Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue.
The Daily
12/16/24
•26m
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Warning: this episode contains strong language.
Over the past few weeks, the resistance of a single Republican senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, had threatened to derail Donald J. Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense.
Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The Times, and Jonathan Swan, who covers politics, discuss how Mr. Trump and his allies ensured that Ms. Ernst’s resistance went away.
Guest:
- Karoun Demirjian, who covers Congress for The New York Times, with a focus on national security.
- Jonathan Swan, a Times reporter covering politics and Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Background reading:
- Mr. Trump became convinced that letting Mr. Hegseth fail would set off a feeding frenzy among senators.
- Ms. Ernst, who is facing re-election in 2026, appeared less skeptical about the pick after MAGA supporters threatened her with political retribution.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Previous Episode
The Sunday Read: ‘What if A.I. Is Actually Good for Hollywood?’
December 15, 2024
•33m
“You couldn’t have made this movie three years ago,” said Robert Zemeckis, the director of “Here.”
The film stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, and is based on a 2014 graphic novel that takes place in a single spot in the world over several centuries. The story mostly takes place in a suburban New Jersey living room. It skips back and forth through time, but focuses on a baby-boomer couple — played by Hanks and Wright — at various stages of their lives, from age 18 into their 80s.
Before A.I. software, Zemeckis could have had multiple actors play each character, but the audience might have gotten lost trying to keep track. Conventional makeup could have taken a decade off Hanks, who is now 68, but not half a century. The issue with C.G.I. is time and money. Persuading us that we’re watching Hanks and Wright in their 20s would have required hundreds of visual effects artists, tens of millions of dollars and months of postproduction work. A.I. software, though, changed all that accounting.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Next Episode
Syria Unearths Years of Atrocities
December 17, 2024
•30m
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of torture and death. It also contains audio of death and grief.
Under Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian government set up a vast network of prisons and torture chambers that swallowed up tens of thousands of people. For years, those perceived as enemies of the regime would disappear into the system, and their families would have no idea what happened to them.
Christina Goldbaum, who has covered the events in Syria, takes us inside one of those prisons and tells the story of one man who survived to tell the tale.
Guest: Christina Goldbaum, the Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- Families of the missing are hoping that they may be reunited with loved ones or at least learn what happened to them.
- Amid the celebrations after the ouster of Mr. al-Assad, Syria has also found itself in the opening chapter of a nationwide reckoning over the horrors that his government inflicted.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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