The Secret Spy Network Feeding Russia’s War Machine

The Daily

08/14/26

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31m

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Ukraine is running desperately low on interceptor missiles, leaving its cities and people nearly defenseless against Russian missile and drone attacks. How Russia has been able to sustain those attacks has been a mystery — until now.

Today, Jane Bradley, a Britain-based investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains her investigation into the spy network that has allowed the Kremlin to keep this war going.

Guest: Jane Bradley, a Britain-based investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading:

A Russian spy who used the Aeroflot office in Tokyo to smuggle high-tech weapon components into Russia has left Japan after a Times report.
Operating out of a Tokyo high-rise, a military intelligence unit takes advantage of Japan’s weak espionage laws to find the high-tech equipment that Russia needs to wage war.

Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at 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. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Previous Episode

Are The Democratic Socialists Winning or Losing?

August 13

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29m

This week, Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist running for governor in Wisconsin, suffered an upset after a double-digit lead in the polls. Last week, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive, pulled off a stunning victory in Michigan against his well-funded opponent.

Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times, makes sense of what happened in Wisconsin and Michigan, and what it might tell us about the future of the Democratic Party.

Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.

Background reading:

Dr. El-Sayed’s triumph against an establishment-backed candidate in Michigan was a big win for the left.
Ms. Hong’s defeat in Wisconsin defied expectations and may have shown that the democratic socialist wave cannot reach beyond urban centers.

Photo: Nick Hagen for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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