Throughout the pandemic, businesses of all sizes have faced delays, product shortages and rising costs linked to disruptions in the global supply chain. Consumers have been confronted with an experience rare in modern times: no stock available, and no idea when it will come in.

Our correspondent, Peter Goodman, went to one of the largest ports in the United States to witness the crisis up close. In this episode, he explains why this...

This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.

A Times investigation has uncovered extraordinary levels of violence and lawlessness inside Rikers, New York City’s main jail complex. In this episode, we hear about one man’s recent experience there and ask why detainees in some buildings now have near-total control over entire units.

Guest: Jan Ransom, an investigative reporter for The Times focusing on criminal ju...

This episode contains descriptions of violence and a suicide attempt.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August, our producer started making calls. With the help of colleagues, she contacted women in different cities and towns to find out how their lives had changed and what they were experiencing.

Then she heard from N, whose identity has been concealed for her safety.

This is the story of how one 18-year-old woman’s life has ...

Many Americans pay more for child care than they do for their mortgages, even though the wages for those who provide the care are among the lowest in the United States.

Democrats see the issue as a fundamental market failure and are pushing a plan to bridge the gap with federal subsidies.

We went to Greensboro, N.C., to try to understand how big the problem is and to ask whether it is the job of the federal government to solve.

Guest:...

An enormous infusion of money and effort will be needed to prepare the United States for the changes wrought by the climate crisis.

We visited towns in North Carolina that have been regularly hit by floods to confront a heartbreaking question: How does a community decide whether its homes are worth saving?

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.

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Over the past decade, Eric Coomer has helped make Dominion Voting Systems one of the largest providers of voting machines and software in the United States.

He was accustomed to working long days during the postelection certification process, but November 2020 was different.

President Trump was demanding recounts. His allies had spent months stoking fears of election fraud. And then, on Nov. 8, Sidney Powell, a lawyer representing th...

The C.I.A. sent a short but explosive message last week to all of its stations and bases around the world.

The cable, which said dozens of sources had been arrested, killed or turned against the United States, highlights the struggle the agency is having as it works to recruit spies around the world. How did this deterioration occur?

Guest: Julian E. Barnes, a national security reporter for The New York Times. 

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The coronavirus seems to be in retreat in the United States, with the number of cases across the country down about 25 percent compared with a couple of weeks ago. Hospitalizations and deaths are also falling.

So, what stage are we in with the pandemic? And how will developments such as a new antiviral treatment and the availability of booster shots affect things?

Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for Th...

The Senate testimony of Frances Haugen on Tuesday was an eagerly awaited event.

Last month, Ms. Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, leaked internal company documents to The Wall Street Journal that exposed the social media giant’s inner workings.

How will Ms. Haugen’s insights shape the future of internet regulation?

Guest: Sheera Frenkel, a technology reporter for The New York Times. 

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The latest term of the U.S. Supreme Court will include blockbuster cases on two of the most contentious topics in American life: abortion and gun rights.

The cases come at a time when the court has a majority of Republican appointees and as it battles accusations of politicization.

Why is the public perception of the court so important? And how deeply could the coming rulings affect the fabric of American society?

Guest: Adam Liptak, ...

Ivermectin is a drug that emerged in the 1970s, used mainly for deworming horses and other livestock.

But during the pandemic, it has been falsely lauded in some corners as a kind of miracle cure for the coronavirus.

What is fueling the demand for a drug that the medical establishment has begged people not to take?

Guest: Emma Goldberg, a writer for The New York Times. 

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Jon Mooallem, the author of today’s Sunday Read, had a bad pandemic.

“I began having my own personal hard time,” he writes. “The details aren’t important. Let’s just say, I felt as if I were moldering in place.”

Then, The New York Times Magazine offered him the opportunity to fly somewhere for its travel issue — at that point he had spent 17 months parenting two demanding children. So, he asked: “What if I drove to Spokane?” Jon had ...

This episode contains strong language.

A month ago, Texas adopted a divisive law which effectively banned abortions in the state. Despite a number of legal challenges, the law has survived and is having an impact across state lines. 

Trust Women is abortion clinic in Oklahoma just three hours north of Dallas — one of the closest clinics Texas women can go to. 

On the day the Texas law came into effect, “it was like a light had been fl...

The first year of a Congress is usually the best time for a president to put forward any sort of ambitious policy. For President Biden, whose control of Congress is fragile, the urgency is particularly intense.

But now members of his own party are threatening to block one big part of his agenda — his $1 trillion infrastructure plan — in the name of protecting an even bigger part.

We speak to Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washingt...

Britney Spears is one of the biggest celebrities on the planet — she makes millions of dollars performing, selling perfumes and appearing on television. At the same time, however, her life is heavily controlled by a conservatorship, which she has been living under for 13 years. 

Soon, a court will decide whether to remove Mr. Spears as conservator or terminate the conservatorship altogether. 

We explore the details of Ms. Spears’s co...

This episode contains strong language.

Brig. Gen. Khoshal Sadat, a former Afghan deputy minister for security, has held some of the highest ranks in the Afghan security forces and government. 

From the moment Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, the United States has put much of the blame of Afghan security forces — a force that President Biden said gave up without a fight.

“The reality is that we’re not cowards,” said General Sadat. “We ...

Increasing numbers of Haitian migrants have been traveling to the border town of Del Rio, Texas, recently, in the hope of entering the United States.

Border Patrol took action — in some cases, sending the migrants back to Haiti; in others, taking them into custody or releasing them as they await trial.

Why did so many thousands of Haitians come to the border in the first place? And what was behind the Biden administration’s reaction?

...

Throughout 2020, multiple strangers came at Monthanus Ratanapakdee seemingly out of nowhere. An old man yelled at her in Golden Gate Park — something about a virus and going back to her country. When she discussed these incidents, her father would ask, “Is it really that bad?”

Her father, Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, was a lifelong Buddhist, the kind of person who embraced the world with open arms. During the coronavirus pandemic, he usu...

After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, is walking out of office one of the most popular politicians in the country.

In those years, Ms. Merkel has not only served as the leader of Germany, but also as a leader of Europe, facing down huge challenges — such as the eurozone and the refugee crises — all while providing a sense of stability.

As Germans head to the polls this weekend, the question is: who can le...