‘Modern Love’: 'Materialists' Director Celine Song Believes in Love at First Conversation
The Daily
06/29/25
•32m
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The director Celine Song won over audiences and critics alike with her first feature film, “Past Lives,” the semi-autobiographical tale of a married Korean American woman meeting up with her former childhood sweetheart. Now Song is back with another story about love called “Materialists.” This time the main character is a matchmaker, a job that Song did briefly in her early 20s.
On this episode of “Modern Love,” Song reads Louise Rafkin’s Modern Love essay “My View From the Margins,” about a relationship columnist who can’t figure out love in her own life. And Song tells us how neither falling in love at age 24 nor making a career of writing about love has brought her any closer to understanding it. “It’s the one thing that makes me feel like a fool,” Song says.
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The Trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
June 27, 2025
•38m
Last fall, the Justice Department unveiled a series of shocking allegations against Sean Combs, the music mogul known as Diddy.
Prosecutors charged Mr. Combs with sex trafficking and racketeering, and for the past seven weeks, they have argued their case in a Manhattan courtroom.
Ben Sisario, who has been covering the trial, explains the ins and outs of the proceedings and discusses the media circus surrounding it.
Guest: Ben Sisario, a reporter for The New York Times covering music and the music industry.
Background reading:
- Read four takeaways from the closing argument at Mr. Combs’s trial.
- Here’s a timeline of Mr. Combs’s career, including his rise in hip-hop, controversies and legal disputes.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
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Next Episode
Supreme Court Hands Trump Even More Power
June 30, 2025
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In a major ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court limited the ability of judges to block President Trump’s policies nationwide, including his order to end birthright citizenship.
Mr. Trump immediately cheered the ruling, while critics have decried it as a fundamental threat to the rule of law.
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Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.
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- With this Supreme Court ruling, another check on Mr. Trump’s power fades.
- In the birthright citizenship case, the Supreme Court limited the power of judges to block Mr. Trump’s policies.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
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