The Daily

The United States recently noticed something unusual in North Korea’s weapons program: Its missiles started to work. Why? We discuss a surprising discovery. Guest: William J. Broad, who has reported on missile defense for decades. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The president says “things are going to be different” in Afghanistan: no more “nation-building,” just killing terrorists. But a closer examination suggests this new strategy looks a lot like the strategy of the last 16 years. Guest: Matt Rosenberg, who covered Afghanistan from 2008 to 2014. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Derek Black left the white nationalist movement that he had been poised to help lead, betraying his father, a former grand master of the Ku Klux Klan. Today, we talk with him about the events of the past year. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Will Stephen K. Bannon use his return to Breitbart News, a right-wing megaphone, to help the president who dismissed him — or to hurt him? And where can he exert more political power: at Breitbart or in the White House? Guest: Jeremy W. Peters, a reporter in the Washington bureau who has covered the so-called alt-right. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

After a week in which the president bolstered white nationalists, why did he end it by getting rid of Stephen K. Bannon, the crusader in the White House for the so-called alt-right? Guest: Maggie Haberman, who covers the White House. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

They posted hate speech and Hitler emojis. They also organized a rally in Charlottesville, Va., connecting several major white supremacy groups for an intimidating display of force. How white supremacists and neo-Nazis used their favorite social networks to craft and propagate their messages — at least until they were barred from the platform. Guest: Kevin Roose, who writes about technology for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Upset by policies on immigration and climate change and by President Trump’s initial response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., the leaders of major American companies began to drop one by one from presidential advisory councils. After Mr. Trump again equated far-right hate groups with the groups protesting them, the chief executives moved to cut ties with the president who rose to fame as a businessman. Guest: Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial columnist for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump defended his initial remarks about the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., on Tuesday, saying that “both sides” were to blame. Asked if he equated neo-Nazis and white supremacists with activists protesting racism, Mr. Trump said, “I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane.” Guests: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

In 2012, a woman asked if the city of Charlottesville, Va., should consider removing a statue of a Confederate general from a local park. That question set off a chain of events that led to the deadly violence on Saturday. Also, President Trump, after two days of equivocal remarks about the violence in Charlottesville, made a new statement on Monday: “Racism is evil.” Guests: Kristin Szakos, a city councillor in Charlottesville, Va.; Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Protests over a plan to remove a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Va., spun out of control, leading to clashes that left at least one person dead. President Trump condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” but he did not call out white nationalists or neo-Nazis. Guests: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, domestic affairs correspondent for The New York Times; Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

What happened when the country’s best known weight-loss company realized that people no longer wanted to talk about losing weight. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine about evolving American culture through the saga of Weight Watchers. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton sent an envoy to North Korea for a rare negotiation aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear development. That was the moment, the envoy says, when everything could have gone differently. Guest: William Perry, the secretary of defense from 1994 to 1997, who went on that diplomatic mission. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

From his golf course in New Jersey on Tuesday, President Trump threatened North Korea “fire and fury” and warned that the country “best not make any more threats to the United States.” How should we interpret the latest escalation in tensions with Pyongyang? Plus: Why American law may block the biggest medical breakthrough in decades. Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The Times; Carl Zimmer, who writes about biology and genetics. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Why Vice President Mike Pence is denouncing New York Times reporting about his political future and publicly stating his allegiance to the president. And the stolen childhoods of young Syrians who endured the traumas of civil war and Islamic State rule. Guests: Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent; Somini Sengupta, a foreign correspondent; Dr. Rajia Sharhan, who treats the displaced children of Syria. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

As a teenager, Noura Jackson was convicted of killing her mother, and then spent nine years in prison. But from the start, prosecutors possessed a document that could have set her free. Why the omission of evidence, despite its life-altering consequences, is hard to detect — and rarely punished. Guest: Emily Bazelon, a writer for The New York Times Magazine who has been following Ms. Jackson’s case. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

In 2013, Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas, saying she had been discriminated against for being white. Now, some students are suing Harvard, saying they were discriminated against for being Asian-American. Both lawsuits can be traced to the same man. But this time, the White House is taking up his cause. Guests: Michael Wang, one of dozens of Asian-American students who have filed a complaint against Harvard; Anemona Hartocollis, who is reporting on the lawsuit; Edward Blum, the man behind the action; Nikole Hannah-Jones, who writes about race and education for The New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump is threatening to undermine the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature legislation. But what if the real threat to Obamacare was put there by Mr. Obama himself — and could bring the whole thing down? Guests: Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent; Ken Janda, the chief executive of an insurance provider in Houston. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

An expansion of power. A rewriting of the Constitution. Is democracy coming to an end in Venezuela? Plus: What does it mean for a retired four-star general to enter a chaotic White House? Guests: Nicholas Casey, our Andes bureau chief; Michael D. Shear, White House correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

He burned fast and bright. A play-by-play of the brief and tumultuous tenure of Anthony Scaramucci. And how President Putin’s bet on a Trump presidency backfired spectacularly. Guests: Glenn Thrush, a White House correspondent for The New York Times; David E. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

“The Daily” is launching a new series of interviews that take you inside Trump’s Washington. Every week for the next few months, you’ll hear an interview with the political figure you want to hear from most, with analysis and commentary from Michael Barbaro, Carl Hulse and their colleagues in the D.C. bureau of The New York Times. In this introductory episode, Michael and Carl discuss the characters remaking Washington. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to "The Daily."