Trump family and administration. Megan Twohey, who has been covering the story, explains just how important those alliances became and why they are now starting to unravel. Guest: Megan Twohey [https://www.nytimes.com/by/megan-twohey], an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  * How a manosphere star [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/andrew-tate-barron-trump-romania.html] accused of rape and trafficking was freed last year. * The Tate brothers were arrested in Miami last month [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/us/tate-brothers-arrest-miami.html] as the British authorities filed new rape and trafficking charges. * The brothers, in federal custody, are seeing their powerful backers go quiet [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/us/tate-brothers-trump-tucker-carlson.html]. Photo: Eduard Vinatoru/Inquam Photos, via Reuters For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://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 [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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After Losing Her Limbs, Our Cooking Columnist Returns to the Kitchen

For decades, the kitchen was the centerpiece of Yewande Komolafe’s life. She spent long hours there, first as a restaurant cook and later as a recipe developer. But though she loved the often-intense culinary world, she had to navigate it with certain limitations: She was born with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder, which required her to carefully manage her working life. She did so successfully, becoming a celebrated cookbook author and food writer for The Times. A medical crisis in December 2023 changed all of that. Komolafe ended up in a coma for six weeks, and after emerging learned that both her legs and her fingers would need to be amputated. In this episode of “The Sunday Daily,” Komolafe tells Rachel Abrams about what happened and how, after everything, she made her way back into the kitchen. On Today’s Episode: Yewande Komolafe [https://www.nytimes.com/by/yewande-komolafe] is a cooking columnist for The New York Times. Background Reading: How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/dining/yewande-komolafe-losing-limbs-different-kind-of-cook.html] The Chef Imagining a More Accessible World, One Meal at a Time [https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/chef-accessibility] Photo credit: Lanna Apisukh. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://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 [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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Fight Tearing Apart Silicon Valley

For years, a debate has been simmering in Silicon Valley over the right way to build artificial intelligence. Should it be open and free for anyone to use, or should we tightly control how it’s made and who can access it? Mike Isaac, who covers technology for The New York Times, explains why the release of two Chinese models pushed that debate to a boiling point this week, and how it could end up reshaping the future of A.I. Guest: Mike Isaac [https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-isaac], a New York Times reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering tech companies and Silicon Valley. Background reading:  * Silicon Valley splits [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/technology/open-source-silicon-valley-china.html] over closing the borders to Chinese A.I. * What is open-weights A.I.? [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/technology/open-weight-ai.html] Photo: Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://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 [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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Europe Is Burning

This summer, wildfires have been raging across Europe. France and Spain have been hit particularly badly, with hundreds of thousands of acres incinerated and entire communities devastated. Chico Harlan, the global climate correspondent for The New York Times, and Mark Landler, the Paris bureau chief, explain how much the continent may need to adapt to climate change. Guest: * Chico Harlan [https://www.nytimes.com/by/chico-harlan], the global climate correspondent for The New York Times, covering the changing planet. * Mark Landler [https://www.nytimes.com/by/mark-landler], the Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, covering France, trans-Atlantic relations and the future of Europe. Background reading:  * Europe’s summer of reckoning is “just the beginning.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/world/europe/summer-heat-wave-fires-climate-change.html] * The fires in France and Spain have been breaking modern records [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/07/28/world/europe/france-spain-wildfires-2026-fire-season.html]. Photo: Baz Ratner/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts [http://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 [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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.