The Daily

A Gen Z Revolution at the Movies

For years, Hollywood has been trying to figure out how to get young people into movie theaters. This spring, it has happened at an unthinkable scale thanks to two low-budget horror films made by 20-something directors. Today my colleague Kyle Buchanan explains what younger audiences see in these films and how they’ve energized an entire industry. Guest: Kyle Buchanan [https://www.nytimes.com/by/kyle-buchanan], a pop culture reporter and awards season columnist for The New York Times. Background reading: The viral creator Kane Parsons, who directed “Backrooms,” has gone from YouTube sensation to A24’s youngest director. [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/movies/kane-parsons-24-youngest-director-backrooms.html] Photo: Focus Features 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.

Inside Trump’s New Deal With Iran

After days of promising that a cease-fire was near, President Trump announced late Sunday that he had reached a deal with Iran. Today, David Sanger, who spoke to the president, explains what is and is not included in the framework agreement, and how much closer it gets both sides to ending the war for good. Guest: David E. Sanger [https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-e-sanger], [https://www.nytimes.com/by/kyle-buchanan] the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  * Mr. Trump says the Strait of Hormuz will be “permanently toll-free” [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/politics/trump-iran-deal-strait-of-hormuz.html] under the agreement with Iran. * Washington and Tehran reach a framework for peace [https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/15/world/iran-war-trump-us-deal]. Photo: Arash Khamooshi/Polaris 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.

Do Aliens Exist? Steven Spielberg Believes They Do

Almost 50 years ago, Steven Spielberg directed “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the story of an average man who discovers that humanity may not be alone in the universe. Over the decades, Spielberg has directed several movies about what would happen if humanity made contact with aliens. Would the aliens be kind like the title character in “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial”? Would they be cruel like the murderous aliens of “War of the Worlds”? And regardless of what the aliens were like, would we humans be ready to receive them? Spielberg returns to the question of whether we’re alone in the universe, and what it might mean if we’re not, with his new film “Disclosure Day.” Today, he sits down with Rachel Abrams, a host of “The Daily,” to talk about the film, and about what he has learned over five decades of making movies about aliens.   On Today’s Episode Steven Spielberg, director of “Disclosure Day.”   Background Reading ‘Disclosure Day’ Review: Spielberg Plays His Greatest Cosmic Hits [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/movies/disclosure-day-review-steven-spielberg.html] What Steven Spielberg Taught Me About Fear, Catharsis, and Being Human [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/magazine/steven-spielberg-movie-theater-disclosure-day.html]   Photo credit: Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum, for The New York Times 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.

Seth Rogen Knows the Secret to Marriage — and Being Rich in Hollywood

The actor-writer-director-producer on successful relationships (platonic and romantic), Hollywood’s volatility and his role in normalizing weed. * Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.com * Watch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast] * For transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview [https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-interview] 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.

1979: How the U.S. and Iran Went From Allies to Enemies

At the heart of the current U.S. war against Iran is an inconvenient truth: that the United States is, in many ways, responsible for creating the very regime it now seeks to topple. Today, Scott Anderson, a New York Times Magazine contributor, tells the story of America’s outsize role in the Islamic Revolution, and why all these years later we’re still no closer to understanding Iran. Guest: Scott Anderson [https://www.nytimes.com/by/scott-anderson], a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. Background reading: It has been a trying time for the Islamic republic of Iran [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/opinion/iran-protests-death-toll.html]. Photo: George Tames/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.