The Sunday Read: ‘Why Airline Pilots Feel Pushed to Hide Their Mental Illness’
The Daily
03/30/25
•47m
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Troy Merritt, a pilot for a major U.S. airline, returned from his 30th birthday trip in Croatia in October 2022 — sailing on a catamaran, eating great food, socializing with friends — and cried. This wasn’t back-to-work blues but collapsed-on-the-floor, full-body-shaking misery. When he wasn’t crying, he slept.
“I’ve got to find a therapist,” he told himself. And he did, quickly. If that therapist didn’t write down “depression,” Merritt would be OK. He could still fly planes, keep his job — as long as he wasn’t diagnosed with a mental illness.
Merritt, like all pilots, knew that if he was formally diagnosed with a mental-health condition, he might never fly a plane again.
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ICE on Campus
March 31, 2025
•26m
Immigration arrests are taking place at universities across the country. The story of three Columbia students helps explain what’s happening, and why.
Hamed Aleaziz, who covers immigration policy, lays out what their cases reveal about the latest immigration crackdown — and about this administration’s views on free speech.
Guest: Hamed Aleaziz, who covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy in the United States for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- A Columbia student hunted by ICE has sued to prevent deportation.
- How a Columbia student fled to Canada after ICE came looking for her.
- What we know about the detentions of student protesters.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
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