The TikTok Flip-Flop
The Daily
01/20/25
•21m
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Over the past few weeks, users of the video app TikTok braced themselves for a national ban to take effect.
This weekend, the app went dark. But less than 24 hours later, it came back. And it credited President-elect Donald J. Trump with flicking the switch.
Sapna Maheshwari, who covers TikTok for The Times, discusses the biggest social media ban in American history — and whether the incoming president can actually stop it.
Guests: Sapna Maheshwari, a reporter covering TikTok, technology and emerging media companies for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- TikTok flickered back to life after Mr. Trump said he would stall a ban.
- What we know about the TikTok ban.
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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Ingrid Jackson had never lived in a trailer before, or a small town. She was born in Louisville, Ky., the daughter of a man with schizophrenia who, in 1983, decapitated a 76-year-old woman. Jackson was 1 at the time. In 2010, at 27, she was in a car accident and was prescribed pain pills. Not long after that, she began using heroin. Over the next decade she went through nine rounds of addiction rehab. Each ended in relapse. Her most recent attempt came in 2022 after her son was sentenced to life in prison for murder; he was 21.
In eastern Kentucky, a region that is plagued by poverty and is at the heart of the country’s opioid epidemic, the burden of addressing this treatment gap has mainly been taken up by addiction-rehab companies. Many stand more like community centers or churches than like medical clinics, offering not just chemical but also spiritual and logistical services with the aim of helping people in addiction find employment and re-enter society.
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Next Episode
Pardons and Populism: Trump’s First Day Back in the White House
January 21, 2025
•30m
Warning: This episode contains strong language.
On Monday, in the culmination of an extraordinary political comeback, Donald J. Trump was officially sworn in as president of the United States for a second time.
Mr. Trump’s return comes just four years after being voted out of office, and being impeached for trying to overturn that result.
Peter Baker and Jonathan Swan, who cover the White House for The Times, discuss the message Mr. Trump sent in his inaugural address and the actions he took during his first hours in office.
Guests: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- President Trump’s inauguration presented a vindication for the man and his movement.
- Mr. Trump pardoned Jan. 6 rioters and signed an order on TikTok.
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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